Enviroman

I didn't ment to say that kyokushin instructors are pure evil , what i ment is , kyokushin is indeed force oriented , just like cobra kai's style John Creese's Kobra Kai will destroy you!

You do utilize shoulder/neck muscles when you throw a punch but, like Shorinryu Sensei said, an incorrect punch shouldn't hurt a muscle...but it might aggrevate a damaged muscle!

Keying a belt is rather lame, IMO. I like the look of a new, crisp belt. I wouldn't intentionally tear up my shirt or scratch up my leather oxfords, so why intentionally mess up my belt? I know belts mean "respect" to a lot of people, but to me they are an arbitrary western creation.

To add another book: I'm presently reading "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman (the comic author of Sandman). It's fantastic so far...excellent read, highly recommended.

Off topic, but when do you start up school again? I go back in like a month...college textbooks = biggest scam ever.

edit: wrong thread!

Mmmmm, KFC. See it all falls back to greasy fast food. Seriously, you're correct. Most schools will alter their advancement requirements for children. I understand that belts are important to keep children focused and involved but should a 1st Kyu brown belt (child) really know only 3/4 of the forms that an adult brown belt knows? Seems like KFC to me.

Yeah, racism by definition involves race. The act of being prejudiced based entirely upon someone's race. The religion thing is more of "religious intolerance."

Yep, it's "The Legend" here in the US. It's also a fantastic movie.

He's right, though. Nimr Hassan was "ordered" to kill that old man and his wife by James Mitose (the man many call the "father of modern kempo"). Obviously we don't know this 100% but Mitose died in jail as he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. Hassan "found" Islam and changed his name. He now teaches in Philly...some brand of Kempo Ninjitsu. I actually went to a class last night and loved it.

Congratz, that's really fantastic.

If your in Philadelphia, and the instructor is Nimr Hassan, please be advised that he is a convicted murderer. When he was "Terry Lee" he murdered a 70 year old man, and half killed his elderly wife, at the request of his instructor, James Mitose. Nah, I'm fully aware of that guy.

excellent list

Still, it retails for over 2 grand. I don't think I've received $2000 in total presents (christmas and birthday) from my family in my 23 years...let alone as a single gift.

I've studied mantis for about a month now. It's a decent style but I'm not thrilled with my Sifu. A lot of trapping, a lot of forearm blows, a lot of conditioning, some low kicks, a lot of linear throat/eye/neck strikes...that's the best way I can sum up what I've learned so far.

It's an Okinowan style. Here's some info: http://www.all-karate.com/goju_ryu_karate.php

Yeah, I pretty much don't endorse this thing in any way. Here's a martial (partial?) artist's review on the bubba dummy: http://www.whitebelt.org/bubba_dummy1.html Here's a decent site on how to make a good dummy: http://www.geocities.com/fightraining/grappled2.html This site gives pretty good instructions on how to make a quality dummy that can be thrown and whatnot. It uses pretty expensive building equipment but it'll cost you way less than the bubba dummy.

Anyone have direct experience with this style? A local teacher asked me to come by and see his school and try it out for a while (super reasonable price). I've researched it a bit online and it seems decent, I think...other than Mitose's checkered past (and the actual history of the style seems to be iffy). He told me that they do a lot of jumping drills and octagon drills (what's an octagon drill?). If anyone has specific info on the style, I'd be glad to hear it! Thanks!

welcome

It's fairly expensive...roughly $560 (incl. shipping). People make their own but you need access to a shop.

he means that he dislikes Blood Sport while I like it. Just a difference of opinion handled in a nice way.

that's pretty expensive, IMO. you figure, twice a week ($46) equals $184 per month. even though they're private lessons, that's really expensive for your average person.

Well, in my MP3 player, at the moment: Iron and Wine Death Cab for Cutie Both of the Shins disks Stephen Malkmus' new disk Drive By Truckers - Dirty South Led Zeppelin - How the West Was Won Pavement - my own "best of" mix Streets - both disks and other stuff...

I don't really count. I normally have cereal in the morning or a yogurt. And I'm sure I have cheese at some point during the day.

Aikido isn't for killing at any level. But it is a great self-defense tool that can be used to save your own life. You'd be surprised how well a .222 bullet fired out of a M-16 can kill someone...I don't think they need to rely on Aikido's lethality.