Zaine

Congrats!

When driving, my wife tells me to take a John or a Theo, depending on which way we need to turn.

It's perfect!

It's here! I was periodically checking in on your updates, excited for the end result. I'm happy to have helped test this site, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for this community which I love so much.

I did 23 and Me and I was satisfied with the results. I'm not a scientist, so I don't have the knowledge necessary to check their work on a level that can confirm their percentages. What I can say is that, based on my own genealogical research, it matched up pretty well with what I thought. My wife was a little surprised by some of her results, but they matched after doing some digging into her genealogical history. The numbers themselves get pretty specific. When it came to "Broadly Northwestern European" it gave me a 9.5%. It also gave me 0.5% Finnish, so it gets as specific as it will allow. Furthermore, the specifics of region are there for the larger numbers. For my 21.1% French and German, it gave me the regions that my ancestors were from. If you're thinking about doing it, I can definitely recommend 23 and Me. There are other features, as well, such as linking you with other blood relatives and things that you're disposed to genetically.

I've recently been watching a lot of kata video from various competitions. Something that I have noticed is the difference of length of the kiai in Okinawan/Japanese martial arts (Shotokan, Goju Ryu, etc.) and Korean martial arts (TKD, Tang Soo Do, etc.). Okinawan/Japanese styles tend to draw out their kiai, whereas Korean styles keep it short. For the Okinawan/Japanese styles, I can attest to being taught to draw it out a little. My sensei preferred deep, guttural kiai that came from the diaphragm. The Korean poomsae I have seen seem to prefer short kiai from the throat. Can anyone help fill in my lack of knowledge?

The Reckoning of Roku by Randy Ribay

Nice! I have all the English volumes of Berserk and am excitedly awaiting Vol. 42.

Group training is a great idea! Having peers to motivate you is an awesome way to stick with it.

I wasn't aware that you are a manga reader? What other manga are you currently reading, Patrick?

that sounds intriguing! Myself i have constantly toyed with the ides of learning Japanese - mainly because i visited it before and loved it but noticed how little English people spoke there. My son loves Anime etc and would be great to take the family there on holiday but would be much better if at least one of us spoke some of the language! The Shihan of the Shobayashi school I was in was a fluent speaker and lived there for a time. It was interesting to hear her linguistic perspective on the different words we used.

The Study of Karate & Miscellaneous Thoughts on Martial Arts by Morinobu Itoman

I can definitely see stud earrings also being a problem. I have my ears gauged and wear silicon spacers so there's no risk of stabbing myself by getting hit in the head.

Interestingly, while I generally have a lack of motivation to do weight lifting, I am easily motivated to do work with hojo undo equipment such as the Chi Ishi and the like. I think that it's because I connect to the hojo undo work more directly to karate. I understand that doing squats with a weight rack can be easily traced to improvement in kicking power, but doing it with hojo undo equipment makes me feel like I'm improving my karate more, somehow.

All dojos that I have been a part of have required rings, bracelets, and watches to come off. If you have studs for earrings, those are fine. Anything dangling needs to be removed. More than a personal safety standpoint, I think this policy is also to protect the jewelry, which someone might have spent a lot of money on or have a sentimental attachment too. Rings make sense, as jams can be common in martial arts. Bracelets can be bents, dangling earrings can be ripped out accidentally during drills or sparring, watches can be broken, etc.