bushido_man96

^^this^^ I would much prefer a palm strike under the chin. Less telegraphed(under the line of vision), less chance of breaking hand, more chance of hurting the person, more options for follow ups. That would work well, too. My friend and I have been doing some Close Quarters Combatives, and we do a lot with open hand techniques as well.

I think that would be best for you right now. Instead of worrying about what you can't do, worry about what you can do right now. Things may fall into place for you later.

That is very interesting. The moves are very different from what I have seen.

Thanks for sharing that, Ed. You can really see Bruce's philosphical outlook on just about anything that he is asked about. He is so much fun to listen to.

As far as altering the technique to make you feel more comfortable, and to train different options, this is a good recommendation. However, also keep in mind that hitting a female in that area is much akin to a male taking a shot to the groin. Something to think about if you ever get attacked by a female.

Thanks, cross.

This is a very strong point.

It is really hard to tell what is causing the problems. Lifting probably won't help the condition, either. If I were you, I would go visit the doctor, and have them take a look at it. Listen to what your body says, and regulate your training levels accordingly. If you train yourself into an injury, you will be doing yourself a greater disservice than just backing your current training levles off some.

I talked with my mother tonight, and she was feeling pretty good. She is still pretty sore, though. The nurses at the ER told us that she was very combative. They said she was strong as a horse at the time, and they couldn't get her to comply for nothing. She only weighs around 130, so she must have been really fighting. She calls next week to get the next appointment set up. They will take more CT scans, and see what they can learn. They can't do the MRI, because she has a Pacemaker, so the Docs are a little tied by that. We will see, I guess.

Congrats! Keep up the good work!

Those are all good points, YoungMan. I have so many questions for the fellows heading this up. I just have to get my questions through.

Well, there are so many aspects here that you have to think about. Some instructors can teach some things well, and not others. Competitive sparring is an example. But it doesn't necessarily mean it will transfer well to all areas, like self-defense.

We always have favorites, as people. Think about teachers in school...you have many, but always have a favorite. Don't worry about comparing the two. If that is the case, you may never find another school to train at. Besides that, if the other instructor is willing to show up every day to teach, then he is one-up on your current instructor already. You should not worry too much about what your instructor is going to think of you if you leave. After all, it is his problem if he can't keep you because he can't maintain a schedule.

Thanks for the kind words and support, everyone. It really means a lot to me. I'll try to keep some updates going. She was doing really well when we left home yesterday. Hopefully, she quits the smoking, and can take it a bit easier at work.

Very interesting. I don't think I have ever heard of these styles before. Thanks for sharing, and welcome to KF!

Cross has some very good points. I second the distraction technique. Or better yet, and outright attack. They grab me, I punch them in the face. After all, if you have been grabbed, then you have essentially been assaulted; you have grounds for retaliation. Especially if you are smaller and weaker.

I would be upset if I were you as well. Despite the fact that he is a good teacher...if he isn't there, you can't learn from him. As far as the contract goes, I would start talking about getting some of that money back. The idea behind the contract is that he is offering you a service. He is not making good on it, and you should not have to pay him to cancel his classes on you like that. Life may be busy for him right now, but he should still be professional. He is not doing this. If I were you, I think I would look somewhere else.

Good advise. I would add, as well, to listen to your body. If it is telling you that it is hurt, then you should listen to it.

Most yearly membership fees that I have seen have not been that expensive. They also serve a purpose, for the most part. They keep you as a member of an oganization, that has some form of accreditation, which gives you some backing on your certificates. Many people like to know that their achievements are credible (much like a college graduation certificate), and this is the purpose that most of them serve.

It may not seem right, but different instructors have different opinions on how things should work. I don't think it necessarily means that the person has to win a tournament to get promoted. What it does is allow the instructor to see how the student does against someone he doesn't work with in class on a regular basis. He won't know the opponent's patterns and strategies. The instructor can also see how the student does in putting his own strategies into play, and how well he does when he is being pressed. Just some different ideas there. I could be wrong, but it could work well.

I don't know how many would have noticed, but I have been somewhat uncharacteristically (for me) absent from the forums for the last few days. It was crazy and scary. Here is the run down: Most of you here know that I work a night job. I got off work on Wednesday morning at 4:00 am. Nothing unusual there. The wife and kids woke up at 6:00 am to start their day, and I helped them to get around. They left at 7:00 am, and I went to bed. The phone rings, and it is about 9:45 am. I am groggy, and grumpy, and still half asleep. I answer the phone: "Hello" "Hello, is this Brian?" "Yeah" "Brian, this is ...... in Colby, at Lantern Park Manor (where my mom works), and your mom has just had a seizure and collapsed... " All of a sudden, I am awake. "DO WHAT????!!!! What happened?" "She is breathing, and her vital signs are ok, but she is not responsive." By this time, I am going nuts. I am out of bed, flying around, getting dressed, and I tell them that I am on my way. So, in 5 minutes I am out of the house, and going to get my brother at work. He isn't there; went home sick. So, I call him, and head to his house in a trailer park to pick him up. I'll bet you didn't know you could get up to 40 mph between trailer park speed bumbs, did ya? During this time, I get a call from my dad, who is 3 hours from Colby, in Salina. He is on his way home as well, and tells me to be careful. I get my brother, and we are gone. We get to Colby, in about an hour and 10 minutes, I guess. We arrive at around 11:00, I think, and get to the hospital. I was awake for the trip, even going on only 2 hours of sleep. I was wired now. We get to the hospital, and mom is in the ER. She is awake, and we talk to her, so we are relieved. She knows who we are, which is more relieving. We talk about what happened with the nurses. They said she was combative when they got her there, but she doesn't remember anything about the seizure. She said she is feeling sick, too. She gave them a good history, saying she had a history of migraines, and had one for the last 3 days. She works a lot of hours, too, and smokes. The doctors took labs, and a CT scan. We find out that from the CT scan, they find something that looks like a tumor on top of her brain. Now, we start to sweat again. Dad arrives in about 45 minutes after we did (and he had another 80+ miles to go...you do the math ), and we are all talking this over. The doctors decide they want to fly her to Denver. A friend rides with her in the plane, and my brother and I follow my dad out to Denver. My brother and I didn't take the time to pack anything, so we are clothe-less, toothbrush-less, deodarant-less, etc. Luckily, my dad prints T-shirts on the side, so he had PLENTY to let us wear. About 3 and half hours later, we are there. My brother drove, and I kept him occupied. I couldn't have driven that, on only the 2 hours of sleep I had. Mom beats us to Denver, of course, and the doctors start looking around at her, to see what they can. They wanted to do an MRI, but they couldn't, because she has a pacemaker. So, they do another CT scan, and get an EEG reading as well. Now, the news gets better. They tell us that the growth is called a Managenioma, or something like that, and is a non-cancerous, slow-growing tumor. It was only 1.2 centimeters or so around, and they think it may have taken her whole life for it to get that big. She has always had migraines, so she didnt' think anything about the headaches she had been having recently. We are all a little bit relieved that it is not a cancer, so we breath easier. Now, we come to the task of staying somewhere for the night, and shopping for some clean clothes and toiletry items. Before we left for Denver from Colby, dad gave me and my brother each a small wad of cash to hold onto. Now, that wad comes in handy! Mom's friend that flew there with her gets us into a hotel. We follow her there, and get a room. We can sleep well knowing that things are better. Across from the hotel, lies the bain of my existence...a Barnes and Nobles bookstore ! Well, I did need some new reading material, so I cross the busy boulevard to purchase some reading materials. Next, my brother and I head to a Target store to get tolietries and some clothing to wear. We got there with 10 minutes before close, and I drove my brother crazy running around the store. Now, I have a bag of clothes in one hand, and a bag of books in the other, and am ready to go get ready for bed. The next day, they do the EEG. From the EEG, they didn't say she had become epileptic, so that is good. They gave her some prescriptions that are supposed to supress future seizures, and help with her headaches. They aslo said that she needs to quit smoking (again), and may need to lighten up on the caffeine intake as well. Also, on this next day, my mom is going crazy. She can't stand to be laying around doing nothing (crazy woman ), and is bored out of her mind. She is also an RN, so she knows a little bit of the routine. We stick around the room and entertain her. Dad stayed the night there, and didn't sleep well in the recliner they provided. Needless to say, his fun-meter was pegged out, too. The doctors say that after reading the EEG, that she can be prescribed the meds, and released. We are happy about this. However, it takes them forever to get the meds prescribed. So, we go back to said Target to get mom some new clothes as well, so she can clean up. We also manage to find our way back to said Barnes and Nobles, and purchase a few more books, too. We take mom down to the cafeteria to eat at around 6:15 Denver time. Dad told the nurses to call us if the Doctor showed up. Of course, he did, before we could finish our meal. So, dad took mom upstairs, and they talked about it all. They said we would leave that night. We get back, and mom cleans up. The doctors got in to talk about the meds at 8:30, Denver time!! About 2 hours later. She gets the info, and some meds, and we get ready to leave. We get home in Colby at around 1:30 am. I drove from Limon the rest of the way, about 2 and half hours. All in all, it was a shake-you-up, wake-you-up week. It was one of those experiences that makes you realize what really is important in life. I know I tried to sprinkle bits of humor into the post here, but it was none funny at the time, I can asure you. After we knew it was not a life-threatening thing, we all loosened up a bit, and could think about other things. We stayed that night at our parents, and then came back to Hays today. We got home at around 1:00 pm. Anyways, that's my story. If you read it, thanks.

I have a pair of middleweight pants, and I have never had a problem with them, see through or otherwise. I think you will be ok.

I think that some of it may be based on competition performances as well.

So, what do you eat before you go to bed???

Welcome to KF!