ShotokanGage

How long would you suggest a break should last? I'm feeling a little confused at the mo regarding similar issues in above posts, but I can't just STOP... I would have to do something else, maybe another sport like tennis etc... But I don't want to give up Shotokan for good. Hard work thinking about what to do....

Thanks for your response! Can you explain in further detail what you mean when you say the lactic acid is working in my benefit? That massage technique sounds like torture!

Question - last night we did lots of leg conditioning. Lots of standing slightly crouched for the benefit of our quads, while moving forward with kicks, punches, etc. It really really started to burn after a while, to the point where I was making involuntary gasps and noises in pain. Then after around 15-20 minutes, I noticed that it was hurting less and I could stand it a bit more. Nothing had changed, we were still doing the same level of intensity. What happened? Could my breathing perhaps have changed, or is it a mental thing, or did my legs suddenly become stronger? (as if, haha!). Any thoughts would be appreciated!

It looks as though you and I have been doing a martial arts discipline for the same length of time (since 2010) and I too will hopefully be testing for Nidan this year. Good luck to you!

I know that kata as Kanku Dai, and I also know it in it's Shotokan Form - in fact it is the kata I used for my 1st dan grading. It's crazy how different you do it compared to our way. The stances are so different, some of the moves are completely different in their approach, and the general balance is focussed elsewhere. However I can totally appreciate the skill and talent in your sensei's rendition of this kata, very impressive stuff. I enjoyed the vid, thanks for sharing!

Good question! Of course, everybody has their own area of excellence, some are brilliant warriors while others are amazing technicians of the art; then there are those who might not have the edge physically but spiritually and mentally are very strong. Myself, I think I am probably a better technician of Kata than I am a natural-born fighter. I can certainly hold my own against an opponent, however I don't have the instinct, the vision or the flawless execution that I am striving towards. However, my memory for kata is good, and my teacher is so good at picking on technical details for me that I am quite precise with my movements. Personally, I need to improve my speed in Kata. I am nearly 6'2 and my long legs seem to prevent me from changing stance quickly and neatly. For example, the first move of Bassai Dai in Shotokan, it takes quite a while to get from the standing ready position down to the low stance first block, and I find it very difficult to increase this speed. Having said that, my kumite speed is pretty fast, much faster than my kata speed........ Ahhhh swings and roundabouts!! Now I'm rambling!

That is definitely frustrating. Conflicting teachings are difficult to get around, particularly without disrespecting one or both of your teachers. The only major course that I have attended, in Windsor April 2014, there were four top sensei's working in partnership. The entire assembly of attendees were split into four groups and each sensei focused on one group, and that was all there was to it. No conflicts, no 'senpais' wandering around, just one teacher to his smaller group of students. I learned a lot from that course

This is a good one, definitely frustrating. Someone came to our club as a brown belt from another style, shuko kai I believe; he trained with us for quite a while and had great spirit in class. Then he disappeared without word... last I heard, he had gained his black belt in Ninjitsu, not long after he left us..... My pet peeve is people who have potential but do not make the most of it. In particular, kids who progress at a phenomenal rate because they have natural ability, but then become too lazy to push themselves when it really counts, ie brown belt and above. It's incredibly frustrating to watch a karateka, who you know has the potential to be brilliant, plod along in mediocrity because they know they are 'good' but don't push themselves to be great. In some cases, they slide backwards and lose their ability when they stop trying..... argh, how to invoke spirit and motivation!? That is so difficult.

Fantastic post, one that I wholeheartedly agree with. I think I failed in getting this point across in my previous post in this topic, so thankyou for saying that so eloquently!

I agree with this! I have been training Shotokan for coming up to 5 years now - I am of Shodan ranking, and I currently would not consider going to another style or to cross-train. I do not feel as though my foundation in Shotokan is anything to brag about, and I know I have a long way to go before I can start considering myself to have a solid understanding of the art. Thus, I couldn't imagine going to another style and learning moves that may differ in practice from what I already know, to confuse myself and take away from what basics I do know. I also feel that I have so much more to learn from my instructor; I could quite easily judge him to be one of the best teachers I could ever possibly come across, so to limit my training time with him would be a hinderance to my own journey. I am still very young, at the start of my MA journey, and I have a long long way to go. I would love to try other arts, Aikido interests me very much, but I want to get as much out of Shotokan as it can offer me, as I feel I am on the right path with it at the moment and I know my instructor won't last forever. Perhaps in the distant future I will try an alternative art, until then I owe it to my sensei to give him my all so that he can guide me to my potential.

White Belt -> Red Belt = Kihon Kata -> Orange Belt = Heian Shodan -> Yellow Belt = Heian Nidan -> Green Belt = Heian Sandan -> Purple Belt = Heian Yondan -> Purple + White Belt = Heian Godan -> Brown Belt = Tekki Shodan -> Brown + White Belt = Bassai Dai -> Brown + 2 White Belt = Bassai Dai -> Black Belt Shodan = Either Jion, Bassai Dai, Enpi, or my favourite, Kanku Dai. Similar to mal103!

I find it difficult to find space to practise at home. I've considered asking my local leisure gym if I can borrow their function room early in the mornings when they're not being used but am not looking forward to their answer..!

Great, I'm glad you've seen my post. Hopefully see you soon

Hi Joebloggs, Just a quick message to recommend the club I train at, Stockport Shotokan Karate Club - http://www.stockportshotokan.co.uk/, which trains three times a week in Hazel Grove/Bramhall in Stockport. We train under Sensei Mo Chebouli 5th, who is simply awesome in his spirit and knowledge of karate. His teacher is Sensei Masao Kawasoe, who is a JKA qualified 8th Dan. Sensei Chebouli is nearing the end of recovering from an operation recently but his teaching really is superb and it would be good to see a potential new member come and check out the club I don't know how local Hazel Grove/Bramhall is for you, hopefully you can at least give us a go and see what you think! You'll be very welcome. Oss P.s. we have a training session tonight at 7.30pm so hopefully you can see this message in time!

100% yes! I also do lots of stretching with my heel up on a window ledge or maybe a table, with my legs straight and back foot flat on the floor. Then leaning down towards my foot to stretch the leg further. Then after that, turn my floor-foot 90 degrees out, and then turning my table foot on it's side, to stretch off my hip. This is a very useful stretch for me and I do it every single session.

They jumped you to nidan when you were grading for shodan? Wow I didn't realise that would be possible! Did you grade at your own school or at a grading event for your organisation?

Congratulations Safroot!

There are some bad first time experiences posted in this thread. I cannot believe that a school would look at a presumed 'newbie' to martial arts and then treat them in such a way that could put them off martial arts for life! I suppose all you can gather from this is that there are just as many tossers in martial arts as there are in every day life. I myself am lucky to train in a club with no egos whatsoever (in fact I sometimes worry that my ego is the biggest of the lot!), and it's such a great atmosphere where everybody listens and takes in the instructor's advice.

What a good idea! I shall suggest this to my club senseis

Just as an FYI more than anything, my Dad took up Shotokan in his late thirties. Stiff as a board, never done anything like it. He's now a Sandan Black Belt and does a lot of the running of our club. Very flexible and technical, just a quick message to say anybody at any stage of their life can take up martial arts and become very good at it

I became a 1st Kyu pretty much one year ago now. My Shodan grading is in two and a bit months, so I will have been a 1st Kyu for 14 months! Similar situation, and I don't know about you, but my time as a 1st Kyu has flown by! I once chose not to grade. I really didn't feel ready, considering I had taken some time off for personal reasons. My sensei asked me to assist by performing Kata with some other students, so they were not grading alone. He then asked me to do the Kihon with a different student, and finally paired me up with someone to do sparring at the end. I had effectively completed my grading, but with no emphasis on the fact that I was grading (if that makes sense). I was then presented with my next belt at the end of the session. So my sensei knew that I was ready before I did, and sneakily made me grade when I was planning not to!

I cannot see it affecting your training, other than you must remember to focus on training your left leg too. My right mawashi-geri is somewhat fast and well formed, wheras my left mawashi-geri is weak and inferior. This is due to training more frequently on my preferred leg. I am currently working hard on practising my left leg, so that I can comfortably kick with either leg. It's all hard work and practise, nothing to worry about, as long as you don't push your ankle too far.

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Good post! We had a new fella join us fairly recently (last few months or so). He has a very unusual style of fighting, certainly for Shotokan anyway. He prances around waving his guard up in the air, moving way back and way forth and telegraphing every move. He also fought far too hard. He's a green belt (6th Kyu), so you can expect his control to be off. But he throws himself into every attack, and gets right in range, so whilst he may tag his opponent in the side with some sort of a boxer's blow, he's left himself completely open and often walks head on to a kizami-zuki, or even a mawashi-geri. He doesn't come especially often, so he won't learn quickly, but he's definitely a difficult one to fight against, because of his unorthodox methods.

I'm currently reading about Sensei Masao Kawasoe's early years, the first thirty of his life. It's a fascinating story as to how he got into Shotokan, and I love reading about the Japanese way of life back then (he was born in 1945). Really enjoying it, I can link it here if anybody wants to know more