JonWal

Well at least I only look like an 80s throwback in my white trousers and training jacket. I always get changed fully after Iaido practice as it doesn't pay to wander around the streets of Yorkshire in what looks like a skirt. Brilliant, haha! At least with Gi trousers I only resemble a Trade Painter/Decorator. Albeit a very neat Painter/Decorator..... with an ironing complex..

Haha, the stuff us Wado students have to go through eh!?

We have a beginners class, an intermediate class and an advanced class. Beginners use the English and a translation in Japanese, when we progress to the intermediate class 7th to 4th Kyu we use primarily japanese terms for all techniques with some English. From 4th Kyu up the belts tests are all Japanese.

I'm pretty self conscious so Ill get changed in the toilets at the dojo, other times if Im running late or its raining heavily I'll get changed in the house and dive into the car so neighbours dont see me. I've never been told otherwise, but I've always left my belt until just before entering the Dojo. No way I could wear my Gi around the village I live, its not rough, but I'd rather people not know I do karate for confrontational issues. My sensei wears a club training top and I know has been challenged by some drunk idiots when out with his family ''come on Karate man, fight me!'' I think people have realised now that hes not one to be messed with.

Interesting points about stretching before class, we've always done 15mins of warmup/stretching as a starter. I'll stretch whenever and wherever I can, waiting for kettle to boil, sitting at my desk etc. Every pause in my life is an opportunity, haha

I think thats spot on, it does not necessarily have to be a black belt, but anyone with a higher grade than yourself. After all a belt is a rank of knowledge in an art and not just 'time served' indicator.

I dont have much problem with the individual sport side of Kata, if a student is good at the kata aspect but not so much the kumite then good for them they are able to compete. I am sceptical about the team Kata though, that verges on the theatrical. Not so much the keeping in time with your teammates, I know how difficult that is and appreciate the amount of time that involves, but the way people wear the same Gi,the way they all have their hair cut the same way, I think it goes too far. Each to their own, but its not for me.

I think its an excellent way of doing things, what use is a black belt that couldnt show a beginner how to do the Basic Kata?

This hapenned to me in a grading actually, my mind went blank but my body just went through the Kata as usual like the many previous times i'd drilled it. I remember thinking to myself ' Damn, ive messed up, ...oh actually no, that was right!'' I believe for testing for Shodan with us, you are expected to perform each kata. Our motto is 'We leave nothing behind''

I'd say that whenever you're sure that its something you're planning on pursueing. I've only been training a year, but my lightweight was beginning to hang, so I upgraded to a 14oz heavyweight Gi.

I've just bought one of these, as an upgrade to my 8oz Entry level Blitz Gi, first impressions are that its excellent quality especially as I only paid £52 for it. Its much stiffer than the previous gi and does have an excellent pop to it. Still a bit stiff after only a couple washes but hopeful that will soften up slightly over time.

I've only been doing Karate for 10 months and have learned the Kihon kata. Our Sensei tests us occasionally by substituting for example the Gedan Barai low block with an Age Uke head block and the Oi Zuki with a Maegeri. This obviously changes the bunkai applications, but its a good way of teaching a student to think on their feet.

I'm one of the lucky ones that lives exactly 1/2 a mile away from the Dojo. Perfect for pre-warmup to get the muscles working. You'd have to be very comitted to travel that sort of distance Epyon, it involves aditional costs as well as time which need to be factored in. Big respect to anyone that puts in that amount of commitment.

The cost price seems massive to me. £35-40 for 2 sessions? About £20 per lesson! I pay £3.50 for an hour session in Karate. Obv everywhere is different but £20 a session? Is TKD really that expensive?

It would bother me if the 13 year old was responsible for persistant stops in class due to his behaviour. From the OP's perspective, if he's paying for MA lessons which are being disrupted by the sensei having to disiplin a child every 5 minutes then I can see where he's coming from.

Our are: White Red/white stripe Red Yellow Orange Green Blue Purple Brown Brown Brown Black

A guy in our Dojo took a long time out of Karate, on his return he chose to wear a white belt, but was quickly told by our Sensei to wear his original rank after demonstrating his knowledge.

Wado-Ryu: Massive amount to learn, but thoroughly enjoying the journey.

Hi Steve is it the Scottish International Open? If so, I believe its a Karate Open, so you'll be competing against other styles also. Good luck for the tournament. Suck in the experience.. and if it hurts, you know what, its probably worth it.

That's an unusually long period for a Wado group ime. Within most groups, that train under the auspices of the three major Wado branches, I would say a more typical "possible" time span would be an un-interrupted 4-5 years (for an adult anyway) of serious training 2-3 times a week. Of course what is "possible" and reality are two distinctly different things, but I would question why any Wado group would require it to be a "minimum" of 7 years. That doesn’t sound right to me. K. Our gradings are every 4 months and sure the 3rd, 2nd and 1st Kyu levels are increasing longer time periods for grading. What may increase the length of time however is that our classes are twice a week for an hour at a time. So without any individual work outside of class, we're only putting in 2 hours a week. Would that change your opinion? Regardless, I'm not in any particular hurry but interesting to hear your comments as I have nothing to compare it to locally.

In our Wado organisation it'll take a minimum of 7 years to reach BB if you take each grading on schedule.

Hi Steve, I started Wado Ryu in August '12. Our club rules are that we arent allowed to start sparring until after first grading. After my first Kumite session I felt exactly like you, it is a massive learning curve, and I kept wondering if my reactions would improve to the point that it would become instinctive to block. I assume that over time this will become second nature, or at least something that I'll see an improvement on. Good luck and stick with it. The only real thing you can do to improve sparring is sparring... often!

Good topic, I think your feelings are natural. Although you also need to think about, what could succeed in one situation may fail in another. Nothing is guaranteed. I'm only setting off on a martial arts journey and I often think how Id react in a confrontation situation. Does the correct situational reaction become second nature over time? Or is this something that constantly evolves as you progress.

Interesting read

Another Welsher!