Sohan

I think everyone in a grappling art says this!;^) You're right. The guys in my submission classes have always claimed this, and my karate mates say the opposite. I have rarely gone to the ground when I didn't want to, and I've become much better at stifling takedowns and punishing attempts to do so. However, that doesn't mean one shouldn't prepare themselves well to fight on the ground, which I think is why many karate practitioners say this. I believe it is to make up for the fact they know they would be grounded into hamburger against a good submission fighter. Respectfully, Sohan

See if either of these styles will be offered at a dojo at your college or in the same town. Also, speak with the instructors at each of these clubs you list, explain your situation, and see if they have a recommendation. You may be able to make your decision based on how they react to you training with them for only a year and how helpful they are at helping you transfer to a club at college. Respectfully, Sohan

A lady in my dojo has recently had a baby. Because of the contact nature of karate she decided it would be best to cut back the more aggressive movements for the first trimester, with no contact, and then lay off completely for the last 2 trimesters. She did light cardio for the last two trimesters. Her baby was born healthy and the mom is doing great. Not saying this is best for you, but it is what she did. I have run marathons with women who were only weeks from giving birth, so I suppose every situation is different. Respectfully, Sohan

Sorry, but this is simply not true. Conventional weight lifting uses very little total glucose for muscle metabolism. You would have to run for two hours straight to deplete your glucose levels enough to significantly utilize fat metabolism for energy. You would experience fatigue from phosphogen depletion and lactate buildup in your muscles long before you ever seriously diminished your muscles' glycogen stores with weight training. And doing your cardio upon waking with a low blood glucose level will only make for a lower intensity/shorter duration workout leading to reduced caloric expenditure during the session. Better to have a glass of juice to keep glucose levels up and have a better workout. Respectfully, Sohan (MS in Exercise Science)

If I understand what you're asking, I believe you're saying "Are there weapons in karate". In Okinawan Shorin ryu and Shudokan karate-do we do indeed study weapons, including the bo, sai, kama, noburikaman, tonfa, and nunchaku. Intorductory kata for the bo and sai are tokamina bo and chatanyara sai, respectfully. With respect, Sohan

I don't know, but I like my chances....and I'm no great shakes... Respectfully, Sohan

Odd story. Never heard of that happening. Respectfully, Sohan

Played guitar since I was 8, over 30 years. Have owned Strats, a BC Rich, a couple Gibsons including a vintage SG, and a Flying V. Have had the same Ovation acoustic for almost 20 years. I'm not really that good, I just love the guitar. Respectfully, Sohan

Dokken, AC/DC, Pantera, Rage Against the Machine, RacerX, Fastway, Motorhead, Megadeth, Metallica, etc. Then Liebert on flamenco guitar while enjoying some tea afterward. Respectfully, Sohan

Singer: Giorgia Music Writer: John Lennon and Paul McCartney Band: Mana Respectfully, Sohan

Respectfully, Sohan

You'll never lose a street fight because of a judge's prejudice. FWIW. Respectfully, Sohan

Never date someone who can kick your butt. :)Other than that, go ahead. Respectfully, Sohan

She is very supportive. And I'm supportive of her obsessions. Respectfully, Sohan

Welcome! Respectfully, Sohan

18 cm is only 7 inches. You may want to remeasure that arm. Also, an endomorphic body type is not skinny, it is large framed with a propensity for mass, both fat and muscle. I think you mean you're an ectomorph. If you have 7 inch arms, that would certainly explain your strength deficit. Regardless, muscle strength is not proportional to size. I have never had greater than 16 1/2 inch biceps yet I've benched over 400 in drug tested competition. Learn how to train for strength; maybe an experienced lifter at your school or the local gym would be willing to help you out. Also, read as many books as you can about strength training. Good luck! Respectfully, Sohan

Nope. We don't attract that element. Respectfully, Sohan

You might have a muscle strain, possibly in your hamstrings. Pretty common even if you're stretching regularly. Go easy on the technique for a while and see if it disappears with time. Also, it never hurts to ask your instructor about it. Respectfully, Sohan

The "victim" in the video was in no way representative of a trained martial artist. Not a good way to illustrate their point. It was, however, fun to see a little long chamber practice between the two karateka. Respectfully, Sohan

Always work the basics. They form the basis for all of the more complex technique. Also, nothing beats good old conditioning. Train, train, train. Respectfully, Sohan

You name your child Matsumura or Itosu, and you're not even Asian. You go out dancing and end up doing kata on the dance floor. You use sais to toss your dinner salads. You make karateforums.com your home page on your browser. You make your children refer to you as "Sensei". You're no longer welcome at Habitat for Humanity because you can't resist breaking all the wood. Sensei asks YOU for clarification on a technique. You legally change your name to Chuck Norris. When there's a riot, the police call YOU for extra weapons and protective gear. Respectfully, Sohan

I believe Johnny Knoxville allowed himself to get shocked by a stungun on his MTV show one time. Ouch. Respectfully, Sohan

Congratulations! Respectfully, Sohan

I think the term they used to describe it was "graphic novel". Respectfully, Sohan

I understand your point, but work is work. If you do cardio first, you will not have adequately recovered when you do weights, and your lifting will be somewhat diminished in capacity. You can't refuel quickly enough to completely recover as you would have if you hadn't done cardio. What ends up happening is your lifting capacity is diminished. A diminished lifting capacity means less volume, and less volume equals less calories burned. Try doing a max bench sometime after an hour on the treadmill, and then the next week do the max without any cardio before. I'm sure you'll lift more without the cardio. It's the same the other way around; not too many successful road runners pump iron before a big 10k. Whatever is performed first diminishes the work capacity of the second, thus reducing the amount of work that can be performed. And the energy required to perform work is expressed as calories. Therefore, if your work capacity is diminished you will burn fewer calories. Regardless of whether you do weights first or cardio, the total workout caloric expenditure is the issue, and it doesn't really matter energywise which comes first. Respectfully, Sohan