monkeygirl

For the most part, I agree with this statement, and I'll tell you why: Far too many people look at Black Belt as "the end". I cannot tell you how many parents I have heard say they wanted their kid to "finish". Ideally, can we ever really "finish"? Without a doubt, a Black Belt is a high honor and esteemed achievement that shouldn't be given lightly, BUT, it does not mean the wearer must be perfect. That's why there are multiple degrees of black belts. 1st degree Black Belt is not the end: as many have said, it is indeed the true beginning. So if it takes you longer than three or four years to "begin", that seems a little long to me. That's also why I don't really have a huge problem with "young" black belts (black belt is just another color in the system...nobody complains about 8 year old brown belts). Of course, there are always extreme exceptions, so I'll try not to overgeneralize. For the most part though, I think 3-4 years is a good time period. Anyway, I'll stop myself before I turn this into an off-topic tangent instead of a related example.

Hidden monkey hands, of course

Yeah, I've seen a guy do 5 or 6 like tommarker mentioned (but he broke all of them successfully). It was like his upward trajectory never ended! The boards were pretty wimpy, but the guy made up for it with the sheer difficulty of the technique. Personally, I've only ever broken one board. And that was with a hammerfist, and my instructor didn't tell me to do it right, so I ended up hurting myself.

The thing I like about foam-dipped gloves (at least the kind that I use), is that my fingers are free, and I could open my hand to grab my partner, or throw a ridgehand/knifehand, whatever. Weighted boxing gloves are good for muscle endurance and building speed. I wouldn't personally use boxing gloves in a sparring match, probably even if they weren't weighted, because of the enclosed hands.

First, I must caution you: whenever you find gear that is significantly discounted, it's probably either used or defective. My friend bought sparring gear through Century during one of their Christmas sales...a month later, the stuff disintegrated. http://www.Froogle.com (part of the Google giant) allows you to search for items by price range and description. Also, KarateForums has a gear shop...you may be able to find some good deals through there.

To post photos, use the "Img" button in the Post Reply (NOT Quick Reply) page. Then, just copy and past the url (address) of the image. The image has to be on a website already, you cannot attach images to posts directly from your computer. However, you CAN upload images to our Photo Album, and then direct the readers to there. That would probably be easier than going through the process of uploading through an FTP, especially if you don't already have a personal webpage. So my suggestion is to use the Photo Album.

Whoa, I thought I had replied to this already... Well, I'm replying now: I'm a student at a nearby prep school (spring break starts tomorrow, YEAH!) I babysit every now and then This summer I'll hopefully be a Junior Counselor for the summer camps at my high school. Other than that, I'm an unemployed bum.

It could be nerve damage, or it could be a hairline fracture or something more serious. I think you should have a doctor check it out. It may be nothing, but the sooner you find out, the better. If you wait a few weeks and then it REALLY starts to hurt, the problem may have developed into something large, whereas it could have been easily prevented if you had just seen a doctor sooner. Don't be reluctant to see a doctor! Doctors are a martial artist's best friend...they fix us up so we can break ourselves again

I think that was kind of his point. To a certain extent, McDojoism is in the eye of the beholder. There are many cases of people overusing the term, and confusing the issues. The term "McDojo" is meant to define a school that is a scam, lead by a con artist. Generally, this means the "sensei" has little to no real training, but sometimes it can be a genuine black belt (in terms of skills, not morals, obviously) who has turned greedy. Typically, a McDojo lies and cheats, often teaching dangerous techniques that they claim will kill anyone (in cases of an inexperienced sensei). There is some controversy as to whether or not a dojo who gives Black Belts to children is a McDojo. However, the major, underlying current is deception. If a school makes promises it can not or simply does not keep, that school is untrustworthy and can be deemed a McDojo. Now, despite what many others may say, just because a school teaches a style or uses a training method that could allegedly never stand up to school/style X's training methods, doesn't mean it's a McDojo. A school that focuses on tournament training, heck a school that does only kata for an hour, is not necessarily a McDojo. Not every dojo has to teach its students the essentials of self-defense or how to take a sidekick. If the dojo has never claimed to be a rough-and-tough school, there is no deception and therefore no McDojoism. It's in cases like these that it comes down to "whatever makes you happy". If you truly want to do nothing but kata for an hour, that's fine. Just as long as you don't become brainwashed to think that you are suddenly a master of Pankration (which to my knowledge, doesn't even have kata) because your dojo tells you so. That would fall under the deception category.

Only in extreme cases can one really tell if a school is a 'McDojo' right away. Try out a few classes, give it some time, and don't lock yourself into any long-term committments until you're sure about the place. Hope it works out for you, keep us posted

Welcome back Cheeky and ramy!!

A kid in my English class is "giving up" being mean to people for Lent...so on Tuesday, he had to work off 40 days' worth of teasing, etc.

That reminds me...I took my age out of my sig. I'm 16, so I don't exactly have the standpoint of years of experience (I have some experience in the whole "waiting" area, although it obviously wasn't as serious as marriage). I was just trying to offer a feminine point of view.

Fat Tuesday or Faschnacht (sp?) day in Germany is the day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins. Ash Wednesday marks 40 days before Easter, methinks. Not exactly sure how that works on a leap year.

Whoa whoa slow down a second... It sounds to me like your girlfriend wants to get married but is afraid of commitment. Yes, it happens to girls too. The thought of sharing the rest of your life with only one person can be pretty scary. Maybe she just wants to relish a little alone time and bachelorettehood before marriage. My opinion is that the best thing you can do is to give her some space and let her sort things out. Keep in touch with her family..if they like you, they'll keep you informed, so you can be there for her if necessary. Try to be as understanding as possible of her feelings. Even if you think you aren't smothering her (and maybe you aren't), she could steel feel overwhelmed. It's a fine line: you don't want to smother her, but you also don't want to leave her completely alone. I don't know your girlfriend, so I can't guarantee that this assessment is accurate. But in the end, if you two are really meant to be together, she'll come back. Just give it some time, and good luck!

lol ZR... I don't know that we "celebrate" Pancake day... I didn't even know there was an official day for it. Every now and then though, organizations in this area will host pancake dinners/breakfasts. Do you have Bisquick in Purley? That stuff is great for making pancakes. Basically it's just a batter mix... you add a few ingredients and *poof* pancakes! ...except when I make them. They're more like gooey ashcakes. But my brother and mom make FANTASTIC Bisquick pancakes. One time, my friend made pancakes using 1/2 CUP (.2 pints) of salt instead of 1/2 TABLESPOON (.01 pints). I don't know what he was thinking. His dog wouldn't even eat them.

If you pull your knees into your chest while laying on your back, then kick out and fling your body upwards... that's a kip-up. If not, I have no idea what you're talking about. Then again, it's entirely possible that you don't understand me either, considering the freakish description I just gave...

Welcome to the forums! So tell us a little about yourself. What are your interests (besides martial arts, of course)?

Welcome to the forums!

I'll move this to the Introductions forum. Welcome to the forums!

Nice article, Steve! Very creative.

In TaeKwonDospeak, WTF = World Taekwondo Federation There is also the ITF = International Taekwondo Federation Each federation has its own background and governing policies. Just from what I've seen firsthand, there's a pretty serious rivalry between the two. If you cruise this forum, you can find a lot more detailed information on those federations, as well as others, if you like.

I believe this belongs in the Chinese Arts Forum, so I'll move it there for now. If I'm wrong and you can think of the best forum for this thread (General MA excluded), please send me a PM and I'll try to fix it.

Teh fluffy Thingy? That's great! I got my nickname (monkeygirl) from my family when I was 10 or 11. I was always climbing on things and running around like a primate. Plus, monkeys were (and still are!) my favorite animal. It's one of few nicknames that have actually stuck. My blackbelt nickname is Tammy "The Whammy" because of my tendency to "whammy" people upside their heads. Basically though, we got the idea from my dad's nickname for me: "Tammy-wammy-from-Miami"

I haven't seen the third yet...waiting to rent it since the second one was so disappointing.