monkeygirl

Well since I've seen a creative weapons form done with an UMBRELLA --- nothing surprises me. An UMBRELLA??? That sounds interesting! Do tell... It was quite a site!!! I didn't know rather to laugh or cry!!! It was creative forms but come'on!!!! It was one of those huge black mary poppin type umbrellas....lots of stabbing and striking moves....but I almost lost it when he opened and closed the umbrella and kiai'd ----AYYYYY-YAAAAAAA! Well, I guess it's better to use a black Mary Poppins-style umbrella instead of a pink one with purple polka dots Better yet, I've seen umbrellas that have 3D ears and tails and look like puppies.

I didn't have the patience to wait for them to cross. It just ticked me off after awhile.

Welcome to the forums! How did you do in the competition?

Hey Kai, this sounds very much like an article to me, and a good one at that. Why don't you submit it as one? We're alwasy looking for articles to add to our database, and yours would be a great addition to have.

Please don't ask questions like "which would win in a fight". Historically, those types of questions have lead to threads full of posts that simply say "X would win" and/or bitter, semantic arguments that turn personal. Instead, please try to compare and contrast the styles' techniques and training methods, and we can prevent such arguments. If this is not observed (or if the thread degenerates into an argument anyway) the thread will have to be closed, so please play nicely.

In Baseball: 3 strikes = 1 out 3 outs = next team's turn for 3 outs Each team gets one turn per inning, so there are 6 outs in an inning. I hope that makes sense, I'm not exactly a baseball fanatic or anything.

Welcome to the forums! I'll refrain from making any North Pole cracks

It looks pretty cool, but what's up with the timing of it? I remember seeing previews for this ages ago...

I missed 8, 10 and 14.

TKD will help you stay in shape and keep your stamina up until you find the art you really want to practice. Who knows, you may fall in love with TKD as many of us here have

W00t I got all but three. So I'm a partial idiot The other stuff on the site was pretty funny, too. Check this out: http://www.indianchild.com/card_trick1.htm I followed a link from the other site and found this. It freaked me out pretty badly a few times.

Welcome to the forums! This type of thread belongs in the Introduction forum, so I moved it there.

Angry White Pyjamas...isn't that about the Chinese Police and MA or something like that? I remember seeing it in the bookstore and thinking it looked funny, but then deciding otherwise.

lol Rich_2k3!! Heh at my old school, the scenario would be more like this: Instructor is sparring a blue belt woman Instructor: Oh by the way, I got your sister pregnant. yup yup, actually happened. Well, not the conversation, but the pregnancy...and they had only been dating a few weeks.

Hmmmm ... there's a lot of different stuff on the internet, y'know. What exactly HAVE you been looking at all this time?

That's why we have automatic weapons.

Find a scenic area where you will enjoy running. I hate running too, but I'm also thinking of forcing myself to like it. Part of what I hate the most is how boring it is, so some interesting landscape should help.

Welcome back!

Wow...I wonder if my Mom's PDA can do that! She just got it a week or two ago.

Interestingly enough, I wrote another success story for English class this year, using the same subject. However, my take on the issue is very different from this article, and rather bitter in comparison. I'm going to submit it as an article.

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. This "article" is really a short essay that I wrote for Creative Writing class. The assignment was to write about a success story in your life. I could have gone into more detail, but that would ruin the whole "short essay" idea. The month before I turned 13, I did what my old-fashioned community would consider wild and crazy thing. I joined a karate school. I was skeptical at first, but my brother and his best friend were doing it, so my father and I decided to try, too. Besides which, my best friend was a student. After my first night, I fell in love with the art (Tae Kwon Do, I soon learned Karate was just used as a generic term), and have missed very few classes since. As the months progressed, my brother, father and I progressed through the ranks. In my second month of training, I went to Thunder in the Valley, my first-ever tournament, and took first place in kata! I was so excited, especially since I had competed against higher ranks. A year went by; another successful tournament went by and I was now a blue belt. My father had to quit because of arthritis in his toes and I had to go into physical therapy for a problem with my hips (unrelated to training). Times seemed as though they could take a turn for the worst, but instead they got better; I was promoted to my dojo’s Leadership Team. Not long after, I was promoted to the Demonstration Team, then a higher level of the Leadership Team, until I finally achieved my current rank of Assistant Instructor. I also competed in many tournaments, winning First Place in nearly all of them. Along the way there were mishaps; a large controversy between two black belt instructors (one of them my best friend’s brother) and two red belts resulting in their discharge, my best friend leaving shortly afterwards, and my role in causing her brother to lose his black belt. Though I was slightly discouraged, my family and new friends encouraged me, and I pressed on. Overcoming physical difficulties and mental battles and tests, my day finally came. Over a year since my best friend quit, my brother and I, along with 5 other people, tested for our black belts. The test was the first of its format; a weeklong, 3-part test. On Monday, we did line drills such as blocking and kicking, and what we call the Mega-Kata, which is all 9 katas combined into one, long form. On Wednesday, we ran 3 miles before the test, followed by self-defense and finally sparring. This was the most brutal part of the test. I almost didn’t make it through! At one point I was backed into a wall, while a 6-foot tall, 4th Degree Black Belt beat the stuffing out of me. Somehow, I remained conscious, probably holding onto the knowledge that life would never be that brutal again. I qualified for Saturday’s testing. On Saturday, the final part of the test, we did Monday and Wednesday’s testing all over again. This time, however, it was just for show for an audience of family and friends. After one last beating (which I wasn’t even supposed to receive), the test was finally over. Regardless of whether or not I had passed, I was relieved that it was over. Of course, I wanted to pass and hoped dearly that I would, as I didn’t want to have to test again. But at that point, I was simply glad to have done my best and still be in one piece. I waited in agony, as my fellow testers were called up, one-by-one. So far, each had passed, including my brother. Finally, my name was called. My instructor gave the command to bow, and I did. He shook my hand and said the words I had waited so long to hear: Congratulations Tammy, 1st Degree Black Belt. All of my tension and stress let loose and I began to cry. I felt like a dork, but I cried. All seven of us had passed, with flying colors. Each of us had our doubts, but each of us managed to dig deep and shine like never before. To date, achieving my black belt has been my greatest achievement and success. Like any success story, there were many stumbling blocks along my way. But with the love and support of my family and friends, and the incredible training from my incredible instructor, I overcame the hurdles. To all those who have doubted me, I have shown them my true power and potential. No matter what anyone says, or how much they think I should feel otherwise, I am a 1st Degree Black Belt and proud.

I'll move this to Getting Started in the Martial Arts, since you're thinking of "Getting Started" in Kendo

Do you think it would be appropriate for that section? Take care. I think it would definitely be appropriate, a nice laid-back personal essay of your experience. Remember guys, KarateForums.com articles aren't big scary essays that you will be graded on. You're simply offering your thoughts, opinions and ideas to the rest of our community...to the rest of the world! Heck, you could probably even write a short story about a martial artist finding his way in the dark streets, with only a katana by his side and his trusty dog....oops, sorry got a bit carried away there

Okay, I'll bite: "Awwww, why??"

I'm guessing that PRC is a file format, mobipocket is the program used to read a PRC file, and of course a PDA is a Personal Digital Assistant ... or maybe a Public Display of Affection.