DoctorQui

Well, I'm on the final week before my final Kyu grading! Been through the syllabus a number of times and have trained hard. The only question now is, do I ease off for the week so as not to injur myself before the grading or do I go all out and train like a madman. This grading is a marathon of a sesh!

I thought I got a promotion at 200 !

I used to train during the winter by running in just gi bottoms and bare fooed around the neighbourhood of the dojo. We rarely had snow so it was normally wet but still bitterly cold. It doesn't happen these days though! There needs to be a 'sort of' selection so I couldn't really choose!

Welcome to the forum! I have been in a few competitions and one 1,2 and 3 places in traditional, synchronised and creative kata. I love kata and get very wound up when I can't get it right Changing from Wado Ryu to Shotokan recently those subtle differences were infuriating. For me, its all about knowing the kata personally, knowing when to slow up and take a breath and when to exert some power. You have to really understand what the kata technique is for and not just consider it a move. So many people punch, kick and block in kata by simply 'putting' their limbs in position rather than visualising the attack and defending or countering it! OSU

I don't practise TSD so will respond using my my Karate experience. Your form is improving and compared to your last video, so is your confidence. I see potential, keep it up! OSU

That's traditional, yeah. I'm just keeping the normal cord sequence for the most part here. I was a little confused at first, before I realized you were referencing a typical sequence in capoeira. The capoeira school I come from does the following: - no belt - Green - Green with a little yellow - Half green/yellow - yellow with a little green - yellow - yellow with a little blue - half yellow/blue - blue with a little yellow - blue - blue, green, yellow and then it goes into contra mestre ranks and mestre ranks. I'm still a beginner in capoeira with green, so I don't fully understand the ranking system. It always confused me a little when people visit from elsewhere and they'll have a green belt but called an instructor. I've seen people buy out instructor in the Roda because they didn't realize they had a different belt system than us. I got headache just reading that without seeing the mishmash of Blue, Green and Yellow!

I agree with this completely and think this is the situation in the majority of cases. My former shian was very overweight and in her 60s but of years of MA she had to have her knee caps removed and can now only demonstrate punches and blocks and certainly cant manage the exercises anymore and hasn't since the early 90s. However, her 8th Dan status speaks for itself!

Great thread! I am always asking myself this question, I am always contemplating my escape plan pretty much every day and always wonder if I would act instinctively or through conscious consideration and experience. I think I would have to go with instinct but in saying that, I have a number of 'instinctive' techniques for a number of possible scenarios so have a bit of a 'back catalogue' due to my former career as a police officer. One of the Wado Ryu precepts of Karate is to leave the house each day expecting to meet an opponent. I would be interested to know how many of us here actually treat every interaction as a potential attack and look for the strike points even if the interaction is innocuous! I do! OSU

I could not stop laughing from start to finish! Simply brilliant and scarily accurate in so many cases! Good find Dobbers!

I'm a bit confused why a particular style (shotokan) is being singled out really! To me it seems that its just the club that the OP has a problem with and how that club teaches Shotokan! Remember that GKR et al teach Shotokan/Goju Ryu mix with no contact. There are thousands of Shotokan dojos out there that operate full contact knock down kumite, mine included. The thread does seem to be decending into a 'which style is better' argument which we are all aware, never goes well and is largely pointless!

I went Wado to Shotokan and I can tell you that muscle memory is a pain in the rear particularly when you are allowed to keep your rank. You will make a lot of infuriating rookie mistakes and you will be much harder on yourself because you will have built yourself up as a reasonable karateka at this point. I find Shotokan a really good style and not all clubs are run the same. My advice is if you ain't happy, look for something else BUT always remember that the grass only ever looks greener!

This is exactly the issue I'm referring to! So many kids start Karate, so very few see it through to Dan which is normally when you keep them. To pass a kid because they may get discouraged and leave is a nonsense imo, as that kid is likely to leave anyway. Passing people who should not have passed is enormously damaging for MA!

OSU

I've always found myself puzzled by the amount of latitude afforded to kids when they are graded or even put up for grading. I do understand that kids bodies are still developing and some moves they just can't seem to get or understand, mistakes like leaning forward in an oizuki and not keeping shoulders square, or not twisting the body in a jodan gyagi uki are commone kid mistakes BUT I have seen kids put through and passing gradings where their concentration just isn't there (picking nose, fidgeting and fiddling with gi, missing instruction because they are more interested in what is going on elsewhere in the dojo etc), they don't really want to be there and their kata, techniques and stances have fundamental errors yet they are awarded their belts and promoted beyond their ability. Where do you draw the line? Is it reasonable for a parent to be told that MA really isn't for their little one rather than keep promoting to try and rouse interest only to have a 1st Dan who should really be a 7th Kyu??

Its all about the journey for me. As an adult training in MA you are very much governed by circumstance and there are times in many cases where you have to go on an enforced sabbatical for a whole number of personal reasons which greatly elongates the journey. Also, as an adult, you have the freedom to choose NOT to grade if you do not feel ready. Your instructor may believe in you but if you don't believe in yourself then you set yourself up to fail. I have chosen not to grade on a few occasions. The path is not without its obstacles!

Well done Dobbers! Like you, I am plodding on at a rate that probably take me treble the time it takes to get a real BB Also like you, I tend to read and absorb more than I post I also only tend to stick to the Karate forums. I very much enjoy this forum and I don't think I have ever experienced a nicer more respectful bunch of people! OSU

A stripe belt isn't always just electrical tape, it's common in TKD and related styles to use belts with a proper stripe sewn onto the belt, hence it costs the same as buying a normal belt. Belt fees also aren't just for the belt, it can cover hall hire, breaking material, instructor's time, getting an external examiners in etc. Agreed, Blitz for one do and excellent range of striped belts, but in my experience of the clubs I've visited its electrical tape. I use the Blitz striped belts for my Junior grades from 2nd (Kyu) brown upto Junior 2nd Dan (they test as 16 for adult 1st Dan) I agree with Dobbers! Having been to a few dojos in recent years the worst ones charged inxs of £20 for the privilege of wearing a piece of electrical tape and that is literally what it was. As the student was called up, the instructor was litlerally ripping the tape of a reel and biting it to length! One school use this system on the kids in order to show ongoing progress (kids get bored and 3months is ages for them) but didn't formally grade or charge for that which is fine imo.

The nature of kata is such that it needs power in some places, passiveness in others together with a mixture of speed and slow 'breather' moves all of which emulate an attack. I have seen some karateka put full on power into kata and often forget to breathe and I have seen some who plod through kata so slowly that they could not possibly perform it well as, regardless of skill, gravity will always make your life difficult. Power where needed, likewise passiveness, speed where needed likewise slower moves!

I find John van Weenen books very helpful. He has a number of volumes available! OSU

They are the same but different! While Kushanku brings all the Wado Pinan's together in one kata, Kanku Dai (in my experience) is one of a few katas that brings the Heians together in a group of Brown belt katas. Someone may be able to put it clearer than I can!

In Wado Ryu my favourite is Kushanku and in Shotokan its Bassai Dai

All you can do is go and try it out my friend, only you will know if its right for you. At the end of the day, it may be the best style around, but if you don't like the club you're not going to get what you want out of it! Goju Ryu is a good style and a style I plan to study in the future. Go and take advantage of their free first session, if they offer it, which most clubs offer! OSU

I wonder if the OP achieved Shodan in the end!

Expanding on Dobbers 'What is MMA' thread, I've always been confused by the notion of Free Style Karate! What is it?

I get very stressed and uptight when I don't train! I do it for the fitness, the self defence and the focus. It applies to most aspects of my life!