Dog Brothers Public Forum

Thanks for the eye opener.  I'm not a penny pincher when it comes to the knives in my collection.  For the price of a Benchmade or similar knife I could get 3 or 4 well made padded weapons.  I guess I just wanted to do something homegrown as I only really have 2 guys to spar with regularly.  Also, being as we don't have years of experience behind us we tend to err on the side of slightly lighter hits.  Thanks for the tips guys, and I checked out smak stiks, I don't know why they haven't turned up in my web searches before?

Those kids watch way too much Jackass!  
Actually, stunts like that are great because they aren't hurting anyone but themselves.  I hear parents complain about reality/stupid stunt shows.  Think logically about it....If a kid is stupid enought to emulate what he sees on TV, he gets what he deserves, be it an animal bite, or a concussion!  Natural selection in action in our busy, hight tech world.

Somebody should make a movie in which Mary Poppins carries one of these in case she runs out of ammo for her fancy custom 1911 pistol.

Let's not forget the finest version of "Louie, Louie".  Seattle garage rock pioneers The Sonics rocked a really heavy "ahead of it's time" version.  Alas they never broke through into nationwide success.  Maybe this was due to their penchant for referring to the Ford Mustang as a "Boss Hoss" in song.

YES!  Again, many thanks to those who've posted!  I just hit day 21, or 22? It doesn't matter at this point, what does is that I'm comfortable living without nicotine as my master.  The gum works pretty well, surprisingly.  I really had to give my willpower a swift kick though.  I feel stronger because of this and have been concentrating my energy trying exercises in Matt Furey's "Combat Conditioning".  If you can get past his silly "in your face HYPE HYPE HYPE HYPE" style of advertising, this stuff is pretty cool.  I had trouble initially with Hindu Squats because of past foot surgeries (resection of subtalar coalition,  achilles extension +more) but every try it gets easier.

Neurosis is an underground legend from the Bay Area.  They are true pioneers of sound and warriors of experimentation.  Every live show I've seen since I was 15 is amazing!  They have been described as "tribal metal" and "the Pink Floyd of punk rock".  Both quotes don't do them justice!  If you are open minded and want to explore the depths of human fear, aggression and spirituality, give them a spin.  Enemy of the Sun is a very fine album, my favorite is Through Silver In Blood.  They used to do a lot of tribal drumming and drum circles on stage.  As these guys age, their music becomes increasingly, slightly more mellow.  They used to scream, now they sing and occasionally scream.  Steve Von Till is my guitar hero and Neurosis' bass player Dave Edwardson is the guy who I hopelessly tried to emulate while recording with my last band!  They are firece and put on an amazing multimedia show live.  They (Neurosis)are much like the Dog Brothers:  Intrepid, relentless and unafraid of opinions.  Just my two cents, they will always reign as my all time favorite band and I love doing pushups to their music.

Depending on the level of combatant ferocity at the next gathering, maybe Guro Crafty would do well to invest  in a 50 gallon drum of Coke to wash the life juice from the ground!  

thanks to all!  great suggestions.  Today was better and I've been eating sour jelly beans and m&ms all day. If I get fatter I'll just work it off after I've succeeded in quitting.  I ordered Matt Furey's 'Combat conditioning'  I've heard some positive things, even though his site is very hype-oriented.  I calculated that @ about $6.00 per pack, pack a day, I was spending over $120.00 monthly on deathsticks.  I'll take that knowledge and keep in mind that could be a car payment or a new Benchmade knife for my collection every month!   Again thanks for the support, it helps that my girlfriend quit 2 years ago and hasn't allowed me to smoke indoors since then.   All good ideas, thanks for responding, here goes day 4.

The Mythbusters on the Disovery channel actually  recently (last 9-12 months) debunked some of these Coke myths, while also proving some (chrome cleaner=true).

I'm relatively new to FMA/stick arts etc.  Every MA instructor I've ever had (TKD, Karate etc.) emphasized the need for a "kiap" or power shout when striking....Is this common in escrima/FMA?  I read in Mark Wiley's great book on Kalis Ilustrisimo that "the face should be expressionless" which makes sense, (you shouldn't telegraph emotions/grit the teeth etc).  In much of the footage I've seen of these arts being practiced, the players seem silent with the exception of heavy breathing and natural grunts of pain when stricken.  I know it might be a weird "newbie" question, but @ 6'3" and 275lbs. I feel that a shout or yell might serve to drive home a psychological point against an opponent in a real or controlled confrontation.  Can somebody weigh in on this and help clear up this mystery?

Hey All!
Just wondering if anybody knows any reputable and well qualified stick based arts instructors in the greater Seattle area?  I can't seem to find a well rounded facility that focuses on FMA!