bushido_man96

A Game of Thrones; Daenerys Key Events/Notes: We meet Daenerys Targaryen, who is about to be betrothed to Khal Drogo, a barbarian horse lord, by her older brother Viserys, who wants hopes to gain Drogo's army by the marriage. He has visions of reclaiming the throne of Westeros, the Seven Kingdoms, that were taken from him when the Usurper and his dogs (Robert, the King, and Eddard Stark, among others), defeated his father's armies. Dany and her brother live with Illyrio Mopatis, the Magister of the Free City of Pentos, who is helping Viserys to re-gain what is his. Dany does not trust him. Illyrio mentions that he has agents in other countries, including the Seven Kingdoms. The Free Cities are across the Braavosian Sea, far away from the Seven Kingdoms. The Tagaryens are of the Old Valaryian blood, and have wed within the family for generations. However, Dany is being courted outside of the family, in order for Viserys to regain his homeland. Viserys is coniving and untrustful, and very mean to Dany. He is a little off-kilter. Later in the chapter, we meet Ser Jorah Mormont, who is a banished knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the son of the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Did I miss anything here? We also meet Khal Moro (a rival of Drogo's, I believe) and his son, Rhogoro, and the brother of the Archon of Tyrosh (another Free City).

I don't really agree, Rick. Again, these formalities are a cultural thing, and whether they are done or not doesn't really take away from what you learn.

I think it looks great as well. I will probably have to wait until it comes out on DVD to watch it, though.

YES!!!!! Awesome games, especially Dynasty Warriors! Dian Wei is THE MAN!!!!!

This sounds much like the way that Thai fighters would absorb the kicks they take, as opposed to actually blocking them.

Essentially, we are coming to the same conclusion, but just taking different routes. Denying bathroom breaks for an hour is not going to be a very big deal for most children. Most of them can make it an hour without having to go to the bathroom. Heck, most parents will drive for more than hour at a time, without stopping for bathroom breaks. In the end, we both end up at the same point.

Anywhere from 3 to 5 reps is what I have read. Thanks a bunch bushido_man, as weird as it might seem I never actually stayed at my maximum while doing the split, unless I got all the way to the ground. I used to get up instantly. You can really feel your muscles adapting and getting more flexed. You are welcome! Happy stretching!

Any proof? As far as the whole "formal" way of blocking, i.e., crossing the amrs, executing the block with one arm, and pulling the other hand back to the ribs, I don't think will happen a whole lot in a fight, and neither would it be wise to pull your off hand out of your window of defense. However, I do think that a solid block with the forearm can work in self-defense, but its motion will not be to the extreme that it is seen in forms. The arm will move from its position (be it guarding, down, up, or whatever) into the block position, with a hard, jolting snap, if trained properly, while the other arm can be held in the window of defense. After the block, the same arm can lead into a counter.

This is also the way it is in my school that I train at. I think that this all the more formal that we really need to be. I have heard that the "sir" or "ma'am" thing doesn't even go on in BJJ schools. I have heard that they are very informal. Which would be a nice change.

I feel that allowing young black belts to have the time to teach and gain experience is a good thing. After all, if instructors never trained assistants, then we would not continue to find good instructors. However, there is a method to doing this. An instructor should not just throw is young black belts "to the wolves," and hope they figure it out. They need to have them start out easy, like by leading warm-ups in a class supervised by the instructor himself. The instructor should also have some lessons with only the new assistants, teaching them how to teach, essentially. This way, they can be worked in gradually, and their confidence will grow more and more along the way. Something I do believe, however, is that the head instructor should not try to phase himself out of teaching "regular" classes, or "low rank" classes. I believe that he still needs to be involved in them, and be more than just a face of the school.

Finishing out would be worthwhile, I guess. Finding another style afterwards sounds like a good option as well. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Wow, that is quite a chunk of training! Is it all MA training time, or is weight lifting and cardio worked in as well?

That is not too early. And remember, everyone is a little bit different. You could go to bed at 11 instead, and may still feel just as good. You just have to find what works for you.

I think that the escrima training transfers in a more practical manner than some of the ways that some weapons are taught today.

My instructor requires a short thesis for testing for 1st degree, talking about what achieving black belt means to the student testing. Each student has to read the thesis before testing begins to the audience. I know there is a paper at 5th dan as well, but I don't know much about it.

As has been stated above, one would be most likely to perform the forms for the belt rank that you are. As an instructor, I would not teach a higher rank form to a rank lower than that who learns it, especially for a tournament purpose. However, everyone does things differently.

7-11-07 Solo workout Back leg round kicks: 10 each leg, 2 sets on heavy bag. Back leg 'bounding' round kicks: 1 set, 10 each leg. Crunches: 3x20 Taught Orientation from 5:20 - 6:00. Back Assisted pull-ups: plate 12x10x3 sets Back hyperextensions: 2x15

How long it takes to adapt will just depend on each person. I don't imagine it will take much longer than a week or two. Since I get two days off in a row every week, I can swing back and forth. I go to bed at around 10 or 11 pm on my nights off, and then go back to the sleep-in-the-day schedule when I go back to work.

That sounds like a very uplifting experience that you had. Very nice.

It sounds to me like you already know what you are wanting out of a school, and it sounds like you are not getting it from your current school. You may want to shop around other schools, and ask questions to the instructors about how they run things, what their requirements for teaching is, etc. As the others have mentioned, you could confront your Sensei about these issues. However, seeing as he is the one who did all of the appointments, I don't know that you will be able to sway his opinion. Even if he does see your point, and assign you as an assistant, will it be something that you actually feel good about being a part of? Just an idea. Welcome to the Forums!

Yeah, there are tons of factors involved. I do think about it a lot, though.

I am not sure they would be all that practical for self-defense today. They may make a nice distraction, but I don't know for sure. You could try and see, though.

I think a double-end bag may help more than a speed bag will. The way it moves forces you to move when it comes back at you.

Awesome! Improvement already!

You might want to get your head looked at. You may have a concussion.