ChristianeHigashi

there is no real answer to this IMO. It's taken me almost 5 years to get 3rd kyu brown belt which i got a few days back..im 18 now & i've worked pretty darn hard for that, trained hard, not missed a grading, passed all of my gradings with a 1st class pass & i do Higashi (wado) I went to a shotokan club for a few weeks and i was shocked to see kids under 12 with 2nd and 3rd brown belts that had little to no solid technique,, i asked them out of curiosity how long they have been training and they said a year-2 years.. People seem to be handing out black belts like theres no tomorrow which 100% takes the meaning from the BB. It's probably going to take me another 2-4 years until i get mine if i keep the training up & then i'll be proud to have it because i will know ive earned that from a good few years of dedication and hard work. i wouldnt have it any other way.

we do a lot of kata where I train and practice it every session But i know other clubs around here don't do as much of it or none at all which is a shame. We are told that every move is against an attacker.. this makes us think a lot more about the placement of the block or strike. I dont think kata can be broke down too simply.. Eg. Pinan Shodan [not the best but thats the closest to my the style i do that i can find on youtube]The first move [not including the look] could be two strikes or, two blocks or one of each & its the same for most moves. So I think until you reach a senior grade you won;t fully understand it all, theres a lot to take in. I think the understanding of it all comes in time. As for musical kata, i think its absolute crap. 99% of that stuff is in no way, shape or form karate.

Nice to see everyones amazing responses. I trained with Peter Spanton! for 2 days last month. he came to Wales from London. I've had the pleasure to get taught by him before but now that i'm older i realize how much of a big deal it is. Such an amazing experience. We trained ona thursday night 7-8.30 and over 20 dan grades showed up which was awesome & a fair few kyu grades [inc me] lots of difficult combinations etc and then saturday was an all day course. Absolutely amazing would never say no to an opportunity to train with him. MACHINE! aha

I'm only 18 but i take training super serious.. My instructors will only allow kids from 6 years and up to join the club. yes they mess about but there are enough of us more serious folk to concentrate on what we have to do and our dojo is huge anyways so its little to no bother & we all started somewhere. the thing that annoys me most is another purple belt, younger than myself, in the line im in messing around. now thats irritating

I think that gi looks silly and defeats the purpose of a karate gi. they're made the way they are for a purpose x

Clue is in the title share your experiences

Style: Higashi Karate (wado) Grade: Purple belt Twice a week for an hour and a half. Would love to do more but our instructors live a busy life & there isn't another higashi club for about 50+ miles. I do the occasional trainign sesh with sensei Pete Spanton a few times a year though.

I just uploaded a video of me doing kata 3 years ago. It makes me cringe now because it's so bad! Hopefully i've improved a lot. low quality

http://www.blitzsport.com/Adult-Polycotton-Student-Karate-Suit?sc=9&category=11148 thats about the best in my opinion. i've used these for 5 years. Do the job and inexpensive x

http://www.blitzsport.com/Adult-Polycotton-Student-Karate-Suit?sc=9&category=11148 thats about the best in my opinion. i've used these for 5 years. Do the job and inexpensive x

I did this at last nights training session and they both recommended the white diamond or silver tournament & in the past I have ordered my gi through both of them so I'll probably do that to save a bit of cash x

For a first gi i'd recommenda standart BLITZ gi or STandard polycotton BLITZ as that one is less likely to shrink. Nice gis. http://www.blitzsport.com/Adult-Polycotton-Student-Karate-Suit?sc=9&category=11148 Im 18/female and I take a size 3/160

For a first gi i'd recommenda standart BLITZ gi or STandard polycotton BLITZ as that one is less likely to shrink. Nice gis. http://www.blitzsport.com/Adult-Polycotton-Student-Karate-Suit?sc=9&category=11148 Im 18/female and I take a size 3/160

I think everyone here will mention their own style.. because I know i'd recommend the style i do. I think it's a lot more disciplined than others. I've been training for 5-6 years and i'm still a purple belt & i like it that way. I've had all 1st class passes so it's not like i;ve failed a grading before. in Higashi it does take a long while to get up there with the big people but when yo do you know you are ready to be. In the gradings you will have to fight as it's on the syllabus but it isn't full contact fighting. you just have ti be able to show that you know how to block and attack effectively etc. Higashi is a small organization but it does work under the WKF. It is a more hard hitting & effective version of wado ryu.. every move has a good purpose. I've done shotokan too but i couldnt find much sense in the moves, thisis why im a Higashi addict <3 xx

I couldnt agree more. as I said i am only an 18 year old purple belt but if i see that crap take over i'll be more than bummed out. its a martial art not dancing or gymnastics.