wayneshin

Yep - If you get thechance say hello. I will be the tall somewhat bald coach with glasses (my username is a giveaway)

Will definitely be there but not as a competitor (those days are well behind me) I have 30 plus students enetering so will be very busy coaching. Looks a good event - I had a quick look this morning - so far competitors from all over Australia and a group coming over from New Zealand.

Well done for getting back into it. A lot more tournament opportunities in Melbourne over the next couple of months. Are you entering the Melbourne Intenational on 23 Feb. The beauty of that is those state and national team members can only enter the Elite categories. You can enter development or both.

It really is a combination or core stability and leg strength. There a many ways to develop this but the simplest to explain in writing is simply practice your multiples while holding on to a wall. Work on key elements such as body alignment and chamber position then gradually decrease your reliance on the wall. Hold on with 2 fingers then 1 then not at all. As has been mentioned there are other ways to be dangerous with your legs. Faked kicks to preframe a response or setting up your kicks with your hands. Also as a shorter fighter you should also consider lower level kicks. If leg kicks are not an option in your style develop good body kicks.

Thanks Adam. I have similar problems with my son. Youngest child syndrome. I'll try this!

I have had a number of Tokaido. They go through the wash and drier regularly and don't shrink.

Both Facebook and website. Facebook has become invaluable for sharing information and we are just starting to scratch the surface of using it for marketing.

Annan is Shito Ryu. I didn't think there was much between the kata performances. Japan were far more athletic during the bunkai but pushed the boundaries of realism a very long way.

Is it possible this was the aftermath of a training session. Karate and other martial arts can be very hard on this region. Think of all the punching and often push ups which work through the anterior of your upper body and esp if you are punching ‘air’ your upper back has to act as a brake compounding the problem. Also can be magnified if you are spending long hours in front of a computer. I’m speaking from personal experience through all of this – I used to get tension headaches which originated in my neck/shoulders that were so severe that I was incapacitated for hours. I do a number of things now to alleviate them. Regular massage through the neck and back area. I have a little spikey ball I use on the front point of my shoulder to loosen this area. Two tennis balls that I have taped together (think of a peanut) to mobilise my thorassic area – either when I am in a computer chair or laying down. (Do a youtube search on tennis balls thorassic) Strengthening work through the back (eg rowing using a thera-band or similar) It all helps as long as I do it regularly. All the best. Of course if you don’t think it is cause by training (or perhaps even if it is)………… time for a Doctor/physio/chiro

Not up to speed with kata gi's but for kumite Arawaza set the standard. The Opal was (IMHO) the best kumite gi on the market - so much so that many others including Adudas,Tokaido, Hayashi and SMA came out with what were close to copies. They have just superseded the Opal with the Onyx which has once again raised the bar.

Sounds good. Hope it goes well. 65 competitors in one division is huge.

Sorry I may have put two and two together and made 5. I presumed since you are in Melbourne and referred to a State tournament it would be Vic state champs on March 1st ?

Have you discussed this with your Instructor. It is unlikely you will need 8 kata (which division are you in). 5 perhaps 6 is more likely. I would consider dropping Saifa and Gekkisai. They are a little too basic.

Really comes down to the tournament circuit. In Australia you will have seen most WKF style (AKF) and some NAS. WKF style is also huge in Europe but in the US they have a number of different National circuits and once you get outside USA-NKF (which is WKF) that multi kicking/jumping backfist style seems to become far more prominent. Obviously we have a preference for what we are used to.

I haven't seen it yet (and a a Shotokan practitioner don't know Suparinpei all that well anyway)but did he make a mistake ordeliberately introduce a variation. New rules say Any traditional karate kata may be performed with the exception of weapons kata (Kobudo). Variations as taught by the contestant’s school of Karate will be permitted.

Australia

My 20 yr old daughter and 13 yr old son do. Daughter is going to 3rd Jnr worlds next month.

Jols on tullamarine jols.com.au carry tokaido gear. Martial Sports in Seaford http://www.martialsa.com.au also used to have it.

I don't have the time but my 20 yr old daughter runs private lessons. She has about 10 regulars, most of whom want help preparing for competition. Its a nice little earner for her while she is at Uni and the results for her students have been pretty impressive. They range from an 8 yr old 8th kyu to a 14 yr old BB has just been selected for the National team.

There is nothing to stop a Wado practitioner from doing any Kata he wants, from any style. I think you are referring to "Shitei" (compulsory) Kata rounds? This is usually only the first round of events and what it means is that if you want to do Chinto or Seishan - you have to do it the Wado way. If you want to do say Kanku-dai or Jion it has to be done the Shoto way and so on and so forth. There is nothing however stopping a wado kuy doing Kanku-dai, but he has to do it the correct “Shotokan” way according to how the WKF prescribe. The remaining rounds tend to be "Tokui" or free kata rounds - ie you can do any kata you want from any style. The problem is it doesn’t really work imo. Fact is, if a wado guy does Seishan against a Shoto Jion– chances are that the judges will go for the Shoto Jion, because it looks nicer. What this has led to is athletes learning how to perform all of the flashy looking Kata from across the styles, and disgarding the more "basic" looking ones which kinda defeats the point. K. As per my previous post the WKF kata rules have changed. There is no more Shitei requirement. Also practitioners are not restricted to performing kata from Shoto, Goji, Wado or Shito as per previous. Competitors simply need adhere to their dojo’s interpretation of the correct traditional kata of Karate. Minefield for the judges but better for competitors.

These appear to be the old criteria. The new ones are 1. Conformance to the form itself and the standards of the applicable school. 2. Technical performance a. Stances b. Techniques c. Transitional movements d. Timing/Synchronisation e. Correct breathing f. Focus (kime) 3. Athletic performance a. Strength b. Speed c. Balance d. Rhythm 4. Technical difficulty of the kata.

Simple advice. Know the rules. Good luck!

I think it seems to be mothers who don't like to watch their children fight. It's more about fear of injury than anything else. Most who r involved in martial arts know enough to know that it is safer than many other sports.

Seen plenty of parents do similar over the years. Congrats to your daughter blacknebula. Ive been watching my 3 kids compete all the way from local to international level for over 10 years. The good news is it does get easier. The bad news is it took me until this year to finally get control of my nerves.

Tokaido just over Adidas. Arawaza have the best feel but don't last as well.