GaryMo

I have to say, I only see the soto uki, uchi uki then onto the sweeping catch then soto uki.

I think you're looking at his right arm that comes from across his body to complete an uchi-uke just before the sweeping block.

As suggested above, and taught by my Sensei (KUGB Shotokan), it's to catch a kick and throw them off balance. It's still there in our syllabus.

Did my third on Thursday since the new year and that's after a 2 month break due to a twinging lower back. Should have attempted to do light stretching whist I was away from training as I'm suffering now!

Shotokan is the only style I've experienced so that's where my vote went!

My Sensei specifically tells us not to do that. You're telegraphing a spinning attack and against a good counter puncher you'll end up with a hole in your back.

Practice by performing the turn then execute a mai geri before thrusting your leg backwards for the ushiro geri. That way you're ensuring you're upright before the the ushiro geri.

If you successfully complete your combinations, bassai dai, ju ippon and ju kumite then you'll be asked to step forward and will be given a final kata, either a heian or tekki shodan. You won't get a choice.

3500kcal is equivalent to around 1lb of body weight so for an average person with no medical issues to lose weight at a rate of 1lb per week they would need to create a deficit of around 500kcal per day from maintenance. I dropped from around 14st to 12st around 3 years ago using that logic with a constant deficit created either through a drop in calories when on a day I wasn't training or aiming for around 500 calorie usage when training. Losing weight for an average person is a pretty simple thing to do, as long as you have willpower and no excuses (most people have no will power and a boat-load of excuses). Many people I know also choose not count alcohol consumption in their diet which at 7kcal per gram certainly adds up!

I'm sure Dobbersky will be along soon. He teaches a form of Ashihara Karate in Manchester.

Snap! Whilst I do love sparring I don't use it as an excuse to beat people up. I'll generally up my game when sparring with more experienced members and lower it when sparring with less experienced. That way we all get something out of it.

Out of interest, who's your Sensei? Mine is Billy Higgins, 7th Dan in Shotokan with a similar amount of experience time wise.

I pay a license fee to the KUGB annually which is required to grade, enter competitions and enables you to participate in any of the free courses offered over the year. It also functions as a record book for your grade and does indeed offer limited insurance. I also pay a second fee for club membership which goes towards the running cost of our club.

Mawashi Geri (roundhouse) - Yoko Geri Kekomi (side thrust)-

Maybe you thought it just wasn't worth the hassle? I'm sure if the guy had approached you then the situation would have changed and your instincts would have taken over. You did the right thing anyway, don't over-analyse it.

My style is Shotokan so sparring is more continuous whilst acknowledging a good point. Good control is a must though. When sparring with certain people it turns more to semi contact but the realisation is that a lot of us have families to provide for and need to be fit for work so I'd say it's a good compromise, for me anyway.

Nine days since it happened and it's starting to get better. My voice is around 95% back though still have that sore throat feeling when swallowing. Still, it's better by the day. My windpipe is still very sensitive when putting anything other than very light pressure on it. I think that'll be a few weeks before that's improved. Will try and go back next week if my ribs will allow though no contact and taking it easy will be in order!

Thanks. I'll make sure I do just that sometime. It'll be good to see how other clubs train.

Ouch indeed! Just starting to try solid foods now. Sick of soup and mushed up weetabix! My throat is still very sore, both internally when swallowing and externally but is steadily getting better. My voice is starting to come back somewhere near to normality now. Was supposed to be grading tomorrow for 1st Kyu but that's not going to happen, also there was a competition next Saturday which I was going to enter both individual and team kumite, again, not going to happen I've possibly got a cracked rib to go with my throat. I remember taking a punch and immediately backed off but within seconds was hit in the throat. A bad night all round for me. Anyway, my ribs are still hurting when taking deep breath, coughing, or attempting to laugh, not that I've got anything to laugh about! Oh what fun we have! Lol

That I can totally relate to. I'm not sure how strengthening my next muscles would have helped as my windpipe protrudes past the muscles so took the full impact. If I remember rightly I stepped forward as my opponent came in with an oi tsuki so it all happened so quickly. To be honest I couldn't help but be impressed with just how effective the whole technique was.

Thanks. Still quite painful. Drinking isn't too bad and food had just been soup today as I couldn't handle anything solid. The worst thing is my voice. I sound like I've got an electronic speech box! I hope that improves swiftly!

I was last night during sparing with a ever so slightly off target and accidental oi tsuki. For a few seconds there was no air at all. I thought I was going to die! Breathing then started to come back and along came the pain. Never again do I want to suffer a blow to the throat. Quite possibly the most painful thing I've experienced. Anyway, after I got home I realised I couldn't swallow so drinking was out of the question so I popped up to our local hospital for fear of how it could develop overnight if it wasn't assessed. After receiving adrenaline via a nebuliser and a steroid through IV they admitted me overnight for observation. I even suffered the discomfort of a snake like camera up my nostril and down my throat to assess my larynx. All was fine and the diagnosis was just soft tissue damage. It just goes to show how effective a strike to the throat can be, especially as the one I received wasn't full power.

I started Shotokan Karate two years ago at 37, two years on and I'm now a 2nd Kyu and thoroughly enjoy it for many reasons. You're definitely not too old!

I find that my front foot faces directly forward before the kick but after the kick (during which my front leg becomes the supporting leg then the back leg) it's turned slightly outwards, as it should be when in a zenkutsu dachi stance. My kicking foot lands directly forward.

I've not ironed either of my White Diamond Gi's now for the past 12 months. I just fold them like this though stop short of using my belt to hold it together.When it's unfolded I find there's hardly any creases and those that are there fall out within 10 minutes of wearing it.