KarateK

Well I guess thats his opinion - which he is welcome to. However I think you will be a great teacher, if I though my sensei didnt care wether I was there or not I think I would soon lose interest.

Bad choice of words, my apologies

Also cant actually bend my left knee at moment without me swearing a lot. I can stand for short periods of time. Am walking without my crutches but with a limp

Excuse me re-read the post above - I mention you too!! Thanks for the advice - no I dont want body-builder arms just toned!!

Yeah yeah - my right leg can still sort you out Orion

Welcome x

I DO I DO I DO!! Gheinisch tell Red J off - thats not how it works!!! You got to tell me - give me my fix!!

Oooo piccies of what?

Ah yes Kez - do you also practice the art of making the perfect jam sandwich? I am not quite at the stage of perfecting the complete jigsaw puzzle - however I am rather vicious at connect 4!!

Jay Yes - its legendary and of course Bruce Lee will be the forerunner in any MA superstar topic

I suppose we all concurr that Karate Kid is an all time favourite American MA film. Mr Miyagi - LEGEND

This is a quick question am sure Aodhan, Sohan, Orion and the likes will answer in no time flat - whats the best exercises to do to strengthen, and more importantly tone your upper arms. May as well focus on parts of body I can use while out of action!!

Thats asking for a comment!! Am proud of my legs - although not exactly womanly they have a heck of a lot of power - something that I didnt have 2 years ago.

But referring to the panic disorder Kez mentions, thats not something that will allow a person to stand and fight. It can be quite a debilatating illness. Not something to be scoffed at. Was merely suggesting that if she finds herself in that position, instead of panicking and completely losing it (which could well happen) that she instead may need to focus on simply getting away. Yes personally if it was me my adrenaline would kick in and I would defend myself, however for some with such issues (and this is men or women) a stress induced attack will paralise all thoughts of your MA study.

Good luck for tomorrow!!!! To both of you x

Our sparring is not very similar to how we train, say agianst the pads. As we are light contact the focus is more on how we strike and block effectively than the force behind it.

We have a great cadet team kata. They are 2 lads and a girl, all brown belts. Fantastic to watch - the kids seem to synchronize easier than the adults. The last tournament I went to in February the adult team kata was good to watch but when you watched them compete individually you soon see that the stronger competitors have to tone down a bit in the team event, otherwise they would have easily outshone the others.

We have a great cadet team kata. They are 2 lads and a girl, all brown belts. Fantastic to watch - the kids seem to synchronize easier than the adults. The last tournament I went to in February the adult team kata was good to watch but when you watched them compete individually you soon see that the stronger competitors have to tone down a bit in the team event, otherwise they would have easily outshone the others.

Lol probably the wine!!! Am not quite that confident that I will travel and stay there overnight on my own - am just gonna have to push some of the guys a bit harder to come next year!

Good luck with the opening - am sure because of your experiences you will provide your students with a firm but fair teaching of your arts. Like jaymac says, sensei from different age groups have been taught differently to us - if some of us were taught the way it was originally intended (monk like) am sure few would survive. Luckily we have evolved as a society and learned it doesnt always have to be that way.

Hmm not sure about the clothes Orion Its definitely the build not the weight - the build helps them to basically not get knocked over. The strength in their upper body is amazing.

Hi Kez Your story sounds similar to mine. I started karate at 7 then gave up when I got to purple belt, at about 11. Started back properly about a year ago but I chose to work my way back through the grades. However what with my continuous knee problems I am now out of action again. I know how hard it can be to restart after so many years so WELL DONE to you for re-starting and sticking to it. As for the what would happen if you were attacked in the street I think your instincts will come in to play. One of the first things we were taught is simple - run away or scream fire!! It doesnt matter if you are big, small, short or tall - the best of us can get scared at times. Best not to focus on it, hopefully you will never encounter such a situation x

Truely amazing - although Morgan Freeman was dissapointing in it. And he is such a fantastic actor

Ca Vas Bien Et toi?

You should never mention parties around me - am a bit of a gatecrasher lol!! Cant wait for you to watch it so you can tell me all about it!!