Fearun9033

I was just leaning towards Jiujitsu or Judo for the ground-based combat form. This I think will fill the gap nicely. I mean the worst nightmare for me would be to fall on my behind during a fight and be unable to properly retaliate. Or, for example, after sending an assailant to the floor and asking that person to stay on the floor (for example if I am being mugged and I called the cops). If the person refuses to stay down and wants to get up again, I would not know what to do (besides curbstomping that person, but that would be too much violence). I think a submission choke would do nicely. Thanks for your addition!

Top thinking! And also props for thinking about the safety of the other teenagers! =) Thought out like a real martial artist.

Oh board games. I love scrabble. Monopoly is just too damn long (unless you play first time-buy, second time-hotel). Risk is really fun too. but my personal favorite is Pandemic. It's a coop game tackling a world epidemic (*cough*swine flu anyone?*cough*) and it's really a good game! Due to its coop nature, my friends and I are less likely to get verbal as in Risk hahaha

I haven't personally investigated the iPad as I have a desktop, a laptop, a netbook and an ipod touch (so I didn't see the need int he foreseeable future for a tablet). From what I heard, it's basically an oversized, over-glorified iPod touch. Is that true?

Great idea on the thread! =) It's so good to see that fellow martial artists hail from everywhere and have such varied backgrounds and interests! Personally, besides Shotokan, I enjoy many things: - Video games (d'oh, I should be studying): currently on PC - Starcraft, COD4 MW, TF2, L4D2, etc., - Classical piano, - Cooking, - Volunteering as a first aider and at the hospital, - Juggling with a prop called the diabolo, - And I guess just spending quality time reading National Geographic. I'm not a big sports person. I personally suck at every conceivable sport besides karate and badminton.

Welcome to the forum! And man I feel your pain!!! The first time I fought (back when I was yellow belt) some orange belt kid knocked me in the face and ran my glasses into my nose-bridge (ouch). Now I fight without glasses. You get the feel after a while. That didn't stop me though because I kept a positive attitude. Personally, my biggest fear during any fight was pain. Then I just thought to myself, whatever pain I sustain in a dojo is only to make me strong (some hardcore kyukushinkai dojos I've seen in China actually has students getting punched in the stomach repeatedly to strengthen their endurance - Not that I approve of that). Once you don't fear pain, there's not much else you can be scared of. Lots of practice, and just don't think during a fight. Remain in control, but don't think and just go with it.

Tonight, 1:30 training at dojo. 10mins. comprehensive stretch. Kihon (basics) for 1 hour straight including high intensity stances, kicks, punches and blocks. ~20 minutes intensive non-stop kata. Ran over time, so cool down was me running to catch the bus.

I agree!!! Martial arts can get you hooked. Well, speaking from a scientific point of view, an addiction is something that causes a strong dependence, causes physical withdrawal symptoms when the stimulus is removed and creates tolerance. So yeah, I'm very dependent on getting my weekly 3 doses of training and if I don't, I get cranky and sad. I also feel like I could do more and MOOORE. So there you have, clinical definition of addition right there haha But on a more serious note, physical activity causes your brain to generate endorphins, serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, all neurotransmitters that help enhance mood, create a sense of accomplishment and euphoria. Dopamine plays a key role in reward pathway and is responsible for most addictions so it's not surprising one can get hooked on something like Martial Arts especially if you are really enjoying yourself!!! I personally find that my trainings have SOOO many benefits it's scary. I get a good dose of exercise, I get to socialize with fellow karatekas, I get less depressed after a long day, I get more energy, I get more self-esteem, I learn to defend myself and those I love, I got to be mentally more mature, I learned about discipline *gasps for air* and the list goes on.

I personally have a routine for Shotokan Karate which is rather simple and not very time consuming. First of all, I think the most important 3 things for Karate are physical endurance, pectoral muscles and the quadriceps in front of the legs. I'm not super hardcore in terms of training, but what I usually do is jogging (Bruce Lee himself said that cardio is super important). For the pects, I do pushups (you can do them on your first 2 knuckles like me to strengthen them). For the quads, I do squats followed by a front kick. So squat down, up, front kick, down up, change legs. I also complement with sit ups. I asked my sensei and he said that these are basically the most important muscle groups. By all means, keep doing whatever routine you already have, I'm just pointing out what I think are the most important. Hope it helps!

Oh thanks! =D Seems it was wrong to compare the ranking systems. I just wanted to clarify things because their dojo seemed pretty good. I even might take up kendo. It would be awesome to learn how to handle a weapon as an extension of the body as opposed to only using the body. Thank you for your insight.

Welcome to the forums! hope you enjoy your stay

Thank you for your insight! Now that you have told me this, it does make extra sense. I do feel that I can be faster with my hands and be more precise. My question is, suppose I am out of range of my hands, but within range for kicking. Suppose running away is also not an option, should I still attempt to keep distance and throw kicks and GO IN and attempt to disarm?

Agreed, the low-impact, yoga-like version of Tai Chi is highly popular in China and includes slow movements and focus on breathing. More of a meditation than an actual martial art. The combat form of Taijiquan is very, very hard to find. I personally haven't found a single good dojo of that in my area. I heard that this style focuses very much on fluid movements that uses the opponent's momentum against himself rather than hard fighting. It would be cool to learn

I did notice that there are some rather short ranged attacks in some katas. I'm not saying Shotokan is useless in close-in fighting. It's just that in free sparring, Shotokan practitioners know how to keep distance, preferring long-range techniques over brawling. Now, i'm just saying that suppose some idiot you meet in the street rushes at you and you somehow didn't take him down or he took u by surprise and is basically in your face, Shotokan doesn't prepare one for that per se; compare this to Muay Thai which has so much emphasis on knee (which i believe are illegal in Shotokan competition) and elbow strikes and you start to see my point. Also, I'm not doing grappling for whatever "fad" you guys are mentioning, I just think it might complement Shotokan well.

I understand that they are completely different things. And I agree too, I've been in that situation. However, like I said, if you are doing the Katas as if you are fighting an opponent, the katas help your technique become more powerful and your kumite will improve. So yes, we are kicking and punching "air", but like my sensei says: "If your spirit is there, the only difference between air and an opponent is that one of them will be in pain at the end of your technique." Also, I dunno about your dojo/style, but my sensei never teaches us to "block" in the traditional sense. We all imagine that an incoming punch to the face should be met with a stance going backwards using an upward block to block the opponent's wrist. I have always been taught that, should an opponent throw a punch, you go FORWARD, into his space. You shove your knee somewhere close to his crotch (to undo his balance) and your upward block now actually becomes an upper strike directed under his shoulder or skull. It is a very intimidating thing to do because instinct tells us to back away from danger. But once mastered, this can be deadly.

Oh, ok I wasn't aware of that. From my knowledge everyone in that class had to pass an exam and about 90% of them jumped a grade. I doubt that it has to do with tournaments. Thank you anyways! =)

I personally think it depends on your level. If I was beginning an art, I'd first choose group classes (for economic reasons among others). I would like to learn and be part of the group and interact with other students. that is how I learned Karate. Once in a while, I'd get a one-on-one class with my sensei and it would reinforce techniques; so you progress definitely much faster one on one! I think higher levels (black belts and up) would benefit most from one on one instruction compared to lower levels. Personally, I find it intimidating.

Thank you for the clarification Jay! I will definitely check out BJJ then (even if it means getting a crotch to the face every now and then). My dojo is relatively small (20~ students) so not that many black belts and we don't focus that much on grappling. I guess all dojos have their own teaching style. I know some dojos even focus a lot on weapon training.

I've actually asked my sensei a few times if all these katas we do actually help in any way in a real fight. So many katas just seem so decorative and bizarre that they feel just like dancing (sequence of movements with rhythm). He told me something and I think it makes sense. Not only does kata help with general fitness and muscle toning, the bunkai (application) is the most important part of kata. He told me that when you practice kata, do not practice it as a dance (oops), practice it while imagining all the applications and as if an opponent is attacking you in reality. This means, large techniques, fast, strong and focused. But I think the most important thing about kata is that as you practice the sequence, those sequences get reflexive and second nature. Let me explain. When I was a white belt and I spared against someone, I used to think too much. I could at most throw 1 technique or 2 in succession. When I block, I often forget to return an attack. But with Kata (which has a lot of technique successions) and practice, whenever I see a punch to the face, my reflex kicks in and I instinctively block, grab, front kick, punch, throw. So I think that is the most important aspect of kata and it has definitely helped me during combat because you think less and react faster. During kihon, we do all basics very exaggerated, but during combat, you realize that you become much faster. Hope it answered your question1

Hi everyone, I'm not a kendoka but I'd like to know if any of you can help me with understanding the ranking system in Kendo. What I [think I] know is that Kendo has a similar ranking system as in Karate (10 kyus, dans and so on). What I want to know is that how fast do you advance in grades? I'm asking this because I have a few friends in kendo and I just want to make sure they haven't gone into like a mcdojo or anything. They started half a year ago and are now already 4th kyu. One of them told me that by summer, they will be Ikyu, which is quite surprising because in Karate, it took me 2 and a half years to get 5th kyu. Please don't misjudge my comment as being jealousy or anything, I simply want to know if the ranking system does make them advance faster (different value than in karate) or if they have stumbled into a not very serious kendo dojo. Some info: they train 2 times a week, 2 hours each, so it's not like they are doing world competition level training. They only bought a shinai and the dojo lends them the hakama, gi and bogu. thanks in advance EDIT: After a little bit of research, I actually found that Kendo only has 6 kyus. Sorry for my ignorance. Do they still advance as fast?

I was just thinking about a grappling art and/or something that focuses more on infighting. This is especially true in Shotokan because my sensei never teaches any grappling technique. The closest thing I've got is a few leg sweep techniques and sweeping hip throw. In most sparring competitions, once a hit has been scored, it's over. If you throw down someone and follow with a hit, he/she scores and both participants stop. I know in real life this isn't likely to happen haha. There's only 1 kata in all of Shotokan (to my knowledge) that has a technique on the ground; Unsu has 2 kicks from the ground. Hahaha I might take up judo or jiujitsu once I feel I'm ready to branch! Thanks Tomcat for your insight into the different styles and dojos! I think there are a few programs of judo or sambo at my university. I might check it out later. Sorry Dr. Frank, I might have misformulated what I meant. I didn't mean that Shotokan is "marginally" effective, I just said that it is useful to some degree. What I really meant was that it is effective in long-range, standing situations and not during in-fighting and grappling/ground fights. I've seen my sensei fight (real sparring, not robot technique demonstration) and it's almost impossible to touch him. Thanks for all the insight!

I guess what he was trying to say was to not be a "Jack-of-all-Trades, master of none". I think the main thing with mastering so many kicks is that you ultimately don't have time and your average kick becomes weaker than if you focused on it. As for the flashy moves and all, I used to find my training REALLY boring because all we did was Front Snap Kick, Side Snap Kick, Side Thrust Kick and Roundhouse kick, with the occasional back spin kick. I, in my early foolish years, complained to my sensei that nothing we did looked "cool". He told me something I would never forget: And I find this very true! I mean, if you can masterfully execute a front snap kick and disable your opponent with a pinpoint strike to the solar plexus, why use a triple backflip 360 spin double somersault jump round flying tornado kick? Ok I was exaggerating, but you get the point! If you think about it, these "basic" kicks are quick, powerful and stable; they get the job done! I've spared once with my friend who did Wu Shu. He was very intimidating at first with his butterfly spin kicks and I was taken completely by surprise. But once I got the feel for them, the kicks were pretty ineffective and I could easily throw him off balance. And don't forget, without setting a good and deep foundation (mastering basics), how would you expect a tall building to be stable? Hope it helps with your question!

Hey everyone! I'm currently a 5th kyu training in Shotokan. I've heard a lot of people telling me that training in more than one style is beneficial as it allows learning more techniques and applications and get a wider grasp on things. So my question it: What style/martial art would complement well my Shotokan training? I'm not going to start until a few years from now but I'm starting to look around (for good dojos and all). By complement, I don't mean it has to be similar, it can be very different and even completely unrelated martial art. I personally would like to have something that focuses more real combat applications. I know Shotokan is still useful to some degrees in real combat (with its kicks and focus on maintaining a safe distance). I've thought sometimes about Kyokushinkai karate, Wing Chun or even Krav Maga. Any suggestions (with argument)? Please, "this" style is "better" than "that" is not an argument hehe.

This made me remember something If you told me this story a couple of years back before I started doing Karate, I would've been all like "Dude, you completely got that from some kung-fuey movie!" But now that I've actually been through it, I can second that feeling you got! I'm afraid that some kid in the future will say I got my story from some kung fu movie too haha

Thanks!!!