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I don't know why but almost every time I tried pot it just made me incredibly sleepy, which isn't much fun at parties, so I didn't try it very often. Unfortunately alcohol doesn't do much for me either, I might as well have "designated driver" tattooed on my forehead.

From what I understand they're two different things. Danchu is specifically the point at the very center of the sternum, whereas like you said chudan just means generally mid-level. So I guess the danchu would be considered a chudan kyusho (sp?), a mid-level vital point.

I don't think many people would class it as healthy, but many do agree it's a less dangerous substance than nicotine or alchohol. So, I'd say the question of whether it's good or bad for you doesn't have much to do with why it's illegal.

Er, personally I'd recommend poor quality acid for those effects, Piastre, pot won't get most people there. (Not to say either drug can actually cause schizophrenia, of course, but similar symptoms, maybe.)

I don't follow it closely but I think they have yet to prove that pot poses any danger to your health, and it's not physically addictive. Of course it can impair your judgment (or I think more accurately, give you an excuse to do something irrational knowing you can just blame the drug later), if you get high and start driving or wandering around construction areas or any of the other brilliant things doped up people decide to do then you'll probably have a problem. Also, you have to remember you never REALLY know what you're smoking, it could be laced with anything under the sun. And, of course, if it suits your personality, you could turn into one of those people who wants nothing but to sit on the couch, get high, watch daytime television and say "duuuuuuuude" a lot. In that way it's as addicting as video games for some folks. That was the most common negative effect it had on my high school pot-head friends. The ones that managed to hurt/kill themselves or ended up in prison were mostly drunk or in a couple cases on hard stuff like coke and heroin, and I guess within a couple decades here the smokers will start dropping. When I was in high school my dad said if I quit smoking he'd give me a quarter bag of pot per month. I think was kidding.

Sounds like I won't get many "me too!'s" here but my all-time favorite musician is Bela Fleck. Aside from that I'm a jazz lover, admittedly not a very savvy one. ...do you have room in your heart for the 5-string banjo? It's ROUND!!

Then I'd be fine, if we move on to a stretching exercise or take a 2 minute break I can recover. It's when it hits me at the end of one exercise and then we start another--once it starts if I push myself I'm down for at least 10 minutes, waiting for my ability to stand up to come back. However! This week I've doubled my protein intake (which still adds up to less than what I should probably be getting from what I've read), and gotten through 2 practices without bowing out. My endurance is still pretty sad of course, but it's different. I got fatigued and muddy-headed and felt sick, but it was very different from what usually hits me, I was able to push myself through it to some extent and recovered during the few moments between exercises. I guess I'd say it just felt like normal fatigue, as opposed to wondering "sheesh what is WRONG with my body??" I'll have to give it a few weeks before I decide if I've got a solution or not, but I'm kind of optimistic. Thanks again for all your replies! This is a great forum.

Sorry if you've already tried this stuff, I'm backing up stuff on my work PC and bored out my mind, hence puttering around here. You could have him use the IP address instead of the domain name to get here, if it works it could indicate a name resolution problem. I'd still try the cookies first, since going against the IP wouldn't use the ifroggy.com cookie, so the corrupted cookie could also explain it. Where did 'ifroggy' come from anyway, if I may ask??

I'd take Rushman's suggestion and have him blow away his cookies. I once had trouble getting into another forum I visit--from the look & feel I bet it's based on the same package this one is--and clearing out my cookies fixed it, the one for that domain must have been corrupted. Other than that I don't know...dns issue, firewall software, weird browser version or setting...would need to know what error he's getting and such. Could have him dial up on one of the freebie ISPs just to see if it's the service or his box.

Try this one: http://www.dragon-tsunami.org/Dtimes/Pages/articledt16.htm

Actually it's been like this since day 1. I didn't make it through the first practice I attended, which my sensei most definitely toned down for my benefit. I figured my endurance was just that pathetic and all the more reason to continue, but after more than 6 months with little or no improvement I'm feeling very impatient with myself! But then again, I happened to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror the other night and realized "oh my god, I can see my abdominal muscles!!" which really goes a long way towards making me feel better.

Thanks for your replies. It's pretty frustrating and downright embarrassing--ours is a very young branch dojo, all the other students are also white belts (we have two at 8th kyu, the rest of us are 10th kyu), some are much older than I and I think it's fair to say of the 10th kyu students I'm in better shape overall. We even have an asthmatic and a diabetic. But, nobody else ever has to bow out of practice! I've never actually passed out before so I'm not sure if that's what's coming, but if I try to push through it my vision does start to tunnel just at the point where I know I have to bail. Ah well, sounds like there's not much more I can do about it besides what I'm aleady doing. I can't say I'm not weak at this point (...hate......pushups...), but I've yet to consider quitting. My strength, technique & flexibility are all coming along nicely, hopefully endurance will follow. (I hope soon--I think I could pass the 9th kyu test at this point if I could only remain standing for the whole thing!)

I've been taking karate for the past 7 months or so, prior to which my lifestyle was exceptionally sedentary. Now I train at the dojo twice a week, and work out at home 2-3 days a week (running on the treadmill, jumping rope, working on kata and/or practicing techniques with a punching bag). I'm 27, now in much better shape with grand improvements in strength and general fitness, but I'm having this ongoing problem with endurance. During training I frequently get to the point where I start feeling parched, sweating, shaking, dizziness, nausea, boiling sensations in the abdomen, the works. It comes on very suddenly, usually right when I stop whatever exercise I'm doing (working on kicking techniques combined with footwork almost always does me in) and stand still for a moment. It quickly builds to the point where it feels like if I don't sit down immediately I'm either going to pass out or throw up right there, I often have to bow out and it can take me as long as 10-15 minutes before I can stand up without getting dizzy again. I try to drink as much water as I can take throughout the day and shortly before practice. I went to the doc a month ago, she thought maybe hypoglycemia so I've been monitoring my blood sugar levels at the dojo. The levels are well within normal ranges, so she's pretty much ruled that out. However, she did note that my diet is much higher in carbs than it should be and that I may not be getting enough protein. So today I read the Protein post in this forum, and have suddenly realized that I should be getting 100-115 grams per day, while on an average day I'm probably getting something like half that. Nobody's mentioned much about what happens when you don't get enough protein, do you think this could explain what I've been going through?? (I guess the answer is probably "well dur, obviously!" but I'd like to hear your thoughts on it anyway. I always thought of my dietary habits as pretty healthy, never really thought about how carb-heavy they really are.) By the way, I've really been enjoying this forum since I stumbled into it last week! I've already learned a ton from it, and it's great to get a peek at all the different styles and perspectives that are out there. Thanks in advance for any insights you might have!

One application of the spear-hand to the throat move in a kata I've learned is to perform the strike, then press the finger tips down while jerking back, at least throwing the opponent off balance and perhaps breaking the clavicle bone. Just thought I'd throw that in...

I'm angry with my dictionary right now, I don't believe it knows squat about what a real word is. After a heated argument with a friend about whether people who use the UNword "irregardless" should be shot, I brandished my dictionary at him--and it was in there!! I've crossed it out, of course, but clearly it's not fit to be considered an authority on anything.

Yes, but I'm very much the beginner, 10th kyu, traditional Okinawan. I think the next piece of equipment I want at home is a makiwara; my understanding is that daily use does much to increase power and focus? My sensei knows where I can get the tall standing board type, same as what we have at the dojo, which is what I've been leaning towards after looking around a bit. I guess they come with two striking pads (one lower for kicks) and a metal bracket, then I just have to build a platform to mount the bracket on. I think the pads are straw or something similar covered with leather. You guys sure have a lot of smilies on this forum!

Joecooke, what kind of makiwara do you have? Indoor/outdoor, storebought/homemade, etc? Nice to see other Goju students out there!

Hello, another new member here. I read somewhere that gekisai dai ichi & ni are not unique to Goju, I'm not sure what other styles incorporate them though. I don't have any specific sites but have seen them outlined on the web, just searching for "goju & kata" brings up quite a bit of relevant stuff. I do have one book that has detailed outlines with pics, titled Goju-ryu Karate-Do by Motoo Yamakura (volume 1 has those 2, sanchin and maybe a couple more...my copy's aaaaaall the way out in the garage so I'm not sure ).