OleOle

Congratulations to all nominees and winners, thoroughly well-deserved!

I have good friends who encouraged me to start martial arts who also said that it's less important what style of martial art I do, more that I actually do it as, "All roads lead to Rome," as one friend put it. Twenty years later I found the right sensei and I'm now learning kempo karate. Ive been encouraged to cross-train in gojuryu and muay thai, so in the next six to twelve months I'll be adding at least one of those into the mix.

That was great to read. Thanks for taking the time to write that, very informative, especially for people like me who have started not so long ago and are looking for mechanisms or approaches to help advance in the art and the gradings. Much appreciated

Being a new student, which by itself is cool, which of the two is your favorite?? Thanks very much however I'm not sure that my answer at this stage is going to be any help as the names of the two katas I know are... wait for it... Budo Ryu Kempo Kata Number One and... you guessed it... Budo Ryu Kempo Kata Number Two. I'll ask my Sensei where they are derived from when the dojo starts up again after the break for the holidays but from what I perceive at the moment, the style I'm training seems to be derived from Okinawan karate (as the Kancho trained in Japan) and from what I understand the Kyoshi's background is (American?) Kempo Karate which, again from my rudimentary knowledge, also appears to have Okinawan roots from the Japanese influence in Hawaii. My Sensei is originally from a Kyokushin background but has been very diverse and holds various black belts in seven different disciplines and as he was taught in Japanese, that's the language he mostly uses in my training, whereas the style Budo Ryu Kempo is mostly taught in English in the other dojos but I have to say I like and appreciate being taught in both Japanese and English and although it will take me ages to learn, I view it as an integral part of the journey, so I will be very interested to ask my Sensei, "Which traditional katas do Budo Ryu No. 1 and No.2 most resemble?" The dojo opens again next week, so I should have an answer soon for you - thanks for the question, it helps expand my knowledge and now I'll no doubt be asking that question for all the katas in future

Being new to karate I... umm... only know two katas at this stage I'll get back to you in a couple of years when I know enough to call one my favourite.

I train on an old hardwood floor. It is somewhat scuffed and dusty sometimes (as other groups use the hall too) but I have to say I really like it.

Very interesting posts. Best of luck with the research!

Yeah, it's easy to tune out when it's perceived that semantics are involved; seems like the same kick executed slightly differently. Of course, I am no great master he-haw, so we shall wait for their erudite and incisive perspective.

Mate, it is totally up to you if you want to get into full contact again. Maybe you're quite proficient, maybe you're just relearning your old black belt skills? I'm 43 and still absolutely newb after three months but for me it's not about how old I am, it's how proficient I am. Maybe in a couple of years if I am strong enough and skilled enough then I might consider full contact, but you have to ask yourself why you are doing martial arts - when you know the answer to that, you'll know the best way to go. Good luck with it all. Cheers.

"Can the average person earn a black belt?" Yeah, I think so but it's like anything in life, what you put in is what you get out. I don't see it as a money thing, I see it relating more to perseverance and time.

Very glad to hear that things went well 15 love. Sure, you're out of shape, that's not a worry, good instructors and thoughtfully constructed training sessions will automatically align all your habits - you'll soon find that eating, drinking, exercising and sleeping will all be geared to delivering you superior performance at the dojo - and no, you won't have to think too hard about it, you'll just want to get everything in balance so that you can perform better and better while training. It probably doesn't sound strange to say, but before I found my dojo, although I was eating well, probably far too well, and exercising from time to time, I didn't really have any structure and I wasn't really sure what I was trying to get fit for. Sure I know that good health and moderation have their own benefits but before I joined my dojo I couldn't ever really keep my eating/drinking/exercise aligned. Now that I do and, more importantly, now that I know what I am training for, it's so much easier to do the right thing and slowly but surely I'm getting into shape. Since early September I've gone from 113.3 kilos (249.8 pounds) to 101.8 kilos (224.4 pounds) and yeah it's perhaps not a lot but I can't tell you how much better I am feeling and just getting familiar and happy with even the most rudimentary training techniques is fantastic. Although it's not really a big deal, I take a great deal of pleasure in now knowing Kata No. 1 - basic yes, but what the hell, I'm happy and we all have to start at the beginning Keep going mate and you've got the added joy of your son also learning with you, so make the little changes that you need to for a magnified cumulative effect - I know you're thinking about these things, it comes across loud and clear in your posts. Congrats and happy days!

I love this remark, hahaha!!

Well, I'm conscious that having only been training for two months I am certainly still a beginner! I am looking forward to learning more and at this early stage I'll probably think that I am just past the beginner level when I have graded a few times, perhaps have achieved an intermediate kyu belt and have moved on from many of the basic moves that I am learning right now. I'm not in any hurry, I don't see that this journey has an end point and while many practitioners classify first dan black belt as a beginning, that's different from the person being a beginner, so in my mind, the term beginner is associated with a lack of proficiency and I sure as heck hope that if I ever make it to first dan that I'll be proficient! Good luck with it all.

Welcome 15love, I too am new to martial arts, am around your age and have only started training about two months ago. I have to say I have found all the folks on this forum to be extraordinarily helpful, knowledgeable and insightful. Very best of luck on your journey, how excellent that your young son will be training with you, I'm sure you'll both thoroughly enjoy it! Cheers!

I train twice a week for two hours on Tuesday and Friday nights. I'd like to train more often but being new to karate I only want to train outside the dojo when I am happy with the techniques I have developed as the last thing I want to do is learn bad habits at this early stage. I'm itching to practice on my own but I figure that waiting until I have some techniques perfected is the way to go. I'm not in any hurry, my plan is to incorporate karate smoothly into my life and I cannot see my wife being happy if I was at the dojo more than two nights a week. As the old saying goes, "Happy wife, happy life".

I hope everyone who participated in International Karate Day enjoyed themselves. It seems from a look at the list of events held... http://challengeokinawa.com/100kataforkarateday/ ...that there was a heck of a lot of non-English speaking countries involved, big contingents from Venezuela, Namibia, India, Russia, Peru and Argentina. Lots too from the US, Canada, UK, Ireland and some from Australia but none, apparently from my home city of Sydney - not exactly a good turnout from a city of four and half million people Ahh well, we'll do better next year, for some reason most of the people I spoke with here didn't know the event was even taking place but there was some interest to participating next year so we'll see what happens. If you managed to do the 100 kata, well done!

As a new karateka I look forward to the day when I can punch with as much energy as a M16 bullet!!! Alas, perhaps that day will never come?

Thanks very much Kanku65, really appreciate your post, very helpful

You can say that again! Being an absolute novice and practicing roundhouse and side kicks for the first time has allowed me to discover muscles I didn't even know I had. The last two sessions at the dojo have been hell on the knees and whatever that muscle is called at the top of the inner thigh but I know it's only because I haven't yet got my technique correct as when I do get my technique right, not only does the move feel far better to execute, there's no pain at all. Although I can hardly move my legs out to the side, so to speak, forward movement is not impeded, so although it's painful to walk sometimes right now, I did a 13km cycle yesterday no trouble at all! "The technique needs to be correct" - too true!

I'm pretty new to MA so cannot really comment with any authority but from what you are saying and from my limited experience it would seem that if you can use a hammerfist in place of a backfist without distorting whatever technique that it is that you are using, then, well, go for it. It would be good to hear some opinions from some of the more senior folks on the forum, nudge nudge

Fantastic! Congratulations! Given that I only started my martial arts journey in the last couple of months at age 42, seems I'll be 92 if I ever manage to do fifty years on the mat! Here's to the next 50 years! What will the world be like in 2064? Absolutely sensational achievement Sensei8, all the very best to you!

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions folks, fantastic, keep them coming! So as I alluded to in the opening post, I purchased "Karate Kenpo: The Art of Self-defense" by Kenwa Mabuni and it's a great read, I've already passed it on to my Sensei who when I passed him the book laughed and said that he trained under the translator of the book, Mario McKenna, so it really is a small world. The other book I bought based on the recommendation thread on the aforementioned blog is "The Study of China Hand Techniques" by Morinobu Itoman, it's also a great read and very insightful with regards to Toudi, both books available here: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/bechurinatgmaildotcom Also, based on the recommendations of a number of forum members here (thanks very much) I have also purchased "Living the Martial Way: A Manual for the Way a Modern Warrior Should Think" by Forrest E. Morgan which I hope will arrive soon. There's so many great books being recommended on this thread that I am thinking of suggesting many of them to the local public library for purchase as the books that they have on karate and the martial arts were rather generic, ideal to whet the appetite but not that great for history, technique, philosophy, etc. While looking up other books mentioned on this thread I came across this book and wondered if anyone has read it and would recommend it? - "The Way of Kata: A Comprehensive Guide for Deciphering Martial Applications" by Lawrence A. Kane http://www.amazon.com/The-Way-Kata-Comprehensive-Applications/dp/1594390584/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_cp_17_WNPR?ie=UTF8&refRID=0EYA48ESB992T4DC5V38 Thanks again for all your recommendations and comments, they are sincerely and gratefully appreciated.

Exactly, the key point must be 'emotional maturity'. Like my father used to say, "Experience is something you think you have until you get more of it". Superb post sensei8, thanks very much. *applauds*

Apologies for the double post, but just wanted to ask, is the book you recommend this one please?: "Living the Martial Way: A Manual for the Way a Modern Warrior Should Think" by Forrest E. Morgan http://www.amazon.com/Living-Martial-Way-Manual-Warrior/dp/0942637763 Thanks very much.

Thanks very much for your recommendations guys and letting me know about the extensive library thread. There's many of the what I'd call generic philosophical Eastern books that I've read on that thread (and a whole range of books that I haven't) and I suppose what prompted my topic above was seeing that Goodin Sensei felt able to say that one karate book was his favourite, were any members here also able to choose a favourite, as I think a book has to be exceptional (in any genre) for someone to nominate it as their favourite or "best". Really appreciate your time and answers, thanks very much.