Disqus - Latest Comments for blackbeltmama

Re: Stuck in your job?

blackbeltmama — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:39:16 -0000

That is hysterical.

Re: A Street Thug Who Makes Trouble At the Wrong Doorstep

blackbeltmama — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:01:09 -0000

As I watched this, I kept thinking that when the attacker is jumping around like an out of control banshee, why didn't the guy simply go back inside, close and lock the door, and call the police? While I admire his patience, I don't think I could have stood there and let that guy put hands on me like that. As a woman, my perspective may be completely different though.

Re: Black Belt Responsibilities: Are There Any?

blackbeltmama — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:21:44 -0000

As an extremely new black belt, I'm having a severe case of "I'm not worthy" business going on. Personally, I think you hit the nail on the head here. There is a HUGE responsibility as a black belt that can feel very overwhelming to a newby. Responsibility to know your stuff so that you can teach it to others, the responsibility to teach people things as they were taught to you, and a responsibility to continue with your training. After all, black belt is only the beginning. I feel a great sense of accomplishment, especially coming back from a bad injury and two surgeries and having been promoted to black belt, but there's nothing like a good karate class to let you know that you're just another karate-ka striving to learn something and continue to improve. As I wrote on my blog, the black belt doesn't have any special powers. It's simply represents that you're ready to take your training to the next level. Personally, I think that getting your black belt and then dropping off the face of the Earth at the dojo is selfish. You continue to train because you love it, but you also continue to train out of a responsiblity to yourself, other students, and your teachers who've put a ton of time in teaching you all that you know.

Re: Do All Martial Artists Love Violence?

blackbeltmama — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:48:40 -0000

Great post! It's so true what you say about the most reserved people being the ones capable of inflicting the most pain. Kyoshi Hayes comes to mind. While I certainly enjoy learning a new "nasty" technique (last night for example), watching ultimate fighting is not my thing. I hate seeing someone else bloodied beyond all recognition. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that I've seen it for real (not in a ring) and it wasn't pretty.

Did I mention I despise sparring? Oh yeah, you already know that. ;-)

Re: So Long, and Thanks for Blocking!

blackbeltmama — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:26:49 -0000

Hmm, this sounds like class last week. Very familiar. ;-)

Re: Get Rid of Two Common Martial Arts Fears Once and For All

blackbeltmama — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:33:58 -0000

Great post, and thanks for your visit and comment the other day. I think the fear of hitting is especially present in a lot of women. We're raised with people telling us not to hit and although I know I don't have the problem, I know there are a lot of women who, even when attacked, have trouble hitting back.

Re: Hikite – The Withdrawing Hand

blackbeltmama — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:01:56 -0000

"Or is that just me"- ha ha. I could tell you were going there last night with the one waza too. You would have enjoyed class the other night when we were doing bunkai for the waza. Bob and I were coming up with some cool stuff for some of the waza.

Great post-lots to think about.

Re: New E-Book Coming Soon!

blackbeltmama — Thu, 14 May 2009 22:07:28 -0000

Great idea! I'm looking forward to reading it!

Re: Building and Rebuilding Bunkai

blackbeltmama — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:35:37 -0000

Great post! I think that a lot of people (like me for example) get stuck sometimes (ok, always) because I'm unsure how far I'm allowed to stray from the kata to demonstrate my knowledge of the kata/bunkai. It's fun to play around, but when you're preparing for testing, how far of a stretch is too far of a stretch? Do you have to address every little pivot and move? Ugh, that's what trips me up frequently and I tend to limit myself and what I allow myself to do. I want it to fit so nicely into that kata box, that I won't allow myself to explore. So, how much variance is too much? My fear is that I do my bunkai and then people say, "What kata was that anyway?"

Re: Athlete of the Year!

blackbeltmama — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:32:01 -0000

You might want to join our little group here: http://aclblogs.ontoplist.c.... Just click the link and then go to "join." There are some other good ACL blogs listed on there.

Re: sleep....check!

blackbeltmama — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:30:27 -0000

Yeah, SO true unfortunately. Thanks for the link and best of luck to you in your recovery. I can't imagine going through that twice in such a short amount of time.

Re: Dropping Off, Dropping In, Dropping Out

blackbeltmama — Wed, 06 May 2009 07:37:07 -0000

Wow-9 months is a "long time." In my system, it takes at least four years to get to shodan. I'm slowly pushing that average time up. ;-)

Re: To Write or Not to Write...

blackbeltmama — Sun, 03 May 2009 11:50:56 -0000

Hi Krista,

I'm late to the game here, but I just discovered your blog and wanted to comment on this post. First, congratulations. One doesn't attract trolls until you've "arrived" in the blogging world. Although there is plenty of support out there from most martial bloggers, there are plenty of people out there, who under the guise of anonymity, decide they can say whatever they think. The anonymous nature of that comment tells me you should completely discredit it. If they don't have the confidence to attach their name to their hurtful words, then delete and move on.

I have frequently been the target of trolls who want to discredit my writing, training, whatever, and I think that as women, we are more frequently targeted as well. When I got my first troll, I was given congratulations by many who have been around the blogging block. Personally, I think your site is a tribute to those you train with, and I wouldn't think twice about your purpose or intentions.

If you find your anonymous visitor likes to come back and bother you, I'd be happy to provide you with some advice for how to deal with it. Keep writing!

Re: Demotivational Posters for Martial Artists

blackbeltmama — Sat, 02 May 2009 09:58:45 -0000

Ha, ha, they're all funny, but I especially like the fitness one.

Re: Fish With Feet and Blogtalkradio.com

blackbeltmama — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:37:06 -0000

Cool! Oh man though, the second interview was a bit more risque. ;-)

Re: How I Got My Ass Beat

blackbeltmama — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:05:36 -0000

You are certainly not the only person I've heard of who had to deal with something like that at a tournament. I hear that women are especially nasty. It's a good thing I've never had an interest in doing tournaments I guess. I know I wouldn't be the dirty fighter, but I wonder if I'd be able to keep my head in the game and not just get really ticked off if someone did that to me. It's very easy to forget the control part when your opponent has forgotten it. It says a lot about you that you kept at it, while still playing fair.

Re: Killer New Commenting System – Disqus

blackbeltmama — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:42:19 -0000

I definitely use my ki ball. ;-)