Psilokan

Have you seen those exercise balls? They're excellent for building up your stabilizer muscles (which is responsible for balance). Lately I've been working with a personal trainer and she has designed a workout for me that revolves around one of these balls. I also noticed while watching the Olympics last night that the one competitor (not sure what she was in, skiiing or skating I believe) she would stand ontop of the ball in a crouched position and basically just struggle not to fall off. She made it look easy, somehow I get the feeling when I try it I'm going to fall flat on my face.

What exactly are you looking to find out? There have been many topics here on wado-kai, perhaps if you ran a search you could find the answer you're looking for. If not, please let me know what it is you want to learn about wado-kai and I'll do my best to answer it.

I always wondered what the similarities between Wado Kai and Wado Ryu were, if any. Thanks for clearing that up for me! I did practice Wado Kai very briefly as a child. I was probably 7 or 8 at the time. I dont recall much about it other than lots of pushups and situps. As a kid, I didnt see the value in these activities and expected to be flying through the air doing fancy kicks right from day one. I lasted all of a month, if that. Now flash forward 10 years. I was still facinated with martial arts, and since I was never remotely interested in traditional sports, I decided it would be something to seriously consider again, mainly as a form of physical activity. I ended up walking into a random dojo (out of many, many dojos in this city) and was hooked from day one. I now hold a 3rd Kyu Brown Belt in Shotokan, and am still loving it just as much (if not more) than I did when I started.

Thank you all so much for your advice. I asked my Sensei what I needed to work on for the grading, and he told me to focus on my breathing, and not to be so tense. He wouldnt tell me exactly what was involved for the test, but then again I didnt really expect him to. However I was lucky enough to have a pre-test the day before with another one of my instructors. So I went into last night's grading with the utmost confidence in myself (which is rare, every other test I've been sweating bullets for). I was actually very lucky, because I was able to get my results that night (we usually have to wait a while). I am proud to say that I passed, and that it is time to step it up another level. My guess is by the end of the week I'll be wishing I failed that test! Oh and jkeeling - to answer your question, our dojo is part of the ITKF.

Well I've been invited to test for my 3rd Kyu (Brown belt) at the end of the month. I'm not too nervous, as I know I wouldn't have been invited to test if I didnt stand a good shot at passing. What I would like to get my hands on is a copy of the grading syllabus for the testing. I scoured google w/o much luck. I've seen it floating around on the net in the past when I tested for green, just cant seem to relocate it. So if someone could point me in the right direction, or perhaps share their experiences with testing for their 3rd kyu, I would greatly appreciate it.

I didnt even start learning roundhouse kicks until yellow belt. I struggled with that kick for so long, I knew what I was supposed to be doing, but just couldnt get my body to do it. But patience is a virtue, and it paid off. It took me a good year to figure that kick out, I was already a purple belt before I felt confident in my roundhouse kick. Now if only I could get my spinning back kick mastered...

Its all about genetics. Some people only have 7 abs, most have 8. Usually the top 2 dont show though, due to fat covering it or the fact that they're much smaller. Everyones different, we all store fat different, we all have different bone and muscle structures...

I'm developing a bad knee as well. It runs in my family. My dad quit training at green belt due to his knees, my sister is only 30 and she already wears a knee brace because hers are so bad. I am 21, and have been training for 3 years. My right knee hurts after training almost every time. I'm pretty sure its my left roundhouse kick thats doing the damage (not turning my supporting foot enough). So I'm working on my technique, to save my knee the pain. However I'm sure genetics will get the best of me in the end.

I recently put my foot thru the wall at my dojo. Had a brown belt (1st Kyu) step in to punch and I wasnt quite ready for it, nor was I aware that I was up against the wall, ended up backing into the wall and left a nice hole. Luckily I managed to dodge the punch anyways.

My father got up to his green belt in Wado Kai karate, my mother trained with him for the start of that but I dont think she made it past yellow belt. I myself didnt start until many years after that, I am currently purple (4th kyu). I hope to someday teach my kids (if I have any). Although I'm sure with my luck I'll end up with kids that hate karate, and would rather do ballet or hockey.

The Tekki katas are w/o a doubt my favourite katas. I'm currently 4th Kyu and am working on Tekki Shodan. Getting the moves down didnt take long, however getting the hip rotation down is another story. Tekki is great for teaching hip rotation, maximizing the delivery of force w/ the least amount of effort. Not to mention they just look amazing. Another thing i love is that it takes so little space to exicute. When I started Karate I lived in a dorm, and would've loved to have known Tekki then so I could practice it in my limited space. Heian Shodan simply could not be done in my tiny kitchen I eagerly await learning Tekki Sandan, as that one just blows my mind. Other than that, the ony kata that I am overly eager to learn is Gojishiho Sho.

I had my orthodontist sell me one, which I have only ever used once. If I put it in, I gag like mad. However once my braces come of (2 months) I would like to get a custom one made. Although in our dojo we never wear any equiptment, rather we leave much distance. I just want it for when I'm sparring with friends, or if I ever go to a tournament.

That would be great, since I cant figure out where mine wandered off to.

You think doing it facing a different direction is hard? Wait till your Sensei asks you to mirror it, now that can get difficult. As for the nervousness, that goes away with time. You get comfortable with the people you train with and start to care less about it. I still get nervous during tests when there's strange people watching, so dont feel too bad about it.

Back when I was a mere yellow belt, I randomly purchased one of those rope & pulley stretching machines off of eBay. I had it set up in my room, but was forced to take it down due to (idiot) roommates who wouldnt stop playing with it everytime they came into my room. Now that its summer, and I have the place to myself I have it back up again. However I lost the instructions that showed the different stretches. I can only remember a few. I was wondering if anyone could recommend some good stretches or exercises w/ this thing. Also, does anyone else here incorporate one of these into their training? When I used it before I found it made a considerable difference in my flexibility, in only a few short weeks. So I'm looking forward to getting my legs all loosened up again.