June1

My friend recently (this week) got me hooked on Jakalope! As well, like Kieran-Lilith, I love Evanescence. I mostly like rock and alternative, and some pop as well. Sarah McLachlan also makes my list, and I can't forget Indian music. I'm talkin' Bollywood stuff!! Even though I am not Indian, I adore it.

Laughing sooo hard until I can't breathe. That just makes me laugh even more! And of course, karate training. Kata, in particular.

What is the purpose of these trees?

That's awesome, krunchyfrogg! Glad you're getting back into the swing of things. Don't get discouraged; you'll be alright. Hey, I just noticed that everyone who has posted here is a blue belt (number of posts)! Cool!

That tends to happen often! Not the impressing part, but the hit in the face c/o the nunchaku.

Awwww. I guess we're all in the same boat.

You must be in class as I'm writing this. Oooh!! Plz let us know how it went!

What the...? Are you serious? So we speak in slang all the time in the dojo? :0

Yellow belt in Shotokan. I'm guessing that I'll be grading by the beginning of March. Here's hopin'! And, krzychicano, I think that an 11 or 12 year-old would be happy about the black belt, since it really is an accomplishment, but would probably not understand what it truly means on a more spiritual and mental level as opposed to a practical level.

Our dojo's system is white, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, brown, and black. Of course, each belt receives three stripes: 2 black and 1 red, which signifies that you are ready to grade. It takes about 3 months to get each belt, until you get to brown, where you have to grade for each stripe.

The southern states? I heard it mentioned in geography class. The southern states are mostly Baptist Christian, which earned them the nickname, JesusLand. Right?

Awww. LOL! That's hilarious!

LOL. The only thing I've gotten away with is wearing jewelry during class. I did that today, actually. I had a ring and several bracelets (those rubber ones), as well as my cross necklace. I normally keep my ring and necklace on in class and no one says anything. I at least took out my hoop earrings today, though. I knew that I'd probably be so clumsy as to rip them out of my ears while doing kata or something. Ouch!

Wow. I wasn't 100% sure what a McDojo was, but thanks to you guys, things are so much clearer. Hey, aefibird, just how short a span of time are we talking here? Let's say it takes between 4-6 years to earn a black belt. How many in a McDojo?

This is a great thread idea!!! I guess you could say I'm from North North America. In other words, Canada. Oh, jeez... that was lame. Well, can't stop now. The US would be Central North America, and Mexico would be South North America.

Pinky finger... *sniffle* Hey, look at that! I'm a blue belt!

Ditto, Kev! Although I've only been practicing karate for 4 months, I know this dojo is amazing. I like what I see!

I'm Catholic and my sensei is Jewish, just like the majority of the students that go to our dojo. There is another student there, a little boy (who I haven't seen in a while, actually), who is Muslim. As you can see, we all don't consider our religions to affect our training. In fact, I pray during our moments of meditation for a good class every time. I consider MA to be a gift. From whom... well, only God knows.

We definitely have it in Shotokan. It is used, in fact, in our very first kata, Heian Shodan. It's the fourth move in the series of movements. One of my favourite stances!

Ditto.

With regards to your first question, GhostFighter, I think it would be possible to break the patella (knee cap) if done with enough force. What bone in particular do you mean, though? The femur (thigh bone), fibula or tibia (bones below the knee)? As for the second question, I have a feeling that the uppercut would be a bit safer. OSU!

LOL! I know! It's great! When I first posted this question, I thought it was a long shot, but I had a feeling that someone would have to answer sometime.

I definitely will! There's nothing better than a good, hard karate (or general MA) class to make you feel better in every aspect.

Awww! I don't mean to bring everybody down! I was just curious. I guess I regret not starting MA earlier. But in a way, I'm glad things worked out this way. I feel like I'm more mature to appreciate karate the way I do.

What do the crusades have to do with MA? I'm sorry, maybe I missed something.