Aodhan

The function of the lats is to draw the upper arm back to the body. Any exercise that does this function will exercise the lats (Rows, pull downs, pullups, etc.) Hammerfist, backfist, knifehands. Vertical strikes duplicate the pulldown exactly, horizontal strikes are in a different plane, but emphasize/use the same parts of the tricep. The pecs originate along the sternal border of the mid chest, and insert on the upper part of the humerus. When they tighten, they pull the upper arm up and forward. When you do a dip for chest, you need to lean forward into it, otherwise you are only working your triceps, and at the top of the dip, you are mostly working your triceps anyway. All the chest work comes at the bottom of the dip, if you are leaning forward into it. Aodhan

Well put. As I've said, I've had good experiences with the ATA. They certainly support their students more than other national organizations I've seen. I know the ATA has a lot of misperceptions out there, maybe some deserved, some not. Aodhan

They don't mind. I haven't crosstrained in a little over a year, I've been really concentrating on getting my teaching hours in (I'm required to have 300 hours of teaching in 100 hour blocks) for my full instructor certification. That's another reason that I really like the ATA. You have to have the teaching hours, and attend three certification test/camps (The full certification is a 3 day camp full of testing and workouts) before you are allowed to put on a black collar (Fully certified instructor). Most other styles, if you want to walk straight from your 1D test to an empty store and start teaching, you can. There are a lot of people in the ATA that crosstrain, I think where the misconception is that if you OWN an ATA school, you are not allowed to have other martial arts taught in your school. So, you couldn't have Joe Blow's ATA TKD and Kung Fu academy, or Miss Kates Tai Chi and ATA school. Aodhan

I am currently in the ATA, and before you all start flaming, it was a conscious choice after doing several other styles (Including ITF and WTF) for several years before coming to the ATA. ATA could care less if you compete outside the ATA. It's only ATA tournaments that are closed to non-ATA members. If that is cultish, guess you have a broader definition than I do. Does the ATA produce it's fair share of undeserving black belts? Yes. Does the ATA have McDojo schools? Yes. However, they are in no bigger proportion than any other system out there. EVERY system has its share of McDojo type schools and students. As far as XMA, several schools use it, and while Mike Chat is licensing it to the ATA, anyone that wants to pay the licensing fee can incorporate the curriculum into their school. It's a great way to keep the mid teens in the school, which is when they have the most other pulls to do something other than MA. It's also a great thing to do if you want to be competitive on the Open circuit, since that is the forms that get noticed, traditional or not. Do I think the ATA has the best system? Yes. Are there flaws? Yes. When you weigh all the pros and cons, I think the ATA comes out on top. Aodhan

I don't think even that is true. Sorry, but it is. Any kind of a diet where you cut calories you will lose weight. Once your body and metabolism adjust, then the weight loss stops. The only way to permanently lose weight is to take in less calories than you expend at a loss rate of a pound or two a week. When you get to where you want to be, adjust your caloric intake so you are in balance. Aodhan

Welcome to the world of lactic acid. Best way to avoid it is to stretch well after practice, and if you want, give yourself a leg rubdown. Otherwise the lactic acid pools in the muscle, and creates that stiff, sore, painful feeling. Heh, last time we did a shoulder workout that I wasn't expecting, I could barely shampoo my hair for about 5 days. Aodhan

Other than possibly increasing flexibility by going progressively lower, sitting in a horse stance for a long time will really only help with muscle endurance. To get better at round kicks, you need to do more proper round kicks. Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Aodhan

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=plyometrics+for+gymnastics Google is your friend. Aodhan

Mine would have to be my current form, 2nd degree ATA form - Jung Yul. Although, the third degree form looks to have a lot of balance elements, whcih I really enjoy. 16 months!! Aodhan

Here is some basic information to consider: Protein - 4 calories per gram Carbos - 4 calories per gram Fats - 9 calories per gram This is why the body prefers to store excess calories as fat, because of the caloric density. The whole "no carbos", "all meat", "All fat" diets are popular crap. ANY diet will work in the short term, long term you need to have a basically healthy diet. Oh, one other thing to consider, is the body can only process approximately 1000 calories at a time. So, if you have a 1700 calorie meal, the body will attempt to store ~ 700 calories for later. Well balanced diet, several small meals/snacks during the day, lots of leafy veggies, fruits and water, and you should be good. If you're looking for weight loss, expending 3500 more calories than you take in per week will result in about a pound a week of weight loss. Anything more than 1-2 pounds a week is either water weight, or not really a permanent weight loss. Aodhan

It depends. Be careful, because a lot of "energy" drinks are loaded with guarana, which is another form of caffeine. Green tea is another caffeine loaded drink. If you eat a balanced diet, then you shouldn't need much before your workout. After your workout is much more important, as your body is most receptive to nutrients after a workout to get started on rebuilding torn down tissues (Muscles), and the 1/2 hour or so directly after a workout is the best time to supplement with a protein drink. One thing I've found is vanilla protein powder and orange Powerade tastes exactly like an Orange Julius. I have that directly after class almost every day. Aodhan

Increase in strength is a little bit of a misnomer. What it does, is make more potential energy available to the muscles. This means that you can work out longer before your muscles become exhausted. The more work you can do, the stronger you can get with less work. You don't have to work out while using it, but it's basically a waste if you don't. (And I include MA workouts as part of working out. It will enable you to last somewhat longer muscularly in classes. However, if your fitness sucks, that may limit you.) And no, it's not addictive. It's classified as a food product, actually. Aodhan

Excellently put, sir! Aodhan

Jump spin outer crescent (Butterfly), land into x stance, low x knife hand block, rotation wrist break, pull it back to the body, vertical down elbow strike. Aodhan

ANY multiple board/brick break you should use spacers. And the rebreakables that we use have a natural "arch" to them that provides the space. Aodhan

Most everyone is going to respond in terms of years, but I think it should be looked at in hours spent. If you have someone that spends 8 hours a day, 5 days a week working on their art, I could see them easily achieving a black belt in a year or even less. (That would be 2000 hours). I think the minimum for a black belt should be about 4-500 hours spent in training, with at least 75% of that in classes with the instructor. Before you all start flaming, think about it. If you spend 40 hours in a week doing NOTHING but 1 form, you're going to remember it and be pretty good at it. Say an average form takes 2 minutes, you could do maybe 20 in an hour (Rest breaks, instruction, etc.). 9 weeks of that and could almost guarantee that you will be solid on forms. You could break it down this way - first 20 hours of the week, work on new kicks/blocks/stances. If you took 1 1/2 hours of class twice a week, that would be the equivalent of 7 weeks of training. Spend the next 20 hours working on the form. The next week spend on self defense/sparring/weapons/etc. Now, obviously there aren't too many people that can put in 40 hours a week, and not a lot that will respond to that kind of regimen. I'm presenting an optimal case. However, I think it supports the notion that 4-500 solid hours of training with instruction should be enough for a competent black belt. If you do that in 12 months, more power to you. If it takes you 3 or 4 years, hey, that's great too. Aodhan

It's entirely possible. I've seen studies done on both sides that support both loading and non-loading regimens. It all depends on your diet. I always err on the extra side, personally. Technically, if you have a well balanced diet, all a multivitamin will do is give you expensive urine. Aodhan

We have 9 that we teach explicitly. Confidence, Attitude, Goals, Respect, Esteem, Perseverance, Focus, Discipline, Integrity. (These are the colored belt life skills). Each month we focus on one, and use stories and examples during class to show how it applies. For our junior leadership classes (One a week), they do projects, and look for examples in their everyday life to bring in that demonstrate the current life skill. We also work in other life skills, these are just the main ones that get focused on specifically. Aodhan

The other thing you can do is at a gym that has a Smith machine (Barbell on slides), set the safety stops a few inches above your chest. Put a medium weight on the bar, press and throw, and catch it on the way back down. Aodhan

Google is your friend. Do a search for protein grams per pound calculation and/or protein supplementation, and you will find all your answers. I'd just tell you, but you learn it more if you have to look it up yourself. Aodhan

And that all depends on the system. There are a few WTF schools around me that still teach the one steps, etc. We have one steps through camo belt (When they start free sparring), all belts have sparring segments (4-9 moves designed to teach flow in sparring), self defense (Joint locks, hold releases, etc.), and board breaks (Required for testing at later belts). Aodhan

ROFL! Marketing and attention span has a lot to do with it. People don't want to do something for 6 months or a year and still tell people "Well, I'm a white belt." They want to see more immediate progress, thus the proliferation of different colors. ATA uses the black stripe through the middle of a belt to denote Black belt club members, gold stripes to indicate Master club members. For Tiny Tigers (The little ones, 4-6 y/o) we use solid belts and promote half belt ranks, and use a belt that has half the old color and half the new color. Aodhan

Red/black is an intermediate belt. We have 9 forms, (Songahm 1-5, Chung Joong 1 and 2 and In Wha 1 and 2.) Once you reach 1R (1st recommended), you spend the next term reviewing and getting ready for 1D, you don't learn any new material. Aodhan

If it's in pounds sterling, it is about $53 US. http://www.xe.com/ucc/ Aodhan

Yeah, one of the things that my fiancee and are considering is joint rent space. She is getting certified to teach Irish Dance, and I'll be teaching TKD. Get an area large enough for 3 rooms, use one for TKD exclusively, one for dance exclusively, and overlap the third room. We have already scouted several locations in the area that we are planning on moving to. Aodhan