monkeygirl

You guys all made some good points. Yelling gives you an adrenaline rush, scares your opponent, tightens stomach muscles/etc. It also has an aerobic benefit. Try running a long distance, while talking the entire way. It's pretty hard because of the breath control. This will help your lungs become more efficient, etc. In my dojo, we often use yelling to signal to our partner that we are ready to go. There is also one more effective use of kiai. Not exactly practical, but it is still a use: Tournaments. In competition, yelling can make or break you! Little or no yelling can have a dramatic impact on your score. There doesn't seem to be a limit to yelling in ISKA tourneys (I think I would score someone a bit lower if their entire kata was composed of nothing but yelling

It's good to have experience in both areas. Being small, a fight will probably result in me being on the ground, since it wouldn't take much to get me there. I'd have to say in a self-defense situation, I'm better at ground fighting. I think it's also safer for me. I can't really generate a lot of power while standing up, but a bigger opponent could. Having my opponent in close to me, I can do a lot more, and s/he can't really get away. Learning how to get up quickly is also very important, as well as a good pair of running shoes Thank God I've never been in a real fight, if I did, even with ground fighting I'd probably be dead meat. :dead:That's why I also practice my negotiating skills

In our school we try to approach weapons with safety. We used to have a seperate weapons class, so you could start at white belt, but now we have a new system. In order to learn weapons, we have to nominate you to the National BlackBelt Club (BBC). You have to be at least a Green Belt (about 1 year) to be in the BBC. This way we can control who is learning weapons so no crazies get through Sometimes people don't get in until around Red or Brown Belt. Sometimes we know from the time they're yellow belt and can't wait for them to get through I started right before I got my blue belt.

Some martial arts are considered sports while others are not. For instance, pure "Tae Kwon Do" has been considered a sport by the Eastern arts since the '70s, around the time of its birth. It's sort of like the rich person driving their Porsche and looking at your '87 Ford Tempo with contempt. "That's a mere bicycle" sort of thing. It's 10:30 pm and I've had a long day at the dojo so this may not make much sense Some martial arts are just that: arts. Some are merely for the self-defense aspects. Some, like Olympic TKD are actual sports. The fact that they have "olympic" in front of their name proves that I think Oh, and if winning big at a big tourney should happen to get me a movie deal or something, I think that serves a purpose If Only

While I agree that breaking can be risky and should be approached with caution, nobody is forcing people to do this. They can leave at any time or refuse to do it if they feel uneasy. I think as long as the students are kept informed of the risk, it's their choice whether or not they want to do it. As for how many injuries, how many injuries are caused by inadequate self-defense instruction? (See "Victim of a McDojo" thread) Breaking can be just as important, as KickChick has said.

Competing!!!!!!!!! I love competing soooooo much There's an upcoming tourney, Battle of Harrisburg on July 6th that I'm preparing for. I'm so excited about it I keep blabbing everywhere. This'll be my first tourney on the semi-state level. I say semi-state because it's open to the whole state, not necessarily any kind of finals or something I worked up to. However, I'd love to get into state competitions if I could find them. I'm too impatient to search on the Internet So far I'm undefeated, but I've only been to 5 tournaments. I compete in weapon forms, open-hand forms, and sparring. I've only competed in weapons twice. I have my very own custom-made kata that I've performed the last two tourneys and beaten my blackbelt buddy with (both times I beat the same blackbelt). It was a small tourney so we got grouped together. There was no seperate blackbelt division it was so small. _________________ Short people rock, 1st Degree Brown Belt Assistant Instructor Modern-American Tae Kwon Do [ This Message was edited by: monkeygirl on 2002-06-03 22:08 ]

WHOOOOOOOAAAA Everyone calm down!! No need to get nasty 24 mph isn't that unreasonable. It's not like you're actually moving your hand a whole mile, just a short distance. I know how to properly throw a kick to actually get some "oomph" behind it. I am a brown belt, after all. Granted, I'm not a 5th dan Black, but I'm not a green either I think just after practice and really working at it I'll figure out how to use my body properly. I tried that tonight in class while everyone else was sparring (I still can't spar yet because my right eye is still acting up. I'm still seeing double, and it's been 2 1/2 weeks.). I hadn't really had the opportunity to hit the 100lb bag in a long time, and I was amazed at the distance I could move it! When I was a yellow belt I couldn't move it at all. Now, it flew pretty good. *proud* No, I didn't have a problem with my wrist, a couple times my ankle went funny, but it stopped soon. The bag spun a bit, but that stopped soon too. It was a REEEEALLLY nice feeling pounding that bag. Stress relief !!! Thanks for your encouraging words, everyone! I never would have thought about using the heavy bag. It gives me a nice alternative to weight lifting, which my Mom would never go for.

My school doesn't do breaking. We had started to get into it at one point, but my best friend sprained her wrist pretty bad, and we haven't tried it again. Of course, I was absent that night, so I've never done any breaking I at least wanted to try... Oh well.

thanks guys! you all have some great points. KickChick you beat me to it....my Mom leg presses more than most guys, somewhere in the range of 700 lbs.!!!!!!!!! You have to be 16 to do cardio in my school because it is high impact and "bad for your bones". Bon: Obviously your friend isn't THAT obsessed if he can only do 30 pushups. Doing repetitions over and over again and pushing yourself slightly is what makes you stronger. I've had success with this before, I just haven't had time during the school year to really focus on it. I never really thought of using a heavy bag as anything more than stress relief. Although I don't have my own bag, I'll keep that in mind [CT]pizzaboy: technique isn't really the problem. I can still kick harder than when I started, but when my legs only weigh about 20lbs each and i only have about 50 extra pounds behind that, I can't really do much. And no I don't have kicks that "flob around like spagetti noodles. "

Wow KickChick! Thanks for that awesome reply. I assume by 203 times you meant 2-3 times.... (prays) My school actually offers a cardio kickboxing class, but you have to be 16. Once school lets out, I have a training program in mind. Get up at 6, do every kata, ton of pushups, situps etc.

LOL he called them numchuks for crying out loud..... it's nunchaku

Why are you guys still replying to this post? It's almost a year old! You're welcoming someone who should be welcoming YOU lol

At 15, I know I'm still young. However, I am close to testing for my blackbelt, in say 6 months. My problem is this: I have little to no power. I don't think it's even a problem of utilizing my power, because I can kick harder now than when I started. I think the problem is that I'm 5'2 and weigh 98 pounds. (my "colleagues" make fun of me saying that the weight of any object in the world can be determined by taking my weight and doubling it ) It's somewhat embarassing when a 10 year old has more power than I do. So here's my basic goal: To gain more power! I don't expect to gain a significant amount by my blackbelt test, but if I should pass, what kind of blackbelt would I be if I were relatively weak? My mom says "The only way she'll gain power is when she has kids" ...NOT something I plan on doing soon. Getting to the point: What do I need to do to gain power? Weight training is sort of out of the question. I can't join the gym until I'm 16, and I'd probably have to wait longer anyway.....for my underdeveloped bones so they don't....snap. I don't want steroids or any of that junk. Can anyone PLEASE help me???

My instructor is great. We have a small school (105 +- a few), but every student loves him. We also have another full instructor who can be a bit intimidating, but the kids are getting used to her. I teach as well, but I'm an Assistant Instructor (as my sig says) I like to think that I'm a good Asst. Instructor, but who knows Anybody who's been around for awhile HAS to be a good instructor, unless there's no competition. Otherwise, the school just won't survive.

In my school, we don't do a lot of footwork. Basically, all you need is to keep up on your toes (ball of your foot, that is) and bounce slightly. This will allow you to spring forward for fast kicks and punches. If you want to fake someone out and do a lot of kicking, footwork is good. This way you can set up for a kick and it just looks like you're acting normally. This is all theory to me, though, since I don't really use footwork.

You have all made some good points. However, the main reason for this is YOUR OWN SAFETY! The first two knuckles (middle and index fingers) are locked in pretty good. Try to wiggle them. You can't. They're the largest knuckles as well. The other two knuckles (ring and pinky) are called "floating knuckles" and aren't locked in very well. They wiggle a little bit. If you punch very hard with these knuckles, you'll probably hurt. That's why uneducated people usually hurt their hands. There's also the previously mentioned reason of the knuckles sticking out further. Anyway, that's what I've been told.

I had some problems with my hips because I'm very flexible. I went to a phsyical therapist and she told me that my hips were "subluxing", or popping out of joint and then right back in. I was basically dislocating my hips, and it hurt pretty bad. I'm pretty loose-jointed all around. She told me that when you crack your knuckles you're popping them back into joint, so it's actually a good thing. The bad time is when you force them to pop. Also, I find that whenever I do a sidekick, if I'm in a quiet room, I can hear my hip make this loud "thud". It's kinda creepy. Anyway, that's all I know.

We've done some knife defense before (and now, at my belt level it's a self-defense requirement! ack!), and I do NOT feel comfortable with it. I have no idea what to do, and I can never understand the self-defense techniques. They just don't make sense to me. I think it's pretty safe to say that I suck at it, and my only chance of survival would be to give the guy my money and ball up into my turtle shell. Even if you are experienced at knife defense, saying you could "definitely handle it" is pretty naive. Like previous posters have said, you don't know how experienced the person is. There's also the element of surprise, and the fact that the person could be huge. Most importantly, though, is adrenaline stress. In class, you know someone isn't going to kill you. On the street, however, you freak out. If you don't freak, good for you. You're well-trained. However, there's a fine line between prepared and just downright ****y. If you think you're Superman and can take on anything, you're more likely to get hurt than if you just give in to their demands. Read "Victim of a McDojo" and you'll see what I mean. True, while this person only THOUGHT he was well-trained...what do you think? You can never know how well-trained you are until it's applied in real life. Except for me, 'cos I know I would die

There is a tournament on City Park Island in Harrisburg on July 6th!!! A bunch of students from my dojo are going. If you're in the area, check it out! It has 3 divisions: sparring, forms and weapon forms. $30 to compete, FREE to watch. I think you can find it online but I'm not sure when. They also break up the divisions to very small increments. Because of these small increments, last year there were sometimes only 3 people per division, if any at all. That's why you all have to come down and provide some competition!! If not, just wish me luck then, because this is my first tourney on the state level (although it's open to the world) I'm somewhat daunted

Whoa. I thought my saga was bad.... Girl A and Boy A (both from the same karate school, teach together) like each other for two years but never date because their parents say they're too young. Boy B (annoying boy that spreads rumors) tells Girl A that Boy A is cheating on her. Girl A is heartbroken, alone for Christmas, blah blah blah. Boy A doesn't realize that Girl A has "broken up" with him (can't really break up if you're never together), until he tries to get touchy-feely with Girl A and she shrugs him off. Boy A is heartbroken. 5 months later, Girl A is over Boy A but Boy A is still pining. Girl & Boy A are still friends, though. Girl A finds out that Boy C (Boy A's best friend, also a teacher at the karate school) is in love with her. Girl A likes Boy C but still feels guilty about leaving Boy A and worries that dating Boy C will ruin her friendship with Boy A. Girl A is really starting to like Boy C, but is worried about the same situation happening as Boy A. Working together really messes things up. Meanwhile, Boys B, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K & L are pining for (or have pined for at some point) Girl A. Girl A thinks they're just friends but eventually finds out otherwise. Girl A is flattered, but annoyed. Unfortunately, there are only Girls B and C...no more. The boy:girl ratio is like, 20:1. Add in that most of those are teenagers..... Boy C begins to show off for Girl A and fight more and more with Boy A. Sure, they're martial artists, they always fight...but now it's getting nasty. Saga continues......

Hrm..... you think THAT is weird? I was looking over some old songs I had written, and found one talking about war and destruction and such, scrolled down and saw the date...... 9/11/2000. Freaky, eh? What's even freakier is I only had to change a few things and it fit 9/11 perfectly. Here it is: (Kinda Long) I Live On: Original Version: Everything is so complex The sky is turning upside down A rain cloud churns A flower burns Through the tears of a madman’s frown I look through the trees And see war and desolation A foghorn blares Men lose their wares And they miss their destination What is going on? Where have all the heroes gone? God only knows where they’ve gone to Maybe to heaven Maybe to hell They cast their shadows upon you You feel something unknown At least you felt That’s more than I can say With all that’s happening I live on in a solemn way, but hey [Chorus] “I live on, yeah I live on I may not look like it, but I live on…” I have just been so vexed The moon rolls to its side The skies fall Planets and all A whole universe has just died I feel a summer breeze And in the midst of all the rapture They sing a song And before long The madmen pass and make their capture What is going on? Where have all the singers gone? Lord only knows where they’ve gone to Maybe to Paris Maybe to Rome They cast their demons on you And take you somewhere At least you’re home That’s closer than I am today With all that’s happening I live on like a solemn lamb, but hey [Repeat Chorus] The End, 9/11/2000 _________________ Short people rock, 1st Degree Brown Belt Assistant Instructor Modern-American Tae Kwon Do [ This Message was edited by: monkeygirl on 2002-05-20 11:43 ]

Oops. Sorry, I didn't mean to give that impression! I was only joking when I said he'd be in the Emergency Room next. He apologized profusely...even if he hadn't it just isn't in my nature to actually HURT anyone...to a fault.

:???: Wha...??? :???: Ok, I've heard English people talking about their weight, and they measure it in...Stones??? Could somebody please tell me what a stone is and how many pounds that is?

Some of you may have noticed my absence (some may not) over the weekend. Well, on Wednesday night in class, I was sparring a rather large student. He was testing for a stripe, so he was going "all-out". All eyes were on us, because I was a part of testing him (he's actually a higher belt than I am, but I was warming him up). At some point very early in the match, I apparently "walked right into" one of his back kicks. This kick hit me straight in my right eye at full force. My friends helped me take my gear off so I could breathe, and eventually helped me to the car. My brother drove me home, where I threw up and Mom took us to the hospital. I was there from about 8pm to about midnight. I had a catscan (fun fun fun...I thought the machine was going to eat me or something) a couple shots, and found out I had a concussion. All this was without seeing anything because I couldn't see out of my right eye. Now, I'm a bit better. I'm not wearing an eye patch anymore, and I actually got through 2 demos and a Relay for Life cancer benefit over the weekend My wonderful friends snapped my eye patch a couple of times, and did some ridiculous things simply because they knew I couldn't roll my eyes But other than their usual joking were very supportive I'm still not supposed to spar until I'm 100% better...doctor's orders. I'm pretty freaked out about sparring again though... We told the doctors to expect the guy who hit me to come into the ER soon

Quite simply, competition isn't for everyone. If you're easily discouraged, you probably won't have the confidence to begin with to do well in a tournament, so you'll lose, and your confidence will be lowered even further. One of my best friends, Jacob (he's turning 12 next week, but he's a great kid) is a very talented martial artist. However, he has faced some very bad luck in the past. In his first few tournaments, he was a yellow belt and didn't have experience competing. Losing was pretty much to be expected. Later on, however, it just seemed that he couldn't win. He always competes against another student (Chris) from our school. These two have come up through the ranks together and always compete. Chris is better at weapons and the Jacob is better at open-hand forms. Usually, they go one-and-two in their respectivally better categories. One tourney, it seemed like my friends were going to win their normal positions quite easily. They had remarkable performances. Their only competition was a girl with nonexistant stances and yells, and a distant, faraway expression. The competition should merely be between Chris and Jacob, right? I don't remember which category it was for, but when the scoring came up, they had finished Cory, girl, Jacob. It was one of the most controversial matchups of the day!! Needless to say, Jacob was upset. He was a bit younger at the time. Now, I don't want to sound like sour grapes. I'm sure the girl was talented in her own right, and had earned her belt. I tried to be as objective as possible, but I couldn't see how she possibly finished second. Now, I never heard the scores, but I had a friend who was judging. Apparently, the blackbelt lady who was tallying up the scores, couldn't seem to get the math right, even with a calculator. They kept changing to simpler and simpler methods of scoring, but she still couldn't handle it. I guess there was nobody to cover for her. My judging friend tells me that by his mental calculations, the standings should have actually been Jacob, Chris, and the girl. Jacob was heartbroken, and was giving up on the idea of tournaments. To make matters worse, the girl beat him in sparring for "points" she made in non-scoring areas! However, I tried to comfort him and help him move on. You can't just re-calculate the scores and take that girls' trophy, I told him. (This was pre-olympics) It was also touchy ground to try and dispute it, since that would be disrespecting the blackbelts. I don't think my consolation was much help, however, since I had placed all Firsts. My trophies felt cheapened, though, as I had the same mathematically-challenged judge. Tournament experiences like this can tell you whether or not you're meant to compete. Jacob doesn't have the right attitude to "buck up" and carry on. Chris hasn't really had much reason to, so he'll keep competing.