Jinxx0r

my most painful injury was torn ligaments in my back. Don't even know what I did to cause it. Took me over a year to finally heal properly (to where I only get stiff instead of excrutiating pain). Basically couldn't twist or jump during this time. It still bothers me to this day and may never be the same, but usually takes about 2 hours of working out/practicing before it really starts to get stiff. Back injury/pain is the worst... that and it never seems to be the same again.

I would recommend using weight watchers. In 6 months using it I lost 47 pounds (from 235 to 187). Using that and my MA training have really made a difference. It's amazing how much your diet affects your weight loss (instead of only working out). It sounds obvious, but a lot of people don't do it, hehe. good luck.

Don't mind at all, I live and train in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.

It's a Taoist saying/quote. I read it in a book on kendo. It basically means if you try to do too many things they will all suffer. You'll never really experience both of them fully. In the context of the book it was about picking the art that you love and sticking with it and giving yourself fully to it. *shrugs* sounded appropriate to me for this thread, hehe

hehe, reminds me of the movie, "Pink Panther." I was just thinking the same thing (calling out in the dark) Kato..... I was thinking Remo Williams... hehe.

I was under the impression that the change to the name Soo Bahk Do was made more to distinguish the USTSDMDK from the many off-shoot TSD organizations that have sprung up over the years (I may be wrong though...). Does anyone know whether or not the Soo Bahk Do organization still uses the older base forms (i.e Pyung Ahn, Passai, Naihanchi, etc...). When I left in the early 90's they were just rolling out the Yuk Ro hyungs... At that time I thought they we were just expanding the curriculum to show more of the chinese influences... However the wording of your post makes me wonder if the intent was to eventually do away with the Japanese influenced forms... to answer your question, yes, Soo Bahk Do uses Pyunk Ahn (I believe 1-5, don't know the exact number because I haven't gotten through them yet, but I watch others do them in class), Chil Sung 1-7, Passai, Naihanchi (sp), there are also other advanced forms as well as some specific weapons forms. I don't know if the weapons forms that are taught at our dojang are considered "standard" (by the US MDKSBD federation), but I believe they are, but don't hold me to that .

"When chasing two cats, you will catch neither" -

One of my instructors, who is in his early fifties, is not in the best of shape. We were having a discussion on fitness, and a younger student asked him if he was in good enough shape to kick him in the head... the instructor said sure... on the second kick. There are many things you can do in MA that don't require you to be a Mr fitness USA for... hehe. That being said, there is a mind/body harmony that you should strive for in MA. If you have a McDonalds body you may have a harder time bringing your mind and body togther...

totally agree...

In Soo Bahk Do the belt is Midnight Blue, not black. There is no such thing as a black belt. Black comes to signify that you've "finished" your training. This midnight blue belt is symbolic of your continual quest for perfection... you're not there but always trying to get there (even though you can never really reach perfection). There is a young man in my dojang who is 14 and is a Cho Dan. I have no doubt in my mind that he could handle himself in any "adult" situation. In the dojang I train in, everything is earned... you don't "advance" to more difficult techniques until you show a true proficiency in your current technique. It takes a minimum of 42 months to even be considered for the Dan Shim Sa. I've seen students from many different do jangs and nothing leads me to believe that there is anything McDojo about Soo Bahk Do (yes, I know, other opinions may vary, but the US SBDMDK seems to be structured to stay away from this). JMO.

Hi, I'm just curious what the difference is between these two systems (or organizations). From what I've read, they were started by the same person (Grandmaster Hwang Kee), but now they are seperate. I had read that the name was changed from Tang Soo Do to Soo Bahk Do, because Tang implied that it was Chinese and that Hwang Kee wanted it to stand out as a Korean art... Any info or links would be much appreciated. Thanks.