DWx

Welcome Chitsu

Happy New Year I'm not so good with making or keeping resolutions but I'd guess mine is the usual, lose weight, get fitter and eat healthier.

Congrats

Good thread... I guess it'll be the usual: lose weight, get fitter.. not really specifically MA but it'll help. Haven't really thought about specific goals.. I hardly get to train that regularly now because I'm away at uni so if I can still keep my training going at this level then I'll be happy.

Well said Lupin. IMO I think its ok to teach from 1st dan-ish, maybe even earlier but whatever level you'd probably need supervision to start with. In our association we have to attend a 3-day course and pass an exam if we want to teach classes properly on our own and you can only do this from 1st dan and up. Even then you don't just get given a class on you're own straight off.

Don't have this problem in my style... we specifically have shorter belts so that they go around the waist only once

Not the greatest look in the world but I think you can get goggles made up to you're prescription. I have seen some people at tournaments wear them instead of contacts.

Sparring gear is the one thing I suggest you don't go cheap on. By all means try and find a good price but paying less can mean substandard gear which is dangerous and the stuff doesn't last nearly as long. You can end up saving money anyway if you buy a good quality set that will last.

My sister used to wear glasses for all the line work and then take them off for sparring. Although her eyesight is now so bad that she has to wear contacts to spar now because she can't really see the other person without them... its great sparring her when she forgets to put them in

I don't think a teacher should have favourites but they will have students they favour more than others, they're only human. The students who might not be really talented but try really hard and are interested (as you seem to be Blade) are naturally going to be liked by the teachers. However I really don't think its right to tell a student that they are you're favourite if they have one. Not all that nice for the other students and its not really the right signal to be sending imo. I'm in agreement with everyone who's said its not really appropriate behaviour. It may seem like friendliness but I don't think physical affection such as kisses on the cheek have a place in a student-teacher relationship. There's nothing wrong with being friends with your students but you have to draw a line on how far this goes.

Good post giridas. Dave, there are lots of ways to stretch so try a different stretch if a particular one isn't working for you. I can't really do the box splits type stretch so I use alternatives to try to stretch out the same muscle groups. Just slowly keep working at it and it'll eventually come. http://www.youtube.com/user/Elasticsteel I find this guys videos on stretching pretty useful as he explains it all well. (and he actually has an MA background too).

My parents bought me and my sister Wii Fit plus... I think they were trying to suggest something.

If you want to run even with a dodgy ankle its worth investing in some proper running trainers. They'll cushion the ride better and give you more support than just normal trainers so will be much better for you. Riding a bike is great exercise. I use mine all the time when I'm at uni. If you can bike instead of getting the bus or driving all the exercise can really add up and it gets you a lot fitter.

Welcome Lupin1

Congrats

at the chopsticks bit. I don't think it'll be too bad. Obviously won't be able to replace the original movie but I'd probably watch it. Mos of Jackie Chan's films are quite good. I think I read somewhere that Jaden actually learned wushu properly for the part?

Swimming is definitely good as its low impact. I also second the suggestion of an ankle brace, they can help loads. Maybe cycling if you can manage it? Or even just going out for walks. Crunches, push-ups and all that are good for core strength but their not necessary a good cardio work out which is what you really want if you want to lose weight. Actually those fitness/workout dvds you can get can be quite good sometimes for a bit of a workout.

Its pricey but for any ITF TKD student, Gen. Choi's Encyclopaedia is the key text. Either the condensed version or the 15 volume set. Although because of the price I probably wouldn't buy it just yet if you're just starting out. Most of the stuff you would need at a beginner level such as the patterns and general info can actually be found reproduced on the website anyway: http://www.comdo.com/information.html There are these ring-bound handbooks you can get which are really good, (like a condensed version of the condensed Encyclopaedia ) but I don't think/know whether you can get them outside of the UK: http://www.academy-sports.co.uk/ITF_Student+_Manual TBH there is so much info on the web that you probably don't need a book for the time being (although it might be nice to have one).

Welcome Turtle

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6825449/Taekwondo-monkeys-attack-trainer.html

I do think there are some advantages to a formal testing, and advantages to in-class assessment. Actually one of the good things I find about gradings is that when they're coming up, students really put that extra effort in to learning theory and working on their movements so that they can test. Of course it would be great if this happened all the time, test or no test, but having a set date does seem to help people focus a bit more. I guess the big advantage to in class testing is that, like you said, if you have a bad day it doesn't matter so much. But I think thats all part of it though, you have to make sure that even if it is a bad day, its still good (if that makes sense). Our gradings are fairly frequent, every 3 months or so, but very few people grade this fast. Just because there is a grading scheduled, doesn't mean you have to actually grade at that time, you could wait until the next one comes along and in any case you have to be invited to attend by the instructor anyway.

Where abouts are you from Jay? I've seen adverts for quite a few schools and know of people who do Hapkido here. There's quite a lot of schools down London way in particular..

Have to jump in here, crmry, I can think of tons of scenarios that might happen whilst seated and whilst not in a bar. They obviously won't happen to everyone but like tallgeese said better to be prepared than not to be. Car jacking is obviously one, how about sitting on a park bench and someone tries to mug you? or on the bus? or at a football game or concert, and some guy picks on you? or say in a fight you get pushed down so you are actually in a seated position now? The whole fight doesn't have to take place from a seated position but even if a portion of it does I think some time, however limited, spent drilling from a seated position is going to be beneficial.

Osu, I thought you might be a Sensei J from the West Cost; you have similar backgrounds. I see you like to Osu' (Please no one mention the 24 fighting chickens) WNM 24 fighting chickens? http://www.24fightingchickens.com/2008/12/31/do-you-say-osu-too-much/ http://www.24fightingchickens.com/2009/01/05/the-esprit-de-corps-of-osu-or-maybe-not/ Loads more where those came from

Welcome to KF Biskit Totally normal to feel nervous. I was terrified when I had my first lesson, felt like a complete idiot too because I wasn't all that coordinated. Like KarateGeorge and AlwaysInTraining said, even the best maist had to have a first lesson where they were probably didn't have a clue how to do it either. If you have a good teacher they'll make sure that you know what you're doing. No-one's expecting you to be fantastic at it so just enjoy it. Also don't worry about the age thing. You might be the only one your age but it really shouldn't matter.