mal103

One of our Black belts has finally learnt not to punch like a hammer, or block like iron bars.... Sparring with a good partner shouldn't be painful, it should be a good learning experience where you work with each other, not try to get a killer punch in against a better oponent. I once had a problem with a Purple belt as he ended up sparring with my son who had recently got his Shodan, the Purple belt went at him like crazy "because he is a Black belt" - I had to remind him that he is still only 14! Luckily he held his own.

Punch starts from rear heel of foot! That's my favourite saying when training punches, and unless it gets help from the legs/hips/shoulders on the way then you may as well throw lettuce at the attacker. What I find interesting is the number of times I have learnt the standard blocks in Karate, initially they were a block, then the pulling/hikite hand was explained more, then the concept of getting closer to your partner and having 2 arms working together, then having the hikite hand providing the block or first attack before a proper response, then the initial move of the main blocking arm being the block... I now use all of the blocks on a punchbag as attacks.

Nothing. People enjoy parading around in their new coloured belts when they are Kyu grades - and rightly so. I don't ever see myself as being awarded or given my Black belt, or more recently my Nidan, I see it as becoming a black belt - the Nidan was just recognition for my continued learning but now that i've come down from the high of getting it I certainly don't brag about it, sometimes I don't think I deserve it yet. I just have to remember if people are all bowing to me or we are all bowing to a Sandan when we line up, it does feel good but I don't get exited about it. I just take a deeper bow and get on with the training. If it bothers you that much then give it back, sounds like others are more hooked up on the whole thing.

Same thing! "hidden" inside later Kata are 100's of grappling, neck twisting, arm braking, leg flipping moves, you just have to learn the Kata and then learn the Kata properly, drill the drills, explore the moves, expand them. We recently did a mixed semina of Karate and Ju Jitsu, amazing how plenty of their moves showed up in our Kata! Karate is Kata, Kata is Karate.... Research John Burke, Patrick McCarthy, Iain Abernethy. Most application of Kata shown in the average Dojo are for kids and basics, look beyond and learn the true meaning, explore them and find what the past masters placed there as reminders of their drills. Seek what they sought! Think of the caveman returning from the hunt and "showing" the tribe how he killed the prey, the young warriors will mimic this "show" but that won't teach them to kill, only how to go about the kill. They will still need to find out the final application themselves but they can practice for hours and show the right spirit of the hunt in their hearts as a start. Practice Kata as though on the battle field (or pub on a Saturday night).

During our long weekend we did a 2 hour session on the beach, absolutely brilliant! It certainly zapped your energy, we also got some extra stretching in due to the help of the sand, had plenty of splashing about in the water and finished with Kata in the sea - my Sensei obviously picked a Kata for me that included a jump/stoop underwater! The only people that didn't enjoy themselves was the couple who thought they had the beach to themselves for a quiet read of the paper....

I'm humbled by the first class advice offered by all above - this is the true spirit of Martial Artists and good people. You have done well to move on and to stick with MA, if you are not sure about complaining about the behaviour then think of others who may follow and endure the same problems. Good luck in the rest of your journey.

Do you want to be bigger, do you want bigger muscles? It might be worth training to add strength so long as you don't lose any speed, speak with a personal trainer/expert and let them know what you want.

Sorry to labour the subject but think of high kicks as the "end" position, for Keage side snap kick it can be used to kick up into the ribcage but often the end position is head hieght. Works even better if you have hold of their arm/wrist and pulling them onto your kick. The thing about high kicks is if you do use them in anger against someone who also knows what they are doing then you will probably get your supporting leg kicked/swept and find yourself on the floor. A good instructor and examiner will give allowances for us oldies with limited flexibility and anyone else that has disabilities or old injuries.

Yes, way too old. Give up all ideas of doing sport that close to 40 Get some slippers and a comfy armchair Accept that you are not in your prime anymore You probably couldn't keep up with youngsters so shouldn't try... What do you want? I get all the attitudes above and some lame excuses how people "can't" do something. The rest are not worried about age, fitness, shape and just get on with it. I'm 44, been doing MA since mid 30's, just earnt/got my Nidan, just given a lesson to 12 Kyu grades and a Shodan, kept them all busy, all went away tired and out of breath, could have happily trained harder for a lot longer. Now feel like my day is complete! I still can't keep up with my Sensei though who is 58....

Welcome to the forum, ask away with ANY questions, you may think that some of the conversations are a bit in depth but you should feel free to ask anything you want. There is many years of experience here. Karate is great to train with your kids, it's excellent for fitness and de-stressing amongst other stuff. Have fun!

I would say try a proper club of Shotokan.... I've just about recovered from our summer camp with bruises all over, mainly from the Sandan. Depends on the club but Shotokan done properly is definitely NOT a NON-Contact style. From what i've seen of the other style they tend to stand and take it whilst giving it out, so its a war of who can take/give the best blows. Shotokan sparring is more about in/out attacks, well it is when we do it... Changing style is drastic as you are going backwards on the path? There is plenty to learn in Shotokan.

Excellent! This task to learn and eventually pass on this knowledge is your responsibility, soon there will be less of the original masters available, then less of their direct students so it is in our hands to learn what we can and preserve what they sought.

I suppose those that keep asking for their next grade/rank shouldn't have it, just like those people who want to be politicians shouldn't be... One of the books/stories i've read mentioned when being presented with a higher grade a MAist with real humility will just take a deeper bow, put the belt in a bag and go about their day as usual. One of my students was told last week that they may have to wait to grade to Black belt as they have double graded and had an extra grade at our summer camp, within our association there is a minimum period of 3 years to Shodan. They were absolutely fine with this news - as in their words they can still keep learning Karate and the next Kata etc. I think after Shodan students need to break away from grade/rank/certs etc.

I've not long passed my Nidan (as in days) but have been teaching beginners for nearly 2 years, this week I have been coming down from an emotional high of grading and have had a realisation about the responsibility I have with my students. My star student has just passed their Brown belt as they have double graded to get there quicker than normal, I always do my best to pass on the best Karate that I can with constantly keeping the lessons up to date, fast, technical, mixed, basics - a good all rounder! Most do really well and I try my best to help the few others. I also regularly teach some of my Cheif Instructors students so want to keep up the high standards already set. I also keep up my training at least twice a week. This week I have really thought about the responsibility that I have over these peoples Karate AND their lives, if I make a mess of it then it could alter their journey or even stop it. Not just in the Dojo either, but outside of it. I really don't think we should act godlike or become guiding lights for our students as we are all human but I now think more about my actions as they could have an effect. Am I over thinking it?

Absolutely, although they were created more recently from other longer Kata they are a great learning tool. You mostly keep a basic layout and gradually build you up in technical moves. I think realisation arrives around Heian Yondan where you pull someones head down onto your knee, some younger students finally realise what sort of MA they are learning, others finally see how the applications start to unfold and its not just all about basic blocking etc. There are several nuggets held within and you can fill several lessons with the more interesting techniques. They become more beautiful as you progress in your MA journey, as in you become better at doing them, they then become more art than exercise.

You only get short answers when i'm supposed to be working....

Cool guys apologise! I'm not trying to give you a hard time or anything and I don't walk around acting like a doormat to people but I can still apologise when needed, in fact i apologised to a Brown belt on Tuesday after something I said before our grading on Sunday. Even as a new Nidan I still thought that I may have offended them so made a point of apologising. They said not to be stupid and it was fine, but i'm just trying to point out that it's natural to make mistakes and okay to admit it afterwards. All part of becoming a better person which is normally a (good) side effect of MA training.

Well done all

They've done the long answers, mine is short and to the point: Shut up and train!!! Sooner or later you need to realise its the journey and not the colour of the belt. If you want to exceed then train more often, train harder, the student with the best attitude would have arrived an hour before the grading to practice... You will only get out what you put in.

I believe in Shotokan these are called Tekki Shodan/Nidan/Sandan It's not a particularly difficult Kata to learn but takes a while to get it to look/sound good, even longer to master. The first can be condensed down to less than 15 seconds and is really impressive if done with speed and power. It's true that its favoured by many as a real fighting Kata, especially if you progress past the standard beginners applications. Think of the opening sequence as a right knee/kick to the attackers groin, then pulling the head to your right bringing it back to meet your elbow and so on. It should be seen as a very close up Kata.

Without boasting we have a fairly standard syllabus on our website, as pointed out you will get variations so long as it gets more complex as you go up. Nearer 1st kyu we tend to mix it up a bit and add things to keep them thinking and to get them ready for Shodan. Is there anything specific you needed to know?

Interesting topic but I don't think Karate (in my case) will die out. I can only go on my experience, I have seen and heard about some poor quality orgs/clubs in my area, this annoys me as all of the people who get disillusioned with them mostly seem to give up Karate and end up in Judo, TKD, MMA, etc or nothing! I have also been to some great clubs to visit and have met some amazing Karate-ka along the way who all have the right spirit and attitude. Blowing own trumpet time.... We have gradually increased our standards and are producing some excellent students, those that don't meet us with 100% effort in their training end up on Brown belt row and either get on with it or get bored and leave. We generally get around the western trophy disease by only allowing good students to grade so we don't have to fail them, some still get a temp pass though. To keep any club financially afloat some seem to turn greedy and end up losing students, what actually happens in most clubs I know is that you will have the serious core students who will make it and the wannabees that will help towards your hire fees until they get bored because they can't be bothered. There are no short cuts in Karate and you will only get out what you put in, those that understand this will do well. What's the answer then? No idea but can speculate a bit... Politics/power need to be sorted out, we have far too many that are all singing the same song but differently, one sure method of raising standards and "enforcing" minimum standards would be to have a main governing body type of thing but then you run into all the normal power/money bull. I would love to put an add in our papers stating we train REAL Karate but then it sounds wrong and annoys the others...

Thank you all, it feels good but for me it is more recognition rather than boasting about rank. I feel more impressed that the students attending this weekend were all inspired after watching dan gradings so we may include a sort of demo before the next grading to set the tone. Found today hard work with aches and being tired but just had another hours Karate...

I have just passed for Nidan at our club's first summer camp! 3 days of Karate with a grading on the end, all of my students passed with flying colours and my most senior student now has a brown belt which is scary. I was assessed during the weekend so the actual grading for me was mostly Kata and Kumite, our current Nidan also passed her Sandan so we both had plenty to prove (=lots of bruises) We did all Heian Kata and then several others, Empi, Chinte, Tekki Nidan, Hangetsu, Jion, Jitte, Jiin and Kanku Dai, I then selected Kanku Sho as my last Kata. Now sat with a cider and aches but feel on top of the world. I feel sorry for the couple of students we have had who stopped at Shodan thinking that was all that Karate was about.

Is rank important to you, is it important to your students? Personally I couldn't give 2 hoots about trophies, rank, badges, awards, etc so long as the MA is good. As for creating a new style, why? Aren't there enough already? What can you bring to the large table of styles that is good, better, different? Without being rude - what makes you soo special that you think you can create your own? What's wrong with the others? I don't want to sound disrespectful there, it justs seems the first answer for most people who are higher up and unhappy about something, instead of pulling people together and working with it, a lot of people break out and form a new org/assoc/style. Making the whole more fragmented and confusing. But to try and steer it back to your main question, I would be happy to train with someone who is good, rather than someone with an impressive looking CV (resume), if you were both then all the better. No doubt there will always be someone more interested in the structure/ranking, but each to their own. Good luck!