zulu

i understand your concern regarding your shins but they are actually a very strong bone, alot stronger than those little bones in your foot you'll break when kick someone with full power. If you properly condition your body and legs including shins you shouldn't have any difficulty unless you have a pre-existing medical condition that may weaken your bones. When i started Muay Thai my shins bruised and were sore fro about the first week or two but after that i kick the pole bags at full speed and it feels better the harder i kick. I also think it's a very realistic fighting style and functional with the low kicks they're awesome. with your bigger frame your reach will be good and when you grapple which will happen in any street fight unless you knock him out you got long legs to generate great power from a knee strike which will send him down fast.

Adolescence what a time, yeah it's a very difficult period for almost everyone. I view these shootings as an enviorenmental cause and of course a recent phenomenon. First, the teenage brain isn't completley developed teh frontal lobe which is responsible for executive funtion (planning and consequences) is not yet developed thus the impulsivity you see across the board in all teenagers in all contries. this comes into play when the morals and expectations of the young person aren't instilled through society. Let's face it we see the majority of these incidents as well as drug dealing and other more major offenses occur in city schools (actually where guns are less accessible vs. rural areas where a large percentage hunts) i view this as happening here because these kids don't feel accountable to anyone but themselves and close group of like minded friends. No or very limited adult supervision/responsibility, no communal standards (eg. Mrs Johnson, neighbor) to help along the way. they really aren't counted or valued as citizens at that young age they are really sort of on their own. Also, any infractions at that young age are a slap on the wrist, which just emboldens them, until they're 18 then into the pokey and learning how to be a more sophisticated criminal. yes it's horrible and they ruin their lives nad the worst part is they didn't even get a chance to experience life yet, what a bummer with only adolescent memories to look back on. I rambled, but it's just such a difficult question. i see the answer in communal standards, unfortunately not rewarded in US living styles.

Kudos to the CNN slant. They're the worst at hype, they hype everything. Also, to the earlier comment about prosecutors Right on! once you get in system you're screwed. You have to be very careful with cops too. Their even more crooked and morally corrupt.

Bit search, What's up with the America bashing? An interesting and funny article critiqueing the affluenza culture of the US. Turns into a couple of slams from you. I realize there's alot of people out there that hate America. But the realization is that no country is perfect. I guess when a country like people becomes succesful in a relatively short span (150 yrs give or take) people become upset and point fingers because there success hasn't matched the leaders. HMMM... Capitalism works, that's why we're free world leaders. President Bush is a great Capitalist and leader alot better than Al Gore would have performed with the terrorist attacks of 9-11, I"m convinced (I supported clinton and al gore previously funny how things change, especially when you are a citizen of the country) and oh yeah you live in the UK. you should be thanking the US for the protection you received in WWII or else you may be a German. And as far as Ireland goes US involvement there should be limited it's YOUR WAR kill'em all let God sort'em out. talentless rich kid? Let's face it all political candidates in all countries have been historically wealthy or else who could afford the time and commitmenet to their country if their struggling to survive? And let's face it President George W. Bush is doing a bang up job. why is your criticism worthless (although I resonded to it) because you're not an US citizen, you can't vote, you have no tangible impact on our system, just dribbling opinions

Be careful, I tried a supplement to get rid of the last couple pounds to get that ripped look. And i'm convinced it led to a foot injury basically it sped up my metabolism and reduced some padding in my R foot, thus "Plantar (something scientific)" basically i no longer had enough fat in my foot pad and it hurt like hell. i had to stop for 4-6 weeks and now i'm fine but that's 4-6 weeks gone.

A Have you checked out the Body For Life program by bill Phillips. He has a realistic and attainable way to gain and sustain weight. you can also down load his various nutrition and excercise forms. the nutrition forms are for daily tracking of protien, carb's etc..., the workout forms alternate daily between cardio and free weight training. I do Muay Thai on the cardio days 3x week plus some technique work on various free weight days. Also supplement with protein shakes it's hard to get enough protien in your daily diet.

The knee as described is a brutal kick, will usually break a rib or two even if not performed at full power. must be performed carefully even when sparring, actually where i train this kick is thrown differently in sparring to avoid injury it just comes up straight and lightly taps the ribs. of course later at full power with bags

the Thai writing usually just says Muay Thai, unless the name of your trainer or something else specific is included. Your instructor should know what it says if it's not "Muay Thai."

Iron Arahat nailed it, 95% of street saftey and fighting is based upon risk management. I'd like to add to his list "vibe" that feeling you get in certain places/circumstances. if you're entereing a bar/club or area and get a bad vibe usually something bad will happen it's easy to just go somewhere else if possible that has a better vibe. also if you're outnumbered try your best to leave i have never seen a one on one street fight (and i've seen plenty) it's always a small group or large group usually with one of them near you,that you would never suspect. Also, police don't enter ghettos unless called by a serious complaint.

Thank-you for the welcomes. I train in Muay Thai, in Salt Lake City. I began in Oct of 01 and I like it more each week. I train on avg of 3-4 times a week and am beginning to develop some real power!

I've enjoyed the discussions here, and am looking forward to some good contributions and thaks for the great info in advance.