From: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: the_dojang-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #241 Reply-To: the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: The_Dojang-Digest Wed, 5 May 1999 Vol 06 : Num 241 In this issue: the_dojang: Mom's and Wives of M.A.'s the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #239 the_dojang: Is the Um or Yang Missing? the_dojang: Sparring Philosophy the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #239 the_dojang: aikido and hapkido the_dojang: belt colors the_dojang: Um/Yang the_dojang: Re: tai chi the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #233 the_dojang: MA joke the_dojang: MA Humor Links page the_dojang: Men's business the_dojang: Re: Respect/Etiquitte the_dojang: RE: Meaning of coloured belts the_dojang: Round Robin, Wild Card, Byes and other stuff... BOUNCE the_dojang: Non-member submission from ["Emil J. Fisk" (fwd) the_dojang: . ......................................................................... The_Dojang, serving the Internet since June 1994. ~730 members strong! Copyright 1994-99: Ray Terry, California Taekwondo, Martial Arts Resource Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe the_dojang-digest" (no quotes) in the body of an e-mail (top line, left justified) addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To send e-mail to this list use the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com See the Korean Martial Arts (KMA) FAQ and online search the last two years worth of digest issues at http://www.MartialArtsResource.com Pil Seung! Ray Terry, PO Box 110841, Campbell, CA 95011 KMA@MartialArtsResource.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Jamaica Power" Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 14:28:54 PDT Subject: the_dojang: Mom's and Wives of M.A.'s (Smile) Don't forget your moms and wives this Sunday. Grandma Too. Considering they are mom's and wives of martial artists (or they are an m.a.) I think they need an extra special something... don't you? No small task for sure... jamaica_power@hotmail.com _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ------------------------------ From: Chuck Sears Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 16:52:26 -0500 Subject: the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #239 > > > From: "Jamaica Power" > Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 08:28:50 PDT > Subject: the_dojang: Meaning of Colored Belts > > One thing that was absent from my early training was what each colored belt > meant and actually what the black belt meant. I had to learn this on my own. > And I find it interesting that nobody ever was asked that question at > testings (colored belt or black belt). > > Do lots of your schools teach this as a requirement and ask it at testings? > Is it in your school manuals? > The ATA's style of Taekwondo is named Songahm, which translates to "Pine Tree". All of the colored belts have meanings associated with the various stages of growth of a pine tree, with the Black Belt symbolizing the shade cast by the fully grown pine tree (the Black Belt) to protect the new seeds being planted for the future (beginning white belts). I require my students to learn the meanings. They are liable for them at testings. I have had some very creative answers given, I must admit . ------------------------------ From: "Jamaica Power" Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 15:00:43 PDT Subject: the_dojang: Is the Um or Yang Missing? I have been totally inspired by the variety of historians I have met on many forums. So I started reading tons of stuff for myself. The interesting thing I noticed that was absent from any of the writings is women martial artists. Now this is not a "feminist" issue (not that that's bad either) but if we're talking yin/yang or Um/yang then I think this area needs to also be explored also for historical questionning. And the old saying "Behind every man is a better woman." Hey, cut me some slack, mother's day is coming up. So on my newly found quest I'm finding one or two more names. I also came across Japanese Female Wrestling being recognized in more than one site as a martial art. Now I'm not talking current day WWF stuff. I've also read that even in the past it was traditionally more advanced than the men's wrestling. If anybody has more info about this or any other m.a. resource that would be useful to me in my readings, please share. Thanks. jamaica_power@hotmail.com _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ------------------------------ From: AJ Woodburn Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 17:53:05 EDT Subject: the_dojang: Sparring Philosophy WOW! so many responses!!!! I have alot to say; first; Chuck Sears wrote: >Sorry, I gotta disagree with this. It's the "everybody else is doing >it" excuse for justifying your own mistakes. I'm sorry, but I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, she made no mistake, she just wasnt ready for fierce competition like that heres the low down: I was not at the match, I was competing in another ring at the time, I came back to our school's "spot" and saw her crying and a small huddle of people, needless to say I was VERY upset when I heard what had happened, she is a very close friend of mine. This girl is the nicest girl you'll ever know, maybe too nice. She was taken advantage of and didnt know how to stop it. I already understand the philosophy of martial arts,"Overcoming adversity is one of the basic tenents of martial arts" thanx, but I dont need to be preached to (although I do appreciate all of the postings I recieved, dont get me wrong, I respect all of your opinions). Tournament rules are placed for saftey, but not to dilute the competition. I was not talking about poor scoring, these "points" were obviously not legal and the contact was not incidental. I agree with your preference of bowing out, but only if the match gets *too* out of hand and someone will DEFINATELY get seriously hurt, I will not, however, complain about someting I can correct inside the ring myself. Perhaps Jamacia is right, in a sense, but only in extreme situations. Another thing; I feel that it is wrong to allow yourself to be made a *victim*, and it might just be testosterone talking, but I will not tolerate this, and this is how I will teach her. now: Jamacia Wrote: >First if she was getting hurt as her coach I would have thrown in the towel >no matter what the circumstances were. Safety first. I was not there, and I am not her coach, had I been thare, I might not have thrown in the towel, (a power I do not have as the girl in question is a 1st Dan) but I would have done something about the judging (actually, being a teenager, I would have to have gotten one of my seniors, no one wants to listen to a kid) no question, the match would have been stopped. >You also indicated she kind of broke down. To this I say it would not have >been in her best interest to continue to spar/fight because her emotions >were in control of her not her skills and techniques. This is a dangerous place to be. Like I said, I wasnt there, but I dont think she broke down before the match ended, she is a very focused person, and I could never see her emotions taking control of her conscience. >Next, I believe once you react to your opponent he is still in control >because as you said, you are now not sparring you are fighting and worse >yet, fighting out of anger and rage. It has no place in the ring. The >opponent has already won. And even if technically he doesn't I don't >see any honor in it. I dont recommend fighting out of anger, EVER, I do, however, refuse to be made into a victim in the ring. Thank you deeply, Jamacia, for the insight you gave me: CONTROL, this is what I'm getting at, she lost control of the match and was taken advantage of. I feel that you should NEVER lose control of a match, or at least refuse to stray from an equilibrium thank you again Jamacia, your quote was very helpful AND... Scott Cink wrote: >I may have to disagree with you here. I know people (including >myself) who have beat someone following the rules when our opponent did not. >It is very upsetting to have these things happen but it is part of the game. >Not only Martial Arts tournaments but other sports have the same problems. >I try to tell myself that if I want to win I must be better than they are, no matter what. >However, where there no procedures to handle protests? exactly, I was not referring to breaking the rules completely, just the ones that had already been broken by the opponent. I believe a complaint was lodged, I think... Part of the game, I couldnt have put it better myself, are you sure you didnt agree with me and not notice it? Well, at least you guys RESPONDED this time, eventhough you all disagreed thank you again AJ 2nd Dan TSD Tang Soo!!!! ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ From: Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 18:23:28 EDT Subject: the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #239 In a message dated 5/4/99 11:02:09 AM Central Standard Time, the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com writes: << Subject: the_dojang: OK in OK? > > Hope everyone is okay in OK. > > Ronda??? > >> all is well - the tornado headed directly for my condo, but just as it got a couple blocks away it decided to lift in the air - missed me by 5 blocks! Actually I would have slept thru it if a friend hadn't called to check on me :) Thanks The worst of the damage is in the Moore Del City area where my old buddy Won is. I don't know how they faired. Poos and KCS (in Edmund) and the Tulsa schools are all OK. Still do not know about a couple of others - but still checking. ------------------------------ From: burdickd Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 18:09:41 -0500 (EST) Subject: the_dojang: aikido and hapkido Well, I've practiced both of these arts and my impression is that hapkido as it currently stands is quite different from aikido. there are of course many schools of each. I need to find a good traditional daito-ryu aikijutsu school in Indiana and go practice! Anyways, the Ueshiba style of Aikido (Aikikai) seems to me to be the most traditional of Aikido forms I've seen (Yoshinkan, Tomiki, Jiyushinkai, etc.). They do only standing throws and their techniques are designed to deal with an attack by an opponent with a weapon. Their ukemi (nakbop to us) is very good but I get the impression that their command of countering techniques is not as good as say, the students of GM Ji. GM Ji seems to me to be the most effective of the well-known Hapkido leaders out there. GM Myung is pretty great too and perhaps more traditional than GM Ji since his material seems to include more Japanese looking material (Judo techniques, karate techniques). GM Myung's material looks to me like a combination of aikido standing grappling and judo throws. In fact, I've noticed that some of GM Myung's better students (although I haven't met a lot of them) also train in aikido. The stuff I do seems to be closest to what GM Ji does, and I hope someday to have the time and money to go train with him -- the one time I have worked with him, he impressed me greatly both with technique and attitude. Both he and GM Myung are definitely worth the price of a seminar, so don't miss either of them if they come near you. Of course, I also strongly urge you to look into Wally jay's Small Circle Jujitsu, which has a LOT of elements in common with hapkido. Anybody have other stuff to add? Dakin Burdick burdickd@indiana.edu ------------------------------ From: burdickd Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 19:04:03 -0500 (EST) Subject: the_dojang: belt colors The belt colors become darker as one gets more advanced in the martial arts. This practice is thousands of years old and relates to the color of bruises received at the various levels of training. When you begin, your lily white skin (if you're a caucasan of course) takes on a yellow hue from the beatings administered by your instructor. As you get more advanced, the beatings become more severe so that you closer approach real combat and are able to develop your trance fighting. Serious students wear either black (for tkd) or blue (for tsd). Some schools use a red belt to express complete mastery of the art and show the amoutn of blood shed to reach that point (occasionally the belt is dyed with the blood of lower ranks who are trying to achieve the black and blue level). There is some speculation that the arts originated in Africa while fighting the australopithecines, which may explain why black is a higher grade than yellow, and why white is the lowest rank of all. PS: That's a joke son. ------------------------------ From: "J. Thomas Howard" Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 20:27:49 -0500 Subject: the_dojang: Um/Yang Paul Rogers wrote: > Some trivia (someone please correct me if I oversimplify or am > mistaken): > > * The Um/Yang symbol on the Korean flag is called the Tae-Guek > * Tai Chi in Cantonese is Tai Gek. > > Our ATA school doesn't go much into Um/Yang, other than to mention its > appearance on the flag. Perhaps higher dan levels go into it more > during their training... > My Tai Chi instructor use the Tai Chi Tu (the yin/yang symbol) > extensively in his lectures and demonstrations. It is > very much the foundation of the art, > as well as life (he's pretty much a Taoist in philosophy). > One interesting point is that he finds that most Americans > (relative to East Asians) have a very hard time yielding, > i.e., performing more yin activities, during sparring or just > interactions with people. He says [we] tend to meet force > with force, instead of yielding, finding a > better opening, then switching to a more yang-ish attitude. In our hapkido classes, we use the concept quite often. The one hand punching outward while the other hand goes to the hip in a standard thrust punch; a hand going out and coming back in the same way for a snap punch; kicks that require balance in pulling back just as in pushing out ---- the concept of Um/Yang can be used not only in philosophical issues, but in movement styles as well. Helps students remember. :) The push/pull reaction, the way a person looks at an old technique and finds something new there, the learning spiral and the way a single technique can be used in both an Um and a Yang reaction at different times and ways---for us, the Um/Yang is a good indicator of how life goes, and how everything always has two sides to it. It shows up pretty much everywhere, and is something we continually attempt to remember. Hapkido reactions, in many cases tend to favor Um-style for accepting attacks, and Yang-style for replying. Even in our own actions, we have the duality. Like self-defense situations, for example. An attacker presses his side forward, pushing his attitude and beliefs on another. A defender may react in a yang way---but you will have a clash. Is this wrong? Not necessarily, life sometimes give you no choice. But a reaction in an Um way will more likely defuse the situation, given the nature of the attack. Is this how it always should be done? Not necessarily, but it is a good general thought. The _one_ thing that I like better about the classic Yin/Yang vs. the Korean Um/Yang is that in the classic version, each part (yin or yang) has just a tiny part of the other in it. Not only does everything have two sides to it-----but even one side isn't only one-sided. Sometimes to defuse a confrontation, you have to strongly stand up for your side, as opposed to yielding. That doesn't mean it is missing from the concept of Um/Yang, just that I liked the visual representation of that in the classic version. I'll stop babbling now. :) Thomas - ------------------ thomcat@binary.net http://www.binary.net/thomcat "If you aren't modeling what you are teaching, then you are teaching something else." ------------------------------ From: Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 22:32:50 -0500 Subject: the_dojang: Re: tai chi Paul Rogers, Wow, thank you for your wonderful info about tai chi. I forwarded it to my mom. I was out of town for a while and just catching up on the email. Sandy tokay@netwurx.net ------------------------------ From: Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 22:39:16 -0500 Subject: the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #233 Jamaica wrote: >Did anybody notice (men too) a change in how you approached situations and >people at work? Or maybe in your family life or friends? Was there a change >in how you dealt with situations? A very odd thing. I've never been a tremendously argumentative person or anything, and don't want to give the impression I used to be a total wacko, but it is much easier for me to accept authority in certain situations without getting resistant about it. Not of course in all situations, if authority is trying to do something I think is wrong or stupid I will address it somehow appropriately :) But sometimes I accidentally call people sir at work and it startles them a bit... Sandy tokay@netwurx.net ------------------------------ From: "Emil J. Fisk" Date: Wed, 05 May 1999 13:51:01 +0800 Subject: the_dojang: MA joke Every four or five months, I like to visit rec.m-a just to get some laughs and the pitiful arguments that go on. But since the topic of jokes in the MA came up, I remember saving this little piece, and thought I'd share it with all of you. Emil Fisk fiskej@pd.jaring.my - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: How to defeat a man in three seconds! Date: Sun, 07 Mar 1999 19:36:13 -0800 From: erbmachine@hotmail.com (James Kane) Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts The following is a step by step guide on how to deafeat a man in less than three seconds. 1) The assailant is about to attack. 2) Quickly point behind him and say, "is that your mother?". 3) When he turns around he is momentarily distracted. Use this opportunity to push him off the cliff. 4) Assailant falls to his bloody death. 5) Walk away triumphantly. (NOTE: This technique may take longer than the prescribed three seconds depending on the height of the cliff. Also note that this technique works best when assailant is standing on the edge of a cliff. ------------------------------ From: Stan Lim Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 23:46:38 -0700 Subject: the_dojang: MA Humor Links page Okay, I slept a little less the last few nights to work on a web page where you can all go to add MA humor links. http://www.employees.org/~slim/MAHumor/links.html Some of you posted a few links in the last few days, and I took the liberty of adding them to get the page started. Please let me know if you would like me to remove your name and e-mail. (Dawne, I need your e-mail and last name. Darlene, I need your last name.) If you find bugs, have suggestions for improvements or want to share any comments, please e-mail me privately. I hope this site is useful. Enjoy! Stan Lim slim@employees.org ------------------------------ From: Bernard Eddey Date: Wed, 05 May 1999 16:47:15 +0800 Subject: the_dojang: Men's business I thank you for your comments. As the father of an 8 y.o boy, this matter is very much in my thoughts. And as martial artist entrusted with teaching not only 'the art' but, as recent threads have pointed out, also the 'philosophy' or 'way of life'. The statistics (these are Australian but are probably similar in other industrialized countries) for males are scary. Some of the *facts* about being a man in the late 20th century... Men, on average, live six years less than women do. Over ninety percent of convicted acts of violence will be carried out by men, and seventy percent of the victims will be men. In school, around ninety percent of children with behavioural problems are boys and over eighty percent of children with learning difficulties are boys. *** The leading cause of death amongst men between the ages of twelve and sixty is self-inflicted death. Men have a suicide rate four times that of women. *** I could go on. Dawne commented > << I would warrant that like many of us males in the this century they have > been raised in an environment very much dominated by women.>> > I agree that women are a force to be reckoned with but I would > question the use fo the word 'dominated' :) I agree Dawne, in socio-economic terms men have been (still are?) the dominant force. The point I was making is that the dominant factor in most men's upbringing has been female. In fact, fathers have often been used as weapons - "just wait till your father gets home..." But back to the martial arts. Like it or not as teachers we are role models and as such have the opportunity, some would say the duty, to have a very positive effect on the way young men develop. (Before the women in this forum start flaming me - I know a lot of females teach and train as well - but women have other networks they can fall back on that are particularly lacking in most men's lives). So what can we do? Dawne also commented > Male-only activities should be handled with delicacy just in case > someone wants to make some noise. As a parent of a man-in-the-making > I would be grateful for such opportunities. I sense two sentiments here. On the one hand you would welcome the opportunity and on the other... Why would someone want to make noise? Surely in these enlightened times those old homophobic demons have been well and truly exorcised. ;-). I do understand your concerns. As I suggested previously, the session(s) (which should also involve some m.a. training, grappling, wrestling etc.) should be overseen by someone experienced in the Men's Movement. Fathers should be invited (and not just for the young boys, many of the older 'boys' might benefit as well). If a father is not available, perhaps an uncle or trusted family friend. The initial session might include all age groups - later sessions be split e.g. under 10's, 10 to 15's, 15's and over. I'm sure the over 15's will have things they wish to discuss which may not be of interest ;-) to the younger ones. > The most important thing is really packaging and presentation. > People are resistant to change and may feel judged if certain programs > are offered. Sorry - don't agree. P & P are important is you're selling cookies. What is most important is compassion, genuineness, having definite goals and being nonjudgmental. Some people may be resistant to change but I would suggest most fathers would jump at the opportunity to be more involved with their sons, and vica versa. Mark commented > "In class we learn to block physical attacks on our body. Take this > knowledge and your skill with you so that you will be equally as > effective in blocking the challenges of dealing with every day life. Not > everything goes our way, sometimes people don't do what they are > supposed to, or what we expect. Rather than lashing out, getting mad or > frustrated, 'block' it in such a way that it does not bother you." Good analogy Mark but IMHO a little off target. 'Blocking' feelings is something men are pretty practised at. "Big boys don't cry". It *is* OK to feel disappointed, frustrated etc. It is *not* OK to lash out, seek revenge etc. "Don't get mad - get even" is not an appropriate sentiment! I'm not sure if a martial arts training facility is the most appropriate place to set out on this particular journey but given the wide range of problems endemic to modern society, we have to start somewhere. In my experience, the the majority of martial arts teachers/students are male so it would seem like an ideal opportunity. Bernard Eddey 1st Dan Shanghai ------------------------------ From: "Lasich, Mark D." Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 08:17:38 -0400 Subject: the_dojang: Re: Respect/Etiquitte To continue the respect/etiquitte thread: It has been noticed that what people call us, Mark, or sir, or Mr. Lasich, when we walk into the school (not the training floor) *seems* to depend largely on what mood we are in at the time. The other instructor noted that when he is in a particularly good mood, everyone is on a first name basis. A bad mood? You got it - everyone uses Mr.!!!!! Our initial conversations focused on what the students have been taught, perhaps there is more non-verbal clues that set the tone! Anyone else notice anything like this? Thanks. In the spirit of TKD, Mark.Lasich@alcoa.com ------------------------------ From: "Simon Goldie" Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 14:03:02 +0100 Subject: the_dojang: RE: Meaning of coloured belts Just thought I'd chip in on this one. I belong to the Tae Kwon-do Association of Great Britain and when it comes to our grading tests we are not only expected to know the meanings of our belt colours but also the korean of all the techniques relevant to the grading. For those of you interested here are the "official" meanings of the belt colours from the TAGB book: White Signifies a stage of innocence such as that of the novice student with no previous knowledge of Tae Kwon-do. Yellow Signifies the earth from which the plant sprouts and takes root, as the foundations of Tae Kwon-do are laid. Green Symbolises the growth of the plant as Tae Kwon-do skills begin to develop. Blue Symbolises heaven, towards which the plant is growing as it matures, reflecting the progression of Tae Kwon-do training Red Represents potential danger, cautioning the student to exercise control and warning the opponent to beware! Black The opposite of white, signifying both maturity and proficiency. It also symbolises the wearers imperviousness to darkness and fear. Simon Goldie sgoldie@westsussex.gov.uk ------------------------------ From: "Jamaica Power" Date: Wed, 05 May 1999 06:53:09 PDT Subject: the_dojang: Round Robin, Wild Card, Byes and other stuff... Would anybody on this list be willing to define some of the terms that your organization uses in competition like round robin, wild card, bye, drawing lots, etc. We have a few aspiring competitors on the forum that are unfamiliar with these types of terms and I think I would probably not do as good a job as others in defining this categories. Thanks jamaica_power@hotmail.com _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ------------------------------ From: Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 07:22:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: BOUNCE the_dojang: Non-member submission from ["Emil J. Fisk" (fwd) You are subscribed as fiskej@pd.jaring.my. Please correct. Ray - -------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded message: Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 01:43:30 -0400 (EDT) Subject: BOUNCE the_dojang: Non-member submission from ["Emil J. Fisk" ] From: "Emil J. Fisk" Subject: yin-yang & poomse Chinese term : yin-yang Korean term : um-yang Japanese term: in-yo The concept of yin-yang is a very Taoist belief, as Mr. Paul Rogers pointed out. It's all about the creation of the universe and the balanced harmony in nature. The Taegeuk represents the creation of the cosmos (tae means large, and geuk means eternity) and the energy that was released during the creation. Palgwe refers to the eight basic directions, four of which can be seen on the Korean flag. I believe that Palgwe also has some relation to the creation of the universe, and that is taken from the i-ching(?), or the Book of Change. In this case, Palgwe refers to the five basic elements, and the manner in which the can eliminate each other (water over fire, fire over wood, etc.) The other day my instructor told me that even the higher forms (Koryo, Keumgang, Taebaeck etc) have some meanings. Although I can't recall all the different philosophies for each poomse at the moment, Keumgang had something to do with mountains. If the Koreans have this whole philosophy set around the WTF forms, I'm wondering if the Chinese, Japanese, and Okinawans have similar philosophies in their respective martial arts. Anybody know? If anybody is really curious as to where I got this information, I can look around my wee little martial arts library (quite a pathetic one, actually) and see if I can find a book on it. Otherwise, I'll ask my instructor again and be prepared with pencil and paper. Profoundly perplexed, Emil Fisk fiskej@pd.jaring.my ------------------------------ From: Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 07:23:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: the_dojang: . ------------------------------ End of The_Dojang-Digest V6 #241 ******************************** Support the USTU by joining today! US Taekwondo Union, 1 Olympic Plaza, Ste 405, Colorado Spgs, CO 80909 719-578-4632 FAX 719-578-4642 ustutkd1@aol.com http://www.ustu.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this digest, the_dojang-digest, send the command: unsubscribe the_dojang-digest -or- unsubscribe the_dojang-digest your.old@address in the BODY of email (top line, left justified) addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. Old digest issues are available via ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com, in pub/the_dojang/digests. All digest files have the suffix '.txt' Copyright 1994-99: Ray Terry, Martial Arts Resource, California Taekwondo Standard disclaimers apply.