karate_woman

The only thing I can think of is gaining muscle over that area. There is a website I found that deals with strengthening the muscles over the ribcage. It seems to be part of a site designed for high school and college athletes, and I couldn't find out the qualifications of the writer, so take it for what it is worth. The exercises seemed fairly common, though. http://www.chap.com/rib.htm

Grappling is the most physically demanding thing I've done - I couldn't close my hands for a few minutes after one grappling match, plus my arms were shaking; intense!

I sometimes practice a few kata moves in the shower (obviously somewhat modified), and have caught myself many times at work going through the arm movements of a kata at my desk, figuring out bunkai, or just working out some finer details. 5 hours a day is achievable, but as others have previously stated, it isn't for everyone, and at some points in our lives we have more time than in others. At this point I have my kid's and husband's lives and physical fitness to consider as well, and can't realistically spend 5 hours a day actively practicing without it being terribly unfair to them; my 8 year-old goes to soccer and swimming, which are important too - she lost interest in martial arts, but that isn't to say she won't be drawn to it later. Just because I can't put 5 hours a day in at the moment doesn't mean I want to quit, though - martial arts have been part of my life for 18 years - whether I've been training in a dojo or not - and I won't give it up for anything.

I'm still on maternity leave right now, but when I'm at work I tend to wander around a bit. I go and check my mail slot frequently, see what my team is up to (I'm the supervisor), which often prompts questions about what to do with a certain case, go to meetings, put some items in the classified waste, retrieve prints, go upstairs and get a bottle of water, etc. It allows me to get up from my desk and avoid eye strain and repetititive stress injuries, and gives me a change of pace.

We pay 55 per month. White belts train with the rest of us. Sensei tried a brown and black belt class but it was Friday nights and few (if any) showed up for it so he stopped it. When I first started there was a differentiation between the belt levels but Sensei can't really do that since he has to schedule his available class time between karate, jujitsu and tai chi; there are a total of 7 adult karate classes I can attend each week, but the times they are available (some at lunch, another at 4:30, before my husband is home to take the kids), makes it so I can only attend three at the moment.

It is difficult to explain the course of a lesson, as I'm not sure what style you are doing, and even within styles different dojos do things differently. You would be best to ask your friend how things go in a typical class, and go and check it out for yourself.

I've gone to tournaments in the past, and will be starting again in a couple of weeks to get my feet wet again (it has been 3-4 years since I've competed). My first tournament will be a shiai, followed by a AAA rated tournament in a nearby town. I've done well in competitions in the past, but go to them infrequently enough that I never bothered to get rated myself (what's the point if you only go to one tournament from each circuit, rarely going to two from the same circuit in one year?).

I don't like the fact that your instructor has no control over who comes to the classes. If the health club is using karate as a babysitting service, fine; those students not suitable for martial arts instruction should get just that: babysittting. It is really hard to teach someone who doesn't want to learn what you're teaching them, and for which they have no negative consequences - in school their bad grades might prompt some sort of parental intervention, but in a hobby that neither the parents or children have no interest in you're kind of stuck unless you can somehow generate some sort of interest from the student. If the instructor really feels the need to teach them martial arts, I'm not sure keeping the two hyper students together is the best answer - separating them might be best, so they can't feed off each other. The hyperactive kids at our dojo are there because they wanted to train, but had ADHD. They do best in our jujitsu program, which is very hands on and involves a lot of partner work and the activities change more frequently than in our karate classes.

One thing I noticed the certificate just says "black belt" dan. Anyone in TKD ever get a "black belt" dan? I'd assume not? Why anyone would want one of these certificates? I've heard of "honorary" black belts being given out under some circumstances, but that is different. Well, you get what you pay for Even practicing martial artists have a heck of a time with people who find out they are a black belt, and sometimes are given impromtu "defend yourself" situations; I pity the poor fool who goes bragging they are a black belt in TKD and encounters one of those yahoos who wants them to prove it!

I don't know where your aunt and uncle live, but where I live, you can't carry concealed weapons (did they both have a handgun on their person at that moment?). OK, so criminals don't care about those laws, but I've been taught that you're more likely to be attacked by someone you KNOW, than some random criminal "on the street". We were taught that for a reason: so we could mentally prepare ourselves that we may not be using this against some unknown generic bad guy, but someone we actually know and care about (eg abusive situations). Martial arts also has a side effect of helping you carry yourself in a more confident manner, reducing your attractiveness as a "target". People may have more confidence and avoid the abusive pattern in the first place, which often starts by tearing away at the victim's self esteem prior to any physical attacks. Many martial arts programs also teach avoidance and awareness. Those aspects, while common sense, are very important for self defense. As for techniques being rendered useless by the appearance of a gun, for women wanting defend against a rape situation, for example, the assailant will definitely come within range (including their gun/knife, if they have one), and will put themselves into vulnerable positions in the process - knowing a few moves would definitely come in handy.

Saw it on the weekend, loved it.

Hi, Welcome!

I do Matsu Higa No Bo; it is currently my favourite bo kata. I can't practice it at home...well, maybe in the garage or back yard, but not in the basement. Chatan Yara No Bo is cool too though I can't do it by myself yet.

The judo and jujitsu I took were both good workouts. Not sure about the others as I haven't taken them, but from the sound of things TKD is a good workout, too. A lot depends on the club and how they train; there are good and bad clubs in all martial arts. Also, what is good for you might not be good for me.

Tough question to answer. Find out what is available, what interests you, visit the schools, talk to the instructors and watch/participate in a few classes if you can.

Jerry, do you take Taoist Tai Chi? Or are you simply Taoist. It still blows me away that they don't believe it is to be practiced as a martial art. I had a rather animated discussion one day with someone who insisted T'ai Chi was not a martial art, and he was looking down on karate. It didn't even matter when I showed him the practical application of some of his moves (as I'd been shown by my Sensei, who taught T'ai Chi Chuan, Yang Style)...T'ai Chi was NOT a martial art. I guess he's right regarding Taoist T'ai Chi...it isn't truly a martial art unless it is being taught as one. And here it is on the website of the International Taoist Tai Chi society http://www.taoist.org/english/lineage.php#practice

You don't have to be better than your students to earn their respect. Bear this in mind: there will always be someone better than you, so it isn't a good idea to earn your respect or self worth solely by being the best. Sure it is great to keep improving yourself (by all means!), but someone will eventually come along and beat you, then what? Your opinion of yourself will then be shattered. Keep learning new things for the joy of learning them, not to be the biggest dog in the kennel. I'm not sure who said it, but there is a saying that goes something like this: the ultimate compliment is when the student surpasses the teacher.

I don't remember describing my actual fighting style, I just found an article that discussed not only pre-emptive strikes, but whether they are justified or not. I was responding to a post that stated pre-emptive strikes were too risky and just wanted to offer a counter point. I even stated I didn't agree with everything that was in the article. Anyway. I agree with your point about grappling skills and using anything available as a weapon; we teach that to women in our women's self defense courses. Many of the moves we teach them are easily recognizable from our jujitsu program (Sensei teaches both, on different nights), though they are also part of Goju Ryu karate for those that care to look for (and train) them. As for taking a hit, I've taken a few hits, but I am not built to take a full force hit from a 200 lb man, nor should standing there and taking a hit be my first line of defense even if I was larger than my opponent. I know what you mean, though - the first time I was hit in the face in a sparring match it phased me a bit; hits to the face were illegal (I was an orange belt) and I allowed it to mess with my mind because my opponent didn't even get a warning. I got disqualified by responding in kind. My Sensei was actually pleased because she knew how much getting hit in the head for the first time messes people up. Anyway. The last time I got hit in the face was when I came back to karate this February. We were sparring my first night back and I sparred a brown belt. She kicked me right in the nose (it hurt for two weeks to touch it). My eyes watered a bit, and it hurt, but I didn't stop fighting. As for how I'd respond to someone attacking me? It depends what they were doing, or about to do. I do know this...as long as I haven't been rendered unconscious, I'll do SOMETHING, and keep doing something until either they stop or I'm unable to.

What is it you are afraid of? Losing to someone obviously higher ranked than you? No shame in that. Getting beaten up? While you will take a few bruises during normal sparring (even point sparring), he shouldn't be pounding you into the floor in my opinion. Sure, he can challenge you and make you work, while giving you some tips, but senior belts are supposed to help you learn, not humiliate you or beat the crap out of you. It is often nice to pair a junior belt with a senior belt because the senior "should" have more control, and should also be able to help the junior belt with their techniques. As for the fear itself, it can be healthy and keeps you cautious, but don't let it run your life.

If that is their policy, aren't there other teens in the adult class? Regardless, if that is where they think you belong, then you belong there. I was younger than you (15) when I started training in adult classes, and it never crossed my mind.

First off, I'll state that I don't take Shotokan, but I do take a form of karate (Goju), so I have to be general in my response. You can expect to do the kata you have learned, plus basics, possibly bunkai, and perhaps some form of sparring or ippon kumite. If you are studying the history of your art, you might have to answer a few questions on that. If you use japanese words in class, you might be expected to know some of them - particularly those pertaining to your techniques. Basically anything you'd be expected to do in class (for your belt level) is fair game. Sometimes "surprises" can be thrown in to see how you'd respond, but I'd be surprised if they added any at your level. A double grading would mean you have learned the techniques and skills required to an extent sufficient to pass two belt levels (eg grading for both yellow and orange at the same time). Sometimes double gradings also refer to grading in two arts (eg karate and kobudo) at the same time.

I was particularly interested in this part of the article: It should not be assumed that new things must be better than old things (see the fallacy Appeal to Novelty) any more than it should be assumed that old things are better than new things.

I like that too, but I was even more impressed when I heard it when training my cotton/spandex pants at home! hahahah was that snap followed by a rip sound?[/quote Nope, just talented I guess.

Glad your first class went well. Before you know it someone else will take your place at the bottom of the line