LLLEARNER

This is not to badmouth new ventures that just have not gotten off the ground yet. Those owners are often burning the candle at both ends at a day job to afford life, and support their priority/non-hobby until it becomes self-supporting. It can take awhile to recover the initial investment made to start any new business, but these owners are making the new baby business a priority, often going without many luxuries for themselves so they can properly serve their customers.

I used to teach SCUBA. I have seen SCUBA ventures treated like a hobby. Hours of operation are often whatever the owner feels like on any given day, available product is whatever happens to be on hand, no employees means no regular hours customers can expect, bad relationships with suppliers means poor availability of parts an goods, it is a disservice to all involved. Service suffers, employees suffer, customers suffer. It is my belief that a business owner needs to make the business (therefore) his customers a priority. Otherwise, it is the equivalent of public self-gratification.

Congrats. All that hard work is impressive.

Hello catlike. It sounds like you are new. Like me. I am 38 and just started taking karate lessons. Hip and leg flexibility is also an issue. Mawashi Geri was tricky for me at first too. This is the way I was taught. First lift leg to side and chamber the kick. Then I twist/spin on the balls of my foot until my foot is approximately perpendicular to my target and snap my kick out. Re-chamber my leg. Then drop back into my stance. As Nidan said, practice the steps. Practice getting the leg into chamber and your body oriented to the target. Don't worry about the kick. Then drop back to stance. This will get you used to pivoting on one leg. It is a new skill with new motor movements combined. Practice. Practice. Practice. Do a few sets once or twice a day. This little practice sessions add up like compound interest. It also allows you to ease you muscles into the new movements. But this is what worked for me. I know there are great Senseis (I hope I got the plural spelling correct) here for advise. They are always willing to answer questions. If your situation is like mine, I don't have a ready training partner to practice with so I practice what can and try to work on refinements and partner work at class. I also use youtube, especially for kata work. It can be hard to remember the steps from class to class on a new kata. Another thing I do is keep a small notebook with me. In it I have pictures and descriptions of movements and skills. When I get a few minutes here and there I review it. I also have my knowledge portions written out for study. Welcome to the new and exciting world of Karate and to KarateForums. I have gotten good advise here and I know you will too.

I just watched this today. I did not realize it was a "remake" of a Bruce Lee movie. His portrayal made me think of Bruce Lee in Green Hornet as Kato. I enjoyed the movie.

Mmmmmmmm. Second breakfast!!!!!!

Maybe I am too independent minded, maybe because I grew up in an independent Baptist church. Maybe both. I am less interested in federations than the school and sensei. Maybe I am too new and inexperienced to fully appreciate the value of being in a federation.

Thanks a bunch guys. I was not aware member of the month was a thing. Thank you for appreciating my contributions.

This scene is on youtube.

Are there any good books or other resources on stretching (especially the legs and hips)?

She was proud.

Thanks for the info guys.

Last night my daughter (5 years old) earned her first yellow stripe. I am glad that she got the feel the sense of achievement through hard work, which is that main reason I have her in karate. School and other programs have devolved to much into a trophy for participating.

I was just trying to get a ballpark. I assumed it would be at least brown belt. I do want to make sure I am grounded before I try to add a whole new set of complexities.

I know this is can be complex question, and I plan to start after I feel I am grounded enough in non-weapons training. I was just looking for a ballpark answer. I am testing for yellow belt in Karate this month and I have been training since February. Of course I am looking forward to training with weapons, and currently considering the bo staff, knife, escrima, and tonfa. I will choose one. I can only envision myself rupturing a testicle and needing stitches in my head if I chose nunchuks. My past weapons training is pistol focused.

I am still a new practitioner. I am planning to test for my yellow belt next month. I am however, older than most practitioners for my rank. I think this also gives me a bit of a different perspective. A year and a half ago I hurt my back to the point of hardly being able to walk. Even now my balance is somewhat compromised as is some dexterity in my feet. I find that the kata are helping me with my balance and some dexterity. While the numbness is not abating I am adapting to what I have to work with. I still can't run up and down stairs like I used to but I am getting more confident. I find that kata also helps my movement flow more and while I will probably never be classified as graceful, I feel my movements getting smoother and more polished.

This is interesting. I don't think it's like that here in the USA, but I don't really know much about weapons and the law. Each state has different laws in regards to what weapons are considered illegal to have or not. Consult your state statutes to be sure.As far as use of the weapon goes, what is going to be considered is the threat of severe bodily injury or death on the part of the attacker. It could even be as distinctive as what county or city you are in. I know at one time if not still Corpus Christi Texas locking blade pocket knives were/are illegal.

Currently the IOC only recognises the WKF, and none of the other International Organisations that operate tournaments (ie NASKA/ISKA). I believe this is because of how it is organised at an international and national level. Also what do you mean by an "independent kata"? I was thinking something similar to a gymnastics freestyle floor routine or figure skating competition. It would include a list of required elements graded on difficulty but open to creativity in arrangement, additional elements and musical integration. It could help show that karate or other martial arts are for the future not just relegated to the past. It would also help display some of the amazing talent and creativity of our athletes.

It depends on where you are. Even in the US some places are starting to see a way to make money by taxing use of public land when a business uses it. You teaching for money in some cases would, to them, constitute a business to tax.

I like this idea.

Also exercise physiology, or physical therapist. I know they are not primarily martial arts focused, but either job would provide a good solid income while starting a business in martial arts, whether it be a supply store, or teaching in/owning a dojo. I think it would be a big marketing tool to be able to say the instructor is also a physical therapist or exercise physiologist. I almost suspect that if you (or your employee) could teach tai chi it could also help bring in a new clientele base. Middle age to older people looking to stay healthy and get low impact exercise. A lot of retirees who want to stay active have mornings (they are also not afraid to get up in the morning unlike us slackers ) and early afternoons free, while many working professionals or kids do not, and they also have disposable income. Maybe I am being to business minded. Other people here have much more experience running a martial arts business than I. They would be in a better position to bounce ideas off of.

The way I see it. Doctrine is the rules we live and train by. Not necessarily equal to codified law, but having a more rigid structure. Style is how we accomplish the doctrine. It can be as involved as one wants or is needed for defined (doctrine) mission. Take Kung Fu. One needs to train. One does not need to live as a Buddhist monk to learn Kung Fu. However, one can choose to.

OLD-FASHIONED!!!! There I said it.

I am not an Olympics watcher. Growing up there was not a tradition of watching sports in my house. I was usually camping or doing chores on the weekend and summers. That being said, I am now desiring to start some watching sports. I have no desire to watch the big four team sports. I would rather watch something like martial arts. I am starting from scratch, learning when events are shown, who the athletes are, etc. I have only been taking karate about 4 months and am testing for yellow next month. That being said I would like to see 1 round of kumite, and 2 of kata. Kata is integral to karate and to most martial arts. It is very rooted to tradition much more than modern sports, but it also needs to display growth and adaptation. 1 round of kumite (single or double elimination), 1 round of traditional kata, 1 round of independent kata. All scores weighted equally. All competitors must participate in all three rounds. To avoid injury sidelining a competitor early, hold the kata events before the kumite. I think this would help keep roots in tradition, while displaying future growth. Including an independent self-choreographed kata it encourages creativity and helps remove the idea that karate is that tired old activity for kids. It also can be a great chance to display some really amazing talent. I think this would keep with the tradition Fumia Demora started when he adapted karate to western audiences. By keeping equal score weighting there is no emphasis on one being more important that the other, and by requiring all athletes to compete in all three events it prevents ringers. Each athlete must be well-rounded. By including both kata segments tradition and future growth are treated equally.

Have you seen the video of him breaking boards with Jesse?