tdiedwards

hi, in reply to both of the above: "Are you saying that you cannot make a 90 degree bend to the fingers?" yes, exactly. little finger goes easily to 90 degrees, but each successive finger bends less. the index finger is at 45 dgrees. i can force it an extra 10 degrees, but it springs back...and feels like a dodgy thing to be doing. "You know when you say you cant force you fist into a situation where this wont occur does it hurt when you do this or is it just physically impossible. " As far as i can tell, it's physically impossible. then again...a few things i once thought were physically impossible i can now do. maybe it's flexibility. "I have seen articles on a different way to make a fist that is not curling the fingers under, but instead laying the first 2 fingers flat against the palm to make a tighter fist, but I can't recall where. Maybe this would help you." It does help. Definately an improved fist. Thanks, Tim

hi, my fist is weird. my middle and index (especially) fingers stick out so it's impossible to make good contact with the 1st knuckles without those 2nd knuckles making contact. i can't even force my fingers into a fist where this situation doesn't occur. my brother has the same fist, so i guess it's genetic. obviously, it causes lots of problems and hurts. does anyone else have a weird fist like this, and/ or have any advice? no response thus far has been to avoid punching people whenever possible. cheers, tim

i am spiderman (silat) when i want to explore my feminine side, i am catwoman (capoeira) but really i am that stretchy guy from the fantastic 4......mainly stretching my imagination, if i'm honest

i agree. i always decline sit-ups

i have 2 friends who use their babies to test out locks and bars...obviously not with much force. hehe....but i guess it's of some value. so my advice is, don't waste money on a dummy; simply have a baby and use that

fox in a chicken shed i meant to say. a fox in a shed probably just feels a bit scared! hehe ok..take the fight to them and make them reluctant to get close. it would be nice if their superior numbers meant that they started to rely on their friends to get the job done coz they don't want to get hurt.

Be VERY, VERY proactive. Don't let them come to you. Fight it as though it's a fight you started and want to have. Have the mentality of a fox in a shed, rather than an out-numbered victim. Having said that - glad I don't have to do it! Good luck. Let us know how it went when it's over!

Are noisy tournament fighters also trying to annoy their opponents - as we see in the irritating women's tennis matches these days? Incidently, what is a Kime, please? Thanks, Tim

if it persists i'd set my mind at rest with an x-ray too. it's amazing what damage one can do to themselves when they put their mind to it. at least you'll know it's a soft tissue thing when the x-ray comes up clear.

What's the most ludicrous kiai you've ever heard someone use?

A "genuine" cambridge entrance essay question was: Is this a question? Apparently someone got admitted by simply writing: Is this an answer? Could be an urban myth. Might be true. A bloke in a pub told me...

I think it's because that's not what people do in tournaments, and a lot of people's critique of shotokan is based on the tournament style. Also, you need to get to a rather high level before you are taught those things, although some people begin to see them at much earlier stages in their training due to any number of reasons (i.e. books, intuition, accidental finding during bunkai training) Do you think some schools might be putting ground work into the curiculum earlier than before because of the way MMA has popularised grappling? maybe potential students were being lost because they didn't perceive karate as a MA type that will provide them with these techniques?

Hi Robert! Very interested to see you're experienced in Filipino MA. I studied some Silat in Indonesia but had to leave before achieving much profficiency. I will look out for your posts because I haven't seen many martial artists with this background. Yours, Tim

Yeh. spiral fracture of the humerus. slowest healing bone apparently. i think i'd been carrying a thin fracture for ages because after a drunken arm wrestle it often used to hurt during training.....for months. but sometimes it was okay so i didn';t worry about it. then one night i had another bout of arm-wrestling and there was a sound like well-seasoned wood breaking. needless to say i lost that one thanks to everyone for their encouragement. i think it's okay now. just have a bit of work to get the tendons strong again. cheers, tim

I only had cats and dogs to work off of from the family menagerie to make my previous lists. But my son just got a hamster, so who knows? With respect, Sohan Looking forward to it! i've seen hamsters fighting. they rear up and fight like sumo wrestlers in the slapping part of the fight

Hi, My guess would be to just keep repeating the kata over and over making no changes to speed or intensity. be fast when the kata requires you to be fast, do the slow and soft moves just as they should be done...but keep doing the kata many times until you are so tired you can't possibly execute all the parts perfectly. then stop so that you don't end up inadvertently teaching your body bad habits with regards to technique. that IS just a guess though. suck it and see Regards, Tim

For me, miss a few training sessions. Then watch a tournament. It used to drive me crazy so i couldn't wait for the next lesson again. Good thread idea, Tim

Thanks very much! It's a bit too far from me, but interesting to read about that style. I'm pretty sure that's the kinf of karate i should be doing - for the training, if not actual competition. Cheers! Tim

The number of plumbers, builders and carpenters i've seen use that martial arts technique! it should be called the "artisan's strike"!

This sounds like the kind of training regime I could like. Is there a Kyokushin dojo in Birmingham, UK? Thanks, Tim

Hi, Practising in your head helps too - it's not as silly as it sounds. Relax and imagine doing the kata. Repetition of this type is also beneficial - not as much as the real thing, but you can do it on the bus, during a boring lecture, or while you're kissing someone you don't really like anymore i believe musicians also use this kind of visualisation to supplement actual rehearsal Happy day dreaming Tim

So you are snapping limbs, dislocating joints, etc. all the time? Yes, he is. And i'm getting FED UP WITH IT!

from what i gather Muay Thai and BJJ would give you a very solid MMA training. But maybe you should consider a chinese martial art seeing as you live near Noyjing ....just kidding Is there really nothing close to you? Because anthing will be useful to you. You're starting very young which means if you had o study a style not usually associated with MMA you might have time to become awsome at it and become a distinctive and exciting MMA fighter...RA! good luck!

Hmmm....palm strikes. Which MAs lean more towards plam strikes than fists? i ask because my fist is a bit weird (middle + index fingers stick out a bit) which means if the punch isn't VERY precise it hurts me a lot. cheers, tim

Out of interest, did you begin your MA career with mixed training, or conentrate on one style and add others as a kind of post-graduate training? I ask because I think I hope to be cross training soon, probably in KF and Shotokan. And if I feel up to it later Muay Thai. Thanks always, Tim