SaiFightsMS

Just a thought but if you have a space only three kiba dachis long you can practice the Naihanchi/Tekki katas. They are fairly easy to fit indoors.

Nothing like having your own special space, right? Sounds great.

It is fairly normal to feel frustrated with all the techniques in the beginning.

There are enough similarities in the two styles (I have trained in both) that you should be able to train with your friend. You might find that the two of you enjoy comparing what you are learning.

Shotokan and Shorin ryu are very similar. The basic differences come in the use of Okinawan vs. Japanese terms. They start with the same basic katas: Fyukyu katas (Taikyuko's), Pinan (Heian), and Naihanchi (Tekki's). Shorin ryu stances are a bit higher and you are likely to see cat stance in shorin ryu where you would see a kokutsu dachi in shotokan.

Bo's are made of various materials (types of wood) and specifications. Each area of Okinawa probably had its own favorite. Bo's are straight, tapered and also come in polyhedral shapes of 4 to 8 sides.

It might also be worthwhile to get your thyroid function checked.

There is a very valid place in training for time off. As we age this becomes more and more important. I took most of last summer off after an intense test.

I find power bars easy to handle during those short breaks. A lot depends on how quickly your body uses the stored glycogen and breaks down what you ingest during your breaks. I have also used carb gels to quickly bring my blood sugar back up to par in a hurry as it is absorbed into the system quicker than most other things. But then I can be extremely hypoglycemic. Good luck. And the best pretest advice I was ever given was to get a good nights sleep the second night before the test. Because often we are too nervous to sleep well the night before.

555 sounds interesting. Could you explain a bit?

The traditional "deep" stances of shotokan start with however strong your legs are. As time goes by and you train more your legs get stronger and your stances very gradually go deeper. As for shotokan practitioners here at KF I practice shotokan and so does G95. And there are others as well.

Jpein a good part of training at our age is accepting our abilities as well as our inabilities. Head high kicks are not the most important part of shotokan. We just do the best we can an the time as we try to improve our skills. In terms of flexibility in shotokan the first really big challange comes about heian godan with the crescent kick into the palm of the hand. And many students of all ages have trouble with than one at first. RockyMtMark congratulations to you and to your wife.

Congratulations. But I would refrain from having a smelly acident right there on the mat if I were you.

Welcome to the forum. It is kind of a shock seeing a white belt next to your name after all the work you put into getting a black belt isn't it.

There are several active members of the forum who practice kobudo.

This thread has gotten out of hand. Bashing of another style is not tolerated at KF.

Please keep the discussion civil. Attacking viewpoints of other members is really not welcome.

This has gotten too far off topic time to close this down.

If you use a pda there is also a program floating around with karate terms in it. I had it on mine for a while but when I discovered I wasn't using it I took it off to make space for something else. http://www.beiks.com/palmzonebg/bdictyen.htm

There is much more to a real knowledge of a martial art than just how kick, punch or grapple. The mental battles come in many different forms. When I first started training I wanted to tell everyone what I was doing; it was just so great. But the longer I train the more personal it becomes for me. Some of the most truly skilled people I have seen are those who do the least amount of talking about what they do. They are just very quiet and humble.

Too bad mantis. He was great. Did you know he was the first motion picture actor to ever be made an honarary marine?

I don't like mine sweetended either Monkeygirl. I think by the time people get done dumping sugar and lemon in it I might as well be drinking syrup. My favorites are mint something and almond delight.

The Pro Force poly cotton gi's are elastic waist. Even the 10 oz ones.

Welcome to the forum.

Keep the discussion civil.