Yamamatsu

I have quite a bit of favorite bands, but the top few are..(in no particular order) Dir en Grey SOUL'd OUT Ayumi Hamasaki Every Little Thing Cold Play Do as Infinity L'arc en Ciel Selfish Miyavi Mostly Japanese bands, but I also listen to traditional Japaense music. Michiyo Miyagi is my favorite composer. And video game music is good too from Uematsu and Mitsuda's work.

Good luck. I remember my first tournament. I was a yellow belt. I got the snot kicked out of me lol, but remember losing to an opponet is not something to worry about. Losing to fear is (just read my sig lol). Any way, go have fun.

Well, the same situation is observed when dating in the workplace, but I don't see a problem with it. But I would attempt to pretend while at the MA school to imagine he isn't there, and keep concentration. Other than that, I don't see anything wrong.

I got mine from my real name...I just wasnt feeling very creative at the time

The tests at my school are generally relaxed. However, it is still a test. And having sensei watch you, no matter how relaxed the environment is, I always get nervous and think that I didn't do well, even though I did.

I will always wear my uwagi to class, but when I train at home I usually just wear something comfortable and easy to move in. But in both situations, I still wear my belt because I believe that the belt represents all that you have learned, and if you train outside the dojo you are still learning something. But I try to never wear my belt anywhere in public (outside my own yard) as that shows ego.

I had a friend who thought that karate "looked cool" but was not practical in a real fight. I just ignored him, until he tried to test me. I didn't use full force, but he decided to pick a fight with me, and in less than 30 seconds he was down on the ground. (gotta love the ouchigari take down)

an eye gouge is very effective if you can hit the eyes lol...it takes practice to be able to hit such a small target at high speeds. As for people bashing karate, chance are they bash it out of ignorance and fear. People tend to hate something if they fear it, or don't know a lot aobut it. Karate is well known for its explosive, yet controlled strikes that give the defender control over the fight the entire time. The people who bash it will be surprised how effective it is on the street when the pick a fight with the wrong person. When suddenly they're in pain from a hidari mae geri keage to the groin, and a reiken to the face. Then they'll see what is "stupid"