So, does this Mr. Macleod ever have people ask him about his 300+ years of experience?

Adam
The white belt who finally found something to laugh about. (all in good taste of course)

Well, some tips for the above exercise (though you probably know it already). The key is to relax. I had such a problem being tense that I was fumbling around the whole time. I believe the specific strikes taught for the exercise was a palm strike for right after catching the slap. A shote (forgive ...

Well, a new drill our class worked on recently, which is either a variant or exactly what raffi teaches, involved something similar to arm banging. The easiest way to explain it would be taking arm banging and doing it complently for speed and trying to not hit so much as touch and push, instead of ...

Well, after getting back from a long class with a guest instructor, I came away with 2 main thoughts about martial arts in general: 1. Innovation vs. Traditionalism. When asked why you do one thing rather than another, is your honest answer "because that's the way it was taught to me"? Wel...

I didn't know where else to bring this up, so... Have you ever been to a movie and thought "Wow, what a well done technique!"? For those that have, or haven't, here's my example. Highlander: end game. During a fight scene near the beginning, duncan mcleod uses a maneuver I recognized insta...

Interesting question... Though I never do pass up a good meditation, the average martial artist would want the mental training that meditation can bring. Meditation can teach you to relax and focus, which are both crutial in a real self defense situation, or even in kumite. Adam The ever so lowly wh...

Hey another reiki practitioner!! http://www.xpres.net/~gmattson/ubbs/smile.gif Fun to find kindred spirits... Anyways, I'm a uechi-ryu student in the midwest and find these forums of use to reach out to other martial artists and get some good low down discussion on things. Wish I had more to contrib...

I think I know what you're talking about... In a time honored series, Northern Exposure, they made one of these once and tossed a piano quite a ways, then dismantled it as a town.

Well, in my tiny dojo out in the middle of the midwest... Just about nobody's interested in competitions. Though probably a few, like me, get an inkling every once in awhile that they want to get involved in a combat situation. I'm talking about pretty much real one though, maybe something more akin...

Just to toss in 2 cents... I was never taught an order to tense into, but after trying it multiple times watching just for the order, I'm pretty sure it's chest then the rest of the body for me. The main focus was on after you had tensed up your entire body, so that it actually was all tense. Adam, ...

I didn't get any sound with the picture.

Adam
The lowly white belt

An exercise that *REALLY* gave me a workout that we did in class recently... Do a kata at a relatively quick pace. Then, have everyone line up and sprint from one side of the dojo and back (you should do the kata at the far side of the dojo). Do the kata again and repeat till you've raced across the...

Well, as I'm still getting used to the foot positioning for sanchin, I haven't found how far I like to turn it yet. Of course everyone should turn as they 'feel' is right for them. While watching the senior students do sanchin, I noticed that it's about a 30 degree angle that they like in general. A...

For Tony...
You were talking about being in sanchin while not being in the physical position of sanchin. I'm guessing that you are talking about mental state, but could you please explain in a bit more detail (if you can) what you meant?

Adam
The lowly white belt

For those who have done research on the martial arts before, you might have found that if a martial art comes from one area, and goes to another, it will change to fit the place that it's in. Take okinawan karate when it was brought to japan. Yes, it took a little bit, but karate changed to fit the ...