Pacificshore

If you really have to have your belt washed, then hold, attend, or train at the nearest beach, and practice your techniques/katas in waist level water!!

Welcome to the forum....20 eh, if I could only turn back time

MuayThaiGirl, Along with your cardio preperation, don't forget to stretch as much as possible. The more limber, the less possibility for injury. Also your age and size have nothing to do with your ability, so go for it and have fun!!

Our philosophy was/and still is not to wash our belt. Pretty much for many of the reasons already posted. The way I look at it, it you want the stiffness of the belt to go away, then you must work to make it go away.

We are all human beings, so unfortunately we will never be perfect

Welcome aboard

Hello and Welcome!

Never actually punched anyone in the knees if standing up and fighting. However have thrown downward punches as I've swept my opponent. Or thrown a downward angled punch over my opponents defense. I've even punched my opponent in the groin when I found myself on the ground and he was still standing.

I've done it either way. Just depends on what sort of follow-up I'm setting up to do. True that if the hand is closed that you generally have a stronger block and if it's open can be weaker. With a closed hand block, it is easier to counter punch with the same hand than with an open hand block. But on the same token, with an open hand clock it's easier to trap/grab than having to open up the fist to do so.

Well it depends on what I'm doing. If say I throw a reverse punch I will rotate my hips towards my target. It'll give me the necssary distance I need to punch through my target, as well as my power. If I block, I may need to rotate away to create distance to avoid being hit partially or fully. The rotation hips can create power, speed, distance, and timing in my opinion. It'll just depend on the technique your using.

Why is it that when a prominent Martial Artist passes, soon afterwards there's always controversy on who his/her replacement is going to be? This always seems to be the case, like when Ed Parker passed on, the Kenpo world became fractionalized. Now, there is the Modern Arnis organization(GM Remy Presas). I read an article in the recent issue of IKF, as to who the replacement person is suppose to be, or the number of students that went on to create a new organization and proclaim themselves the new leader. What is wrong with just training together and propagating your chosen art by passing it on to others interested in learning. Martial Arts politics.....just like regular politics, it bites. Just my rambling thoughts!

Howdy and welcome

Hey KarateKid75, Like you said, by trial and error, when it comes to teaching. Be yourself, be confident in your abilities, and know the level of your students. Don't be afraid to not have all the answers, but know where you can get them. Develop your method/style of teaching. If something works for you then keep it, if it dosen't then alter it or dump it which ever is appropriate. Just as you love to train in your style, take the same approach when it comes to teaching. There will be those days when you feel like your burned out like in anything else, but keep in mind your personal goals for choosing your journey into the martial arts. Hope this is of some help!

If you have a tennis ball, or even a piece or 8x11 paper, attach it to a string and hang it from your rafters in the garage. Use it for focus training with your punches of kicks.

I believe the more exposure martial arts can get then the better. What it will come down to is whether or not martial arts dojos instill in their students a solid foundation of what the martial arts/their particular system is all about. Teaching martial arts as a business is a double edge sword. In one respect you want to pass onto others all that you have learned, but in order to stay in business you have to charge for things such as testing, selling product, charging fees, all to cover your overhead no matter how small. Perhaps a way of avoiding the MCdojo image is by operating out of a community center, or teach on a part-time basis, or simply trying to strike a balance between teaching and selling the martial arts, which is no easy task in itself. Especially if this is what you choose to do for a living. Then perhaps it'll just have to come right down to your reputation in youir community, and the quality of students you have taught. Just my 2C.

X, It just debuted here yesterday. Not sure how long it takes for movies to hit your shores, but I thought it was a must see and I enjoyed it!!

Scooby Doo fans out there? Well went to see the movie yesterday and it was funny all around . Especially liked the part when Scooby and Shaggy had their little showdown between themselves !! Don't want to spoil it for anyone else!! [ This Message was edited by: Pacificshore on 2002-06-16 15:10 ]

Hi there, were you referring to the string or chain breaking? Because if you were then repairing wouldn't be much of a problem. If you are referring to the wooden chucks themselves breaking then it depends on the type of break. If it merely cracks, splits, then tape should be at your disposal. If an edge breaks off, then tape can be used to prevent any splinters to your hands. If it simply breaks in half, well then make sure you have a second pair available. Oh, welcome aboard!

Hey you're welcome. Just remember to give it the proper time to heal. I know from my experience that when I jump the gun, I just rip it open again and it is painful

Karate-Kid, Welcome aboard . If you have not developed the callouses underneath your feet this tends to happen especially when you are learning how to move in different stances. Many of the stances you learn require you to shift back, forward, and stop. When this happens your skin under your feet tends to stretch every which way, and eventually stretches too far causing a tear. Keep your wound clean and give it time to heal properly. When you workout again take it easy on your feet until you develop good callouses. Hope this is of some help.

Do them everyday and increase them as you go them each time.

Stay relaxed, focused, but most importantly have fun!!!! Oh, and good luck!!!

I just purchased a Paul Chen Tai Chi sword as a gift for a friend of mine who recently passed his black belt test, and I was impressed with it. I've looked around at other Tai Chi swords that most martial arts supply store carry, and I thought that the Chen one was better made. The balance of the sword felt fine and only weighs 1.2lbs. The blade is nice and sharp, and it did not rattle anywhere as I was inspecting it. Hope this is of some help.

Although I do not train in TKD, I can say that I did as a teenager. And as far as TKD or any other Martial Arts go, self defense/fighting comes down to the individual and not the system itself. In my opinion, one of the best self defense methods is to use your brain, being aware, looking ahead rather than the ground when you walk, sticking out in the crowd, etc.

I had taken some time off to job hunt, move, and to settle into my new surroundings after graduating from college. When I finally got back to training, I would say the most difficult was trying to get back into some sort of physical shape. I found that stretching was more painful than what I remembered. Taking punishment in forms of throws, take-downs, punches, kicks, and blocks kinda hurt more than I remembered, and took longer to recover from. Although I could pick up a form or a defense rather quickly, I also have/had the tendency to loose it just as quick. Thanks to the electronic age, I put things down on video for me to recall in the event I "brain fart" All this and I'm still pushing towards my 40's