GrrrArg

Works for muggers.. Seriously, many muggers use disarming tactics such as smiling andd enquiring after a family members health before springing an attack. I would guess the same principle works in the dojo too. I normally have a big cheesy grin on my face. Nothing to do with karate, just me. But ive seen it unerve some people.

How are things looking now terry? When is the seminar again? Wish I could make it, but uni calls..

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. This is something that has been briefly talked about in my clubs magazine so I thought I would share my take on the matter with you. I guess most of you have read monkeygirl's article, White Belt: Learning How to Learn. That's what being a white belt is all about: learning. Everything is new, each lesson presents a new challenge. The learning curve for a white belt is very steep. Your reward at the end? A yellow belt (or whichever color your style uses). As a yellow belt you have a basic knowledge of what your doing, things feel familiar, but you have new kata to learn, you may start to get to do a bit of kumite/sparring and get into the advanced basics. Around green, blue and red belt however, the learning curve starts to flatten out. You feel as though you have reached a plateau with your training – you get the blue belt blues. The focus is more on improving your current skills as opposed to learning new ones. Many feel as though they are not as good as they thought they were and that they are not improving. The most important thing to realize is that this is not a bad thing, everyone experiences them at some point during their training and they are a natural part of your development. It shows you are about to make a breakthrough in your training and get back on the learning curve as you realize how you can best improve everything you are currently doing, quality not quantity becomes the driving force behind your training. This is why it is sad to see students quit after getting the blues, simply because they are unaware of the breakthrough on the horizon. When you get the blues you have to change your mindset - quality not quantity, remember - you need to think about your training and how you can push through the rough patch. You don't have to do it alone. There will be people who have gone through it before and your instructor has probably done it a few times, so whilst you aren't alone, it is still a personal challenge that is different for everyone. In many ways the blue belt is the midway point to black belt and I don't just mean in grade order. This is the problem. You feel as though you've done all that hard work and you're still only half way there. Surely you can never be as quick, sharp and technically good as those black belts further up the line. Rubbish. Of course you can - they were in your shoes once. All it takes to snap yourself out the blues is a simple decision. You need to tell yourself you want the gold at the end of the rainbow. Making a decision like that will make you not only a better karate-ka (martial artist) but also a better person in general. The catalyst of the change is frustration and need. Nothing happens without a need. America wouldn't have been colonized if we didn't need the space. Making a decision like this will give you the kind of self-mastery you need to attain the higher grades and succeed in life in general. Some won't be able to come out of the other side but as harsh as it is you can't concern yourselves with them too much. One of my instructors has a saying, which relates quite well to this. "Some will. Some won't. So what." Some people will get their black belt, some won't, so what. Focus on yourself and your own goals, you can help if you wish but at the end of the day it's down to the individual. What’s the cure? One word: diagnoses. When you know what the problem is, you can set about rectifying it. It means change and change is scary. Like I said earlier, talk to people who have gone through it themselves, never be afraid to ask a question about anything if you are unsure. Some get an extra class in every week or perhaps do a double class instead of a single, others train more at home - all of this will help. You need to be enthusiastic about perfecting your karate. View the blues positively if you can. So that's it for my first article. I foresee the next in the series to be: Brown Belt Blues, followed by Black Belt Blues. I had my blue belt for over a year...

Funny, did I say "I Own a Gun"? Why leave a gun at home? Don't know, thats why I said I may be wrong Leave it at home because they are illegal over here.

He says he was ashamed because he felt he should have been able to talk it down, just shows he was a decent bloke really. The one strike philosophy needs to be examined further. It means every strike should aim to finish things, but may not. If it doesn't then strike again with the same aim in mind. Hows this one: "There is no first strike in karate" What does that mean?

*His* site. I may be wrong, but I thought I read a post from you saying you own a gun, and consider it a MA you practice?

Yup, kinda. Sensei's are the mods I suppose, us sempai's are the little helpers

Contact him through his site. Just leave your gun at home

No, don't go saying my dog is better, that amounts to the same thing. Put accross valid points for your side of the arguement. You could argue why one style has advantages over another, just be prepared to listen to the replies you get.

Fair enough, as far as im aware hes open to people asking questions if your interested enough.

Yes there are, and thats great. Kinda the point of a forum. It would be boring and pointless otherwise. Its much more entertaining and stimulating to hash these things out properly though, rather than getting personel then a potentially good arguement/discusion gets thrown aside for some name calling. Then when the thread gets locked..

I daresay he would. He'd probably agree. I know what you mean by the statement though. Karate is a vicious little MA that was invented as a way to kill people with your bare hands. The ethics that go with are great, they are there to stop people using when its not neccasary or to stop trained people instigating violence. However if violence is going to happen then get rid of your oponent as soon as you possibly can.

A warning just incase. Don't let this spiral into personal attacks, it hasn't so far, lets keep it that way. cheers

No, and don't worry i wont take offenceabout anything said about him, im in no way conected to him or anything he does. I've spoken to people who have trained with the guy though. The site does blow his a trumpet a bit but its mostly based on fact from what i can gather.

Plays a good game too. He embarressed some very hard high graded Japanese martial artisits when he was over there. He wasnt limited to them either, can't say he'd be a nice guy, but still a hard man.

Spraigned my neck once, that tickled a bit. Ripped tendons in the top of my leg/groin - ouch X-Women, im a guy and im getting sympathy pains, ouchy!

Your welcome

Steve Morris, quite possibly one of the hardest men alive today. Theres been plenty discusion about him most likely demolishing Bruce Lee in a fight. Morris did 8 years of karate and achieved high grades but he NHB now, has been for a LONG time. I wouldn't recomend ANYONE slapping him..

http://www.morrisnoholdsbarred.co.uk Read the bio, its long and doesnt pull any punches but it makes an interesting read non the less.

Click the "Profile" button on the tan coloured part of the top of the page. It will take you too your profile page, scroll down to the bottom and you will see an Avatar managing section. There are options to link to a picture on the net, or upload one from your computer. There are however size and dimension restrictions on what can be used as an avatar.

^ True. So lets be careful this doesnt desend into the personel arguements its seems (IMO) to be heading towards.

47 - the white belt is there to signify your post count, its not a representation of actual grade. If you want to show your actual grade, add it to your profile and or signature. Which ever SD geared MA you currently practice is probably the best for you at this time. Otherwise you wouldn't be doing it

Steve Morris Itosu - that name alone should be enough Funakoshi sensei - probably quite hard Funakoshi sensei's other instructor whos name I can never spell correctly so wont try to..

Hmm, if he is a senior instructor he will prob be at most 1 grade below BB. GKR is alright as far as things go. But its sport karate. What I dont like is it is said to be SD karate also. Moral ethical codes of karate? Karate is about killing people.. Dont quit in a hurry. Have a lokk round for other options first. Do you have previous MA experience? Where do you live/train?

Hes not a black belt. Its an instructors belt, kyu grade instructors were them supposedly to show who the instructor of the class is. However BB instructors were their BB's. Basically its there so you dont know your instructors grade. I train with GKR (for the moment) have done for a long time. I have the "honour" of being a BW belt. Its the aspect of GKR that I hate. MY advice, find a class with a decent actuall BB instructor. That BW bet may be ok to start off with, then go to your regions senior classes.