Theochh

Hello All For those of you that have spent time teaching martial arts, of any style, have you ever come across students who have no interest in being in the class, show a complete lack of effort and are just lazy? Perhaps this is more of a teens issue and not an adult issue but I feel so sad when I witness this behaviour in a class. It's very evident that the teen doesn't want to be there and is being "pushed" by the parents to continue their martial arts journey. I fully understand parents and guardians encouraging their children to persevere and continue but there must a point where one must admit, "this isn't for you anymore". Sorry to my fellow forum members if this sounds like a rant but I want to have the capacity to motivate and inspire these teens but I am not doing great. Ideas and thoughts welcome.

Hello All (Happy 20th anniversary KarateForums.com) I've recently become very interested in martial arts weapons and in particular the Sai. I'm keen to know if there are official \ traditional Sai forms that people practice, or is it left to the individual to "create" their own forms? Thanks All

Hi All During this lockdown period I struggle to find the space to train indoors, my only option is to go outside into my garden, which is still limited in space. With that being said, would you train bare foot outside or wear some form of footwear? Are “kung fu” slippers the chosen footwear? Or do people have alternative ideas. Thanks all

Hi I never stopped loving Karate, the discipline it gave me and the etiquette it taught me helped me in so many ways. I trained in Shotokan Karate for 7 years or so and achieved the grade of shodoan. However, life changed for me, met a girl, got married and had a son, very run of the mill. What was strange / odd was that my wife was also a karateka and trained in Shotokan...it didn't stop there, my father law was a 6th dan instructor and ran his own club. That inspired me to return to training and pick up from where i left off. The saddest part was that I didn't return sooner, huge regret. The happy part is that my wife also returned to training and my son also trains with us now.

Hello my fellow martial artists, I am loving reading all these posts and replies, so much that I can relate to, thank you all. As weeks turned into months I am still training hard as a white belt, stamina is increasing and so is flexibility but at a much slower pace While training i still find myself helping some students in the class, sometimes correcting a stance or a technique, I’m passionate about doing things right and can’t help myself. Don’t misunderstand, I am not annoyingly helpful, I choose the right time. As a “white belt” should I continue in this way, or just concentrate on my own techniques, stances and form and leave the higher grades to correct. All thoughts welcome.

Sensei8 and bushido_man96 Thank you so much for your thoughts and guidance on this. It’s great to hear other people’s perspectives on things. Inspired me to look at it from a different angle.

Hi All I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on the following. At the age of 18 I achieved the grade of 1st Dan in Shotokan karate. I had been training for approx 6-7 years. I then stopped training, not because I fell out of love with karate but life in general changes things. Now at the young age of 46 I want to get back into it. I’ve been to a couple of different clubs (in a white belt) and the Senseis have been impressed with my ability to perform basics and the way I have been able to recall katas. My form, timing and power are all there but sadly I’m less flexible. What’s the general consensus regarding the following questions:- 1. Continue to train and start from scratch, take the full term and grade each belt? 2. Enquire about an accelerated grading program and regrade for my black belt sooner rather than later? Thanks for taking the time to read this. PS- great forum “karateforums”