Enviroman

About 25 miles (50 mi. round trip 2-3 times a week!) or so is kind of far for me, especially with gas prices the way they are. Go you work in York County or anywhere near Red Lion? Or do you have any particular reason to go to the Red Lion/Airville area on a weekly basis, outside of MA?

I'm pretty into the environment.

i'm jealous!

A few years ago a blind black belt killed a robber here in Philly. The robber tried to take the man's wallet and the man hip tossed the robber onto the concrete. I think the robber died of internal bleeding in the skull. They debated on whether to charge the blind man with manslaughter but eventually decided he acted in self-defense.

Has anyone here done any iron palm training? I've seen some incredible breaks done with palm strikes. If I can find the clip of a guy busting a coconut I'll post it.

I'm fairly certain these are also my favs! I've recently started burn...ahem renting these on DVD. I just saw "The Octagon." It was extra cheesy but I never knew Chuck Norris' kicks were so bad in the early 80s! His wheel kick barely got to the person's chin!

With that I must agree in part but along with that I'll add the following. As far as being 'superman', no most people are not able to throw people around like that on their own, but when your stuck in sankyo and you can feel your elbow about to pop, or you've been manipulated into a reversal with your arm in a full extension, to the point of hyperextension, you'd be surprised what your do to avoid a dislocation or tendon tear. A lot of training we do is to increase awareness or the attack or possibility of attack. It's believed that you should be fully aware of your surroundings and avoid conflict at all costs. I.E. If you are walking down a dark street in a bad part of town, you should notice the silhouette of three men standing on the street corner two blocks away. At that point you should take evasive action; cross the street, turn back, go into a shop and wait, etc. You should never needlessly put yourself into a situation where you must use decisive force. If you should happen to walk head first into that situation, then you must control it from the start. This is done by positioning yourself to bait* the attackers in a way that is conducive to a favorable outcome; diffuse the situation with no harm done, surviving that attack with the least possible harm to both you and the attacker, and finally, if necessary, subduing the attacker to the point they no longer want to continue. * baiting the attacker is often referred ‘michi-biku’ or leading the attacker, in more colloquial terms we often say ‘esa-o-ageru’. (col. offering food to an animal, a worm on a hook, a dog biscuit, etc) And finally, I guess aikido is an art that needs adaptation. I will generalize here for the sake of making a quick point, one you may have heard before. All techniques in aikido are based on disarming an attacker, that is, you have no weapon, and the attacker does. In the old days, there were three; the sword, the knife, staff of course in various sizes, shapes and lengths. And there were three basic angles of attack; over head, from the side, usually to the face or throat, and a thrust, usually to the face, throat, chest, abdomen or groin. Since the mechanics of the human body haven’t changed much the principals of attach haven’t changed either. And although we don’t carry swords or staffs and for the most part knives, now the techniques are practiced empty handed. The over head attack, whether it’s with a sword or beer bottle is mechanically the same. The same holds true for a side attack, with no knife or bottle, the mechanics of a ‘hay-maker’ are practically identical. And someone trying to punch you in the stomach is really no different mechanically than someone trying to stab you in the stomach. So, the movements or mechanics of the old techniques should be adapted to their modern day application. I didn't mean any disrespect to Aikido. I feel that it has some positive applications but that those demonstrations tend to be more flashy than anything. Does your teacher do full speed defense against well-placed punches/kicks? In my demos and the demos in this forum, the "attacker" is throwing noddle-armed punches about 3 feet ahead of the defender.

kiba, i, unfortunately, had a similar reaction to my brother's death. i ended up putting a rather large hole in my apartment wall with my fist. i also ended up destroying a chair...it didn't make me feel better but it definitely caused me trouble later on. a punching bag is probably better, indeed.

I had a license to carry a concealed firearm (CCF) in Lancaster County but I've not renewed in my new area. I own a glock-23 (40 cal), a Taurus 38 snubnose, a few knives (nothing special...all like 440 or 420 SS). I actually own nothing in the way of martial arts weapons anymore.

It's tough. I lost my brother two years ago (he was 19) to a sudden illness...I was lucky to have a great girlfriend and other friends...but it's just something you work through. It's hard to "give advice" as it's such a deeply personal issue. By witing your poems you are honoring your friend's life...truly a great deed.

Good lord this stuff is expensive. 18.00 + shipping for an 8 oz. bottle! Do you know if there is somewhere to get it cheap?

My huge problem with Aikido (especially when I did demos for my sensei) is that people tend to not attack like they did in the video. People don't just walk up and hand you their hand. People don't slowly attack you. And much of the video (and our demos) was choreographed...this guy isn't superman and he's not tossing those people around like that all on his own. At least when I studied Aikido, we were told to make arching leaps when thrown to "lessen" the fall. I dunno, I just didn't ifnd it too effective.

Actually, I barely bruised at all! I was pretty surprised...but yeah, I need to get some jow. I'm not sure if jow is any better than ibuprofen, but I've used it in the past and it's worked.

Just remain open and don't fall for any sales pitch. Isn't Red Lion quite a haul from where you live?

Glock, I know a bit about the Red Lion school. If I remember correctly, they are pretty expensive. And CHECK THEIR CREDENTIALS! I used to shoot with a guy that studied there. I disliked him greatly and he (and the school) have no respect for TMA. You can even see on their website this quote: "Tradition Means Out of Date!!!"

i recently started 7-star mantis training.

the wavemaster is used by many schools as a convenient training tool. others here claim they are decent. i prefer a chain-held heavy bag as they seem to offer more resistance. to me a 100lb heavy bag gives me a better workout than the wavemaster

hey all, i recently started to train with a small group of guys led by a mantis sifu. last night we did pretty hardcore conditioning (inner/outer calf and ankle, inner/outer thigh, left and right lats, and outer upper arm). i haven't conditioned this hard in nearly 7 years. do you have any recommendations on bruise prevention or remedy? i took some ibuprofen as an anti-inflammatory.

I agree. And if people want to put their kids in a "McDojo" (and let's face it, McDojos are essentially expensive daycares that also have a few adult students) then who are we to argue? It's like saying McDonalds shouldn't exist (to make a direct comparison). They offer cruddy food that is horrible for you and they exist in the hundreds of thousands globally. Should they be put out of business because they offer subpar food (by most "true" chefs' standards)? They supply a product that is in high demand. Same with McDojos.

I'm a student studying geology. It actually incorporates a lot more chemistry and physics than you might believe!

I pretty much love all martial arts movies, regardless of how bad they are. I love sitting through a Don "The Dragon" Wilson crapfest. Ring of Fire is fantastic! Even the first Three Ninjas was ok when I was 10!

Sam is referring to the EMS (electromagnetic spectrum), I think. Density (mass per volume) has nothing to do with visibility. The water vapor example: Water vapor is invisible to the naked eye in its vapor (gaseous) state. The "concentration" of vapor you spoke of is not a concentration but a transformation from an invisible gaseous state to a visible liquid state. When you see steam coming off of a kettle you're seeing suspended water droplets that have witnessed condensation. Bioelectricity exists in the body. Our nerves essentially work off of electrical currents that run through the body. It's how our cells signal each other (pain, for example). I think it folly to believe that we can harness this sort of bioelectrcity and "go dragonballz" as someone said.

Be prepared for a lot of "it depends on the style" and "getting a black belt shouldn't be a goal, it should be incidental." I agree with both statements. Aikido takes roughly 10 years to earn a black belt (I did it for about 1.5 years and I only went up in "rank" once). TKD can take as little as a year or two, depending on the school, or 3-4 years (possibly more). It all depends. In general, the more traditional the school the longer it takes. Quick black belts are normally accompanied with testing fees designed to make the most money in the shortest amount of time.

The teacher at a BJJ school has offered to allow me in the class for $49/month (3 classes per week) as long as I pay the $99/month (their normal rate) when I can afford to pay it (once I graduate or whatnot). My only concern is that he only has a blue belt in BJJ (and a black belt in TKD). Is it worth taking a class that a blue belt is teaching, being that blue belt is the first belt after white? Is this a common practice? Thanks!

You know the ones: Best of the Best, Karate Kid III, Ring of Fire (and any other Don "The Dragon" Wilson movie), any movie with Cynthia Rothrock, Delta Force, The Last Dragon, Revenge of the Ninja, American Ninja, and others! It's time to celebrate this "they're so bad they're good" movies! They're chock full of bad acting, low budgets, fast kicks, no plots, tons of punches, and a load of testosterone. Three cheers for these classics! Also don't forget: Kickboxer, Gymkata, Only the Strong, The Perfect Weapon, Showdown (starring the kickboxing janitor Billy Blanks), and so many others! List your favorite cheesy 80s/90s martial arts movie!