glockmeister

I think it's more the other way around. Most bad guys would like to use something like a balisong, or switchblade to intimidate a bystander or potential victim by flashing around the knife, and using "cool" moves. If it's a "good guy" who is carrying one for defense, chances are that if he is in a situation where he or she really needs a potentially deadly weapon, they would hardly have time to use any flashy, cool moves and deploy such a weapon, if they did, they also more thna likely had the time and space to run, and therefore, only bringing upon themselves potentially legal disasters. Which brings me to another point. In a lot of jurisdictions, balisongs, switchblades and all that other Hollywood street gand stuff is illigal. (Hard ti understand why, since neither of these weapons could possible cause more damage than a good tactical folder.) And why would you want to risk getting arrested for carrying a weapon that for all intents and purposes is ineffective to begin with?

Yeah., But they look oh so cool in the movies....

It's much easier to show than to try and explain on a forum. Personally, I think they are a waste, too many moving parts if you ever need it in a high stress situation.

Why not make your own? get some simple whey protein powder, Skim or lowfat milk, add one or two eggs, a scoop of peanut butter, a small dash of canola oil, a bannana Maybe some oats and mix it in a blender. That's what i did for some time and it works great. You can also add ice cream if yo7u want to increase the caloric amount.

Also, if you feel you are getting winded sooner than you should maybe you should hydrate better. Many people in this country are actually at the dehydrated level without noticing it because their bodies are so used to it. try drinking a gallon of plain water a day as well. I have noticed even myself during class or during a weightlifting session that my strength and endurance is dramatically reduced when I am not properly hydrated.

Most supplements like that that people take end up getting defecated out without much use except to be hard on your kidneys, heart, etc. Give it a shot and see how it works for you. Back when i first started lifting heavy I went through quite a bit of weight gain supplements and ended upo with excess fat to burn off. I did gain muscle too, but looking back, I would have bulked more cleanly. Try eating every 3 hours, small meals, high in protein such as fish, eggs, chicken (skinless and boneless) Try to stay away from excess red meat. I spent lots of time packing tuna, sardines and skinless chicken breasts to take with me to work or wherever. There are also soem good protein shakes out there by Met-Rex. I also liked the bars.

Another vote for Atama here. I have one in Blue. Mine is Gold weave. I suggest a double weave for most gi's or a gold weave in atama. I am not overly familiar with all the different brands.

Well, I really like the side kick, However, if I am using kicks to keep distance, I would prefer to use a frint push kick or Teep. I would rather to a defensive side kick for threat that is, well coming in on either side. I trained in TSD for awhile and with side kicks, we had to do them with like you said turning your supporting foot 180 degrees and kind of chambering the kicking leg and then executing the kick. We also did the spinning back side kick which is effective when it's landed, but if not, is a real waste of energy. What part of Pa you from BTW?

Well I have seena few but that's besides the point. The reason you see people fioghting and then falling to the ground and rolling around like in the old west movies is because very few people in the streets actually know how to fight. A very good boxer can usually pulverize the average joker in the street long bfore it gets to the ground. I think if you do some searching on this board. the Boxing vs. traditional martial arts threads can give you a lot of feedback on the pros and cons of boxing. Incidently, how many fights have you seen in the streets with two people just trading kicks?

Have you considered boxing?

https://www.russianmartialart.com

I have done some cross training with some guys at a local Judo school. Judo at leastfor me is not difficult to learn, the basic sweeps and throws you learn as a beginner would still be highly effective if executed properly. IN Law Enforcement work,taking down a bad guy is somethign you will more than likely have to do from time to time. Even 5 months of Judo training will help you in that regard. Will 5 months make you a master? No. But any quality training is better than no training. Find a couple of basic sweeps and throws That you really like and practice them over and over untill you got them down. They will be a great addition to what you learn in Karate. And you can always pick back up where you left off down the road should the opportunity present itself. Expand your horizons and try to get whatever extra experience you can. It will help you to grow.

Andrew, you bring up some very good points. I look at weapons training as a discipline and discipline is good. Also various types of weapons training increases your knowledge and use of angles and mody mechanics that can be crucial in a fight. That being said, no, I don;t see just how important it is to learn how to fight with a Katana blade or long sword. I honestly can't see where or when i would ever need to use one, but even though I don't find it practical for me. I think it is neat to watch.

Hyperextensions are also good. I wouldn't call good mornings terrible. They work your lower back well. Sure you can hurt yourself if you do them worng. But last I checked, thats the case with any type of weightlifting exercise.

Wind, I don't believe it is "easily" performed by someone who is out of shape, not sure who told you that. I guess you can say it would be if you were highly skilled in it and were rolling with someone who wasn't. Tonight I rolled with every other student that attended class tonight ( and by the end of the class, I was pooped. This after working guard drills, etc. I find BJJ to be agreat workout. Check it out

My EX-Girlfriend had one when I lived with her. I didn't have much use for it. I pprefer free weights and body weight excersises. Although I respect people that use them. Exercise is good however we choose to do it providing it is safe.

well I like the workout, its great excersize and it's also fun. But also I work in a dangerous environment (corrections) so it's also good to have some good self defense skills.

The one with Hillary Swank was called "The Next Karate Kid" and yes it was terrible. very unrealistic and downright corny.

Um, no not very many action movies are like that, havent seen many steven segal or chuck norris movies like that at all. Yeah, but you didnt see very much of that part, also thats what made the movie so unrealistic. he does a little bit of wax on, wax off and suddenly he's wiping the floor with all these experienced MA practitioners, yet in #2, he's back to being put out of commission with one kick.

The thing I hated about those movies was the kid got his butt handed to him throughout the whole movie only to come bakc at the last second of a match and win. I thought #2 was a little better because at leats he put up a heck of a fight with that Okinawan kid in the end, but usually, his other movies he's just getting knocked around, and his sensai has to keep showing up and bailing him out of trouble. Also, I never cared much for Ralph Machio, add to the fact that the people who make those movies gave him horrible scripts.

TSD is a great style. As was mentioned before, how practical it will be for your defending yourself has a lot to do with where you train. Talk to the instructor and ask his attitudes towards self defense. Some school are self defense first and art second, while some are mostly about art and tradition.

I think the best weapon is my brain.

Looking back, the one thing I definately kick myself for not doing when I was younger was taking wrestling in school. Now I really wish I would have done that especially since Wrestling was very popular where I went to school. It would have really helped my BJJ training I do now I think.

Any style can be a "good style for begginers." It really depends on a lot of things: Your Physical condition, your ability to pick things up easily, or not so easily,Your past experience,the quality of the instructor and his or her ability to teach. Each student in every style was a begginer. Carlos Gracie was a begginer. With that said. I think ultimately the judge of what is going to suit you as a beginner is going to be you. Try a few different schools and see if you feel their curriculum fots what you are looking for. As for the rest of us, you will probably get a million different opinions on what we think would be good for you just starting out and yet be way off what would work best for you. Only through trying different styles can you truly get the correct answer.

No, why would it? Kickboxing (I am talking about real kickboxing, not really the cardio kind) will help you with your overall stand-up fighting skills. You should be doing some kind of kickboxing type sparring in your KM class anyway. The only thing is some styles of kickboxing teach only kicks above the waist while other allow kicks to legs, etc.. In KM, we generally trained to use low kicks and to try and land more with out shins rather than higher kicks with our feet only.