omnifinite

I'd say 3rd dan at least. Possible 2nd if you're really really good. I personally wouldn't train under anyone under 5th.

Grab that pant leg and yank . Every second he's offbalanced is a second in your favor.

I have no interest in the fancy stuff personally. My head is cluttered enough already without sticking that extra stuff in there .

Sounds like lawyer Christmas .

Would you fight your friend if you weren't a martial artist?

I agree with the first post. I'd be perfectly happy if cigarettes and alcohol were illegal too. Cigarettes are just plain airborne wretchedness to anyone in range... and alcohol is probably one of the worst things humanity has ever unleashed on itself in my opinion. But they aren't going anywhere unfortunately. Never underestimate a person's capacity to complicate their own lives. It's not my place to decide a person's right to destroy themselves all they want as long as it doesn't effect anyone else (might as well let natural selection take its course), but how often does that happen? "Ok all you alcoholics... you can drink as much as you want as long as you don't drive or go near your spouse or children or talk to the opposite sex or anything like that, deal?" - "Sure thing!" Cigarettes might die out (commercially) in the next few decades since all the facts are known now... my grandfather smoked for 10 years of his life and he was suddenly stricken with emphysema about a year ago and needs a steady supply of oxygen for the rest of his days... when he smoked I don't think there were any warning labels... it was just something people did. The sooner they're gone the better if you ask me. These things are probably only still so acceptable because of past cultural ties (how many millennia has wine been around?). Hmm... maybe that was more off-topic than I thought it would be. No... I'm not looking forward to its legalization if it happens. And if it does get legalized I guess we could tax the hell out of it... but the problem with things the govt gets income from... is that eventually the govt doesn't really want those things to go away...

Too bad my favorite food/color isn't orange... then I'd feel clever or something. It's green. I don't have a favorite food. Anything I eat a lot I get tired of eventually.

I've had plenty of experiences with it. Don't really have time to go into any of them right now... and I can't think of anything that happened that was all that interesting without going into a bunch of background on it. I've done it by myself at times (yes, I know you aren't supposed to)... so I can attest to no one moving it .

A little cabbage and about 30 pounds of garlic .

Self defense. I don't want someone else to be able to do whatever they want to or take whatever they want from me or my loved ones simply because they don't have an aversion to using violence. I'd like to be a pacifist, but you don't always have the luxury. There are plenty of other things I get out of it... but it's icing really... those other things I could elsewhere if I had to.

Yep. Problems with so many of the dojos here is the answer exactly.

Sounds like you like your engine, Jerry. More power to you. I don't own a house or car (work at home... don't really need to drive much)... but when I do, putting my money where I prefer it to go will be a high priority of course.

I've talked to someone who studies Aizu (name originating from the island I would guess). Supposedly very old. Sounds like aikido in some ways... sounds like ninjitsu in some ways... a lot of lore incorporated... more of a lifestyle than an art I think (or maybe I should say more like an "art" really should be). I'm curious if anyone else has ever heard of it... but I don't know enough to give any other input on it.

I learned in school that throughout the centuries villas were often considered symbols of wealth and virtue and cities were often considered symbols of corruption. People wanted to live in villas but were forced to work in cities. Take that desire, add a newly invented automobile and a young country with millions of acres to spare, and *wham*, suburbia is born. That's why the White House looks like a plantation. The architect wanted the President to appear to be a "gentleman farmer" untouched by the corruption of the city around him. That's what Taikudo-ka's comment made me think of. Hopefully someone else out there finds this sort of thing interesting. Anyway... I think now that the big rich oil companies and the big rich car companies are starting to get some pressure we're going to see better, cheaper, more functional, more powerful vehicles using alternative fuels. They're wimpy now because they haven't had a sliver of the backing (money/research/time) IC engines have had. WHY they haven't had that backing is part of the issue in question I think. If a bulky, dirty IC engine is really the most powerful and cost-effective engine humanity is capable of creating, well, we should just give up this whole technology thing altogether. And part of the reason the hybrids aren't doing so well is because you're almost paying for two cars in one. Plus how many mechanics know how to fix one yet? Technology doesn't get ubiquitous overnight. Hybrids are probably a premature step, but it's good that steps are being taken. Technology in its infancy isn't worthless... it's just... infantile. I wonder if we'd have cold fusion figured out by now if it weren't for the fact that it would be so difficult to benefit from energy so abundant that a high price tag would be nothing short of an insult (not to mention the big rich oil companies who'd rather not lose half their markets).

Maybe it does happen everywhere and our media is just bloodthirstier. Who knows.

Duality/relativity... and realm of poles rather than singularities. Basically what half the other people have said .

Sounds like a ploy to sell more magazines. I can't think of any other rational reason for it. It's a bit silly I think.

Mine were. Each belt degree was usually made up of a certain type of attack. Not always, but usually.

I think the issue with teaching martial arts for money is when the money comes first (i.e. inflated belt test fees, putting filler in classes people could do at home in order to make them pay for more time in the end, making thousands doing seminars when they may barely know what they're talking about, etc). Without experience it's hard to gauge the quality of what you're being taught. At least when the instructor makes it clear that the teaching comes first (there are many ways to do that, teaching cheaply is one of the more convincing), it makes you more comfortable putting your faith in them. When money comes first to an instructor they might get you killed down the line. I personally have no problem with my instructor making a profit (I pay more than most people) as long as my personal advancement is still the first priority.

I have a question about training full contact, and I'm not really sure how to ask it without sounding antagonistic, which isn't my intent at all. Just trust that it's an honest, humble question to those who have some insight. What I'm wondering is... how do people train and spar "full contact" and not kill each other? It seems to me that for your martial art to be truly effective in real-life combat, your techniques will be pretty deadly. You wouldn't have the luxury of simply bruising a person up... you'd have to make sure whatever you hit tore or broke and you'd have to do it quickly. You could lower the severity of your responses if you were confident you were in no danger of being killed (and even then, you could be very wrong), but I'm not sure how many street situations that applies to. So how is training full contact possible? Is it selective contact? Is it restrained? I understand the benefits of learning how to take a hit of course, but if it's selective/restrained... aren't there still issues of not truly knowing if what you're doing works, or whether or not you're doing it right? I think if I were to use what I've learned in a truly full contact sparring session... I'd feel very discouraged and betrayed by my teaching if the person came out of it just a little bruised and bloodied and said, "Good session... see you next week." If I gave it my all and that was the result I'd get demolished in a real-life encounter. I would find a new instructor and/or art then and there. I'm not advocating genuinely harming your peers ... I'd never do that or train in a place that allowed it. But maybe I'm just not clear on the definition of "full contact". I'm having trouble understanding how very rough but restrained sparring in the dojo, aside from the pain-conditioning and psychological benefits, are really so much more effective than point sparring (with some imagination)? What makes it so much better? Is it simply closer to an impossible form of practice? Maybe if people explained how full contact sparring is handled in their training I'd have a better idea of what the term encompasses? Thanks for your input.

I don't think he has a cause or a message. I think he's just doing something he enjoys doing. But that isn't very interesting. I saw a news reporter ask someone involved with the investigation if he thought the sniper was choosing gas stations because it related to oil issues in Iraq. For a second the guy just looked at him funny. Correlations and political statements make for better stories. Better stories is what gets the ratings (especially if they can find a way to play the 9/11 card). The sniper fuels the media. The media fuels public fear. Public fear fuels the sniper. And so on. I guess the only way to do my part in breaking the cycle is to leave the house and continue on unhindered. As always I have a much better chance of getting hit by a car than a bullet. It's not much, but the more people who do it the less satisfaction he gets. On a lighter note... http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2002-10-15&res=l

I think the pant legs and sleeves are shorter on a Judo gi, but I could be wrong.

The one that least resembles a mcdojo will probably do you the most good.

Has anyone found any clips online besides the ones on his site? I'd be curious to see them.

When I was 12 there was this one guy in my PE class who was almost as buff as that (he was the same age). I guess with certain people it's possible. I'm a little more concerned about the 5th degree black belt. I mean... if his dad has been training him his entire life... I guess he could have that knowledge of the entire system. But man... just seems strange. How could he be old enough for that title? But that's another thread.