Lupin1

When I was younger they taught us to tie it so that it crossed over in the back. Not sure why. I guess it's easier for kids to learn to tie it that way (I just recently learned how to tie it so it doesn't cross over and it took me awhile to get it right). There are a few black belts in the adult class who still tie it so it crosses over in back.

My aunt got her black belt in Kickboxing at one of the local McDojos in two years. I did Isshinryu for 5 years when I was younger and I only made it to 6th kyu (I was a few months away from getting 5th). It think it depends more on the school than the style, to tell you the truth. Although some styles seem to have more McDojos than others. Maybe they're just the more popular styles.

Well, considering I just restarted karate a week and a half ago and have only been to two classes (we're closed for the holidays until next Tuesday), I guess my goal will be to still be with it at the end of the year. It'd also be nice to try to make it to blue belt. I think that's realistic-- get back up to yellow (which is the fourth belt at my school) and move up one more. Shouldn't be too bad for a year. But if I don't get there, no big deal. The main thing is that I stick with it.

At my school you have to be a student of the school for 15 years before our head instructor will even let you into the training program to become an instructor. Then you need to take a group of white belts all the way up through black, which, for kids, is 7-9 years (I'm not sure what happens when they drop out because I've only known 3 kids in the 15 years I've been there [with an 8 year break, but I didn't miss anyone] who have made it all the way to black) and THEN you can be an instructor (and I've only known one person who did that). But if you want to start your own school-- there's no regulating body out there. I don't think a 1st degree black belt would be ready. All that means is that you've mastered the basics. I don't think that qualifies you to teach. I think someone should be at least a 3rd degree black belt and have a few years of supervised teaching experience at their old school before even considering opening their own school. Also, as someone who just graduated with my elementary teaching degree, I don't think just anyone can walk in and be a great teacher. You need to be taught how to teach effectively, especially if working with kids. I wouldn't trust anyone who hadn't been through at least a long-term internship and who's gotten both explicit and hand-on training in how to teach everyone from young beginners to adult black belts. Teaching isn't just something most people can do effectively without any training.

Yeah, I used to have a pair of those for swimming and lifeguard training. They're pretty cheap-- the ones I got were under $25. Of course they cut down on the periphial vision big time and if you want to get the cheaper version (aka- not go through your eye doctor) you can't get anything fancy like astigmatism fix and the prescription goes by .05 increments (aka: -1.00; -1.50; -2.00; -2.50 etc). They're pretty good for the price, though and they fix your vision well enough (I had to drive with them once home from swim practice-- my glasses broke).

Yeah, I would end up hurting myself or my partner if I tried to spar without glasses (either that or I'd just lose my balance and fall over due to my lack of depth perception). I just went to the eye doctor this morning (couldn't see the signs while driving anymore. Not good) and saw that contact lenses are only $20 or so a box (although it'd probably be more for the astigmatism correction, but I could probably do without that). I may have to get a box if we do sparring. I'm pretty sure they let you buy only one box... idk.

I think it's cause I'm a woman. All that flashy fighty stuff just isn't my thing. I actually fast forward through all the chase-through-asteroid-field scenes in Star Wars. I like the mind stuff over the physical stuff-- which is why I love the original Karate Kid so much-- it was more mind and balance and patience than "go do a back flip over that fence and then kick the imaginary man five times in the head" (because we all know in real life you have to kick someone in the head five times to bring them down ). I like movies that show more authentic martial arts with the struggle and the fact that learning is slow and that flashiness doesn't usually win actual fights. Just my preference.

You know, I never considered that my glasses might get in the way... I guess I may have to shell out the 100 bucks for a box of contacts if we every do sparring (I'm not sure how much they do it in the adult class. I know we barely ever did it in the kids class).

Hmmm. You've been saying that the guy doesn't come to class all that often, but you haven't yet mentioned how good he is. I'm not sure what belt you're at, but does the guy meet the standards for that belt, regardless of how often he comes? Maybe he practices at home while he's watching his kids? It's also important to note that most karate programs expect you to only come two nights a week on most weeks and that they design the time in rank thing with the assumption that people would come about two nights a week. So he's doing exactly what he should be doing-- you're just going above and beyond. In this case, you can't compare him to you in order to determine if he deserves to be the belt you're at-- you need to compare him to the standards for that belt. Are his kicks, punches, forms, sparring and whatever they look at up to the standards for that belt? If so, he's right where he deserves to be. You're just going to be a better green belt or blue belt or whatever because of the effort you put in. The colored belts, in my opinion, are just a symbol of having met certain milestones on your way to mastering the basics. If he's met the milestones appropriate for the color around his waist, then he deserves to wear that color. You're just going to really excel once you hit black belt whereas this guy will probably be a mediocre black belt, which I'm sure will be just fine with him (not everyone wants martial arts to be the driving force of their lives-- just a hobby and a useful skill-set).

If you find your new dojo isn't working for you, don't forget to look at un-offical classes, as well. In my opinion, our tiny class at the local boys and girls club is the best around. Like you said-- I've seen orange belts from our school hold their own against brown belts from other schools (in fact, when I was an orange belt I placed 4th in a kata competition against blue and brown belts from other schools). The un-offical classes tend be more old school and also tend not to cost as much, if they cost anything at all (ours is free). You have to look pretty hard, though, because the best ones usually don't advertise and are usually put down by people at the "real" karate schools.

So I'm just re-starting Isshinryu and I'm considering maybe trying out Judo as a fun activity to do with my little sisters (they can't do Isshinryu with me because the adult class there is for 18 and up whereas the "adult" class in Judo is 10 and up). Would that be a good combination?

Thanks. I think I'm just going to get a size six and try to hem it all myself. I found my bag of old Karate uniforms from when I was little and my mom hemmed the pants herself and did a really horrible job of it, but they seemed to have held up fine anyway. Since I'm sure I can do better than her (she just sewed a tiny dot in five different places around the leg to hold the extra material up instead of sewing all the way around), I think I'll try it myself first and if that doesn't work then I'll pay to get it hemmed. I think I may eventually end up having to buy seperate tops and pants of different sizes, though. My gi from middle school was a 3 and the jacket almost fit me, but the pants wouldn't go up past my knees. So I may need a size 5 jacket or so and larger pants (right now I'm just hoping the size 6 pants will fit me. I've got a bigger butt and hips than men of the same weight).

I'm not sure if this is up here yet: "Pride is not the opposite of shame, but it's source. True humility is the only antidote to shame"-- Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender

In my Isshinryu class we couldn't spar until we were yellow belts (which is the fourth belt at my school and I studied for four years before I got it).

It doesn't make me any more mad than colleges giving out honorary degrees. I worked hard for my degree. I put in four years of all nighters, 3-hour long 10 page final exams, essays, presentations, boring lectures, etc, usw and these people are handed a slip of paper for some trival reason and suddenly they can say they have that degree without any of the work or any of the knowledge I have. It used to anger me. Until I realized that honorary degrees really mean nothing. A person with an honorary doctorate can't go apply for a job that requires a doctorate and expect to get it because their degree is just a piece of paper with a meaning entirely different than an actual degree from the same school. Same with Obama. His belt is just a black piece of cloth with an entirely different meaning than an actual black belt. To tell you the truth, though, I never got the point of honorary degrees and things of that sort. It's widely recognized that they don't mean anything beyond a friendly gesture. So why do it at all? Why can't schools give out "thank you for being part of our community" awards without rewarding honorary degrees? Why couldn't those people give Obama a "we like you and thanks for being our friend" certificate instead of an honorary black belt. Those "honorary" things don't mean anything anyway, so what's the point? Why not make the same gesture in another way. All these things do is confuse people whenever someone forgets to specify that the degree or belt or whatever is only honorary.

I'm just restarting Karate, too, and I'm also out of shape (of course, I've been out of shape since 3rd grade). The thing I've been starting with the most is stretches. When I feel more flexible and loose I just have more energy and want to do more exercise and I feel better all around. Even before I start really working the strength training and the cardiovascular I already feel worlds better just by stretching for 20 minutes every morning and then again during the day when I have time and feel tight. It's great.

*sigh* Did that have to ruin it with all that rap music and flashiness? Part of what I liked about the original Karate Kid was how extremely simple Daniel's training was. He learned to block and punch-- basics. This seems like it's going to be the same flying, spinning, wasted-energy showmanship Karate Jackie Chan usually does. I hope I'm wrong about it, though.

Has anyone had a uniform tailored before? About how much does it cost?

Even though I'm Jewish: A Christmas Story Elf The Santa Claus

Well an allergy is different than a sensitivity. Sensitivities only usually affect you if you eat the food in question and then they usually just lead to upset stomachs and diarreah. Allergies are usually much more serious. You should ask your wife and daughter just how much it affects them and if they would be in danger of any kind of reaction if you ate the salmon yourself. My guess, if it's just sensitivity, is that you should be fine. Unless of course you're worried that it might be rude and make them feel left out or something. In that cause, tough luck. I'm allergic to most fresh fruit even though I love it but my family eats it in front of me all the time. Why should they give up something they love and that's good for them just because I can't eat it? They should be happy that you, at least, get to enjoy it. And besides, most people who don't like or have never had salmon before aren't usually attracted to the smell of it, so my guess is they won't be all that jealous of you for getting to eat it all yourself.

Congrats! It's good to work with people more advanced than you BECAUSE they expose the holes in your technique. That just gives you the opportunity to work harder to fix those holes and improve.

Hi. I'm just getting into karate again after an 8 year break. I studied Isshinryu for five years in elementary and middle school and then once I got into high school I just had other activities I wanted to do more on Tuesday and Thursday nights. My freshman year of college I started wanting to do Karate again, but as I was in one part of the country for 8 months every year and another for 4 I thought that wouldn't be very conducive to progression, especially for someone just relearning. So I waited it out and now I'm just out of college and starting up again at the same free school at the local boys and girls club that I studied at when I was younger. I just had my first class on Saturday and I can't wait for my second class tomorrow. I forgot how much fun it was until one of the instructors had me by the arm bent over backwards while refreshing my memory on grab releases. The adult class is very small and made up almost entirely of black belts with one higher kyu, so no matter who I'm working with, they know what they're doing and I can learn a lot from them. I'm enjoying my "limbo" period right now where I'm not a specific belt. I remember most of the techniques and I remember the katas for the first three belts in their entirety, so right now I'm just working on remembering the finer details and I'm hoping I'll be back up to where I was in a few months so I can start progressing again. I'm excited!

I think one thing that surprises me is the lack of stance of most Isshinryu practictioners. My sensei got a really low score from a non-Isshinryu judge once decades ago in a kata competition and when he asked for tips on how to improve the judge told him "Isshinryu has no stance" and ever since then he worked on improving his own stance and religiously and relentlessly corrected his students' stances. When I look at black belts from other styles the first thing that strikes me usually is how firm and solid their stances look, but when I see Isshinryu black belts from other schools my first thought is "how did that guy get a black belt!? Look at his stance! It looks like he's just standing around throwing punches! I'm a yellow belt and my stance is more solid than his" (yellow being the fourth belt in my school and having taken me 4 years to achieve- so it's not a complete beginner like it is in most schools). That's one of the very few things I don't like about my style.

The reason I got into Karate when I was in 2nd grade was because of the 3 Ninjas movies. That and I thought if I learned Karate they'd let me be the next Power Ranger. I'm still waiting for them to ask me to join. Haven't given up hope yet.

Ours is wicked weird. I don't think I've ever come across another group that does it like this. 7th Kyu--White Purple Orange 6th Kyu--Yellow Advanced Yellow 5th Kyu--Blue 4th Kyu--Green 3rd-1st Kyu--Brown Black