Ai Hate

very true. don't tell them you come to this school cause you just want to get into a good college. but convince him that this school means more to you than just a stepping stone. $.02

i agree. the head master should be reasonable enough. and if he still doesn't believe you (say he's a dimwit), then try to act that you totally regret what happened and wil blah blah blah in the future. if you don't have a bad record, at least you won't get permanently expelled. and didn't anyone see this happen at all, apart from his friends? how bout your friends?

ok, everyone's saying "every MA has their advantages and disadvantages". so let's make a list of what we basically don't like or want to see more in the MA we're training. please, no bashing an MA you've never personally experienced, but debate on your own style is fine. cheers.

i don't get any serious comments on my overall tarining either. it's usually when i did some technique wrong, then he corrects it (mostly in kicks) anyway, i have had one personal conversation with him on my injury behind the knee, and what he told me was that my muscles are still very weak, so sometimes i just can't do some techniques properly. for me, i don't ask my sensei directly, "how am i doing?", but i usually ask for his advice on certain points. my strongest motivation right now is the words my sensei wrote for me when i was at the camp (in an activity where everyone would write a feedback on a person): "train very hard and you'll be very good". i know that it's a general rule of thumb that if you train hard, you'll be good, but i try to think positively and there'd be a small event on this 25th, and he pointed at me and said "i think you should go, for the experience. and maybe if another guy wants to go, then ok". again, common words, but i try to think positive so i say if you realy want to get comments, ask him.

i'll have to agree with that. i don't train MT, but i get to see a LOT of fights on TV. and they don't seem to care when they get hit (except when they get a shin in their neck and go down ). they always look at the opponent. i think it's all about morale and concentration.. and i agree that if you make it clear to your coach that you want to ring fight, he'll tell you when the time is right. good luck

hehe. concur to that! it's a good thing i got to be a kermit since i could still remember him.. well, maybe not his personality, but his face

actually, i really don't know much on the "what to eat subject". but i presume that in order to gain weight healthily, you need to eat everything, not only tons of protein. also have lots of veggies and fruits, carbohydrate, and all those stuff. actually, i say just eat what you want (well, maybe not too much junk food sicne it'll make you full and you'll miss the real meal). recently, i just found out that i have hit the 60kg milestone!! what i did was really nothing focused on gaining weight, but more on training. oncei train really hard, i become really hungry. and i try to eat everything. i didn't really think whether i had enough protein or not, or did i eat my veggies today and stuff. but i try to eat a full meal when i'm hungry and cut down the snacks. i do some muscle training at my room (when i feel like it). i'm not doing them for the weight, but for the sake of MA training. jack, if you really need to get your weight up, then muscle trainings are probably the way to go (since muscles weigh more than weight). if you don't eat enough while doing muscle training, your weight will go up, but you'll probably look thinner (so don't worry if anyone said you're thinner than before). and get proper sleep! note that i said proper not lots. lots of sleep can mean going to bed at 2am and wake up at 10am (a typical should-be-healthy 8 hr sleep). what i mean by proper is try not to go to bed so late and get the same amount of sleep. this is how your body will get the most rest. lets say i compare 2 sleeping times i had: night A, i go to sleep at 3am and wake up at 11am (no class). i get the usual 8 hr sleep, but do i feel all that fresh in the morning (actually, it's noon)? the answer's no. i feel i didn't have any sleep at all, and i could probably sleep till evening. my body is still tired even though i didn't do any training yesterday. and i will be sleepy all day. night B, i go to sleep at 11am and wake up at 7am. though i get the same 8 hr sleep, i feel that my body is really fresh. i could wake up automatically at 7am since my body had had it's rest fully. i don't feel sleepy anymore and i feel energetic. another note i thought i'd mentioned is don't take long naps. half an hour nap in the afternoon is ok cause your body could use the rest. but 3 hrs sleep in the afternoon (like what i used to have) is not good. i think it's like "over sleeping". if you sleep too much, then your body is all crippled and lazy when you wake up. and you'll feel you need even more sleep. plus, it'll easily destroy your sleeping schedule at night (your not sleepy at night cause you've had your looong afternoon nap). the worst thing is probably sleeping in the evening. sometimes, i come back home from class and i'm all pooped out. i fall on my bed and passed out for a few hours. waking up only to realize that i've missed my dinner, and experience a terrible headache. i think you all know what "over sleeping" is like. it's like you've slept for 10 hrs at night, but you could never had enough. the only thing that could possibly get you out of bed is the urge for the toilet.. and once you finally get up, you feel miserable.. so all in all, i say: -eat a full meal, and cut down the snacks before meals. -have a proper sleeping habit. ps. i have no (well, maybe some) hard scientific evidence in all of this, but is based on my experiences.

i don't know why, but when fighting in a match, my head is always so empty.. no stress, no pressure, no nothing.. not even attacking moves anyway, after the match, when i (always) lose, i'm usually mad at myself, and i vent it in training.. or maybe just punch the wall

started at 19 (about 4-5 months ago), and still 19 (at least for a few days more)

probably point sparring. sth like in kumite tournaments (semi-contact w/ head guards and gloves)

i believe it's possible. but it would probably differ through each school/dojo. i know that here, you have to pay big bucks for the belt (after you passed the test) since it's ordered from japan.

being able to read the opponent is essential in a fight. if you could determine when he's gonna strike, you cuold even do it first.

imo, it's not wrong to wait for the perfect shot and explode everything you've got there. actually, i even think it's one of the "concepts" in karate (as they have the saying "1 blow 1 kill"). just make sure that you're in no harm during that time. i think it's really up to your preference. if you're more of the wait for the right time and counter, and you're good at it, i see no reason why you should try to force yourself to be more aggressive and throw a lot of useless blows (therefore exhausting yourself). maybe i'm a little biased to this style of fighting (wait-counter) since i'm very fond of it. i'm not good at it, but am constantly practicing on my timing and reflexes. relaxing in a fight is important, since if you are too stressed, then you'll be slower. hard blows are useless if they're so slow the opponent could easily evade/block it (and counter).. about the light contact sparring thing, i think it's been covered in another thread. someone said (sorry i can't remember your name ), the difference between full contact and light/non contact sparring is in the "follow through". while the speed, power and focus is the same. imo, light/non contact sparring works as a method for making you learn how to control yourself. it's easier to hit an opponent full force than knowing when you should pull out. $.02

in the book, there's a pic of a guy doing a 2 finger handstand.. i think their fingers are even stronger than my biceps! and again, there's a pic of a guy breaking a board with 1 finger (instead of punching it) and it said that a true master should be able to go through about 3 boards.. holy..

that, my friend, is the hardest part but anyway, i am trying to rebuild my schedule by constantly exhausting myself before going to bed (no, not that ). you see, one problem i had was that i can't sleep. now that i start to exercise a bit (mainly sit-ups and pushups) at night helps me a lot with sleeping (therefore i have more time sleeping and i could get up earlier without falling asleep in class) jack, yes, 1kg/month is possible. especially for guys who're very underweight like us. i could swear i witnessed seeing my weight jump over 2 kgs (about 2.3kgs) in just 1 month of constant training..

hmm.. aikido pants, eh? yes, it think i've seen them in pictures..

good luck. and do tell us more about your trip when you get back.

i am confused.. what does that mean?

hehe! my eating habits is really really getting annoying these days. i usualyl don't have breakfast (since i always wake up late for class). but if i do, i'll have it around 10.30, after class. if i didn't have breakfast, i'd usually have lunch at 1pm, dinner at 6.30 (that's when the university cafeteria is closing), then midnight junkfood (from 7-11) at 11.30pm and such. but if i do have breakfast at 10.30, i won't have lunch! hahaha! anyway, that's my life in weekdays, when i go to college. but on weekends, and i'm at my apartment, i hardly eat anything! i wake up at 11, and do some stuff blah blah blah till 3pm, then i find some snack around the room. then i wait till in the evening (so it's not too hot to go outside), then i go have dinner. but if i come out too late and the cafeteria is already closed, then i have to rely on 7-11 food again! such is life..

kermit all the way!

could anyone do a 1 finger pushup? i saw it in a karate book, and my chewing gum fell out of my mouth..

get 'em, tiger korea! poke their eyes, crush their temples and break their bones! no.. they'll never see daylight again..

me was born in southern thailand, now studying (therefore living) in central thailand.

oh yeah, i forgot, some striking kungfu would be interesting too.