DoctorQui

Sounds about right to me as a start up fee BUT the alarm bell for me is WHY do you have to pay for THEM to supply you with a Gi. In my experience, a Gi that is supplied by the club is either a reasonable quality with a substantial mark up or a very overpriced inferior, same re the sparring gear. Will they not let you pay your membership and licence fee sans other stuff which you can probably source yourself off of ebay for a lot cheaper a price? It doesn't even need to be brand new, my first Gi was a second and it was fine at a fraction of the cost. Re the training question, my advice is to just do the karate with all the exercises and warm ups. I've lost loads and have got quite toned simply doing karate 3-4 times pw.

Many happy returns

100 and Orange Belt...WooHoo!

Cast your memory back to first starting your art (I know, its further back than some of us can manage ) and being taught, what seemed like disjointed, random and complicated techniques, learning your first kata which was so complicated that you'll never ever be able to do it, being told that you will grade in 3 (or so!) months and thinking 'Are they kidding, I'll never be ready' and still having the above issues for the next, maybe 2 gradings. My question is, does anyone remember the time when you did a technique or move which surprised even you to the point where you thought 'Whoa! I can actually do '? For me it was when I was sparring and I did a maegeri/mawashi geri combi followed by a ushuri geri and gayaku zuki and then foot sweep for the take down (all hitting theire target and against a higher ranking belt). I will always remember that 'Did I really just do that' feeling. Did this ever happen to you?

No, can't say I have. If those are truly the ideology of your group, I would suggest another group... what are you part of? Cobra Kai? lol Strike first strike hard show no mercy! Cobra Kai for life! Woooo! Oh dear, I hate that movie but love the 80's cheesiness. BIB Really, I absolutely adore the original version, its a guilty pleasure of mine to this day.

A friend of mine broke her big toe on a missing mat tooth during her Sandan grading. She said that she just wanted to scream and throw up but didn't and carried on for another 1 1/2 hours to the end of her grading before she could just collapse on the floor for her husband to take her to A&E.

I agree, to me Karate is the, sort of, embusen of life (without the returning to the beginning bit ) and I try to use my discipline to guide my life. It even works sometimes

I love team kata, won a few 1st place trophies with my team mates back in my Wado days! Not to this standard though!

Ooh its like a grading...almost there!

Unfortunately, we all have other priorities and as much as I enjoy Karate and train hard, my family and financial security will ALWAYS come first. So, if I am neglecting my wife or children, have to pay a big bill on the horizon, or have to help my wife run the house (shopping, housework) or need to work extra hours in order to cover myself financially, then I'm afraid that Karate goes to the bottom of the list. I agree with Kuma, its an immature point of view imo! Edit: Your post confused me a little. The bit under the dotted line looks like a personal tag or caption which I rarely read. I originally thought the top part was your own pov

Well done on participating and getting a medal! I am always nervous at tournaments, haven't done one in a while because my current club doesn't participate in them. Really does show how different things are between the US and the UK mentality. I would never consider getting a plane to anywhere in the UK. If the tournament isn't local I never really take part. I think air fares and fuel costs over here are just too prohibitive.

Not bad at all, it's the basic kata for most styles but I always appreciate that form (Kihon Kata as we call it!). Your side kicks are good too, they look quite powerful. Keep it up!

Can't see it, it's registered as private. Or was it just for the OP?

I'd train on the concrete, barefoot if I were you. My only requirement is that there enough room. The concrete will help with conditioning imo!

Thats the annoying thing, yes I do all the time as well attend training 3-4 times per week! Its just recently, being at such an advanced point, that my technique seems to be going off! Most of the time I can notice my own mistakes and correct them. Its when I get pulled up and the whole class has to start again because of me, it just shatters my concentration and focus and I find it really really hard to get it back in that session! I suppose, we are our own worst critics!

What a terrible session. Everything went wrong,I was pulled up on just about everything. I get very focused in the Dojo and when I get my concentration broken by someone who is pulling me up on technique, my mind just empties and I can't refocus. It all started during Bassai Dai, the half step into Shuto (the third to last move) my foot stuck to the floor and I didn't complete the half step, so he made everyone start again and this time, I made so many mistakes because my concentration was broken. I even went blank on Heian Shodan What a rubbish session

Beckham's inclusion,generally, was entirely tokenistic imo. He isn't and has never been an olympic competitor (as far as I know!) but was involved, as our most famous sportsman (?), in the olympic bid so they had to give him a part. Personally, I was stockpiling missiles to throw at the telly had they decided to get Beckham to light the cauldron. Our 70s and 80s music never really made it across the pond, unlike US 70s and 80s music which was popular here. I should add that Rowan Atkinson was being Rowan Atkinson, not Mr Bean. That was his act and Mr Bean is really just one of his characters. Personally, I can't stand Mr B. 'Top Gear brings you the Olympics' Hmmm interesting Unfortunately, Clarkson is generally unpopular here, he comes across as a middle class, mysogenist! LOL I think they could have done far more with James Bond imo, and am absolutely furious that Doctor Who (other than the brief sound of the Tardis) was not included at all!

I thought the olympic cauldron was a masterpeice of design and execution too.

I thought it was brilliant, right up until Macca started to sing then it took a horrendous turn for the worse!

Doctor Who, most other sci fi, Family Guy (I absolutely love) Hawaii 5-0. There's nothing else I would say that I watch really. Having 4 kids under 10, tv pretty much gets taken up with kids programmes.

As promised but a little bit latter than stated http://www.24fightingchickens.com/2007/01/09/how-to-tell-a-mcdojo/ That was a very interesting read, thanks for the link Dobbers

I always believed that his BB was honorary?

Solid post and I agree completely. Jackie Chan has shown us this imo. Jason Statham also seems to do good movie martial arts and I'm not sure he is a martial artist par se.

I don't look at it as a test. To me, gradings are the formality and end result of months (or years) of training and are a demonstration of your abilities. Basically, if you are grading then you shouldn't be failing. Nobody imo should be graded unless the examiner knows they are ready. Yes there is the possibility of failure but it must be a very rare occurence!

Yeah I understood that, I,like you had just never heard of it being assiigned meanings. The Kata meanings were the extent of my knowledge in that respect.