PhnxShnx

Thanks for all the advice.. Yeah man, i said "Orange", Shidoshi doesn't mess around, he makes us work! I'm not sure what the black belt test will entail.. but i know it's 6.5 hours (1.5 hours written, and 5 on the floor). So for the next few weeks i have to: Not panic, Meditate, Know my fears, Practice, meat and potatoes, but not change my diet too drastically, Can't get lucozade here, (small town, 3 stores) but i can get redbull and gatorade.. but i think i'll skip the redbull.. it makes me crash after a couple hours.. I'll be going to the gym, doing the bike and weights.. i do horse stance for 5 mins every morning, and a low doko for 5 before bed.. I think i'll up it to 6 or 7 though.. (with stretching of course) I don't have access to a heavy bag, but i'll try some shadow boxing.. What are wind sprints? Anything i missed? Thanks again, PxSx

Don't feel bad. It's important to know how, for 2 reasons off the top of my head: 1) To recognize if someone is about to do it to you (this goes for any move). That is, to practice it, and have it practiced on you, so that you can see it coming a mile away. 2) To see (and feel it done to you) how easy it is. It's important to understand just how delicate you are.

I s'pose you could also press the phone up to his groin and hope the RF renders him infertile.. I dunno.. for me, the last people i want coming if i'm about to be attacked is the cops.

Purpose? Do i need a purpose?

Hooligans: Yo, I'm gonna rip you apart. You: Can you hold on a sec, I need to call the police. Hooligans: Oh, yeah ok, sure man, take your time.

That'll get me my orange belt, that's for sure.. Around my neck and securely fastened to the ceiling..

Hey everyone, I've got my from-yellow-to-orange belt testing coming up in 3 weeks, kinda nervous.. Ok, actually very nervous.. It's going to be a one hour written exam on centerline theory, ki channels, pressure points (and their names), history, combat psych, herbal medicine (various tree barks, leaves and fungi for healing and harming), anatomy, meditation techniques.. and a bunch of other stuff i'm sure.. and then, 3 hours on the floor! Every (white & yellow) kick (7), block (5), knife hand(s) (4), punch (7) from every stance (6, I think) with each arm and leg (5 times each).. I'm a math major, and i calculate that that is alot! That of course means roundhouses from backstances, front push kicks from horse stances, and every awkward combo you can think of.. Then of course there's kata, sparring, breaking, grappling, knife defence, break falls, rolls, throws, pivots, and probably some surprises.. And of course, timingwise it falls right in the middle of midterms. I admit, I'm scared. I'm freaking out. Any idea how I should prepare for something like this? My endurance isn't so great, and I know after the inital do-everything-from-everything thing, i won't have the strength left to do my katas right, nor spar, or actually anything.. i think i'll probably have a heart attack. Any ideas?

Get a massage. A good one, by a pro. I recommend the chinese kind, where the girl walks on your back. If you're brave, try accupuncture. It works. Quite well. If you do the accupuncture, go to a real place. Some physiotherapists know how to do it, but they can't compare to the traditional way. A good accupuncturist (think old chinese man with a kill-bill beard) will spin the needles with their hands, directing chi, stuff like that. Physiotherapists will hook the needles up to a battery powered pulsing electrode thing and run electricity through you.. It works too, but a real master will know accupuncture for all kinds of stuff.. Such as addiction, depression, stress, as well as pain and sickness..

OOOhhhhh... Man.. My lampshade style iMac would be an awesome flail! Hmm.. does insurance cover that? I can't believe i didn't think of that! That's awesome! I've definately practiced swinging a mouse around... just never the whole computer..

I've heard that was a good movie. HUH? I thought it was a good movie. Probably one of the better paradies that I have seen. i assume you're talking about kung fu hustle.. i don't know, it was ok.. but it was too much.. a chinese version of kung pow..

The key to breaking it is geting something behind it to pivot it on. I like to use my wrist, just under my thumb. Get it behind, hold on tight, and strike (hard) the chin up and towards your pivot. It'll break. Poke his eyes out first so he doesn't see what you're doing.

Biting is a really bad idea. It is probably one of the easiest ways to contract some rather horrible diseases. Or deliver them..

Number 1: Zatoichi Runners up: Twins Effect 1 (called Vampire Effect in North Amer.), Samurai Jack, Ping Pong (not a fighting movie, but more like a striving for the perfection of character movie) Crouching Hero Flying Daggers Obviously Ong Bak Ninja Turtles (I'm not ashamed) Shaolin Soccer (but not kung fu hustle.. it was lame)

Hmm.. a dry shirt, tiger balm, notebook & pens, shozoku top (i wear the pants), mini-mag lite, numchucks, and some toy guns.. and of course a water bottle.. my belt's wrapped around the 37 mats i lug back and forth with my other arm. (We train at a university, and we can't store our stuff there)

Conditioning builds up the bone, slowly adds layer upon layer of bone material. Probably kills nerves too, but I'm told that even after 20 years of conditioning, it still hurts..

NIN - Burn, from natural born killers soundtrack

Depends on the stick. I didn't say two by four. Conditioning makes the difference of your arm breaking or not. This is my point. Without conditioning, blocks are not effective, the first hard kick or stick or conditioned arm you block, will break your arm. and how can blocks be effective if people forget to use them? They can't. But, they ARE effective if you train to use them automatically. Then you don't forget, you don't even have to remember, you just do it. For effective blocks: Condition, and train. seems pretty obvious to me..

Blocks are effective, even in real world fights.. but most people just forget to use them, or haven't conditioned their arms to the point where they won't break. If you try to block a stick coming to your head, and you haven't conditioned your arms, your arm will break. If they are conditioned, hopefully the stick breaks. I think the trouble with forgeting to do it comes from the multitude of different punches that could happen. If you train in style X, then you will automatically react with a block to an X style punch.. but then someone comes at you with an uppercut, or a barnyard swing or something from style Y.. if you don't practice blocking these, as easy as they are to block, you won't *automatically* do it.. In the chaos of a real fight, everything needs to be automatic.

Woah, maybe i'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I saw the guy in the center video in the top row. I was watching a man teaching another man kung fu in Hong Kong, in Shatin, in front of a post office (seemed like a good spot). I sat and watched for a while, he was really really good. He was stomping on the cobblestones and i could just feel it shake my feet.. Anyways, I'm pretty sure that's the man I saw.. Any idea who he is? I didn't get a chance to talk to him... (i didn't speak much cantonese then...) PhnxShnx

Regarding knee trouble with the horse stance: I've had knee trouble since i was 12 (about 13 years ago). I could never bend down, kneel without kneepads, walk up stairs without some discomfort, etc.. About a year after i started training, i would still have sharp pains in my knees if i ever did a good horse stance, or a back stance for too long.. that is, UNTIL i started trying to hold the horse stance as long as possible. within days the pain was gone, my kicks are better, and i haven't had knee trouble since. I have to say, the horse stance cured my knees. My doctor explains it like this: By strengthening your leg muscles, the muscles lift the knee cap slightly, so there is less rubbing in the joint. I noticed improvement in all areas (katas, drills, just plain moving) and I noticed it immediately. 5 mins a day.