bushido_man96

Quick question, Kerry, just to clarify if I understand right: are you saying that you should ask your instructor out of respect, or just tell them what you are doing out of respect?

Here is a question: How many of us who are answering this question are answering as students, or as instructors/masters? I answer as a current student and as a former instructor.

Cool article. You found very creative ways to keep martial arts high on the priority list in your life. When I can't do anything else, I like to keep an MA book handy to read for ideas, feedback, or just enjoyment. KF has been a boon to my MA life as well!

Wow....good joke! Feel funny posting now, but I read it, and was humored as well! Forum humor....gotta love it! I will be leary when posts are made on April 1st from now on.

I enjoyed this article. I like the order of the concepts that you used.

Great article, Laurie! It seems like that rank can be the cause of a downfall for some stylists. I think that is one thing that practitioners of styles like wrestling, boxing, and Muay Thai have as an advantage over the more "traditional" stylists. They don't have to 'worry' about what rank they are, or when their next testing is. Their skills in the ring speak for themselves, and lets them know what they need to work on, and what they are comfortable with. I guess ignorance is bliss.

yea!! let's do it!

Sounds kind of cool!

Yeah, I have been know to become a little theological at times!....I just keep it to myself mostly, unless someone is willing to talk about it.

Its the gift that keeps on giving!!!

Happy birthday to you!

I am working on it!

You could work your triceps and biceps in the weight room, to get some size. Tricep stength will help with pushups.

I had heard of Thomas Kurz before. He had all kinds of ads in Black Belt Magazine. He was always showed "kicking cold." I had never checked his stuff, but I figured he was fairly legit.

I practice the Chang 'on forms system (ITF style). Gae Baek is my 2nd dan form. The twist kick may also be called and inverted round kick. Does Gae Baek have a twist kick in it???????? Just curious as I presumed Tae Baek was the same form and it does not....unless I am really missing something!!! What is the system that you do Tae Baek in??

Aw, sorry Kerry! I was late getting on tonight, and didn't catch it....yes, I know, I have my shortcomings as well!!

why is it that whenever people see something they feel is an inconsistency in the MA, the first thing they say is something along the lines of werterners are lazy and anything wrong is directly the fault of they way a style is trained in the west? As if there are no lousy easterners... You and I see eye to eye here, E&K. I get tired of hearing of how "Americanized styles" are killing the martial arts. The fact of the matter is that in the West we are willing to question why something is done a certain way, and then see if there is a better way to do it. Unfortunately, many see this as "Americanizing" something that is "traditional" and taking away from what it was. Things change. People learn and grow. So it should be in martial arts.

This is true, but did Musashi ever meet a challenge that he didn't accept? It sounds like the situation was handled well. If your assistant would have fought him, depending on how things worked out, a lawsuit could have ensued. One thing I would have done is asked him where he trained at. If he can't give a name of the school, or won't, that is where I would say, oooookaaay..... In the end, it just depends on how each person handles these situations. As for me, I am sorry to say that it would probably depend on the mood I was in. You know, if you are just having one of those days.....

Man, she can do some funky things with her hips! Wow, to be that flexible. However, I notice that even her hand techniques seem to lack power. Maybe she should do some resistance training to go along with her flexibility...wow, she would be a real animal then!

I say no. You don't have to ask a teacher at the college if it is ok to take other classes. You don't even have to ask if you can take classes that aren't related to your major. I don't see the martial arts any differently. You could tell your instructor that you are cross-training, if you want to, but it should not be required. I think that there are a lot of masters out there that feel threatend when a student of theirs wants to train in another style. It is as if they have to admit that their style is not all-inclusive, or something. So, they come up with the traditional routine of how they learned their style, and those that went before them, and so on. Bottom line, you should be able to do what you want as far as training goes, regardless of what other masters and instructors think.

I just heard some interesting news today. Priest Holmes will be placed on the IR-PUP list, and will not return to play this season. HOWEVER, he stated that it is likely that he would come back to play in 2007. I am excited about this, as Carl Peterson (Chiefs GM) spoke with Holmes about his condition this week. I would love to see the Priest back in the lineup, because he is so much fun to watch him play. The only bad thing is where will he fit in now that LJ is the man? I hope some arrangement can be made, because it is unlikely that a team will carry two running backs of that caliber. However, if the Chiefs give Holmes a chance to persue other options, then that would be very noble of the organization. In any case, I wish Priest Holmes the best.

Nice article, Killer Miller.

Ok, I feel kind of cheated now. I usually don't have a spotter when I lift, so I was doing bench press on this Nautilis Leverage machine. You still load weight plates onto the sides, and it starts in the down position instead of the up position. Well, I have started to lift on a regular bench with a spotter, and I have noticed that I don't push up as much as I did on the other. What a bummer. And I thought I had hit my goal.

hehehehe...

Hey, that looks kind of cool. It looks kind of expensive, too!