Jack

The "No Cardio" thing is something which is putting me off weightgain, considering the sheer amount of cardiac endurance I'll need to continue training, especially with our extremely intense gradings. I think a good plan for me would be the try to lower bodyfat, gain muscle definition and size if possible and generally try to be wiry and lean. This would involve lots of strength exercises but also a fair amount of intense cardio, lots of protein and average-low carbs, yes?

No. I partake in matches knowing that I will win some, and I will lose some. If I lose, I learn from it and shake the winner's hand. We are all winners if we are learning something new and improving, and trying to our best.

£350? Sounds like a McDojo to me.

So KickChick, would the emphasis on performing the upright barbell row correctly be to keep the elbows above the hands? I can see why some might not do that correctly.

Chicken is generally more lean than many other meat sources. Other sources of protein include dairy products, eggs, and oatmeal. And if you don't have all of those available, a good whey protein powder can never go amiss.

I agree with you there MA, timing is another very important skill - useful with footwork, keeping range, planting the strike at the right time, feinting effectively amongst a wide range of other things, but as you said yourself any one skill alone is insufficient. Being able to improve and use all the skills mentioned above, and some others not mentioned, will be very helpful. Ah yes, and this exercise was just a a beginning exercise to start off with. There are several variations you can play with when the practicioner is comfortable with this one, which doesn't just emphasise the feet. Regular sparring is a very effective training method, but only if performed properly and proper concentration is put on moving and striking correctly, instead of allowing it to degenerate into a sloppy fight lacking all strategy and skill, like many McDojo students allow their spars to turn into.

Welcome.

lol - this is making me feel guilty.

Sounds like a great oppurtunity you have there AO - Hope you have a great time! I'd wish you good luck on the grading but I'm sure you don't need it Let us know how it goes.

Thanks for the information Kickchick!

One essential part of training that may be very much overlooked is learning and diligently practicing the way of controlling the fighting range. Have you ever seen a truely skilled Martial Artist spar against one of his students? The 'master' will hang tantalisingly close to the student, but whenever he tries to strike the master is out of range. The master hardly tries, and avoids all of the student's attacks effortlessly, as he flails in vain. This is due to how efficiently he can control the fighting range. The essence of this is reaction, distance, timing, and footwork. You can practice and improve your skills at this with a simple two person drill. Have yourself and a training partner stand, opposite and facing each other. Have it so when your partner takes a step towards you, you take a step back. Mirror his footwork to maintain that comfortable distance no matter what. Some tips to help you when practicing this is to not look at his feet, but to look at his body. Learn to sense his movements from telegraphing. Also, you can try imagining a force connection your two belts, a certain distance that you must maintain. This may well seem awkward at first, but after much hard practice you will notice yourself quite easily controlling the fighting range. However, this is not the only training needed. You must learn to recognize the range of all of your strikes and your opponent's, as well as perceiving the distance correctly. When you can do this, and react to his movement properly, you will find yourself staying deceptively close to him, but when he strikes or moves towards you, you are already out of range. Have any of you trained this? If so, what was it like?

Hey, welcome to Karateforums.com What is the name of the art you practice, or would you like it to remain unknown? Just wondering. It looks like you've already inputted a lot of interesting content to our forums, and I look forward to reading more in the future. Again, welcome!

Thank you very much everybody. By the way, on the word of Upright Barbell Rows - I was making myself some decent muscle gains with this exercise and I havn't noticed any trouble. Nevertheless, would you think it wise to consider replacing this with a One-Armed Dumbell Row (The bent over one)?

I'd say two chat times is good, since it offers more flexibility than only one, and more availability to people over the world to find a chat which suits them more.

Same here. I'll close this thread, since it is more suited for General Discussions. Taokara please note we do not appreciate posting of the same message in two or more sections of the boards at the same time. Thanks!

I don't know the entire list or anything close to, but MSG is often found in crisps and other salted potato snacks, and Aspartame is an artificial sweetner found in diet fizzy drinks and squash drinks.

Yep, Thai Boxing would seem to fit your criteria, build, and attitude.

I'm sure with some organization and more sleep in the evening you can reform your eating habits, Ai. How 'do-able' does gaining one KG every month sound? A reasonably realistic target?

Of course, the Grandmaster syllabus is as follows... 1) The exasperated sigh of tired wisdom for when a student performs a move incorrectly. 2) The mysterious smile 3) Assorted skills at making metaphorical links between anything and mountains. 4) The hand-behind-back stance. 5) Beating several 300lb Samoan Wrestlers at once, with two moves. 6) Green Ki Balls - Dragonball Z style. 7) The ability on telling students to scrub the dojo floor after a lesson. The deadly 'One-finger-touch death grip' 9) Being 'absolutely sweet' Nah seriously, I believe one is only Grandmaster if they form the art itself.

Thanks very much for the warning. Luckily my dad has bad reactions to food with MGS in so we never buy anything with it. I tend to stay away from fruit squashes etc. which contain Aspartame also, but thanks very much. I'll be more consciencious of this in the future.

Welcome

Would you like the truth Debs, or the sugar-coated answer?

Perhaps visualisation meditation could also help?

My weight is the same. I think Ive been not eating enough and doing too much cardio. Time to set that right!

Welcome