Piastre

Are there many boxing fans on this forum? If so, did anyone see the Freitas - Casamayor fight? The coverage of boxing is APPALLING in Australia.

That's absolutely true. Some karate people "suddenly" became ninjitsu masters in the early 90's when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were popular, simply because it was an excellent marketing ploy.

Interesting point Jiggy... It might be important to remember that in science, while energy is CONSERVED, it is also converted from one form to another. So if we're made of a "life energy" for want of a better term, then perhaps after we're dead, that life energy is converted to some other form. That is of course assuming that the total amount of matter in the universe is always constant. Interesting meta-physical discussion!

Man's innate fear of death is the very reason for the existence of religion...no fear of death, no need for heaven, nirvana, paradise....etc. Man's mind cannot cope with the thought of ceasing to exist.

It hasn't started in Australia yet, but some of the feedback I've gotten from some boxing fanatic friends in the US was that they were VERY disappointed in the movie overall, but were surprised by Will Smith's performance.

Who in here kicks off their leading leg, in the manner of Bruce Lee? What are the reasons for doing this and the advantages/disadvantages. I do it, but it's very useful for me because I'm left legged and right handed, so I can stand in a conventional stance (left leg forward, lead with left hand) and still punch hardest with my right hand.

Exactly. It is a very complex system, where the "target", ie somebody's head for example, is moving. This makes the change in momentum of the entire system, not just the punchers' fist, difficult to determine. Other factors also come into play in determining the effectiveness of a blow, such as whether the blow was "slipped", did it land flush, the angle is was delivered from and where on the target did it land.

I suggest anyone interested in the physics of a strike familiarise themselves with the concept of impulse.

I think you need to be selective whenever cross-training in different styles. I certainly don't advocate that training needs to be completely homogenous, just that certain styles may complement each other better. The good thing about comparing the kata's of different styles is that while the techniques may appear different aesthetically, the bunkai doesn't change.

Bassai Dai is a great kata! It always fascinates me to see how different styles can do the same kata so differently (I recently saw some Shotokan practisioners doing it and it was barely recognisable) My goal for the year is to increase my fitness so I don't keel over at end of a 6 hour grading. To ensure I train to the best of my ability with the gifts I have, and not to be disheartened when things don't come so easily

It's important to differentiate between "strength" and "power" As stated, power is the rate at which mechanical work is performed. This is dependent on both force (mass x acceleration) and velocity. The best way to achieve both is with correct technique. Being a physicist/mechanical engineer, I could go into much greater detail, but it's really boring!

I read somewhere many years ago that a black belt could now call themselves an "advanced beginner"

Thanks for the greetings. I'm from Melbourne, so I don't live near the fires. However my girlfriends family is from Sydney and it missed them by about 2 kilometers.

Hi all, Stumbled upon this forum by accident, but as I'm a karate (and martial arts in general) tragic, am glad to have done so! I'm 28 years old from Australia, and currently train in Shukokai karate after having done some kung fu as a youngster.