lordtariel

This is going to be really hard to explain but another grip strengthening exercise is to touch each of your fingers to your thumb one at a time in sequence as if you were drumming a counter with your fingers. Go all the way through till you use your pinky, then work back, making sure your fingers go all the way back out.(In other words, keep your hand flat, not in a "C" shape while you're doing this) Once you get that down, try it with both hands at once, then alternate the order of the fingers you use. This drill is primarily used to improve concentration and finger dexterity, but also helps out grip strength. Hopefully this makes sense.

http://www.rjtaylor.net/products/impact_baton/flashlight.htm It's a clever concept, but I don't think I'd be willing to shell out the $85 for it. I wonder how effective it would be to use one.

If you're asking why I started karate, it's because the karate dojo was the best school in the area. If you're asking why I started martial arts, it's because I've always been into weapons, even when I was a kid and my grandfather used to make me wooden swords so I could do war with the blackberry bushes.

I agree. High school can be tough. Just be confident in yourself and do it. Confident doesn't necessarily mean agressive, just self-assured. She might say yes or she might say no, but she's far more likely to say yes if you ask her than if you don't. As for getting her number... nothing says you have to do it at the dance. You could talk to her the day after and say you really had fun and wanted to know if you could do something again. If she says no, there's no real point in forcing the issue. You're young, there's plenty of time for relationships.(Geez that statment makes me feel old...)

I'd probably warn you though, if you take a career that requires a lot of hand dexterity, like being a surgeon or artist, it could be in jeopardy if you badly injure your hands in MA. Not saying you shouldn't do it, it's just a concern.

Sorry to hear that. At least it's only a week.

That looks interesting. I'd try it now but the guys at work would probably think I'm more wierd than they already think I am.

This sort of thing really depends on the type of instructor you have. Some of them have no problem with imformal greetings and use of name. Others are more traditional and prefer a more respectful and formal greeting. I usually use Mr. or Sensei when I see my instructor around town. I leave it to him to show me how informal I can be outside of class.

For those of you that live in oregon, one of the papers posted this article: http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2006/1016/local/stories/sya_swords.htm

One of the most important and often not done things in your first tournament is this: RELAX... if you get down to it, sparing at tournament is not really much different than sparring at class. Since it's so close to your tournament, the best strategy would be to work what you know. I'm of the belief that simplicity is always best.

White tea is fairly similar to green tea in taste. I think green tea is a bit more bitter. I drink this really awsome stuff called kyoto mint tea. It's a white tea/mint mix. I believe black tea has caffine in it, but I don't drink it. I've only just recently gotten into drinking tea.

If I remember right, the constant impact causes calcium buildups on your bones. They'll get stronger all right, but they'll look totally gnarly. Somebody told me once if you have all that build up and actually break the bone, it takes longer to heal... but I don't know if that's the case or not.

There was a previous thread on this site that had lots of quotes: http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=2201

but rather than using the sticks, you're using you're forearms. Sorry, I'm not that great at describing things.

I stand corrected... I was told to wrap a rope around a pole and go at it. Probably a good thing I didn't start. As for the other exercise, we used to do it with two sticks. Started with the right hand and both of us struck at the head, so the two sticks intercepted... then swung at the torso... then switched to the other hand to do the same thing again. Hm... makes me wonder what else I've been told that's wrong. But that's what this forum is for, to get an opinion from a wide group of individuals.

We really have a loose-based class schedule, it's really pretty much what sensei feels we need to work on. The only standard things are on wedensday night we have kobudo and on friday, the time is set aside for rank requirements.

It depends on how you're cutting the weight. Are you exercising while you're trying to loose weight, or just modifing your diet? http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm There's lots of calculators like this online. These tell you how much you need to eat to maintain your weight, to loose weight you'll need to consume less than that.

You can condition them to stop hurting, but it takes some work, basically, start kicking a pole with your shins and eventually you'll condition them. You can do the same drill with a partner to make it a little less painful. Stand facing each other and kick so your shins collide, then kick with the other foot. You don't have to do it hard, just enough that it stings. Doing it consistantly for a while will help strengthen them. You can do the same drill with your arms to strengthen your block. Stand facing each other and both inside block with the same arm so that they collide. Immediately roll the arm down to a down block, then switch to the other arm. I believe this is a modified escrima technique and is also a good blocking drill.

It's where you stick and adhere to your opponents weapon when they attack rather than knocking it away or taking a hard block. Hope it makes sense. Again, easier for me to do, harder to explain.

Wow, until I started Kobudo I had to scratch and peck for even basic weapon training. Take as much advantage of that as you can.

Welcome to the forums, they're a great resource.

That can be hard because it varies from dojo to dojo and organization to organization. We have a record book of requriements and we have to get sign off on all the requirements before we can test. My sugguestion is to ask your sensei and see if you can get a list of requirements.

For all you 'Joe fans... http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2002/01/02cobra.html

ahh... it's gone.

pretty... I don't think I've ever seen a folding knife that big before.