aefibird

I have been training for 5 years. I am Shodan in Shotokan Karate, 6th kyu in Aikikai Aikido, ungraded in Okinawan Kobudo (although I'm not planning to ever grade, just training because I like kobudo). I currently practice Shotokan Karate, freestyle self-defence and Okinawan Kobudo. I trained hard for about 8 months in Aikikai Aikido, but have had to temporarily put that training on hold for a while (due to lack of instructor... ) Yes, Shotokan Karate and Okinawan Kobudo contain kata. Aikikai Aikido contains two-person weapons forms/drills. See above answer. Even though my answer for question 3 was yes, I'll answer this question too. In karate class we usually train in basics (drills), basic and freestyle sparring and kata during the weeks classes. Mondays & Tuesdays are usually kata based, Wednesdays & Fridays are usually sparring based. Saturdays are for working on any of the above. Basics are generally done at every lesson. Yes, for all of my styles of martial art. Yes, Sensei has explained why we do drills - to improve basics, to improve co-ordination, to improve stamina.

Just for future info... it's Mokuso, not Moxo.

Stairs - go in two's. Switch to water completely if you can. Diet coke has sweeteners in it which can cause problems for asthma sufferers & those with chest problems. Artificial Sweeteners have also been linked with some cancers, although the evidence is not conclusive. However, Diet is better than normal Coke, as you're not taking in all that sugar. Red Bull - good in small doses. Don't drink if you have heart problems, as caffeine can affect it. Start with 5-5-5-5-5, move up to 10-10 and then onto 20's. Good luck with the training/fitness regime!

I've never had to use my MA training in a real-life situation and I hope I never will. The only time I've had to defend myself was once at a bar at a rock concert I went to and some blokes started a fight - I got caught in the middle. That was before I started MA, though.

mmm, NICE...

Hi Max, welcome to Karate Forums!

Hi Chibi, welcome to Karate Forums!

Nice pic Dean.

I have all 3 Karate Kid movies on DVD, as a special edition box set. I love KK, sooooo cheesy, yet soooo watchable too. Mr Miyagi comes out with some classic lines.

Ewww, nasty... I never liked wheelbarrow races at school either, even though we used to do them on grass. Primary school sports days *shudder*.

Ohhhhh yes.... I think we've all got long memories around here - it's not going to be forgotten in a hurry!

Me too. That's why I prefer to be behind the camera taking pics, rather than being in them. Photography rules!

Congrats to Lance Armstrong on winning his 6th Tour de France! Good job!

Oh well, it looks like it is more than me that that happens to! Heh heh, we must all be a young-looking generation!

Welcome to Karate Forums! Have you done a search on google? You might get a list of clubs in your area that train in weapons. Another suggestion for you would be to contact all the local martial arts clubs in your area to see if they do weapons training. If so, ask them if they'd be willing to take you on as a student. Thirdly, ask about at school or college or work. Even if you think you'll not get any positive responses you might be surprised. Someone may have a cousin who has a friend whose sister trains with a guy in.... Another option for you would be to check out all the places where martial arts might be taught. For example, village halls, church halls, sports centres, community rooms, etc etc. Phone them up and ask if they do martial arts classes. If so, then ask them if they do martial arts classes with weapons. Also, if you have a sports or martial arts equipment shop in your area then phone them up and ask them if they know of any good weapons instructors. Finally, ask at your current MA club. My Shotokan club doesn't do weapons training (although my sensei is starting to introduce it for black & brown belts), but a student at my club has also trained in Okinawan kobudo. I casually asked one night if people at the club knew of anyone in the area who taught kobudo and he replied "yes, me." So he's now teaching me some weapons stuff when we can fit it in around work and regular training. Also, if you ask at your club, your own instructor may know of someone who can teach you. Failing that, if you don't manage to find anyone, then get hold of a GOOD instructional video and work through that at home. I'm not really a fan of learning martial arts only from books or video tapes, but if you can't find an instructor then it is better than nothing. Plus, it will give you a bit of a base for if you ever find someone to train with. Good luck in your search!

Great! Keep going! Post some pics of you with your trophies in the Karate Forum photo album too, if you have some pics to share.

No, the translations are correct. The word is Tsuki; it become OiZuki or GyakuZuki (instead of OiTsuki or GyakuTsuki) when it is attached to another term. However, some people (my instructor's instructor is one of them) still write OiTsuki (instead of the more correct OiZuki). The difference between Tsuki/Zuki, Keri/Geri and others was one of the things that was confusing to me when I first started to learn karate. As a beginner it is difficult enough to have to learn a martial art, without coming to grips with the subtleties of the Japanese language as well!

Probably your best bet would be to have a word with your instructor. He'll be able to have a look at what you're doing and see why you're getting the pain. You may be twisting your hips too much and over-emphasising it. Other than that, yes, try shortening your stances a little, especially if you're using the combo in sparring and not just as a drill excercise.

lol, not just the time but the money as well! To train as often as that a person would have to not work... Hmm, it's be great to train at the dojo 3x a day for 6 days a week, though.

I'm both. I've been training in Shotokan Karate for 5 years, and been an assistant instructor for over a year. If your son is happy with his current MA school then I see no reason to change him to another. Like the others said, the Kung Fu guy seemed to be fishing for students. Well, I do agree with you about there not being two kids alike (I work with kids, I know! ), but I can see the benefit of having a cut-off point. In my association, children are not allowed to test for black belt until 11. From the age of 11-16 child black belts hold the rank of junior black belt. When they get to 16 they must re-test for full blackbelt. If they fail they must go back to 1st kyu (the grade just under 1st dan blackbelt), but if they pass they are allowed to become full blackbelts. I'm not a big fan of handing out blackbelts to children anyway, especially those under the age of 14. IMO, there's a lot more to being a blackbelt than just simply being able to do the moves; there has to be the correct attitude and mental discipline present as well. Anyway, this topic has been discussed before; there's a thread running about it in the Getting Started In Martial Arts forum if you're interested. Having an age-limit on when children are allowed to test for black belt at your son's school seems like a good thing to me. However, I've never been there, so I can't really comment. Only you can decide if you're getting good value for money. However, from your other comments, both you and your son seem happy with his current MA school, so the rule about blackbelts seems like it is there more to protect children from simply becoming another McDojo graduate, rather than as a device to keep students at the school. Unfortunately, some people don't always see things that way. In today's society many people want things as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Someone on these forums (it might have been Delta1, I can't remember!) once said something along the lines of: "For every person willing to sell you a cheap and fast black belt, there's always someone else out there who will sell it cheaper and faster." *cough* Sorry, I deviated a little from the topic there with that last paragraph. Feel free to post away! We're a friendly bunch here at KF and I'm sure that any questions that you have someone will be able to answer them for you. Good to have you here at Karate Forums.

Good place!

It's ok for guys - you can do that without flashing at the rest of the dojo! Spare a thought for us females who have to wear a huge sports bra or t-shirt under our gi's to preserve our modesty!

Well, if you're wanting to learn an art or a weapon the going to an instructor is far better than learning from a video. However.... if for reasons such as lack of instructor or lack of time you can't make it to a dojo then learning from a video could be OK. Just remember than learning from a video tape or DVD isn't as good as learning from an actual person in real-life - there's no-one there on the DVD who can see what you're doing and correct any mistakes you'll make. Having said that, though, if you're just wanting to study a weapon or an art for a bit of part-time fun, then fine. DVD's & video tapes are better to learn from than books because you can see transitions between movements, whereas books only show static images which can often be difficult to follow. Also think about which art you want to learn from video. if you're gonna be practicing on your own then picking Aikido or BJJ would be a bit daft, because you'd need someone to train with to practice the locks, thows etc with. If you're thinking of weapons, then Playwell sell weapons 'kits' for beginners. These consist of the weapon (such as kama or 3-sectional staff) and a training video/DVD which covers the basics.

I agree. There will always be a club or an instructor out there that will claim to be more 'authentic' or more 'real' than the one that you're at. At seven years old your son will just be settling into his training - switching schools at this stage could be confusing for him as well as upsetting. A good reason to switch schools would be if the instructor wasn't teaching correctly or if the place was dirty and uncared for or if the prices were sky-high or many other reasons that are more important than who the instructor's instructor was. There's more important reasons to switch schools than lineage, especially for a seven year old.

Tell me about it Beka! It seems like every week I hear of kids as young as 7 & 8 are getting blackbelts in karate or TKD or kickboxing or whatever. It makes me wanna scream too!