ts757

I think IamRushMan has hit the proverbial nail on it proverbial head. The argument over which martial art is best can easily be solved with the the simple phrase (yes, Patrick, I know this isnt a competition related statement, but it is relevent)

In my view (I'm a completely non-violent person by the way) the only way to defend yourself against a determined opponent is to knock him unconcious with one blow. This is practically painless to the person, and ensures that you will not be harmed, though you may want to call for an ambulance afterwards.... My sensei says "Its better to be judged by 12, than to be carried by 6." I'm sure he didn't think of that.

It's all well and good having chairs broken over your head in a bar room brawl, but not in a dojo. If you want to learn how to deal with that, you should go to self defense classes, or Liverpool. Karate is not about pain, it's an art form. If you were in an art gallery, would you rip the paintings off the wall and beat people round the head with them? actually, dont answer that...

It's all japanese terms, which we all start to use instead of English when learning a martial art. Nidan basically means 2nd, though in this context it means 2nd degree black belt. Just quickly, I think that your grading should reflect what you indend to use your karate for. If like me, you use it traditionally, and as a means of bettering yourself, then your grading should reflect this. The same applies if you are using your karate as a means of keeping fit, or for competition, but getting a person to do 100 press ups, and then have chairs broken over them isn't karate, it's toughman stunts and has no place in a dojo.

Great, so now I'm obliged to post a reply.... thanks Tobias. Anyways, I have noticed a distinct drop in the amount of respect given to senseis and people of a higher grade in the martial arts, though a lot of this is due to more and more people doing martial arts as a social activity, and this has led in a decline in quality in some areas. A lot of clubs have been forced to "modernise" and drop a lot of the traditions, in favour of a more relaxed style. This is now almost completely essential for clubs to attract new members and therefore survive, and though it works with kids (now the main source of income), adult classes often tend to look on it as insulting and disrespectful... well, I do, I'm not sure about others, Tobias?

Thanks for that, i'ts cleared up a few things...

Yes, everyone's entitled to their views... Censorship is a hideous blight on our glorious democratic freedoms, and anyone who advocated it should be scilenced, and all their writings burned... j/k, anyway, what I really wanted to ask was: Is Tai Chi a form of Kung Fu? I was told once it was "sort of" a style, and by other people "a warm up excersise for kung fu," though I thought it was more of its own art, adapted from various other Chinese martial arts into a sort of excersise thingy, like yoga.

Well, well, Mr. Pullan, this is why I DONT enter competitions. You see, I've actually lost count of how many times you've come to school with broken ribs... This is what scares me. I can see where the "buzz" comes in, as the fight is not only against your opponent, but against your own natural instinct not to get hurt... though keeping your ribs intact next time might be advisable.

Um, favourite kata, well, I only know 6 (and half of several) I'd have to say I HATE kanku dai, which we have to learn... grrr.... My favourite (that I know) is heian nidan, because it's the first kata you learn that has any variation in the techniques, and that's a challenge to work out the Bunkai (that's a lame excuse isn't it...)

It's a natural human need to gauge our abilities against other's... it's due to something called ego and although some people have no chance in a competition, they will still enter to satisfy this need. Sure there's better ways of gauging your abilities, but considering competition has been around since we were apes, I think it's safe to say that it's here to stay.

I think we were a bit insulting to Tobias' there. I've done both Karate and Tai Chi, so I have the best of both worlds. I seems to me that you have to experience how the energy works in the different arts to understand the differences. Karate is much more physical strength, and the power source is obvious, where as in Tai Chi, I once witnessed somone punching a master, and then flying accross the room without the master moving a muscle, such is the inner strength of Tai Chi. It's the technique of drawing on these inner reserves and using them to redirect your opponent's energy that's essentially the art, where as in Karate, the art is mastering your bodys movements, feeling where your libs are going, and learning when to apply the power. Though whether it is correct to call Karate hard and Tai Chi soft is a different matter, Karate is soft, until just before the strike hits the target, when it is essential to tense up, or the the strike will be useless. Tai Chi's movements are all 'calibrated' (if thats the right word) so that they use very few direct strikes, and thus remove the need for tension. Both are valid martial arts in their own right, their just incompatable and very different.

Well, Tobias has already stated one of my views on competitions, but I also believe that is is improper to put one persons skills against anothers when they have both been trained differently, and one person may have a disability that could affect their performance. One person is not better than another as long as both people are putting everything they have into their training. One of my instructor says "We all have little 'niggles' we can't help take them and make them part of the Kata." Not exactly a profound quote, but it puts the message accross... I'm rambeling arn't I?

I'm 15 from Yorkshire in the UK. I'm a 5th Kyu in Shotokan Karate and one of my instructors is Tobias_Reece. As I write this I face 3 weeks of missing Karate (not advisable) due to my GCSEs. I much prefer traditional Shotokan rather than practicing it as a sport, though our training reflects all preferences, and learning to fight is obligitory of you want to advance through the grades. While learning a martial art, you realise several things, one being that it isn't just a load of people through the air screaming, and two; you're only as good as you push yourself, push your body to attain higher standards, and you'll stand out from the crowd (something I try not to do) and impress the instructors. "Good wood does not grow with ease, the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees."

There's different styles of Karate, if you're thinking of taking it up, you have to remember to persevere pas the difficult first steps. A good instructor is important and my instructor made it a breese...