vertigo

Congratulations!

I don't own a cat, nor do I really consider myself a bigtime "cat person".. but kittens are way too cute for their own good Good for you for adopting it

Just saw episode III this morning... was a pretty good movie I have to agree w/ others - watching Yoda doing all his crazy flips with a lightsaber is great I found it a little odd watching the movie... and generally knowing what would happen Like no matter what, we all knew Anakin was going to turn into Darth Vader. It's like wondering how Titanic was gonna turn out - well of course the ship was going to sink!

Just give it your all, and that's all you can ask of yourself. I'm sure you'll do fine, just stay calm; by now I'm sure you know what you need to. Good luck on your test, and let us all know how it goes after its over.

Welcome to the forums Good luck on your upcoming test!

Welcome to KF, Nicole

Just a bit of overkill ... what's the phrase? - like swatting a fly with a buick?

At 120,000 rounds/minute (or 2,000 a second ), I doubt you'd feel much of anything

I'd have to agree with all the posts above (Great! Now I have nothing to say! Thanks a lot everyone! ) One must-bring item would be any sort of first-aid item (bandages, athletic tape, etc.)... and naturally, the one item I have forgotten at both of my tournaments (blisters really really hurt the 5th time you run your kata over them ) Grenadier mentioned something about a banana. A very good call... if I am not mistaken, is it the potassium in bananas help your muscles from cramping?? If not... oh well, they taste good and help fill your stomach a bit Ahh! No wonder I never win at tournaments!

Welcome to the forums, Jordan!

I've got the same problem... just make sure whatever you do, don't use too much of it - don't wanna be flying all over the floor with no grip. I'd say that any of the suggested methods above would work... I have never tried any kind of powder, I'm sure that would work well though; I usually just end up living with it until I get enough dirt on my feet to where I can slide better.. happens real quick on those long tournament days

^ Exactly Just relax and enjoy the experience.. remember, you're probably not the only first-timer there! Enjoy your tournament!

Welcome to KF, Neko

Yep My school has orange and purple but no blue... It all depends on where you are... to each their own, I guess.

I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean but for our semi-kyu, it really doesn't mean much.. for example, i was semi-8th this past semester - i was still an 8th kyu, and still was able to test for 7th when testing period came up (passed full 7th this time around )... does that answer your question?

Wow! someone else who has a system like this We use semi-kyu and full-kyu Congrats on passing your test, ncole!

I should remember it; it was only 5 months ago! Just do what you've been doing for the past few months, you'll do fine. Good luck!

Agreed. Just throw as much energy as you've got into everything. And remember, it's a learning experience! Get as much out of it as you can Good luck!

Welcome to the forums, Andrew

I concur. Good luck on your comeback

I just pulled a few .15 seconds

#1 - 2.66 seconds?? that's quite a while did you mean .266? #2 - what site are you talking about?

Thanks for the article, Killer Miller. That's cool to hear.. Sensei Nishiyama has come up to Minnesota twice since I started karate (he comes up once every fall and spring), but I haven't been able to go to one of his seminars yet. I hope to one of these years, as I continue karate

I don't think having advanced students skip the basics is a good idea at all. I have to agree that by the time one is a black belt, they have a firm grasp of basics. However, that doesn't necessarily mean they are as good as possible, nor are they always going to stay that well (without work, their basics will deteriorate). Basics are the foundation of your training, and they constantly need maintenence and fine-tuning to keep the rest of your techniques going strong. This is all in my beginner opinion; but so far, these are my observations and thoughts.

Agreed... even if after a while it starts to feel better, give it the opportunity to fully heal. As far as your "doctor - no doctor" question... I'd say as long as you don't notice it being noticably worse than before, you should be ok. One side condition though.. if after a little while, you notice it's not getting any better at all, then see a doctor. Of course, I am not a doctor... and ultimatly this is your call... tread carefully. Knee injuries are not fun. Good luck recovering.