Personally I think doing anything with the aim of just building muscle is not a good idea - Usually the approach that is taken to build said muscle has negative effects on other areas of the body including range of motion and general flexibility.

I've got short arms and legs so I need the speed to be able to get in and out without getting clobbered.

I enjoy being able to "release" and get rid of the daily stress... I'm also quite fond of kicking things.

Probably the longest break I've had from training was when we travelled to Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia for a month and a half. Probably came back fitter than when I left from all the walking though...

Good times good times.

30+ years of experience in various martial art styles and some great methods of teaching sum it up I think...

I have to say I think I am more equipped for non-contact mainly because I've spent much less time involved in contact. Non contact has lots of great benefits (good for control etc.) but I would definitely like to do more contact...

Which do I prefer? neither really...

No single style is "complete" by any means so taking up another style can complement the things you've already learned. Also, if the style has similar/overlapping aspects to it there's the possibility that a different instructor might be able to teach certain aspects in a way that works better for you to learn from...

I mostly go in point sparring for a bit of fun although I have been pretty slack overall this year. I have on rare occasions entered kata events although they are not my favourite and do enjoy the odd chance that Kelly and I get to go in demonstration type events.

I once entered contact continuous sparring at ISKA. It was my first tournament and I was completely out of my league and unprepared for it. It has unfortunately deterred me from going in any continuous sparring again but hopefully one day I'll found the courage...

heat really prevents me from wanting to do much at all. That feeling of being over worked also causes me to want to do nothing as well.

Aiming for a red belt in Taekwondo in December (news I had sprung on me last night), a 1st dan in Hapkido early next year and then a 1st dan in Taekwondo some time after that.

On a non-training level I'm hoping to get my 'affairs' sorted out by the end of the year so I can reduce the insane amount of time I spend in front of a computer working while still earning enough money to survive.

I'm also hoping to give this site a bit of the love it is needing....

I was interested in taking up martial arts for a long time but never actually did until I met Kelly. I was in awe of her ability at Taekwondo and she often talked about taking up Hapkido. I then went off and did a bit of research of my own and found Central Coast Hapkido.

I was irregular in my training for quite some time, I think because of lack of confidence then some things changed in my life and I discovered a pile of determination and started training regularly. There's probably only been 5 or so Saturday mornings I haven't trained in as many years and I haven't looked back since.

That's an easy one, sword. Not particularly adventurous or creative but it's still my pick. So many advantages to being efficient with a sword and most of them don't have anything to do with cutting. Improved speed, coordination, footwork, timing and it can go a long way to understanding many other techniques as well...

Run away..... and if that doesn't work I'd probably end up going for knee caps or shins or something painful like that.

For me probably a broken neck or some other severely debilitating injury. Not much else apart from that would stop me though.

I think the hardest part of my training right now is consistency. Although I'm not struggling for motivation at all I am struggling to find time to get there as often as I was earlier in the year. So many other things going on which in turn effects my fitness etc.

I would probably have a go at Kendo or Kumdo - Something completely different from anything I've done before and I think the sword skills gained would go a long way towards improving my martial arts in general. Plus I'll take any excuse I can to play with swords....