Safroot

I found these articles about Sparring secrets & tips : http://zultimate.com/6sparringsecrets http://www.mademan.com/mm/10-martial-arts-sparring-tips.html I found a good advice in each secret & tip that I will try to work on to improve my Sparring

Same here used to be afraid of it but now after 2 months of training and only 3 sparring sessions, I can say this is my best part of the class although I am still not good at it and got many punches and kicks everywhere but I like it

well said .... totally agree

Yes I already missed your Kyokushin tips and advice ... Welcome back to the forum with your new belt

OSU Oh great, congratulations ... so happy for you ..... well done that's great hopefully in couple of years I will reach this rank but at that time you will be 6th or 7th Dan

Yesterday was my first injury experience with karate ... nothing serious it was only bruised left arm and right shin just wanted to document my first injury

I don't think this is a good reason not to push them ... I have nearly 5 guys in my dojo in early 40s and their fitness is heeps better than mine I started with less than zero level fitness and now I am much more better than before but without being pushed by my Sensei beyond my limits I wouldn't have reached half the level of my current fitness. IMHO .. good sensei has to push every one beyond his/her individual limit ... so for those who are overweight and slow may be 10 push-ups push them beyond their limit which is fair enough but she has to push you to do for example 40 push-ups to go beyond your limit and improve your fitness levels

OSU I have been training in Kyokushin for nearly 2.5 months now and I am really loving it. As mentioned in the previous posts, it pushes you hard all the time and one of the main principles in my dojo is : "Push yourself beyond the limit". regarding sweating .... I wanna tell you that after each class I return back home with red hot face radiating heat enough to boil an egg in addition to my Gi's weight doubled due to sweat but I love it .... Love Kyokushin OSU

Both Jaypo & Sensei8 mentioned using angles. I really don't have a clear understanding of how to use angles in your favour Any one has articles or videos that illustrate the use of angles while sparring ?

Sounds like you're doing fine overall!! Your learning curve is right on target, imho. Yeah, leaning disrupts ones posture. Not a good thing! Leaning invites someone like me to get behind you faster, and to upset your balance, with leads into you being thrown somehow and someway. Switching stances often keep your opponent guessing. More importantly, switching is needed for transitions, any transitions. Transitions need an understanding in footwork and the like. Not switching while on any tournament circuit will get around, and when this happens, everyone knows you don't switch stances, and they'll develop a way to benefit themselves from that little info. As already mentioned, use the angles against him/her. Get inside and jam the tar out of him and reactive angles, for me, work the best. Reactive angles to us means that as I deflect, I'm counter-attacking simultaneously BUT just a split second AFTER I've deflected; a domino effect, so to speak. Allow your taller opponent to commit to the attack and then, with proper footwork, get inside your opponent by angling directional to target. But for that to work, imho, my opponent MUST totally commit to their attack so that their momentum carries them into MY space, yet them, out of their space. Proper breathing!! Don't hold your breath UNTIL it's proper to do so!! When students hold their breath while sparring, they're winded, and because your sensei isn't, that's why he's not winded at all. The more you spar, the more you'll understand the do's and don'ts that your sensei is trying to teach you!! Thank you for the great advice ... I will try it next time

Thanks for your time and precious advice

So it depends on each dojo and bit of personal preference as well .... that sounds good

Ohhhhhhhh that 30 minutes squat challenge is really tough, I managed to do 9.5 minutes just today ... my advice is try to watch a nice movie or program that you like while doing it, it makes great difference.

Today was my 3rd sparring session in the dojo .. it was 7 rounds 2x 30 sec, 3x 1 min & 2x 1.5 min with 20 sec break before each one .... ahhhhh I was dying I was much more better than previous ones and started to apply combinations as much as I can but still struggling with it. I have discovered 4 new problems that I need your advice about: 1- I found myself leaning forward to punch and expose my upper chest for punches & if I don't lean, my punches will be weak or even might not reach my opponent. 2- I don't change my stance frequently and this was spotted out by my Sensei, I feel like I forget to change it ... my Sensei told me if we are doing it full force after 3 kicks on the same leg I might not be able to stand and that's why it's important to change stance frequently. 3- I sparred with a tall guy (190-195 cm) and myself is (172 cm). punches doesn't reach him and kicks might reach but will be weak and I feel like standing far away from him. How can you spar with a taller opponent ?? 4- I couldn't take my breath after 30-45 seconds of sparring !! Sorry for this very long post but any advice that might help me with any of above mentioned problems will be much appreciated.

That's nice experience ... good on you & keep going

In my previous thread : http://www.karateforums.com/when-to-start-weapons-training-vt46512.html This issue was raised and I thought it would be good to share together, What are the legal restrictions of Possessing or training with weapons in your country/state ? and if possession is not allowed, is practice in the dojo without practicing at home enough ?! Unfortunately, here in Australia possessing is pretty restricted but I am not sure if there is any single weapon permitted in Australia or not ??!!

yes it seems very restricted here in Australia , it's only permitted to authorized instructors of "sports schools". I think I have to check if I am going to buy anything first with relevant authorities

It is not. However, some instructors who don't do it may have a place that they can recommend. I started at 9th kyu. Is that the best time to start? Who knows, it's just the time that I started. I am a proponent of starting earlier in your martial arts career however and being that I love weapons I believe that it's something that every martial artist should at the very least dabble in. http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/a/1996-75/current/pdf/1996-75.pdf It seems that "nunchakus or kung-fu sticks or other similar device" are banned under the "Prohibited hand weapons" section, but I saw nothing else about martial arts weapons. Make sure to read over it more carefully than I did though. Thanks for your post and thanks for the link ... I will have a look and see how it goes

Thanks for your answers .... much appreciated

I am pretty interested in weapons training but I have 3 questions about it: 1- Is weapon training conducted in all Dojos or some don't do it ? 2- When is the best time (which Kyu) to start weapons training or it's not related to your rank ? 3- What are the legal restrictions on Weapons training and possessing if any ? Thank you and sorry for asking too many questions

I have many things ... language, high kicks, maintaining balance while kicking,..... is that enough or say more!!

My advice, stick with the basics and work on them. The belt syllabus is there to add techniques to your training, as you go through it. Nothing wrong with learning more advanced techniques, but at this very early stage, I would advise against.

Now I have 2 magic words .... Practice & Patience Thanks for your advice

I guess he is, thanks for sharing your thoughts