pegasi

I can't tell you how many nights I've laid in bed, with my eyes wide open. To me, it seems like I just can't "turn off". So, my default is to read a book. Something purely fictional, nothing serious or educational. I'm fond of fantasy books, magic, dragons, mystical creatures etc are entertaining. Reading at least has the body resting, even if the brain is stuck in gear. Something I do when I'm awake late, and my stomach is rumbling, is to have something with protein in it. A couple slices of sandwich meat on crackers, or peanut butter and jelly, etc. Not a lot, maybe a half sandwich or 5 or 6 crackers with something on it. Protein is harder to digest, so a little bit keeps the tummy content longer. I avoid anything too sugary or with caffine, they just make matters worse. A banana with a spoonful of peanut butter is good for sweet cravings. One of my latest things is to have my cd player read to me. There's an awful lot of books on cd available, and I've found some new ones by favorite authors. Laying in bed, comfy, with the light out and the cd player reading me a story often puts me out before the disc is done. The downside is that sometimes I play the same one 3 times to get to hear the end of the disc. One of my oldest standby insomnia cures is "relaxation discs (tapes)" or "meditation discs). I find nature sounds I like, such as thunderstorms, and play that on repeat. It lulls me to sleep. I've got a bunch of them, water in a stream with native american flute, waterfalls and rainforest birds, the thunderstorm ones, the ocean with piano music, etc. I like listening to the sampler machine at the store to decide what new one to try.

I am taking taekwondo. We spar in class some of the time, but it isn't a main focus for my school (we're not competition oriented). I feel like I improve a little each time we spar, and would like some tips from those who've got more experience. What I would like to know is this... at what point did you begin to feel like you were "getting it"? In the first sessions, I felt very clumsy, like I had to struggle to make any hits at all. Tonight was the best yet. I didn't feel like I was having to work as hard to engage with my partner. I know I'll never be the fastest or the strongest, but I would like to continue to improve a little every time I spar. What advice would you give to someone like myself, who likes sparring, but doesn't want to be as serious as someone who competes?

A "squat thrust" (squad thrust) is where, from a standing position, one bends down, places the hands on the floor by the feet, in a squatting position, then thrusts the feet out behind them, placing the body in a pushup position, then returning to a standing position, to repeat exercise. Another exercise I recall from my youth is one called "mountain climbers". You get into a pushup position, then pull one foot up under the torso, as if you might get up. Instead of getting up, you then procede to swap feet quickly. (sorta like changing form, same position opposite side of body)

I've made purchases on ebay off and on over a number of years. Have sold a few things too. The most important thing I do (aside from using paypal almost exclusively for payment) is to know the retail prices of what I'm looking for, so that I don't get caught up in paying more for something than it's worth. I use a guideline of 75%. If it's going to cost me more than 75% of what the item costs new, INCLUDING shipping, than it's not really worth getting. There are exceptions to such a rule, of course, but it makes a good general guideline, especially for lower priced items.

Sorry to hear about your loss. Losing a parent is hard, especially when suddenly. My mom's been gone 7 yrs now, and it still hurts sometimes. One thing that sometimes helps is sharing the good times. You could start a remembrance book, that everyone can write in, and make copies when you're done.

It's great you have a friend like that Jeet Kune Do. True friends like that are rare. You're very lucky.

I thought this was great and that you all might like it too... What a True Friend does (A)ccepts you as you are (B)elieves in "you" ©alls you just to say "HI" (D)oesn't give up ! ! on you (E)nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts) (F)orgives your mistakes (G)ives unconditionally (H)elps you (I)nvites you over (J)ust "be" with you (K)eeps you close at heart (L)oves you for who you are (M)akes a difference in your life (N)ever Judges (O)ffer support (P)icks you up (Q)uiets your fears ®aises your spirits (S)ays nice things about you (T)ells you the truth when you need to hear it (U)nderstands you (V)alues you (W)alks beside you (X)-plains thing you don't understand (Y)ells when you won't listen and (Z)aps you back to reality

Just thought I'd chime in that I'm no flyweight either, and I'm taking taekwondo now. I find that with time I have learned to do high kicks, I can now, almost 2 yrs into it, kick my own head height, shoulder height if kicking "cold". I'm still a large woman, I'm 5'4"and wear a size 6 dobok (gi). I do tkd because I like martial arts, and I can't do the low stances of shotokan anymore with my permanently messed up knee. Taekwondo (I'm wtf style, taegeuk forms) does do high kicks, but they don't do the low stances of traditional karate. There are things I can't do with my knee being damaged, like jump kicks, but I do eveything else I possibly can. I tried the jump front kick when we were first learning it, but it left me on my backside for the weekend after a thursday evening class. I could barely walk, the knee hurt so bad. So, that informed me of my limits. My instructor is fine with that, as long as I do everything I can do to the best of my ability, that's what counts. Don't let your size stop you, use your desire to train as a motivating factor to get you in class, putting out your maximum effort, along with better food choices, and you'll lose the pounds soon enough. The first step is the hardest one. You've seen the cheering section here... now JUST DO IT!!

I just wanted to add that even though I can't train shotokan anymore, I still remember the work it takes. I am one rank below 1st red (4th kyu) in taekwondo, and the red belt test is something a good bit beyond the ordinary ranking test. So, I think I do understand your apprehension about your 1st dan grading , even though my level isn't quite up to yours yet. My instructor in taekwondo tells everyone from white belt on to train every form (kata/poomse) every time you work on them. Start from the beginning and go through them all, without power, as a warmup, prior to focusing on the form for your current grade. This keeps the forms you have already mastered fresh in your memory, so that you can do them in that "no mind" state where you do them without conscious thought. A "time out" is not a bad idea. I hope you're feeling better now. Please don't forget, that no matter what the rank of your classmates, progress in any martial art is an individual thing, the main competition you have to face is yourself. Don't let the thought of your classmates taking their grading make you feel pressure to take yours, if you're not ready to do so. My instructor tells a story of someone who stayed a blue belt (roughly 6th kyu) for about 5 years. When asked why he didn't test, he told the person that he didn't want to. He explained that he wasn't concerned about the rank, he was concerned with perfecting what he knew.

What my instructor tells me is that it's all in the pivoting. If you don't pick up the heel on the supporting foot enough to clear the floor completely, the "drag" slows you down. Putting a bit more of a "hop" in with the pivoting gets more weight off the support leg during the pivot, making the turn faster. I see this when my instructor demonstrates, and am working on it myself. I find combination kicks a challenge, in part because of my permanent knee damage. At the other school we're affilated with, which trains with more of a sparring emphasis than we do, they do what's called "doubles". What they're doing is a round kick with a partial pivot, done left-right (or right-left) very very fast, consecutively, on the bag. It's hard to describe. I think of it more like executing the low part of low then high round kicks done with the same leg, but only doing the low part on each side, really fast.

I used to train Shotokan, but can't anymore due to knee damage. I enjoyed it immensely, had my 1st tournament while in shotokan. I hope you get as much out of it as I did!

You're probably looking for something similar to this idea http://www.martialartssupermarket.com/index.cfm?action=moreinfo&itemid=3230 but something much less expensive. maybe looking at it would help you to make your own??

I have 2 cats, both "mutts". I've taught one to sit up, like a dog would do to beg.... and they say you can't train cats.... yeah,right! Just gotta have the right motivation. The other cat plays fetch when she's in the mood. She started doing that on her own as a kitten.

One thing we have been doing in class that is a challenge and strengthens the hip movement is to do inside-to-outside hip rotation (like sweep kick w/o snap) and without putting foot on the floor (if you can), bring it back in the reverse motion outside-to-inside (like crescent kick w/o snap) then switch form fast and do the same with the other leg. I'll tell you, 5 or 6 reps of this is tiring, if done with the widest range of motion you have, as quickly as you can. It's also a coordination challenge, if you ask me, to do this very quickly. This works the hip through the range of motions like you'd use with sweep or crescent kicks, and helps with strengthening when doing the dual motion. Single motion (either in-out or out-in) is a normal warmup movement for loosening up the hipjoints, but the double movement is much harder.

I make a homemade broccoli cheese soup that's good. My mom taught me to make it. Definitely rates up there on the calorie scale, but it is good.

One of the easiest things to do is to get more fiber in his diet, even if it means making a milkshake and adding something like metamucil or benefiber to it. My stepmom gave my stepbrother mineral oil mixed with orange juice, but I seem to recall that he was such a brat about taking it. Can't say as I blame him, given how it probably tasted. I used metamucil with my son when he had a problem with hard stools.

There's a couple brands of tea out there that come in a blueberry tea. Non caffinated. It's good with just a bit of sweetener, nothing else. I also like a few other teas, mostly of "berry" origin. There's a mixed berry that Celestial Seasonings makes that I like too.

Anything you want to do is good. Look at your other aptitudes, pick something for a career that uses those aptitudes, and includes things you like to do. Just an example, but don't go be a paramedic if you can't stand the sight of blood, gore etc. Maybe be a mechanic or plumber if you're good with your hands and tools. I'm a machine builder, I built semiconductor equipment for almost 7 yrs, and now I'm building power control centers for telecommunications vehicles. (satellite trucks like tv stations use, amongst other things) I've been in martial arts actively for the last 22 months in TKD, and had been in shotokan karate in college a number of years ago. Did that for 2.5 yrs.

You could confront the other person and tell them that they need to go 'fess up and get the situation corrected so that the powers that be know it was them, not you, and that they have 24 hrs to do so, or you will. That would be fair, to give him a chance to 'fess up voluntarily, before going to the boss and placing the blame on him. I would make it clear that you were absent, hr can verify that, and that someone else, mention them by name, routinely uses your machine when you're not there. That's not an issue, except that they didn't turn it off. They should get the reprimand, and you should no longer allow others to use it, even if you have to lock it up in a cabinet before you go home.

It looks staged. If you look closely, you can see the man with his back to the camera look to his left, seeing the man and woman approach, before he does the "armbar" move. If he'd been looking at the man he was with right before and at the moment of impact, then I could have said it was accidental. He did look first, so that makes it premeditated, thus not an accident.

Take them down to your level... if they can't stand up, they can't fight so good, so taking out the knees is an option if it's a serious fight. You also gotta be quick.

No one has mentioned using a spray bottle with 50/50 bleach water solution in it to spray down your gear, then wipe dry with a clean towel. The bleach will kill the bacteria that cause the odor, and also kill any germs that came from your opponents. Obviously this would be inappropriate for colored cloth gear, which can be chucked in the washing machine and air dried. Day care centers use bleach/water solution to sanitize the toys the kids play with, so that transmitting colds, flu, strep etc is minimized. That's required by the health dept.

Stretch kick (basically like axe kick w/o the pull down) is something that you can do to work on height too. One thing that no one has commented on is with regards to pivoting. In order to get height in a side kick, you've also got to pivot the foot of the supporting leg so that you "open up" the hips the way they naturally go, which helps the height issue. Stretching and working on flexibility is part of it, but if you ignore correct body positioning, namely the supporting leg, you won't get the height or the power in the kick. My instructor tells us all the time that pivoting is important in most of the tkd kicks, including roundhouse, back kick, rear leg side kick, among others. Pivoting of the supporting leg is what helps to make fast kick (front leg roundhouse), fast as well as have power in it. Finally, pivoting is also important in preventing knee damage that can occur due to rotational torque on the knee of the supporting leg with a planted (non pivoting) foot.

I did feel kind of odd at first, being one of the few adults in my class (I was 33 when I started TKD), but as time has passed, things are going pretty well. My instructor started the class I'm in about 21 months ago, I started training that first month. Now that the class has been going on for a while, it's gotten bigger, and there are more adults joining. It's technically a "family" class, with both parents and their kids in it, but the instructor I have is great about separating us into adult and kid activities, as well as joint activities, so that we get the training appropriate to our levels. Now that I'm a "senior" student in the class, I get to help with the kids and new students from time to time, which I'm enjoying. It's also a learning experience for me too. For all you adults new to your classes, I say to hang in there, things get better the more you learn. It's also kind of like going to the gym, you might have to make yourself go in the beginning, but once you've been at it a while, you get so that you miss it. I had to sit out 6 weeks due to injury, and I can definitely say how true that is... I thought almost daily about when I could get back to class.

Hi, Just thought I'd comment that if you did get the size 9, you could probably get an alterations place to add in panels to make the uniform larger. This would most likely mean adding to the pants along the hip/leg on the outside, as well as in the top under the arms, or down the back. Just an idea, anyhow. The way things are made these days, they generally can't be "let out" like one poster suggested, but adding in panels of similar material to increase the size is a more likely possibility.