SaiFightsMS

Cat stance, "oh yes". My biggest problem when first starting cat stance was balance. Sometimes, when they knew that first turn in the kata in cat stance was, the people nearest me would make sure they were out of range in case I began flailing my arms to keep my balance. I began to do things in cat stance every time I walked down my hallway going to and from the bedroom. My cat hated it. Just keep with it. If you keep working you will perform better. (Hey, back then no one thought I would ever be a black belt. Wouldn't I like to feed it to some of them who got lost along the way.) Karate is not a race. It is a live thing that grows within and without you. If it helps pick one thing at a time during class to work on, for the whole class. When you do that thing do your absolute best every time. At the end of class no matter how it looked to anyone else if you know you did your best feel good inside.

Hey Jiggy I've seen your postings. Now I really look forward to hearing more from you. :wave:

I don't want to wake up a sleeping thread but this one interested me. We had a serious of moving drills we did moving across the floor in lines to "try and improve or closing distance". That sounds like the type of thing you mean. Combinations that started with like a lunge step forward. And some that started with stepping forward with the back foot. The idea was to cover as much ground as possible. (And hopefully, as quickly as possible.) I usually found these drills challanging. But, I do have to admit than when I did them on a regular basis I was faster when I sparred. I don't posses the physical ability to jump (or run), but would love to hear any other ideas in this area on how to move faster.

I have enjoyed reading the thread on favorite kata's. I love the passion of my fellow students to their art and the pursuit of this art. So now, did you have a kata that was really harder for you to learn than the other kata's? One you worked your butte off on and still felt frustrated? Do you have a kata you had a more difficult time of learning to perform well? A kata you knew how to do, but just couldn't quiet do it right?

:dead:Okay, new sparring problem. I have this blind spot high and on the left. Consequently I have walked face first into many handpads. It's really bad if my opponent is taller than I am. :weirdlook:So I try and compensate for it by holding my left hand higher. Problem is I wind up in a sparring posture frowned on by my sensei. I don't think he understands I really don't see punches coming from that angle. He thinks I just don't block well. I do not have the same problem on the other side. I have developed a very good pressing type of block with my high left hand. We did this one thing one night where we were only allowed to use one hand and one foot on the same side. So using just the left side I am facing someone who can take me apart under normal situations. So I do one of my press blocks putting her hand out of the picture. Then it is an easy matter to reach out and tap her on the shoulder with a roundhouse kick. She didn't have a helmet on. It can get to be an odd situation. Any other suggestions on how to deal with the problem? I really can't see things coming in high from my left.

:idea:I had another thought. When we kick in kata we do snap kicks. When we kick something be it a sparring partner, board or bag, we do thrust kicks. :???:I wander if a thrust kick is by nature slower than a snap kick? :???:How to improve the speed of the thrust kick?

I would really like to hear from or about people with physical limitations who train in the martial arts. Please. I have had multiple sclerosis for over 20 years. Martial arts has been the greatest thing I have done. I am hooked for life. How do people deal with their physical in their training. Including asthma, arthritis, diabeties - any thing that may affect the way a person would approach their training. Thank you, Sai

:uhoh:Can anyone explain the proper execution of a type of chest/upper body strenth move called (I believe) the hindu pushup?

Tkd sounds good, now :spitlaugh:to tell you I do full splits, and put my palms flat on the floor. :spitlaugh:Now the kicker, I am 44. :spitlaugh:Okay Actually I didn't achieve full splits until after I had passed my 40th. :bdaybiggrin:You have been given some excellant advice. (there are some great people in this site :nod: The height of the kick and the spin are not just a matter of flexibility. Spatial orientation matters a great deal in spinning moves. And kicking cold is never good for anyone. Working those type of moves after class is a really good idea. You also might want to check out plyometric work.

I have an activity I do that combines strength and aerobic work in one (well for me anyway). I use one of the elliptical crosstraining machines at my local YMCA. With the ramp angle setting on a higher level it puts a real emphasis on leg strength. :dead:Not like a stair climber where everyone is actually only taking 3 inch high steps. Can't cheat on some of the ellipticals with the ramp height adjustment. And then it is also a very effective aerobic/cardio workout. The faster you pump the more the intensity of the work out increases. :spitlaugh:Actually it is very, and I mean very, interesting to hear comments made by people the day after they have done their first hard workout on one. Particularly if the have changed cycling directions during their w/o.

Kicker I really meant a walking cane. I have seen some of the CaneMasters material. The cane seems to have been considered as a weapon to train with only in Hapkido. I am much more likely to have a cane with me than a bo or something like nunchaku. Actually I use one when I am outside. The uneven surfaces of the sidewalks tend to throw me off balance a bit at time. No one locally seems to have much interest in the cane as a weapon of self defence. So, I know I will be pretty much on my own. Any ideas opinions anyone?

Cool karateka. In so many ways we want surroundings and events to fit us, not allowing ourselves to just flow along. We do have much to learn from eastern philosophy. Sometimes I think I am drowning in the awesomeness of its simplicity.

Greetings from another who is over the hill. Training in a program with your nine year old daughter might be possible. In a family oriented school I have seen mother-son, mother-daughter,father -daughter,father-son,grandmother-granddaughter, and grandfather-grandson combinations training side by side. Along with some hole family groups. One thing on your side might be that starting as a beginner, like we all did at some point, physical requirements will not be as high as you might think they are. Usually skills are learned gradually and build on one another. It would be really great if you could participate in a class or two before making a decision. Or at least watch a whole class. People have urged me to try tai chi as well. This may sound a bit funny but, I found it much more difficult than the karate I was doing. (Balance I think) Good luck to you.

chinups and push ups are usually paired together in upperbody workouts to keep the muscles balanced. Like the reciprocal action of pulling the nonpunching hand back. Strengthening the push muscles without working the pull muscles can lead to problems down the road. Also certain hand positions used in doing chinups can strengthen the trapezius muscles the neck depends on. Many martial artists have weak necks.

Valn you are learning much. Karate is a broad topic. I can be very awesome to realize that there are well over 300 documented styles of martial arts. And who knows how many undocumented. In karate alone there are splits and consolidations. Karate seems to be a lifetime learning event. It is a live art that continues to change and evolve. Just think prior to the 1940's women and children were not genereally permitted in the dojo. Most non orientals were not welcomed. The wide spread practice of karate is a relatively new event in the history of the world. We feel a need to stay true to the art and in order to do that constant study will be required. We are lucky to have the media to record it and the communications ability to access it in the first place.

:spitlaugh:I do struggle with goal setting. :kaioken:Sometimes it seems so much like the disease or other factors are so much in control of my life. :karate:Karate has given me much structure. I began setting goals soon after I began training. :karate:Being a black belt is not the be all and end all of my focus. My focus is to do as much as I can given what I have to work with at the time. Yes that sounds vague. My immediate goals are to polish tekki nidan and learn tekki sandan. And to take a look at Sakagawa no kon sho.

Having mind like water. Did Bruce Lee in his philosophy courses read Funakoshi? Apparently, or do all great minds think alike? This was a very nice commentery. :up: :up: :up:

Hi Jack, I have multiple sclerosis. Have had it for over 20 years. Most of the time it is considered a neuromuscular disease. It affects everyone differently. It can affect just about any part of the body or all of it. Karate has been one of the best things I have done in terms of fighting the ms. I spent a number of years totally in a wheelchair. And with limited upper arm mobility. When I am in class with other people about my age I am a bit slower and a bit less coordinated. I wear shoes in class because the disease has affected some of the smaller muscles in my hands and feet. It is much easier for my to maintain my balance in shoes. I still lack a bit of upper body strength and my pushups suck. But, I still try to do them the best that I can. I have had ups and downs in my training. Everyone does. But, it would really be stupid to stop doing something that has helped me as much as karate has. Even if my spinning back kick lacks something, I can still whop you up the side of the head with a round house kick. Does that help any?

The initial post starting this string of posts has stuck with me. If I am not mistaken when comparing matsubayashi shor-in ryu to shotokan it is the latter with the deeper stances. Seeming to require more physical strength faster. (I have trained in both styles by the way) :uhoh:It also seems a bit odd to me that an instructor would be discouraging to a beginning student. Having had such coordination deficits when I began training I spent a lot of extra time learning the basic moves and stances. It does not matter how quickly one learns or advances in rank what matters is the journey. What matters is the fact that you are trying.

In the unlikely event I were to do a tournament my kobudo choice would be sai. 1st because I really like the. I think it would be much more difficult to practice and work at being my best with something I really did not like as much as other things. Also, my new light weight aluminum sai enable me to flip them in and out so much more quickly than the heavier steel ones. I think competition is not about self defense nearly so much as it is about flash and impressing the judges. For me that says sai.

You know I seem to remember and article in black belt magazine a few years back about using the belt in self defense. And some of the swinging moves done with nunchaku could also be done with a belt. Also holding one end in each hand (while pulling hands apart opening belt) would enable blocking in a manner done with a bo.

aww Rambo where is your sense of humor. Some of the things used in earlier eras in self defense applications may sound really weird to us but they were everyday items then. Why should we not learn how to use everyday items to defend ourselves?

We work with nunchaku in my school as part of our kobudo ciric ulum(please excuse my poor spelling). Although they are not my favorite weapon I do get them out from time to time. Most of our striking moves incorporate an extra swing before recatching after a strike. We call that a deceleration loop. :idea:So I got this really bright idea. I go over to the bag and take a shot at it with my nunchaku. And, learned very rapidly what the deceleration loop was all about. Our nunchaku katas do not include a lot of fancy spinning moves like I have seen in competions on tv. We do very basic strikes without flare. I now see that all that spin does not help regain the control of the nunchaku after it actually hits something solid. The spins just look good. Many of the moves we do are like those in the Demura book. Some are not. My sensei does not believe in rolling the nunchaku around your neck or crotch area. He believes in effectibe basic techniques that might be duplicate by another object at hand like the handset on a phone cord or the purse.

:eek:Another interesting small weapon came back to mind. This may at first word sound a bit odd.

Hello. Happy to meet you. :pony: I am roaming the boards meeting people. I am happy to meet you after reading many of your postings. :weirdlook:I too came into the martial arts later in life than many here. I am 44 and did my shodan in shotokan and bo last summer. :uhoh:I think it kind of felt like a blur for a while too. :pony:I really appreiate meeting other female martial artists regardless of style. :eek:I tried cardio kickboxing but my ms really helped me throw off the timing and rhythm of anyone that was near me I look forward to reading many more of your posts.