Aodhan

Weapons that I have used: Single ssangh jeol bangh (Nunchaku) Single and double bangh mangh ee (Escrima) Ssangh Nat (Kama) Currently working with the bo staff (jangh bangh) and the sam dang bangh (3 sectional staff), and we are doing sai basics in our Masters club weapons sections. Aodhan

Karate_Woman: Excellent response!! I've printed out a copy to keep for reference. Aodhan

Look at them and say "Well, you'd better learn, because I'm going to hit you!" Once they get used to the fact that you are willing to stand in and take just as much as you dish out, they'll get into the swing of things. Aodhan

Not necessarily. I had several friends growing up that were immensely gifted athletically, but grew bored with new sports quickly. They never lasted more than a year in any one thing, yet in that year, they were able to become extremely skilled relative to the time spent. I've seen it time and again in my kinesiology studies, people that spend years perfecting a sport often have a hard time getting that sport's techniques and mannerisms "out" of their system when trying a new sport. Their muscle movements are so ingrained, that as soon as they stop actively concentrating on it, the old patterns creep in and can be seen. However, to each his own, YMMV. Aodhan

Nope. As I stated above, our highest ranking is 9th, and that is reserved for the Grandmaster. Aodhan

Yes, get a spotter that is trained in teaching gymnastics, and learn in a proper environment. And your abs are sore because you use them to help "whip" your legs up and curl yourself into a ball. Aodhan

It depends on what system you are training in. In the ATA, there is one 9th degree, and that is the current Grandmaster (Head of the art.) Under that are the 8th degrees. When Eternal GM Lee (Founder of the ATA) passed away, the Masters council elected the new Grandmaster and administered the testing a year after the selection. There was a lot of different requirements and preparation over that year. Also, we have 8th degrees that are American born. Aodhan

I'd tend to agree with the nerves, which translates into increased adrenaline. That will burn through your energy reserves faster than it will when you are training. And that will take care of itself with more experience in the ring. Aodhan

I disagree. The fencer isn't stupid. And he will pick all of it up faster than the kid who didn't do squat growing up. Has nothing to do with intelligence. And I agree, he will be better off than the couch potato, however, you are shifting your argument. A kid who is athletic but dabbles in many things has to learn to control his body in many different ways. Whether he achieves excellence in any of his "dabbles", he will still be better able to pick up another sport than someone that has intensively trained in one sport for a long time will be able to break out of his training. Aodhan

Good idea. For example, our first one step is a step back & high block to block a punch, followed by reverse punch, front punch, reverse punch (Middle middle high section), followed by a skip back and a low block. The other two for white belt are similar. Aodhan

Never really sick during a test, but during Air Force team tryouts, I went almost directly from the ER to the ring (IV treatments due to flu/bronchitis dehydration.) And no, I didn't make the team. I was second alternate. Aodhan

They will nonetheless still have far, far greater athletic ability than someone who has done nothing, right? Doing nothing doesn't make you better at anything. And I submit to you that someone who has achieved a high level in any one sport is likely to be a naturally gifted athlete. More so than someone who has done a little of this and a little of that. And again, greater athletic ability cannot but be an advantage in an athletic endeavor. I agree to some extent. However, being highly gifted at one sport may not necessarily translate into being able to do another sport easily. You will have the advantage in that you know how to tell your body what to do, but teaching it to do something different than what you've done all your life may be more difficult that most people think. Say you have someone that takes fencing from when they are 5 until they are 22, and get to be nationally ranked. Then, they get a wild idea and take up boxing. The footwork is somewhat dissimilar, but not majorly so, but getting used to leading completely different with the hands and arms is going to be a huge ordeal for them, and in reactive/stress situations, they will revert back to their fencing form. The underlying fitness will be an advantage, but just having proven athletic ability in one sport may not necessarily mean a good translation into martial arts. Aodhan

For those that aren't used to the acronym, DOMS is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Aodhan

Does anyone else find this a little disturbing? Yes, it's a martial art, but "expecting" to bleed during a rank? Aodhan

I fail to see any logic in the assumption that athletic people would have more trouble learning something athletic. It depends on the level of the athlete, and how adaptable they are. If you have someone that spends 15 years learning a specific sport, and then they try to learn a completely different sport, they may have trouble getting their old patterns and muscle memory retrained. I participate in an Irish dance group, and we had a girl join that had done ballet for many years. No matter how much she worked at it, she still had that ballet "style" that came through in her movements. On a personal note, I think that one of the reasons martial arts comes easy is because I did such a variety of sports, and never got completely entrenched into a single sport with a single specific set of movements. Aodhan

As was already said, there are four ligaments in the knee. Ligaments stabilize joints, since they are there to connect bone to bone. The cracking sound is what I would be curious about, I've not heard of a cracking sound when you tear a ligament. Did the doc say there was any meniscus damage as well? Aodhan

Dropped you a line via PM. Aodhan

1) It gives me confidence, strength, agility and a sense of peace. 2) You will initially lose weight, and if your instructor emphasizes sit ups, yes you will get a six pack. Whether or not you can SEE the six pack depends on if you have a good diet, do exercise outside the dojang, etc. to get rid of the fat layer over the abs. 3) Our students do one step sparring for the first three belts, then at their 4th belt they can start free sparring with protective gear. Your mileage may vary, some schools toss you into the ring from day one. Aodhan

Umm..I don't think that's changed Not only that, but his attitude is terrible. One of my co-workers has a brother that works with the stuntment on different films, and he worked with Segal on a film, and I guess he is a rather large hindquarters of a popular pack animal. Having the guards sneak women other than his wife into his trailer, demanding and petty, and prone to throw tantrums. Aodhan

Supplementing to aid recovery should be regulated by your doctor. Your knee ligaments stabilize everything in your knee, so don't mess around with them. I have heard some people recommend chondroitin and similar, but again, let your doc know. As far as competitive sparring, probably not while rehabbing, but there shouldn't be a problem after that. There are hundreds of football/basketball players every year that tear knee ligaments and go on to great careers with no effects. Which ligament? ACL, MCL, PCL? Aodhan

Very nice! As time goes by, you will learn to use that nervous energy for you. On the kata, even if he did a form that was 4 levels lower, if he does it extremely well, I wouldn't be surprised if it got a good score. When I'm judging, I will reward a simpler technique done flawlessly over a hard technique done in a mediocre fashion. On the weapons, shouldn't those scores produce a tie? Or does the 10.0 merit the tiebreak? In any case, well done! Aodhan

When it all boils down to it, in the end we are all martial artists. I'm glad to hear that you may not have to permanently give up something that we all love. Hang in there, and give us occasional reports on your progress! Aodhan

And you'd win. The issue is what kind of strength you are developing, at least from what I'm reading from everyone. Even with weights, if you don't do them explosively, you are developing the slow twitch fibers more than anything. This will result in a very powerful kick, but it may not necessarily be a fast kick. You'd need to do plyo's and speed drills to develop that aspect of it. Aodhan

Gymkata was absolutely horrible. Only the strong wasn't very good, but I'll give it kudos, it's the only capoeira movie I've ever seen. (Another walking tall ripoff though.) And, one that I'm sure a lot of people hate, but I love because it's so camp, is Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon. Bullets being caught with teeth and all. Aodhan

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4021/is_4_25/ai_100751497 Google is your friend. The above is the first hit from the search string: Martial arts participation statistics. There were a ton more. Aodhan