Harkon72

A good attitude to have. Keep in mind though that not everyone will react well to attempted diffusion. Some are beyond reason, some are trained without your morals or control. Stay calm, stay safe.

I find that it works for us, other schools are puzzled by it, especially when they see photos of our line up at courses we attend. There is a subtle rank system on the mat. Beginners sit on the left, next to the Sensei, then as you get more experienced you sit further to the right of the mat. The sempai, who is called as Uke most often sits on the far right. Seniors when they visit us do ware Hakama, but as I said, if they are not instructing; they ware a white belt. It's our convention I suppose but it has its roots in the traditional Japanese Dojo. I believe that having many colored belts is a modern, if not western invention.

Ah, you call it C stepping? In the JKA they refer to it as compression and expansion of the body in each transit in the technique. As for hip movement, and this can apply to C stepping as well, what I have found is that you can telegraph your technique too easily. Hip rotation does give power as you give torque with the spine, and C stepping does give good traction as you move forward or back; yet keeping in mind that your technique must be as efficient as possible for speed and reflex is just as important. Here are two examples; In the first clip, the Tae Kwon Do student makes a powerful block. But the movement is massive. He uses his whole torso to make the block. He is totally committed to the technique, it may be good but far too polarized. The second clip has a Wing Chun fighter respond to multiple attacks from different angles with the minimum movement of his arms, his body moves and he has multiple options at all times. He can defend and attack as he chooses as each technique is flowing into the other, efficient but still as powerful.

I made my purchase, I decided that Nine Circles was too expensive. They charged over £40 for a bokken and case once the VAT and postage was added. I searched and found a red oak bokken, slightly heavier with a Japanese bokken case for £25 all in. It came today, the case is smart and the bokken feels solid and will do a good job. The finish of the oak tells you that it is a cheaper model, but for what I require it to do it is perfectly adequate. As they say in our Aikido; the defense that you use to defeat the weapon is more important than the shine of its blade.

This is not so remarkable; in our Aikido club, everyone wares a white belt, some there have trained for 30 years and still ware a white belt. No belts, no grades, no ego. The only other color of belt is black and our sensei wares that. We had 8 visiting Akidoka from sister clubs in Ireland, The Isle of Mann and Holland, they wore hakama after many years of practice; but underneath their belts were white.

Yes, I have suffered acute mental illness at times for over 20 years. I take Lithium Carbonate. I find that some martial artists can have a strange attitude towards me, at times there has been some discrimination while dealing with some associations. I tend to walk away, if they have a problem it's a reflection of their ignorance and none of my concern. The people I train with now are a mature class, they see for themselves what I am like, they can see the martial artist and not the condition. I am open and honest about my mental problems; overcoming them has been one of my greatest achievements.

At the moment I'm studying Aikido with the BAB here in the UK, No-one has filmed our class, but here is a good example of our style. The Aikidoka is taking on two Karateka, one with a Jo as a weapon. Enjoy. http://youtu.be/J_K6LOFBBCc

Yes, thank you. We train bokken, jo and tanto. We sometimes have weapon to weapon contact but most of the randori is when tori is unarmed. I have purchased weapons from Nine Circles before; their Nunchaku are some of the best I have ever had. I might buy a couple of bokken from them along with an oak jo. They do some good weapons bags too. Thank you.

In our style of Aikido we use a bokken to train in free kumite or randori. What material do you think is best? This school of Aikido go for light, tough bokken. I have used red and white oak in the past, light and heavy. Some people advocate soap wood, but I've never seen any soap wood bokken. I saw a company sell bamboo laminate bokken; these are supposed to be light and tough and they are not too expensive. There is a fashion for plastic ones now, some have built in finger guards while others have wrapped handles and plastic saya. Others in our club use the traditional oak and they stain them, I fancy the bamboo one, but I'm not sure. Any thoughts guys?

I love master Ken. He visited the UK and visited our local up market Dojo, it happens to be opposite Macdonalds in town, I'm not kidding! He charged them £45 each for an hour of prime steak, they never saw the irony!

This illustrates a fact that some overlook; A person may be an outstanding Martial Artist, but they can't teach it. Another may be a mediocre Martial Artist but a fantastic teacher. I know that most of us are led by example, and that many need to see, feel and experience the essence of the art they are being taught; but the paradox of the artist/teacher compatibility does exist, monkey see, monkey do; yet some monkeys can't be taught, while others make poor masters.

I knew of pressure points quite early on in my martial arts career. I never saw their true effect until I saw an SAS veteran and professional bodyguard who was my father's friend for many years drop several attackers in succession in a self defense situation. I learned my limited skills slowly over the next few years, as Bob said; "You don't have to know them all, just practice the ones you do know well."

Classifying martial arts classes is never easy. The quality of the teacher has a crucial effect on the resulting student. I wish you a Happy Birthday Danielle!

Well done and well deserved.

Martial Arts have made me and saved me, I will always practice them to some degree. But if I ever abused them or made a shameful act because of them, I would drastically change my attitude towards them. I have little value for the material things in life, I don't chase fame or wealth; but if Martial Arts made me lose the focus of my being, of my very journey in this life; I would leave them to whatever betrayed them in my eyes.

In the Aikido class people can get confused as Uke with which hand, which lapel, which wrist, which strike or push for example. Our Sensei teaches us to react to anything; anything that your Uke does, you are expected to react accordingly with a flexible response. You cannot assume anything or take anything for granted; as in life.

We train for 2 hours in our Dojo, twice a week. With your own training, I feel this is enough. I know of some Dojo that offer 3/4 of an hour per session and charge £10 per go! I suppose it's ok if you can afford it.

I like Okinawan Cut Gis, broad at the shoulder with short arms and legs. My current one is a WMA 12oz. It's cheap, about £25, it's tough and I have full range of movement. I can't complain.

I can tell you a secret, and thinking about it it's pretty obvious. Grades and Belts mean nothing!! They are a relatively new phenomenon in martial arts and have nothing to do with karate or any other art. They are just a measure of commitment that is visual in one system of achievement. In the worst case they show how much you or your parents for example have spent. Belts are not just given but they can be bought. You know how far you have come, your Sensei knows how much you have put in to your karate. An observer only has to watch you to know that you have achieved your level. An opponent will look up from the floor in the knowledge that your art is genuine. You don't need a piece of colored cloth or a paper certificate to confirm that you are a martial artist. As the master answered when questioned about his belt "Canvas - You like?" In my present club we all wear white belts, regardless of grade, there are no grades below master but some have 30 years of experience, the look in the eye will let you know.

I've been a white belt four times! It's not a step back, it can be liberating. Welcome and good luck with your training.

I always thought that Kenpo Karate had Korean roots. I may be mistaken. Some arts have minimal Chinese influence. Aikido is one, being derived from the classic Japanese Shinto Jui Jitsu and Aki Jitsu branches. Ninjitsu and Ken Jitsu schools can have this claim too. Okinawan Karate and Shorinji Kempo have direct linage to China, but some Filipino and Indonesian arts do not. Muay Thai is Thai and Sombo is Russian. Some say that all martial arts can be historically traced to the Yogi of India, but I doubt that the native arts of Africa for example were ever influenced by them.

I was an Aikido skeptic for many years. I had tried a stylized version of it at collage and was put off. I watched a seminar of Aikido here in North Wales and just couldn't work it out. It looked compliant, simple yet devolved from real self defense, or my perception of it. This was until I met a Sensei and an association that taught the real thing. Much like most martial arts, the way they are taught and the principals they use vary massively along the spectrum of the world of their style of budo. It is quite frightening. You can never generalize about any martial art; "Karate is like this" or "Judo is like that", it depends on the teacher and their linage of practice and the way they teach and have been taught. You can see patterns in each specific organisation, but at the end of the day each Sensei you meet is different and so are you. It is luck, but my Aikido under Sensei Halsall has been a revelation. It's real and it works. The principals are mind blowing in their simplicity, there is no stance, no posture, no technique; even the circle ethos is an illusion. It took me 25 years to find this way; I thought I knew, but I knew nothing.

The mistake a lot of martial artists make is using what I call "Football Looking Shin Pads." They have some padding but have a hard shell. They are not designed for martial arts. The shell might dissipate some of the shock, and with a small impact area they have some effect. But believe me, unless you have shins like a Thai Boxer; shin on shin or even shin on forearm punishment can leave your legs sore. For Continuous Kumite I have used the cheap sock shin pads; and as you say they are almost useless. I recommend dipped foam shin pads, you can get them with a double re-enforcing layer too. Mine came from Blitzsport Uk and I have no complaints.

I cannot speak for all Shotokan dojos and I can't pick out a typical system that Shotokan represents; but our local school and it's sister dojo not far from us seem to be a very balanced class. The warm up is traditional; there are no pretty colored cones to run around. The Kihon is done in basic stances and combinations and breathing exercises with more advanced combinations in the classes for higher grades. The Kata can be basic or advanced with everyone practicing together to the best of their ability. There is an emphasis on Ippon Kumite, each student pairs off against every other karateka, regardless of grade. This is where they learn the application of the Kihon and Kata. Jui Kumite is hardly taught until the student is deemed ready. These clubs do have a good long standing reputation.

Hello and Welcome, I wish you a steady and strong recovery.