Sibylla

some martial artist fight on the streets and they are not considered streetfighters. Well, this is just my opinion. And in my shotokan club, it is a shared opinion; if you fight in the street, you misuse the art.

If you fight in the streets you are a streetfighter, not a martial artist....

What muscles I should concentrate on to make the correct, fast and sharp hip movement (forward and backwards)? I'd like to avoid the hula dancer moves... An is it correct to feel a lot of inside tension in zenkutsu dachi when I move the blocking side of the hip forward for let's say age uke?

Some people pivot/place their foot out before kicking, or at the same time as they lift the foot...which is wrong according to my instructor...

Thanks for the advice, Miller, I'll use your mental concepts. Regarding the turning of the supporting foot, we learn to do that...but personally I turn less than before to be able to return to zenkutsu dachi, maintaining the proper knee lift/direction.

Before I started shotokan I used to do the TKD-like mawashi, with knee up in front, sharp hiptwist, hit with the instep. Now that I am supposed to lift my knee to the side and hit with the ball of my foot, I am having problems. The kick is slooow...especially when I pull the leg back..and I wobble. I've noticed that the shotokanpractioners seem to have the upper body and hip aligned differently than for instance, the TKD-ist doing the kick. I guess I am asking about a description of which bodyparts I should focus on, how far I should turn my hips and the role of the upperbody in the kick..and how, exactly, how to pull the leg fast back into zenkutsu dachi, without wobbling. Any tips will be appreciated. Hope you understand what I mean, english is not my native tounge.

I don't think we break boards at all in our shotokan dojo...

http://www.ozwebart.com.au/kua/kata.htm

I can relate to what Sauzin is saying; my instructor is very good in his art, and that is important to me. And I don't want to quit, I want to cope.. As for talking to him out of class...if I find the right opportunity and setting, maybe...I'll have to cover it up in some flattering egomassage, I suppose.

Well, the instructor in question is japanese, so I guess I've been misinformed about their "niceness"... Don't know if he is trying to toughen me up, but he's been going harder at me than the others right from the start. I try to overlook it and not letting it get to me, but sometimes it is hard, esp. since I don't understand his motivation..

Why are some instructors so scary/angry? Is it part of the karate curriculum to become more or less demonic when instructing? This guy's got one of the meanest stares I've ever seen, that and the comments, shouting etc. can sometimes make me feel like absolute sh*t...I don't need false compliments, but I don't want to be treated like a lesser human being either. What is the purpose of this behavior from some instructors? And how do people cope with it?

I think one of the reasons it is so unpopular is that different kinds of mixed martial arts styles is becoming more popular. The opinion is that if you learn kicking/punching, throws and grappling at once, you'll learn to defend yourself in a shorter time. MMA also offers greater levels of contact which is a good thing in selfdefence. So if that is very important for you, you should try some kind of MMA or maybe traditional ju jutsu or Krav Maga, which offers a lot of defends against attacks in the street. But another consideration is that you should choose a style that suits you and that you really like to do. If you really like to kick and punch, maybe a selfdefence orientated style that emphasizes grappling and throws will get a bit uninspiring in the long run...or the other way around. When I started with MA, I also put selfdefence high on my priority list. But now I do what I think is most fun to do, and for me it is Shotokan. Ouss!!

I prefer the 12-14 oz uniforms, but so far I've been unable to find a uniform that fits around the hips without the arms of the jacket and the trousers being to long. So now I use the jacket of one and the trousers of another... And a Tokaido in the closet that needs sewing to fit...

Ha-ha thanks..

I have a problem with the RICE and taking care of injuries, because I really don't feel much pain at the moment when I injure myself...so for instance, when my shoulder started hurting I thought it was overuse and not caused by a guy trying to rip my arm off at training the week before. I haven't done much for the sprain, but I am doing some weight training on the legs now, maybe it will help...agree I need a another doc.

My doc is like "it will pass"...but I'll try him again.

Could be a muscle problem in your back, one time after class I couldn't take deep breaths at all...it was no pain, I just couldn't do it, I had to get massage etc for it to go away. Heart problems usually cause pain when you use your body, not when your doing breathing exercises etc. But you should see the doctor anyway, just to be sure.

About half a year ago I sprained a groin muscle while grappling..and it won't go away. Sometimes, if I practice (high) kicks, kata or like to today, using a stationary bike at the gym, it comes back. It is sometimes difficult to walk because of it. Any ideas about what I should do about it? The thing is, I can't tell exactly what that makes the sprain come back, it just comes and goes..

I train with people that uses glasses, I have yet to see anyone of them take them off...I wear contact lenses, the only problem I've had is that I can't wear any hairproducts because when I sweat it will get in my eyes...and the occasional pop in the eye, where it falls out or moves out of place (the lense, that is..)

My uniform gets brown around the neck to...what works for me is soaking it, and then make some sort of paste of soap powder and rubbing into the stains. Then I leave it for a couple of hours, and the I rub it again, with a nail brush, and wash it.

No praise, ever, for nobody, except at the gradings, where you might get one positive comment. I prefer the instructor correcting me instead of complementing me.. I think it is good, because at my last school there was a lot of praise going around, for different kind of reasons...and people got jealous and unsure because of it.

The time on those games depends hugely on how your pc is set up, and whether you use the mouse or the keyboard to click....

I should be doing karate with you gyus then I wouldn't feel like the oddball. The people in my class don't. I'm the only odd ball. Would it be out of the question to ask my sensei to leave my socks on or something? Training with socks doesn't sound like a good idea, you'll probably slide. If there really was a problem with your sweaty feet your instructor would have told you, I think. Maybe you could talk to him about the reactions from the others...sweat shouldn't freak anybody out.

The full contact concept confuses me a bit. At Shotokan we don't use any protection at all, we don't "pull" our techniques and contact is not allowed (at least not for the beginners). In Kyokushin (so called full contact) they use all sorts of padding and protection.... But the so called "bare knuckle ippon" described here, must be more full-contact than competitions with boxing gloves etc? Even in regular kumite competitions in Shotokan there ar eno weight classes and no protective gear, from what I have been told. I assume it can get very "interesting" at times..

I drip with sweat all over, it is natural and a sign that the heat adjustment of the body works. People that don't sweat much, are more prone to getting problems when it is hot.