Blackbeltblonde

Lame.. that's the only thing that came to mind.. ~BBB

I couldn't vote cause Escrima sticks weren't on there.. We should have an "other" option ~BBB

Are there any girls in your system? Cause I pretty much promise you I'd NOT cut my hair simply cause my instructor said so. Infact I'd probably just get POed and keep it long... (I know that's not right but that's what I'd do) Bottom line.. if you have your hair long whether your a guy or girl it's yours.. if you have trouble training because of it you better quickly find a way to compensate for it.. or cut it. That is where the line is safety. ~BBB

Something that might help is taking vitamins and making sure you have enough iron in your system.. Just a thought ~BBB

I agree with the above. I think you should figure out which one suits you better, then do that one for long enough for it to be not easy.. but solid in your muscle memory, then and only then think about taking another style. I would suggest doing the second one LATER. ~BBB

I honestly blame movies. Now, DO NOT get me wrong I love martial arts movies, but think about the differen popular martial arts movies that have been out lately. Any Jackie Chan movie- Who other than him can really do that effectively?.. No one and everyone knows that. Jet Lee- most of his require wire work, and while it's great entertainment it's unrealistic and we know it. Matt Damon (Bourne movies)-itt's realistic.. But, people ARGUE WITH ME saying it was nothing compared to the ones above... *smacks forhead* Bruce Lee- Not around anymore so many are losing the reality of how amazing he actually was. Matrix- While their martial arts is real.. the plot is not and so neither is the stunts they do. Chuck Norris- Too much Ranger lately for people to believe it's anything other than fake... (although he was undefeated 7 time world champion when he retired from competition) SO, the reality of our situation is because the martial arts is so cool the movies show it off.. ALL THE TIME.. where as Boxing.. well it's pretty much the same setting... 4 sided ring, 2 men, gloves, bell ringing... K.O. ~BBB

Thanks guys! ~BBB

Hey all! I'm new to this forum as well! My name is Kris and I'm 21 years old and from MI. Nice to be here and enjoying the company of so many ~BBB

I'm so glad you all get the same reactions I do! I hate when people try matching me up for fights so they can see my skill.. I do much of the same reaction that Kieran has!... I particularly enjoy the "blink" ~BBB

Martial arts is hard because you are fighting yourself. You are supposed to go at your own pace and try hard not to compare yourself to others. So... Stop comparing yourself to him... Trust me it will help you. ~BBB

Italy? That's interesting!.. What style do you train in? Welcome.. I'm fairly new as well! ~BBB

I think that people should be able to get a black belt in 3 years IF THEY ARE VERY DEDICATED AND PRACTICE AT HOME. Other than that at least 5 years. (in my oppinion at least to be good and undoubtably a black belt) ~BBB

Chances are the gloves are just new and need to be broken in. Depending on the material.. wash them.. if they shouldn't we washed.. play with them and bend and move them a lot... ~BBB

Stretch while watching tv. And warm your joints and muscles up before you work out and train.. but stretch afterwards.. it's better on your joints. ~BBB

A great thing to do is stretch while you watch tv. A Couple stretches you can do: The butterfly your legs look like this <> put your heels together, grab your ankles and push your knees down with your elbows. Then let up, bounce them (hence the butterfly name) and do it again. Another one, stand up and touch the floor (or get as close as you can without bending your knees or causing your muscles to tighten) stand up shake your legs out and do it again. Also, the hurtlers stretch, put one leg behind you (or in front depending on what's most comfortable) then put one leg straight out. Try to touch your head to your knee while stretching to grab your toes with your hands... again only do this as far as you can.. once your muscles start to tighten stop... Hope that helps. ~BBB

Hey, joint problems is something I'm very familiar with.. (at the ripe old age of 21) I have EDS which is a disorder that means there's a lack of colligen in my joints so they don't ever stay put. What I would recommend is to practice slow to start, work your way up to be able to do it as fast as you can.. but, starting slow will mean that you are training your body (muscle memory) to stop exactly where they are supposed to. ~BBB

What your dealing with has nothing to do with fighting in and of itself. So, set that down... leave it alone. You're dealing with good ol fashion guilt. Honestly, ask Jesus for forgiveness and forgive yourself. Resolve to never do it again. My whole family (all 3 of my siblings and my dad.. my mom has no interest in martial arts) is in the martial arts, we have resolved that one of the things that sets us apart as martial artist is to protect family, friends, and those unable to protect themselves. And we have a nice little mental excersize while training.. EXPECT TO GET CUT.. cause you will. accept it and move on from the idea of the pain stopping you. ~BBB

Online ones are crap. The best thing you can do is fine an electronic one, usually health places have them, or gyms. (Congrats on the weightloss of fat though!) ~BBB

Hey, I hope you got it checked out!.. I one time overused my neck muslces (in the front) and I could NOT for the life of me figure out what happened.. I realized later that I had several times over bent backwards letting my head go back, then I'd whip it forward.. It hurt to swallow! But, for no other reason than overused muscles. ~BBB

LOL Whitefeather... Honestly it all boils down to what you really want to accomplish. I CAN grapple and I can teach grappling.. but I don't like it and I'm not the best at it. However, I know I will be fine because I understand weapons and balance. ~BBB

We had students in our school quit because we would not allow them to move up in rank.. we told them why.. they didn't like it and went somewhere else. We also had a guy who joined our school, his sister joined another school and he got so frustraited that his sister got her black belt first.. but couldn't do have the stuff he could.. or do her stuff really well... So sad. ~BBB

My dad owns the school that I attended... I dated the other owners step son.. oops. Was not the best decision I made. ~BBB

I am the same way.. I don't usually like people knowing, and most of the time it's the random friend that knows that tells everyone But I don't want people knowing partly because of the reaction, and partly because it's almost better and safer for me and others to not know. But, I've found that playing it off as a not big deal is the easiest way to move the conversation on. ~BBB

I definately hear what you are saying, my dad owns the school I was trained in. And there are times that I would 100% agree hands down. We had a few of those students come in.. we tended to handle each black belt case by case in terms of classes and whatever. But, can we as Martial Artists actually say that we have to be more interested in the person walking by instead of the pushing for the students to bring people? ~BBB

Yeah, he stopped using Katanas because he was unbeatable and didn't want to kill anyone anymore.. so he settled for beating them with sticks lol ~BBB