aefibird

WW, how much is Patrick paying you for promoting that link?? Well, as we're on the subject of promoting excellent websites, here's another one of Patrick's: https://www.sportsforums.net Great forum, and it would be nice if some more people from KF joined.

Well, you know what they say about great minds thinking alike...

Cool, thanks. There's a new ASDA/Wal-Mart superstore opened up in Sheffield, which is fairly near me. I'll go through and have look, they'll probably be able to do digital prints.

Stop rubbing it in!!

Hmm, thanks for the 'good' advice Battousai... I'll rush off and try that straight away!

Beans on toast is great, I love it!

Yes, it is very important to keep drinking plenty of water, especially during the summer when a person can become dehydrated very quickly.

Welcome to Karate Forums, Jim! Well, as for your questions... it depends upon the actual martial arts school. My Karate & Aikido instructors both offer private lessons - however, neither of them will teach students who have not been to regular classes. Both instructors insist that anyone wishin to take private lessons has first been to a minimum number of ordinary classes. Personally, I'm not a big fan of someone learning exclusively through private lessons, especially a beginner. I think that interaction and training with other students is very important, especially for someone who is just starting out in Martial Arts. Costs vary, depending on area, number of lessons, location of school (eg a big purpose built place, or in someone's garage) can really alter the price structure of MA schools. Plus, even with similar factors, some clubs are just more expensive than others. It also depends on what other arts are being taught in that particular area too. TKD and Kickboxing clubs are very popular in my area, so the prices they charge are cheap, as they are all in competition with one another. Consequently, clubs with no 'competition' from other clubs teaching the same art may be more expensive. As to how often new students train, again, that depends upon the club. My karate club recommends that all beginners train twice a week, moving to 3 times a week, if possible, when they have their first grade. How long it takes to get proficient also depends on many things. One person will become 'good' after a relatively short time, whilst another person may take much longer. Also, it takes longer to be 'good' in some arts than it does others. For example, Aikido is very difficult to learn and it takes an average of 6-7 years to reach blackbelt level. In my karate club it takes between 4-5 years to get to blackbelt, although that obviously depends on the amount of training and effort a student puts in. I hope you find a club & martial art that you enjoy!

There are also MA's that train specifically in the use of each. Jodo (not to be confused with Judo!), for the short staff and Bodo (again, not to be confused with Budo!) for the longer staff.

I'm both. I'm assistant instructor in karate, and I also still train in Shotokan karate, as well as other styles.

I felt that my 1st kyu brown belt test was harder than my 1st Dan black, although I wasn't feeling well when I took my 1st kyu, so that probably had something to do with it. My school's blackbelt test is much longer than the brown. Blackbelts testings are only open to be watched by 3rd kyu brown and above, as well as the families of those testing.

Well, I don't know about Martial Arts Capital (if there was such a thing, it'd probably be somewhere in Asia IMO), but in the UK I'm convinced that Torquay is the Karate Capital of England. I'm sure AngelaG will back me up - for such a relatively small place there's a heck of a lot of karate clubs!

Me too. It seems like every day there's a new style popping up - not necessarily bad.

So as well as being unable to defend themselves in a real fight/encounter, a student of XMA would also be poor and unable to defend themselves...

You have a tv station in the US called blackbelt tv?? An entire station dedicated to martial arts?? Wow, I'm moving to America right away! Over here in the UK we're lucky if we get ten seconds of martial arts coverage on TV per year.

Either use plasters (band-aids) or ask your instructor if you can train in sneakers/trainers until they are gone. A lad at my karate school recently had problems with warts on his feet and he wore training shoes until they were gone.

Well, you'd probably be better looking for a 'sport' or 'freestyle' club, either in TaeKwonDo or Karate. Wushu would be another good choice if you like flashy stuff. If you're really into acrobatic moves, Capoeira would also be a good martial art for you.

I think I'd rather face an angry human than an angry bear or lion, though...

I'll back up what Italian_Guy has said and recommend Kickboxing, Boxing, Muay Thai, Krav Maga or Jeet Kune Do. I'll always recommend Shotokan karate to anyone, as it is my primary art and I love it, but if you're looking for quick self defence improvement within a short space of time, then it'll probably not be for you. Similarly, because of their traditional nature and the fact that they can take a very long time to master the following arts probably wouldn't be your 'cup of tea' either: TaeKwonDo, Tang Soo Do, any Karate (unless it is 'freestyle' or 'sport' karate), Japanese JuJitsu, most forms of Kung Fu, Kenpo or Kempo. Good luck in your search for a martial art.

OK, thanks.

If there are any Karate, TaeKwonDo, Kung Fu or Tai CHi Chuan schools in your area then check them out. All those arts incorporate forms/kata/hyungs/poomsae. I'd recommend that you go and visit each martial arts school in your area and check them out before making a firm descision as to which MA you want to study. As AngelaG said, each club is different - you may decide you really want to do Kung Fu, then start training in it and decide you hate it. Having a look round at what's available in your area and trying out classes in each will give you a good idea of what each school will be like and whether you could see yourself training there and enjoying it.

Something grappeling based, seen as Shotokan is primarily a striking art. Even though grappling and groud work is there in Shotokan, it's not usually as widely studied as the striking side. Something like BJJ, JJJ or Aikido would work well. Also, a weapons art (if your branch os SHotokan doesn't train with weapons) such as a Filipino martial art or Okinawan kobudo.

Well, if I'm talking about karate I generally just say I'm 'going training', rather than 'going to the dojo'. Thanks for the link!

It does! Hope to learn more from you, Bob, about your style.

Hi! Welcome to Karate Forums. Hope you manage to find a martial arts school that you like.