ckdstudent

I'd post more, but I'd probably get lynched, given the topics I generally think up.

A weather fell on me today. It was wet.

Not really, unless you train to fight only at a distance which other people aren't used to.

Best way to end one is fairly simple, shove them as hard as you can and run for it.

I used to train with my hands open, but now I'm having to break the habit because students keep copying me. Relaxation is always a good thing, you get a lot more power out of it.

Pain is not a good thing, that's why you have it. Pain may be a part of martial arts training, but it shouldn't be encouraged.

There are other ways to build mass, just not necessarily as dramatic or instantly effective. If you want big, bulging muscles then weights are probably the way to go. If you want an average build with muscles like stone then there are other ways.

Another funny story. In New York a sleeping man half-woke to answer the phone. He reached around, grabbed something which he thought, in his dazed and hungover state, was the phone from his bedside table, and shot himself through the ear.

I agree that so long as students (and in the case of children the parents) are kept informed of the risk it should be their decision, at least in theory. Peer pressure unfortunately comes into it, as in so many other things.

When you do knuckle pushups the knuckles 'spread' under the pressure on them, tiny microfractures open up and allow fluid in which solidifies, helping the joint to harden. Very good for punching, but a very bad idea for wanting to type a lot, especially if you do a lot of them. Doesn't affect everyone, but its not really worth the risk to be honest. Whether the wood floor sounds bad or not, you're still causing injury. Pain is bad. Injury is bad. Avoid them.

How many injuries are caused by people not quite hitting that exact point?

Enamel isn't a bone though, its a coating for your teeth.

The perfection of breaking is merely a side-effect of developing power, there are many other methods that help you work on power, breaking is an impressive way to demonstrate that power.

Stretching machines can be useful (mainly in a gym under strict supervision) but as people have said, they don't give you anything that you can't get from a good stretch anyway. On top of that you get the whole macho 'Look how good my splits are *snap, scream*'

To be fair though Vietnam was fought badly, America was trying to fight a guerilla army with traditional methods, and it didn't work particularly well. The best unit for anti-guerilla action is the British SAS, given the different training methods (American special forces tend to be trained as shock troops, whereas the British are trained for prolonged, miserable, dragged out, sniping, subtle fighting which can take months or more). This is not to insult the American army, maybe the generals, but the army did everything they could and many of the people in it showed incredible courage, and even more when they returned home to ridicule and disgust from the people that they were told they had been fighting for. And all because the US government didn't like communism.

If you think about it you can probably sprint at least 12 miles per hour (about three times an average walk) and a punch is several times faster than a sprint, so I've no objections to the speed estimate for a punch, if anything it might be a little conservative. Rockets are somewhat heavier than a fist, and they're also constantly pumping out fuel to maintain that speed. Then they're also pushing against gravity although on something with as small a mass as a hand that doesn't make too much difference. Just a quick question now that I think of it, do you wear gloves to do the break, even bag gloves? Doesn't reduce your power by much, but pretty effective in preventing injury. Just wondering. As for the eight year olds doing breaking techniques, that I do have a problem with. At that age your bones aren't properly formed and are quite easy to damage for life, if they're breaking very weak boards then maybe, or if they wear good gloves, otherwise its just a bad idea. [ This Message was edited by: ckdstudent on 2002-06-04 11:17 ]

Weather? What's a 'weather' and where can I find one?

Yes, human bones can, once they are fully hardened and developed. Before that it damages them. Also just because something can withstand an impact doesn't mean its completely undamaged, there are always microfractures which are one of the main causes of calcification. Lots of people don't have their knuckles calcify because of their training but enough do that its not really worth the risk. Eight year olds doing breaks? That's a nice way to malform hands. Injuries aren't always instantaneous, most simply build up over time. Surely the fact that a Shotokan master says that he regrets having done that particular area of his training is a hint? If the board break was the hardest part of your test then you must have fairly easy tests. Actually saying that I could understand it might be the hardest, but certainly not the most demanding. Yep, just lightly tap your bones against solid objects a few times a day, and soon you'll have golf-ball sized knuckles with no feeling, just like Master Mas Oyama.

A lack of breaking does not necessarily explain a lack of power. Lots of people don't do breaking, and many of them are incredibly powerful. There's more than one way to develop power, and breaking is not the only way to measure it, not the safest. Incidentally the brick does generate a force, an equal and opposite one to the hand. Your hand is injured by the blow which is why good technique is so essential, it reduces the damage. Too much breaking causes your knuckles to break or 'spread' and calcify, so as you get older it'll be harder and harder to do anything with your hand other than make it into a fist.

I believe, but correct me if I'm wrong, that Tai Chi uses a double-edged sword in some forms. Then there's always EMA fencing.

Around 70% of any technique's power comes from the lower body, when the mechanics are performed correctly. Another way to increase power is to hold the arm back until you actually feel the stretch across your shoulders, and then throw it out.

It'd have to travel damn fast for relativity to kick in. Assuming your leg masses at 20kg, a kick which broke the sound barrier would increase the actual mass to 20.0001kg. Of course, if you're breaking the sound barrier then the kinetic energy your leg will be carrying would probably shatter their knee and tear away a large portion of the leg anyway.

I'd kind of like a battleaxe over the fireplace.

Two mill for getting hit? I gotta look into changing my career plan.

A while ago they had a commercial for a mobile phone (I think it was motorola) which consisted of people playing capoiera for a few minutes and then walking off into the sunset. I never did work out how it linked with the phone, good advert though.