three60roundhouse

I cross train. In tae kwon do and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I think starting BJJ was the best thing I ever did for my training.

My dream school is Swarthmore College in PA....I just hope I get in early....

The SAT is evil.....Monkeygirl, I did better the second time, going from a 1400 to a 1440. So good luck! Are you taking any SAT2 tests? Bah. I hate being a senior!

Anyone know any big karate or tae kwon do tournaments coming up in NJ, or even NY? Nothing ever seems to happen here!

Where is the US Open? Do they have a web site?

It doesn't matter whether I am wearing a t-shirt or not (I do about 75% of the time...other times it's a tank or sports bra.) It's just kind of annoying to have to re-tie my knots! Women's judogis are outrageously priced! I was going to buy one for BJJ, but having THAT gi come open is a good excuse to stop and take a breath Thanks guys!

I noticed that the guys in my dojang don't have the same....ahem....problems. Maybe it's my chest! I don't think that martial arts uniforms are really catered as well to both body types (especially my jiu-jitsu gi...which has no ties and totally falls open all the time!)

I have always trained in traditional tie karate-style uniforms, but I've been putting up with them for almost six years and I am tired of the strings coming undone! I want to try a V-Neck, and I want a good quality uniform that will last. Not too heavy, not too light. Does anyone have suggestions?

No LuckyBoxer - I mean the actual line down the center of the back from lapel to skirt that keeps the gi together - somehow MKimonos managed to make a gi with no seam!

A tournament is not the time or place to try out that new move you learned last week, or to futz around with your fanciest. DO WHAT WORKS BEST for you. Only your best sweeps, subs, and escapes. Don't panic if you get taken down right away. A lot of guys who do BJJ tournaments as white belts are also well-versed in Judo. Play your game....be aggressive...and don't eat too heavy a breakfast. Bring Gatorades and bananas/apples for in between matches. Good luck!

I have heard a lot of great things about Caique's schools....you are lucky to have a teacher who has produced such good fighters!

What is the instructor's name? Also, a good way to tell is by the seminars that take place at the school. Any reputable school is likely to have visiting black belts come once every six months or year or so to teach a seminar and to handle promotions! For example, Royler Gracie came to our school a few weeks ago...my teacher is a purple under Royler.

D'oh! I forgot about the weave. I always use gold weave, because they tend to last longer....and double weaves are just too thick for me. And the site for atama... https://www.atama-kimonos.com

I like Atama, except for the seam in the back, which is a little distracting from the guard. My other gi is a Machado. They have the best service...Luciana is very helpful and personable...wait until they have a sale going on - when there's a sale, the value cannot be beaten! https://www.mkimonos.com

Hey! My school doesn't teach the bo, but it's a weapon I am very interested in learning. I am planning on buying a cheap one just to start, but I need to know how to learn technique. Are there any books or videos in particular that you would recommend? Thanks a lot!

G95, I don't know if it's right to put a be all end all age on martial arts. I started when I was eleven and I think that's just fine. I was actually older than most of the kids in the class. Actually, all of them lol. Anyway, I believe 8 or 9 to be a great age. But then again, I have seen horrible 13 year old beginners and phenomenal 6 year olds....it goes on a kid ot kid basis!

At what schools are judo scholarships offered. LOL not like I can "become" a judo player in a year....but I have a friend who is very active in judo.

I agree with mayonnaise. I'm also not a fan of egg nog...oh god yuck!

Where can I find a club or something where I can learn rowing? I have a friend who is very athletic and actually has begun doing it at her university! it sounds awesome!

There wasn’t enough going on in my life – I was merely eight and had not yet begun to worry about boys (they had cooties), clothes (I liked sweats), or colleges (SAT? isn’t that what the cat did to the mat?). My life was uncomplicated and devoid of responsibility, well, besides feeding myself cookies and milk after school, that is. So came the fateful day when I mustered up the courage to ask my parents, “Mom, dad? I really want to learn the saxophone!” My dad loosened his tie and sighed, “But Clinton plays the sax.” “So?” “It’s like a thousand bucks,” said my mom in a Brooklyn accent as thick as an Irish sweater. “Um, ok. I guess the trombone is cool too. It’s like….spitting, I guess. Into a metal tube. Haha. Can I get that?” Thus began my foray into the glorious world of music. It’s not easy for someone unaccustomed to the way of, as I have come to affectionately refer to it, the glorified foghorn. It’s a term of endearment. I promise. Most parents dread buying children any sort of musical device out of the intense fear of a traveling cacophony of noise in the house. This is an understatement. I would parade around with my heavy metallic contraption having a contest with myself. How long would it take before I shattered the windows? My eardrums? My family members’ brains? I progressed – I learned to make my brothers shake, my mirror shake, the house shake. My blowfish cheeks and purplish lips were a testament to the sheer amount of time I spend being a traveling headache – a trombonist. Music has never been my thing. So it was no surprise that when volume was no longer my major concern, I was given the lowest parts only. I went from being a furious blast of wind to being “Trombone 3”. You know those hearing tests they give you at the doctors office where there’s a note so low in tone it’s barely audible? Well, if you drop that three or four octaves that would be the highest note in my average piece of music. In order to make myself produce these barge-like notes, I would make myself as “low” as possible – sinking into my chair, slouching over, and letting my pupils sink into the bottoms of my eyes. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t help. So when I went home, instead of actually practicing these hideous melodies, I would just try to blast a hole in my wall. It was more fun. Then came IHA. I went from being an insignificant mousey girl impersonating a member of the trombone section to BEING the trombone section. There had been no trombonist in years. Apparently the only legacy left behind by the last one was that she fell off the stage backwards at the Christmas concert. Great. Just FAN-tastic. Tomorrow is the Christmas concert of my junior year. I haven’t fallen off the stage yet, but I’ve been prepping myself for it for three years. There still exists this burning desire to try to huff and puff and blow the audience away with a mighty roar, but it’s been eight years since I chose the trombone (and decided to sever my political ties with my family), and I’ve learned dynamics now. I’ve actually grown taller than my slide, and emptying my spit valve on my enemies isn’t as alluring as it was in the fourth grade. My trombone sounds less and less like flatulence to me every day. Every once in a while, though, I make my own marching band and cause my skull to shake like a bobblehead. That, my friends, is music to my ears.

Maybe that's why I'm not a big fan of point sparring....aka glorified tag Once in a while it's ok, but I can't imagine focusing on it!

fencing is expensive! I looked it up before. Besides, I'm not really interested in it. I had a friend who did it and, it's not very exciting.

Haha. Yeah, but the scary thing was that as a 12 year old I did better in verbal than the national average...and it wasn't good at all My combined score? Hahaha. Math? What's that

I know. I took them last year also...and I took the SAT's when I was 12....so I've been getting them for four years!

Well, I just got the PSAT's back and I did a lot better than I did last year. My grades are good and I am involved with a regular job, but I'm the oldest of six kids and need to start thinking about college finances. Do you guys know of any American colleges or universities (any "tier" or quality school, please) that offer scholorships for tae kwon do, judo, or any other martial art? I think this info would benefit not only me but the other teenage members of the forum. Thanks a lot!