parkerlineage

Good luck, and I love your couch, Zorbasan.

Headhunters tend to score more points in tourneys because it's more visible than a body shot. In my experience.

Like knocking over a 6'2" 200 pound guy yesterday in my demo by placing my fingertips on a bag he was holding, and then closing my hand into a fist?

Yes, do tell, since I taught myself how to do this. I do it as one strike, with the back foot, so far, but I'm certain I could be gravely mistaken as to the proper application.

I was demoing to the kids at my dad's school. K-5, and then 6-8. Thanks for the advice, guys. I've participated in many of my instructor's demos, before I grew from the cute little kid to the kid that you're shocked at how good he is to where I am now, which is not cute, not suprising, but just tall and scary. I don't do them much anymore.

Who's the other nutter that voted no?

I did my second demo where I was in charge ever today, and I did it essentially solo. It went pretty well. I gave some history, called up some volunteers and taught them how to punch or kick or do a block set, showed some joint locks on volunteers, threw my sai and bo around a bit, did some fancy wushu stuff, and then it was over. Anybody have some demo suggestions that I could use? I'm not quite sure how I feel about how it went, but I'm always looking to improve.

I'm going to do it, dang it, if it takes me the rest of my life.

Oh, another thing. Is ki measurable? Maybe I'm thinking too much like Star Wars, but do some people allegedly have more ki than others?

Those are two different yet exactly the same instances. In my opinion, "Ghosts" are no more than merely Satan's angels imitating whatever they want, in order to fool humans. I don't understand why He wouldn't. And I've yet to read this Judas thing, but if God deemed it important, why wouldn't He have insipired people to keep it in the scriptures. Although I must say that the entire Council of Naicia really bugs me.

Best of luck! I voted no, 'cause I thought it was kind of a ridiculous question, and somewhere inside my mind it was funny. I don't know your training - but if you've trained, and try your hardest, you'll do fine.

That's really cool! I like that.

It's great to have you around, Jiffy, even if you did get my name wrong, and beat me to black belt, and steal my idea of doing a little thank you post. Seriously, though, your input is quite valued - you and I have had some of the best discussions I've had on this site. Keep it up!

I don't really believe in supernatural phenomena, because that implies that God is not in complete control, which I believe He is. So again, it really goes back to the origin of ki. I have no problem believing that it's a good force of some sort that is naturally in people - okay, I have a little problem - it's just such an inexact science that I'm not entirely sure what to believe. Does anybody have any good articles/reports for or against its existance, and explaining theorized origins?

Some interesting views, here. I like what I see. I know I need to be patient - and I have a feeling I was borderline hopeless when I started. I guess you're right - those really do fit two completely different categories. In terms of kids that actually don't want to be there, I teach this one kid who only does private lessons, once a week, and never practices, and I kind of feel like screaming at nobody in particular, "MY TIME IS MORE VALUABLE THAN THIS!!"

Again, I say, "To defeat something, one must first understand it." I probably heard that from someone, somewhere...

Didn't we have this argument already?

I dunno...I thought I was special...

How do you guys deal with that student that just doesn't get it? You know the one. You say, "Step forward with your other foot," and they move their hand to a different block position. You say, "Other hand," and they step back. Or their balance makes you wonder if they have gravity attacks or something... Or - my personal favorite - the ones who don't want to be there, but their parents make them, so they make your life a living h**l while you're teaching them. I try to regard them just as I do the other students, but it's so hard... Your thoughts?

I don't get it. What are these courses?

Anybody who says that kata isn't effective in fighting hasn't seen me fight! I won my first intermediate tournament with a technique straight from the kata I was in the process of learning. I scored a pivotal point in a junior black competition with the opening technique of the video I posted on here. Kata is karate. All techinque is in kata; all principles, all theories, are expressed through the movements, which are really just strung together to make them more understandable. Besides, you can't spell karate without kata. (I'm so clever)

Will try...

Is the side kick thrown with the front or back leg? In either event, a simple drag-step (front foot drags back to the rear foot, which moves as though kicked out of the way into your stance again) to the outside corner (whichever puts you at their back) usually works for me, followed by a pretty roundhouse kick or front hand jab to the back/side of the head (is that legal in your classes?). As for a rear leg roundhouse, if you step up the circle and away from the kick (so, if you're standing in your stance, up the cricle means back foot making either side of the bottom half of a circle in which your front foot is the center), it's fairly easy to lunge in and use your hands while their foot is coming down. Of course, my favorite is to throw a spinning back kick to the chest/stomach/face, but that takes some accuracy and tricky timing, plus long legs helps. Hope those ideas can stimulate some of your own!

If the learning curve stayed the same all the time, it'd get too stressful, or too boring. These things come and go with time; just keep on keeping on, and remember that you're probably not as bad as you tell yourself you are.

Anybody ever considered making a kata/fighting techniques for jian and dao, one in each hand? Maybe use the dao in your front hand, and the jian in the back? I got this idea a few days ago, and can't wait to try it out. Any tips?