dave_pfc

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Thank you for your concern regarding health and hygiene!

he's not blocking correctly then. when being attacked Jodan by your sparring partner or whoever the proper block is jodan age uke which is to have your forearm at an angle like so http://www.3battleskarate.com/images/jodan%20age%20uke_lg.jpg when blocking Chodan the right block should ALWAYS connect with the wrist and not the hand and when counter attacking you sweep the opponents fist across their body so you have access. learn Chudan age uke correctly and you won't get hurt [/url] Yeah as Toptomcat said, you cant apply perfect blocks in full blown sparring. You just have random punches and kicks coming at you. Some people bruise, some don't. Unfortunately I'm part of the former. Got some pads sorted out so I'll see how they go tonight. Think I'll have to visit the doc soon as my right forearm is still really bruised. I haven't been for two weeks.

I'm not worried about sparring, it would just be nice to come away without cuts and bruises, therefore padding is probably the best short term solution.

Superb!

Yeah, literally no protective gear for general kumite. What's knockdown style? It's just a bit strange that I'm the only one that suffers from it. In Kumite we have to avoid the head and groin but can hit anywhere else. Thanks for the link to forearm guards. I think I could only get away with soft padding rather than a hardened guard. Maybe something like a sleeve would do the trick as long as it doesn't slip off. Might get some of that Tiger Balm on the go in the mean time!

Someone at my dojo must have washed his gi with colours because his is grey!

Unsu at the moment but I've got about 15 more black belt kata's to learn

I've just got a normal karate suit

I assume this subject is rarely discussed but I was wondering if there's anyone that suffers from cuts and bruises during/following Kumite sparring sessions. Although I prefer Kata's I don't mind sparring but my forearms and ankles are quite skinny so I really seem to suffer from cuts and bruises during Kumite. It's getting to the point where I have to leave Karate out for a week so the bruises heal as it can get quite painful. It's down to a combination of people blocking my punches/kicks and my punches and kicks being blocked. As there's not much muscle around my forearms and ankles, when someone blocks my attack they are just hitting pure bone so its quite painful. If I get hit on the chest, upper thighs or upper arms its ok as I have a good bit of muscle there. When people block a front kick hard on my ankle it really canes too. Just wondering if anyone else has this problem and if there's any solutions. I probably need some protective padding round them (not sure if this exists) but the arms of my karate kit stop half way down my arms so the padding would show. I wouldn't mind wearing padding but know one else does so I don't want to look the odd one out but perhaps I have no choice. Cheers, Dave

Got a silk embroided black belt from Tokaido in the end. Really impressed with it. Took over a month to get here though

Isn't that just Austin Powers that said 'Judo Chop'!?

So is better than you imagined?

This is an excellent example of the full power Mawashi (knee from side) by Kagawa sensei of the Japan Karate Shoto-Renmei BTW even in my prime (and I am well past it now ) I wasn't able to get anywhere near this guy's standard. He is awesome. WNM That's insane, even the fact he can hold his leg up at the guys face

Thank you I'll look him up. Definitely not looking to give it up. Hope to crack it gradually

Hi, does anyone else have problems with kicking (esp kicking high)? During the warm up I really struggle with leg stretches such as doing sideways splits (plus walking back on hands between legs), from standing straight to figures to the floor, head to the knees and so on. From sitting on the floor with legs apart my ability to bring my head to the left or right knees is appalling! It feels like my body just isn't flexible but I'm in my 20's and there's people much older than me who are capable. The only kicks I'm good with is mae geri and kekomi which incidently are the easy ones. I find Kekomi to the head quite difficult though. I find mawashi geri the hardest. Ushiro mawashi geri I can do well with my right leg but not so with my left. Given that kicking is a large portion of karate it's something I really want to improve on. Any tips for getting better flexibility would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Dave

Would be amazing to go out there but too far away to warrant a karate session. Maybe one day if I'm passing

Yeah its probably too fast but I think its very impressive. He's got lots of Kata demonstrations on youtube in fast and slow motion as well as the Bunkai which is useful

Thank you!

Sure, my grading is getting plenty of attention but I don't intend to spend 100% of my time on it so no harm in asking the questions ay? Just need the one black belt rather than several. Look forward to my grading!

I think this guy Luca Valdesi is the best I've ever seen:

Thanks everyone. Some helpful information here. I think I'll speak to my sensei and see what's acceptable then potentially get one from this Eoshin Panther site, though they don't seem to have silk belts?!?

Ditto

Hi there. I'm hoping to pass to 1st Dan in the next few months and want to get an embroidered black belt. I want to get one with red embroidery, Japanese text. Does anyone know where I can get belts with red embroidery? Most people with black belts seem to have gold text but I would prefer red. What do people generally have on embroidered belts, i.e. is it meant to be your name and is this normally done at both ends? Also is it the 'silk' black belts that fray at the edges over time as I quite like that effect? Thank you, Dave