blacknebula

I was down at a karate camp in Denver, CO in the summer of 2012 and met a gentleman who was producing a documentary about his journey as a martial artist. The film is now complete, and I got the copy that I ordered in the mail a few weeks ago. I quite enjoyed watching it. It is not high action by any means, but a number of the themes of the movie - starting karate later in life and the challenges that come along with attempting to get back into shape and juggle your responsibilities to family - really resonated with me. It also received a rather favourable review in Black Belt magazine. And one of the two Senseis that I train with regularly is interviewed in the movie. If anyone is interested, here is the link to the website where you can learn more about it and order yourself a copy if you so desire. http://www.mrmiyagi.net/

Anyone is allowed to spectate at our regional gradings. Everyone is always very quiet, polite and attentive. When I went to master camp this summer the grading for dan levels was theoretically closed. However, the dojo has a roof but no walls, therefore it wasn't too hard to watch if you really wanted to sit out in the rain and do so (and a fair number of people did).

I have a 3D picture frame that I use to display my belts. It is about the size of an 11x17 frame, but thicker - fist the width of a belt perfectly. There is a Velcro backing, so I bought an extra patch of my association insignia and put at the top and then layer the belts on the bottom. I use matching coloured string to compress them so they sit nicely.

Beautiful post! I hit a similar point at master camp this summer. I had been training 4 hours a day for the past 5 days. I was sleeping on a foam bunk bed in a cabin with 9 other ladies and between the back pain, the general noise level, and my asthma reacting poorly to something in the environment, I was lucky to get a few of hours of sleep a night. I had settled down on my bunk after lunch before the last class on the last afternoon. My alarm went off and it took so long to convince myself to get up and put on my gi that I was almost late for class. We bowed in and Sensei started us off by sprinting from one end of the dojo to the other, reaching down to touch the floor and returning to the start. After a few times he decided to make it harder by having us lay down on the floor prior to starting. As I was laying there, the thought came through my mind that I just wasn't going to get up - I was going to stay on the floor and if someone didn't like that they could pick me up and throw me out of the dojo. For a few seconds that thought filled my entire brain and the beauty of it consumed me. Then Sensei said "go" and somehow I found myself getting up and doing that damn sprint one more time. It was at that moment that for the first time I truly believed that one day I will make it to Shodan.

Neat! Thanks for compiling these stats.

You'd be hard pressed to enforce a rule about not dating in either of the dojos that I attend, considering that they are both run by husband and wife teams who met each other through MA! And in one case, they will be celebrating their 30th anniversary next year! There are also a bunch of us who train who were dating/married long before we set foot in the dojo. In most cases one person started then eventually dragged the other person in.

I think I've actually got to the point where I do it correctly more often than not now. Only took 10 months..

Thanks everyone, but volunteering was no big deal.... moms are pretty good at just seeing something that needs to be done and doing it! I really don't think I have the patience to ever instruct on a regular basis, but helping out occasionally is probably a good thing, for many of the reasons that you all mentioned.

Today there is a big youth tournament going on at a city about 1.5 hours away. Sensei and most of the senior instructors are all up there, either judging, coaching, or cheering on their own children. There was one lonely Shodan left to teach classes today for adults and any children not participating in the tournament. It didn't seem right to leave him to deal with that all by himself, so I offered to help out with the beginners class (white and yellow belts) and he eagerly accepted my offer. I just got my brown belt in April, and this was the first time I have ever been on the 'other side' of a class. It was like herding cats! It certainly gave me a new appreciation for anyone who stands up at the front of a class on a regular basis. I'd like to give a big round of applause to anyone who instructs. You are all amazing!

It varies from brand to brand as well. My green belt (size 5) and my purple belt (size 4) were from two different manufacturers and are less than 5mm different in length. Any decent website will provide sizing information specific to their brand.

I train at two different dojos, although in my case both are the same organization (ISKF). The closer (2km from my house) dojo is smaller and only has training 3 days a week, while the other one is a good 25-30 min drive but much larger and has training every day but Friday. I am a complete addict and wanted to train more often, so I started creeping over to the other dojo. At first I would just pay a drop in fees a couple of times a month and then eventually over the course of about 18 months I reached the point where I was going there often enough to justify the monthly membership. Both Senseis are aware that I train at both places and support it. I don't think there is anything wrong with seeking out another dojo on Saturdays, particularly as you said you don't normally train then. I find that training with different people is very valuable as everyone as different methods of teaching, and sometimes somebody explains something in a slightly different way and it clicks for you. Different instructors also have their own individual pet peeves, and you might find in the new dojo that you are being corrected on things that go unnoticed in your regular dojo, and that can only serve to make you better overall. However, whether or not you tell your current Sensei right away that you are training elsewhere is a bit trickier. One would hope that your Sensei would support your decision to learn more and deepen your knowledge, but Senseis are people and subject to hurt feelings like everyone else. You definitely don't want your Sensei to hear about you training at another dojo from anyone other than you though! Perhaps give the new place a try for a few weeks and if you think you like it enough to continue then broach the topic with your current Sensei.

I keep both tape and a tensor bandage in my bag if I need it for a short period. However, if I injure something a little more seriously then I usually buy a specific brace for it, so I'm getting a nice little collection.

Congratulations!

Congrats! I did a Spartan Sprint about a month ago. It was definitely an interesting experience and, like MA, as much about mental fortitude as the physical ability.

I've tried Arnica gel and it didn't do anything. I actually did experiments where I would draw a line with a pen down the middle of the bruise and put it on half of it three times a day for 3 days and did not see any appreciable difference. What I do love though is Voltaren cream. It is a topical NSAID so it takes away some of the pain, although I don't think it does anything for appearance or make it fade any faster.