Zorbasan

i think she is refering to the new game, not movie

the boards in question are usually 30cm by 30cm (or for the americans out there, 1 square foot) board breaking can teaching target as well, esp in TKD where we did board breaking with some of the more spectacular kicks (jumping spin kicks etc)

just going on your sums there at 50 situps per 10 minutes and 20 push ups in 10 minutes it will take you nearly 6 hours to complete your routine, plus you have school, soccer, tennis and MA training as well? do you sleep?

i currently only go once a week due to monetary constraints. but hope to increase that in the near future.

I think a good combination of kata to do would be one of the teki katas and basadai as my sempai has explained, they are opposites, teki is a quick "pretty" kata, and bassai dai is a strong "ugly" kata.

hands up majority of the time, at least 1 anyway. sometimes i try to draw in by openeing up but not often.

i think the money issue is a legitimate one. I would seriously love to take up Ten Pin Bowling seriously again also, but i need approximately $1,000 worth of new equipment (minimum) plus it would be approx 25 - 50 dollars a week depending on how much i do. i know for a fact that we can not afford it regardless of how passionate i am. another thing i would love to do is get a pilots license, and get a boat, and a motorbike etc etc. see the point. no point arguing about it if it means that by doing your passionate hobby you wont be able to have the bills paid.

this kick is probably my favourite, people never seem to see it coming, being more apt in TKD than in karate currently, i tend to do it a bit differently in that i kick with the heel and follow it thru rather than with a retraction, but in ju kumite (sp?) people can never seem to pick when its coming. i was there when that kick was executed and he really had no idea what hit him. oh and jiffy, Ray is a lot taller than you so the extra lean was probably to get the extra height needed to reach his face.

I do see azulas point as well, from a students point of view there is nothing worse than practising any kind o kumite with a partner that is not enthusiastic about being there. ill admit there have been times where i havent been the best partner, for what ever reason. but when your partner doesnt really want to be there, it does affect your training as well, and makes it harder to improve. having said that, there is nothing wrong with a bit of repetitiveness either. there is no need to rush, but if the people you are partnering are hindering your improvement, maybe something could be said to the instructor.

reminds me of samo hung in an episode of martial law Fitness Instructor: Looking a bit out of shape there cheif. Samo: No, just fat.

after watching the making of ong back the other night, there is one scene where this style of fighting is used, and while i know that it is all choreographed, people still got hurt when contact was made.

recently i was trying to find another TKD school and i emailed 1 particular school who told me that if i wanted to join them, i would have to give up Shotokan so i can focus "100%" on my TKD. Jiffy mentioned to me (outside the forum) to ask if they had issues with me going to a gym to train outside TKD. if not then it is only because its a different art that they are against it and nothing to do with TKD concentration.

im not sure im a fan of his influence in the MA (esposito), i saw an article in some magazine, and i wasnt impressed by some of the things said.

agreed, this is especially true in regards to TKD. a lot of people say it has no street effectiveness, when all they see is Tournament TKD. let me tell you, Self Defence TKD can be very effective, if done correctly.

i think you could include bruce in the "masters" category.

yeh, thats the problem with being way down under. it costs a lot for all the good seminars when they do bring them over too.

well done good luck in your adventure.

i think an instructor should also teach a bit of history/theory of the art. its good to know a technique but it is better to know why a technique is done the way it is, and the different ways it can be used, some of which are not so obvious.

my black belt never frayed, and wore it for about 5 years before i stopped. however, senseis belt looks like its going to fall apart, and it suits him. frayed belt comes with age, i rekon a cruddy belt on a 25 yo BB would look silly.

i dont know what gets me motivated. i think training gets me motivated. ie, if i dont train for a while i dont worry about it. then the day i go back im all alright, lets get in to it. then if for some reason i have to miss a lesson or 2, im empathetic until my next class weird.

i think its especially good for an instructor to have knowledge of other arts, if not for the fact just to have knowledge. if you are a shotokan instructor and you get someone from another art saying, thats crap we do it this way its better, it would good to be able to explain why you do it that way. if you have knowledge in multiple arts (not necisarily the one that the questioning student does) you will have a knowledge on why different arts do things different ways and be able to provide a better answer than someone who a strict 1 style.

if you wanted to learn some flippy kicks in an MA, take up capoiera. before people say its not effective, if done right, i beleive it can be very effective. its done as a dance cos the slaves that developed it werent allowed to fight, but take it back to somplicity when required and some of those kicks could be deadly.

i lot of people have misconceptions about the MA. i remember 1 guys dad saying he wouldnt let his son do it cos he is against violence. i thought what a load of crap, but couldnt convince him otherwise. once you get people in they will fit into 3 categories. 1 they will love it and it will become a part of them 2 they will think its not for them and leave 3 they will do it for a while, not practise outside the dojo and leave in 6 - 12 months.

i agree in fact, the point of karate kid isnt in the karate at all, its in the wisdom of mr miyagi. as for the crane kick, as miyagi says "if done right, no can defence" tho in no. 2 chozen defends it nicely.

i had my chest waxed once, never again. i got discount at the place i went cos i was so entertaining.