" In a modern civilization it should not be necessary for people to defend themselves. If we think that the police can't protect people then that's a problem we need to fix." Valkenar. I would like to know, in what Valhalla is it "unnecessary for people to defend themselves", and...

To me, gun ownership and use is like driving. There are a whole lot of licensed drivers out there who are a hazard both to themselves and to others. They got their license but cannot drive safely. Same with gun owners: lots of people have them, along with the false security, but couldn't fire a bull...

That sounds fair to me, because I have a fair idea of what to expect in the typical Uechi workout. But to the un-initiated, in any martial arts, they might think that "sign the waiver" means "we can wail on you, and you are without recourse if injured." You have to bear in mind t...

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year to all my Uechi-friends here and to all you lurkers too: come on in, the water's fine! Perhaps this will be the year you will begin training and maybe posting with us. If you find a teacher like "our Dana", you will indeed be in the best of g...

Hey! Watched some on my 56K dialup, will watch more tomorrow on work hi-speed. I love Seichin Kata, one of my favourites. "Hard to learn, easy to forget", as a Shodan pointed out. Definitely an enigmatic Kata, especially where it appears in the training path at exactly the right time! (To ...

I understand the vertical-fist concept, my comment/question addressed the AREA OF CONTACT:: 1st/2nd knuckles, vs. 3rd/4th knuckles. Nothing to do with the orientation of the hand really. Contact can be made either way, either orientation. My question was (ok, regardless of vertical/horizontal fist o...

"Stances and stance training are key because they teach us how to generate energy from the core while moving in the heat of battle." Bill G.

Wow. That's a real paradigm! If that actually works, then it's worth all the training time on stances.

~N~

Kudos to you for "putting yourself out there." I did the same (in all my IMperfection) just to take the plunge and share what I'm working on. (I posted my Seisan on MySpace.) It's like singing in public, and it's soul-baring in a way, isn't it? Nice if we all would! I'll take a look when I...

The latest Black Belt magazine front cover has a person punching, with the 3rd/4th knuckles making contact. Last one I saw doing this was Tony Blauer, punching a HELMETED mock-up assailant the same way, in the same magazine. I know that these photos are posed, but every book I've read on Karate tech...

I own, and have read, the entire original paperback series of novels. I also have the novel by the the author (name escapes me) who was authorized by the publishers to continue the series. (He had Bond in a Saab 900.) It's true that the novels, although well written for their time, do not contain th...

I think the older you get, the more your memories (and the artifacts that embody them) mean to you, and so these artifacts become more valuable. I don't worship my belts but a lot of great memories are embodied in them, and also, I was taught along the way to treat them with respect, and I guess tha...

I responded but deleted.

I don't wish to interrupt.

~N~

Dana: I have my white/green-striped belt, and my green/brown-striped belts neatly folded on a shelf along with a small collection of MA books. However, they are obscured by framed pictures of my deceased cat-friends whom I treasure more dearly, and would gladly have back in exchange, if only I could...

Ahmed: I'm sorry dude, but we can't post performances of songs by recorded artists, although that's mainly what we do in our bar shows. Clubs pay a yearly fee to the publishers for cover bands playing copyrighted material, but websites don't, so we can't post cover material. How about the next time ...

Sadly none of my writing is published, so, no, I'm not on Amazon. (Line left untouched.) We love sharing our music, that's what it's all about, we're all ex-pro's, now weekend warriors with day jobs. (and Karate for me!) But we take our band and music very seriously and people really respond to it, ...