Bitseach

now THAT'S Zen! LOL

38??! Yikes! That's high! As I understand it, the "normal" range for the scale you and I are talking about is between about 4 and 8, where anything above 10 you are diabetic. This is measured in m mol / L from a random blood test for glucose. Here is some info from a site that explains the difference (http://www.diabetic.org.uk/lwd/newbies/whats_diabetes/DI_diagnosis.asp): Blood glucose levels Blood glucose levels in people who do not have diabetes tend to stay between about 4 and 8 mmol/l. In the UK, the amount of glucose in the blood is measured as millimoles of glucose per litre of blood (mmol/l). In the US and some other countries, the amount of glucose in the blood is measured as milligrams of glucose per decilitre of blood (mg/dl). Multiplying the UK figure by 18 will give you an approximate conversion of mmol/l to mg/dl. Dividing the US figure by 18 will give you an approximate conversion of mg/dl to mmol/l. For example mmol/l to mg/dl, 6.2 mmol/l equates to approximately (6.2 x 18) mg/dl = 112 mg/dl For example mg/dl to mmol/l, 112 mg/dl equates to approximately (112 / 18) mg/dl = 6.2 mmol/l

Van Damme - mate, calm it down, would you? Go for a run or something - get your aggression out elsewhere, yeah? Now, back to match-fixing/poor standards of reffing.

Hold a minute - how is it "sour grapes" when the teams that were mentioned in the first post are not teams that that person would necessarily be supporting? That doesn't make sense! Some of the refereeing *has* been abominable. I note that they have picked Pierluigi Collina for the final and he has been the best ref in the tournament. He handled with strictness and fairness the ever-controversial England-Argentina game amongst others and showed an even hand there (for/against both teams).

Agree with all that Sai and Kicky have said - you have to watch your toes as the microcirculation in the extremities is altered by the disease and can lead to peripheral neuropathy - slight damage to the nerves in the toes and feet. In some people this can lead to pain in the feet; others complain of tingling or numbness. As a newly-diagnosed diabetic you should have received advice on how often to get your feet checked by a State Registered Chiropodist. If you do this regularly you should be able to stave off any potential probs with the feet. Further information may be found at the following sites: http://www.diabetes.org.uk/faq/foot.htm http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/diabetesinsulindependent.htm As for exercise and diabetes, you will need to find your own pattern and this will involve some falls until you can get the pattern right and learn to balance your symptoms with your sugars/insulin intake. I know of several athletes who are diabetic and all cope with this balance - one need only mention Sir Steven Redgrave, the most famous UK diabetic athlete! One thing to think about also is carrying some sort of condition-warning device, such as a "Medicalert" bracelet, pendant or watch, which gives brief info on your condition and which UK ambulance crews are trained to look out for. Clearly you wouldn't be able to wear any of these whilst training, but let your sensei and friends in the class know about your diabetic status in case you go a bit wobbly on them, and carry an info card in your wallet. You wouldn't believe how handy these things are to ambulance crews and save them a lot of time. Let your friends and family know a few of the symtoms too - remember that hypOglycaemia (lack of blood sugar usu from too much insulin or - more often too much exercise for the amount of food you've had) can lead to confusion or aggression so they might have to be understanding at times! Keep something like a small carton of fruit juice in your training bag in case you get hypo, a small bag of sweets or dried fruit, or something like "Hypostop" gel. Ensure your friends know a bit of first aid! The recovery position is usually enough if you are otherwise fit and you get the balance badly wrong! Other things: never go to a concert, footie match or anything without your injector pen - first aid posts usually do not carry insulin as standard (St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross don't) and be careful if you are drinking - you WILL need extra insulin to balance! Take care, Bits'

The logic of it was to do with the distribution of weight between females and males - clearly (or at least in my case!) most females have more weight around their hips/thighs than males so there was more danger of the middle portion of the body sagging in the press-up position, possibly leading to a strained hyperextension of the lower back and all the bits within that area!

ZR440 - you could easily do both if the submission form included a "language" or "origin" box, and then it was possible to do a "sort by" as an option to view the glossary. Personally, I would like to be able to compare what different things mean in different MAs, but I accept that one might also find it useful just to look within one's own art.

I'd go for on large A-Z, split up by a few good hyperlinks! The way I initially thought of it was kind of like you have the "Links" section of the site, where people could add things if they wanted, so it was perhaps not a strictly official definition always, but would give people's interpretations also. Because of this I would have a line at the end of the definition a person submitted for the style of MA as, say, ki/chi might be viewed subtly differently between MAs, and also the country of the person posting - you could perhaps have these as a drop-down menu so they had to be included in the message, and let the "form" do the rest. After that, I would allow anything that's relevant to the definition, whether it be descriptions or anecdotes - so long as they were relevant, but strictly remove anything that was just waffle or chit-chat. In my mind I envisaged something like they have in the "Knowhere" guides, only more strictly controlled as this have just become nonsense (http://www.knowhere.co.uk/) However the submission idea is still good, IMO.

Er, isn't that pretty much what the MA film industry has been doing for decades???

Ram - good luck and I sincerely hope that there is no trouble. We in the UK had trouble for the past few years on Mayday as all the "crusties" and their spectators came out en masse trying to destroy things - bloody yobbos! They were disgusting, throwing urine "bombs" at the police and trying to overturn a mobile first aid unit with 5 people inside! I am all in favour of the right to public protest but for me it HAS to be non-violent, non-destructive and I honestly believe that a lot of these anti-globalisation protestors are just thugs looking for an excuse for a smash-up.

Bon, AFAIK there are tests that now can take into account academic ability and can be used despite "learning support" needs such as dyslexia. So far, that's been the main content of the yells of opposition - that people will now fake their tests. It was estimated that around 5% of executions were on people of low mental capacity. Personally I am not supportive of the death penalty, especially in its present form, where political expediency is often pushed in importance above the circumstances of the case, a situation exacerbated in my view, by the bizarre practice of political appointments to the judiciary in the US. I am also worried by the racial imbalance in death-row inmates and some of the funding anomalies in different counties that lead to some defendants not even having access to DNA evidence as it costs too much! I also reckon the US is in bad company in the top-5 countries for executions: China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran and Iraq are their bedfellows! Who knew they would all have so much in common?! _____________________________________ The law in its infinite Majesty,’ Anatole France once observed, ‘prohibits rich and poor alike from stealing bread, begging in the street & sleeping under bridges’ _____________________________________

It's a bit like road-kill - you don't want to look but somehow your eyes are inexorably drawn... (my flat-mate's a big fan so it's often on when I'm about!!)(okay, and now I'm kind of hooked myself!)

When I was in the British Army we were not taught any specific style of self-defence - it was just self-defense, with a bit of an emphasis on regular old boxing when I was in! They also throw in a few evil ways of killing people with bayonets, neck-breaks, control of prisoners using pressure on the digital nerves, etc, etc. All jolly good fun!

LOL yes, Sin' Masters of Combat - I've been trying to remember the name all week-end! I didn't think it was at all disrespectful to Martial Arts - it was never a really serious thesis, but a light-hearted combative programme that allowed me to see many other arts, including many I'd never heard of. I liked the fact that Gail Porter - the presenter - was herself a 2nd Dan BB! Who'd a thunk it?! I really wonder about the sort of people who took it so seriously as to think it disrespectful to the Martial Arts (like the MAs are so precious they need protecting from popularity or something?!!)

Also, "I've got a verucca on me finger! Does that mean I'm mingin'? Waaaah boo-hoo!" Uh, yes.

Um, the zinged-out word was "r e t a r d e d" and is the choice of words of the Justice involved in the case, by the way, and would not be mine.

Apparently now if your IQ dips below 80 points you might not be executed quite so quickly as it's now deemed "cruel and unusual" punishment according to a majority of judges in the US Supreme Court. See the story at http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_2056000/2056235.stm Interesting.

Er...right.

Ourselves of course [ahem] Taikudo - take as a Zen thing if you want. There is no one answer. Self-deprecating humour, such as Britons enjoy so much almost always gently prods the other person. That's why it's so much fun.

...not to mention aesthetically lovely.

We might be talking at cross-purposes here, but if the feet are the fulcrum and they are spread wide apart you will find it a lot easier as this will shorten the distance and also enable the feet to take more of the body weight. Interestingly the British Army and other services did not used to allow women to do full length press-ups as they led to damage to the ligaments that keep the ovaries in place. I am not sure if this is still the perceived wisdom or not.

Oh yeah, meant to say too that if breathing is laboured, sit in a semi-recumbent position (sitting propped against a wall, or leaning slightly forward) People with asthma often get relief by sitting at a table, leaning forward on their elbows, but if you are faint you need to be on your back with legs supported and elevated. o__/ Bits (first aider and emergency ambulance volunteer)

With asthma the difficulty is not so much the breathing in, but the breathing out. You would also possibly hear some wheezing and your chest would feel tight. You have probably just over-exerted yourself, esp after a month out of training - ease back in GENTLY! However you could also have started your heart racing too hard, which might also cause the faintness and difficulty in breathing. You should see your doctor to ensure that this is not the case (unlikely but possible!) As for eating, a LIGHT meal an hour or 90 minutes before training, with complex carbs to keep you going throughout the training - your muscles need energy you know! Also I disagree with the person who said that one shouldn't eat after training. You have used up a lot of energy and need to start to replenish. Again, something light so that you do not overload the digestive system as during training your body will have diverted blood away from the gut to service the muscles. If you eat too soon you might get a bit nauseous. Something like a banana, eaten slowly, should be good. I also think the culture of martial arts denying people water during training is not medically sensible. But there you go!

Is it cheating if you start off in the "splits" position? LOL

No, Kickchick! It's because I'm tall, okay? I'll have to check your link now and practise!!