Hudson

I am shopping for a new bokken and am interested in the Sei Do Kai bokken - anyone own one and does anyone have any comments on them or other bokken to take a look at?

Yeah, but if he worked on density in his larger muscles, he could get his curls far past yours.

Just a retort, not trying to convince you of anything: Why is it that westerners are automatically bulky? I think this whole east-west thing is sort of a misnomer. Good bulk is useful! It's muscular development, not just uncessary pounds. And no, it doesnt inhibit movement. Our bodies are created initially to eat, sleep, and live, that's about it. If you do something as demanding as martial arts, your body will adapt to those demands to a certain degree. Lifting weights is just as natural as martial arts, you demand something of yourself, and your body compensates and makes you stronger. Putting MA and Weightlifting/Strength Training together only enhances you, it certainly doesn't break or worsen your "natural condition". If we're to assume that weightlifting isn't natural then neither is martial arts, dancing, paying taxes, watching TV, etc. And I hope most of you aren't getting the idea that all weightlifting martial artists aim to look or perform like Arnold Schwarzenegger - there is a BIG gap between what you are born with and professional bodybuilders/powerlifters, and there are plenty of reasonable healthy points inbetween. So, yeah, I stick with my original answer, both, and yes they will work harmoniously.

I have two pairs of the Nike Free, one Nike Free Trainers and one Nike Free 5.0 They're great shoes. And they do baby, a little bit. But not much at all. If you really wanted a shoe that was simply a protective piece around your foot, and nothing else... Puma H-Streets.

Genetics don't say much, and in fact in amatuer competitions for bodybuilders, genetics don't come into play much at all, provided the competitor trained smart enough. Even Arnold wouldn't get big off of endurance exercises. Well, he might. But if you want to grow, you need to lift heavy weights that tax the muscles to a point of failure and then rest so they recover bigger and stronger then before. Then you repeat. Check out bodybuilding.com ... they've got some great stuff, not just for bodybuilders either.

Water/Powerade/Gatorade If I need something beforehand it's usually grapes, or an orange or two.

Iron palm, fingers, forearm, jacket, etc; are all practices that focus on toughening the body. You don't really need to get hit with sticks to do iron body, you simply swing your hands in a way that they hit your chest and or back. Iron finger/palm exercises usually involve hitting something in a certain way, like buckets full of dry ice. Iron forearm can be trained by hitting your arms against different targets, increasing in density the further you train. You can also get other things, there's a wooden device that looks like a rolling pin used to toughen the shins. EDIT: Dry RICE, not dry ice. DO NOT HIT DRY ICE!

Again, welcome to the bad knee(s) club. A horse flipped on you? That's pretty terrible, my accident involved my leg becoming one with a mountain bike. Consult your doctor. I have read tons of anatomy books and done plenty of training but had I not had a great doctor and an equally great physical therapist, I would probably be hobbling around today. However, they both helped me a lot and I have no knee pain at all (In fact, I'm a frequent full contact sparring partner for a few of my kickboxer friends). There is, of course, a difference between every doctor. In fact, my first doctor told me that it was just some sort of sprain. He didn't even think about an ACL tear. The second doctor knew it was an ACL tear the minute he walked in the room. Don't ever push yourself too hard. Listen to your biological feedback - if your joints say no in your condition, you listen.

Actually, it's almost pure endurance work. 20 reps is endurance work. strength and size are proven to be most effective anywhere from 6-10 reps, varying person to person. You need some weighted chest work, JLee. The pushups will get old quickly. I suggest bench presses. Theres also nothing here for triceps. Extensions are a personal favorite, find something that works for you. Again, same sort of lack in the shoulder department. Military presses or lateral raises are pretty good exercises. Squats are great, but again you're going to need to reduce the number of reps, and increase the weight. As far as the best way to do your sets/reps, whats optimal for your goals is doing something like this: Chest press 2-3 sets of light weight warmup, coming nowhere near muscle failure. Then, continue on to four sets like so: 10, 8, 6, 10. The third set of 6 will be the heaviest and shortest set. 10 is sort of a back-off set. As you can see, you're now working your muscles in a much more complete way. Other then that, make sure your nutrition is complete. Nutrition is half your battle.

Back on topic, increasing the cardio and doing hamstring curls and leg extensions should do the trick. Squats too. Squats are the best leg exercise period.

I'm gonna disagree on this one. Why would they be conflicting?

In the way you express them they would create a balance. And what is the use to the martial artist? Honestly, practicing only martial arts will make you good at what you do. Adding in science and advanced weighted training will make you superior. But you need both, they are codependant. And never forget your meditation, a strong mind is equally important as a strong body.

Yup, and always get a thorough stretch before attempting ANY exercises. This is especially true with good mornings, as damage to the back is one of those injuries that never quite heals back to normal. And never, EVER let your ego convince you into doing too much weight.

Hm, I once read a Muay Thai book that covered two different ways to wrap, anyone know about this?

The shoe is designed not to interfere too much with your natural motion, so it's a very minimal, flexible design. I'd say if you have pain walking barefoot then these shoes may not be the best.

Hey, at least you don't live in Lebanon, Perry, or Juniata. That IS farmland. Theres a cool girl who does kickboxing at a YMCA I believe in Harrisburg (The city part, not the suburbs that count as Harrisburg). She's German and I can't think of her name, but I do believe she's quite recognized and her students go to tournaments quite a lot, if thats what you're looking for. I'm not in her class but this is what I hear. If you're closer to Philly I don't know.

Just bought a pair of Nike "Free" shoes. They're comfortable, definately a change from my old Air Moto Max's, but not quite the same as my Puma H-Streets. But they're comfortable, very breathable, and extremely flexible. Nice for running, doing all sorts of leg drills in these things is a joy. 85 bucks. Not a lot of support though, but if you have strong arch's I'd say go try these things out.

Question 1: Vitamin C does... a lot. And being water-soluble, you can't really OD the stuff. The benefits of Vitamin C are far too many to list in this post. Check this out: http://home.howstuffworks.com/vitamin-c.htm Another great site for doing research (using caution): http://www.google.com Question 2: Balance. Total body workout, with a lot of good focus on legs. (See how high you can get your knees, or try doing it by jumping on your toes only)

System of a Down's new CD is pretty good for working out. But it's definately vulgar, and if anyone takes it to literally, they're bound to take offense. I like it though. Catchy, loud, noisy, and in some cases, sort of funny. But vulgar. I'm not saying it's for everyone. That's for sure.

Are you taking a gainer? If you're trying to get leaner and cut I can't understand why you're taking met-rx shakes. If you really want to speed up recovery, take L-Glutamine 30 minutes after a workout.

Non-weighted good mornings are fine for a beginner, the same as hyper-extensions.

Jackie Chan studied the basics of Pak Mei

Strengthen your neck muscles. The stronger your neck muscles become the more resistant to concussions you will be. Best advice, wrestlers bridge.

The ultimate fighter would make himself, so to speak. It's not so much the style in combat as it is effectiveness - the right technique in the right place at the right time. That, and the level of training of the fighter decide the superior fighter.

Oops. I did forget to mention that Bruce was quite active past just these programs, these were just the core workouts mentioned in the book. And for the record, I'd like to state that I just wanted to provide you with an interesting look at what Bruce Lee did in part to achieve his physique. The conversation so far is quite interesting. I thought I once read Bruce Lee had his punches and kicks timed. Maybe I can find this tomorrow when it's not so late.