KarateNewbie

Apologies, only seeing the last couple of posts now. Thank you so much for your insights and for taking so much trouble in replying with detail. You've all given me a lot to think about.

Thanks guys 👍

Normally the leading hand mirrors the leading leg in this technique but in Nijushiho its the opposite- there has to be a reason for it. Does anyone know?

I read this more like "karate begins and ends with respect" We must have enough respect for human life to avoid a confrontation, if at all possible. We should have enough respect for our partners in kumite to give 100%. Obviously it's very important to show respect in the dojo for the past Masters and for our Sensei. Most importantly for me, I've found, is to have respect for myself. It's only since I started reading the precepts again that I realised that my lack of respect for my own abilities is holding me back. I was always ready to put myself down but I've come to realise that I have my strenghts as well as my weaknesses, just like everyone else in the dojo. For me, this precept is the most important of the 20 because without respect for myself, I will never progress.

While I agree with this, it does raise a couple of difficult questions. 1. How does one measure and test to see if that mindset and wisdom is there? Age alone can not be a measure. 2. Is a 50 year old ex soldier or doorman or policeman in a white belt less wise and knowledgeable than a 20 year old college graduate in a black belt? I guess the real question is, if age is part of the criteria, how can that be fairly backed up and supported with evidence? Sorry, I wasn't clear. I'm trying to say that I don't think age alone should be the decider - the change of mindset should be. There are some 10 year olds who may well achieve this, just like there's some 50 year olds who will never will. I agree it's hard, maybe even impossible to measure though.

I think you're decision is already made - you just need to come to terms with it. It's a tough one.

My thoughts exactly

I'm just a newbie but in our dojo, the teaching is that you don't "get" a black belt. You "become" a black belt. It's a transformation of sorts, like a caterpillar to a butterfly, and involves a whole change of perception. While a 10 year old could quite possibly master the techniques needed to earn a black belt, I'm not sure if most are capable of this change of mindset.

I was thinking exactly the same thing!

I'm only a baby compared to you guys - only training a year and a half but wishing I discovered Karate 20 years ago. I know I will never know it all - there is always more to learn. And I know I will never be perfect in my Karate. I'm a perfectionist by nature so this was a bitter pill to swallow but in realising it, I think I've become a little stronger.

Great explaination! Thanks.

Im really confused. Is it to do with the direction of the turn of the hips? Sorry, I know Im a pest but I need a technique to be clear in my head before I can get to grips with it on the dojo floor.

I don't know how to explain it so if I just give an example - is Soto Uke an example of Gyaku Kaiten (hip rotation is opposite) and Oi Zuki an example of Jun Kaiten (hip rotation in same direction of punch)?

Thanks guys - it's so much clearer in my head now

Many thanks for that

There's so many conflicting stuff on the net about this, I'm just looking for the definitive answer so I'm not learning it wrong! My understanding is that Sen no sen is early advantage so it's counter-attacking in the millisecond after your attacker begins to strike (not bothering to block but using speed as your advantage. Go No sen is delayed (after) advantage, and to be is blocking (receiving and deflecting your attackers power (using his power against him so to speak) and striking back. Tai Sabaki is pivoting to the side, blocking and striking e.g. Ippon kumite- jodan no 3. Am I on the right track? If so, does Tai Sabaki come under the heading of Go No SEN or is it a completely seperate heading ? I understand there's a lot more to these concepts than the above but in terms of an opening statement to explain them, am I on the right track?

It's the time and patience part I really need to accept and work on, more so than any technique. Apologies for the delay in replying - I wrote that post in a fog of frustration after training with a brown belt (with mighty powerful kicks) when I really should have just taken a breath and and my Sensei's advice that it will take time as well as effort. Having said that I really appreciate the advice and the links - it's great to get a broad perspective.

At the moment there just isn't any power in them. Any advice?

100% agree. This is what I've been taught

Although I haven't taken part in tournaments I'm exactly the same at gradings - my mind went completely blank with fear. I've just finished a book called Waking Dragons in which the author talks about how he overcame his fear (in his case of tournaments and a 30 man full contact Kumite to get to Nidan) He used positive visualisations, imagining a positive outcome eg the end of a brilliant kata, scoring each point in Kumite etc. He also had a rhyme he replayed in his head over and over while waiting for the tournament to begin. I'm really not looking forward to the next gradings but I'm going to try some of these techniques.

Don't allow anyone, including your husband, to steal your joy achieved through the MA. Hubby is 100% behind me and loves that I love it - he just doesn't have an interest in MA so while it's my favourite topic of conversation it'll never be his but he listens because he loves me

That sentence alone makes me so happy I'm here! There's noone else in my life who shares my passion for Karate (although my husband tries very hard to look like he's interested when I'm rabbiting on about it) so it's great to find like-minded people. Your thoughts on earning the gi through deciding to train is lovely - I hadn't thought of it like that. Sensei8 thank you. Reading back over my post I thought "oh God, it reads like I think I'm the enlightened one or something!" Really, if you picture Zen and look in the opposite direction, the tiny dot on the horizon is the person 1 million miles closer to Zen than me! I'm glad it didn't come across that way to you. I know I've just taken my first step on a very very long journey (and now I'm very glad to have company!)

Hi guys. I'm new to this forum and to Karate. When I joined Karate in January, it was with the express purpose of getting fit and learning self-defence with the added bonus of gaining some knowledge to help the kids with their training (they are way ahead of me!) It had the added bonus of a clear path of progression through tests, one of my favourite activities! (yes my nickname is Monica Geller) and awards by way of a coloured belt. It’s strange that just a few months after my first class, with the exception of helping the kids, my initial reasons for training have almost slid into obscurity. Instead I have found something that has eluded me throughout the many yoga classes or meditation exercises I have tried, and something I certainly didn’t expect to find in a Karate dojo. I have found a kind of stillness there . Let’s face it – a dojo is probably the last place I expected to find peace or stillness. It’s a place of high energy, loud voices kiaing, sweating and hard work. But from the moment I was taught how to kneel and bow to show respect to the past Masters , something wonderful happened (and I didn’t realise it until after the class) I was there in the now. That just doesn't happen for me - I'm a mother of children with special needs and my mind is always working away. But my mind emptied of everything except the next move. There was no “Oh I must remember to ring the Occupation Therapist back about that appointment”, no effort needed to bring my mind back to the task on hand. It never leaves the task on hand. Training in the dojo is all about me and has become my most selfish pursuit and one I guard fiercely. I'm out with an injury right now under doctors orders but up until now I haven’t missed a single class since I first walked in that door and when I bow in the doorway I get the same feeling of “home” that I do when opening my hall door after a long journey. I know that may give the impression that Karate comes naturally to me – I need to make it clear that nothing could be further from the truth! My two left feet and total lack of coordination mean that every tiny step forward is a result of very hard work and constant practice. But the more I study the art and read about it’s origins, the more I’m seduced by it. The Kata’s are a thing of beauty, and watching the more experienced students perform the complicated manoeuvres of Bassai dai or Tekki Shodan, I am transported to a time long since past and a land I have never seen, but now long to visit. I have learned that Karate is so much more than a form of self-defence; it’s more of a way of life. Everything that is learned in the dojo can translate to everyday life. It has helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses. At first I looked at my weaknesses under too close a microscope. I identified (lots of) specific movements, stances or blocks that were lacking and determined to perfect them. I berated myself when I made mistakes and frustration was a common component of my practice. After a while I took a step back and determined that unless I perfected my balance and coordination then the individual movements would never be perfect and so I began working on perfecting those. Recently though, I have “zoomed out” even further and I have realised that my greatest weakness is my need to be perfect. I had wasted so much time berating myself because I was comparing myself to other students and sometimes even to Sensei himself (a 6th dan Karateka with 30 years’ experience – watching him perform a Kata is like watching the Bolshoi perform Swan Lake) While it’s always good to push yourself I have learned these past few months that berating myself for not being perfect does not improve my Karate – quite the opposite. Instead of concentrating on getting it right next time I was criticising myself which only serves to deflate my spirit. I now use each body/spirit/mind/harmony exercise to purge my thoughts of negativity about mistakes I’ve made in class – a deep breath in for my body gives my muscles power to continue and my exhale expels any negativity and reignites my fighting spirit to carry on and work hard on the next task. It won't change overnight but I'm working on it. My perfectionist nature has, in a very different way to before, also become one of my greatest strengths. Once I began working on removing the negative, berating aspect of it I found that it has given me a new purpose and the drive to achieve it. Don’t get me wrong – I have always been driven to excel. I spent almost all of my 20’s in college at night studying whatever I thought would perfect my skills in my day job. I loved taking exams and I was devastated if I ever got anything less than a distinction. I thrived on the challenge. As I said, it’s one of the reasons why Karate appealed to me in the beginning – the ranking system appealed to my need to “be the best”. I'm astounded at how quickly I have changed - I bought my first Karate-gi after a couple of months when I decided it made more sense to spend the money on that rather than more tracksuits. The first time I tied that belt and every time after until my grading, I felt needles of shame that I’m wearing it without having actually earned it. I’ve realised that shame comes from a complete change in perception. The need to be the best, and to have the belt to prove it, has evolved into a need to be the best that I can be (if that makes sense?) It’s not that I’m any less driven than before. In fact I’d say I’m even more so. The difference is I’m not driven by a need to be better than anyone else, just a need to feel worthy of the belt I've now earned. It has morphed into a kind of stubbornness to never give up. It’s the stubbornness to keep trying when I’m messing up the most basic of moves. It’s the stubbornness to lock the bedroom door (a place that’s a lot less “zen” than the dojo with three kids banging on the door!) and practice, practice, practice that move until it feels more natural. It’s a stubbornness that pushes me towards working to feeling worthy of the belt I’m wearing. OMG sorry about the essay! Aren't you glad you're not my husband - he has to listen to this A LOT!!!! I'm hoping to find lots of karate mad people here who are just as weird as me