TheHighlander

I'm curious to know what everyone's thought on the proper length of a karate belt? Is it the belt hanging no lower than mid-thigh? Also, over time the belt naturally lengthens as it gets worn out. What is typical? cotton or satin?

I would appreciate people's opinion on this. My wife just tested for 4th kyu last week. She kicked butt - she knew it and I knew it. Went to class this week and found out she received a half-rank. She gets to wear the 4th kyu belt and test for 3rd kyu in 6mos., but has a lot of ground to cover to do so. We were both shocked. there was never any indication of concern about this from the instructors either. They always gave her the feeling that should stood above others at her level. Disclaimer: yes I am her husband, but I have always prided myself on giving her a fair assessment of where I thought she (or my kids) stood. Never a false sense of standing. She was more than ready for this test. We are part of a very large org so testing is done if front of various and random instructors and black belts, not necessarily our instructors. There is no dispute process and we accept that, but she went from a very dedicated student who put in a lot of extra time, to questioning why even continue? It is not necessarily the rank itself, but her abilities and efforts not being recognized. I honestly don't know how to help her work through this.

Talked to my sensei about this on Saturday. Another sparring day where I felt my feet slipping a bit. He watched me for awhile, and noticed that I am not using my toes to try and "grab" the floor. My toes are almost pointing upward, not really providing much help. So I sparred again concentrating on really trying to dig in. It helped quite a bit. Unfortunately, it will take a little while before I don't have to actively think about this during sparring.

Our club is hosting 3 of them over the next few months. The first being Feb. 14. We're a little further than your 2 hour radius (~ 2.5 - 3 hrs - Palatine, IL), but there will be about 1000 competitors there. Here's the club website: http://www.iskc.com/ and the upcoming tournament in two weeks: http://www.iskc.com/events1.html I think the next tournament after that will be around March 14.

they are dry only because of the dirt/dust that may be on the floor. I mean, I am sweating! I swear! I don't know, it's not like the gym is filthy, but it seems to be enough for me to not feel like I can really push off at times.

I have been having issues for a while now while sparring in class, and not sure what to do about it. Curious to know others advice. I train on a wooden gym floor. I can't get the traction I need when shifting, which leaves me open or I missing an opening for attack. The floor usually as a little dirt/grime on it, and no matter how many times i try to quickly wipe the soles of my feet, I can't shift like I know I could if I were wearing shoes. It gets really frustrating. front-to-back shift isn't too bad but side-to-side is really bad. Once in a while we train on a floor that is carpeted, and forget it! My dry feet on the carpet; I might as well be on ice... When on the mats for tournaments, it is not nearly this bad, but I don't feel I get to train as well as I would like, so my prep for tournaments is lacking IMO. I have even tried rubbing grip gel on my feet that tennis players use for their rackets, but that only last so long. We also cannot spar with shoes on. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

that's interesting. My Shotokan club is the exact opposite. I think it is used once in all the katas (8 in total) before Shodan. It is used once in Heian Godan. I can only remember one class (in just over two years) where we spent any sort of time on it. Definitely seems more of an advanced move.

I've started (a few times ) but have yet to finish it. But you still get a lot of benefits just doing the program as long as you can. You will definitely see some strength/size gains. the program was actually the catalyst to switching from weight training only to body weight training, which has been very beneficial for me.

I finally set goals for a great 2010 - it will be a unique year for me ripe with opportunity. * Compete in the Jennifer Malloy tournament (local Chicago tournament) on Feb. 14 to gauge where I stand after my recent promotion. I am now considered an intermediate student, and will compete against anyone who is 5th kyu up through 2nd kyu. * Compete in the Illinois State Championship in May. This is a qualifier to the USANKF National Championship in July. *Get promoted to yonkyu (4th kyu – High Purple) in May/June * Compete in the USANKF National Championships – Greenville, SC July 8-11 * Start a blog documenting the journey. http://miledeep.wordpress.com/ I know I am late to the blogging scene, but I follow a few karate blogs and have learned a lot from the writers and commenters. Would welcome anyone here to follow and help me along the way.

My sensei told me that we will be doing this drill (3-on-1) tonight!

Here's how to make a leg stretcher from a set of wooden crutches in 5 minutes!! I actually did it; $5 for the crutches. It works great.

Looking for exercises to increase my lateral speed - moving to side to evade an attack, moving at angle to outmaneuver an opponent. I know that plyometrics are good for this, but most exercises I find are geared towards increasing vertical jump, not necessarily lateral movement. What are some exercises that you use in your training?

at least in our club, we need to know Heian 1-5, Tekki Shodan, Jion, and then Bassai Dai. Bassai Dai is the test kata for 1st kyu and BB.

I do different types of pullups and chinups - using your own bodyweight against gravity. One variation that has really been effective is wrapping a towel around the pullup bar and gripping the towel to do pullups. It's a killer!!

Chicago has a very large Shotokan club, Illinois Shotokan Karate Club. https://www.iskc.com It is pretty unique in the fact that it runs through numerous park districts in the Chicagoland area. check out your local park district program for info - it will allow contact with many people in this style, which I think is similar to yours.

My 6-year-old son (just made 9th kyu last week) came home from school yesterday saying, "I used my karate at school today." My first reaction (in my head) was, "Oh crap...." but once he described the situation, I was so proud of him. Some kid came behind him and wrapped an arm around his neck. My son yelled out, "get your arm off me!" and when the kid didn't, he elbowed him in the gut, which loosened the arm, and then turned and knee'd him in the gut, which gave him distance (and delivered a "reminder" ) . He immediately went and told a teacher what had happened. For a 1st grader to go through that process, I was impressed. also impressed that nothing came of it from the teacher, either. I was ready to "fight" for him, though, if there was trouble from the school. don't mess with someone's neck...

Thanks everyone. I had been recommended for a double-promotion at 9th kyu and 8th kyu, but come test day, i didn't quite show enough to the examiners to be granted an opportunity to try. Over the last 6 months, I put in a lot of extra time on my basics, knowing this would probably be the last time I might even have a chance. From here on out, it is much tougher and more likely one rung at a time, which I'm OK with - I feel like am now at the appropriate belt level for my ability - A lot of new things to learn.

What did the doctor think the problem was?

a 5th kyu!! Went through my 6th kyu requirements and then was asked back up to do the 5th kyu kata (Heian Yondan). Was wiped out after the test, but put a lot of hard work in ahead of time in case I had the opportunity.

As a veteran of dealing with chronic back pain (I had 5 vertebrae fused when I was 21), I hope I can help ease things a little. First, as was said here, see the doctor, immediately. The back is involved in EVERYTHING you do. You want to keep it healthy. Core strengthening (along with stretching) is key. While practicing MA gives a head start in both these areas, definitely need to do some more outside of class. Here are some really good exercises that have helped me tremendously: http://exercise.about.com/od/lowerbodyworkouts/ss/deadlifts_3.htm http://askthetrainer.com/stability-ball-exercises.html

OH GOD, I forgot that... I probably blocked it from my mind I had that done too, in the hospital. I was screaming so loud, I was scaring people in other rooms on the floor. Yeah, that was bad, real bad. and it didn't do a damn thing for me either.

First time I ventured into the General Chat section and I am glad I did. I was Ryan. My parents went through the gamut: medication, psychology, etc. nothing worked. Nothing wrong physically. No sleepovers, no one in my room, etc, etc. Having to constantly say no to sleepover invitations was hard. the questions of "Why not?" and basically having to lie each time. My younger brother (3 years younger) never had an issue. Then, sometime in 8th grade, (12-13 yrs old) I woke up one day dry. and the next, and the next. It really was like a switch. Having said that, I know that everyone is different, but there is hope. To some of the particulars, I can only speak to why I did it, though it might similar for Ryan. Not changing the sheets or showering - it is an act of denial. He is probably ashamed and embarrassed, even though it's not his fault. You're dealing with it everyday, you want it to stop and you don't want the reminder that, "Look again at what you did last night" With regard to the bell and pad, my parents were deadset against it. Their feeling was -- "DING DING DING - hey everyone, it's 3 am and I just wet my bed! just thought I would wake everyone up and let you know right now instead of the morning!" But is has been shown to work. I was such a hard sleeper that I probably would've slept through it anyway. It seemed like such an act of negative reinforcement. Once he hopefully has that breakthrough, you eventually should have him sleep over at someone's house who either knows what is going on, or who will be trusted with what has been going on. Get that first sleepover out of the way will go a long ways into building confidence and getting the whole ordeal out of his head. It is tough to go through, but once he's past it, it will be gone. I haven't really thought about it for years. Even in high school, just a year or two removed from it all, I didn't think twice about going on campouts, sleeping over etc. At that age there are so many other things to occupy the mind.

My wife has started training with me and the kids, and while my wife's voice can be VERY loud (she's not on the board, so I can say that... ), her kiai's are pretty wimpy. It's just because she's newer and a little self-conscious like a lot of the newer students. The instructors keep harping on the importance of it, but to little avail. As the highest ranking student in the beginner/novice class, I have been trying to kiai almost obnoxiously loud. It gets a few snickers and stares by some of the students each time, but the instructors like it. Some of the students are getting louder and more forceful, because they are thinking, "Well, I know I won't sound as crazy as THAT guy..."

I probably would be a couch potato with half-hearted attempts to get into some sort of lame exercise routine. I was a collegiate athlete many years ago which came to a premature end because of major back surgery. I kind of wandered aimlessly in and out of exercise (triathlons, 5Ks...all of which were about the worst thing for my back) with no true purpose. Started karate almost two years ago, and it has definitely changed everything, for the better. Can't imagine not being a part of it anymore.

In my organization, there is a time component on dan ranks, but on the kyu levels 10th - 1st), it is based primarily on skill (though at 6th kyu you have to start going to class at least twice a week, otherwise you can test only once a year instead of 2x year) There are a few spots (9th --> 8th or 8th --> 7th) where the test is almost the same as the level above - same katas, basics, kumite. If a student testing shows a lot more polish to his basics and kata, he could be double promoted (9th --> 7th or 8th --> 6th). It doesn't happen that often, but again because the tests are so similar, these are easy spots for that to happen. I have not seen so far double promotions at other kyu levels. Our organization doesn't do it much, but is comfortable with it because of the infrequency of testing. We are getting a lot more training time in between.