lordtariel

http://www.katamasters.com/ don't know if they have shorin-ryu katas, but it's got some vids and pics of various katas http://www.shitokai.com/movies/movies.php This one's got mostly shito-ryu katas, but there's a decent number of them.

Here's a few. http://www1.dofus.com/ Very good flash based mmorpg http://www.gamedesign.jp/flash/dice/dice.html Risk-Like strategy game using dice http://www.addictinggames.com/shadowofthewarrior.html Turn-Based RPG

I've done a couple of drills lately. One you hold a wodden dowel or bean bag in your hand fully extended in front of you. You let it go and punch with the other arm, trying to catch the object before it falls. Another good one is to turn on a TV. Every time the camera angle changes you throw an attack. There's a ton of footwork drills that'll increase your speed as well, but they are difficult for me to explain without being able to show. Running backwords is a good way to work on your perhiprial vision as well.

If you're into anime, there's always Street Fighter Alpha. Ryu and Ken are supposed to train in shotokan.

I got to try one of the hanwei daos an a sword shop a while ago. Those are really high quality swords. Wish I had the free cash to pick one up.

For one on one fighting, tiger hook swords are wicked weapons. I wouldn't use them in a general meele situation, but they're really effective against a single opponent. Too bad I don't know how to use them. If you could replace chopped up bo's, I'd choose that, otherwise I'd have to go katana.

How do you know when a blonde has used your computer? White out all over the screen.

It's about the struggle between humans and an alien race called the covenant. The humans crash land a ship on a world that's shaped like a ring (Halo). I won't go much farther than that as it spoils the game. It's only available on XBox and PC (Good ol microsoft)

I probably will. I was just trying to find out if it's worth my time to track down. From what I've read of the couple of reviews I've read, the fighting's much more gritty and realistic, rather than flying wire.

You could combine the belt stripe idea and the sticker idea. Get a card with a belt on it and give them stripe stickers to put on the belt. It's great that you're doing this. I kinda wish there was karate retreats for adults near where I live. I could do with a week of nothing but training.

Practice... and practice... and pratice...then for variety... practice. The only real way to be good in a short amount of time is to practice as much as you can. It's possible that your instructor isn't teaching you much in the way of self-defense yet because he wants you to get the basic techniques down first. I'm experiencing this shift in my training with the tonfa. Rather than just jumping in head first, my sensei's really making sure I can handle the weapon correctly before he teaches me anything. I've been training with them for almost a month now and have only learned 2 drills. The other possibility is that the dojo doesn't really put much focus on self-defense. Not saying this is necessarily the case. My sugguestion is you talk to your instructor and ask if they have any class times where they focus more on practical self defense.

I have halo, not halo 2. Not bad for a FPS, but I really don't play those types of games very often anymore.

Just a couple I use. Jab - Front Kick - Reverse Punch Fake Front to Round Kick - Hook Kick Jab - Reverse - Jab - Ridge Hand

Down here in southern oregon we have the Vortex. Oh, and we have the Oregon Shakespeare festival in Ashland.

I think a girl in a gi can be pretty cute. However, a dojo's for training, not staring.

As was stated in another post somewhere on this forum, something that works really well are those foam swimming noodles. since they're already hollow. I'd also recommend running a line of electrical tape down one or both sides to designate "blade edges"

If you're a skilled practitioner, sure, even with the helmet. I'm not saying it's a perfect way to go, but it's much cheaper than full armor. Maybe I've just not been hit hard enough. I figured I was though cause I do get bruises and welts from time to time. The guys I fight with are mostly serious SCA guys, but they know how to hit. A shinai is a weapon and should be treated with respect. If you're practicing at a level where you're going full on trying to beat each other's brains out, then armor's the safest way to go, but I've gone out pretty hard with what I've posted and haven't had any problems.

It's not as good as armor, but if you can't afford it, you can get away with a heavy padded coat, gloves and a three weapon fencing mask. I actually practice with the mask and gloves for the most part. Contrary to popular belief, shinai don't normally hurt that badly

http://www.sevenswordsthefilm.com/ I found a couple of trailers for this movie one day when I was crusing around youtube. Looks really good, but I can't really find all that much about it. It looks like it was released last year.

With everything in martial arts, it all depends on the situation. My experience is I use the jab far more than the backfist, but there are situations where it's useful to use a backfist instead.

I can't quite remember the saying: First priority is to attack. If they attack first, counterattack, if you can't counterattack, dodge to put yourself in a better position to attack, if you can't dodge, parry and then attack. I've noticed a lot of untrained people try to attack the weapon, when they should be trying to attack the person.

When I was in high school we did a skit in a world history class that involved a duel. We couldn't bring even wodden swords into class so we got a couple of baguettes and fenced with those.

These things my cross country coach used to call "pain thresholds" anyone heard of this under a different name? You lay on your back with your arms at your sides, then lift your feet, head and arms all about 8-10 inches off the matt and hold that position for about two to three minutes. Then you bicycle your legs for about a minute. Then you put your hands straight out and repeat the process. One more set with your hands directly behind you. I've had lots of fond memories with that one.

http://www.jumprope.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.100.exe/scstore/questions.html?L+scstore+ypyp5018+1154039295#2 This has a handy chart that tells you how long your jump rope should be.

I'd also try a google search on something like "Krav Maga PA" when looking. Don't base your opinion on just a website though, go to the class and watch. As to how many times a week to go, it really depends. You have a girlfriend, are a full-time student, have a part time job, and work out already 3-4 times a week.(The girlfriend thing can really cause a strain sometimes if she doesn't like having you gone.) That's not going to leave much time for practice unless you want to sub working out for martial arts. I think that if you're serious about it you should at least shoot for twice a week, but then again, it depends on your priorites. Cost is one of those things that's hard to tell. I pay $60 a month and can go to train any time there's a class in session. Another school I looked at was $90 a month and I could only go three times a week. Another one was done by punch card where it was something like $12 a class.