bushido_man96

I am not saying I don't agree with you. I do like my belts. I won't lie about it. However, if you take them away, it doesn't take away my knowledge. Neither does donning one give one knowledge. If a black belt is earned, then it is usually rewarded to one by another. In his case, that hasn't happened. Whether that is the way it should be or not, I am not to say. I just wonder why he worries about it.

Stretching that many times a day seems a bit excessive to me. I wouldn't think you would need to stretch that often to maintain your flexibility. What you might do is stretch out cold more often, to see how far you can go without being warmed up. That may help your body adapt to not being warm, and being able to be a bit flexible.

30 second rounds, I would say train high intensity to blast it out. 60 seconds, I would hang back a bit, and train for short bursts of activity, with a bit more strategy.

Having a bit of drama added in is good for effect!

Very good point, MA.

I agree with the BB of C. You have to argue and make yourself heard from time to time. Now, there is nothing wrong with picking your battles, either. But, that is where you should start.

Hehe, very true, Zanshin.

This wasn't the same sentiment that you shared in the self-defense situation against the female attacker.

You have to try to mimic the adrenaline dump when you train. That will help.

Interesting. But don't you think it would mess with the form of your fist? For example; I believe you want to have your knuckles foreward and your fingers pulled back into your fist as much as possible. Then put your thumb under them to keep that from getting in the way and to hold your fingers in place. That being said, I would guess ( though I've never tried, I probably should) that a lighter in the middle would fill the gap, yes, but also push out your fingers more where they shouldn't be. I guess I'll give it a try later and see what I can find of it. It actually does make for a tighter, more "packed" fist. Try it and see.

If rank means nothing, then why bother with giving yourself one?

Women can kill just as well as men can.

I understand what you are saying, but my answer to that would be that the content of the lessons should be enough to make people want to come back. True, but it is not looked at the same as a Martial Arts program. It is an aerobic exercise program; not the same. I don't think people take them as seriously. They can always find another form of exercise.

Awesome, James. Welcome back!

That sounds strange. I am not sure what you mean by locking up. Could you elaborate a bit more?

Thats crazy, ps1. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I don't understand why a gymnast would feel the need to compete in an MA competition, even in the XMA division.

You mentioned continuous sparring. How long? What are the rules? Some of that info will help. Personally, I suck at continuous sparring, because I am not in that great of shape.

Thanks for the links, DWx. I do have his encyclopedia, though.

That's tough, Laurie. I can understand where you are coming from, though.

Know the rules and the target areas, and build from there. When you do throw a technique, commit to it. Don't second guess yourself. If you get hit, that is ok; that is how you learn.

Very nice, ps1. They were short and sweet. I especially liked some of the takedowns.

This is only true to a point. The only thing that will be mentioned in Korean (or Japanese, in Zanshin's case) are the techniques, and whatever other nuances are spoken in the native tongue of the style. Therefore, if you want any clarification, or anything else explained to you "in depth," you are going to be screwed unless you have a translator, or they speak your language. That is why I don't buy into the whole "language of the style" stuff.

Man, that sounds cool, NightOwl. Lots of experience to pull from on that day, for sure.

Bah, its not useless information. It is just a matter of finding who it is useful for.

This is interesting. Most of the time, right or wrong, "internal" styles are held synonomous with "circular" styles as well. Nice to see that this isn't the case all of the time.