cleung

For me, the Bruce Lee movies are still very special, maybe because of their impact on martial arts at that time.

Of course, Bruce Lee's ferocity, especially in Fists of Fury can't be matched. To see an article on Bruce Lee; http://www.FreeSpiritActivewear.com/martialartsartbrucelee.htm

The Way of the Dragon and Fists of Fury from the Bruce Lee days and Crouching Tiger from present days.

Cold water wash with regular detergent in the washer. That's what I do with my Century uniforms. No problem at all. Very easy to iron too and then hang dry.

Century heavyweight uniforms are good. I have a red one and a black one. They have lasted for years.

Cotton canvas is the heavyweight uniforms are were great in tournaments for forms competition because you can hear the snaps when you made your moves. However, since there's been more extreme type of forms competition which focused more on flash rather than just plain old technique, I've been seeing less of the canvas uniforms. I think they are great since they are so durable and long lasting. A new one will feel like you are wearing a tent though so they may be somewhat uncomfortable until after a few washings. Some people like to use their heavyweight uniforms just for competitions while using regular cotton during sessions at the studio. That's what I did.

It might be your nerves since tournaments are in a different environment compared to your own studio. Forms competitors go through the same thing, many beginners even forgetting their forms too. It's just a matter of competing more often.

Do some other types of training at home. Cross train.

I've had both of my ACLs replaced in my knees and the recoveries from the surgeries was even tougher than the actual injuries themselves. But there is life after knee surgeries. Do everything that the rehab people tell you to do and don't rush things. Take the time to learn or do something else that doesn't require your knees. Your leg might never feel the way it was before the surgery but you can still do martial arts. Maybe not the same way as before but you can still be very much involved. I'm still competing and do pretty good even though my techniques have changed quite a bit. I can't do certain things anymore but I'm able to do other things too. Do whatever martial arts you can with your post surgery and rehab body. Good luck to you.

You can visualize your forms and other martial arts techniques. You can also learn new techniques in the meantime and/or get exposed to other martial arts via video. Good luck with your recovery.

You can certainly do your cardio and situps during different times. The situps strengthen and tone your ab muscles while the cardio burns off the fat.

You can increase your strength while doing forms if you hold your stances lower and hold your position for awhile. You can also do very slow kicks - that is slow when extending and retracting your leg. All good kickers do slow kicks as training.

Stretch at both times, before and after. Of course, do a warm up before you do your intial stretching.

Good luck to you then.

I am no stranger to knee problems as I've had two ACL surgeries. YOu can expect some soreness after a good workout but it they continue to be sore for say 48 hours or more, then you may have overdid it. Scale down your workouts a bit and see what happens. If after doing so and your knees still hurt for 48 hours or more, then you may indeed have something going on in there. If in doubt, always check it out with a doctor. You don't want to do anything that will aggravate a present medical condition - which will ultimately make your medical bills even higher in the long run.

If you want to do acrobatics as well as gain muscle, you will definitely need a very careful balance. You can do weights and pylometrics to help you gain power in jumping. That will build some muscle but of course heavy lifting will be more effective. You will have to monitor how well your acrobatics is doing. If you gain weight faster than your acrobatics can handle, then you need to cut back a bit on the heavier lifting. You may need to decide which is the primary goal - acrobatics or muscle?

I have a question for you broadsword users. When doing fast sequences, do you use more figure 8's or reverse figure 8's?

I think the key is if Bruce Lee stayed in his weight class he would have done well since he was so far ahead in the game. I don't think it's that necessary to guess how he would have done against much larger guys in sports combat since most events do have weight classes.

So it's like turning a jump spin cresent kick into a flying side kick position, then landing that on the floor. I've seen it in nan quan and some other open wushu forms. Is there a name for it?

Thanks for your reply. Is there a progression for training for this kick? And what is this particular kick called?

For you wushu folks who do nan quan and other forms which involve that big jumping crescent kick that lands with the entire side of the body on the floor (don't know what it's called), how is this kick landed without hurting oneself?

I prefer to use my own open forms whenever possible.

There's a NASKA event in NYC next year. Check their website to see their schedule.

That's a neat story. I've been in the odd division where I was the only competitor too since I'm in the senior divisions too. In these cases, the judges automatically give you first place. Sometimes, they still make you do your form in order to give you your award!

I see those two kata a lot in the traditional divisions - heck, I've used both of them before too before I switched to soft style.