1kickKO

I think what Shorin Ryuu said is the main reasoning. I aso think it comes down to the style...many kung fu dojos wear shoes, but the are a special type of shoes made specifically for kung fu training. Also if you look in the more "street self-defence" dojos, you'll find they normally wear shoes as well, to simulate real-life experiences. But, if you go to a more traditional dojo, such as an Okinawan karate dojo, you will find no shoes, as it is probably more related to upkeeping tradition.

Congratulations! Hope you continue to do well.

"I've only been in one competition.... I did Fuju Kata Di Ni. Why Because it was the first kata I learned and thought "Hey, I'm doing Karate, I love this stuff." " Carol, did you mean fu ku gata ni? Or is it called fuju kata di ni? Just curious, because in my system we have a kata called "fu ku gata ni" and I know that most styles do not practice this kata. ANyways, for competition I like using kanku dai, or a kung fu kata I learned at camp which is 18 Hands of Lohan.

I don't think mine is that good compared to the panties one, but I was in a tournament one time, doing a sai kata, and I flipped them up (note: slippery hands and sais are not a good mixture) and the sai in my right hand when flying right past a judge and landed about a foot behind him...I went over, picked it up, and asked to start again..ugh...maybe a rosin bag would help next time.

I don't do muay thai, but I presume it's extremely capable of being dominant in a street fight, from what I've seen of muay thai fighters, they are extremely tough, the training is almost unbeatable, and they use every part of their bodies to help them win, knees, elbows, fists, feet...everything.

I do traditional Okinawan Jujitsu, and to me it is just as effective as Brazillian Jujitsu. But back to the topic, any kind of jujtisu would be a great aspect to your "bag of tricks" in a fight, because you never know, it's true..if you're in a fight with many people it's not good to go to the ground, but if you're up against one person, it's a great effective way to end a fight. Also, another good stand-up style should be added, and one style that will toughen you up and is highly reccomendd for any street fight, is muay thai. This incorporates the use of elbows, knees, and any other part of your body to disable your attacker. Good luck.

I got it, I'm e-mailin' ya right now.

Look for a good school, never join something you're not happy with, it will be bad in the long run. Find a good school, with a good instructor and a good atmosphere. Find what you're looking for in the art, kicking, punching, grappling, throwing, knees/elbows, etc...

It's just like baseball, which consists of short, fast movements. That is what a jump is, a short, fast movement. for this (as in baseball) you need a good base, from stomach down to feet. Work on your calf muscles (walking up and down stairs is good for this) work on your ankle muscles (eg. ankle weights) etc...work on the whole trunk of your body if you want killer jumps.

There are 2 good defenses against this: 1. Step back, how can he hit you if he can't catch you? 2. An aikido technique is to catch it on it's way up and redirect it up back and behind him.

I see, I live in Ross county...well I'm glad you finally get to learn your fan kata..good luck...oh and tell me how those kamas go, I'm kind ainterested in them, after my sais of course

I get my nickname (Balance_Timing_Technique) from a principle guidline in our dojo, whereas what is balance without timing, what is timing without technique, what is technique without balance, etc etc etc...

If you can't find it on google, is there anybody at your dojo that might know any fan katas? Or is that in your syllabus? What style do you study? A good way to learn it is go to plenty of tournaments, watch anybody for a fan, watch their kata..if you like it, ask them to teach it to you. By the way, I notice you live in Ohio, whereso? I also live in Ohio.

There is a spot to incapacitate people and make them unconcious. Firstly, to get a feel for where it is, take yor pointer and middle fingers and place them on the side of your neck (doesn't matter which side) go about an inch and a half under your ear, and feel around until you get a pulse. This is a main artery that sends a blood supply to the brain. Now for the strikign part. Take your pointer finger and cross it over your middle finger, now place your thumb on the bottom of these fingers for support, now if you ram these fingers into the spot you felt on your neck into that of another person, this will cut off the blood supply to their brain temporarily and make them pass out. I advice NOT to use this unless it is a true emergency, as this can also be deadly.

Well for a huge karate/jujitsu competition I am heading to Rome and Ireland for 10 days with Team America to compete for the 9th Irish Cup in June. We'll be spending half the time in Rome seeing the sights and vacationing, then the next half of the trip in Ireland seeing the sights then to compete.

It is a pretty tough pick, I like the first one...very inspiring and a good preplot leading up to the next two, but I'd have to say my favorite is #2.

Well, I guess it's pretty much how you perceive it...from what I've read in many books, welders used to make one sai, make a firm impression in the ground, then pour the mix into that then let it harden..I don't know how accurate that is, but anything's possible. It's so hard to tell any history of any weaponry, because history goes so far back.

I agree with everybody, they have made some great posts. It takes lots of time, and that is your only friend when your techniques/timing/power/everything else will come. As long as you attend class and try your hardest, everything else will come naturally..trust me. As for your diet, I know you get told this a lot, but fruits and veggies is the BEST way to go. They provide your body with the best nutrients and vitamins possible. Like cramps in your legs, bananas are great for that because they contain potassium. Junk foods should be avoided as much as possible, but if ya just can't stop eating them, eat them in certain limited amounts. For excercises, pushups work your back and shoulder muscles. You can do a veriety of types of pushups, pushups on your fists, pushups on your fingers, etc...situps work your abdomens, basically as much as you can think of, the basic excercises are the best. Be sure to run a lot and do aerobic excerices too..because karate is very aerobic. good luck in training.

Adrenaline in a fight is an extremely bad thing. It causes tensing of the muscles, your mind goes crazy, and your body shuts down and thinks of only one think..kill. Doesn't that sound familiar of what your instructor has taught you is an extremely bad thing? It is. You don't want any of that. What happens when your muscles tense? Your lose flexibility and power. What about when your mind goes crazy? You can't think, you lose ability of your reactions causing a slow stimulus/response...and you cannot think clearly, which can ultimately cause you to lose a fight. What about when your body shuts down? Well, that speaks for itself. You need to have a clear mind. There are many great excercises that can help. For example, tai chi. It calms your nerves and gives you a strong mentla aspect. Adrenaline can be a good thing, if you decide to run it can help give you enough energy to run away, but if you fight, it turns bad, cusing everything (including your mind) to shut down.

I myself am a big person on footwork (no I am not in TKD) in my sparring. I have tons of kicking combos I'd be willing to share if you would like, you could pm me or e-mail me at nmoccabee@yahoo.com. A few techniques I have learned over the years I will put down here: Get into a normal fighting stance and drop your backhand, as you do this throw up a roundhouse with a haito(ridge hand) at the exact same time, it shold look like your leg is hanging by a string from your hand when you do this...in other words it's a roundhouse and a haito at the same time, which draws their attention to either the roundhouse, then you score with the haito, or the haito, which you then score with the roundhouse. Another technique is to throw a front kick (intentionally miss and land in front of them) and as soon as your front foot lands hit them with a backfist then sweep their front leg. If you'd like more again, just hit up my e-mail or pm me. Also, stretching truly does work. Yoga is a great suggestion, and as weird as it sounds, your kicks will improve 101% from this. You can also find many sites on stretching. But other than kicking(I know ya don't want to give up on it copmletely) throw in many combos with punches, throw fakes to the head or fake with your legs then go for the midsection. Remember this... when you fake high, they block high, causing an open midsection(chudan). When you fake low, they block low, causing an open high section/head section (judan). Good luck in training.

My sensei taught me this...You should never put your opponent on the same level as you..ever. You are above your opponent...you are high, they are low. If you put your opponent ont he same level as you, you have a fight, and you do not want a fight, you want an easy, controllable situation..this applies to street fights or tournaments. Always assume you are going to win, and when you begin a fight, fight with everything you've got, heart, mind, body & spirit. Expect to get hit, chances are in a real street fight this will happen, and you need to accept the fact that you can/will get hurt in the process, but never give any doubt. Think of a dog...they smell fear, they can sense it. If the dog knows you are afraid, they'll attack because they think you can't defend yourself. However, if you stare a dog straight in the eyes, and show no fear, the dog will sense that you are strong, and may back off. This applies to bullies/street fighters. They sense fear, it shows through body language/eye contact/verbal shaking. If they sense it, they'll attack. If they know you're willing to put up a good fight, they may back down, but if they do attack they might be a bit timid, giving you enough time to take advantage of the fight. Now as for tournaments, everything I said above applies. However, you want to have fun with your opponent. You want to show them that you are not afraid...be friendly, and look confident. Normally fighters in comp go by what their opponent's appearance. Some questions they may ask themselves is "is he big?" "Does he look nervous?" "what rank is he?" these questions bring about a mental composition for your opponent to go by...so don't give htem reason to do this. Look calm, look confident, remember...all of these little things count. Don't look overly cool and too confident as to show cockiness, because this will give them more reason for wanting to beat you, but be sure to have fun. If yo get hit, bow and say "thank you"...because your opponent has now just shown you a weak point in your defense, which shows what you need work on, and you now have the knowledge to talk to your instructor and ask them how to make you better, so you'll be ready next time...I hope all of this has helped..kind of long, but I hoep it helps and good luck.

Fighting fans re a great weapon, and if you are entering tournies, are very impressive to watch, and extremely graceful. They are most definitely not a "woman's weapon"...fighting fans are a common weapon in kung-fu, and are used by men, women, children, and people that get hot in the summer (haha I couldn't resist either kicks)...but back on topic, there are many fan katas that are very slow, and graceful...then there are those that are fast, and beutiful. It depends on what you like, check out some video clips of fan katas and you might see what I mean.

I've been training with sais for quite a while now, being interested in them since I was a little kid. I'm now using a pair of black octagonal century sais (due to lack of money) and they're OK, but just that, "ok". I would suggest buying a good pair of sais such as shureido and be happy over the long term. As of now my century sais are complete crap. The prongs are boed on either side, and they don't resond well to flipping as well as I'd like them to, causing a few drops of them here and there (not very good if you're in competition). As for the instruction, many dojos, kobudo or not, teach weaponry. Personally my dojo teaches sais, but many dojos that don't, someone or another will know the use of the weapon, and can teach you. Or if you spread the word enough, someone who knows someone who knows someone may be able to teach you...just get the word out and start searching. As for tapes/books, first off I wouldn't do books because it isn't live and you can't learn welll from those, there may not be good angling etc.. in the pictures, so if you do decide to train by books/videos, pick videos because it will show you life-like movements, and you will be able to learn some basic movements, grips, stances, etc..with sais..and maybe incoporate them into one of your own katas..but I would really suggest finding a live instructor. Anyways..Good luck in training

Hey there, I have been training with sais for quite a long time, but I have only had one pair of sai. They are the black octagon century pair you're referring to. I wouldn't suggest getting them, as mine after only about a year are bowed...the prongs are boeing on either side of each sai, and they don't respond well now because of that. I suggest getting a pair that you will enjoy for a long time, as I will probably be investing in a better pair myself soon. Good luck finding what you need.

Hey there, I have been training with sais for quite a long time, but I have only had one pair of sai. They are the black octagon century pair you're referring to. I wouldn't suggest getting them, as mine after only about a year are bowed...the prongs are bowing on either side of each sai, and they don't respond well now because of that. I suggest getting a pair that you will enjoy for a long time, as I will probably be investing in a better pair myself soon. Good luck finding what you need.