bushido_man96

I have always wanted to be able to do pull-ups, but never have been able to. If you have suggestions, post away!

You are welcome!

Although I am not all that experienced in throwing or grappling, I do have something to add. I feel that it is important to train in shirts from time to time so that you can learn to adapt the grips from gi to, say, getting a grip on the body itself, like grasping around the back to cup your hand on the hip, or hooking your hand up through the armpit and around the shoulder, in order to secure a hold to throw. Just my two cents.

I'm not sure that I buy into everyone having the "killer instinct" just because we are mammals. We are also by nature social creatures, and if we were that predatorial, the society thing would not work out well. And besides, not every animal in the animal kingdom is a killer. There are predators, and their are prey. I think it is important to be able to defend oneself to the best possible abiltiy achievable. However, training that killer instinct is not as easy as training physical ability. You can even see this in some professional athletes. There are those great athletes, who also have a great demeanor. Then, you can also see those athletes who are good, but are also nasty, and play without any regard to how others may be affected. Maybe it is unfair to say that not everyone has the instinct. However, not everyone ever develops it.

Actually, I just ordered the Ashida Kim box set, and I will be starting my own kwoon soon!!!!

Thanks, Sohan. I do have kind of a family history of bulk. Also, I have had thyroid problems in the past, and it was treated with medication, and got better. I went off of it, with no serious problems. However, docs have told me that the problem never goes away.

I agree with Sohan. If you do a hard stretch routine one day, take it easy and let the muscles rest the next day. Instead, stretch another area.

I hope it works our for you, Kerry. Let us know. Thinking of ya!!

My wife is pretty good at the pop culture trivia type stuff, when it comes to all of the actors/actresses/singers/songwriters and all that stuff. Sometimes she quizzes me, and is appalled at some of the things that I don't know. I tell her to cut me some slack.....I played video games!

Kind of a side note, an my wife's laptop, I have a screen-saver with words floating around saying "I love my wife!"

Yeah, I hear ya, Sohan. I wondered about the cost of living there...sounds like it can be quite high!

Nope, not anymore. I did some in school as a kid, and have some ok stuff hanging up at my folks' house. Nothing much since then, however. I am not too creative.

You and me both!

Good to see you found something you like. That is a good attitude you have towards the training as well. Worry about what you can do now, and not what you could have done if...

I have a friend at TKD that is flat-footed, and he was also a Reserve. It didn't cause him any problems at all.

Yes, it is the same book.

So the mind is the greatest weapon...I'd better start working on those grades a bit more . Though I suppose you still gotta factor in MA training into that mindset unless you plan on usuing a dictionary as a blunt weapon.... Although I agree that the mind is very valuable, experience is also valuable, too.

Sorry to hear that you are losing your teacher. I think the card is a good idea. I hope things work out with your next instructor.

Nice article, Jiffy. I thought that it was well put together, and the different facets were explained very well. One spot that caught my eye, howerver, was this statement: I do feel that grappling has been very popular in the west for a very long time. It has been in the form of folk style wrestling, however, as opposed to what most would consider a "traditional" fighting style. Great job on the article, Jiffy.

No, a kubotan is rarely longer than 4 inches, I would say, on the average. It is mainly used to apply additional pressure to the hand and wrist when attempting to lock up and detain someone until help arrives, or you get them restrained. My dad always referred to it as a "pain compliance tool."

No, not really. The tassels were used more to absorb the blood on the blade, to stop it from running down the handle of the weapon, and affecting the wielder's grip.

I have a book titled Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere. I enjoyed reading the book, but it was more informative as opposed to being an all-out instruction manual. Take a look at it if you find it, though.

Nice post, cross. You hit the nail on the head, there. Thanks for that.

Here is one that I used to do, but haven't in a while. While watching a football game, you do push-ups everytime a team scores a touchdown or a field goal equal to the team's current score. So, if a team scores, you do 7 push-ups. If the next team scores 3, then you do 3 push-ups. Then, the next team comes back and scores another 7, totaling 14....so you do 14. It really can add up quick, depending on the pace of the game. Also, if you are feeling particularly crazy, you can do push-ups every time the team scores the touchdown, and then wait, and do the push-ups for the extra point. So, you would do 6 for the touchdown, and then 7 more, after they kick the extra point. You can also do this with a basketball game, but I would doubt that a person could last the whole game, especially with all of the fast breaks and what not. However, if you do it until your arms are toasted, it will give you a good burn.

Welcome to KF!