Zaine

Happy New Year!

McKenna takes a very Funakoshian approach to martial arts (to be a little tongue-in-cheek) in this post. He argues that, in being a "-do", karate is meant to be about self-perfection instead of defending oneself. This is a fine approach to take, of course. Karate, and martial arts at large, can mean a myriad of different things for a whole spectrum of people. I have met many people who do martial arts not because they want to defend themselves, but because they wanted to pursue a betterment of their lives. Kata becomes meditation through movement, sparring becomes a fun, low stakes practice, etc. This is certainly not the reason that I got into karate, nor is it why I am still involved in martial arts at large. For me, a part of preserving and growing martial arts is taking part in the actual defense part of martial arts. It is important to have bunkai. It is important to know how to handle oneself in stressful situations where de-escalation is no longer an option. Not only practically, but I think culturally, as well. Movements in kata don't (or, at least, shouldn't) exist in a vacuum. He compares karatedo to sado and shodo but I think fails to understand the implications of this preservation. While it is true that no one is learning sado to become a better tea drinker, or shodo to become a better fiction writer, they are learning it to understand better the context in which these things exist. They find use in the preservation of this cultural staple. Overall, I am not a karate apologist. When people way "you would never beat an MMA guy," I believe that our reaction shouldn't be to argue, but to educate. Karate doesn't teach you how to be an MMA fighter, it teaches you how to defend yourself. MMA fighters care about lasting in a fight with multiple rounds; karate wants everything but a confrontation to last longer than 5 seconds. We shouldn't be comparing different martial arts because different martial arts, especially those focused on the sport of fighting, want to accomplish very different means.

Congrats! Well deserved!

Uncle Frank is definitely always out of line. If my siblings acted that way to my child, we would have a problem. They definitely wouldn't be staying in my house! My wife and I were just discussing the potential jobs of the McCallisters. We landed on Kate being a fashion designer, and funnily enough we speculated, as the article touches on, that Peter might be involved in organized crime. Interesting that they also had they thought and strayed away from it. I also hadn't realized that he is the director of the new movie Nosferatu, which my wife and I are going to see this Saturday. What a difference in tone!

Looks like he no longer has it.

I've heard a lot of good things about Violent Night. We did our annual rewatch of Home Alone 1 and 2. I don't know why this never occurred to me before, but the McAllister family, on top of being awful human beings, are VERY rich. Like, obnoxiously rich. It has bothered me since last week.

I hope that you do return! There's a reason that we're so passionate about it. Those who stick with it become incredibly passionate about it. There's just something about martial arts that keeps us coming back. Lean on how supportive the people are. They don't care about how good or bad you might be, they care that you showed up willing to learn. It can definitely be frustrating. I've been doing martial arts for 23 years and I still get frustrated when learning new things sometimes! I remember learned a set of kata and thinking that "I will never teach anyone these kata!" because it was frustrating to me. They're still not my favorite, but now that I'm a few years removed from that learning experience I see the value in them and would teach them to anyone who wants to know.

I like that you're starting small. It helps, when making the decision to cut back on things, to start with obtainable goals. It also takes a lot of patience and will power. We want to see results quickly, so we make ourselves miserable by cutting back on everything. In truth, just cutting out soda, or even switching to 0 calorie alternatives, can really help you lose some pounds. My uncle cut out Dr. Pepper and lost 50 pounds because he was drinking so much. This inspired him to make other healthy choices based on how good he felt after doing so. Of course, moderation is key, but if it's an issue to even drink one, then going cold turkey can be best. I'm glad that you have found something that works for you, and that it's inspiring you to go further in your health journey. I've noticed a recent trend of cutting out caffeine going through the world. For my part, I have certainly noticed that I drink a lot of it and have made an effort to cut down. I have ADHD, and often caffeine, being a stimulant, works well with my ADHD brain. However, I was consuming too much of it and recently decided to limit myself to 1 - 2 cups a day. A significant decrease from 4 - 5. It also has the added benefit of saving me money. Coffee and energy drinks add up in expenses!

I don't think boxing is dying, as it is. I think, like Bob says, that it just needs something to inject it with interest. Say what you want about Jake Paul, but he has been good for boxing. People want to see him win or lose and will buy tickets/PPV to watch him fight. I just think we need more larger than life personalities. Fury comes to mind, people love to watch him fight, but we need more. For my part, I've never been a big watcher of fighting, but I do love to participate. Boxing is fun to do, even if I get bored watching it.

You have to make a minimum of 25 posts before you can send private messages.

That's really cool, Patrick! I've seen some of those movies that your wife has worked on. I don't often find inspiration in visual media. Books are my go to. However, I was really inspired by Shang Chi. It made me remember why I love martial arts so much. I watched it with my kid and it also got them into martial arts.

Happy holidays! I know this time of year can be stressful, but I hope everyone is taking time to enjoy the good parts of it, as well.

This looks like a fun movie. I didn't watch Cobra Kai, and I'm not sure I plan to. I don't watch a lot of TV to begin with as it stresses me out. However, I'll probably go see this. Karate Kid holds a place in my heart. It wasn't the reason that I started Karate, but I did find it really cool as a young karateka.

I'd like to thank the academy! But seriously, to be awarded this by such a fun and supportive community is humbling and invigorating. Thanks to everyone who voted, and here's to another wonderful year at KF!

I'm curious as to what he thought would be your answer concerning a drive-by.

I actually put reading this off so that I can read Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring again. I recently rewatched the movie trilogy and just saw the new LOTR Movie, The War of the Rohirrim. It was a fun movie, if a little flat. It inspired me to jump back into a reread of the series.

I like this view a lot. I have a Masters degree in English, so technically I am recognized as a Master of the English language. What this really means, in my summation, is that I have the ability to teach it and understand it at a high level. It doesn't mean that I've mastered every aspect of it, just that my understanding is keen and has been sharpened to the point where I wield the language better than most.

I do too! I've been playing it for years! However, this manga was very bad. It was written like a 13-year-old's fan fiction. I do not recommend seeking this manga out.

Picked up a new manga. Destroy All Humans They Can't Be Regenerated. It's a Magic: The Gathering manga. It came with a card, which was cool. I hope it's good.

Congrats! Do you get to learn new material now?

Congrats! Learning a new form has always been my favorite part of ranking up.

I've been in a reading slump. However, I just picked up Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. It's novella length, so hopefully that will help reignite my reading habit.

With children, however, it's difficult to ignore them. If ignored, they have the opportunity to disrupt the other class.

I've been thinking about this question since you posted on Wednesday, going back through my training and trying to figure out if there was a "golden age" of my training. Or, if not a golden age, just a time when I was enraptured in training and want to go back. Or, maybe there could have been a time period that I would want to redo because I think that I could have done better. However, for me, I think I am in the golden age of my training. These are those halcyon days. I don't want to go back, I want to continue living in this moment. I want to continue to grow and learn.

Congrats! Well deserved!