Sohan

There's a reason they call it karate-do and not karate-don't. Take away the techniques from other arts and you likely have nothing. Take them away from karate-do and you still have a strong system of values that lead to a better person, and thus a better society as a whole. With respect, Sohan

Funny you mention this. I have never had a major tear, but am nursing a nasty pull of my left gastrocnemius as I am writing this. Like you, it kind of came from nowhere, but I probably just overdid it in my workout. Typically, if it's not too severe, something like my injury heals within 72 hrs. Sounds like you have a fairly major tear, though you should be thankful it's not a complete separation from the bone. I assume you've been to the doc, so my best recommendation is to just be patient and do what the doc and/or your phys therapist tells you. With time, almost everything heals. Not really related to your exact problem, but I thought this might cheer you up, (hopefully): Nothing To Worry About I have nothing to worry about Except two things. Am I sick or am I healthy? If I am healthy, then I have nothing to worry about. Though if I am sick, I still only have two things to worry about-- Will I get better or will I die? If I get better, then I have nothing to worry about. But if I die, I yet again have only have two things to worry about-- Am I going to heaven or am I going to Hades? If I go to heaven, then I have nothing to worry about. And if I go to Hades, I'll be too busy visiting with all of my friends down there to have anything to worry about!!! With respect, Sohan

I dont do weights like bar bell jockeys. I dont need slow lifting power I need explosive functional strength. Its far better for a fighter to do 100 pushups than bench press 200 lbs slowly. Most people who lift heavy weights cannot do 100 pushups because it takes endurance. I have challenged many people who can bench press 250-300 lbs to do 100 pushups (proper ones) and they cant do it. Bar bell jockeys? Guess that includes Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, Bruce Lee, Lennox Lewis, Matt Hughes, and Georges St Pierre. I hear they've dabbled in the iron game a bit themselves. FYI, strength training with heavy load free weights is recognized as one of the best ways (along with plometrics) to train fast twitch muscle fibers, which are of upmost importance to martial artists interested in speed of movement. I would rather bench 300 than waste my time doing lots of pushups. I know, because I've done both. Perhaps we should call the National Football League and warn them that their athletes are getting slower because they are wasting their time doing 500 lb bench presses and 700 lb squats. Certainly they should be doing pushups and burpees instead... With respect, Sohan

Bench press is a gauge of upper body strength, specifically the pectoral, deltoid, and triceps muscles. Deadlifts are a test of the spinal and knee extensors. You're comparing apples and oranges. Sure, if all your punches are high punches. But incline and flat bench use the same muscles anyway, just from different angles. You should be training from different angles regardless. Lifting the exact same way builds muscle imbalances. Of course bench press has a higher injury risk. The INTENSITY IS HIGHER--which is why it is more effective than pushups at creating strength. It's like as if you could only do 8 pushups. The intensity for you would be the same as someone doing 8 reps of heavy bench to failure. Most people can do more pushup reps, though, which makes it a lower intensity exercise than bench, which means your injury risk is lower. The solution? Warmup. Listen. Rest. Train smart. I've been doing competitive level bench press for over 25 years, and have had no major lasting injuries. Why? Because I warmup properly, listen to my body, and give it proper rest, not to mention I train for muscle balance by exercising opposing muscle groups. Most of the benchers I've seen that have been injured train with their hearts, not their heads. In the quest for 10 more pounds of bragging rights, they forget about preventing injury. With respect, Sohan

Name: Ken Height: 6'0" Weight: 190-195 (depends on what I'm training for) Favorite Technique: Whatever is necessary, but I like it simple: straight rights, Thai Roundhouses to the lower leg and knee, and chokes from any position. Titles: Don't compete. Do these count? *Knocked out a 280 lb University of Georgia starting offensive lineman who thought I was looking at his girlfriend back in college. (I wasn't!) *Broke an armed mugger's knee and restrained him until police arrived. He was carrying a knife and had pretended to be a panhandler. When I walked past him, I caught him thrusting the knife towards me and I stepped to the side, kicked him at a 45 degree angle to his kneecap, and dropped him. *Knocked out twin brothers who were each 6' 5 and @275 lbs in a bar when they tried to attack a 140 lb friend of mine for accidently spilling a drink on them. *Subdued a man who was attacking a woman on a street in Atlanta back in 1992. Choked him out and then held him until police arrived. Turns out he had just been released from prison the week prior on a rape conviction. *Subdued a large shave headed, tattooed man who forced me off the road in 1993 because I made an error in switching lanes in traffic. He wasn't satisfied with my attempt at an apology. My car went in a ditch, he got out and ran to attack me--I evaded his blows and choked him out. Police arrived shortly after and arrested the man. *Tired of being bullied, at age 13 I picked a fight with the largest bully in my school. Unaware I had been training in boxing for a few years but was forbidden by my dad to fight previously, he accepted and publicly lost the fight in less than a minute. I didn't have to fight anyone again during my secondary school career. * On my 21st birthday, a one punch knockout of a fellow who, along with his buddy, brazenly decided to sit at my table uninvited and hit on my girlfriend. I asked him to leave and he looked at me and flicked his cigarette in my face. The punch he received sent him flying back about a dozen feet, and he took several minutes to regain consciousness before he was removed from the restaurant. His buddy had quickly disappeared, so no second bout was necessary. I know my record doesn't appear on Sherdog or anything like that, but I submit it in the hopes that it will be enough. With respect, Sohan

Anonymous One, we finally agree. Completely. Though people study MA for different reasons, in the end we are all warriors. If we are approaching karate with a mind set other than this, we are fooling ourselves, for we live in a very dangerous world. I think sometimes an untrained person is better off than a poorly trained, overconfident black belt, because the untrained person will not necessarily fool themselves into thinking they can do what they cannot. We should all seek to train more like warriors and insist on the best from ourselves, our dojomates, and our instructors. Let's not fool ourselves into thinking a 60 minute training session twice a week will prepare us to defend ourselves against a determined, vicious, prison-trained attacker. With respect, Sohan

The problem with this statement is that you are assuming the yellow sash understands and performs the material as well as they would at a higher level. This isn't true. Just because I may have learned Seisan to receive my green belt doesn't mean at that point I was as qualified to teach it. My current years of experience have given me insight and refinement to my kata that enables me to teach it with a deeper understanding than I ever could have at greenbelt rank. Could I show the pattern to someone as a green belt? Sure. Would I be have been able to teach it as effectively as an instructor should at my current level? No way. With respect, Sohan of course they arent able to perform the technique as good as a black belt. but they perform it well enuf to get passed white sash. so techniquely, if they teach a white sash they way they do it, they should also be able to get passed white sash. the point isnt will the yellow sash be able to teach as well as the instructor, the point is that someone with no experience will get something out of learning from someone with experience, regardless of how much experience it is. does ian thorpe teach me to swim? no. will i drown if thrown in the deep end? no. For someone who only has a basic understanding of the techniques they've learned, to teach those techniques to someone else usually means that the person they teach them to will likely grasp them even less than they have. And if that person with the basic knowledge level teaches the technique incorrectly, which is highly probable, then the student ends up with bad habits that may someday get them killed. If you want to learn a few techniques that look cool and will impress your friends, then this level of instruction is fine. But if you really want to defend yourself in a conflict where the other person wants to seriously hurt you, get training from a qualified and experienced instructor. With respect, Sohan

The problem with this statement is that you are assuming the yellow sash understands and performs the material as well as they would at a higher level. This isn't true. Just because I may have learned Seisan to receive my green belt doesn't mean at that point I was as qualified to teach it. My current years of experience have given me insight and refinement to my kata that enables me to teach it with a deeper understanding than I ever could have at greenbelt rank. Could I show the pattern to someone as a green belt? Sure. Would I be have been able to teach it as effectively as an instructor should at my current level? No way. With respect, Sohan

Congratulations! I'm sure you deserved the promotion. It's very difficult sometimes to start back having seen others pass you, and even harder when you're told to start over. Good work. With respect, Sohan

I'm more concerned about fat content, myself, which is what keeps me out of most fast food joints. I burn that sugar off pretty easily between working out and chasing my son around. With respect, Sohan

I've seen it before. Interesting video. He should audition for stunt double in Spiderman 4. With respect, Sohan

Yeah, those chicken sandwiches are good for one thing: a coronary. It's hard to eat well at a McD's--- I prefer Wendy's, myself. A grilled chik with a baked potato and a glass of water is a good meal for me. A side salad is nice, too, as long as I go fat free on the dressing. With respect, Sohan

For us (we use Heian) the bunkai for the last four are block then strike. The First blocks a chudan punch, and as you setup for the next shuto, your arm does a press block, and the second shuto is a strike to the opponent. That's how we do it also. For practicality, I really never particularly cared for a shuto as a finishing blow, though, as my sensei likes to say, "Perhaps you just don't execute the technique well enough." I just find other techniques far more effective. With respect, Sohan

I agree, a two inch belt that's worn in looks fine with a heavyweight gi. With a lighter gi, it just doesn't look right, especially if the belt is stiff. With respect, Sohan

As an aside, I find it humorous that one's time available to train in MA is much different while the woman is one's girlfriend as opposed to when/if she becomes a wife. Training time shrinks dramatically when that conversion of the female-male relationship occurs. You might want to consider this for any long-term MA commitment. With respect, Sohan

We have other kata like that: Ananku and Shimpa Tan, as well as Pinan Yondan, which finish with Shuto blocks (sure, they could be strikes, but I still can't see those flooring Chuck Liddell...) And Bassai Dai also ends in defensive moves in our system. So is kata a simulated fight, as demonstrated by karate masters, or is it simply a collection of techniques for practice? This is a much-asked question that I never get a consistent answer about. With respect, Sohan

I've heard that joke done with soccer (or as everyone else calls it: "football"). Good joke! With respect, Sohan

Now, that's just silly....but funny.... With respect, Sohan

If you have to lift in the AM, it's a good idea to get a decent meal in at least an hour previously. At the least, make sure you get some liquid protein and some easily digestible carbs so that you will not see your blood sugar drop mid-workout. How much or what you eat pre-workout really depends on your stomach's tolerance level and the intensity of the workout. If I'm going a hard hour of supersets with little rest, I'm not eating pancakes and eggs right before. Post-workout get a good solid meal in your system ASAP. Remember, food is like bricks for the house. You can't build the house without the materials to build it with. With respect, Sohan

I've downloaded some BJJ videos that have really helped my training. Otherwise I view kata videos mostly to gain a different perspective on my own material, and I watch my sensei's kata on DVD to ensure I am performing it the way we are taught in class. With respect, Sohan

I'm intrigued by how the drug scene of the late 70's and especially the 80's might have affected Bruce Lee. Considering his previous dabbling in drug use and his "superman" mentality, not to mention his taste for the high life, I can easily see him getting involved in cocaine abuse during that period, thinking that he could handle just about anything. Happened to many a great athlete with much the same personality profile at that time, and it is not hard to see a 40-45 y.o. Bruce Lee, frustrated with a waning interest in kung fu films by the late 70's and early 80's movie crowd, getting involved with drugs. I do, however, think he would have beaten any addiction in rehab, and would have emerged a stronger and more spiritual figure for martial arts. With respect, Sohan

Well, I find it interesting that Pinan Shodan (Heian?) ends with 4 defensive blocks, though my sensei says to interpret them as "pushoffs". Can't see that winning a fight, though. I suppose if it makes sense, a bunkai can be whatever you need it to be. With respect, Sohan

I was hoping research would eventually surface that would support my long held theory that my favorite pint of cold stout or ale was actually immaterial in creating abdominal triglyceride augmentation, but it has yet to occur. And yet I wait, hopefully.... With respect, Sohan

I agree completely. With respect, Sohan

First question: Well, you definitely want to TOUCH your chest, regardless. But where you touch the bar on the chest depends on your optimal leverage, which differs depending on your chest and tri strength, and your back arch. Strong tris and a big arch allow you to touch the bar almost to the belly. This is how many competitive benchers lift today, as the gear they wear helps maximize this lifting position. A strong pec bencher may still have a good degree of arch, but find pressing the bar from the nipple area to be a better use of their pecs. Second question: You're talking about using a Smith Press, I assume. A Smith Press changes the natural S shape of the bench press and turns it into a linear movement. The Smith machine is self spotting and offers greater control and also movement patterns that you cannot perform with a barbell, such as bench presses from the clavicle. I personally never found them of much use in my program, but others do. And yes, the bar is typically the same 45 lb bar. With respect, Sohan