mal103

Are you looking at this from a training point of view or kids actually fighting? We allow teens/kids to light spar only and never to the head so if any clubs are actively encouraging full on sparring then they may need to read these links. If you are looking at it from another angle then teaching kids MA and self defence should eventually help them not "get their head kicked in" and will also eventually make them more keen to avoid the fight. There was uproar in the UK a while back because parents were getting their kids into cage fighting, but as one parent pointed out that in their area they will only be fighting outside anyway or getting beaten up, in the cage they spar/fight properly with protection. I don't think its something I would allow my kids to do but thats my opinion.

So the original poster should have entitled this topic as long term practicing of Karate by a selected few potential masters/founders may have shortened their life a bit, instead it was a shock title of Karate reduces your life. Gichin Funakoshi - according to his book - lived many years in poverty and did odd jobs to pay for his rent and food. However he lived to his 90's?

... and another thing.... Don't worship others, you may think that your Sensei is the best thing since sliced bread but most are only passing on what they have been taught along with their habits and anything else they want to add (or not) Accept that they may not be god, when you are on youtube criticising a 10th Dan because your Sensei does it different.... maybe they are okay to be just different. Next is to realise that big names in your styles history shouldn't maybe be treated as gods, were they justified in changing parts of the art, were they good enough to make them better, they may have made your art more popular but is it better? When looking for a point in time to say that is the best, maybe there shouldn't be one. Then if you go back further there may have been other influences.

Started 20 years earlier..... I would also make more time to go and train with others, i'm now at a stage to start looking at other styles of MA to compliment my Karate but when you look at the great teachers/Sensei who have gone before then it would have been good to train with more of them. Some unfortunately are no longer around, although they have passed on their skills and ethos it would be good to experience their skills first hand. If anyone is thinking about going to train with other groups, friends, courses, semina's etc, then go!

The problem here is that the original post was a one liner that stated practising Karate shortens your life. Most people here seem to see that they are a lot fitter than others their own age and/or they train with older people who are still very active and fit. Obviously we shouldn't have a say on an open forum because we are not all PhD's and don't all study statistics.... Excuse us for stating the blinking obvious based on our own real world experiences when we should have studied statistics to find out all our answers instead. We would probably deducted that most things are bad for us and gone off to live a boring life eating fruit and exercising gently. The only way you can make this a truthful statement is to study ALL Karate-ka, but how can you tell if they would have lived longer if they didn't train in Karate?

We have a couple of students who have just scraped through brown belt but will go no further unless they improve. The speed isn't too bad but whatever we try they never seem to put in more effort, they sometimes train more often thinking that this is enough - but it's how they train that needs to go up a gear.

Firstly a lecture about going it alone before you have reached the end of your apprenticeship..... Normally at Brown belt you need that extra training but it should be with good instructors! If you are mixing your training with Dojo/home then good but to practice alone you WILL slowly develope bad habits and not see enough to correct them, you will never get up to the correct speed and power as the average Brown belt needs pushing. Good Shotokan should be trained technically correct and at very high speed/power, it is very difficult to push yourself up to this speed while maintianing power and good technique. However, if you do any training yourself then ensure you have a fair mix of combinations, basics and Kata - you will never be able to do proper Kumite unless you have a partner or 6. You will also never be able to "see" Kata for what it truly is... Get to a Dojo as well!

Sorry to be critical but a study of millions of Karateka, many thousands who have trained for many years and you pick 118? Amongst other studies you compare them to other athletes? I'm afraid I think you need to widen the poll before claiming shockers like Karate knocks years off your life, again this is skewed as you automatically think of fat slobs who can live longer by not doing Karate? I know a few senior instructors who are not super fit, enjoy their food/drink and have gotten comfortable out the front, we even had one similar in our Dojo and they were struggling to keep up when in the line training with us. So if you researched lots of people who meet this "type" you may be right! I train with someone near 60 and can still run rings around me, this weekend I trained with 30 odd people who were mostly older than me, one just a pensioner, I didn't see any signs of any of them slowing down during our training day. If you've managed to research people who do Karate all their lives and die younger than some athletes then are we really interested? Most people should be concerned with their journey and their training rather than stats, everyone I know are confident that training will prolong their lives. I'm only 44 but already know plenty of people my age who act like they are 20 years older because they ignore any sort of exercise - I know I will outlive most of them, so long as I stay away from walking in front of buses!

What you already have depends on the person, I was in my 30's before I started training and I already had a good set of values - partly from being in the military for 10 years. I am not religious but can agree with most of their rules and ethos, like thou shalt not beat up your neighbour etc. We generally don't get "bad" people join us, a few have not been great but they normally give up because they aren't learning how to fight effectively straight away. Training in MA will/should bring out the best in you, some may take longer than others, a few don't ever seem to find it. A lot start with the goal of gaining Black belt but hopefully realise it's the journey that is more important and the belt colour is just a mile stone. A fighter will punch out their opponent until they fall down, some may still keep punching... A MAist will apologise and help them up, then give them tips on how best to avoid the same knockdown, then bow, then shake hands. A good MAist should have qualities like humility, respect etc.

I've heard of Karate-ka of certain religions that have requested to not join in with the bows etc, surely Karate/MA are fragmented and versatile enough to accept this, same as we can accept that older students are not being able to kick high, or disabled students can just do the best they can. There shouldn't be a tick-sheet in every Dojo to say that you have to meet all criteria, also with the far reaching roots of Karate is it essential to bow? Have Karate-ka always bowed? Did Bohidharma bow? As a side subject, we asked a local church if we could use their hall to start another Dojo on another night in a different area of the town, it is near to the park where gangs of bored teens keep moaning that there is nothing to do in a town with every 3rd shop empty. We were told yes we can hire the hall and these are the rates and these are all the empty time slots, then we told them we were a locate Karate Club/association with full instructor insurance and enhanced CRBs with high standards and very strict policies. There reply was to refuse us as the religious side of Asian Martial Arts wasn't in keeping with Christian values... So the hall still has empty slots and the locals are still hanging around town bored and we are disillusioned, even though our Chief Instructor is a dedicated Christian?

Very good, I like it when this sort of thing happens, although I think there was some sort of training going on there, the second kick was brilliant. The first was funny - maybe the alternative Mae Geri!

Sorry for your/our loss. I wrote a load of things here already but deleted them, just to know that you are all in our thoughts.

You can compare it with other syllabus, we have some listed on our website but they are more of a guide - especially for Dan grades - they are more likely to change as ideally the student at that level should be able to adapt. Normally the grade includes all Kata - 5xHeian, Tekki Shodan, Bassai Dai, some include Hangetsu or Empi. Also all Kumite sets but these vary a lot between clubs and orgs. When you are ready then your Sensei will know.

Mainly Shotokan. You all think defence is against a street fight? I used to really enjoy Karate early on as I had severe stress and depression, it was the only time I could stop my mind from thinking about bad stuff and to concentrate on Karate only, it was like a mind holiday each lesson. My work was bad but I was very unhappy, it was only with a stronger mind I was able to resolve this by getting out of the rut and moving jobs. I used to also drink too much and credit my new stronger mind in controlling this problem. Combinations of the above have meant some unhappy times at home and with my family, both my children took up Karate with me and we grew a much better relationship, I was also happier in general. So without Karate (or any type of MA) I could have quite easily have been depressed, unemployed, single, drunk and struggling to pull it together to see my kids once a month. It has helped me to defend myself.

Keep training and see how you get on, paying a lot up front is a warning sign to me but could just be the way they operate, sometimes much easier to just have an automated transfer of training fees rather than finding/collecting a few dollers(?) each lesson. Black belts don't automatically become good at business if they decide to teach. Get what you can from it and by that time you will know if you are in a good place, maybe try other Dojo's to compare. As far as tradition, it depends where you place the peg that says this IS traditional. At one point there were only 3 belt colours, if you go back further then you would be training in secret in someone's back yard... Bruce Lee took good bits from many styles and made a great style/system does it matter if it wasn't traditional? It was create a while ago so has it become traditional?

I would guess not many, I would also go and train with anyone else to try something that interests you. I generally say to train to Black Belt level and at least a year after before thinking about branching out. As always speak with your Sensei and see what he thinks or if he knows anywhere. Most should be happy for you to try out other stuff, just ensure you don't end up chasing too many rabbits.

Makes sense, like a lot of moves that are labelled as blocks they can also be used as strikes - I use all standard "blocks" on punch bags to good effect. I have also misjudged the Shuto block during Kumite and ended up blocking with my little finger - OUCH! If you are quick then the only real block I would use the hand for is to intercept a big swinging punch by hitting the inner elbow/lower bicep, but it would have to be quick! Most other times we envisage the Shuto striking into the neck. I've seen a clip of Shuto where it was more an overhead and downward strike, and yes, considering the wrist/forearm as an alternative striking point makes perfect sense, also in line with Iain Abernethy it gets the distance a lot closer than the standard view of someone attacking from 5 feet away. I guess that a forearm against a coller bone would win...

That's the most important thing.... Karate is not just Karate, it's an enormous subject that will always have more for you to learn and maybe even share. Maybe one day you can talk again with your old Sensei and have no hard feelings.

It's more about if the new organisation will be happy to recognise his grade, but seriously if he's had a 20 year break then is he ready to go and teach, is the syllabus the same, has he trained enough lately to regain his speed and agility? As a parent then it might be good for the second lesson to be kept alive but will they be at a good standard?

Firstly - who really needs to kick anyone in the head? If you were in a serious competition against some scary fighters would you consider going for a head kick with the real chance of getting the other leg swept. If you were confronted by 3 blokes would you be looking for 3 head kicks, or to take out a knee or two? (or other more delicate lower down parts?) From my experience I have suffered from a left knee pain mainly due to running on hard ground and a bad technique, this has been made worse by having a bad Karate technique and not twisting my supporting leg whilst performing Kekomi or Mawashi kicks. I have made this situation better by changing my running technique, strengthening my knees/legs with Gym machines and ensuring my Karate was performed properly! From what i've seen Shotokan can be practiced a lot with the correct techniques and without any pain, or it can cause a lot of issues if done incorrectly. Possibly the same for any exercise or style.

They are spelt differently... It's probably more important to find out what clubs are near you and what they charge, once you have this information then ask if you can go along for a trial lesson. Be wary of any club that pushes you to pay out loads of money early on. Not common but they are out there... If you then try a few then assess what you think, speak to other students, speak with the instructors. I would put all of this above trying to decide which style to learn. I am of course bias towards Shotokan Karate as we train well and very hard in our style and enjoy the benifits. We have recently had 2 TKD guys join us and were a bit surprised at the way we train. A lot of it is in the club\Sensei\etc. If you enjoy one style over the other then you will benifit more in your MA training journey. More important to just get training!

I do feel for you and am kind of on your side of thinking, BUT in your signature you have "Sliver? Loser!" - this may be the way you think or find it funny but it is not in keeping with a good humble MAist... That aside, go to the wedding, smile and say hello to everyone you know, if they ignore you then it is their problem. A good Sensei and/or instructors should see it as part of their job to help people to progress and better themselves, if there is an issue then they should do their best to resolve it. The biggest challenge here is for you to keep training and if you are happier with your new Dojo/Instructors then best of luck for the future.

Hope you had a good day, I was at a fete/fair/fun-day where we have lots of students, I got them to put on a display but we only did 15 minutes due to the heat. I'm off to a course soon that mixes Ju Jitsu with Karate, let us know how your day went - full report please!

With the front kick bend the knee of the supporting leg at all times, get the other knee up quick and when "flicking" the lower leg out clench your backside/butt to thrust the hips forwards for added power. Squats will help build up leg muscles needed but if you have bad knees (and without trying to be rude) extra pounds, then consider training to match your body size and use low kicks etc. Just be careful not to stress the joints too much in trying any of these ideas.

I hear every other week how someone is "too old" or has got bad knees or a dodgy back. My Sensei helped someone train in a wheel chair with back problems, it sounds corny but it helped get them out of the chair, we heard on Friday that they are still training and about to go for Nidan. Age should not be a factor.