lordtariel

They keep proving and disproving the health benefits of tea. There's no down side to drinking it so feel free to down as much as you want.

Welcome to the forums.

Yeah, you have to remember that some judges might not know what kata you're doing(although Heian is pretty common) so it comes down to execution of technique as a primary focus for high scores. I completely jumped into a second kata during a tournament and still wound up taking second place because they didn't know the difference.

I agree that judo might be the way to go. It's completely different than striking arts so it would be easier to keep the two arts separate. Not to mention the fact that you're including some ground fighting and grappling in your arsenal.

Our pets get along fairly well, but it really depends on the individual animals. Our cat used to beat the tar out of our dog on a regular basis so they played rough together. I have to be careful when I take my dog places because he thinks all cats are that way. I have a husky-lab mix.

Just got my 5th kyu rank tonight. This one was probably the toughest test I've taken to date. I did rounds of continuous sparring with fresh black belts(Seemed like an hour but was probably only five-ten minutes ) When the students that passed were making their comments one of the kids said, "I'd like to thank my mom because I wouldn't be here without her because she drives me here." Thought it was hilarious.

One cat and one dog, and that's enough for me.

I pretty much went from dojo to dojo checking out the classes. I settled on the one that looked like it had the best instruction.

Here's a couple of places that have MA pins, I have not shopped at any of these places: http://www.martialartsgear.com/pins/martial_arts.shtml http://www.gungfu.com/cart-htm/accessories_jewelry_pins.htm http://www.storeofmartialarts.com/index.php/cName/jewelry-pins hope it helps.

hehe, it seems that way sometimes when you watch yourself, especially with your sensei performing it right next to you.

I agree. Go to http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx and find out how many calories a day your supposed to be taking in. Keep under the amount for weight loss and the pounds will slowly come off. Also, throwing in exercise will help speed up the process(or provide you with more available calories to take and still loose weight at the slower pace). I've lost about 7 pounds in the last month from just lowering my food portions. No restricted diet, no forbidden foods, just eating less of what I have and being aware of what I'm putting in my mouth. I was really surprised to find that it wasn't the fat or sugar that was keeping the pounds on, it was the sheer caloric intake. I'm also always looking for ways to get little bits of exercise throughout the day. I don't park in the farthest reaches of the parking lot because I'm afraid my car's going to get dented, I do it because it forces me to walk farther. I go for walks on my breaks at work. These little things might not seem like much, but I got a pedometer one time and found out I was walking an extra 2 miles a day. Every little bit helps. Good luck.

One of the guys in my class wrapped his sai with raquetball tape. It works really great, not sticky at all.

Hey, welcome to the forums.

I probably wouldn't bite on this either.

While I don't take shotokan, I imagine that they expect improved technique to be the requirement for advancement on those belts. Learning new techniques is all well and good, but if you don't have a solid foundation, you're going to have problems.

You mean there's life outside martial arts?

I don't know if they're telling them they can... Of course, someone who wants to be really serious about it should have a grounding in a practical style before they start.

You also have to understand that assistant instructors have to start learning to run a class some time. There's been a few times where my sensei's told me to run a beginner class though some basics without any notice. Sometimes he will come out and take over the class half way through, but there's been times where I've run the class from start to finish. It's a little intimidating the first few times you're up in front of a class, but it's a good way to learn.

Where would you say pins fall into? Some pins can be painful if applied correctly, but I wouldn't consider them pain-compliance.

I've never really had an issue with my belt NEEDING a washing, but if I do wash it, it's by hand in cold water. The main reason I don't wash it is because the washing machine tears out the stitching on the belt. And don't even think about machine drying it... unless your belt is 3 sizes too big.

Something else that really pulls them up short is to take their belt away. "You've been here a while, and if you're going to act like a beginner student, you're going to wear a beginner belt." It doesn't have to be a permanent thing, they can earn the belt back by showing improvement. Also, don't let them test if they're pulling garbage on you. This might seem kind of cruel, but there's responsibility involved with achieving higher levels, not just demonstration of skills. These sort of threats really should be a last resort, but don't be afraid of them.

Welcome to the forums!

I'd also recommend some stretching and balance training. The need to be limber can also be as important as being strong.

Some of the bunkai that I have learned deal with simple incoming strikes and responses, others are so complicated that I don't know if I would ever use them. The only way to see if it's effective is to try them out in a sparring environment. A couple of the techniques work for me, and some seem overly complicated when a simpler technique would do better.

This is similar to my school in shito ryu.