Blade96

Help me know who is right, me or my mom. I'm a 2 and a half year student of shotokan karate. Of course some here know who I am. anyway, my mom said I should take the calluses off my feet and make them soft and beautiful. She said if she went to a dojo she would make sure her feet are soft clean and the most beautiful with no calluses. I said as a martial artist I kinda need them because they protect our feet in the dojo from blisters and other injuries. Mom says that is garbage. Mind you she is not a martial artist in the least. Who is right? Do we martial artists need calluses or can we take them off?

evergrey if this forum had a thanks button i'd thank this post 10000 times. That was me when i was with my ex in 2010. Got away from the loser after 5 months.

Sensei.

Hugs are great. My senseis used to be more huggy people but have toned down a lot for the dojo. So did I. Last time I got a hug was in december when i gave both my senseis christmas cards. x

Sure. In august I watched my senseis not pass a shodan going for his Nidan because someone (not a Sensei) told him he didn't have to learn kata kanku dai. I said to myself, Say Huh? Why he listened to somebody other than a sensei, I'll never know, because I didn't ask him. I myself didn't pass my first orange belt test a year ago because due to circumstances I wasn't on top of things that night. Shrug. Stuff happens. I did get it later, though, when we retested. So yeah, people fail.

The meaning of this statement is lost upon me. They mean you can find a style you want but maybe the instruction sucks. In other words, mostly don't do what I did. I got lucky when i went in search of shotokan specifically and got great teachers and a great environment dojo to learn in.

Yeah I taped myself once doing my kata. Everyone said I'm just where they expect an orange belt to be. I watch kanazawa vids on youtube to learn the moves of my kata. Bunkai, I go train in my karate classes under BB's for that. I'm gonna tape myself again when I am a green belt and have learned heian yondan pretty good.

oh Bob sensei had his birthday....happy belated

really nervous, because I had literally no ma experience before i joined shotokan and i didnt know what i was expected of me really cause i never did ma before fall 2009, never mind being thrown into a grading when you never got to see one before and see what its all about. luckily i passed....shew going for my green belt in december now. I'm nervous, but not as much as i was going from white to yellow.

Agree! I was born with a balance problem (born with an underdeveloped cerebellum) yet I do well in Shotokan Karate. Sure there are things I can't do and i find kind of embarrassing but most things I can do and it helped that everybody is so supportive of me in my dojo. but I do well in spite of it. I'd say get rid of the shoe inserts you'll get better and don't worry about what you can't do. As an example, I'm going to be tested for my green belt next month and I've been doing shotokan a little over 2 years.

Vids are great when you use them while training with a teacher. I used videos to help me learn my kata moves.

Long time since i visited this site, but thanks lovelies

I knew a senpai who did that. talked smack about our instructor and dojo (Usually complaining that i wasnt being graded fast enough for his likking.) I didnt like that senpai, and I love my karate teachers, so I got away from him as he left to teach at his own school, and now I don't have to worry about him anymore. I never told our teachers what he said. But I know there is nothing ethical or moral about that senpai. I don't know if i should have tolod or just be quiet. He would complain that Sensei very often chose the same student to demonstrate or lead warm ups or something. Point was, that this student is the highest ranking Senpai. So naturally he often did it more than the others. But the first Senpai didnt care about that. I knew him personally, not just as a student and I think some time during his childhood, he got dropped on his head.

i'm 32 and my friends are married. And I'm single. It doesnt bother me.

The Soviets banned karate, because it was Japanese/Okinawan.

"I'm not sure where an orange belt stands in your grading system but it's a 9th kyu in shotokan which I practice. " Nuh uh. In our association and dojo its a 7th kyu.

Didnt get a hug on my orange belt grading night two days ago because he had to leave when he told us we had passed. I'm sure i'll get something from im next week though. he usually hugs me when i preform well at a tournament or grading. He's a sweetheart.

Say huh? I couldn't wear a belt i didnt earn yet for fear of upsetting the shotokan gods. i had my orange belt hanging in my room for about 6 months before i took the test. Didn't ever wear it though. not ever. Its kinda like hoisting the stanley cup over your head when you didnt win it. taboo.

Oss, thank you. and before anyone says it, lol, ye, i found out the gi is on wrong. =] itxs ok, it'll be on right when i have karate next friday.

april 29th, 2011 http://i56.tinypic.com/n12lms.jpg Had my grading for my orange belt this evening. I is a happy panda :)

Last year, September 2010. I was at a karate get together at the house of one of the sandans. I was trying to remember the word for palm heel strike. cause I had just learned it. (Its Teisho Uchi.) I asked my sensei, the one who didnt speak Japanese. he said he wasnt sure. I looked at him and said, 'Then what's the good of ya'? clapping him on the back and letting him know 'I'm just kidding' He said 'I know " I told another sandan about what I'd said. He looked horrified, and said Only you can get away with that'. Warning Label: This isnt the best idea for everyone. If you have a good relationship with your senseis, and your particular personalities fit, you can joke around with them.

Can't walk through our dojo without hearing an oss.

Yeah. Since its soon time for me to try again for my orange belt, one of my goals is of course to pass the test this time.

A sensei shouldn't be anyone to fear! My senseis would hate the thought of anyone actually being scared of them! Mine are big teddy bears. They demand respect and ask forit by saying they want to be called sensei, not by first names, and treated properly, and they treat all of us how they want to be treated. They lead by example now. Earlier, my sensei was a huggy type who would hug his students. and I hugged him back. But now, months ago, both of us stopped. We don't hug anybody now. We treat it as a dojo. (Though my senseis and I are very friendly and they still have practically adopted me)

i didn't pass my orange belt shotokan karate grading....idk nerves or something but i messed it up....kata done too fast, didnt breathe right, kicks werent good, when i blocked and countered they said i pulled back too quickly.....good news is that they didnt fail me, just put me on 'probation'