Mr. Mike

welcome! enjoy your stay.

I asked my doctor(I have plantar fascitis), and hea looked at me and said "you're screwed!" surgery was an option for awhile there, but I won't accept it...rehab is too long. I stretch the stink out of my feet daily...massage them constantly...and use a foot wrap by Mueller from WalMart...that seems to be keeping it in check. Good luck, and pamper those feet!

pfffttt...I'm 30 and haven't outgrown it. Just think of something completely hilarious...and fall to the ground laughing...uh wait, wrong response I don't know...but my giddiness doesn't bother me...I jsut go with it.

go to the local MA schools and ask about upcoming tournaments...then get into them. Most around here offer Pankration in the divisions. Not closed fist striking, but close enough...

Ed Parker said "I would rather have one technique that I can fight with instead of 100 techniques that fight me!" Kinda what he meant here is that he would rather train the heck out of one technique than try to water down 100 of them and hopefully remember themm when in duress. Picture this: You have one technique for a punch, say something simple like if it is a right punch coming back at you, you can slide your left leg back and go into a right leg forward fighting stance while blocking that punch with your lead arm...all one movement. Then kick the groin, and chop the neck with the blocking arm after landing the kicking leg. Now you could also learn that for the opposite side adn you have a left punch covered. All you would need to do to adapt that to a defense against a kick is drop your block to a downward motion. Follow up with relatively the same counter...now learn that on the opposite side. You started with one defensive technique against a right punch. You adapted it slightly for a left punch, then again for a kick. One technique that you train the heck out of...over and over and over...I would feel fairly comfortable and confident with my ability in that technique. Now add that kind of dedication to an entire system...now you have "what really works." Sorry for being so loquacious, but you get the point. What works? Ask that to five different people on this board, adn get seven different answers. As for the UFC thing...the basic premise is that all the fights end up wrapped up, or in what we call the clinch. So why not train for it? You're right...the earlier ones were alot of fun...lots of striking...less mat work...then Royce walked all over them and so did Severn...the rest is history. Yeah, I liked the ones with the blood spattering all over the ring and the fight having to be stopped because the loser was getting his head elbowed through the mat...even the one where the little guy knocked out the huge Samoan in like 13 seconds...but please don't use the UFC to influence your style decisions...uless you are wanting to train for that type of environment. Ultimately, I think we all just want to learn what will work against somebody who doesn't like the way we do our hair or the fact that we have tattoos and decides to throw down...the common crap. Every art offers something in the way of self defense...some more so than others. My art is one that is purely defensive...not really sport oriented, although I do go to competition often. Some are more highly steeped in tradition than others...mine for example, only has what I call trickle-down tradition...it is tradition that has trickled down from Master to Master; no really something that is practiced the same way it was years and years ago, i.e. Shaolin or Tai Chi. My answer, and the best answer is to research this the way you would research a new car, or house, or for that matter your next wife, because you may end up dedicating just as much time to it over the years. Hopefully I answered some of your questions well enough. Good luck and Godspeed. Mr. Mike

I still like watching Ali. and I ain't that old. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!!!! My favorite? The Thrilla in Manila!

welcome...give any of them a shot...they all are better than nothing. I have my favorites, and you will too, but just try to learn a bit about each and see what suits your fancy.

making fun of the coaches if even funnier!

you gotta get your hip into it. to do this with maximum effectiveness, you have to place your power side to the rear and swing it into place with your hip. Boxers too, they lead with the weaker arm and keep the strength in back just waiting for the opportunity to land that haymaker. like Bruce Lee said, "you gotta get your hip into it!"

I hate any movie where they show the same dang hit or kick like 7 times in a row, but from different angles just to show how COOL it was I usually turn them off immediately. Most of Cynthia Rothrock's movies and VanDamme's miovies are like that. That amnnoys the crap outta me. It's almost like they can't come up with anythign cool, so they show how devastating/awesome/killer/rockin/etc. one particular hit is...and the bad part is that it usually isn't even that great of a move in the first place.

Monkeygirl, count me in. di I log in under the name and number you just gave, or do you invite me?

um...YEAH!!! lemme in...oooh.ooohhhhhhhh!!!!

I'm personally not fond of breaking http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_7_5.gif

after following the links, and studying the pics that they give, I can come up with nothing. I draw a blank, but I have no clue what that little half-circle with a dash thingy is...maybe that symbol holds another clue? wow...who knows.

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_1_72.gifok...ok...ok calming down...Bunny fufu...boppin' 'em on the head.http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_1_72.gif

that is really cool, and can help to foster an appreciation of the arts in the younger crowd... Usagi: Love the name...didn't think anybody else had ever heard of the Samurai Rabbit before...at least not in my circle of friends.

the main thing for me was to keep my base leg bent. Otherwise, I would go to the side a bit and lose balance...once I remebered to keep the base bent, I was ok.

that's exactly why I have them. I used to tell myself "WAKE UP, WAKE UP!!!!" over and over and over. Soon I was able to say what I wanted in my dreams and eventually I could do what I wanted in my dreams. To this day I can control aspects of my dreams. More perplexing to me is the issue of night terrors. I used to get them when I was younger, but not in the last ten years or so. I just had one horrible case about two weeks ago. Just after moving to the new house. Now, I'm almost scared to sleep alone on my nights off and when my lady is working...suonds WAY juvenile, but I just cannot explain it. Youwouldn't think a full-grown man would have something like this.

to be honest with you, I spent more time on that than I wanted to...I guess I'll simply acquiesce to failure at this point...too tired to care.

well, my first name is Mike. Everybody a the school calls me Mr. Mike because it saves them the trouble of having to pronounce my last name, and saves me from all the jokes about it.

sure, it'll be fine next week! Seriously though, from what I know, this is going to take a while to heal...take it easy and get your rest...you have the rest of your life to get that BB, or try to heal because you pushed an injury. see this link for more info: http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp09009.htm

yup...jump rope...almost every doctor reccomends it.

I guess it doesn't bother me. I practice in my driveway, and in my yard, regardless of passersby. I live in a neiborhood though and not on a busy street, so there is a difference. I also don't really mind who sees me practicing. It lets the nieghbors know a little more about me.

check into organizations like NAPMA and MAIA. They have alot of great ideas. Free women's self defense, give them 10 lessons or so and cover the basics and some scenario type work...that should at leas get them hooked and if not at least it may get you coverage in the local newspaper. Offer free training to police officers...again, coverage. Host birthday parties for kids( I know you don't want a kid based school, but they do pay the light bills) and keep costs similar to other places that do parties. Go to the local schools...in my town, the kids get phy-ed credits for taking karate, and mom and dad love the idea. there are many ways...get creative. Always offer the first few classes for free so they can test drive the program and see if it fits them. I could go on for hours, but I'm wearing out my backspace key...my hands are frozen...I just got in from my morning fun time Good luck

I guess the first thing to keep in mind in a knife altercation is to accept that you will get cut. I've no formal training, but I work with some of the local PD when they stop in...I feel confident, but also hope it never ever happens.