SaiFightsMS

Very definately. And as stretching is part of the routine of martial arts training you will find that your flexiblitlity will slowly improve. I would look into shorin ryu if I were you. The stances are higher than some other styles. When I first began karate training I started in shorin ryu. The instructor told me that "we take students with the abilities they have and go from there". By the way I have multiple sclerosis.

Everyone please remember to show respect to other forum members their styles and their opinions.

You will need to learn to adjust your head position. I have a blind spot in one area. My big problem with that didn't really crop up until I started sparring. Until I learned to readjust my hand position I walked into everyones hand pads face first when they came in on that side. Is it by any chance a back kick or a spinning back kick that is your problem? You could try wearing an eye patch in class to remind everyone why you are altering your position.

Quick answer - no.

How far apart are your feet in zenkutsu dachi? Get into a good zenkutsu then pivot around into shiko dachi. That is a good place to start from. There is a practice drill that works well on a tile floor, (the 12 inch tile kind),. Get into zenkutsu dachi then pivot into shiko dachi, kokutsu dachi and kiba dachi. By pivoting on either your heels or the ball of your feet you should be able to hit all those stances.

Thread closed due to disrespectful posting.

If I feel the need to brush while in front of the computer I just go get my toothbrush out of the bathroom and bring it in here with me. My rechargeable toothbrush doesn't need a usb port.

http://www.gusset.com/ Here is a link to a company that makes jeans with gussets in them.

Practice, practice, practice and more practice. The more times the technique is done with proper form the better the technique becomes. The speed will increase and the muscles specific to that movement will be strengthened thus increasing the power.

You mean a humor smiley?

Please remember to show respect to other forum members and their opinions.

Everyone please remember to respect each other.

The divergent topic that came out of this thread is in general chat under Sponsorship of martial arts.

Err, the karateka is the student; the karate gi is the uniform.

Better watch out us girls might gang up on you. KarateForums has a really good mix of ages, sexes, nationalities and styles represented. And all are given the same respect.

On the bottom of the home page is a link to click on to get into the chat room.

Good luck to you tkdlegend.

Some people even have fantasies picturing themselves in a gray gi sitting in the front row being a senior student.

It is a common practice to have more than one rank in class. One of the ways students learn to focus their attention better is through the multi rank class structure. They are forced to pay attention to what they are doing during kata practice instead of trying to follow the person in front of them who may not be doing the same thing. It also provides opportunities for the more senior students to learn more by helping students of a lesser rank.

From my experiences in the dojo: Self confidence - I have seen some of the shyest and most out of shape kids achieve success in something that is structured so that they learn one skill at a time. They then leave class and carry their new found confidence with them. Concentration - I have seen kids with 2 minute attention spans have to pay attention to learn a technique or learn a kata. They go to school with their increased attention span and their grades improve. Honesty - you cannot fake your way through karate. Come test time it is obvious that you either know it or you don't excuses not accepted. Self control - After many break the first board and realize how much power they do have they think twice when they began to become angry and are much less likely to strike out in anger. Is this the kind of thing you are looking for? There is so much more than just these few examples that follow along with character improvement.

Sorry, some styles are just not as open about sharing information as others are.

Shuto uchi is done as both an arcing movement and a linear movement.

Basically the only difference in zenkutzu dachi from style to style is how deep the stance is.

Nothing wrong with reviving an older thread if it pertains to something someone is wanting to know about. In many ways it is better to do a search and see if a question was asked before and reviving that thread than having 12 different people ask the same thing over the course of a year.

I did a little bit of pa kua when I was 19. I am wondering if now it might not be a good thing to see if I can pick it back up.