DauntlessDruid

Congrats. To answer your question, I actually think my hardest testing (so far) was my first testing. Testing at our dojo is less of an actual test and of an ordeal, you go through to prove what you are willing to do to be promoted. You would not be invited to test if you had demonstrated to the instructors that you have a grasp on the material you are supposed to know, so really the only way to fail a testing is to give up. I think my first testing (it's was for an in-between Dojo rank that we call white belt-two) was the hardest because I had really no idea what to expect and I wasn't expecting a boot camp style class with people yelling at me to do things. Once I got my first testing under my belt (pun intended), the rest have been easier. I even had the stomach flu for one testing and I still didn't think it was as hard as my first testing. Though I was told after that testing I was the same color as my gi (white) pretty much throughout it. I imagine that first testing will remain my hardest until testing for Shodan. The testing for which lasts 24 hours and that's all you learn before you go through it. So, much like my first test, I think the biggest part will be the unknown factor.

I'd call that more of a parry, but I think it's probably six of one, half dozen of the other. Either way, I do parry kicks, I just use my forearm not my hand and I keep my fingers closed. I don't think you need to keep a tight fist to keep your finger safe, just not completely open.

The rules of sparing at my Dojo actually don't allow anyone below sankyu (third kyu) to open their hands during sparring for this very reason. My instructor doesn't want anyone jamming or breaking fingers. Even at sankyu I rarely open hands and if I do it's to parry a punch and then my hands close again. I don't think there really is any way to avoid finger injury if you keep your hands open on a regular basis. I also generally try to avoid blocking kicks with my arms, to begin with. I'd rather check a kick with my own leg, or step to the side to avoid it. Sometimes I will try to parry kicks but I tend to use my forearm for that. After getting plenty of black and blue marks trying to block kicks with my arm in my early days, I learned if it's a force on force block, the leg is going to win over the arm.

I think my Dojo is on the fairly traditional end of the spectrum. We bow on and off the floor. We bow to the instructor at the beginning and end of class. And we bow to our partners when we begin and end working with them. My instructor is fond of saying that karate begins and ends with respect. We also are probably slightly odd in that we refer to everyone as Mr. or Ms. while on the floor. Even kids are called Mr. X or Ms. Y. Even our head instructor is simply Mr. B. Honestly prior to helping out with classes and taking attendance there were plenty of people's who's the first name I didn't even know. There are other more subtle things. If you aren't a black belt, you shouldn't wear anything black on the floor during class (within reason, if you have to wear a black knee brace wear it). After special events, there's often parties and the head instructors are always served first. If it's in a restaurant there are always seats saved for them, usually at the center or center table and they are again served first. Even after a regular class (the last one of the evening at any rate), we have kampai where there's a toast and we share a drink. No one is allowed to open or pour their own first drink. I quite like how my Dojo handles these sort of things. I don't find it stuffy or overly formal, but it is nice to show respect for others, especially when it's often lacking in the real world. Though if I'm completely honest, I'm still not overly thrilled by being called Ms.Druid sometimes. Gives me flashbacks to my middle school gym teacher who insisted on calling me that.

I actually haven't done any other style of karate besides Isshinryu. BJJ just wasn't my cup of tea (no knock against it just wasn't for me), but I did enjoy Muay Thai. The places in my area tend to be MMA focused and if you wanted to progress behind the basic classes where you just hit pads (which became boring and repetitive fairly quickly), you needed to be willing to spar full contact. As I am an average sized woman and the gym was primarily populated by 20-something guys that had aspirations of semi-pro or pro MMA careers, I found the danger of sparring them to outweigh what I was getting out of it. I found my current Dojo after doing some research and contacting some TKD, TSD and Karate schools in my area. My original plan was to go back to TKD or try TSD as I like to kick (and that is primarily what's offered in the area), but I didn't like most of the schools in my area. They had mixed age classes almost exclusively, and while I like kids I don't want to train with them. It also seemed like most of them had very young black belts and I don't really agree with giving black belts to very young kids. My current Dojo offered adult only classes and the curriculum interested me, as they include throws, joint locks, and some grappling, along with striking. So I tried them out and the rest, as they say, was history. *Edited to Add* Though I haven't practiced other styles of Karate, I am aware that Isshinryu does have some unique features that don't occur in other Okinawan styles. The most noticeable being the vertical punch with the thumb on top, and also the two bone blocks (i.e we block with the meaty part of the art).

Hi there everyone. Thought I'd introduce myself. I'm a woman from Upstate New York and a current Isshinryu practitioner. I've been studying Isshinryu for about two years, and I just became a San-Kyu (three belts away from Shodan) about a month ago. Prior to Isshinryu, I studied TKD when I was a kid, and Western Boxing, Muay Thai, and a (very) little BJJ in my early to mid-twenties. I got back into martial arts a couple years ago to try and get back into shape and finding the gym boring. It's one of the best things I've ever done as the Dojo I belong to is very much like a big extended family and the people there are great along with it being really fun.

Firstly, I hate to be that person, but the Hippocratic oath applies only to doctors and it is not the reason you can't punch a patient. You and/or you're employer will be sued for exorbitant sums of money is the reason. I work in an ICU as a nurse. This a trauma center that's in a small city with a big drug problem and we are the only psych facility in the area. Put those two things together and I have been punched at work far more than I ever have been punched at the Dojo. That being said, I have never struck a patient back. I have blocked some punches and occasionally used very simple wrist releases so I could get away from patients, but I have never really used martial arts at work. If I did I would be fired and/or sued and you will be too if you use any martial art. This includes non-striking arts like BJJ. Basically, if you haven't been trained by your facility to bodily restrain a patient, DON'T DO IT. I repeat you will be fired. There is way too much of liability issues for hospital employees. If you ever got taken to court and were asked where you learned a move you used to restrain a patient and the answer was a dojo, gym or another outside facility, you're behind is toast. If you're interested in being able to physically restrain or "takedown" patients, then you should see if your facility offers classes that certify you to be able to do that. Until you take one of those approved classes then my advice is to avoid being alone with potentially violent patients, never let them get between you and the door and if/when they become violent leave the room and call for help. Only use blocks to keeps you from being hit if you can't escape.