Hudson

Definately a no no on the breakfast. Get a good healthy carb-filled breakfast. (Not sugars or things like that.. carbs from whole grains and such). If you really want to help your weight loss, run in the morning. Like, early, early morning, as early as you can. It will help kick up your metabolism for the day. Assuming you're on the traditional 3 meals a day, your lunch should be pretty much even of fats to carbs to proteins. Then for dinner, have some whiting fish, chicken, or tuna. If you feel the need to snack during the day, grab something HEALTHY. Don't snack on potato chips when you could just grab an apple. Cut calories. Log them on fitday.com. I love that website.

I'll probably hold on the doctor trip. It feels fine now, it was probably just bruised.

Yesterday I had a guy murder my wrists with blocks, must of been some Iron Forearm or something. Anyway, now I have this pain in my wrist if I try to do a pushup or walk on my hands... what kind of injury is this? I hope it goes away before next class.

Atkins, I wouldn't trust a diet plan made by an overweight man. Now, I'm going to tell you ancient secret to losing weight: Burn more calories than you take in. Simple, isn't it? But I know, it's hard eating smaller when you're used to it. So lets say you consume 3000 calories a day. Try this: Week 1: 2500 calories. Week 2: 2000-2250 calories. Week 3: 1750-2000 calories. Then continue at week 3's rate... think complex carbs in the morning, not at night. Protein is your friend. Eat a lot of tuna and chicken, or whiting fish. Now, about muscles, you train abs 3 times a week? Your abs heal rapidly. Train every day if you can. If you're at home, vegging on the couch, start doing crunches. If you're bored, and want to eat, do crunches. As for pectorals, the bench and flys will work fine. But mix it up, don't just stick with flat bench, I find that declines + inclines give me great gains. If you don't have access to a bench, pushups are always good. EDIT: I forgot about cardio. Running, swimming, jumprope, and of course, martial arts. Check out fitday.com for a free diet and activity log. It's not my website but I love using it.

Pak Mei vs Pai Lum Tao vs Hun Gar And anyone taking these styles tell me what they are like?

Then again, Jackie Chan movies teach me that only Snake combined with Cat Claw a.k.a. "Snake in Eagle's Shadow" is the best animal style. Also, to fear the 8 drunken immortals!

Dragon forms are my favorite. Dragon usually encompasses animals like tiger and snake, and is what I call a "smarter" kung fu.

I can't speak for the school or reccomend it but you could try the Shaolin Wahnam Institute in London.

Perhaps I shouldve used the term "pseudo-elitist"

Can someone explain the differences between short fist and long fist, some examples, and possibly some links for reference, maybe a video of a Short Fisted Form? Any help will be greatly appreciated so thank you in advance.

MartialMan and Drunken Monkey, you two really have a way of losing peace and junking up a forum with elitist irrelevance. Congradulations on making pointless posts. And so this post doesn't become useless as well, I'll add my two cents. I think most styles that have passed the test have time have been proven effective again and again. There may be a style more effective than another, but what really determines a fight is your mental condition, your confidence. Your martial arts skill is just a bonus. Also skill effectiveness alone depends on a good teacher. I can say that my Kung Fu school is much more effective in teaching then my old TKD dojang. Our middle ranks can compare to their black belts. Also, the more you train, the more effective you'll be. So train hard.

There are other ways to avoid getting broken ribs. For one, start blocking some kicks. The reason we take hits isn't to strengthen bone. It's so you get used to taking hits period. If you REALLY, REALLY, want to know the secret to make all blows to the ribs useless, forget crunches, eat a lot of fast food until your midsection becomes coated in at least 10" of fat. It will act as a cushion and make you less susceptible to attacks at the torso.

I'm under the impression that while in America Kung Fu refers to all the Chinese styles taught, it means "Hard work", which is why you could have good kung fu elsewhere, where as in China and pardon my spelling since I don't speak any languages from Asia it's called "Wushu" which is the fighting arts themselves and "Kung Fu" is how you attain mastery in Wushu. I'm not here to debate so don't reply to this post, it's just what I think.

I'd taken TKD for a few years but had to quit because I was not in shape or properly hydrated. The tests were about 30 minutes long and fairly easy. After that I fixed all my problems and got myself into great shape. (Modest, aren't I?). Almost 4 months ago I joined a Kung Fu school. Last night was my first rank test. I'm going to try and put down how it felt testing there in words, but I don't think that's possible. The test was 4 hours long altogether, although the last half I was sitting down watching the higher levels. That was amazing. Watching them do the practical 5 animal applications made me realize thats exactly what I was looking for in the style. They were lightning fast, graceful, and extremely precise. My testing started out with more pushups then there are numbers, followed by plenty of crunches. The amazing thing is that while I was a beginner, I got to stop, but the higher levels all had to keep going. They cranked out rep after rep with full spirit. Then we went through the last 3 months of material. Basics. Kicks, Punches, Blocks, Stances, and some internal and external exercise sequences. That might make it sound simple, but keep in mind going over all that was 2 hours long. After that the beginners got to sit down for the rest of the test and everyone else kept going until mostly everyone was sitting down except the highest ranks testing in forms specific to their rank. When it finished and I had my belt and certificate, I felt more accomplished then I had ever been. I look forward to the future tests no matter how painful they get at times. What I'd like to know is, how was your first test?

Well, my main purpose for going isn't to go and learn how to beat somebody up. I hear good things about Chang Zhuang Shui Ku and they train all day in Shaolin forms which is exactly what I'm looking for. I don't expect to go flying or walking on walls, but knowing some new forms would be cool.

Cutting your muscles will make them smaller. I would adivse you not to do so, but if you do, make sure the cutting utensil is nice and clean.

Because my dinner is small! Also, I eat like that because I don't like sugar in the morning, it wakes me up for an hour or two then sets me back to sleep even worse.

Theres no way to "Iron Body" train your ribs. The most you can do is have strong abs and obliques. Also, about losing your breath... it's called controlling your breathing. Unless the hit is totally unexpected, you should learn to get hit and exhale. You can't learn to fight unless you learn to fall.

As long as it's not some extreme weight, like some company's "200lb extreme vest", you should be fine, just dont be kicking with ankle weights unless you want a bad case of hyperextension.

I can't even carry my hands in my pockets or its a crime for concealed weapons.

I think you should ask yourself what you're expecting to get in Hung Ga (Which I'm assuming is Hung Gar, I've never heard it that way but it may as well be) How much TKD experience do you have? If you're still taking it, my suggestion would be to keep with it. Its not a good sign if you quit after a few months, and I know that when I switched from TKD to Kung Fu the training was pretty much the same, minus what moves we practiced and what forms we practiced.

My deadly fists Broadsword or sectioned whips.

Something with a Mu or Mo? Could it be Moo Duk Kwan? If so that's the reason I started my own martial arts path, I have an older brother who is 2nd degree black belt in that and he's always kicked my butt around when we spar. If that's what he said, that's real. However, I have found one principal to be true - people who flaunt off a bunch of martial arts names are usually a jack of trades, king of none. And people who flaunt martial arts experience usually are just talk. Also, about the Pai Gow, that sounds a little fishy, however, he couldve been talking about Pai Lum Kung Fu, though I don't know of any teachers out in Oklahoma. The Moo Duk Kwon Tae Kwon Do thing sounds more plausible.

Paulie Zink -- Fifth generation master of the art of Tai Shing (Monkey) Kung Fu and Seventh generation master of the art of Pek Kwar (Ax Fist) Kung Fu. Combined, the arts form the Tai Shing Pek Kwar system. Zink is one of the world's leading authorities on the art of Monkey Kung Fu, the only non-Chinese to completely master the entire art form including all five monkey forms, and inducted into three Hall of Fames. In addition, Master Zink is the only competitor to win three consecutive Grand Championships (Weapons) at the famous Ed Parker's Long Beach International Karate Championships. Achievements: Hall of Fame - Competitor of the Year -- Inside Kung Fu Magazine Hall of Fame - Artist of the Year -- Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame - Lifetime Achievement -- Martial Art Magazine 3-time International Weapons Grand Champ - Ed Parker's International Championships 100 + Weapons and Forms Grand Championships from 1979 - 1983 Monkey Kung Fu Book (1983) Co-Author (with Michael Matsuda) History of Monkey Kung Fu Book (2000) Co-Author (with Michael Matsuda) 11 Magazine Covers -Inside Kung Fu -Martial Arts Magazine -Masters & Styles -Martial Arts On Line Magazine 50 Articles - Featuring Master Zink -Black Belt Magazine (5 times) -Inside Kung Fu Magazine (23 times) -Kung Fu Magazine (4 times) -Martial Arts Magazine (7 times) -Martial Arts On Line Magazine (2 times) -Inside Karate (2 times) -Karate Illustrated (1 time) -Masters & Styles (3 times) -Non-Martial Arts Periodicals (3 times) He sure has an inflated resumé. Source: http://www.martialinfo.com/WHo_is_Who/pauliezink.htm

I'm currently thinking about either Chang Zhuang Shui Ku in Zhengzhou Or Siping City Shao Lin Martial Arts Academy.