The BB of C

Hello, Last week I (am pretty sure that I) pulled a muscle in my leg while trying to practice sport kicks. I was on pavement, wearing sneakers and had already been practicing for one-and-one-half hours (in the heat). Between heat, physical exhaustion and surface friction I couldn't get myself to pivot properly. I heard a pop. That's why I'm sure I pulled it. I've been stretching it diligently every day but it's getting MORE stiff. This begs the question; should I leave it alone or should I keep stretching it? Also, it's been a while since I had a pulled muscle in my leg so I can't remember how long they usually take to heal. How long do they usually take to heal? The second question is of my arms. One is MUCH stronger than the other. It's even noticeable to the naked eye. My theory is that I have to get more diligent about lifting weights exclusively with my left arm in order to fix this. Some have said I should keep lifting with both arms. Which is correct? Which lifts should I be doing? Also, for how long each time and how frequently?

MasterPain, that was a great video. Thank you for posting.

This has gotten some great responses. Now let's see if I can understand all of this. JusticeZero says I should stick to rubber guns. Montana has an even better idea. But I don't believe I have the resources. I'm also not sure which one of what I had he preferred. Also I'm not sure if just hearing the click go off would be enough. I'm worried that we wouldn't always be able to tell where the muzzle was pointing when the trigger was pulled without there being contact of some kind. Groinstrike had a good idea with practicing techniques that break the trigger finger. Albeaver89 uses airsoft guns. Bushido_Man96 seemed to like the airsoft guns too. But ultimately it seems that I should be waiting until I'm in the presence of someone more qualified to practice these kinds of techniques. The only answer that doesn't point to this to some degree is Montana's answer where he says something along the lines of, "Any gun training is better than none." What do you think? The question now is should I keep trying or should I wait? All we've got to go off on so far is some better looking YouTube videos and practicing what we see. When we practiced with each other we added resistance.

This is an idea a friend of mine and I had a while ago but never actually got around to it. To practice disarming an attacker's handgun with a loaded airsoft gun or dart gun. The theory is that we would have to make sure were doing everything in perfect form as well as fast otherwise we would get shot. For example, I would have to move my head (or body) out of the way, grab the gun, bend it towards the thumb, all while keeping the nozzle pointed away from me. Ideally ending with it pointing back towards him or thrown on the ground behind me. While I was doing that, he'd try to shoot me. If I got hit, I did something wrong, telegraphed or wasn't fast enough. Initially I can think of two problems this might have. Airsoft pistols are shaped similarly to real pistols but I haven't actually held a pistol in a long time so I don't know how the weight of the gun compares. And though I'm not dumb enough to not wear a facemask, airsoft guns at close range can still sting pretty good. Most dart guns are shaped nothing like actual guns. Thus the mechanics of disarming a dart gun might be different from a real gun even though I would still need to do everything listed above in order to not get shot. What do you all think? Is it a good idea for practice? If so, which would you suggest we use (airsoft pistol or dart gun). Or should we stick to rubber guns? P.S. When I took Judo, my teacher told me that in a real situation, regardless of how much practice we have, chances of survival are 50/50 and I believe him.

White Eyebrow Kung Fu... 'nuff said I'm kidding. I'm sure it's a great style. It's directly descended from Shaolin if I remember correctly. Wiki it. Or you can take Isshinryu Karate. According to my instructor it translates to "One Heart System." I look at the word "gentle" with a slightly different meaning when it comes to martial arts. If I was to describe a martial art as "hard" or "external", what would you think? If you're like me you think speed, conditioning, powerful strikes. Karate is very much a competition of who is faster, stronger and smarter. I won't write the twenty page essay on my train of thoughts that leads me to the following conclusion. But I feel that practitioners of "hard" styles ultimately practice forcing their will upon their opponent. "Gentle" in martial arts (to me, keep in mind) implies a slightly different mindset. Instead of forcing my will on my opponent, I'm going to submit to his will and then show him how what he wants is wrong. My opponent can be selfish all he wants. He can have my arm if he wants it. But he's going to learn the lesson of "be careful of what you wish for because you might get it." Which could incidentally lead to him having a broken or dislocated joint, choked out or being slammed into the Earth itself. That's what "gentle" implies to me. Getting back to what the topic was originally about; names of styles. There certainly are some strange names out there. But it doesn't bother me. I'd love to learn White Eyebrow Kung Fu, Way of Harmonizing Energy, or continue my training in One Heart System if it means maintaining physical fitness and acquiring the ability to defend myself.

Just out of curiosity; when do you think the results will come out?

I do Isshinryu. Does that count as Shorin-Ryu or "Other"?

We should know that it's good to have both as they are equally valuable. The idea behind warrior's hands is like building weapons inside your hands. It's kind of like striking with a bare hand or striking with four rocks. Iron Palm practices the concepts of hitting internal organs and generating maximum power with very little distance.

When I'm in New York I've got some friends that I practice Kenjutsu and Fencing with. Nothing formal and most of what we do is discuss theory, teach each other techniques and then beat each other up with bokkens for a while. I'd never do that with a real blade unless it was a choreographed fight scene with a blunted stage combat blade. But right now I'm more concerned with keeping the sword I'd use for tameshigiri sharp and shiny.

I could imagine it's made out of some cheap steel like the rest of it. I took your advice and got most of the rust off the Buster sword as well as the little bits of rust that were on the ninjato. At some point in time I'm going to need to get some sword oil.

I've had the Buster Sword since June 2006. I've had the Ninjato since October 2010.

Heck yes. That's why I haven't started doing it on my own. It's something I'd like to get into but even though I did research and didn't find any long-term side effects; I didn't believe that there weren't any either.

I'll hold you to it. I like your username. "Still Kicking" Whatever happens, keep living up to it.

Everyone here has already said everything I would have said. Strong kiats, but not obnoxious ones (see most XMA demonstrations). Watch your stances and footwork. Transition slowly and smoothly. Try to keep your head level. Try to end at the same place you started from unless the kata specifically calls for it. Uniform aesthetics do matter but not as much as everything else. Snap your techniques. Differentiate your breathing. Differentiate the speed of your movements. A good rule of thumb that I always had was slow/smooth transitions in stances and footwork and fast strikes. ALWAYS re chamber your kicks unless they are specifically pushing kicks. Add your hips and shoulders wherever possible. This adds power in striking anything through physics. This will add power to your kata. You could help us help you by showing a video of yourself doing the kata in question. It's a lot easier for people to make suggestions when we know what style you're doing and what kata from that style. And now to yet again agree with everyone else here: PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE We can't say it enough. PRACTICE!!!

I read your whole post but still - I must say - dang! That doesn't seem logical at all that they would introduce those concepts to a beginner. For the creator of this thread; I say go for it. But be wary. I love Aikido but I've found it's a very hit-or-miss system in terms of quality instruction. Aikido has an interesting philosophy both in life and in training. Watch out for schools that do not practice randori. You'll want a physically demanding class with consistently alternating (every other day) focuses on sparring, randori, techniques and body conditioning. These apply to every school but for some reason I haven't personally met an Aikido school that practices these concepts. However; I have fought successfully trained Aikidokas. I'll just say it's a good thing I already learned how to do flying break falls.

Iron Palm Training: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jdbB8nHIYc&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uILBcQiqEco Results: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN87Rvhux70 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1QWZmfBJME&feature=related That's a summary of my research thus far.

Thanks a lot, everyone. I still don't know what I did that was so awesome but I certainly feel loved now

I used to want warriors hands. Then a combination of Mother-dearest, my eye doctor (who is also a third degree in Kyokushin) and my own Sensei, warned me about the consequences of Kyokushin style training. My eye doctor especially when I went in there and found that he had hired someone to take his notes for him because his bones were so big that he couldn't write anymore. He's in his high forties. I've been researching Iron Palm techniques. It's a Chinese method I believe. Instead of making the bones thicker by constantly breaking them so they heal over twice as thick - the mechanics of Iron Palm seem to make small breaks on the inside of the bone. So instead of making the bone thicker, it makes it more dense. Has the same result on bricks or people as Iron Hand. So far I haven't found any long-lasting side effects in my research. Before I go filling a bag with iron shot; does anyone know anything about this and possible drawbacks to it?

That stinks. I could imagine that surgery was all kinds of painful. But hey; if you keep training than maybe one day you can use that side of your hip as a weapon. If that happens, please believe I'll pop out of a nearby hedge just to say, "I've heard of deadly hips but this is ridiculous!"

You're telling me. Plus I wish I could get my hands on the guy that sold it to me. I was fifteen when I bought it so it's partly my fault for being young and stupid. But he seriously shouldn't have told me I'd be able to swing that thing around and practice with it if in reality it wasn't.

The Buster Sword is a display weapon made out of 440 stainless steel. The Ninjato is not.

Karatetournaments.com is your friend.

I prefer the ball of the foot first. When doing forms in karate, very few times does the feet ever leave the ground. During my Korean forms, however, I've never really paid attention to how my foot was landing. Maybe I should figure that out.

You both have good points. Where I'll admit that the ending sequence to Kusanku Sai has similar techniques to Kyan No Sai, I don't think they're entirely similar. There's a lot of difference in footwork. For Ps1, that's how the school I go to practices katas. We can't get our next belt until we understand the application to the katas we learned previously.

I wouldn't suggest hitting with the ball of your foot on the Mawashi Geri. You'll spare yourself a lot of training and pain if you aim with the top of your foot, toes pointed, or the shin.