KarateChick06

What, you think kids can't train as hard as adults can? Obviously they can't do as much physically, but that doesn't mean they aren't trying just as hard. Compare these two cenarios: An adult trains in his MA regularly 2 days a week for 2 years. That's 208 class hours if class is 1 hour, and he doesn't skip a day. A child starts training at the age of 5, and attends class 5 days a week for 6 years. That's 1560 class hours, with the same conditions. Who is more worthy of a black belt? Maybe the adult has longer legs and can kick higher and harder, spar better, and knows his forms better, but that's because he's an adult and sometimes it's easier for him to catch on to things like that. But the kid was sweated and bled 7.5 times longer than he has. Who has proven his commitment? Who earns the belt?

CQG -- your belt system ideas seem very realistic to me. I know I've gotten much more aggressive as brown belt. Haha.

I go at least 4 days a week, and sometimes 5. I train an hour and help teach an hour (I'm a sepmai).

I did softball for 2 seasons, soccer, gymnastics, drama, singing, tap, ballet, a little hip hop, more gymnastics, and Hawaiian dance. Karate was the first sport I stuck too.

Huh. Ok.

It took me a couple years to get to do the splits, but only after about 4-6 months of intense practice. I'd stretch every day doing 2 stretches plus the splits. The other 2 stretches were these: 1) Kneel down and sit on one heel, extend the other leg straight out at a right angle with the kneeling leg. Stretch forward; switch sides. 2) Same thing, only put the foot you sat on behind or under you, so your shin is on the ground. Stretch forward and to the sides. Yeah, after 5 months or so I was able to do the splits to the right and left, but not the middle (by the way, which way are you trying to do them?). It helped that I was racing with a sensei to see who could get there first. When I try to do the splits to the middle, it's not that the stretching hurts, it's my hips! They feel like they're being smashed and ground into my spine, and it hurts like ****. Does anybody else have this problem?

Whenever we practice our regular free-sparring, my sensei says "Ok, now we'll just do our regular [sounds like] ron-door-ee." He said he didn't know how to spell it when I asked him, so I looked it up in the dictionary. Randore means like routine, or regular occurence or something. I thought that was what it was.... later in an MA book I read that rondori is some type of sparring thing. Which do you think my sensei is using/means? (He has no idea! haha!) Randore or rondori?

No, they close your gi.

He was in the military 15 years back, but other than that has had no formal MA. Yes, I've watched several classes. They look fairly normal, except one of his master instructor's is kinda weird. He doesn't come around that often though, usually it's this other guy that teaches. Apparantly they give belts according to (what my friend says) what belt they just "think you should be." I guess that'd explain why he's skipped belts, too. Wow, are those really the grading requirements for your dojo? Neither my requirements nor my friends are nearly so strict. Fighting in the test doesn't happen until BB degrees.

Yeah, I have the same problem. There's only one girl in my class, and she never tries hard, not only during sparring but during the whole class. She doesn't complain about me hitting hard during sparring because I don't hit hard (we don't do full-contact). But she never hits back and is basically just a my personal moving punching bag. Yeah, and then I get called a teacher's pet by everybody.... argh. I only enjoy sparring with black belts and the other men in class. They're the best.

My dad tells me that all the time! Hahaha!

The belts go white, yellow, orange, green, purple, blue, senior blue, brown, red, black. Does that sound like a McDojo or is it just me? I was just laughing over it because I'm testing for my brown belt in May, and I've been at my dojo for 4 years.

Yeah, a friend told me that. Luckily this guy doesn't come to class anymore. You see, he went to a split-off of my dojo, and then came to my dojo for a while, and later went to the split-off again. He's still there, and they can HAVE him for all I care!!! LOL!!!

There's this really annoying, cocky kid in class who's always showing off and etc. He's like telling me "I can sweep SO hard!!!" *WHAM* *I groan* "See? See? Can't I sweep hard?!! See??? see??? Aren't you impressed???!!!" AAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're watching a cute guy in class when you walk straight into the half-wall (cute guy thinks this is hilarious and laughs his pants off). Your brother trips you during class on your way to get water, and you smack the wall face-first like in movies (by the way, same cute guy was there to laugh of course...). When you're throwing bags up on high shelves, miss, and hit your sensei's son (who is also a black belt). I've done all these.. haha.

But I don't get it. You put sand in front of the front wheels, because they're the ones that move, ok, I get that, but what's wrong with the back wheels? Forgive me, but it's only snowed at my house once in my whole life, so I'm clueless when it comes to bad weather dilemmas.

Mayca Poriv, Syadodge of Zinc The only problem with this, is that a family would have almost all the same names. Mayda -- my brother. Mayba -- mom Mayma -- brother... and then of course we'll all have the same last name, except for dad.. lol.

*applause* Good piece! I know what you mean about chivalry being hard to find. I have some cool homeschooled friends whose parents drill manners and chivalry into them. It's funky being out in the real world, and then returning to a homeschool function and seeing guys give up their seats for the girls, holding doors, etc. It's very flattering. And let me just say one thing to the guys..... holding the door or giving up your seat for a girl automatically makes her think . LOL!

I am currently just working toward my black belt in Okinawan Shorin Ryu, but after that I would love to try Aikido and Ji Juitsu/Judo. We already do a lot of TKD in class. Our katas and basic training is based on Shorin Ryu, but my sensei incorporates TKD, boxing, grappling, and bits of aikido, judo and kung fu into the classes. I would love to learn more about all of these!!!

We wrestle occasionally at my karate class. I really suck at it, lol! The last time I was paired with this huge muscleman who just let me "work" him the entire time. I kept trying to do pressure points on him, but he said "Aaaah. Feels like accupressure." AAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!

omg those are funny!!! Meow! Meow!

Ahahahahahaha!!!! I really laughed hard on that one! LOL! I dare you to do it sometime while there's somebody in there with ya!

:lol:! that sounds like an interesting dream lol, yeah it was. I always have weird dreams....

Oh yeah. All the time. Sometimes I can't even remember if something happened in my dream or IRL -- LOL! One of my worst nightmares, though, was of my dojo being turned into a synchronized swimming school -- LOL.

....You make sure you can kick and punch in every outfit you own. ....You practice katas while riding your bike with no hands. ....You get bored while driving and go over your latest kata (crash!! lol). ....You go to the dojo every day. .....You read "You know you're obsessed with martial arts..." jokes, and you do all the obsessive behaviors.