KarateGeorge

Welcome!

Welcome to the forums Biskit. Congratulations on beginning martial arts training. Beginning any new activity can be a little intimidating at first, but just remember, everybody was a beginner once, and whether or not there are other beginners in your class with you, the instructor(s) and advanced students will understand you're a beginner and work with you at a level appropriate for your skill. Just go in there ready to learn a new skill and have fun with it. As for advancing in rank, don't put too much pressure on yourself in moving up ranks quickly. My advice is to just go in there and worry about giving 100% to whatever they're teaching you. Listen to your instructors, ask questions, don't just memorize the techniques, but think about their applications and how to use them, and do everything to the best of your ability - the ranks will follow along as you're ready. Its been my experience that schools start you out with a white belt, though I guess some schools might make you wait until you've had a little time there. Again though, I wouldn't worry too much about it. However your school ranks their students is up to them, just go in there ready and willing to learn whatever it is that they have to teach you. I wish you the best and let us know how things go!

Outside of the actual protection of the pacemaker, the biggest other thing I'd recommend is just to be aware of your limits. Know when you need to stop and take a break and make sure you do it. Kudos to you for taking up martial arts despite physical limitations, just make sure you keep those limitations in mind while training, and hopefully you'll have many years of fruitful rewards ahead of you.

Yes, thanks go back to you as well Patrick. Happy Holidays to all!

Heh, very true. You'd have to do the technique with proper force for a resistant opponent rather than a non-compliant opponent, but that's kind of what I thought. If done correctly, they either end up on the ground or with an injured limb from resisting the fall.

Very interesting and informative. Thanks for the insight!!!

In my school's system, we'll use 3rd as Sensei, 5th as Shihan, 8th as Master, and 10th would be called Grandmaster.

At my school it's Bassai Dai and a "freestyle" kata that we design on our own.

Generally on a standard, hard surface floor. If we're doing something that involves throws/takedowns, we often pull out the mats for some extra padding.

Well, I recently drove past the supposed location of judo school I had originally heard out about, and I didn't see anything. I think they may have gone out of business...so no judo lessons for now. I did however find a couple of nearby Aikido schools, which seems interesting, so I'm going to sign up in a couple of weeks once the holidays are over. I've even talked a couple of friends who've never done martial arts before into joining me. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm approaching this from ignorance as I've not studied either Aikido or Hapkido (but am tentatively starting up Aikido classes in a couple of weeks once the holidays are over). But wouldn't the many Aikido throws that end up with the attacker rolling back into a standing position only be the case for someone trained in ukemi? I would assume that doing those same techniques with force to an attacker on the street would land them flat on their backs (or whatever part of the body that throw puts them on).

LOL

Nice!!!

If you can't find a place that will do the embroidering as part of the order, I would just suggest having the belt ordered with embroidering and take it to a local embroider for it to be done the way you want. Also, and this is very important, you'll want to make sure that whatever you're having done to the belt is acceptable to your school's standards regarding belts. If you're uncertain, check with your sensei. As for what people have put on the belt, that depends on the school and the individual. There's at least one thread regarding what's on people's black belts around the forums. Some wear their black belts with no embroidering. Some have rank stripes, and some also have names. Some have them done in English and others in Japanese. For example, my belt has a stripe on each end, my last name on one end, and Sho Dan on the other end, in gold embroidering. Which is the standard for how my school handles all the black belts.

I'm right there with you, as I inherited a family tendency for mild hypertension. Pretty much any kind of cardiovascular exercise will help with hypertension. As a general rule, to get much of any benefit from cardio exercises, you want to get your heart rate up for at least 20 minutes with some kind of moderate exercise. The amount of effect it will have can vary from person to person, depending on the cause of the hypertension, though it does help at least to some extent for everybody. Hypertension is more of a symptom of other problems than a stand-alone problem, so it can have a myriad of causes. If its genetic/hereditary, then exercise will help a little, but it's not likely to fix the problem entirely. If its from an unhealthy lifestyle, poor diet and poor physical fitness, then exercise and a proper diet will help quite a bit. Something like 50% of adults develop hypertension during their lifetime, so its definitely something everyone should keep an eye out for and find ways to help reduce it. Also, there's some evidence that relaxation and meditation exercises supposedly can help. Aspects of activities such as yoga, qigong, tai chi, etc. can fall into this category.

That's great! Best of luck in your martial arts training and physical recovery. Keep us posted how things progress!

Awesome! I'm glad you found a place to learn martial arts. What are you going to be learning? joesteph, your story reminds me of someone I've met through my martial arts studies, a friend of my instructor. He's studied martial arts pretty much his entire life, holding black belts in multiple styles ranging up to 7th degree for his highest and he's a physical therapist by profession who incorporates martial arts into his physical therapy sessions. I had the opportunity to train with him on a couple of occasions. It was very cool.

Congrats!

I've heard good things about the Captain of Crush grippers for quite some time now. I've been wanting a tougher gripper than the ones I have now, so I decided to order a #1 gripper to try out. I wasn't sure whether I should start with the trainer or the #1, but since I've already done strength training on my forearms for quite some time now, I decided to start with the #1. If its too tough, then I can just go back and order the Trainer. I was going to do the same thing actually, I weight train but my forearms are terrible. When I deadlift im sure I can lift more but my grip always gives out. Im probably going to get the trainer, number 1 and 2. Its cheaper on shipping if I buy more. Towel Pull ups are also very effective. My #1 just shipped today, so I should hopefully have it by week's end. I'll let you know what I think of them!

Designating given times as "exercise time" and setting realistic goals really helped me stick to it when I first started back up in my exercise routines. Sure its good to have major goals, such as being able to run 5 miles or losing 50 pounds or whatever someone may have, but set up shorter term goals as well, such as "By the end of this week I'm going to have pushed myself an extra quarter mile on my jogging distance." The other important things are to find exercise routines they enjoy doing. Sure, running is good cardio, but if they hate running, there are tons of other great ways to get good cardio exercise, such as swimming, bike riding, raquetball, etc. Also, having someone to work out with or at the least to hold them accountable and make sure they're working out is a valuable tool to help stick to an exercise routine. If they can stick to it for a while, before they know it, it will become habit and they won't need help sticking to it anymore, it will eventually just become part of what they do.

Welcome! I take it you're in the St. Louis area from your location tag? There are plenty of schools in the area to choose from, mostly TKD and karate schools around here, lots of MMA schools too. There are others as well, but you may have to do a little more searching to find them. Best of luck in your search for the right school!

Welcome!

I've heard good things about the Captain of Crush grippers for quite some time now. I've been wanting a tougher gripper than the ones I have now, so I decided to order a #1 gripper to try out. I wasn't sure whether I should start with the trainer or the #1, but since I've already done strength training on my forearms for quite some time now, I decided to start with the #1. If its too tough, then I can just go back and order the Trainer.

I'd say go for it. A good teacher will understand what your limitations are and be able to work with them. I don't know what your injury is, but who knows, maybe getting into a physical activity like martial arts will help speed the recovery process. Best of luck!

Congrats!