Fearun9033

Club: JKA (Japan Karate Association) Westmount Karate Club City: Montreal, Canada Sensei: Ashraf Ismail (5th Dan)

I love tournaments, more for the social aspect than anything! I mean, you get to see people that share the same interest and network. You also will most likely see them year after year! Definitely is a great opportunity. Having said that, best of luck!

I really enjoy Bassai-Sho although it is way beyond my current level. It feels more smooth and is a good contrast to the sharp, straight attacks I'm mostly used to by now (heians, tekki and bassai dai).

I think competing is pretty fun For my level, it's mostly kata and very simple planned sparring. I only went twice, but I definitely loved the experience! It also motivates me to practice more and gold medals feel good

Welcome to the world of Karate I am glad that you decided to start pursuing this art. Don't worry too much about how the senseis and ur sempais treat you, martial art will grow on you! I remember my first few classes... what a nightmare indeed. The higher level belts didn't pay attention to me and the only time my sensei would talk to me was to say "Ugh... no good. No good..." with a disappointed look. My mindset was that martial art takes a long time to get anywhere and that the harsher my sensei is to me, the greater the reward when one day I will please him So don't give up!!! You can totally do it

Yup yup, Jack of all Trades, Master of None, though Oft time better, than a master of one I love that quote. You are right, it is completely up to the OP to decide what to do with the training regime. I personally would never have enough time for both martial arts at the moment. From a practical point of view, I still believe mastering 1 art is more useful in self-defense than knowing many arts. Although I might be wrong! xD

Your analogy is very true Lupin and I would like to keep building on it from my point of view. I think MMA learn all at the same time but the advantage is that it is a style in itself that encompasses all rather than several different styles in one. Also, I don't think they have many katas to learn. Also on that analogy with school, it is true that you learn many, many topics when you are young. You can learn a lot at the same time. But when you move onto university and graduate/post-graduate degrees, they all learn ONE thing at a time. It is nigh impossible to do many PhDs at the same time. I'm saying that it's possible to do many styles at the same time, but mastering any of them will become harder and take longer. I'd personally rather have 1 mastered and strong martial art and a weak complementing art than 2 or more so-so martial skills.

I agree with Pers. This is my plan: to get a black belt in Shotokan then complement with ground fighting techniques in Judo or BJJ.

I'm sorry, that came out wrong. I didn't mean someone that "sucked" at everything, I meant that the person would be like a Jack-Of-all-Trades, master of none in Martial Arts (which I don't think is beneficial). I didn't mean to offend anyone!

If you have time and energy for both, I'd say go for both. I personally am in Shotokan and considering Judo or BJJ in the future. However, due to time restrictions, I will wait until I get my black belt in Shotokan before I start anything else. So yeah, if you can do both at the same time, go for it. I have a friend who is considering stopping one to start the other. I think this is a bad idea because you will be new at your new martial art and then tend to become rusty in the old martial making you someone who isn't really good at anything lol

KarateGeorge, you are absolutely right. I know a lot of people like your acquaintances who really want to eat healthy (who doesn't?) but have no clue how or where to start. Many of us are very used to the North American diet. I used to have meat almost everyday. Then I learned that one of the healthiest diets in the world is the Mediterranean diet which includes a LOT of vegetables, fruits, nuts and fish but very little actual meat. I tried changing to that in one shot but it was very very difficult because we are just so used to our way of eating. But yes, everything in moderation. We should all avoid fast foods whenever we can. I remember one of my friends who was shocked that McD's salad is not as healthy as he thinks! Indeed the veggies are good in there but take a look at the dressing and the amount of saturated fat and sodium is shocking! Personally, I take salad the simplest and healthiest way: extra virgin olive oil with balsamic vinegar (and a little pepper). Oh well, we need more awareness about healthy eating and exercising. Many companies are jumping the "healthy" bandwagon and flooding the media with lots of (often misleading) information. I am trying to give the most basic and [hopefully] right info with my little articles.

Ah steak is so good it's hard to quit xD But I succeeded. I was actually joking a bit. In all seriousness, a good piece of steak is only good for the protein content. Eating meat is generally not that good for health. You are right, we are allowed 300mg of cholesterol/day. A steak piece contains anywhere around 50 to 100mg of cholesterol. BUT, a piece of steak, even one that looks lean, contains around 6 dice-sized cubes of butter in terms of saturated fat. Even if you can't see the fat, it is there. It is more the combined effects of these 2 substances. Don't forget that along with steak, I tend to have fries (uh oh), gravy (double uh oh) and soft drink (dead). There are also a lot of environmental concerns about eating meat, but I won't go into details about that. Just for general knowledge, a single kilo of beef requires 7 kg of grains and 16,000L of water to produce. Compare this with corn which only requires around 900L per kilo and you see how much of an impact we have on our environment.

True true! I remember having this argument with my sensei about a certain detail in a kata and saying how I saw it this way with another sensei etc. He just replied: "maybe he's right, but he's not the one giving you the belt so worry about making ME happy, not him". Oh well

Hey everyone, As a medical student, people's health is something I am very passionate about. When I last was around the hospital making small talk with some patients, I noticed that a lot of people are conscious about their health but are confused by so many warnings and information out there. I decided to put whatever knowledge I have and make small articles about healthy living and stuff like that. The first topic I chose is about fats and cholesterol, which I am sure you've all heard a lot about in the news these days. Many people are confused about the differences and their effects so I will make an article on that. Depending on the response to this article, I might consider making more in the future! So here goes for healthy living! Introduction So what are fats and cholesterols? Without going into too much detail, the mushy part of our body (yes, that mass hiding all of our amazing six packs) is mainly comprised of fats. Fats (made of fatty acids stored in adipose/fat tissues) serve many functions in our body: Not only do they supply energy to our cells for all kinds of reactions, they provide insulation from cold and cushion our tissues from trauma and damage. Cholesterol, on the other hand, are a class of small molecules called steroids (don't be alarmed, these are not what un-ethical athletes dose on). These substances are vital for our body's function too as they are what our cells use to make its membrane and many of our body's hormones. What's the problem then? If you believe statistics, 65% of Americans are overweight and 35% of them are obese. In short, they have too much fat in their body. In addition to social stigma and the annoyance of having to buy an extra seat on an airplane for a person that isn't travelling with you, being overweight has many health implications. The main concerns about being overweight are heart disease (such as heart attacks, strokes and high blood pressure) and diabetes (when your body is unable to properly regulate blood sugar levels). High levels of cholesterol, on the other hand, can lead these substances to be deposited in your arteries (leading to a thickening of the arteries in a condition known as arteriosclerosis). Not only does that lead to an eventual blockage of the arteries, cholesterol tends to oxidize over time (think of rust). When cholesterol oxidizes, your body perceives it as foreign and your immune system is activated, causing inflammation at the site of the blockage. Sometimes, these deposits (known as plaques) can burst, causing even more damage and even death in a heart attack. So in short, high levels of fat and cholesterol in the body is undesirable. Where did I get the fats and cholesterols? Fats are mainly taken in from the diet. Before we go any further, we must clarify the two main types of fat you find in food: - Saturated fats: are fats that are found mainly in land animal products such as meat and butter. Without going into organic chemistry, saturated fats are "saturated" because all of their fatty acid chains are saturated with hydrogens. These fats stack very well together at the molecular level and are very stable. That is why they are usually solid at room temperature (think for example, butter). - Unsaturated fats: are fats that are mainly found in plant oil and fish oil. From an organic chemical point of view, these fats have kinks and bends in their fatty acid chains because not all of their carbons are associated with hydrogens (some have double bonds). As a result, they don't stack as well and tend to be liquid at room temperature (think for example, olive oil). Unsaturated fats are usually good for the health. Still, remember that moderation is key. It is important to watch those nutritional infos they print on the package. Saturated fats, on the other hand, are usually not that good for health mainly because they stimulate the body to produce cholesterol. In fact, the body produces 80% of the cholesterol, with the other 20% coming from the diet. Be aware that some food labels can be misleading when they say CONTAINS 0 CHOLESTEROL but contain quantities of saturated fat; the end result will still be a raise in cholesterol levels. Also note that cholesterol is ONLY found in animal products. Fruits and vegetables will never contain cholesterol (unless they are somehow evilly engineered to do so, God help us all). Now I'm sure you've all heard about trans-fats. These fats are originally unsaturated fats that have undergone some chemical reactions to make them more saturated (and stable) for purposes like frying. The problem with trans fatty acids is that, although they are unsaturated fats, they behave just like saturated fats and also help raise blood cholesterol levels. There are also two kinds of cholesterol out there (actually, there is 1 kind of cholesterol that is imbedded/carried in two types of lipoproteins): - LDL (or Low-Density Lipoproteins): generally considered the "bad" cholesterol. - HDL (or High-Density Lipoproteins): considered the "good" cholesterol. Suppose your cells work like a shipping port that receives shipments of cholesterol from these LDL and HDL carrier ships. LDL usually arrives at the docks, dumps the cholesterol in the cells and moves on. However, when you have too much LDL in your body, all the unloading docks at the port are occupied. Any stray LDL simply dumps their content into surrounding tissue (such as your arteries). HDL, however, salvages those dumped cholesterol and keeps them away from the arteries. When you visit the doctor to get your levels checked, they usually calculate your total cholesterol but also your individual LDL and HDL levels. Doctors will often suggest you to lower your overall cholesterol and raise your HDL levels if possible. However, note that foods that contain cholesterol tend to raise both so avoiding cholesterol in excess is generally the best path. So there you have it folks, a quick guide to the different fats and cholesterol in your food and diet. For healthy living, one must try to limit intakes of fat and avoid saturated fatty foods whenever possible (yes... bye bye steak ). A routine checkup with the doctor is also highly recommended as you do not need to be overweight to have a high cholesterol level and be predisposed to heart attack and strokes. Also, a routine checkup can find tumors early and increase treatment possibilities (not that I wish cancer on anyone! It's just that it's better to find it early than late). So thank you all! And may you all live healthy and happy lives. If you have any comments, suggestions for improvements/future topics or insults about this article and future (possible) articles, please PM me or reply directly to this threat.

Well that's a pretty bummer way to say it... I prefer to say that the ultimate truth in Karate is not perfection of technique, but the non-stop effort to achieve it And I disagree with you Jake, you can know a kata and understand it.