Zapatista

The place that I did Kum-Do at was around $125 a month and that included up to 3 training days a week. That place was a rip-off, but the classes were small (the max I had was 2 other people with me) so we got a lot of individual attention and there was no contract at all. The place I was looking at for Judo and Danzan-Ryu Jujutsu (they also offer Wing Chun and they used to offer seperately Carlson Gracie's BJJ Academy until he died in February). For Judo it was about $80 a month (no contract). I'm not sure if that was just for Judo or if all their arts (except BJJ) were $80 too. One thing I'd suggest asking about are class sizes. I think it would be worth it to pay maybe $5 - $10 a month extra and there be maybe 5 people in the class so you get extra attention rather than having a normal class size of 10 - 20. There was one place literaly down the street from my house (well my mom's) and it was about $55 a month (again no contract) with 2 or 3 classes a week, but the catch is that they do like 4 or 5 different arts and they expect you to learn with them. So week 1 you may do Judo, then week 2 you may do Qi Gong (I believe that's right), then week 3 Aikido, etc. It's good if you're looking for something to calm you down (they had many internal arts) but not if you're training for self-defense (extensive) or for sport.

Here's a question about Creatine: I started the loading process Monday and I've noticed that my cardiovascular system has been affected. It feels like I have a constant chest cold and things that weren't winding me before are starting too. Now I'm also going through other health problems now (mainly mental health) so it could always be from that, but is Creatine known to cause this? and if so, should it go away after I'm done loading or should I just get off it now? The reason I haven't gotten off it already is because I've noticed results already and I didn't want to give it up.

I'm sorry if this has been posted before, but I did a quick look and didn't find this topic. My question is, is extensive knowledge of grappling (such as BJJ for example) really going to help you in a fight these days? The reason I ask, is there have been tons of stories about somebody knowing martial arts and a mugger tries to attack them and the fight back using their martial art skills and kick the mugger's butt, but then the mugger goes and sues the one who he tried to attack. There is more concern of "going to far" when defending yourself. This is where grappling comes in. Most joint-locks and such can do serious damage (unless you're talking minor joints) and from my understanding can do permanent damage (such as an ankle lock I believe can snap the tendon). Doing permanent damage (or even just serious damage) could result in you getting in trouble. So what do you do? You can't just say "I'll let go if you promise not to attack me again", because while the mugger probably realizes that he'll get his butt kicked again, not all muggers are rational in their thought process. One exception of this would be chokes. I can see putting on a triangle or rear naked choke and just doing it until the mugger goes unconcious and then leave or get the police and come back to the scene of the crime where the mugger is passed out. But even then, you may be able to get into trouble if something bad happens to the mugger while he's out cold. So, are my claims invalid? Or does what I say make sense, but there are solutions to the problem?

That's what I mean for my exceptions, but I have problems (though not as much as with a zoo) working to rehabilitate endangered species because of human interaction with the animals that they would not have in the wild. No matter how hard they try to make the environment realistic, there will still be that interaction that isn't common with humans. That's why I like sanctuaries, wild animals can live as they were supposed to and not need intereferance by humans.

okay, Judo it is then. I appreciate all the help/suggestions I've gotten from you all, it's pointing me in the right direction. Thanks!

I'm personally against owning exotic animals, whether it's an individual or a zoo. The only "owning" of exotic animals is on preservations for animals in which there are hundreds of acres for the animal to wander and it would have proper land formations for that type of animal. The only time I support owning an animal is when it can't survive in the wild and its parents couldn't live in the wild. Basically, I'm talking cats, dogs and other common pets who were specially bread for being a pet. I've had two dogs in my lifetime. The first was a mutt that my mom and dad got from the Humane Society (that's the place to get a pet, not a pet store) that died when I was 7. Her name was Buffy and she was the sweetest dog. My mom told me that when I was a baby my mom would put me in a stroller and Buffy would lay next to me and everytime somebody walked by the fence Buffy would get up and "protect" me. Then my next dog was at my dad's house (my parents seperated) Her name was Bryna (pronounced "Bear-Nah") and she was a Norweigan Elkhound (purebread). She was a $1,500 dog that my dad got for $50 (and many different accesories included too, such as cage and toys). The previous owners were a young couple who broke up and the guy left the dog with the girl and the girl couldn't have the dog in the apartment according to the contract with the landlord so she was desperate to get rid of her. Both dogs were amazing and I love 99% of dogs that I meet. I'm thinking of getting a cat when I'm done with college because I want an apartment/condo and those aren't good with dogs (or aren't as easy as a home)

Maybe Snipes can move to Japan to hide, and then Rogan and him can go on Pride FC.

Here's another question: Would it be better for me to train in Judo before I do BJJ? The school I attend has a Judo gym class, the local park district that I'm at during the summer has Judo and there is a dojo that offers Judo (they also offered Carlson Gracie's Jiu-Jitsu club before he died in Febraury). The only problem with the dojo is that they require a month or two doing Jujutsu before they allow somebody to do Judo (they teach Danzan-Ryu Jujutsu) so it would be awhile before I would be able to do Judo. Also, from other people's experiences, do park districts usually offer higher quality or lower quality than a traditional dojo.

that's hilarious. Good post!

thanks. There's a guy that goes to my university that's into BJJ and he's gonna get a mat, he's invited me to roll with him, and so I'll use that as a guideline to see if I can deal with it. Thanks again for everybody's post.

Here's a joke my Intermediate Macroeconomics professor told today in class (he tells a joke each class period, and this one is the best he's told so far in the semester). I have memory impairment so it's not going to be word for word, but it is pretty close: There was a little girl who was saying her prayers one night and her dad overheard what she said: "Bless Mommy, bless daddy, bless grandma and goodbye grandpa." The dad asked the little girl why she said "goodbye grandpa" and she just said it popped into her mind. The next day her grandpa died. A few months later the dad overheard the little girl again and she said, "Bless mommy, bless daddy, goodbye grandma". Again, the dad took note of the "goodbye grandma" and again the next day grandma died. Another few months went by before the dad heard the daughter say "bless mommy and goodbye daddy" Hearing this the dad freaked out. The next day he drove slow to work avoiding anything that he thought could kill him and once at the office he locked himself in his office and blocked the door so nobody could get in. He stayed there until midnight and he decided that he was safe and went home. When he got home he told his wife about the horrible day he had and she told him, "I had a horrible day too. For no reason, the mailman dropped dead on the front sidewalk."

thanks for your replies. I have orthodics that I wear in my shoes (they don't fit in my workout shoes, so I run without them and it makes a difference) I can't wait for it to heal before training because, as far as I know, it is a permanent condition. I have an incredibly high arch in my feet (the highest that the doctor I went to had seen in his career). I'm currently overweight (6' 3", 250 lbs., very little is muscle) and I've been running and lifting weights to try to lose the fat and gain muscle, so that might affect my foot. For the next 2 or so years I only really have the summer to take martial art classes (I'll probably try the park district 'cause it's cheaper and a good judge on the amount of pain involved) so I have a while to get in shape and see if my foot bothers me less. Thanks for your replies.

I'm looking into different grappling arts (mainly BJJ or JJJ, or maybe Judo or Catch Wrestling) and I just have a question for those who do any of those arts and that is this: While grappling, is there a lot of foot rotation when trying to submit somebody? What I mean by that is, are there times where the toes of the foot (and that little ball too) on the mat/ground and you have to push and rotate off that foot? The reason I ask is because I have Plantar Faciitis which is a form of tendonitis in the foot (the bottom of it) and doing something things really hurts my arch of my foot (where the tendon is stretching). I tried Hapkido, but the rotating while punching really upset my foot so I figure most striking arts are out of the question, and I'm just curious to see if the grappling arts are too. I realize it will be based on me and "nobody can feel it for me" it's just that I'm not going to be able to cover all the techniques for any art in the few free sessions that are offered so I'm not going to be able to experience to see if I have any pain in my foot. Thanks for your time.

I would want Rogan to win, basically because I like what Rogan has done more than Snipes. I think Rogan is a very good commentator in the UFC and I think he knows his stuff. Although, I think it would be interesting to see Capoeira used in fight. I also think Rogan has the edge because his job is basically to comment on fights (since Fear Factor is over, and I don't know if he does other things) and so he has a general idea of what may work in a fight and he has seen first hand different strategies in the ring. I would definitly go out of my way to see this and I would most definitly pay for it.

I plan to compete later (after college). There's a group of guys at my school that are trying to get people together to practice brazilian Jiu-jitsu, but I want to learn at least some jujutsu before I roll with these guys because I don't want to learn the basics wrong in case the guys aren't as sure as they think they are when doing moves.

Sorry, I should've specified the type. I mainly want to do submission competitions (whether it be BJJ or a competition open to all styles). I might try to get into MMA, but not for a long while.

I haven't been to this site in a long time, but I am requesting help from you all and I'm looking to participate more often (when I have constructive things to say). I haven't done any grappling arts (I've done Kum Do for a few months and I did Hapkido for 2 weeks before my foot started hurting bad, it's plantar faciitis which is a form of tendonitis). But I'm looking to get into grappling competitions and I've been looking for schools in my area that offer grappling arts and there were only a few that offered Jujutsu, one of them was Carlson Gracie's Brazilian Jiu-jitsu academy but that has been closed (or at least the location that was close to me) because Carlson died in February. That same place offers Danzan Ryu Jujutsu. There is another place that offers Brazilian Jiu-jitsu but requires 6 month minimum contract. I'm in college so I don't have 6 months where I can go to that school so that's out of the question. I'm mainly going to do jujutsu for 3 months during the summer and then when I'm out of college do it 12 months a year (I should be out in 2008, unless I go to graduate school). My question basically is this: will Danzan Ryu Jujutsu make me ready for competition? If not, will it provide the basics for switching to BJJ when given the chance or will it teach me things that are unusuable in competition and make it harder to get into competitions and do well? I'm sorry if this question has been asked to death, but I looked through many, many pages in this section and I didn't see anything like this.

A lot of red meat (or protein supplements if you're a vegetarian/vegan) and some carbs along with a heavy workload while lifting weights

I don't know why I didn't include Judo. I was in class at the time of typing that up so I wasn't able to fully concentrate on the post. But yes, Judo should be included too.

You can use the dumbells to do a bench press type excersise that would work the chest. Just lie on your back and pretend you're doing bench presses with a dumbell in each hand

Wow, after 50+ years of nothingness the Chicago White Sox have made it to the World Series. I'm so excited and of course this new found glory has made all of the fairweather fans come out supporting the Sox. Now I admit I'm not a fan who goes to games, but I use to be when I was younger but I mainly stopped because my dad stopped getting tickets and I really don't have the funds to buy tickets and transportation to and from the game. Plus, the area around the White Sox's ballpark (U.S Cellular Field, it used to be Comisky Park but thanks to coporate America the name changed) is a very shady area, there have been people killed after games, on most noteably was an announcer who was killed on his way to the car. Anyways, I'm hoping that Houston wins the NL Championship and it's a Houston vs. Chicago World Series. (this would be the first time Houston is in a World Series) I'm so excited! What are all your thoughts on MLB and the World Series and also the controversial calls that were in the White Sox vs. Angels game(s)?

I'm interested in taking some sort of ground/submission work and I would eventually want to compete in amatuer MMA events. Knowing this I'd like to know more about the comparison between wrestling (probably greco-roman) and grappling arts such as BJJ and Sambo. I know that Sambo is also considered a wrestling "sub-genre" so to speak by some online sources. Also, what is the considered strength of Greco-Roman wrestling? I've seen on UFC events that there are people who are very good at wrestling (such as Randy Couture, I believe it was him). But whenever there is a wrestler and he has somebody in his guard (forgive me if I mess this up, I'm not too familiar with guard, half-guard so I may mess up the position) usually the commentator (I don't remember his name, I just know it usually isn't Joe Rogan) says that wrestlers don't like to be on their back (I can understand this because of being pinned on the back in wrestling so they don't work on it) Is there a wrestling that works on the back, such as submission wrestling, or would the wrestler also have to work on the guard and such and take from BJJ or other arts? That said, since Sambo is considered wrestling art, is there working on the back and in the guard? Basically, I'm just wondering what Greco-Roman wrestling is missing from that is in other grappling arts. Is it just working on the back or is there more?

Now I'm not very savy when it comes to working out but I know that if you have the money you can buy an elastic band that is made for working out. You can use that to work your upper arms and it can be used for legs too. Use that and do bodyweight exersices (pushups, dips, etc.) That should be good enough for now.

Does it really? I mean, I know there are throws in Hapkido but would they contradict the throws I would learn in Judo? And to JusticeZero: Is Judo a good enough self-defense that I wouldn't need a striking art to properly defend myself? (Forgive me, I'm not the most knowledgable about MA)

The problem is that I'm taking both these classes from a college so they are only a set time. For Judo, it's around 15 one hour sessions and with Hapkido or Tae Kwon Do it is one or two times a week for the whole school year and I'll be there for two years so I'll have plenty of time to learn it. I would go to a dojo, but I can't find any where my next school is and right now I'm just focusing on school work so I can get my Associates of Arts done so I can transfer as a Junior. So basically, I'd have a summer to go to a dojo but that would only be 2-3 months max and I don't want to spend my money like that. I'll hopefully have money to spend when I finish my Masters/Doctorate so then I can go to a dojo. Thanks for your replies. I appreciate you taking time to respond. And I will try to master one form of fighting before I go on to another.