Pacificshore

Most commercially sold sais are not that great. But what are you gonna do, other than have them custom made and those can get expensive. If you search the net, I know that Shureido(like the gi) makes weapons, only problem is it cost $$$. They tend to be fairly balanced and have that authentic look to them. I have a pair somewhere around. My only problem with them are the side prongs, they are too narrow. It apparently was made for smaller hands. And although my hands aren't that large, they are a bit snug on certain holds. The proper way to measure a pair of sais is to hold one in the web of your hand between your thumb and index finger. The point should be past your elbow at least a 1/2". However, if you are going to use it for competition in a musical form, then I suggest that you get one that is easy for your to manipulate w/o getting it caught up in your gi. A good resource for the sais would be Fumio Demura's book. It covers all the basic moves and strikes. I'm sure there are others out there, but this is a book that is easily found. Oh, one last thing in the difference between sais sold commercially and authentic sais. In the commercial ones, where the main prong meets the 2 side prong/hooks, you'll notice a ball or raised area. In most authentic ones that area is flat. It'll allow for better control of the sais during manipulation. Well that's just my bit of info on the sais.

Congrats on your tourney Don't forget to post some pics of the event, and yes I'd say 20 bucks is dirt cheap for one event, let alone two

Whoa there, I believe that 9-11 has affected all of us on some level, and obviously affected us as a nation as well as the world. But the thing is to carry on and move forward and not let these terrorist achieve their cowardly goals. Which in my opinion was to crush our very infrastructure of our free society. As President G.W. Bush said, move on with life and don't stop living. Because we do that does not mean that we forget what those cowards did and the millions of lives they've effected. One other thing, your are right..........PAYBACK WILL BE A B'YOCH

Hmm........I liked Blade II, in fact I think I'll add it to my DVD collection along with Kiss of the Dragon, The One, Iron Monkey, Replacement Killers, Blackhawk Down, We were Soldiers, so on and so on!! I see all movies as a means of escape from the daily grind of life. Plots, choreography don't necessarily mean a whole lot to me. I'm either gonna like it or not. I've walked out on only 2 movies I can recall. One was a very bad rendition of what was suppose to be a martial arts film mixed with gymnastics( I think you all know what movie I'm referring to), and the other actually won some Academy Awards, which put me to sleep. Well just my 2 cents on the topic.

There is also a movie coming out real soon, or maybe it's out already called something like "the transporter". About a guy who's asked to deliver a package in the trunk of a car, but he's not to open the trunk. It looks like there's some martial arts in it on top of big explosions and gun fighting. The main character who plays the transporter does a split kick in the trailer on 2 bad guys.

Welcome aboard!! Nice to see another Kempoist on board!!

Good Luck!!

Contracts may or may not be for everybody. But perhaps an approach to take with the new potential student is that you sign them up for 30 days at a reasonable rate. This will give them more than enough time to evaluate whether or not this is the dojo for them. Once they've made their decision, then be straight up with them about the contract signing and their commitment and responsibility for the x amount of months or year. I can see why some would be relunctant to sign an extended contract. My buddy who use to teach at a TKD dojo used contracts, and the prices for their programs, although comparable to his area, was outrageous in my mind. There would be no way that I would sign up for something like this especially with the amount of time you get the train.

Welcome Aboard

I've seen a CD advertised on E-Bay for all the Shotokan Katas. Just do a general search under martial arts and take a look at it.

Well it's nice to hear that most are carrying on as before. It is also nice to hear that everyone is more aware and that certain priorities have been made such as family and friends, but unfortunate that it has taken a tragic event such 9-11. As for the media, well unfortunately they are a necessary evil in my opinion. As for me I too find that I am carrying on as before, and that my awareness level increases as I travel, that I spend quality time with friends and family, and that I am greatful for the sacrafices of our Armed forces here and abroad, and that I am patient and understanding of the security processes we have to go through at times because of 9-11. Do I feel inconvienenced or my freedoms restricted? My answer is NO!!

Howdy and Welcome.....likewise!

Hello and Welcome

You may want to try a Kung-Fu or Wushu school if you have one nearby. Traditionally the teach a wepons cirriculum. Good luck on your search!

We should have gone for the unconditional surrender the first time around and maybe we would'nt be in this situation today.

Has anyone made significant changes in their lives since this tragic event? Or after assessing things do you still find yourselves living/training as you once did prior to this tragic event?

Black I: First of all, if you are gonna get a bo, try to get one to size. In order to measure one for size, just stand up and hold one arm straight up above your head. I usally use my dominant arm/hand. Bend your hand at the wrist, and that should be your mark for sizing a bo. Most ready made bo's come in 4',5', and 6' lengths. Try to get one closest to your measurement if you choose to go this route. To familiarize yourself with the bo, hold it with both hands equally spaced at the center. Try rotating it from one side to the other. Make sure that when you hold it, one of your hands should be fimgers up and the other fingers down. After a few rotations, switch the positions of the hand, and rotate again. Another excercise would be to hold the bo in a "port arms" manner, or diagonally across your body, hands equally spaced, the upper hand fingers facing you and the lower fingers facing away. Step out with the leg that matches the upper hand and bring the of the bo in an out and downward striking fashion. The idea is that when you step out, you raise the entire bo over your head and shouldrs striking downward. Set you striking focus point to your head level. Do this several times and then switch sides. Hope this helps you get started with understanding some of the basics of bo work.

My suggestion is to perhaps try to start a club at your university. You may even start it up as a self defense course for both men and women, then parlay it into a martial class. Or maybe check around with your local community centers like the Y or otherwise. This will eliminate your start up costs and cost of insurance. Rank can be of some importance, at least here in the US, especially if you are providing a comsumer good. It tends to lead to credibility issues along with your abilities. Time, well at least if you start up club at the local university, then you can schedule around your classes. Try not to detour your studies too much cause it's not a bad idea to have your degree to fall back on. The cardio/Tae bo workout, probably not necessary if you start up at an established place, ie. university/comm college, Y, community center. Organization important for verification purposes should a student want to check out your credentials. Insurance, most definately especially if you have your own school. In this day and age with a sue happy society. As far as the age, if you are mature to carry out the task of teaching and passing on your art, then that should not be an issue. Always treat people the way you want to be treated.

Hey Laurie: If later in your training you start getting into the Kung-fu aspects of training, then I would think that your stances would start to get lower. I would think that staying in a lower stance would get your muscle memory started for your kung-fu training. But a happy medium sounds like the way to go as far as your TKD portion of training goes. In my personal opinion, I like the deeper stances when it comes to forms. Perhaps it's because of my former Shotokan training, and my current Kempo training which has a heavy Chinese influence.

Dee: 1. If your instructor believes your are ready to promote to brown belt, then you are ready, so no worries 2. So long as you set the example for the yourger ones in your dojo, then you are already a "role model" whether or not you knew it. 3. Once you obtain your brown belt, then accept the role of a leader by warming up the class. See it as a challange to a new kata or technique. Accept it and conquer it 4. Be yourself, have fun, focus, and everything will work out 5. Don't forget to keep us informed on your progress

Welcome to the forum and enjoy your stay

Jinx, I've been studying martial arts for some years now. I have yet to actually use it in a street fight. In fact, I believe my training has actually help me avoid such conflicts, but I've always known in the back of my head that I have it should there be no other recourse.

Hey the album is coming along nicely! Nice job Patrick!!

Test fees obviously vary from school to school depending on the types of "programs" they have set up. But generally speaking, as far as my system goes, the test fees start at $35.00 and then increase nominally(sp) every 2-3 ranks. Once you hit shodan, I think it is $150 and $250 from 2nd dan on.

Do you have an interest in Kajukenbo? Are you in an area that teaches that sytem? Kajukenbo is one of the many off-shoots of the Kenpo/Kempo system that originated out of Hawaii. The system teaches many self defense techniques, as well as katas, and perhaps some weapons. You can do a search on Kajukenbo on the internet and you should be able to find plenty of information on the system. In general any martial arts system in my opinion can teach you how to defend yourself, but it'll be up to you and you alone to accomplish your goals in martial arts.