blacknebula

Thanks for the encouragement! I can't fit BJJ in to my schedule right now, but I will seriously consider taking the intro course in the spring after my university courses are done for the year. And yes, I checked out the instructor's credentials. In addition to the Y program he also teaches at two other locations. He has been training since 1989 and lists his lineage right on his website. It goes back to Carlos Gracie Sr. and Reyson Gracie. I also goggled his immediate instructor and while all the results were in portugese and goggle translate sucks, I gleaned enough info that I'm pretty sure he is legit.

My favorite is "Karate the Complete Kata" by Kanazawa. Most of the kata books I have seen only have the final positions, but this one also gives intermediate pictures and short paragraphs on how to transition from one position to the next.

My local YMCA offers an introductory BJJ course. Prior to the start of each session they offer a free demo night so people can try before they buy. The timing worked out last night, so I decided to go. The instructor taught us a few introductory moves (in which we all stayed standing) and I rather enjoyed it. I think I need to get a better foundation in my base art (I've only been training for 2 years) before I start cross-training but it might be a useful addition somewhere down the road!

I honestly don't know... I started with my daughter, and originally it was mostly just to support her with the added bonus of adding some variety to my workout routine. When she decided to quit after a year I had a complete panic attack at the thought of not training anymore. So I decided to keep going without her. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing that goes through my head is "what day is it, and is there karate?" and if the answer is yes I get out of bed just a fraction faster, and am in a better mood all day. So yeah, I guess I'm an addict! However, I can't really articulate the reasons why that is.

I concur. I graduated from university with an engineering degree. I jumped through all the hoops to get my professional engineer status and worked for over a decade before 'retiring' in order to stay home with my children. And I still proudly wear my iron ring! Not that different a scenario from a BB, methinks.

I have issues with both my mawashi geri and yoko geri as well. I used to think it was a flexibility issue (I have an old hip injury) but have now realized that it is far more related to muscle strength. For example, when doing yoko geri kikomi I can 'walk' my foot up a wall to a way higher level than I can reach when just holding it out. So I bought some ankle weights and am practicing holding out my leg with the weights on (for kikomi) or in the chamber position (for mawashi) in order to build up those muscles. Seeing some improvement since I started that.

At my home dojo, $60/mth for me and $40/mth each for the kids. We have classes on Mon/Wed/Sat and can attend as many or as few as we want. I typically do 2 one hour classes on all three days, so that works out to a mere $2.50 per hour! My dojo operates out of a health club, so overhead is pretty low I think. I also train at another dojo sometimes. They charge $70/mth but I can only get there 3-4 times a month so I pay the drop in fee which is $10.

Yes, and tournaments too. The first time I competed I was completely unable to even remember who my opponent had been an hour later!

Very interesting advice! Frankly, the planning tendency has worked out very well and made me quite successful in most areas of my life (school, work, etc.), so I've haven't really felt the need to do anything differently. However, I can definitely see the merit in the idea that if I become more comfortable with uncertainty in everyday life that will hopefully carry over into the dojo. And I am capable of doing something unknown, if it is important enough (ex. when I went to camp a few weeks ago, not knowing anyone, and requiring international travel to a place I'd never been). But perhaps I will focus on trying to do more frequent but smaller things. Thanks for the input.

There is a topic going on in the instructor forum regarding a student who is hesitant to do free sparring. I'm nowhere near an instructor so I don't feel comfortable posting in that forum, but since I am a student like that I wanted to give a bit of perspective from the other side. I hate sparring. I'm glad that my Sensei makes us do it randomly, not on any particular schedule, otherwise I'm sure I would find excuses to skip those nights. I'm fine with pre-arranged kumite, but when it comes to free sparring I frequently panic and do the deer in the headlights thing. Why? Beacuse I hate the unknown. I start packing two weeks before I leave on a vacation. I plan dinner menus for my family a month in advance. Driving in a new city sends gives me an anxiety attack. I also freeze up in my dance class when the instructor asks us to improvise, and there is certainly no threat of being punched in the face there! I know that this is a huge challenge for me. I am confident that EVENTUALLY, with enough time and practice, I can overcome this. I fully expect that it will take me significantly longer than most people to get to shodan, and I'm okay with that. Part of the reason that I enjoy karate so much is that it is outside my comfort level and forces me to grow as a person. Anyways, my point is that fear of being hurt is not necessarily the root of the problem. Can you describe any other personality traits that might help or hinder enjoyment of sparring?

My style doesn't do the board break thing so I can't offer any technical advice, but my Sensei is always saying MAs are 10% skill and 90% attitude, so just believe that you can and you will!

When I first started I used to wear my gi to and from the dojo. However, after a while I noticed that Sensei and the senior students always wore street clothes and changed before and after so I decided if they were doing that I probably should too!

That is beautifully phrased and definitely not meaningless. It may come too late to assist the original poster, but that doesn't mean it won't help someone else down the line. I know I will remember it if I ever find myself in the same situation!

Good for you!

I started when I was 37 (with my daughter, who has subsequently quit). Although part of me wishes that I had started when I was younger I also recognize that had I started earlier in life I probably wouldn't have even lasted a month. What I now lack in flexibility I make up for with a better understanding of myself, my challenges in training, and how to overcome or work around them.

It would be nice to meet more people! If I decide to go I will let you know.

That is very cool! I have several ebay searches set up for a few karate books I would love to acquire, perhaps one day I will have 1/10th your luck!

I mentioned in the introductions thread that I just got back from a 4 day camp, and someone suggested that I write a short summary post, so here it is! I've been training for about 2 years at an ISKF affiliated dojo, so I attended the ISKF Mountain States Camp, just north of Denver, CO. At one point my Sensei and another instructor from my dojo were also planning on going as well, but a new job and an injury prevented that from occuring. Therefore I was very nervous about going as I didn't really know anyone, but everyone was very nice and friendly! The first night there was one training in the evening. The second and third days we trained from 6:30-7:30 AM, 10:30-11:30 AM, and 3:30-5:00 PM. Most of the time they split out the coloured belts and we had a separate instructor. There were only 15-20 of us (as opposed to probably a hundred or so black belts) so the class was nice and small and we got lots of individual attention. The last class on the final morning everyone stayed together. Master Okazaki taught this class. It was a bit difficult to understand him and I was horribly nervous whenever he came anywhere near me, but I was thrilled to have trained with him. He did a very neat three way drill that I really enjoyed. There was also a tournament on the third day, but only brown and black belts were allowed to compete, so I contented myself with watching (one of these days I must learn those referee signals!). It was a bit intimidating to be surrounded by so many amazing Senseis, but it was definitely a very cool experience and I am so glad I went. Each different instructor had their own style and sometime someone just explains something in a slightly different way and the proverbial lightbulb goes on. Every instructor also has their own pet peeves, and many of the Senseis corrected me for things that seem to go unnoticed in my home dojo, all of which serves to make me better overall. Of course the downside to this is that sometimes I would be told something that directly contradicted something someone else had told me, but in these instances I would just say "osu!" and do the way the current Sensei wanted, at least for the duration of that class. I'm actually insane enough that I am considering attending master camp next year....

Sure... where would be the most appropriate sub-forum to put it?

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! Camp was awesome.

Hi everyone, My name is Christine and I've been training in shotokan karate for about 2 years now. I originally started as my then 7 year old daughter wanted to try it out but was too scared to do it by herself. She quit after orange belt but I was addicted and decided to continue without her. Most of my friends think I'm deranged.... I've been lurking about on the forum for a few weeks now and am very impressed. I haven't seen any trolls or spammers and everyone is very friendly and helpful! I am leaving on Thursday to attend a 4 day long karate camp. I'm a little scared but I'm sure once I recover I will consider it a great experience.