bushido_man96

I think that you would have to take a look at it, to be sure. Of course, who of us has experience with "real" ninjitsu. Anymore, it has such a bad rap (a la Ashida Kim and others) that I view the terminology "Legitimate Ninjitsu" as an oxymoron.

Hey, cool!! I'll be checking it out!

Yeah, I know. I have been trying to figure out from the first book, when Arya was chasing cats, and got led into the basement of Baratheon's castle, and saw the two guys walking and talking. One was Varys, but I still can't pick out who the other is.

Both of these weapons existed in both cultures. Is it really necessary to differeniate them?

I had trouble placing that guy in the Prologue....I am not sure who he was. Now, you have whetted my appetite. I may have to start reading them again.

This has been my experience as well. Sometimes, it is just not as easy as "using the thumb as the weak link." That stated, I am a big fan of distraction strikes prior to releasing.

I always thought what it was referred to was kind of a regional thing. I could be wrong.

What I don't like is the $500 price tag!

Oh, I'd have to look... Oh, yeah, it was the kid who was being paid at the beginning by the guy who wanted him to steal the key. Not sure if he was revealed; it has been so long. That's right, isn't it? I think that there is something not right with the kid, cause I got the impression that he was going to end up dead. Can't remeber his name, though.

I see. Thank you. Sound cool, but I rarely have time for computer games.

Sounds good. Sorry you have to wait so long for surgery.

Thanks, Tom. I plan to keep at it. Today was easy, though. No one was around to watch me struggle!

It sounds to me like the instructor is a little to much of a perfectionist; he may be obsessive. If it were me, I think I would switch styles as well. I think that you can be held in a rank too long some times.

Wow, that is clever. The Crimson Sausage Gang. Good stuff!

It would be interesting to see what is on the DVD, and who the "master" is.

So far, I have not been disappointed with any of the books. I liked the end, where Sam got hooked up with the Archmaester Marwyn, and the archmaester prepares to leave to find Dany.

That is not as easy as you may think. When there is a shield in the way, you are asking for punishment.

If this is the case, then I think you have a show piece, as opposed to a blade that you could actually use.

How do you ID the trained ones, and the un-trained ones? If you took a look at me, you would probably think that I was "untrained." Also, assuming that you can take out that many people with one strike per opponent is very dangerous. It does not happen that easy. If it did, then no one would need to do that much trainin, learning how to do one throat strike and one groin strike.

How much do you think your skill will help you if that juicing bodybuilder decides to punch you in the back of the head as you walk away?

Demonstrations are a good way to get noticed. We have done some at the Mall here in town, with decent results. Half-time demos, at high school basketball and football games get you exposed to teenagers as well. Also, see if you can get the local newspaper to do an article for you as well. The public will at least know you are there.

I did some pull-up exercises today, just to get it started. Man, are my back and arms sore! I did some dead hanging, and then tried to jump up to hang, like Sohan suggested. I couldn't get all the way up to the top, but I hung where I did, and then let myself down slow when I couldn't hold it any more. I also did some assisted reps as well. The only problem I have is dealing with the people that are going to look at me funny as I struggle to not do a pull-up for a while!

That's just right. You can spend your whole life on martial arts, and even when you die, you haven't learned all you can learn. That is a good point as well.

See if you can find a schedule of events in and around your area. Also, get the rules and regulations for each tournament that you plan to attend, so that you can train accordingly. You may even be able to make some friends with students of the host school, and this would allow you some training advantages. Good luck, and let us know what you get figured out.