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.

I just wanted to dispute ajayfieldhouse for a bit here. If your Sensei is asking you to use deep, long stances, then certainly do it. Dont start training differently than your Sensei asks, as thats disrespectful. You have to realize that these long stances are tought because you have not only more stability and strength, but also because they do a great deal of strengthening to your legs. In an actual fight, you wont be using those deep stances, trust me, its just impractical. However you'll find its the technique and timing that matter. So do it how your sensei asks, he has a method to his madness, believe me.

Congrats! I wish all gradings were suprise gradings like that. I get so nervous sometimes, and it affects my performance. Luckily my Sensei is doing the test himself (and not someone I hardly train with), or else there's been a few cases where I think I should've failed. If all our tests were like that, my life would be so much less stressful. You said you'd been a shodan for 6 years, just wondering how long it took you to get there. From what I'm told its usually 4-6 years for white-black.

During my second year of college, while I was still just a yellow belt in Shotokan, I signed up for a Kickboxing / Jiu Jitsu class on mon/wed/fri to supplement my Karate which was tue/thurs. The first few weeks were good, but it was a bit too much for me. I wasnt getting enough sleep due to my studies, and each week I had less and less energy. So I cut out the Kickboxing/JJ as Karate was my passion (and I didnt like Kickboxing). If you can handle it physically, go for it. Just make sure you get lots of sleep, lots of healthy food, and that the styles complement each other. Kickboxing and Karate at the same time wasnt a good idea, they were both striking arts that did the same things differently. However Karate & Jiu Jitsu I believe would make a great combo. Karate & JKD sounds like an odd mix too me. For starters, they're both striking arts, and probably do the same things differently. On top of that, Shotokan is a rigid style, JKD is supposed to be "styleless" so I'm not sure how well they would go together. So in conclusion - go ahead and cross train if you can handle it. Just put some thought into if Karate/JKD is the right choice.

The best way - is the all natural way. The only supplement I've ever recommended, or probably ever will, is an EFA (essential fatty acid). I take flax seed oil capsules every day. They allow you to recover faster, and will actually help you metabolise fat better. Plus there's much more it will do for you, just look it up on google if you doubt me.

harleyt26 - You must be taking very traditional Karate, as that is a very basic colouring scheme. From what I've been told, this is how it was long ago, before all of the coloured belts were added in (I believe TKD was the first to use coloured belts). I like the white/brown/black idea, however it takes a while to get your first belt that people may become discouraged (which is why the coloured belts were added). In any case, the belts dont really mean much. They're more an indication of how long you've trained rather than how good you are.

Women should certainly be sparring with men. Accidents are accidents, it would be nice if they didnt happen, but they do. Most often its the lesser skilled one's fault, as they can do unexpected things and just end up in the way of an attack that was meant to stop short of them. We try to rotate at our club, however its a small one, so its not a large rotation. Personally I dont think you should be doing any sparring at your level, however that's an entirely different issue.

Well, I'm a purple belt myself. Just passed my grading, so that makes me a 2nd degree purple. From what I've found, most Shotokan dojos use this scheme: white > yellow > orange > green > blue > purple > brown (x3) Where as at my dojo, our Sensei decided to drop the blue belt, and replace it with purple, so it goes like this: white > yellow > orange > green > purple (x2) > brown (x3) Like the others have said, every dojo is different. Altogether we have 9 kyu ranks. I personally like the double purple belt, because it makes a lot of sense. In the lower ranks it is much easier to see the difference in ranks, as you go up in ranks, your progress slows, as you refine your techniques. Just look at the Dan ranks, notice how as you go up in them, the time requirements increase greatly? Same idea... Its sad that a standard cant be made for the colour belt systems. It can be confusing when you go to seminars. Its hard to find your place in line when you see people running around in belts that dont "exist" in your dojo.

Hello everyone! I've been reading these forums for a long while now, but never bothered to post anything until now. Just wanted to know who was all heading up to Montreal this month for the TKC. I'll be there, for sure. However its looking like I wont be competing now (due to lack of money). But I'm still excited to be going regardless, the main reason I'm going is to watch the black belts spar. Besides, doesnt sound like the colour belt competition is all that thrilling. Osu!