shotochem

I agree with the decision. I am pretty much in favor of capital punishment but if a person does not have the capacity to understand lock them away for life.

Knee vs. Fist .......??? Ill put $50.00 on the Knee coming out on top :brow: Its not a good idea to punch anyones knees or shins you will only damage yourself. The groin is a quite effective target though

Why would you erase what you have written? We enjoy an interesting point of view and welcome your posts. We all cant agree but we can learn how we think and understand each other.

With the closed fist block you are blocking with your forearm. The closed fist keeps tension in the forearm muscle. With an open hand block you generally are using the hand itself. The forearm is stronger than the hand yet is is slower.

Hi MA, good to hear you again. One can never take a formal martial art and still possess the ability to fight. Would formal training not enhance the abilities one already has? Im having a hard time trying to figure out how I could possibly be less effective now than after training??? Hypothetically, if I were a big nasty agressive person before training would I not be the same only badder than before?? I believe it boils down to the intent of the person using the techniques. The more visious and larger person would most likely win. What would be the disadvantage?

I agree, wear sandals or flip flops as much as you can, it really helps. Have any of you gotten floor burns on the bottom of your feet while training?? Ouch!!!

Respect is important. In our dojo we have a woman who is of upper rank and would not seem to be as good as alot of the lower ranking students. A comment was made by a yellow belt. I merely stated that 9 months of pregnancy and a C-section will tend to slow you down a bit. I find it to be an inspiration when people continue training after many physical limitations slow them down. Shame on those who question the rank of others. It shows a lack of respect of your teaches judgement!!!!!

DD grooves....are a serious form of self defense...Distract the enemy....when he is laughing too hard...BAM!!!! Ballet kick to the....lower extremities :eek: :eek:

MA, interesting post. I diaagree as to your statement that most MAs are ineffective. IMO I believe it is the person not the art. I have been able to defend myself long before I studied MAs I would consider myself much more capable now than before. What does it really matter? We are not in feudal Japan fighting hand to hand. I would find karate techniques to be effective Ive been on the giving and recieving end of them. I would personally not want to get hit by my own punch or by many of those I train with. If we apply our techniques with intent to harm then I would consider them effective. Im curious what art do you study and why would you bother if you feel this way? One must also rember we are the oddballs taking a martial art the average looney does not train at all. we tend to be in better shape and better conditioned. Most crazies would never expect MA techniques to be thrown at them has anyone had anyone kick them outside of the dojo.....????

There will plenty more gradings. Whats a few months wait matter? There is only one back, take care of it or you will have many years of pain when you are older. Be careful!!!!!

(Anyways, hey Shotochem, looking at the flip side of your last statement: Some would rather condition their hands so they aren't broken and damaged for life with one punch. ) Hey Sing, what I meant to say is that since we train regularly we should not need additional methods of an extreme nature to condition our hands and feet. I also do not believe in additional banging shins and forearms to condition them either. There is plenty of banging already.... (Ive got the bruises to prove it!!!)

I would have to say it was my first sensei who passed away. He convinced me to give it a try. He said youre not to old or out of shape and that I could do it. He made me believe.... now Im 50lbs lighter,faster,stronger and Ive done things I never thought I could do 10 yrs ago. I also found my current senseis who are the same kind of people as my old sensei and friend. I feel the same about them.

I believe there is nothing wrong with modifing a technique for practical modern day use. If it is in kata or kihon I would say do it the traditional way. Would anyone seriously consider using a spear hand strike to any part of the torso? We are not in feudal Japan its just not smart to use certain techniques for real applications. As for conditioning the knuckles, in todays society we are not warriors fighting wars with our bare hands. If we were to be attacked I believe most of us could handle sore hands for a couple of days instead of severe arthritis for a life time.... Sometimes we just take ourselves too seriously......

Hey Guys, thats not a fair statement. Not all of us Americans want a wife beating, ear biting, RAPIST, ex-con to be our champion :kaioken:

Thats Funny ??? I have the opposite problem. My netscape works fine but my IE is giving me problems. Do you have windows ME?? Its been giving me headaches :kaioken: Damn you Bill Gates!!! ...... I miss my Mac!!!!

Try Bearshare its pretty good in Europe I believe its affiliate is called Limewire. Sorry, I forgot the URL its on my other comp.

Chemical Warfare the next MA!!!! :eek:

You need not worry, Strength and Wisdom come from within. With time and experience it will come. A teacher or master will teach you a martial art not about life. I am 15 years older than you and I still seek more. If you want to learn a martial art, do it for pleasure, fitness or whatever reason. If you are looking for enlightenment, or spirituality try a priest, rabbi or other religious leader. People falsly tend to equate a "master" or teacher with being a higher or better person when they are really just the same as you or I only they know more of a martial art........ Good luck to you, and welcome :karate: :karate:

Hi All, I personally do not prefer to do Kunckle ups either. I can work with bruises and broken toes but I need my hands. What do you think about doing fingertip push ups? They are tough but they hurt me a lot less.

2 heads are better than 1 ????

Dont worry it was an accident he will understand. Bones do break, after all we do train in fighting arts. Ive broken a couple of my own toes and fingers and so have my fellow dojo mates. Most were self inflicted :eek: after you do somthing wrong and hurt yourself you tend not to repeat that mistake a second time.......

Its all a matter of geography..... Were the English upset when Hitler bombed London??? We were quite P***ed off at the Japanese after pearl harbor and the kamakazie pilots. Accidents do happen and it is a tragedy when they do. However Americans do not fly commercial airliners into skyscrapers....... Perhaps you should pay attention in history class and read current events watch the BBC you will learn alot...

I havent tried backwards...Yet!!! We have tried kata facing every direction and opposite mirror image and even with eyes closed

:lol: It sounds like youve met my son!!! Hes 8 and he still does things that.... "seemed like a good idea at the time".....

The topic of this thread is that america is not that great. Think about that statement. All countries can not please everyone. In most of the world you can not get all the freedoms and opportunities that you can in the US. Some argue that the US should give more money and resources to the rest of the world. Its easy for them to say this when they are not paying for it. The amount of taxes that we pay to pay for all of this is quite painful. I think we might have payed less under king George. The US does not have to please the rest of the world and is entitled to serve in its best interests, just as every other country. If we all could stop trying to kill each other all the time,money and resorces could be used to improve the world instead of destroy it.......