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As a free trial offer, they'll even teach you how to tell time by looking at a cat's eye! 1) Find a cat 2) Take it into the sunlight 3) Make it sit still long enough to look in its eyes The eye wil dialate/contract depending on how bright it is outside, so get it out in the direct sun. If it is____-shaped, then it is____ o'clock. Full Moon, 6 Egg, 8 Seed, 10 Needle, 12

Any internal strike, including the iron palm and its many variants, requires you to relax. Do not tense your muscles until the moment of impact; and even then, allow your body to whip back, giving it the penetrating power. If you try to use your own force in an iron palm, you will get only that, your own force.

Or you could just, umm...eat it?

EntertheNinja's great. To elaborate on some of the points there: Ninjutsu is a very dangerous fighting art. It was not created for spirituality, fitness, art, or anything else of the sort. Just straight-out combat, usually to the death. Ninja had an amazing number of arts, everything from healing to poison mixing to escape. The tools they used were just amazing, from hand gernades to giant man-sized bomb kites. If you're in the mood to: whup a** walk without making a sound make various poisons make sleep powders make bombs out of eggshells heal people with herbs, sunlight, and accupuncture tell time by looking at a cat's eye bouce off of walls jab a hole through someone's diaphragm and much more! Then ninjutsu is for you! Man, I sound like some sort of salesman, lol.

Saif Lieuk is a Hungarian fighting art created by the Ostrogoths. It is sort of like Muay Thai, except that opponents are tied to each other on a rope, which is short enough so that they can reach each other when it's fully extended, only about 3 ft. That said, the fights are viscious brawls in which the opponents go all out, charging and tearing into the enemy, often using the rope to tie them down or strangle them. Although it's more of a sport than anything, it's amazing to watch. Tyson wouldn't last half a second against some of these guys.

In my Aikido class, we have only White belt and Black belt. I have been in there for about 11 years, and I have yet to take the black belt exam. You know why? it consists of 4 martial artists of varying arts attacking you altogether, and you fending them off for ten minutes. If you do well, you get the black belt.

Ninja were among the first to use rifles of any kind. Oda Nobunaga used firearms, so the ninja picked it up and became excellent gunslingers and riflemen, something most so-called ninja experts don't know. Monkeyninja, your defenition of ninja is different from mine. Ninja and shinobi are two different things. Ninja live by codes of honor, and shinobi live only as mercenaries. They have no ethics, and will accept any job given. Ninja obey their clan headmasters and will carry out orders based on morality and obedience. Ashida Kim has been able to teach Ninjutsu because Iga and Koga are both extinct lineages. The clans are both dead, and their arts are left to the chronicles. Anyone who wishes may teach these, providing they are approved by affiliated clans. I do not know what type of ninja you refer to, but what I know of ninja, I know from martial historians, Taijutsu practitioners, and 1200 years of Chinese and Japanese history. Being a mercenary is not the same as being a ninja. The ninja are a certain group of people, not a general term for spies/assassins. The ninja also learned several healing arts, but only to assist them in their infiltrations. Ninja are simply not the type of folks who go around helping people in need and such. Someone has been watching too much Iron Monkey and Ninja Scroll. Ninja NEVER make threats, NEVER claim to be ninja, and NEVER say so. For example, you know the fool who made RealUltimatePower.net? I found him on his message boards, tracked his ISP (AT&T) and found him. He hangs out at the Wendy's on Orchard Street in Boise, Idaho, and has a friend who helped make the layout for the site, Richard or something. By tracking him down, am I a ninja? No. Would a job like this be within a ninja's scope? Yes. Btw, realultimatepower.net is a joke. The kid's not that stupid, though he's not too bright either...

Because people are not quite as smart as psychologists would have us believe. They see punches, kicks, and pretty flashing lights, they'll go for it. Hook, line, and sinker.

Yo. Welcome to the forums, and good luck with the Shotokan.

Yo, Phrost! Try and keep Migo's sorry carcass away from this place. Enjoy!

Gis are white so you can see the blood on 'em :grin:

Haha, try telling Oda Nobunaga that ninja aren't real. Oh wait, you can't tell him, because he was killed by one! How could I forget? Basically, samurai were generally a-holes. So the peasants decided that they weren't going to take anymore crap from them. So the farmers would dress in dark clothing and go out at night to sabatoge whatever the samurai were doing, or just steal their stuff and whup them. As government corruption began to become a real problem, ninja formed in secret groups, not unlike organized crime, but more of a Robin Hood thing. As it went along, these groups began to take power and overthrow the shogunates. As the shogunates fell apart and the samurai class was broken up in the late 1800s, the ninja turned to mercenary work. They basically worked against crime lords, tyrants, and such, but soon began working for anyone. Clans formed, training became formal and honor-bound, and to hide their activities from the public and government, they became secretive. That's how it is today. There are, of course, not as many clans, and they are not as active, but they are probably there to this day. If I knew for sure, I'd probably be dead right now. Gotta love ninja. Cheerful chaps, eh?

Please do the civilized world a favor and beat your instructor over the head with a 2x4. Hehe, just kiddin', muscial kata is sad but funny. Carry on.

Are you asking how long it takes to get a piece of black cloth, or how long it takes to acquire the skill associated with a black belt? Two very different things.

This reminds me of a fight between Royce Gracie and a chap named Sakuhabara. Of course, Royce immediately took it to the ground. Saku sat on Royce's head, pulled Royce's own gi pants off, and strangled him with 'em. Lying there on his face, choking on his own gi, with a guy sitting on his head, I'm pretty sure Royce considered that cheating somewhere in there. As for me, I just laughed.

All of the styles are good, so if it's not that expensive, and it fits into your schedule, try it out. You might really like it. Shaolin training is a lot different than the drill-based stuff most people are used to.

At a younger age, you are more receptive and can learn principles and movements better. But as you get older, you learn to understand the art more deeply, and that also works in your favor. At the Shotokan dojo I attend, we had a student's father start less than a year ago. He is well into his forties, but is already much more flexible and skilled than many of us who have been in it for several years. You don't necessarily loose flexibility either. We had a friend of sifu's come in and do some Yoga with us. The guy looked like he was in his forties, at the most. And yet, here he was turning himself into a pretzel with no effort while we were struggling to hold a decent Lotus. When we politely asked him how many years he'd been doing Yoga, he replied 'since I was 54'. It turned out that he was now 76. So I suppose it depends on the nature of the art. Younger people are better physically, older people are better mentally. But it's never too late if you're in something like Pa Kua or Tai Chi.

I read over that, and I guess I said it a bit too harshly, although it had the desired effect on G95 (yeah, run little man, they're comin' for you! ).

Many schools in our area, including the Shotokan dojo I attend, don't mind having grit and blood on your gi, as long as it stays clean. What I mean to say is, if you have blood stains, dirt stains, and other such things on it, you should still clean the gi and have it looking sharp and smelling good. Give it that battered, battle-hardened look, but with good form. My sensei says that if your gi is clean and neatly pressed by the time you leave the dojo, you weren't trying hard enough.

Lol. Do not dare provoke the Gibbon, or He shall feast!

Well, then I guess there's nothin' wrong with that. Just be sure that you can keep up that level of skill. I know blackbelts who haven't been to a dojo in twenty years. The belt may be black, but their training no longer is.

What type of Chinese boxing are you referring to? The basic styles of boxing that come from Shaolin heritage are: 1)Northern Mantis 2)White Crane 3)Wing Chun 4)Choy Li Fut 5)Drunken Immortal (Branch of Tai Chi) They are all very good street defense, and in the case of Drunken, lethal.

Shotokan-Two and a half years, 1st green belt Shuai Chiao-Seven years, no belt system Nei Chia-Eleven years, senior student

Because officers usually have backup, and are usually after only one suspect. Plus, they want to take the guy down without injury. When a civilian gets into this kind of situation, he is usually outnumbered. The best thing to do is simply cause as much damage as you need to in order to get away without them following you. If you try to take one to the ground, he will pull a knife and stab you into a bloody pulp. A cop, of course, has his gun in this situation. Most people don't. Also, if you take one down, the other guy will knock the crap out of you. The ground is the worst place to be when you're attacked. You are not aiming to subdue your attacker. You simply immobilize them and run.

They CAME to you? Find out all the facts first. If they're fake, they're in it for your money. If they're real, you do NOT want to get dragged into ninja business. Read my post under 'How do you become a ninja'?