Sohan

That's funny that you say that. I've always thought aspartame gave me headaches, and I had avoided saccharine until recently. Respectfully, Sohan

Here's my take on sweeteners: ---I would avoid high fructose corn syrup if I were you, just because it's a cheap concentrated source of calories, mostly used byu manufacturers in food. ---Sucrose (table sugar) is fine in small amounts. Add it to your food instead of buying it pre-sweetened. You'll use less sugar. ---Fructose is simply fruit sugar. It converts to blood glucose more slowly, but causes stomach upset in some people. ---Glucose is the most basic sugar that all other sugars are made from. It is taken up rapidly by the system, particularly during exercise. Great for post-workout recovery. If you're trying to cut calories, any of the artificial sweeteners are fine: ---Aspartame seems OK, despite the hysteria about it. The research doesn't support the anti-aspartame folks out there, but I am still being cautious. ---Splenda is made from sugar, and seems like a pretty good sugar substitute. You can cook with it too, unlike aspartame. Good, but expensive. ---Saccharin, as found in Sweet and Low, has recently been shown to have no link to any cancer, against what was previously thought. It's one of my favorite sweeteners, though it has a little bit of an aftertaste. Hope that helps. Respectfully, Sohan

Depends. Can you feel where it hurts with your fingers or is it deeper? Do you feel swelling or a bump there? Try icing it and wait 24 hours to see if it improves. If it doesn't or worsens during that time, take your wife's advice and see a doctor immediately. With respect, Sohan

Hmmm. I'm thinking Hawaii, myself. Someday I'm going to open a dojo there and learn how to surf. With respect, Sohan

Uh, no. I'm pretty flexible, but not that flexible. With respect, Sohan

Sure, but parents and children don't always see eye to eye, so why shouldn't there be a little friction between karate and gung fu practitioners? Peace and harmony is a great concept, but we're still only human. Respectfully, Sohan

Gojushiho is one of my favorite kata. My sensei has changed the drunken stepping aspect, but it is still a wonderful form to practice. I always felt like I was doing "real karate" when I performed Gojushiho. With respect, Sohan

OK, I'll bite. Here's one from a Google search: http://www.wado-ryu-karate.com/Syllabus_Total.html Respectfully, Sohan

What is your definition of "best"? All sweeteners have pros and cons. Tell me what your criteria are, and I'll try to help. Respectfully, Sohan

You make a good point. However, a boxer has fewer skills to master, and then these are repeated over and over again. Even the most basic martial arts style has many more forms and techniques to perform. Few people that I've met can fight after two years of traditional martial arts training as well as a boxer after the same period. The reason is the volume of training material. It just takes longer to really master and understand the principles for most people. IMHO, of course. With respect, Sohan I kind of agree with you, Sohan, but kind of don't. In a way I do because it is a lot of material to absorb, with the forms and all. But a Thai Boxer focuses on punching and kicking and movement, more than a boxer, and still can be prepared to fight in 2 years. It seems that perhaps our traditional styles (which teach self-defense, right?) get in their own way of becoming more efficient in the fight game. Now, I know that we aren't training people to fight so much as training them to defend themselves, but in the end the result is the same....you win or you lose. I struggle with this often. Should I just focus on Muay Thai, which prepares me more quickly, or should I continue the long range approach and spend my time on traditional karate? Then I ask myself why I study karate, and it's for more than just self defense and fighting ability. There are aspects of self improvement that Thai boxing simply doesn't give me, though it may for someone else. I want more from MA than just the ability to inflict damage on another human being---I want the ability to NOT inflict damage on another human being. Respectfully, Sohan

Welcome. Respectfully, Sohan

Welcome! Respectfully, Sohan

Life would certainly be boring if we agreed on everything. With respect, Sohan

"He who destroys a good book kills reason itself." Respectfully, Sohan

Welcome. Respectfully, Sohan

Madam, it is my most solemn duty to ensure that you are spending your time in an extremely frivolous and time-consuming manner. Now, back to work! With respect, Sohan

Well rounded??? Sohan??? ahem Well... . . . I do have a life outside this place. . . . . . . . . . . Sometimes. . . . . . . . . . . When my fingers get tired. Respectfully, Sohan

I read that today. Thought it was a joke, but I guess it's true! She's been married 21 times in a country where divorce is not very common. They didn't say whether any of them are still alive. Respectfully, Sohan

Cats drop to the ground to free up their limbs to fight. It's like a martial art style that teaches you to sit/lay down as soon as a fight starts so that you can kick and punch with all four limbs without worrying about balancing or being swept. It's obvious when watching the cats at my mom's house spar, because the mass difference between the two of them is huge, and you can watch the bigger cat consciously lay down after being tackled by an attack that in no way had enough force to tip him over.. kind've like watching the 90 pound girl go for a flying tackle into the football player, who gets tackled, doesn't move an inch, looks down at her, and drops to the ground. Cats are quadrupedal, and without dropping to the ground they can only free up one limb at a time for effective striking (two at a time is a bit of an XMA-ish trick for them, and the effectiveness of it is questionable in a similar way as people look dubiously at flying kicks), and without flexibility training they don't have a wide range of targets with that limb. They're low to the ground and can stand quickly, so they drop to turn their limbs toward their opponent. That's really great insight. My cats are brother and sister and exactly the same size, and the little buggers are very good at balancing on their back legs when they fight. It's hysterically funny because it resembles the old Rock Em Sock Em Robots game. I've got some fairly wacky video of them I need to upload to YouTube some day. Those cats do indeed provide hours of quality entertainment. Though I still consider myself a dog person. Respectfully, Sohan

Mine as well. We never ask Sensei to learn new material. We might hint by saying, "Wow, that's a really interesting move/kata/technique", but we would never insult him by asking to be taught material. When Sensei feels we are ready, he teaches us, and we trust his judgement that he is operating in our best interests. Respectfully, Sohan

You make a great point. Achieving a black belt is more than just performing a bunch of set moves. It is a development of character and the culmination of a period of personal improvement. So in this light, I just don't see how it is possible to experience this in 2 yrs or less unless you live, eat, and breath karate-do 24 hours a day. Please know that I really don't want to offend anyone here. The topic was up for discussion and I am trying to express my viewpoint as concisely and respectfully as possible. And I certainly don't want to demean anyone who has achieved a BB, regardless of the time frame. They might hunt me down and kick me in the shins. Respectfully, Sohan

Bushido Man, I wasn't really referring to just setting muscle memory, though that is important. I guess for me it's more the importance of understanding the bunkai of the kata and being able to actually perform the applications in a real life setting. As Funakoshi said (I paraphrase): "If you don't truly understand the bunkai of kata, you might as well be performing dance." Anyone can learn the moves of a kata in a short period of time. I could learn 30 kata in 30 weeks, I'm sure. But applying the kata with mushin in a crisis situation takes a lot longer to learn, because one must break down the kata, analyze it, and internalize it, which is more than just mere repetitions of the forms. This is what I think a BB should be able to do. So I just can't see that 18 months is a reasonable time to receive a BB. With respect, Sohan

After trying to keep up in Hung Gar last night, I'm inclined to agree with that. Respectfully, Sohan

Life is short. As long as you're not sitting alone in the dark in your underwear playing Tekken for 4 days straight, you're probably OK. Everything in moderation. Except chocolate. And baseball. Respectfully, Sohan

Patusai, you're speaking of people who have had previous martial or fighting experience, which is the exception, not the norm. I'm referring to someone who receives a BB in 2 yrs or less from ground 0, which is more likely the majority of the quick-rise BBs. Regardless, there's no way most people could master 30, 20, or even 10 kata in 18 months with BB-worthy form unless their name is Bruce Lee. The Okinawans say it takes 1000 reps to be ready to master a kata, so just 10 kata would require 10,000 reps. At ten reps per day, that's a minimum of just less than three years. And that's ten reps every single day, plus all the other techniques one is required to know, for only ten kata. Heck, we have more than 30 in our system. That's a lot of reps. I'm proud to say it takes my school 5+ years to reach blackbelt. Respectfully, Sohan