tessone

Very cool! I think "think" is the most popular word because people say "I think" a lot.

I don't see the point of fighting in low stances. For one thing, your movements are going to telegraph a lot more easily, because you have to launch out of that stance, then kick, rather than just going for it. Low stances are for making forms look good and strengthening your legs, no more (in my opinion).

Welcome!

I think it's silly to expect someone to "master all there is" about their art to be called master. It's sort of like fluency in a language. Just because you speak English fluently, does that mean you know every word in the Oxford English Dictionary? No! Likewise, masters don't know everything--if they did, what would be the point of having grandmasters? Even worse, what would be the point of those masters continuing in the martial arts if there was nothing to learn? Our master just goes by "Kwan Jahng Nim". His master's certificate is on display at the studio, etc., but that's all there is to it. We respect him because he's an amazing teacher and a great person, not because he holds a 5th degree black belt. Belts and titles only go so far--using the word "master" is fine, just back it up with actions!

£2 is about 3.12 USD. That's not such an amazing price. I pay $35/month for about 16 hours of instruction. It's a decent price, but not a jaw-dropper.

Unfortunately, not running isn't an option for an applicant for Officer of Marines. Thanks for the link, by the way. I searched for shin and shin splints earlier and found only shin conditioning.

There's no good answer to this question, but I'll try to point you in the right direction. Any art can be tremendously effective, but it depends on what shape you're in, how you were taught, how far along you are in the curriculum, and how dedicated you are. I'd suggest looking for an art that sounds interesting to you. Once you've done that, look for a studio nearby. Go and watch or participate in a class or two. Watch how the instructor deals with his students, and you'll see the focus of the studio. Some focus on sparring, others on forms, practical applications, and still others on things like ki. Look for an instructor who talks about how the curriculum applies to the real world and join up. Not everybody's in martial arts for the fighting, but most arts will provide that in spades if you want it.

Our studio is small enough that a black belt or senior color belt just takes the student off to the side and helps them get started. Often it's as simple as getting them started on a few basic kicks (front snap kick, side kick, crescent kick) and have them practice those along with the class. When the established students move on to other kicks, the new student just keeps working at those three. As for techniques and forms, everyone's usually working on something for their next belt, so the white belt just starts learning their first technique and the first part of the white belt form.

I'm wondering if anyone can help me (KickChick, maybe?). Lately I've been getting shin splints (or shin pain at any rate--I don't know how bad it has to be to qualify for the name) when I run. It hasn't been too bad, but last night it got so bad I stopped halfway through a three-mile run. Is there anything I can do besides resting that will alleviate the pain and help my body recover? I only run three times a week (soon to be four), although I do dance three times a week. I've been out of the dojang all week, but I'll be back on my normal schedule there next week. Is not running the only solution, or is there something else I can do?

You would all do well to read a little history before trying to enter a debate on shaky facts. To start, I'd recommend reading Flags of Our Fathers, about the attack on Iwo Jima. You'll see there why dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved lives, both American and Japanese. Keep in mind that the Japanese did not surrender after a bombing campaign that claimed more Japanese lives than the atomic bombs did, and that it took two bombs and nearly a quarter of a million Japanese dead for them to give it up. The projected figures for an Allied invasion of Japan were for nearly a half million American casualties and around 200,000 British wounded or dead. The Big Three were looking at those numbers when they decided, unanimously, to use the bomb. I'm not even going to get into the other nonsense posted about Korea and Vietnam. Vietnam was lost by the politicians, not the military. Read Otto Lehrack's No Shining Armor or another history of Vietnam to see what went wrong with that war. You can't just go on ranting about US mistakes until you actually know something about what happened. More often than not, it's the public's opinion swaying politicians that causes a war to be lost or servicemen's lives to be lost in vain. Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down tells of a prime example, not too far back in time.

As has been said elsewhere, getting your black belt is probably a good idea before seriously cross-training. Also, welcome, John G! Head over to Introductions and say hi.

Can someone enlighten this Korean MA about what kama katas are?

Interesting. If only I had the time to play.

As someone who practices a very comprehensive art, I tend to agree. However, you have to take into account that one less-comprehensive art might have something else the person really enjoys. For instance, while KSW does have tournaments, that's not the focus of the art. Someone focused on that aspect might be better suited to sport karate or TKD, with cross training in another art to aid their sparring or help with self-defense. Someone interested in weapons might want to take ninjitsu, because KSW teaches weapons only at higher levels (brown and above). Things like that might lead someone to take a less-comprehensive art but still want to cross-train.

I think that is the middle ground, SaiFights. If everyone just let people practice MA for whatever their reason might be, then there wouldn't be bickering between the sport factions and the traditionalists and the tourney people and the... Personally, I like the traditional aspects and would like to see more people practice MA and see the whole picture. But I'd also hate to see someone turned off from MA just because they're more interested in the sports aspects, or self-defense, or whatever. MA is a great thing (we all know that)--we should leave people to make their own decisions about what it means to them. _________________ Chris Tessone Yellow Belt, Kuk Sool Won [ This Message was edited by: tessone on 2002-06-02 03:20 ]