vertigo

I don't think I have a trademark technique I am far more inclined to use an arm technique than a kick. My kicks are so much weaker than, say, my elbow strike. I'm not a big fan of knifehand blocks/strikes though ... so there: No trademark techniques, just, umm... preferences?

I would have done the same. There is nothing wrong with defending yourself in the slightest; there is nothing I have run across in being a Christian that says we can't defend ourselves from attack. You hit them in the solar plexus, probably knocked their wind out, nothing more... if you had then gone on to kick them while they were down, it'd be a different story, but you did all that was necessary to defend yourself, nothing more, nothing less. You did the right thing

nice...

Caffiene seems to do me more harm than good when working out... this might just be me, but I'm pretty sure that its general. Anyone else know for sure? Another pick-me-up (other than coffee)... I wouldn't really know If decaf coffee works for you, go with that. Maybe gatorade or powerade?

No tearing from me, Dijita. I agree.. the only tournament I've competed in; conciously: as my kata was going on.. I couldn't remember the next sequence!.. fortunatly, I had just practiced it enough to the point where "reflex" took over and I finished it no problem.. I'd have to agree that tournaments/competition are a good way to measure ability. Not necessarily in a self-defense situation; but on some levels it definitely tests your karate knowledge.

I'd have to agree with Dijita.. if this continues, see a podiatrist.. About my freshman year in high school, during basketball, I began getting terrible knee and ankle pains.. Sure enough, flat feet. Saw a podiatrist and I have been wearing orthodics for about 5 years..

I've thought about doing this... I think I'll try it when I get home for spring break next week... wonder which ugly mistake I'm going to notice first

Started at 18.. never really had a chance to train in any MA before I hit college, so I guess I started as soon as I could

I'm so sorry to hear that. May you and his family both find peace during this difficult time. We're all behind you.

Sorry, but I have a feeling "dancing" in a fight does nothing but hurt your fighting from a self-defense situation... In a fight, I'd be far more concerned with defending myself than looking good doing it...

Congratulations on getting your green belt, Mu Ryuk!

Well, I figure I'll throw my opinion in here too... Who cares how big someone is? If they can pull it off, then they can. Are they a bad example to the class? Not necessarily.. if they still have every ounce of knowledge and skill that a skinnier counterpart would have, what difference does that make in the dojo? Just my opinion

Welcome to the forums

Good morning to you also! Welcome to KF

You spend most of your free time on karateforums.com

I like the open discussion. Generally speaking, everyone is very open about their opinions/ideas/experiences, yet understanding of other ideas. I love talking karate here! Thanks to all!

Exactly! It seems more often than not, if I clean my room.... I can't find anything! I'd rather keep it somewhat messy and know where things are

Same here.. past that, we don't use any japanese in the dojo. For beginner classes, usually our sensei uses both japanese and english names for techniques so we eventually learn the names for techniques.

I have never been involved in a fight... so no fighting experience here!

Ohh... ok. Since I'm not a black belt, I'll throw out my thoughts on how I see black belts... The black belts (and even a few senior students, who I know will eventually reach bb) that I know are essentially my karate "roll models". They understand karate very well for their respective levels. Even with that though, they are still very personable, easy to talk to, willing to help you. They are not just my teachers, I also consider them my friends. Is that what you meant? If not... umm.... oops?

Accept it!! I think the same thing happens to everyone...

I'm not sure I get your point... Deeper stances are harder to sweep, light stances are easier. not necessarily.. if all of their weight is on their front foot (where it shouldn't be), if you can pull a sweep, it should be pretty effective. If it is a balanced stance though, (if I remember right, forward stance should be 70-30 back foot-front foot), it would be difficult to sweep... the person can more or less quickly pick up their front foot and set it back down without too much difficulty.

I see black belt as a tough goal to shoot for. It will open new challenges when I get it, and will continually be a challenge to work for it. What can I say, I'm a sucker for challenges I enjoy... bring it on!! You do realize this is worth about 4 U.S. cents? Hmmm...

Welcome to the forums!

It all depends on your division... Since I've only competed in one-step kumite, I'll share my thoughts on that. For my kumite event, yes, I had a few set moves that I kept in the back of my mind. This was pretty reasonable considering the only attacks we had were step in punch head and step-in punch stomach. (one would attack twice head, then twice stomach [with the other person blocking and countering], then switch sides, so 4 attacks per person). I wanted a few set techniques that I knew I could perform strongly.. One thing that seemed to help me in this division was energy. The people who usually won the spars were the ones who threw as much speed and power into their attacks [or blocks and counters] with a strong kiai attached. Now, if you're a higher belt and/or do a different type of sparring in tournaments; you can completely disregard most of my post and listen to someone else with more experience :P (Good luck in your tournament )