Drgnslyer

Myself, I've always said 'sensei' for who's teaching the class, and 'sempei' for the other black belts in the class....why? It's all I've known to do...where I train that's the way it is, simple as that.

A year's worth of training karate will help your conditioning, but it's not going to absoultely change your entire physique as well...it took me a good two - three years before I experienced a noticable difference in my flexability, especially through my groin, hips, hamstrings, and other major leg/lower body muscle groups. I also echo Nurvingiel's comments, well said

can be worn outside the uniform??? *doesn't want to ask* A cup is better than no cup, a higher end cup is worth the extra $ because -if- you get nailed in the crotch, it won't hurt as much *better fitting, more comfortable padding around the rim, better distribution of force* I havn't used that type specificaly, but at first glance it looks pretty solid.

Thanks! Trust your heart man *or whoever else reads this with the same situation* It's your life...I know and understand my situaiton well enough to determine that my girlfriend is the right match for me, and I'm willing to go through a ton of ....junk.... to be with her *as in living with her, and starting our life -togeather-, because in my eyes, any sacrifice is worth it. Ultimately only you can determine that for yourself.

*grins* perfection clearly isn't one of my strong points

when I used to play baseball, it helped a ton in terms of conditioning and reflexes...as well as my depth perception....I'd be able to know what trajectory the ball was coming in to the plate with more times than not, and be able to know when a pitch was going to be a strike, or if it was going to be a ball *even close ones where the ump would take a good 10 seconds to make the call...and in baseball..that's a long long ten seconds* More importantly though, was the condition I had my core and abdominal muscles in...in 2001 I was in a very nasty car accident, I was asleep in the back seat wearing a simple lap belt in an old 89 ford probe...i ended up rupturing my abdominal wall across the entire front of my abs, but I was told that because they *the muscles* were conditioned as well as they were...they were able to take the vast bulk of the pressure of the force of impact *70kph into the back of a stationary super-b milk tanker truck* and save my internal organs *spleen, intestine, and so on* from becoming soup. I'm alive today because of Karate.

I'm a massive *and I mean massive* fan of the book "Budo Theroy" .....not a ton on historical stuff as in a textbook would be...but on the origional theroy behind traditional karate....WOW It's an incredibly heavy read if you really get into it, and is a massive amount of information for a book it's size...and ultimately only scratches the surface of the theroy behind the technique...but once you have the historical information of people, places, and dates, check this book out for the meaning behind the theroy of katate.

I echo that...it's always been in my training to have any fight over either before it starts, or within seconds of the first technique thrown...not dragged out over a couple minutes.

how did the rest of the test go? what were the best things from it?

our brains are quirky at best...lol I've been through a long, trying period of depression in my life...and have experienced many of those negative focused thoughts... I've also *as dorky as it may sound* imagined myself as a king with a large castle ontop of a mountian (even though it would be difficult living up top...but not beyond the timberline) Our imagination will do lots for us...it's what helps us create the greatest parts of our lives by forcing us to think outside the box.

Nice illustration :D This is absolutely true *the theroy behind it at minimum*

For myself, I havn't seen a huge amount of the new karate *bright colours and so forth*...I found a traditional club here in town, and have only ever trained with them. Now we use the new kimute gloves because we have to for competition, but in tournaments or training I've never personally used padding for my legs or arms...IMHO you need to know what a block genuinely feels like, and I feel it brings you closer to the reality of what you're doing...combat...instead of trying to distance yourself from the experience. *again, that's just my opinion....I might just be firmly rooted in "old-school" mindsets* I really don't know if I could take anyone seriously at first glance in a tournament if their gi was neon blue, or yellow, or even black for that matter. Especially with 'sponsor' labels on the gis...on my gi all I have is the juka label, and a 3 inch crest on the left side for my style...and that's it. I remember the first time I saw someone's gi with about six labels sewn onto it, and I couldn't understand why they would do that...but again...old school mentality i suppose. Karate does end up becoming a business when you increase the volume...but (again my opinion) it's up to each individual sensei to make sure their students are being taught the philosophy behind the technique, and the mentality that one needs to advance through their training. ***end rant***

hehe, good luck bud, i'm sure you'll do great on your test.

After looking at the thread discussing the toughest jobs...what do you think is the easiest job where you can make a signifigant income? I mention the income because some easy jobs pay you nothing but minimum wage...because they're hardly considered jobs *not that all minimum wage jobs are as such..but used in the hopes of getting people to think about it a little bit.* For myself...i'm going to have to use my own job as an example...I've worked in retail sales/management for a decent length of time, primarily in selling menswear...however I've just started working with a large mattress company that pays quite decently, low end being 55k+ annually, up to 140k for the top salespeople. *canadian dollars* Essentially...as I told a friend yesterday, I lay people down on beds, and occasionally I lay down on beds, I get paid well, and everyone keeps their clothing on. Thoughts on other jobs?

IMHO not nescessarily....I've met *and even once* lived with deadbeat dads (not my own however, thankfully), and can attest that having a child will not on it's own make you a "man". I agree that it can have a strong impact...but it's not a 'ticket' to manhood, and shouldn't be seen as such.