Jeffrey

That just made me laugh! Of course once you are through with Illinois I hear Canada can be fun. Would love to hear more about this art.

Thank you Patrick for hosting the live show. And to everyone that was there either as a host or guest it was really great listening to you all. You are all just awesome!!

Welcome Paul

Congrats pittbullJudoka

Welcome Heiwa Bushi

Well I guess I had better make a point to attend. Kind of excited.

There have been nights I've gotten home and couldn't sleep so I practice some more. There is always somehting to improve on and that after work out buzz can last a while. I have a ton of books and like Brian I tend to read 3 or 4 at a time. I have reading A.D.D. ! It's great to have a son to share your training with. My daughter is the one I train with all the time. Depending on the age of your son a great book is the Karate Mouse book by Stilton. Tons of fun info for kids.

I will do my best to be there.

It was one of the best google moments ever. Found it and began reading. I didn't join till about a month or 2 later. It took me the 2 months to read most everything.

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. "What Does KarateForums.com mean to me?" This is a question that can encompass so much. I have been a member here for a little over a year. I don't always post a lot but I read almost everything. Over the last year I have enjoyed every moment spent reading what our members have to offer. Sometimes a question is asked and you think to yourself, why didn’t I think of that. There are many communities out there for the martial artist to join. So what sets KarateForums.com apart from the rest? You the people of this forum! It is every member that adds that little or a lot of knowledge to this community. These members all come from different martial backgrounds and from different places in the world. We have a wealth of experiences to draw on. There is never an online writing match between which martial art is better but rather a combined effort to better and learn from each other. This is a place to help me grow and learn from other experiences. To be able to ask a question and get more that what is asked. Through KF I have been given through other members a few doors to open to further my own art. There are many members here who I wish I could spend some one on one with and train with. You all have so much to offer. And just maybe I might be able to teach a thing or two. Perhaps that day will come. To end I would to thank the members and staff again for making this community what it is today and to Patrick for having the notion 10 years ago to create it.

Welcome Ashley

Congrats Patrick. You truly have created something special here. Jeffrey

Very true!

Good call...thanks Brian...you saved me!! Gentlemen...start your engines!! This made me smile.

Traps are a key point in self defense. In a real fight you normally don't have 4 feet of distance to play with. A real fight is up close and personal. Those who know how to trap will have a huge advantage.

There are a ton of apps for working out to keeping track of your runs through gps (this one I like) Brian the 100 push ups is there plus 200 squats and a few more. Be careful to pick the right one becuase there a few copy cats out there that are no good or buggy. I spent a few to many hours just looking through the app store.

That is just awesome! Congrats Brian!

The most rewarding experience for me is seeing a student get graded. Second best is seeing those that didn’t get graded return and not give up. I’m simple that way.

Welcome

Now there is a concept with which I am unfamiliar! A lot of what you get out is determinted by what your intention is in the first place. If you are just looking for another quick black belt and a few moves for your MMA then I'm not so sure that you are going to get much more from Karate than you are getting from your Kickboxing. For me, Karate is an all-consuming passion but I have known quite a few people try it for a couple of years and dismiss it as "useless" or "not realistic" and go back to Kickboxing, MMA or Muay Thai. It is sad because they have only scratched the surface, you never complete training you just get to a point of stagnation or lose interest which is more to do with the self than the art. I hope that you enjoy your Karate training and never feel that you have completed it Great Post!

This is such a tough question for me. Through out my life I have accomplished much and celebrated little. My mom used to keep a scrap book of ribbons and awards for various things but it never really meant much to me. After a swim meet or diving competition we would sometimes go out for pizza but I think it was more because we were all hungry. For the first set coloured belts in kempo I was on my own and didn’t really have anyone to celebrate with. Over the past few years in karate I celebrate the achievements of my kids with a dinner of their choice. They like it and it helps to work hard for next time. I was just awarded my brown belt a couple of weeks ago and a few people came over after class to share a beer and talk about the grading. I enjoyed that but I still rather keep it simple.

There are many different styles of karate. Like Sensei8 said it is the practitioner that makes the art. As far as ranking up, that too is different in every school. In some you can achieve BB in a couple of years. In my style it takes minimum of 4 years and if you chose to grade at that time you had better be awesome on the floor. If I were you I would spend more time on learning and less time worrying about ranking up. Karate is not about the belt but the journey.

I'm really glad things are begining to work out. This is good news.

Welcome Paul

Congrats!