Shui Tora

Well; mine " Shui Tora " literally means " Water Tiger " simply because I was born in the month of the Tiger, and (from websites / research) the year, day and month makes me a Water Element... So that's what it means! (Neat hey!? )

Opps! Sorry about that... My PC was playing / freezing and so I must've clicked on it twice! Any moderators there, do delete one of the posts! Watashi no machigai! My mistake!

^ Woah! Seeing those pictures, I could never get my leg high enough to even do a Ushiro Geri at the head; nor even a; ushiro mawashi geri, katato geri etc (you get the idea!) But I must say, that is pretty impressive! Nice link PAL!

You can always rely on Wiki!; That's how the Pinan Series were formed...

You can always rely on Wiki!; That's how the Pinan Series were formed...

There are currently no medicine that can help with ETS... However, it would be advisable to have a week off work (and go somewhere like a forest for 5 days) to competely purge your lungs of the smoke particles... Or like Pastuai said, Dextox your body. You might also need to consider about changing jobs, being in an environment like so, and you being aware of your health, that you should look somewhere else... HOWEVER; that is YOUR choice...

Not all the time. Pressure points do work in combat situtations, such as; joint manipulation, arm locks, leg locks etc. In situtations that I have been in, they have worked well. If you only know a little about pressure points, then they cannot work for you. However, if you study them (Kyusho) and know where they are, and how to work them, then they won't fail. Some of the nerve points (not all pressure points) are near the surface of the skin. So an increase of blood floor will push them nearer to the surface. I agree with what you are saying, however, to deal with this, the defender must attack a pressure point in a relaxed state, by doing so you can attack with maximum impact. Don't also forget that both people will have adrenaline in their systems, and so the defender will have, like you said, a greater pain tolerance, enabling him/her to attack harder. This is true. However, if you consistantly attack a pressure point, then you'll gain hypersensitivity to that surrounding area. Yes, people wiht more body muscle will have a tolerance gap, however, like I have said before, you have to have an understanding of how to work them, and attack them. Some points require you to push down, others to push up, and some to flick, to cause a reaction. Not all respond to a punch like some do. A good point... In Karate (as an example) we are taught to be in a relaxed state, and that our feet and joints and fingers must too be in a relaxed state. Try striking a pillow with relaxed fingers, and then again with tension; you'll see that with tension your fingers will hurt more than being relaxed. Therefore in a fight, your hands and feet will do better with the little blood flow (like you mentioned) than a continuous flow. There being an advantage! It depends on the attacker. You'll see from his body language whether or not he wants to smash your face in, or if he wants a fight. If he wants to smash you, then he'll grab anything that he can get his hand on, and hit you. If he wants a fight, then he'll keep his distance, in hope of drawing you in. In any situtation you have to have a level head. 9/10 times, your attacker will be tensed, and it is easier to manipulate his pressure points, joints etc because being relaxed, you will follow where it goes, being tensed means that your body is not in its proper "jelly" like state, and so there is an increase in breaking joints because your body is rigid and not relaxed like it usually is. Yes, some pressure points do cause pain, but they are less effective. Heart meridian, lung meridian are extremely good. The Heart meridian begins in the armpit, and by scientific evidence, that is where your axillary artery / brachial artery is and both are secondary blood supply to the heart. Therefore, hitting / striking them will cause severe pain (there are a large amounts of nerve endings there too, such as the Latissimus Dorsi and the Radial as well.) Both will work well... However, there are more important pressure points to remember, like the Heart and Lung as well as the triple heater. There is no use in trying to remember the stomach points, basically, you'll hit someone in the stomach, and chances are you'll hit a small collection on pressure points! The points that I mentioned above are extremely useful when dealing with punches and kicks. If you can get in the inside of the enemy's line of attack, you'll have a high success of hitting some good pressure points. In the end, it is up to our own opinion to say whether pressure points are effectice / mystical etc or not. For me, there are effective, but not mystical. Why? Simply because you look at how the body works, and you can see how you can manipulate the joints etc. Look at where the nervous and blood systems are in the body and you can see where arteries and nerve endings etc can too be manipulated. To me, they aren't mystical, they've been proved by Sicence to work, so in theory, yes; they are Biomechanics.

I do not do TKD... But to answer your question, I train four times a week (excluding weekends) and training more in a week does help. If you can get another class in the week for training, then that is fine. By this way, you'll cover most of your syllabus, might even learn some advanced techniques etc, and even go over stuff in class as of time... It all helps!

Okay... Firstly, welcome to KF! I'm Shui Tora... I do not do TKD, but karate-Do Shotokan... However, I have picked up some stuff about TKD and know some of the answers to your questions. 1.) No; it isn't too late for you to start Martial Arts... After all, it is for everyone to join. At your age, you'll be in an adult class... So you'll probably be the youngest there! 2.) Only if you get thrown on the floor by a 70 year old! Not in bit is it embarrassing... More enjoyable actually! 3.) It'll depend on your grade... Most likely after 3 years of training you'll be able to compete in tournaments (you'll need to learn adavanced patterns, so hence a higher grade than white belt) 4.) If you can socialise well, then you'll make loads of friends! Most of the people that I hang out with are from my Dojo, and some of those go to my college... 5.) Firstly, look at prices. If some of the Dojo's are asking for high fees, forget it! These are called McDojo's and basically you pay a high fee for a balck belt, with little training involved. Secondly, ask the Sensei's of the Dojo's if you can watch a couple of classes... That way you can see what you are getting yourself into! Finally, be prepared to train anywhere! Literally! I train mainly at home (apart from the Dojo), but if I have to learn a new kata, or remeber some old katas for a competition, I will train anywhere. Hope that answer your questions. If you would like to know anything else, do PM me or post again. Shui Tora. P.S; Enjoy it! Learning a MA is good fun, and gets you outside as well as make you fit and healthy. It helps in difficult situtations too!

Hmmm... When I think of what a Tiger is, they are usually;cunning, quick, and have loud... So; when trying to be a tiger, be the same (not exactly) like; be cunning (think!), quick, sharp moves and have nice loud Kiai's...

Welcome to KF James! How is Oxford? Nice and sunny? All the info about Tae Kwon Do is here! Just ask! Is that your car by the way? Shui Tora

Well; saying that... One time I remember eating chocolate and pizza together.... Not a very good mix! Lets say that my stomach had a mind of itself!

yeah; it sure does! If you want to seriously harm him. Hitting someone in the armpit, in such a game that you describe, is highly dangerous, especailly using the Crane Fist... The Heart Point 1 (the armpit) is sensitive; there are loads of nerve clusters there, as well as a continuous blood supply... All it takes is to misjudge the distacne with a "controlled" punch, and he'll be on the floor... Literally.

My Sensei has asked me to write an article for a local newspaper... I have called it; " The First Mudansha View " as my Sensei mainly writes, and I'm not a black belt yet, so hence the title... Thing is though; I don't know what to write about! I know that there are to be about three topics per paragraph... Paragraph one: Intro / Past history of MA Paragraph two: What Karate Means to me (see extract below) Paragraph three: ? With the last paragraph, should I talk about Master G. Funakoshi saying that; " when you begin Karate, you are stepping through the gates of learning? " And what I aim to do in the future? As well as cross-training and meeting others in different styles of Karate? Then how should I round it all up? Here is the second paragraph... Karate-do means a lot to me. In one way it is something that I enjoy, a sport; yet in another, something that will (and has) helped me out in difficult situations. Karate is one of those “hobbies” that if you are willing to put time and effort into learning something completely new; then you’ll gain something out of it. It isn’t a style that you can just turn up every so often and still expect to increase in rank. People think that Karate is all about striking and trying to knock out the opponent, in a way; yes but that isn’t always right. There is a lot more to learn about Karate, I have only scratched the surface, and I aim to continue to look deeper into what karate-do is really about, and what it is to be a real Karate-ka. Attitude helps, and so does discipline. Bowing after a Kumite match to your opponent shows discipline, and etiquette. Bowing when you come into the Dojo shows respect to your Sensei: and your discipline to not using techniques for other than self-defence. If your heart is not in it, then why continue on? As you can see; there is still some more to add in... But that is the basics... Any thoughts / suggestions are welcomed! And I'll post the final article up when it is finished! Cheers!

Well; I said that I would keep you updates on what happened, and I got the results back from the blood test. Everything is negative (a good thing), I have good white blood count, my cholesterol is average... But my weight is low! My mum thinks that my Doc has left out a test to do (as she herself is a Doc) and so we are visiting a Hospital (booked by my Doc) for other tests... This isn't going too well at the mo...

^ Yeah; it's good to listen out to the rhythm of a song, then you can let your body go with that beat... Seems kinda silly, but in some circumstances it works!

Not a bad idea, however; they are bigger than you... and will probably have better adominal muscles than you... Aim for the groin area, and the upper thigh near the groin area... (There are some good pressure points roud that area.) If it helps, hit/strike at any joints, or hit at the knee caps sideways (so that they will collapse to the left/right other than forward), aim at the ankles etc... Basically, aim under the torso... That way, you can bring him down using his own weight. Yep! I agree with that! Keep hitting... full out! Same here too! But I'm a male! I find that when I sparr/fight I keep on my toes, and bounce round... Also I go around in circles (confuses the enemy; though I don't get confused! ) Then when they begin to slow down, that's where you attack! Also (I found this out from experiment in kumite) have an area left defencless... Like your chest area... Don't guard that area, that way you know that your opponent will try to attack that area, and so you have something to defend against... Its no use having everything guarded, or otherwise you cannot counter easily... yeah? Try it out... It works!

I just eat! Well; so do I... So I s'pose that saying has gone out of the window! Here's a good one!; " I like Pigs, Dogs look up at us, Cats look down at us, but Pigs treat us as equals... " ~ Winston Churchill

Are you going to start up a new style just for the elderly, calling it; " Old Man Kung Fu " ? (No offense to those of this particular age...)

I know that this isn't a Karate Style, but I think Tae Kwon Do uses that (not often) but sometimes... A friend of mine came to my school to do a Demo about it, and how he punched was in a circular movement... After all, Tae Kwon Doists mainly use their feet...

I play the piano (for a long time!) and most of the songs that I play (from RPG's like Final fantasy and anime films like Spirited Away) are mostly Japanese Composed anyway! When I meditate (time pending) I create the song that I want to hear... I then create myself playing that very tune on the piano. I s'pose you can look at it this way; playing the piano, you have to have subtle, but following movements to your hands... A bit like Karate (aka; Tensho kata) Playing the piano also allows you to strengthen your fingers and joints... very handy! (excuse the pun!) So; in my view, i think that both music and MA do go together... No matter what the instrument...

" Do we live to eat? Or eat to live? "

Way-hey! Well done Alsey! Good work!

I wouldn't worry about it! You have a lot more power than the kids (not an excuse for anything) but remeber that they are only kids, and so the syllabus that your Sensei is teaching isn't covering the whole thing of your art... My Sensei did this... All the dangerous things (takedowns, striking points etc) were included in the Adult syllabus along with the drills etc, but when you look at the Child Syllabus, all you see is the kata and drills and a bit of sport fighting... No lethal/harmful techniques for the kids! So therefore, you will be learning a lot more than the kids, and so you'll be more advanced than them... Just don't worry (easier said than done) but try it. After all, MA is for everyone of all ages... Not just the children...

Bah! - I can't do the same thing! But that doesn't mean that I should worry... Is there any point in mine (or your) life when you are going to need to use that in a self-defence? However, just try and stretch down to your toes every day... That way, your hamstrings will get used to the tension and you'll be able to go lower...