TheHighlander

I have dropped 13 lbs in the past 7 months. I have been studying Shotokan for just under two years. Between when I started and last October, I had lost a few pounds and definitely felt more fit. Then that October, I competed in a tournament and found myself winded pretty quickly. Since then, I began working hard to increase my wind and speed (interval cardio/weight training) for the next tournament(s). THAT'S when I saw the weight begin to melt off. There was a snowball effect - better conditioning helped me start to eat better which in turn improved my karate training. Lather, rinse, repeat. I guess this is just a long-winded way of saying that going to the dojo once/twice a week will definitely help, but the work you do outside the dojo will transform you.

Yes, it is definitely taught to be a stomp and then block with the elbow. The Sensei had us really try to drive the knee up - that is why I was thinking strike. It was probably intended to make sure we aren't lazy about it and to get the knee high enough to stomp the knee. Thanks Killer

OK, so I have another question on the Heian Sandan kata (Of course, I think of these on days where I don't have class - I think about these things when practicing on my own) In the middle of the kata, there is a knee raise (don't know the japanese term). I have seen videos where some do a snap or crescent kick, but our school just does the knee raise. Again, is this intended to be a block (with the shin, maybe?) or a knee strike. It feels like it should be a knee strike.

My wife began seeing a PT for something just recently, so I had her ask while she was there. A lot of times, the quad is part of the problem, so to make sure to stretch that with the flexors. Standing up and grabbing your ankle (left-hand, left-foot) and gently pulling back. Another thing the PT said was to get a tennis ball and massage the area. with the ball on the ground, lay on your stomach, with the ball lined up in the flexor/top of quad and just roll around a little bit. It definitely felt like it did something afterwards (trigger points?). May want to do it when your alone, though - when you are doing it, it looks a little .... ummm .... peculiar

This is true. I had class again Sat. and talked to the asst. Sensei. he has been doing a lot of bunkai applications in his classes, so he has had that on the mind. He was showing me another way to look at it, but realizes that I shouldn't be thinking too much about that yet, and should learn how the kata really is - with the block.

Thanks for the welcome! I quit working out with weights about 8 months ago - after about 10 years of off-and-on weight training. Getting up in years, I could feel it really hinder my flexibility. I have moved on the just bodyweight exercises - pull-up, chin-ups, push-ups, a variety of squats with no weight, etc. I have never been all that flexible, especially the hamstrings, but surprisingly, they have been pretty responsive to the change in exercise and increase in stretching sessions. Of course, once they loosened up, that's when I really started to realize the issue with the flexors. I guess I just have to be more patient...

I have been studying Shotokan Karate for almost two years. In that time, I have done a decent job loosening up my hamstrings, calves, shoulders. For the life of me, I cannot get my hip flexors to loosen up at all. It causes issues when moving in front stance; I tend to lean into any moves because of the tightness, instead of having a straight back and using the hips to initiate the moves. I do butterfly stretching (with my hands pushing down on my knees throughout) and the standard flexor stretch (one foot in front of body, with opposite leg behind body, kneeing on the ground) at least four sessions a week, but I just am not getting anywhere. Any other ideas that I can incorporate?

1st post on the forum here. I have been learning Heian Sandan recently and was wondering what other's interpretation of the double arm block is? Depending on which sensei I am working with in class, I get a little bit different answer. The head sensei brings the cocked arm forward hard into the forearm of the extended arm (both arms end up almost elbow-to-elbow), then goes into more of circular double block. All while standing straight up. One of the assistant senseis does more of a double punch, the down arm aimed for the groin and the up arm toward the neck/chin. He bobs on each switch of the arms to get some power to drive the punches.