15love

Okay. I don't want to sound arrogant, but my basic stance is solid & I'm getting into the rhythm. I'm wanting to advance, but following my style's & Kyoshi's plan. I'm really getting into it now that I'm learning throws & escapes. I'm way more into "it" than I was when I started; is this normal? It's like I'm chomping-at-the-bit to begin learning the next kata

Son and I are promoting to 9th Kyu this Friday! I feel great & he's soaking it up like a sponge, although I'd like to see him practice more in off-time. Still dark though, maybe a lighter hue?

Tonight I learned Pinan Shodan. I performed about 7 reps after performing all the basic strikes, kicks, blocks, & stances (20 each side). I really enjoy doing the kata, it helps me become more coordinated & mixes strikes and blocks with varying movement. Now it's time for more home reps to commit to muscle memory.

Yeah, I feel great. My gi has been altered to fit comfortable & patches on . Starting a nice memory-bank of moves, getting in-shape, and motivated! It's nice the classes are small & they focus a lot the training toward me; my main training partner is a 1st Kyu so I get maximal experience going against a more experienced fighter.

I won't say there's any light, but my son & I were graded on our kumite today. Our first stripe. I believe there's a chance we could test for our Gold Belts in FEB.

So update. I'm training hard & improving. Time to begin testing; Have learned Pinan Shodan & basics. I believe I'm more impressed with my workouts. I'm still huffing & puffing by the end of each session

So my son has been attending a different class than mine (children's basic). I thought I would be light years ahead of him and have to tread water until he caught up. But he's actually picking it up better than me in certain areas. My technical skill may be better, but his memory of the creed, rules, language, & the order of skills is better than mine Anyway, just an update, and may explain why one sees highly advanced younger students; their like sponges.

Well I did it! I signed up got my gi & progress book. I felt so proud in my sparkling white gi. I signed my son up too! He wanted me to show him the moves I learned & put on my gi Last night was self-defense (my second lesson in this aspect). I did much better this time as I was more coordinated, as I recalled my first lesson (now only a thousand more repetitions ) We rotated partners, which provided more variety and allowed me to learn everyone's names. The kyoshi even allowed me to demonstrate with him (he allowed me to grab him as hard as I could, showing how easily he could escape when technique was performed correctly & how difficult it was to escape if executed poorly). In class, there was me and another 10th kyu, a 2nd kyu, & a fourth kyu, along with the Kyoshi, & 3 BBs (though one has red & white belt similar to Kyoshi's; so I'm not sure of Dan level). I'm still memorizing creed, etiquette, rules, counting, and practitioners' names. It was so awesome to see the Kyoshi demonstrate the techniques we learned (one can just visualize the devastation he could produce by his speed, control, power, & variety of counter attacks. Anyway, I feel I learned a lot, but need to practice it much more, in order to feel it 'come natural.' Will update later.

So tonight was my second lesson. We did self-defense. Not as physically demanding as kumite lesson, but much mentally & technique challenging. We mostly did break-away moves from grabs & holds. I was totally uncoordinated & kept crossing my feet instead of stepping toward the the arm that reached/grabbed me. But I think with some repetition I can get the hang-of-it. Tonight, class was led by a red & white belt (not sure what Dan that equates to). I felt more comfortable as I was with a blue belt and a white belt, and I teamed up with the white belt, who later tested for their gold belt. The Sensei focused the class toward me and the white belt, as the blue belt worked with two other BBs. My next, and final trial lesson is this SAT. I can't wait to sign-up and wear a gi

Yes. I have read that name in the Kyoshi's bio. Other names I recall were Glenn Keeney & Herb Johnson.

Not necessarily. An instructor with several school branches might be a very good instructor, who produces good black belts, and therefore has a good product to put out.But there are some warning signs. Watch some classes, and see how good the black belts look. See if you can tell who looks like a beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Then, get into the pricing and how they run testings and such. See if they have some "packages" that tend to do nothing more than make them extra money. If the higher ranked students tend to look a lot like the lower ranked students, then there might be some issues there. Look into things like that. Hopefully, that helps. Thanks. I've only attended one adult class, but I was extremely impressed with all that attended. The lowest belt, in the class, was a 4th Kyu & she was good. My kumite partner was a BB and obviously outclassed me by a mile, so it was a good sign that there is a ton I could learn from my current dojo. And then there's the owner, who was beyond great, IMO. It only took me a few minutes observing his teaching techniques & examples to realize I would love to be 1/2 as good as him someday.

Thanks Ninjanurse.

I have a question on etiquette. I've been addressing all Black Belts as sir & everyone higher (everyone) as Mr./Ms. and only first name if that's all I know. But the Kyoshi, if I'm even using that term correctly calls some BB Sensei and some MR./Ms. (insert last name). My question, am I appropriate to respond "sir" or "ma'am" to BB, or even higher ranks? I just don't want to be disrespectful. And who do I address as Sensei?

What is a "McDojo?" Is it a chain of dojos under the same owner that produces inferior product? How does a newbie recognize one?

Well 48 hours after my first session; I feel pretty good. Not too terribly sore, but sore all over. I desperately want to sign-up now, but want to wait until my trial lessons are over (even though I know I'm gonna continue). My son really enjoyed his lesson. They made it fun & were very adept at keeping the kids' focus and teaching to their capacity. I can't wait to get my log book so I can practice more and explore what's to come. I didn't practice yesterday d/t soreness, but today I worked on the kumite I learned WED (trying not telegraph my attack & keeping my form to the letter). Will update later; thanks for listening.

So it happened! I stepped into the dojo & was not disappointed. First, I stood out like a sore thumb; guy in civilian clothes (me) with Kyoshi, 3 black belts (I believe a 3rd degree & 2 Shodans), and a 3rd & 4kyu. I was certainly intimidated, but everyone treated me friendly & they seemed to gear the whole session toward me, with very basic introduction/instructions. Kumite was our focus and it was fun & exciting. I started off strong with the opening stretches & calisthenics, but after numerous repetitions & applying it to combos, and finally putting 3 moves together with simulated kumite, I was huffing and puffing. So much that the Kyoshi asked me several times if I was okay. I just faded & my counterparts demonstrated their superior endurance. But I held up and learned the dojo etiquette on my way to an exhilarating training experience. Certainly balance, flexibility, & endurance are glaring points that I need to improve upon, in order to feel more comfortable and execute the techniques correctly. I felt so good after the session; I could feel blood flowing in joints I have not felt in some time, and coughed very deep a couple times, showing me the depth of my cardiopulmonary experience. I brought my son to the adult class so he could get a preview & learn the decorum. He was stoked just watching, and was energetically asking questions about his training tomorrow. Again, I was surprised at how good I felt after training. But in the same "short breath' I realized how far I have to go to just get into shape, as my technique really suffered, toward the end, due to my fatigue. I was so hot, my car fogged up the whole was home; had to roll my window down to see While I probably won't post every training episode, I will fill you in on how my son handles his first session. Finally, I was so impressed with the Kyoshi. While demonstrating the techniques of point fighting, he moved so fast, so powerful, so graceful, and yet so controlled, he went full force against the 3rd degree going so hard yet maintaining a distance of mere centimeters from actually striking his opponent. So very impressed! I'll post tomorrow, if I'm not too sore.

Thanks for the warm welcome Tomorrow night is my big night. I'm nervous about being old & out-of-shape, but I'm excited. I can't wait to post my impressions of my first day of training.

First, hello Karateforum, I have immense respect for your: lifestyle, art, craft, way of thinking, sport, et. all the other nouns that describe this complex concept known as MA. I realize that there is a thread for new introductions, but if the mods allow it, I would like to use this thread to share & communicate my new journey through 'your' forum. I am 45 y/o, 5'5" 210lbs.. I am married with 3 children (my 8 y/o son will begin with me). I've always been interested in MA and actually trained somewhere around 1 year in Shorei Goju Ryu, when I was 22, but career focus/education interrupted my initial journey. With that said, it was an easy decision to choose a style & dojo: the dojo is very close to my work & home, it is Shorei Goju Ryu, the sensei was trained by the same sensei who trained my previous sensei, I've heard strong reviews from practitioners & family members who train at this dojo. I finally have the money & more importantly the right time & schedule to focus on training at least 2-3 times a week formally and at least 10-15 a week on my own; which is how I trained during my first brief encounter. After months of research & contemplation, my first class is WED 11/19/14. My interests are Marine Aquariums & Tennis, but MA rates a lot deeper in my subconscious. I would like to keep anyone interested , up-to-date on this journey. I plan to post fairly often & I'm open to all the advice anyone can provide. Finally, I labeled this thread The Darkness to symbolize my current knowledge in the MA. I attempt to title each following post with hopeful progressions of my journey. Thank You