hawkfish

I have done my kata with my eyes closed before and it made it very interesting.

I only where my Gi in class. At home I train in sweats or baggies and a t-shirt.

I am doing Heian Nidan. For my recent test, 8th Kyu, I had to do both Heian Sho-dan and Heian Nidan but for my next rank, I have to do Heian Nidan again but more refined. The belts in our club go white, orange, yellow, blue, green, low purple, high purple, 3 brown belts then black.

I stretch both morning and night. I do dynamic stretching in the morning and then again at night along with some static stretching after my karate workout. The dynamic stretching seems to be working very well for me even after only doing it for only a couple weeks now.

Below is a link on how to perform good mornings at bodybuilding.com. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?Name=Stiff+Leg+Barbell+Good+Morning [/url]

We test 2 times a year in our club.

Orange belt in Shotokan.

strength fitness mental awareness

Congrats!!!! Great work!!!

As a few others have mentioned, stances are very important. Stances are what my Sensei drills in to our heads all the time. Throughout our classes the main thing that hear out of our Sensei's mouth is "LOWER STANCES!" I have also noticed that the people who do best, at the few tournaments I have seen, pause after each move. As an example, the first move is the turn left left with downward block, freeze! then moving forward with front punch, freeze and so on. You only need to freeze for a short time but long enough to show that each move is separate. Also, practice, practice, practice and when you think you have done enough, practice more.

I was a smoker for almost 20 years and the part that kept me going was that I really liked to smoke. I associated a lot of things that I enjoyed with smoking and it was hard for me to realize that I could do without the smoking and still enjoy myself. I quit smoking a little over four months ago. I told myself that I still had to go down to the smoke room for breaks with the people I work with but I woud not touch a smoke and have been successful. I have not had one cigarette since I quit and even though I get a taste for one every once in a while. I just had to want to quit and now that I have, my karate workouts have improved a great amount and I no longer wake up coughing like I used to. The key to quitting smoking is that you have to want to quit. If you don't want to quit you won't no matter how much people try to scare you or tell you that you should quit. Once you choose to quit, you will quit.

I really liked Hard to Kill.

I hope it turns for you too Red J. Best wishes and be safe!!!

I don't even know where to start. Too many hobbies, too little time. In no particular order: Reef keeping - Keeping saltwater fish and corals. Muscle cars - My 2002 Trans Am is one my favorite hobbies. Web Design - I like that so much, I just started my own business doing it. Ham Radio - My interest is in the emergency communication area. Bodybuilding - Working out for over 25 years might make this more than a hobby for me. Digital photography - This came about from my reef keeping hobby and muscle car interests. A hobby isn't as much fun if you can keep photo records of it and digital cameras make that easy. Polishing my cars is another hobby that I enjoy and wouldn't mind doing for a living if the pay was better and consistant. I also have a few others like playing video games like Quake III, collecting diecast cars and collecting knives and swords. I think I need to quit my real job so that I have more time for my hobbies.

My family and I take our classes in park district gymnasiums.

I guess I would be first generation. My wife and I, both white belts, take karate with my son who is an orange belt but I took Aikido many years ago before he was born.

Those ring tones really bug me in a big way. There is not reason to play a 30 second song when the phone rings. Some of the people on that train wait for the entire song to play before they answer the phone. Another problem are the people driving huge trucks and SUVs talking on the cell phone and not paying attention to where they are driving. I can't count how many times I have had to avoid an accident because some dumbell was talking on the cell and trying to drive at the same time. I have to carry a phone because of my job but my ringer is on vibrate so no one hears it, I talk very very quiet in public places and I only stay on for as long a I have to which is normally under a minute. I also never use it in my car and if I have to, I pull over the side while I talk.

Hi Matt, I would wear the head gear myself. I'm 38, I know how hard some of my instructors and others students can punch and kick and I would like to have a much protection on my head as possible.

My fun car is a 2002 Pontiac Trans Am and my run around car is a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am GT. If I could have any car, it would be my 2002 Trans Am. I wanted one since I was a little kid and I finally got it two years ago. It may not be a dream car to many people but it's my dream car.

One of my biggest gripes is sitting on the public elevated train while some bigmouth on their cellular phone is screaming about how they hate their job or something else as if no one else is around them. They are so loud sometimes, I think they could talk to someone miles away without even using the phone.

I have a bunch of favortie moveis but some that really stand out for me are: Stripes Smokey and the Bandit My Blue Heaven Exit Wounds Rush Hour 2 Rumble in the Bronx Who Am I Johnny English Bad Boys 2 Big Trouble in Little China The Rundown Lethal Weapon 4 Eraser and many more.

38 here.

I'm working on improving my horse stance and basic moves. Since I just started training, so my skills are very limited.

White belt here. Tomorrow will be my third class.