AngelaG

If I were you, and assuming the other people in the dojo feel the same I'd get together and agree to totally ignore her. Refuse to talk to her, don't partner up with her etc. Eventually she will realise that with her current attitide she is not welcome, and will either have to buck up, or leave. If she won't respect the dojo and its members then why should you respect her? It's a two way street!

If your instructor thinks you are ready then listen to him (assuming you feel confident enough about your abilities). The other orange belt probably has a lot of self-interest at stake, rather than thinking about what is best for you.

I guess it's the same with anything that doesn't use the same alphabet we do. *shrugs* I guess it's neither here nor there, until the mis-pronounciation changes the meaning (as in Ju-Jutsu, or Kung-Fu)

There is no 'correct spelling'. Kanji does not transalate perfectly into English, so the best you can do it spell it as you see it. Therefore, such as with karate, you may get variations. (Enpi / Empi in Karate)

I got to say I prefer nice neat trimmed hair, from cut very short to an inch or two. Short back and sides, with a bit more on top is probably my favourite. There's nothing worse than a man who grows his hair long and then never washes it. Long greasy hair hanging around the face is just so disgusting; and then when it rains it smells like wet dog!

I'm stood in the middle of a busy town centre on a Saturday afternoon. My friend has decided she needs to use the public toilets (yuck). Suddenly I realise I am getting weird looks. Ah, that's because I have automatically taken the time to practice my balance and I'm now standing on one leg. Anther time I am walking down the street and I see a load of new tall bollards that have been put up. My first thought; "I wonder if I can mawashi geri (Roundhouse kick) over them?". Finally, I'm kind of dozing off one night and my door starts to open. I leap bolt upright with fists clenched, up in guard. Turns out the nefarious burglar was one of my cats wanting to share my bed.

The kickboxers that rent out our dojo have different colour sashes.

And yet, in here, you are currently a purple belt. How ironic! Quite a few systems have purple belts. We have purple and purple with white stripe.

I train in Karate 4/5 times a week, and also assist in instructing the childrens lessons and the teens lessons twice a week; which means on Mondays and Wednesdays I am there for 3 lessons. (Kids, teens, and my training in the adults). On top of that I train in OCFM once a week. Timetable looks like this: Monday: Assist Instruct x 2. Karate Train Tuesday: Karate Train Wednesday: Assist Instruct x 2. Karate Train Thursday: Sometimes do training with my dojo buddies, sometimes rest. Friday: OCFM Train Saturday: Karate Train Sunday: Rest (Wash and iron gis ) Considering I also have a full time job AND I do freelance web design it does mean that I have a pretty jam-packed life!

Congratulations. Maybe he liked your 'new' version of the kata, which is why he double graded you! Well done again. Happy *-kicking!

You're going to have to look around and see what's in your area. There's no point researching one art, and setting your heart on it, if the nearest centre is 300 miles away Also some places will only let 16+ or even 18+ train with them, so you'd have to check that you were old enough to join the place. Check out the local martial arts places in your area (using websites, phone books etc.) and then research what each one does, and grab a few you like and go down, chat with the instructor and if still interested go for a trial lesson. Angela

Lik I said I am just repeatin what I read. I can probably find you the link to the webpage if you want!

How old is my art? Well I have been butchering shotokan karate for the past two years? So two years it is! How long has my instructor's club been running? How old is Shotokan karate? How old is karate? How old is weaponless fighting? Ever since one cave man looked at another caveman and thought, "Hey, that b**ger's looking at me funny!" So since the day we climbled out of the primordial soup it is.

I heard somewhere that the "crane kick" used in the Karate Kid movie was actually created specifically for the movie and was not derived from any actual karate move or stance. I could be wrong, or my source could be wrong, but I was fairly certain that at the time, that move was not a legitmate karate move because it had no practical application. I also heard from the same source (I think it might have been a special feature on the DVD, but I'll have to double check) that the move was created specifically to look cool and make for a climactic ending. Wap Yup I read that too. I also read that the kata used in KK3 was made up as well!

Currently Bassai Dai. I have been working on Tekki Shodan for a while and I quite dislike that kata, so playing and tweaking other kata is a nice release. Bassai Dai is so big and powerful, while still remaining whippy and flowing. The juxtapostion of slow and fast is great too. I also like Kanku Dai and Heian Yondan for similar reasons!

Get Karate-do Kyohan by Gichin Funakoshi. Probably 'the' must have book for Shotokanists.

Man who go through turnstile in airport sideways going to Bangkok.

If you move in a circular fashion (such as the C shaped step in Shotokan) you can step inside the opponents feet. This means you can hit the sensitive areas inside their ankles or bump them with your knee inside their thigh. There are loads of PPs inside the legs so any shot would tend to be good. Even if you fail to hit any PPs the bump will off-balance them and help you to gain the advantage.... as will standing on their foot.

I haven't ever really got in fights, but I have calmed down other people's situations. I had an ex-boyfriend who was very tall and very big built, he was also one of the biggest softies I had ever met. The poor bloke would get all the drunken louts at the end of the evening trying to pick fights with him, because they thought it would make them look hard fighting such a big bloke. Luckily I always managed to use humour to diffuse the situation, and 20 minutes later we'd all be shaking hands and saying that we should meet up for a drink next week. My mates have also wound up situations in pubs, and I will either a) leave (it's not my problem and if they are stupid enough to wind up people they should deal with it, I don't want my face scarred), or b) Use humour to calm everything down or c) Start talking to the other person chattily, perhaps offer to buy them a drink or something. The biggest way to prevent fights is the way you project yourself. there should be a certain self-confidence in the way you stand, and make eye contact, without coming across as arrogant asnd looking for a fight.

Give her to give her Instructor a cake with poison in beforehand... and a gift of the antidote IF she passes.

1. Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow. 2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process. 3. Retrieve cat from bedroom and throw soggy pill away. 4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of 10. 5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe ..... call spouse from garden. 6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, holding front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold cat's head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously. 7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines from hearth and set to one side for gluing later. 8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with its head just visible from below spouse's armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force cat's mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw. 9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply band-aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap. 10. Retrieve cat from neighbors shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band. 11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw t-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom. 12. Ring fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap. 13. Tie cat's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table. Find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Force cat's mouth open with small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Hold head down vertically and pour pint of water down throat to wash pill down. 14. Get spouse to drive you to emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches finger and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. 15. Stop by furniture shop on way home to order new table. 16. Arrange for SPCA to collect cat and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters. How to give a dog a pill: 1. Crush it in food.

Ah welcome to the world of Murphy's law. I bought a size 5 gi, to allow for shrinkage etc. It was very big on me. So I have washed it on a very hot wash, I have tumble dried it on the highest setting and guess what.... the d&*mned thing hasn't shrunk one tiny little bit. It flaps around me, is too long and has far too much excess material so I get entangled. So next gi I buy a size 4 (same make). I carefully wash it in a luke warm wash and hang it out to dry. This one seems to drop about 2 sizes when I try it on next. The legs have disappeared halfway up my legs, the top is so short that if I do an upward block it pops out from beneath my belt... basically I look like a fast growing child that is wearing last year's gi. My solution? I now save up and buy more expensive pre-shrunk heavyweight gis. This seems to have worked, with very minimal shrinkage, and a lovely cut. But, it is an expensive way of going about it, although hopefully they will keep me going for a long time!

Some sort of oriental picture? I have some framed Kanji on my bedroom wall, darned if I know what it means but it looks cool.

I know. It's just that you mentioned points while trying to prove that chi works, the two are mutually exclusive.

Definitely striking. I have seen very few fights go to the floor. Most tend to be one person being sucker punched, either from the side or back, and they hit the floor and then they get kicked by the assailant, who is still standing.