Spartacus Maximus

Every once in a while after intense practise I get strange recurring cramps in my hands. They are not very painful and never last more than a few minutes after I finish. My hands go numb and my fingers remain stuck either extended or half folded or any odd angles. Once the cramps pass, my hand is back to normal and I have no lasting discernible effects such as changes in dexterity or tactile sensitity. The worst thing about these cramps is that they happen when I'm supposed to change my hand form in technique transitions because my fingers are cramped up. Has anyone else ever had these?

So far I have tried using the lightest weight available about 0.5kg. I decided I would use them in a similar fashion as one would use tetsugeta(iron weighted Japanese style sandals). Mostly practising each kick and holding each step for a few seconds. I will also practise just raising my knees up and holding the start posiont for kicking.

I have always used Shock Doctor brand. I think they are the best thing available short of getting a custom made mouth guard. It does what it is supposed to do and is made to prevent concussions and other severe injuries. That is all you really need so it is not really necessary to have something super-fancy or expensive. Also, this is obvious but focus sparring on getting more skilled at blocking/dodging strikes to your head. That and a decent mouthguard will go a long way. Pretend the protection and pads are not there and fight/spar as if you were not wearing them. Otherwise you may unconsciously adapt to them and come to develop dangerous bad habits.

Leg stretch static for full side split, dynamic stretch front and side Slow motion kicks, fast chain kick(mawashi, spin back) nonstop for 3 minutes Standing horse stance blocks and punches Kihon kata 1-5 x 3 each, slow mo and normal speed. Pinan 1 and 2 x 5 and all bunkai for each. Hit pine board 50times right, 55times left hand.

It is not a hobby for me also. If it was a hobby it would not feel strange not to do it. Karate has been part of my life and routine since I was a snot nosed kid. I had some friends and girlfriends over the years who tried it but their interest was only passing. People who see it as a hobby end up quitting and moving on to the next thing. I would not try to convince anyone to train, especially my girlfriend or wife. I would only support and help them get started if they expressed a serious interest in it.

My biggest struggle is on going because I cannot yet claim to have overcome it yet. I lost much of the flexibility I once had and trying to regain it is painful. I also have trouble with controlling my breathing for keeping up intense training. I remember nearly passing out from exhaustion last year. I still struggle but I can keep up so I improved a little since then My main struggle right now is trying to increase the endurance and strength in my core and legs for balance and getting more power into my techniques.

I can only speak from a boyfriend or husband point of view and here is my opinion: Getting a spouse or girlfriend to join martial arts practise is only possible if the woman shares your interest in the first place. Getting her to keep it up and become as involved and dedicated as you might be is an entirely different can of worms. My theory on this is that women are generally intimidated by activities that appear to involve physical contact and a possible risk of injury. This is especially true of martial arts. Women will generally shy away and even cringe at the mere mention of these because that is the culturally acceptable construct ingrained into their minds since birth. Little girls are always told implicitly and explicitly that they must be nice, and cute and delicate. Being rough, strong and tough is more expected and encouraged of boys. The more physically rough an activity is, the less female interest it will generate. Of course there will be exceptions but they will be few and fewer still will become remarkable. Unfortunately those women and girls are considered odd by their peers because they enjoy so-called masculine or Macho activities.

I work all week and only get to the dojo twice a week. However, I make it a point to train/practise at LEAST an hour, at LEAST 3 days in the week after work. I use whatever free time I can get. It is very difficult to develop any skill or improve if you only practise when your instructor is present or at the dojo. The time spent at the dojo means very little unless you also train on your own time. I prefer to have a regular practise time but sometimes I have to change it. Each family member has something they want to do alone (hobby, pass time etc) and we all agreed to respect each other's personal schedule. Planning it I key so that it does not interfere with anything important. In my case I agree to finish my session before anyone's bedtime. The others allow me to train uninterrupted unless for emergencies. In exchange I let them have their turn and cooperate to make sure they can do whatever they need their time for. It's worth taking the time to discuss and plan with everyone in the house. Everyone in my personal circle knows that very few things will make me put aside practising karate. I have been into it for so long that it has become who I am and nothing or nobody has or will change that. People who will not or cannot accept that are no longer around me. Luckily those I care most about support me even if they find my obsession with martial arts strange. That's the best one could hope for as a shameless martial arts freak.

I have been looking for a new way to improve strength and endurance of my legs for kicks. After watching my instructor use ankle weights I am considering doing the same thing. I would like to inquire about the use of these weights and get some insight from whoever uses them. What type of exercise do you use them for?: slow motion techniques or near full speed/power? I saw the weights available from 0.5kg to 3.5kg. What weight do you recommend starting with? Please share your opinion and experiences

Unless you are well connected with the gym staff, I'm not sure if there is anything you could do to change the traction on the floor. The fact that other people use it also limits what could possibly be done. If the slipperiness is not from excess wax or other cleaning and maintenance products, it could be humidity. You could try to briskly wipe the floor with a dry mop broom. I'm sure the gym would let you borrow one if you asked. If that does nothing, then wearing shoes is the only solution. If you want something close to the sensation of being barefoot with shoes, try looking into a type of soft shoe. For example, kung fu or tai chi shoes. These are commonly sold by most martial arts equipment stores and are not so costly. I got a pair for myself that I bought on the internet for no more than a regular pair of cheap running shoes. I wear them whenever being barefoot is not possible. Good luck

It is my opinion and understanding that someone with a shodan must demonstrate the following skills: 1. A firm grasp of all basic techniques and fundamental principles 2. Knowledge of technique applications and function. 3. Demonstrate correct focus to produce power in basic techniques at least somewhat consistently 4. Mental concentration and a good moral character. The first three can possibly be developed by adolescents and maybe children as young as ten. The fourth condition however, is much much more difficult and in my experience impossible for anyone under 16-18years old. An entire university library's worth of research can be found to show that a person still is not mentally fully mature until the age of 20. 10-12year olds are still very much children. A student that age cannot be expected to be able to concentrate on his own training without any support. It is also too much to expect him to have the maturity to judge and reflect on his own actions. Even teenagers are still impulsive and mentally immature. A child maybe a phenomenal athlete and very adept at remembering physical movements but I do not believe their skills are beyond a very superficial physical level. That is why I adhere to the idea that shodan should not be used to evaluate the level of anyone under 16-18. I also think individual personality plays a significant part in a students grasp of martial skills and concepts.

Abuse of martial arts bothers me very much now but I wonder how I would deal with it if I were an instructor. What if it was someone to whom I taught that was using what I taught him to pick fights or worse to beat others and other serious criminal violence? In the past, the instructor would personally confront and stop a student gone rogue. Then again this type of justice was probably only in extreme cases due to instructors evaluating and selecting students before deciding to teach. Nowadays anyone can pay for instruction. Instructors may not feel so responsible for what students are doing outside the dojo and I doubt many of them would go as far as going after a student themselves if they found out they "created a monster". I have been to quite a few dojos and trained both in the West and in the homeland of karate. A few had a token mention of the subject and only one had a very explicit warning and discussion about it. I watched two pieces of media that made me start this rant. The first one is the incident of a sensei instructing his senior student to viciously beat a man inflicting crippling and possibly fatal injuries. This so-called instructor was trained in Okinawa. The second is a documentary on a mobster called Tommy Karate who used what he learned for mafia hits or to kill people who got in his way. Again this man had good skills and was trained by Japanese and American teachers who apparently were very proud of their student. I'm guessing this before they knew he was a mafia killer for hire. If they ever did know I wonder what they thought. End Rant.

Whenever I have heard of or witnessed somebody misuse or abuse martial arts I could not help feeling offended. It makes me even angrier when the person abusing martial art knowledge and skill practises the same martial art or style that I do. Anyone using martial arts to deceive or take advantage of others is wrong. Worse than frauds are those who use martial arts as a weapon for unjustifiable gratuitous violence. Thugs, bullies and other unscrupulous despicable brutes. It is quite unfortunate that the martial arts seem to attract these types. Especially if the instructor does not care to or neglects to examine what kind of people he is teaching. The worst I have ever personally witnessed was someone from my group who went out of his way to look for trouble outside. At the time I could not do anything because I was too young and inexperienced. His case eventually caught the attention of the sensei resulting in his expulsion and exclusion from many dojos because most martial arts teachers in town were friends or at least acquaintances. Word got around quick and none of them wanted anything to do with someone who would give them a reputation for training thugs. The second incident was an adult student who struck a 10-12 year old student twice. The adult was also not a beginner. This time, I was assisting while the main instructor was away. I told him to leave and not return without the instructors permission and an apology to the child. Violence is always wrong if it is unjust or used against the weak and defenseless. It is much more evil and contemptible when it is done by skilled, trained persons who know how to cause maximum damage and are aware of this. Martial skills without the guidance of morals and philosophy is but the most abject and bestial thuggery.

I still remember my very first sensei who introduced me to karate when I was just a bratty kid. I learned from him until I left for school but he taught me the value of peseverance in practise. My second teacher taught me for 5 years and was a shining example of a tireless, humble and kind teacher always ready to share his skills to anyone reay to learn. My present teacher terrifies me with his skills in karate. He has an amazing depth of knowledge and experience. If I can be just a little bit like all three of them, then maybe I could be considered a worthy student and a decent teacher.

It is well known that martial arts have rules of conduct, morals and ethics usually taught through some kind of philosophy. Whatever the origin of the arts there are some rules that are universal. Especially these two: Character development and improvement(self control, patience, respect etc) Unprovoked attacks or trivial fighting are wrong. Martial skills are a last resort response for self defense. Unfortunaly sometimes there are people who never learned or understood these lessons. What is the worst abuse or misuse of martial arts you have ever seen or heard of personally? Were you able to do anything about it? If so, did you handle the situation?

Stretching every day is the only way to maintain an increase flexibility as well as for preventing injuries. This is more important when you are older than 20 years old. If you stretch past your comfort point and do nothing the next day, you will feel even stiffer than before when you try it again a day later. The body naturally returns to its original state. Becoming more flexible requires conscious sustained efforts and daily stretching maintains the gains. Without daily stretching, felexibilty is not maintained. Someone at my dojo asked a very similar question. This man was I his mid thirties and not very flexible. He only did stretching in the dojo and was often in pain often. After he started stretching daily he finally got rid of the pain and stiffness. Just take it easy and slowly day by day doing a little more.

My lessons are semi private so there is rarely more than 5 or 6 of us being taught. Then again, I am only able to attend on weekends so I don't know how many usually show up on weekdays. The total number of regular students is no more than 20. Most are working and/or studying adults so only a small number out of those are present at all dojo days. In other dojos I trained at there was usually one or two seniors assisting the sensei with each leading a group of up to 5 students. I think between 5 and 8 students to 1 instructor is ideal. It depends on the instructors experience though. Even for someone accustomed to teaching and managing large groups, it can be very difficult to watch every one.

If a school has a contract it is because the school belongs to a chain belonging to the same owner or a franchise. These schools use contracts because they are primarily businesses. Other schools that are part of an association don't have contracts but different paying plans. The most common is a single fee for 1 year or monthly monthly tuition. Dividing payments by sessions of 3 months or 6 months is also quite common. Personally I like the idea of giving students a choice to decide what is suitable for them. I believe this retains more students than having them sign a commitment they are unsure of keeping. I don't believe having a contract keeps more students than having no contracts.

Becoming vegetarian or vegan or any radical change of diet is a matter of personal choice. Usually the choice is for a very personal reason. The most difficult thing is compensating and balancing everything so as to not cause shortages of essential nutrients to maintain health. Depending on what foods are available it can be harder to do in one place than another. The more restrictions a diet has, the harder it is to compensate and it is a good idea to do some research to find the best solution. Get advice from a doctor or a nutritionist or read books by such experts. I went trough vegetarian phase in my university days. I was not a strict vegetarian because I only took meat out of my diet. The next thing I experimented with was the so called paleo or caveman diet. This means I ate nothing that was processed or transformed in any way. No bread, raw fruits and vegetables only, some meat and fish. As close as possible to what people would have eaten before agriculture was developed. Now I am back on a general diet but I just eat smaller portions. Usually no more than 1.5 times the size of my two hands held together.

I would never tell someone not to go on the kind of journey we are discussing here. It is an honourable endeavour and an interesting experience for future reference. There is always something to be learned or discovered by going back to the source. In my childhood and youth I dreamed about one day traveling to the Far East to learn and train at the source of karate. Even now I am still not at the end of my journey but I do not regret having taken the first step.

This is unfortunately part of the issue with martial arts as a business. It is a dirty business where honest, quality teaching is hard to find and certainly not the norm. It is full of dishonest, unscrupulous individuals, charlatans and frauds For every one that is exposed or taken to court, there are hundreds more out there profiting from their deceptive practices and abusing public trust. They are successful because there is always enough people to believe them and pay them. As long as martial arts are a consumer commodity, there will be people who will take advantage and exploit it to the legal limit and beyond. Whoever wants to profit from teaching martial arts, must be willing to sell it in a way the masses will consider appealing. The question is what is the instructor willing to do to achieve this. Dishonest practices and outright fraud are rampant in franchise or chain schools because these have money making and profit as their only purpose. The chief instructor rarely has the time to teach a full lesson let alone actually train himself. He is usually too preoccupied with his business and counting his money. On the other hand, the little guy who teaches in one or two rented spaces for a couple hours each night to a handful of dedicated students is far less likely to abuse their trust to get their money. He also likely teaches quality martial arts with a real passion for teaching as well as training himself.

I knew martial arts were for me since I was 6 years old, more specifically karate. I liked the idea that I didn't have to be very big and tall or built like a gorilla to defend my self and others.

I have trained and lived in Okinawa for a few years and also elsewhere in Japan. It is only after the fact that I realized how much karate is different from what I was seeking to and how difficult it can be to find what I was hoping to find, even in the so-called cradle of karate. I have heard and read that karate in Okinawa is not what it used to be. I learned that just because Okinawa is the original home of karate, the karate taught there is free from all the issues that affect karate elsewhere. Authentic karate is just as hard to find over there as it might be elsewhere in the world. Few teachers are free from the influence and pressure of commercial, sport competition karate. Even fewer are able and willing to teach the old way. Martial arts are hard and take a long time to learn, longer still to master. Karate training is tough and painful. My present teacher is an old gentleman who learned from the last generation of masters who still taught karate the old ways. He left his native island and kept his master's teachings. He often says that even in Okinawa karate is heavily influenced by sport competition and commercial teaching. My experience tells me how right he is. Especially when he says looking outside of Okinawa for authentic karate is just as good, and maybe better for finding a teacher. The moral is: the birthplace of a martial art does not necessarily have only the best teachers. A great master may be found in unexpected places near or far from where the martial arts first came about. This is especially true in recent times where people easily immigrate and travel far and wide. Keep that in mind in your intended quest and it will keep your expectations realistic as well as diminish and disappointment if you do not find exactly what you hoped. If your goal is to experience and gain an understanding of the culture which birthed your martial art, then you will be served. You only need to keep your mind and your ears open and your mouth shut. If you do that you are sure to come back with much valuable knowledge and a new understanding of what you are hoping to learn.

That's why rank should not be taken as a standard definition of skills. If you reach say 3rd dan but do nothing to maintain or increase your skills, eventually your ability will decrease but you will still hold your rank. It takes a lot of determination and effort to keep up skills for as long as possible.

I'm just a few years younger than you are and I would not consider either of us old. If it is any consolation, I also get daily aches and pains. Something is always sore somewhere. I discussed this with my teacher and he assured me it is completely normal. I found that training through the pain and soreness actually decreases it. It is only after training that I feel anything. Not training for a single day is more painful and makes everything feel worse. I looked into the reason for this and discussed it with my teacher. The reason is that training stimulates natural production medicating chemicals, like adrenalin. If you push yourself a little further gradually past your point of soreness, it will slowly disappear. The trick is to never stop. When a person reaches around 25 habits and physical limits have already been set. The good news is that it is not impossible to change. Endurance, strength and flexibility can all be increased with daily exercise. Your physical limits are never set forever. If something is not possible at 30, it may be possible at 40 if you push yourself hard enough. Some of the best karateka I know did not reach there physical peak of flexibility, strength and endurance until their 50's. That's what keeps me going through all the aches and pains.