Mr. Mike

up in the great white NORT! Wisconsin.

most people simply do not have adequate training to not let feat be a huge factor. you can stress train all you want, but most students are in a certain comfort zone as long as they are in their dojo. In a real altercation, that all goes right out the window.

in this instance, I would give it to the chuks...they seem better for fighting up closer...less wieldy.

man, you're ditting pretty out where you are...we only have my school and TKD here. argh. I have to come and pay a visit sometime to see some of the styles your area offers...maybe setup some seminars...do you think your instructors would be interested in doing any?

nice...very nice...hahahaaaa

Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) was the first individual to attempt to unify Japan at the end of the Warring States period; his ultimate goal, though he never realized it, was to bring all of Japan "under a single sword" (tenka-fubu ). Like so many others in the history of Japan, he rose from an obscure family through ruthless ambition to become one of the most powerful men in Japan. His rise to power was slow and deliberate and his use of power unforgiving. The most significant step he took in unifying the country was the destruction of the Buddhist monastery of Mt. Hiei. All throughout the medieval period in Japan, from the Heike war onwards, the monks of Mt. Hiei had played a significant role in both the political and military course of Japan. Seeing Mt. Hiei as a threat to future stability, he destroyed the monastery and hunted down every single Hiei monk and slaughtered them, regardless of their age or innocence. Perhaps one of Oda's most significant contributions to Japanese history, outside of laying the groundwork for the future unification of the country, was his eager embrace of Westerners. Perhaps out of his dislike of esoteric Buddhism, he was fascinated by Christianity and welcomed Jesuit missionaries. As a result, he's the first Japanese leader to appear in Western histories. He also, very shrewdly, embraced Western technology—firearms, in particular. Firearms had been imported into Japan since the late fifteenth century; although these weapons were primarily firelocks and inherently unstable (you can't use a firelock in the rain or snow, for instance, and they have a disturbing tendency to blow up in your face), Oda Nobunaga was the first Japanese to figure out both offensive and defensive tactics with the new weapons. Besides retraining his armies for new tactics, he also built massive stone forts that would resist the new firearms. Finally, he was the first Japanese leader to employ iron-cladding on his warships, which made them virtually unbeatable. Oda never succeeded in unifying the country; just as he was on the verge of success, he was assassinated by two of his generals at the age of forty-eight. Although he had eliminated the wild card of the Mt. Hiei monks, there remained much to do. The hardest task would be to restructure the country to guarantee a lasting peace among the warring feudatories. That task largely fell to the hands of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the "Wealth of the Country."

my motivation is that this is the way my future is headed. For me, the only thing I can see doing is running a school, maybe a few schools. I want to make my teachers, and especially the grandmasters proud. Perpetuation of the art. teaching my children...starting a new family tradition...something to passed down other than silly stories about what so and so did when they were little. it's all those and more...seeing how far I can push myself. watching myself do things that I thought I would never be able to do...that others told me I would never do. Doing what people in my family said I was too fat/lazy/compllacent to do. Hearing that I would never follow through only drove me harder...I get BB this year...maybe I'll invite them to my graduation...ask them how it feels to wear their yellow belts...even let them ogle my belt(they are very material individuals with no follow through;also started the same time I did...now I teach at the school and they don't even come in any more). that about sums it up.

a 5th dan 5yr old? I'm a blue belt and I would take her over my knee for disrespect. A 5yr old belongs in little dragons class running/jumping/playing, not being given an overexaggerated sense of ability by being handed the rank of 5th dan...maybe she just needed to get out of diapers to reach shodan, then every dan after that was for cleaning her plate. 5yr old 5th dan...sheeesh....whatever.

http://totallyabsurd.com/breath_easy.GIF[/i] hahahahahahaaa

still with ya...fun read. Oh yeah, welcome aboard.

or, you can always tell when rent is due...everybody is testing. I catually went to a place like that.

if flying kicks are your thing, try capoeira. now that is spectacular. as for all out fighting...I like any no-holds-barred- style of full-contact fighting.

well, I for one googled it...I typed in "King Cobra Tournament," this is what I came up with: what does that tell you?

water. unless you really sweat, you don't need a gatorade type drink. still, you'll only need it afterward.

just buy pink RIT dye and dye a white belt...cheaper.

wow...there's some ethical issues involved in this one...if he's not an instructor, tell him when he beats you, he can have your number...if he's an instructor, keep it professional.

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all the time. I prefer chinese gunpowder green. otherwise, I have some black, some white, or a nice yucky cup of lingzhi, mmm my favorite.

dude, seriously, stop watching movies.

haha...I just told my daughter that it was a cool I-Spy thing with spotting the differences...she was staring SOOOO intently...now you have to understand that even the least frightening of movies scares my little girl...she stared...she stared...WWAAHHHHHH!!!! man, she starting howling, and wouldn't stop...ran into her mom's arms and cried like a little baby ...hahah that was funny...she's laughing about it now though.

oh yeah, My left hand is never the same since I used incorrect punching techniques on a board break when I was 17. 13 yrs later, I can tell you when it's going to rain...all the old-timers here will concur...knees, shoulders, lower backs...they are pretty much the world's best weathermen!

to determine the twice as cold thing, we would need a starting point, then we can determine the relative coldness...after that we can multiply by 2. example, if it's 60º today and it drops to 30, that is a 30º drop...now we can get to 0º the next day if it is twice as cold. get it? Otherwise, it's just a trick question...

I SOOO cannot handle this one right now...I watched it for like ten seconds, and I just know womething bad is gonna scare the pee out of me. I'll wait till my 8yr old daughter gets up in the morning...she loves doing the eye-spy things....this is gonna be great!

http://www.hmckickboxing.com/html/pankration.html Hawaii Martial Arts Center King's Gate Plaza 555 N. King Street Honolulu, Hawaii 96817 Voice: (808)841-5144 Cellular: (808)778-6372 good luck in all of your endeavors. I'm getting into pankration for this year's tournament circuit...need to work lke crazy on my conditioning.

rock on...what a feeling to get a compliment like that from the instructor, eh?