marie curie

I like aluminum for demonstrations- nice and light, so when you practice with a heavy one, your movement goes really smoothly.

Yeh, I agree. Street fighting is such a different situation than competition MA- with the rocks and broken bottles and bar stools.

Really, if you decide to call yourself a black belt, there isn't any law against it. The real issue is black belt in what art. When someone from the TKD McDojang in my hometown said that they were a Blah Blah Ripley TKD black belt, I knew that they had put forth two years of study and a lot of money on a lot of tests. When someone says that they are a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu back belt.... well I know that I have a lot I could learn from them. It's like calling yourself "Doctor So and So" if you are a Ph.D. in something. It's not wrong as long as you are clear about what it is. My father has a PhD in Kinesiology- not too hard to get and nothing like a med dr, but it still calls for the title. If I (or your friend) makes up a style- lets say.... Marie Curie Fu, and I walk around saying that I'm a black belt in Marie Curie Fu, then martial artists will probably take it with a grain of salt until I demonstrate what I (a black belt in MCF) can do. Then they will associate my skill-level -no matter how high or low- with a MCF black belt. Just IMHO

I've only experienced the kamakaze, but the person who had it liked it a lot

Hey, Welcome!

If you don't get a good answer here, then I suggest that you ask at http://www.kajukenbocafe.com/smf/

welcome!

Hold hand weights/dumbells in your hands and do punches in the air.

I'd say that about 3 days a week I have a glass of red wine. About once every three months my girlfriends and I get pretty sloshed and silly. I'd say that's about right for my age-I'm 24.

My problem with boxing is the pure brutality of the sport. It is two guys going headshot-headshot-headshot their entire careers. Dr. Lundberg replied: "It's not the deaths but the chronic brain damage that is so frequent." The AMA reports brain deterioration in three out of four boxers who have twenty or more professional fights. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing#Medical_concerns Fatality rates per 100,000 participants 1. Horse racing: 128 2. Sky diving: 123 3. Hang gliding: 56 4. Mountaineering: 51 5. Scuba Diving: 11 6. Motorcycle racing: 7 7. College Football: 3 8. Boxing: 1.3 Whereas MMA has had only two deaths and none of them in US-sanctioned fights n MMA's history 0 people have died in fully sanctioned MMA events. One person (Douglas Dedge) died at an unsantioned MMA event in Kiev, Ukraine (International Super Challenge on 3/16/98). The death was from a pre-existing medical condition (black outs which led to him being banned from competing in sanctioned US events) and improper medical supervision and clearance at the unsanctioned event, and was not due directly to punishment sustained in the ring. Another death, a man called 'Kim' in South Korea, had died of a myocardial infarction (heart attack) following a bout.

Incorrect. Schools which encourage their students to spend time outside of the dojo together aren't McDojos. McDogos are places that promote people quickly and usually charge a lot of money for it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDojo Note: Shaolin monks, samari, etc. lived together, ate together did everything together. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaolin_Monastery

this sounds really interesting, but I don't think that I understand the description- could you try again for me?

Yeh, ninjitsu is a Japanese thing- but they do have Muy Thai campls like bushido_man said

I had trouble with this at first, too. I don't know what changed, but over time, it became less of "I'm supposed to just hit someone who's just standing there looking at me?" and more of a game- not something bad to do to someone.

What ever happened with this?

I find myself using variations on the basic blocks, and they are quick and effective because they use the same muscles and movements as the basic blocks that I practice so much.

Hey! Welcome!

Hehe, me too- I was a little young for power rangers, but I was a ninja turtle quite often, leading to a very black and blue me

Great point and great post, YoungMan!

Happy Birthday karate forums.

good post bushido man! One big problem with this is that we all try to spend time together outside of the gym. It's important to trust the people who are throwing punches at your head while you are learning a new way of defending. Anyway, we become some level of friends with most of our students- not quite "invite over for dinner" friends, but the "hey, lets go out for food after practice" or "meet up to watch this month's UFC" type of friends. I think a lot of it depends on your behavior. When my fiance and I are in uniform, there is not hugging or serious flirting or anything. Our good friends (with whom we train in Judo) met in Judo, started dating, courted, were engaged and are married. They also followed this pattern. Everyone knew they were dating, but during training they were busy learning and practicing.

I attend classes at a University, so maybe I just see things differently because we have a very specific group of people. They do everything together. A group that have classes together also does habitat for humanity together and martial arts and eats breakfast every day before class, etc. Obviously romances are going to grow and decline in this situation. Also, I think that with collage kids, we don't mind if a couple break up and one leaves because that is something that happens in all organizations around campus. It's just the collage club dynamic. A lot join- a lot leave for one reason or another.

Welcome!

Hey Welcome!

Look at it this way, someone comes in to check out your dojo and they see a higher level belt goofing off and making problems. Do you want that to be the impression your dojo gives? When a student is permanently stripped of rank, it's true they have to retest, but they don't have to pay for retesting. In this case I think its a great idea. I just thought that if they had to pay all over again, then it would half the punishment for kids with more money as it is for those who don't have as much, and I think a severe punishment like that should be something more even.