Wastelander

The Wood Database is a great place to look, in my opinion--it's where I looked up information for my custom bo when I decided on an octagonal 6'6" bo made of Ipe. Purpleheart: http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/purpleheart/ Yellowheart: http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/yellowheart/ For bo durability, I go by the Janka Hardness, which is basically a measure of how hard it is to dent the wood. For hitting two sticks together, you want something that isn't going to dent easily, because that weakens the fibers of the wood and leads to chipping and breaking. Purpleheart has a rating of about 2300, while Yellowheart is at about 1700. By comparison, the Ipe my bo is made of is rated around 3600, and I have still managed to dent it. That said, my bo has broken three non-tapered oak bo so far

I would definitely ask your sensei, but I, personally, would start with the bo as well. It is easy to apply karate body mechanics to it, it feels fairly natural, and the grip changes are a good introduction to weapon manipulation.

Until this year, I had only ever done bodyweight exercises for strength. Starting in January of this year, I began a powerlifting routine and, although I haven't been 100% consistent, I have definitely seen results. I also haven't gotten slower, although my endurance has gone downhill a bit. I lift every time I go to the dojo (we have an Olympic weight set), and I stick to compound lifts as much as possible. Squats, overhead press, bench press, barbell row, and deadlift are my primary lifts, although sometimes I mix it up a bit. I also still do pull-ups and dips, and I should probably be doing more push-ups. @ Howard: Greatly increasing your high-protein caloric intake and the amount of sleep you get will go a long way toward improving your recovery after heavy lifting. There are supplements, such as BCAA's and glutamine, that are intended to assist recovery, but those things are in high-protein foods as it is. If you have trouble sleeping, taking a melatonin supplement can help, and I have heard good things about a supplement called Blackout, but you have to be careful about finding the appropriate dosage for yourself. Be sure to check with your doctor before taking any supplements, of course.

Don't worry too much about trying to prepare for training--the training prepares you by its very nature. Learning to count in Japanese is fine, as is learning some basic dojo etiquette, but trying to memorize terminology or movements will actually only cause you problems. Once you get on the mat, you just need to worry about what you are being taught right then, and everything else will come with time

You are most certainly not too old to start training! Welcome to the forum, and welcome to karate!

As Rateh stated, it's all well and good to say that people shouldn't sign contracts or pay more than $60 a month, but in some areas that just isn't a possibility. Where I am from, for example, martial arts schools are considered a "sports training facility" and are required, by law, to have contracts. Where I currently live, you aren't going to find martial arts training for less than $90 a month, with the exception of some judo or programs run out of the YMCA. What you really need to do is find a school with an instructor that you like that teaches good material in a format that works well for you. You shouldn't worry so much about the style you practice as its effectiveness (do the techniques work under pressure?), it's comprehensiveness (covers striking range, clinching range, and grappling) and how well it is being taught (for you, personally).

Check out all of the martial arts schools that you could possibly attend in your area, watch classes, talk to the instructor and some students, and try out some classes. Train at whichever place you like better. Your build has nothing to do with this decision

I couldn't tell you how she does it--it almost looks double-knotted, but I don't know how you could possibly double-knot a belt that thick.

We have all students under the age of 18 wear the usual dipped foam head/hand/foot gear and a mouth guard, and we highly recommend groin protectors but parents seem to ignore that. They are also restricted to light contact unless they are sparring adults, and then the adults still only use light contact on the youth students. Adults can wear that type of gear if they want, but most of us use MMA-style sparring gloves, groin protectors, mouth guards, and whatever combination (or lack thereof) of shin guards or foot gear they want. We don't hit as hard as Kyokushin people in sparring--I would classify our kumite as "medium contact"--but we do hit hard enough that you can end up with bruises, bloody noses, or black eyes even with the protective gear. We also incorporate sweeps, throws, takedowns, joint locks, chokes, and general grappling in our sparring, so we spar on a padded floor. While I understand where you are coming from, I don't think there is really anything gained by a lack of protective equipment. Generally, if you spar without protective gear, you will either pull your strikes more or you will end up with lots of injuries in your dojo. Neither of those is really beneficial to training--the more you pull your strikes in training, the harder it will be to overcome that in a fight, and if you get injured in training you might have to stop training for a while, or you could even get in trouble with your employer. In my mind, traditional karate training was done with control instead of protective equipment because they didn't HAVE protective equipment. Until Mabuni Kenwa introduced it, anyway: http://www.shitokaihonduras.org/historia/kumitemabuni.jpg

Sensei Ahrens has a good reputation--I hope you enjoy your training with him! If you have any questions about the style, our kata, our techniques, etc., feel free to send me a PM and I will help out however I can.

Welcome to the forum, and welcome to the Shorinkan! I am a student of Shorinkan Shorin-Ryu out here in Arizona. Is your dojo run by Sensei Ahrens, by any chance? I haven't met him personally, but I know him through Facebook and my instructor knows him.

The Shureido lasts a long time, if you take care of it--it's hard to argue with success. The Ronin uses thicker fabric (16oz canvas) that feels tougher, but I've only used it a couple times because I haven't gotten it hemmed, so it's hard for me to say how it stands the test of time. Even if it doesn't last quite as long, though, it might be worth it due to the price difference. I have noticed Ronin has raised their prices quite a bit over the past few years, though.

I can't speak to Meijin, but my Sensei wears a size 5 Shureido and he is 5'10" and 160lbs, so a 6 would probably be appropriate for you. That said, I have a size 5 Ronin and at 6'1" and 180lbs it is actually too big for me! I've washed it in hot water and dried it on high heat 4 times and it's still pretty bulky, in general. The sleeves and pant legs are badly in need of hemming, as well, because they cover my hands and feet completely.

Those who teach others are always going to have an impact on the students who are open to learning from them. Even as a brown belt assisting with classes, I have had students tell me that I've made a huge impact on them. One of my former students was actually written about in a newspaper article covering academically excellent high schoolers, and in it he said that I was his role model. Holding that type of place in a person's life is a great honor, but you are absolutely right about it being a big responsibility. No one is perfect, but we can do our best to be a good example for our students and help them make good decisions in and out of the dojo.

Congratulations!

I've never really understood why some styles label the Naihanchi kata as "advanced" or "black belt level." Naihanchi is considered the foundation of Shorin-Ryu (our branch of it, at least) and all three levels are taught before the Pinan series. The basic pattern of movements is very simple to learn, and the applications of the kata are very effective and versatile. From a conceptual standpoint, the Naihanchi kata provide a training platform for power generation, fluidity, lateral movement, trapping, limb control, and close-range striking. As far as specific applications, I like starting out with the "grab something and hit it" approach--the salutation at the beginning (open hand in front of your face, closed fist placed in the palm, hands open and press down, foot steps across) works very well for this. There are also plenty of joint destruction techniques in Naihanchi, which I'm quite fond of. There are really too many applications for Naihanchi to write them all up, though. Of course, there are several variations of Naihanchi, as well, and that changes the applications. Did you have any particular movements in mind?

It would be foolish to assume that fighting is purely physical. Whether you are engaged in sporting combat or a self defense situation, you need to be fully aware of yourself, your opponent, and your surroundings. You also need to be cognizant of the consequences of your actions, which requires forethought. Aside from that, we have to deal with high levels of stress/anxiety, adrenal response, and psychological barriers to violence. Fighting is really very complex.

Welcome to the forums!

EPAK has a lot of neat stuff in it, and I think that even if you don't decide to stick with it you will benefit from it. A lot of the techniques you can learn from them will open your eyes to the applications of your kata.

A full write-up, with pictures, as well as the video my instructor's girlfriend recorded of my fight, is now on my blog! For those who just want to watch the fight, here is the link, and if you don't want to see me get beaten up you should skip to about 7:20 in the video

Congratulations!

Well, I was perfectly fine until the bell rang for the first round to start, and then I got tunnel vision. He seemed really far away, and then he threw a jab that I thought for sure I slipped, but then it hit me in the mouth and I tasted blood. That made me hesitate long enough for him to take me down, and he subsequently beat me up for the rest of the first round. In the second round, I didn't have any more hesitation and figured he was going to try and take me down again, right away. I threw a lead leg roundhouse kick to his shoulder, expecting him to duck in for a takedown. That's exactly what happened, and he dropped when the bony knob at the top of my instep connected with his jaw. That was exactly what I planned on, and I had actually planned on doing it in the first round (I knew from previous fights of his that he was open for it) but hesitated too much. The ref actually told me it was a lucky shot, and I had to explain to him that it was completely intentional . There was some confusion though, because I threw it karate style (with a chamber) and from each camera angle it looks different. From one, it looks like I hit him with me knee (illegal in amateur MMA), from another, it looks like I hit him in the body with the kick and knocked him out with a punch, and the other it looks like I hit him with my shin to his jaw. I had to tell four people that I hit him with my foot, and the ref backed me up, because they wanted to know if they were going to disqualify me or give me the Knockout of the Night. I was awarded Knockout of the Night! It was a learning experience and a tough challenge! There was video of it from several angles, so I'm hoping I can get some of that and share it with everyone. Here is me in the stands afterward--I'm a little marked up, and I managed to come down with a cold within an hour of the fight, but otherwise I'm fine: http://s12.postimg.org/r81mjh1j1/Post_Fight.jpg

Tomorrow night, sometime between 8pm and 10pm, I will be stepping into the cage to compete in my amateur MMA debut at Rage in the Cage 167. My opponent will be Nathaniel Abril, a wrestler with an MMA record of 3-0 (you can watch his last fight ), and we will be fighting at 175lbs with the Arizona Boxing and MMA Commission's amateur ruleset. Those rules are based on the Unified Rules of MMA, but the rounds will only be 3 minutes long, elbows are not allowed, knees are not allowed to the head or on the ground, and foot stomps are not allowed.The fights will be streamed live on the internet,, but they didn't make it free so I don't really expect anybody to watch it . If anybody IS interested in watching it live, I put some information on my blog. I am going to try to get the footage of my fight so I can upload it personally, so if nobody is able to watch it live I still hope to be able to share it in the coming weeks. Wish me luck!

Our organization doesn't have requirements for that sort of thing. My dojo, specifically, has a tier structure for private lessons, ranging from $15 to $70 depending on how long you want the lesson to be and who you want to train with. A private lesson with a senior brown belt or junior black belt will cost less than a private lesson with one of the black belts, and a lesson with our head instructor will cost more than that. Those of us who help teach are compensated by discounted or free training, which also includes some private instruction every now and then.

It is generally recommended that you avoid strenuous or highly engaging physical or mental activities for about 2 hours before going to sleep. Martial arts counts. You are really just training too late at night and you are full of endorphins and ideas when it's time to go to bed. You can try a hot bath, in addition to meditation and chamomile tea, but your best options are really to either stop training so late at night, or sleep in.