Kieran-Lilith

I want to go into translation and interpretation, English to Japanese, and vice versa. I kinda want to find a way to put music in my career, too, because I really, really love music. Half my high school classes are about music, after all.

I was exposed to MA by the time I was about 4. My dad was a TKD brown belt. At age 6 I was watching Mortal Kombat, Power Rangers, and occasionally the Turtles. Somehow, it took me until age 8 to get involved, and then my parents pulled me out about a year later. After years of no karate, my friend showed up to a library event still wearing his gi and belt, and I was 14 then. He brought me to the school, and I'm still there. I'm almost 17, now.

Dayton, Ohio

You know, I'm wondering if it's more a distraction to the guys with the gender thing than with a lot of us girls. Most the ladies I know, even the younger girls, don't really care and just go for it. I guess we must develop a "one of the guys" mentality, which would make sense. Otherwise, it could be very difficult to practice.

Lol. I think even if you made a "naughty corner" in the dojo, it would work. And in this "naught corner", the child must face the corner and stand in kiba-dachi (which is at least as bad as shiko-dachi) for the amount of mintues equal to half their age. 6 yrs=3 minutes, 10 yrs=5 minutes, etc. The reason I suggest a corner is because if they're just off to the side, they can still see, watch, and possibly talk with friends. Now, a corner is boring. Corners don't talk (in my experience), they're very plain, and to be stuck in stance for a set amount of minutes in the corner...I think that would be effective. Now, as for the cute little brats in the school...I agree. I'd rather work with the kids that have no talent whatsoever, no knowledge of left and right, and no comprehension of forward and backward (which can be lacking, believe it or not...), then deal with those little brats that feel the desire to make your teaching experience hell. For example, we have one little boy in our dojo now who seems to be almost incapable of getting things. He's very closed off, he's very quiet, he doesn't know his left from his right, and he's still very young, so he has a lot of problems. The kid is finally starting to get it, now. He still doesn't know left from right, but he can do the techniques after trying. And I might add that when he does get them, he does them extremely well for someone of his age and rank. Now, several months back, we had a student who was one of those wild little hellions you never want to see. The boy ran around screaming that no girl (me) could tell him what to do, and neither could my friend (a guy, but still). As far as he was concerned, we weren't his mommy and daddy, nor were we black belts. So, the brat ran around screaming, yelling, falling over people and pushing over others, until my friend picked him up and dragged him pretty much kicking and screaming to our Sensei's office. That boy left after one month. Thank God.

The martial arts women are certainly a unique category. We train, we fight, we take the bruises, bumps and contusions, and we do it as well as the men. We've all trained with the guys. So, now I've gotten curious on a few counts. As women, do you ever feel that it's forgotten that you're female in your school? Are the ladies ever treated differently than the men? Do we get respect for how much we can be like the guys, or do we get respect for being actual females? For kicks: Guys, do you ever perceive us ladies as being treated any differently than the lot of you? Do you ever feel the need to treat us differently because we're female?

Part of cleaning to dojo to me is that somebody has to do it. The floors get dirty, the windows get little kid handprints, and it's gross to try and train on. I'd clean anyways because it means I get to stay at the dojo for a little bit longer, and I love being at the dojo. Besides, with about five of us all fighting to clean, we get done in about 15 minutes.

A lot of people have hit it right on. The black belts at my school, at least, are pretty much always teaching, along with some of the upper ranking adults. A lot of the assistant instructors are there before everyone else for the kid's class, and they leave after everyone else in the adult's class. They come early to train, warm up, and keep the kiddies in line, and they leave late so they can clean dojo and discuss the class amongst themselves.

So, during the summer of 2007, myself and three other delegates are going to Japan to represent our backwater community. We're looking forward to the trip (and I'm planning ways to sneak away to see other dojos...). The only thing is, we must fundraise like crazy. Does anyone know any good fundraisers, have any fundraising ideas? Keep in mind that for the most part, it's four teens, their parents, and a few city officials running the show, here. Also, does anyone know of any kind of decent money making schemes, that eliminates the whole "beg-a-thon" things? I hate going door to door and trying to get people to buy stuff, so, service things, like recycling centers, etc? Any ideas would be much appreciated, particularly the anti beg-a-thon ideas. Thanks!

Ooo....the forgotten birthday...well, you receive a belated happy birthday from me. I can say, though, at least your friends just forgot your sixteenth, which sucks because it is such a special birthday. My friends deliberately ignored my sixteenth and refused to talk to me for the whole day.

Physically, you have yet to even enter your prime. That doesn't begin until around age 18, and lasts until you're about 25. I don't really think you've lost anything. While I haven't trained as long as you, nor hold your rank, I can tell you that I'm your age. As teenagers, we constantly receive the message to be better than our peers, to stand out, else we never get anywhere in life. It's a lot of pressure, and can make it feel like it's too late for so many things. So you might not be remembered as "some young martial arts genius". Big deal. There's lots of incredible kids out there who have trained since they could walk, and you can't hope to beat them. But you can always aim to beat yourself, and get better and better, so eventually, when the famous martial artists who were noticed when they were young have been forgotten, you can be an old master who may not be famous worldwide, but you will have touched the soul of every person you met, and as they touch others, what you give to the world will grow. You said that the older you are, the less valued your achievements are. What about the 90 year old masters who can still whip our tails? I'm more impressed by them than I am by a bunch of kids our age who can backflip their way to fame.

Of course. The one incident I mentioned early is one way of stopping trouble. The way I prefer to do things is to get the kids to respect me because they like me and want to be like me. With kids, you have to be able to work with them on their level. If it means kneeling down to explain something so they aren't afraid of the towering giant, do it. If it means crazy little analogies that fit into little kid worlds, use them. Push-ups are one tool, yes, but it's not always the best. I think the kids really like me because I make the effort to hear all their stories, know all their names, praise them, and correct them without telling them they're wrong. That, and I'm me, so I'm always happy and occasionally kid-ish myself, so they feel like they're talking to one of their own.

Don't threaten push-ups. Give them. Make the whole class pay for one disrespectful student, and eventually, the kid will stop because his classmates don't want to do anymore push-ups. Just make sure you change to student who you all do push-ups for. Since I'm a girl, the kids are supposed to answer "Yes, ma'am!" when I ask a question. For the longest time, we had kids shouting "Yes, sir!" We did push-ups until nobody answered "sir" anymore, and I haven't heard the word "sir" directed at me since.

Christmas is even bigger than Turkey Day, ususally. Well, foodwise, we go from turkey to usually a ham. Sometimes we stick with the turkey, though. But no, then, rather than all that stuff at Thanksgiving, it's even worse, because of Holiday cookies, fudges, brownies, cakes, pies....whereas Thanksgiving is huge because of the main course, around Christmas it's all those delicious desserts that everybody eats. On top of all that, Christmas has presents! So, foodwise, turkey day is a bit bigger, but just plain holiday wise, I think Christmas is bigger.

Thanksgiving...the best food holiday ever! I prefer Halloween, but I think that's just because it's the best candy holiday. Dinner: Turkey, stuffing, cheesy-rice, crescent rolls, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy Dessert: A lot of people, as stated, like pumpkin pie (sometimes with whipped cream). I prefer chocolate pie, key lime pie, chocolate mint pie (really really good), or, some kind of cake, chocolate cake is popular, lemon cake is good, etc. Now, this whole thing is supposed to be about giving thanks to God for providing for us on the First Thanksgiving when the Indians shared their food with us so we would survive through the winter. This usually gets lost behind the food. Oh! And the most awesome part! The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!!!!

I'm finally unsore, due to the week and a half off our dojo is closed. As I'm not supposed to spar with my 6' 4", 250 lb little brother, that rather limits the ability to become sore quickly. I'm looking forward to class next Tuesday, and the reaccumulation of various bumps, bruises, and contusions I make an effort to hide. Darn high school teachers can't understand why I keep going back...

As a teenage girl, I can say I would probably give my number to a guy if he asked. Depends, though. If you're a guy from my school, who I've known for years and still don't like, the probability is very small. But other guys aren't bad. Well, at least, not all the time. The only conclusion I've ever reached about guys is that they're dumb. They completely miss it when we want them to ask for our number. Oh, and if you do ask the girl to dance, hang out with her for a while afterwards, or that would be very akward. You want to at least have an idea if the person you want to go out with enjoys the same sort of things, etc, and girls don't really like it when guys make them feel akward. We like feeling like we're in charge, even if we aren't.

You know, I can only find it ironic that this thread continues long after the romance has ended. After all, this was in the school I go to.

Hey, spark! Nice to meet another Eugue Ryu person around. You know, I think we're finally getting some decent representation around the internet. So, which Eugue Ryu school are you going to? We've got the one is KC, the Lima group, the Wapak group, the Bellefountaine group, and I think the Marysville group.

I understand where your friend is coming from exactly. I've always been one of those real good kids, and I'd never ever been in a fight. Never. Not even close. I'd duke it out with words and I can win because I'm smarter. But in the middle of last school year, a classmater tried to choke me. Granted, I had pulled his headphones off, but that was because he couldn't hear what I was saying and I didn't want to get into a fight. Obviously, all did not go as planned. The boy had his hands around my neck, and I froze up totally and completely. I was lucky because I had one of my fellow martial artists with me at the time, and she launched at him. Said friend got into fights when she was younger. Really, some people are not fighters right off. It's one thing to spar and to practice in the dojo, but nothing is like the reality of having hands around your throat while your back is in a corner. It could be your friend is much like myself and will freeze because of inexperience, unexpected fear, a bit of panic, and total shock that a fight's actually happening.

I usually get some quote from the movie Napoleon Dynamite, which makes sense because I'm in a high school that fell in love with that movie. "Bow to your Sensei!" is probably the one I hear the most. I look at them, though, and I tell them I'm confused, my Sensei is at his job, not in front of me.

Does anyone else here know the joy of Donato's? I know people in OH should.... I like mushroom, pepperoni, and sausage, and if it has onions and other vegetables on it (except olives!), I'll probably still put it in my mouth without complaint. It absolutely cannot have fish on it, though! Anchovies contaminate the whole pizza with icky fish-taste, in my opinion.

yeah, our videos would have awesome fight scenes That isn't bad! We could have some electric guitar solos and during those solos have some real good fighting scenes! Hmmm; what should the badn consist of? Well; we have the piano, drums, electirc guitar, vocals and some strings (some violins too!) And with that we could create some really good high tension music! Hey, I've got a flute and a trumpet. My brother has a baritone and a clarinet. And of course, we all have kiai for those yelling vocals.

I totally and completely disagree. I cannot say I have trained for twenty years, I cannot even say I've trained for ten years. I've trained for almost two and a half years, so if I do accidentally insult you, please forgive me. I have a long path ahead of me, and perhaps my current conclusions will change. Kata seems to be a very touchy subject. Many people do it just because they were told to do it, so they do. Others look deep into it, and quite often, many don't even practice it. While boxers, Muay Thai fighters, and UFC fighters are all highly capable, that does not go to say that a traditional karate fighter is any less capable. I firmly believe in kata, and it is known as the heart or the bible of the martial arts in many traditional schools. Kata, even if you do not use it effectively in kumite or contest (neither of which happens to be my purpose for training), is a strength builder. It teaches control of one's body, and it teaches awareness of your own body. For example, we will occasionally go through kata very, very slowly, holding the stances and techniques for minutes on end. It builds strength and control of technique. Kata teaches awareness because you learn where your body moves and how the techniques fit to your body. Besides that, for many people, kata can be a spiritual exercise. It relaxes them and relives them of stress in a safe and fulfilling way. Mentally, it creates the stimulus of thinking about possible applications of the techniques found within kata. Even if there are apparently no applicable techniques to be found, one has still used the mind to try to problem solve and creatively find a solution. Again, if I have offended you in any way, I apologize. But I really wanted to answer this post because I feel very strongly about kata.

I think we had a thread like this a long time ago...oh well. If I remember correctly, Kieran means "little dark one", and Lilith means "of the night". So, I was the "little dark one of the night". At the time, I was considered to be incredibly "young" for a fourteen year old, and I had a very dark, rather twisted sense of humor. Also, I was up from 6 am to 2 am. It was fitting at the time, even if it isn't now. Lilith, as I've also come to understand, is fabled to be the true first woman, created as an equal to Adam. However, she walked out on him because he wanted to be beneath him when they had sex. She was apparently independent and fiery, and after her heart had broken because she left Adam, she became a demon who stole children (I think. I need to recheck the myths...) Thus, God created a submissive Eve for Adam. Now, I go by KL. Shorter, sounds better, and is much less prone to being mispelled. That was longer than I intended it to be....heheh.