Sohan

Oh. My. That was horrible. With respect, Sohan

Sounds good. I do much the same kind of shake, but I usually leave out the peanut butter (calories and fat) and substitute Milled Flax Seed and add canned pineapple and juice. A cup of non-fat yogurt gives it extra protein, calcium and zing. With respect, Sohan

Good advice as always, bushidoman. With respect, Sohan

I am 40 years old, and I hardly find my achievements in competition, whatever the sport, to be without value. Your obsessive need to be "special" and to "stand out from the others" at such a young age indicates you lack the maturity to achieve mastery in martial arts. Certainly you should give your sport training your best effort and let any accomplishments you achieve speak for themselves, but you must first discover the intrinsic rewards of participating in martial arts or you will eventually find your achievements empty and without lasting meaning. With respect, Sohan

Holy Cow!! Tell me you are not serious! I may be exagerrating slightly.... http://www.claxtonfruitcake.com/ With respect, Sohan

Don't go at exactly the same pace for the whole run. Increase your pace slightly at times, and at others just try to get in a groove or rhythm. Just make sure the overall pace on your runs is conversational; that is to say you should be able to carry on a conversation with a partner (if not, you're going too fast overall). I understand that running will be a challenge for you. It is for most people over 200 lbs---that's why they offer a "Clydesdale" division in many road races. Keep at it and think positive and it WILL get easier. With respect, Sohan

If anything, our black belts are held at a higher standard than everyone else. There is always a reputation to uphold, and respect for the belt begins with the one who wears it. With respect, Sohan

I personally enjoy training with lower ranking belts, particularly if they have less control and are bigger, stronger, or faster than me. It breaks my rhythm and makes me respond more effectively to all styles of attacks. If I get whacked in the face by a greenbelt who lacks control, then I should have blocked or evaded better in the first place. Just my 2 cents. With respect, Sohan

Not directly, but since much of our system has origins in Chinese Gung Fu, and we study Hung Gar at the same school, we are able to view our art with more understanding of the animal style origins than if we did not. With respect, Sohan

Great news! Keep it up! With respect, Sohan

Make sure you run in a real pair of cushioned running shoes. Too many heavier runners destroy their knees by training in the wrong shoes. Also, as often as possible, choose a running surface that is as forgiving as possible to your joints. A treadmill is great, so is grass, wood chips, gravel or a dirt trail. If these aren't available, asphalt is ALWAYS better than concrete. I'd rather not run at all than destroy my knees on concrete, which gives about as much as Ebeneezer Scrooge. Try to stay off your feet as long as you can after your run to give your knees a chance to recover, and run some cold water over them after your run as well--your knees will praise you for it as they build up and become stronger. Bushido, from what we've talked about, you might want to concentrate on building a base of 2-3 miles 3x/week before you spend TOO much time on the faster stuff, in order to keep injury risk to a minimum. With respect, Sohan

One stone is 14 lbs. Our friend weighs only 99.6 lbs. He likely does need to gain some weight, unless he is less than 5 feet tall. With respect, Sohan I am 5ft 8 inches tall............ I do weight training, I use 6kg but when I feel the right time, I lift 18kg and 400lb on legpress I eat anything, and yes I do eat because I am getting little heavy but I need to be 9 stones or 10 I get 7-8 hours of sleep but on weekends I get like 10 - 12 hours of sleep My family are not on the thin side, they are normal, I am the skinny one out (my family are impressed with my strength and super-human abilities:) THere is no stress for me, everything is all.... I use an inhaler for asthma If otherwise you are in good health (I have asthma too, though I no longer require an inhaler) then my best recommendation is eat frequently, choose calorie-dense foods such as nuts, whole dairy, dried fruit, and meats, and to consume as many foods in shake form as you can (it can be easier to consume more calories in a drink than in solid form). Eat frequently to stimulate your appetite, and avoid too much fiber, as it will make you full and stifle your appetite (just the opposite of what you will need when you're my age). Get plenty of sleep during the week, not just on the weekends, and get a trainer or experienced friend to put you on a body-building-style mass-building weight training routine, since just any old weight training may not be the best means to help you gain muscle mass. If all else fails, I'll send you some Claxton fruitcakes from Georgia---it's that time of season, and I expect I'll be inundated with them from clients. They have about 4000 calories per ounce and could make Steve Buscemi obese. With respect, Sohan

Sounds like you're off to a great start, TigerDude! Here's a tip for getting that sub-60 10K: no matter how much or how little you run overall, always include some running that is somewhat faster than your regular pace during the run, preferably in the second half of the run. And as you gain more experience and increase your mileage, you can make the faster-paced running a race-pace effort. Essentially you get faster in running by three basic means: more mileage (a comfortable 10K race usually requires 20+miles per week for a couple months prior), faster running in training, and choosing courses that have 25 degree downhill grades . The thing is you can't run all your miles fast or you risk eventual injury. Keep in mind a little speed goes a LONG way in making you a faster runner. The easiest thing is to take your regular run, let's say a 3 miler, and for the second half alternate a minute at a faster-than-normal pace (definitely not a sprint) with a minute at an easier-than-normal jog for the rest of the run. You will teach your body to run at a faster pace and boost your oxygen capacity without unduly stressing your body. There are two races in Atlanta I will be running that are great for getting a PR in a 10K---the Charles Harris 10K in Tucker in Feb and the Sandy Springs Lightning 10K in early March. I helped my Sensei run a 55 to qualify for Time Group A with one of those races. They are very fast courses that I highly recommend. Hope you find this helpful. With respect, Sohan

Tough move. I can do it now, but I certainly looked silly for a while until I was able to complete a good one. With respect, Sohan

One stone is 14 lbs. Our friend weighs only 99.6 lbs. He likely does need to gain some weight, unless he is less than 5 feet tall. With respect, Sohan

Flat sprints are good (great for speed), but don't forget to sprint hills also (great for speed-strength). And although sprints are great training for TKD tournaments, a few easy miles on the road 3 times a week as well can do wonders for enhancing your recovery from the harder stuff. Mix up your sprint distances, and remember the harder the sprint effort, the longer the rest between and the lower the total training volume. For example, all out 200 meter sprints should have up to 3-4 minutes rest in between (and should be few in number), whereas 400 meter runs at about 90% effort can be done at a 1:1 work/rest ratio, and you can do up to 10-12 per workout (build up to this, though). Use active rest rather than just standing around between runs. One last thing, don't do sprint training more than twice per week. What ever other running you do, keep it easy, and don't do other high intensity lower body work (ie weights) on the same day as sprinting. With respect, Sohan

I've run several marathons, including Boston. Let me know if you need help setting up a program, and we can post it publicly here on this forum for others to benefit from. It takes some planning to successfully run a marathon, and you will want to do it without undue stress. Might as well enjoy it if you're going to do it. I also recommend the Marine Corps Marathon in DC. It's one of the best races in the US and really gives you goosebumps to complete. Did you happen to get a chance to run the Peachtree Road Race while you were in Iraq? They usually offer a version there for military personnel, but I'm not sure if you were near enough to participate. With respect, Sohan

We'd probably need to know more about you to determine how best to help you gain weight. What kind of training do you do? And how often? What do you normally eat in a day? How much sleep do you get? Does the rest of your family tend to be on the thin side also? How much is a stone? (just kidding) Are you under a lot of stress with school, job, family, etc? Do you take any medications? Answer as many of these questions as you feel comfortable with so that we can help you. With respect, Sohan

I think I just heard Faith Hill scream "WHAT???" but she may have just been joking... Wow, thanks very much to everyone who voted. And a big congratulations to bushidoman96, KarateK, and gheinisch as well! I always try hard to be a quality participant of this site and to always do my best to give back as much as it's given me. The contributions and insight of everyone here have been extremely helpful in my own training, and I really appreciate the respect that everyone has for each other. My thanks to Patrick and the many members here who have been so welcoming, and I am eagerly anticipating my "sophomore" year here at KF! With respect, Sohan

OK, now that I've changed my own training focus for the next few months (I want to run a quick 10K in February), I was wondering who else runs here at KF. Here is your opportunity to talk running shop, and let's hear what your weekly mileage is, what your goals are (health, racing, MA performance), how you train, etc. I am currently running 30 miles per week, building up to a peak of 50 by mid-Feb. I do most of my training at an easy 7:30-8:00 pace, with two speed sessions per week where I do 1-3 minute intervals at 5:30-6:20 pace (the faster the pace the shorter the interval). I have already lost about 10 lbs in training (currently 184), and hope to race at 175 in Feb with a goal of a 37 minute 10K (@6:00 pace). I do strength and conditioning training twice per week, core conditioning three times per week, and train daily for an average of an hour on MA skills (cutting back slightly to allow for running training recovery). I have two races at the end of Feb and the first week of March I am targeting for my goal, which would allow me to be seeded for the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta on July 4th. So, enough about my running. How about you? If you don't have a specific running goal, here is a good time to create one and make it public, whether it is an upcoming race or just the goal of running a couple miles per week. I look forward to hearing from you. With respect, Sohan

Look at the glass as half full. You now have time to develop your best kicking techniques ever. With respect, Sohan

Sometimes you don't know what style will suit you best until you try it. As a former boxer, I never thought I would enjoy Hung Gar Gung Fu, but I've been doing it for about a year now and really enjoy it, and I find it really ties in well with my Karate training. You should ask yourself a few questions first: -What do I REALLY want from Martial Arts? -How much time do I have to train? -What kind of budget do I have for training? -How do I feel about physical contact? -Am I in good shape already? Do I need the MA to get me in shape? -Since I live in a tough area, how important is it that my training is reality-based? -How qualified are the instructors in my area? -How far am I willing to travel to train? Then try a few different classes and get some perspective. Most good schools provide at least a trial period to allow you to decide if the school is right for you. Good luck! With respect, Sohan

Popping and cracking in a joint is usually no cause for concern unless there is pain associated with the cracking. There are three major causes of joint "cracking": gases escaping the joint, articulation of the soft tissue, and arthritic damage and bone spurs in the joint. In the knee you can experience cracking when the patella is slightly out of alignment and it rubs on the adjacent tissues. However, if there is noise that is associated with pain this might indicate that there has been damage to the articulating surfaces of the joint. Noises can be caused by tears in the meniscus, but they are often caused by an excessively large or even loose meniscus which may snap over the other structures in the knee as the knee bends and straightens. I was participating in competitive masters swimming in the summer of '05 and noticed an increasing popping and cracking in my shoulders (I was a backstroke specialist, which can be very hard on the shoulders). What was occurring was I was getting calcium deposits in my shoulder from overuse. When I cut back on my swimming the cracking ceased. So, as you can see, there are many reasons for noises in the joint, and the best advice I can give is to warm up the affected joints thoroughly before training, stretch regularly, perform strength training to maintain the integrity of your joints, and never overtrain. Best of luck. With respect, Sohan

You have a great attitude, karatekid. I'm sure you'll have a lot of success with your "new" dojo. Best of luck! With respect, Sohan

Roller blading is great for developing ankle strength without the pounding. You should also consider getting a dumbbell and doing single leg standing calf raises--they really helped me rehab a broken/sprained ankle I suffered in a motorcycle wreck many years ago. As far as MA goes, I have found my karate practice has done wonders for developing balance and strength in my joints. Kung fu is also a good option as it develops grace and agility and helps you to develop better movement mechanics. With respect, Sohan