aefibird

I agree - some of those Century uniforms are vile. I went to an open MA tourney a while back and saw some students wearing black and red trousers (pants) with a camoflage/combat coloured gi top. The uniform had big yellow embroidered lettering on the back of it too - it looked truly awful and I'd have bet money on it that it was made by Century...

White belt in every style except Shotokan... and silliness (I'm a 10th dan in that)

lol, 2 hours can do that to me never mind 2 weeks! just kiddin' Ant, welcome to KarateForums! Hope you enjoy it here. Coco, if you're worried about taking your belt test then DON'T TAKE IT! There's much more important things in karate than getting your next belt. Even if your instructor is disappointed that you're not gonna grade doesn't mean that you have to. Grade when YOU feel ready. When I was going for my purple belt, my instructor asked me if I wanted to grade. He told me that he thought I was ready, but I didn't feel 100% confident myself, so I waited. He was fine with my decision and respected it. Donkey, I really agree with you about the belt system. It really has become a marketing tool and the black belt is now the 'be-all-and-end-all' for many people and clubs.

Angelica - you're right about Kanku Sho -it does start like that. Godan is a cool kata to do if you're into jumps in kata. Personally, I'm not, even though Empi and Kanku Sho are 2 of my favourite kata! lol, I must just be mad if my favourites have in them something I dislike doing... Jitte looks like a great kata - I don't know that one, although I've seen my instructor perform it. I'm having enough trouble getting to grips with Unsu at the moment to learn Jitte. :-/

Was there (or is there) a kata that you always wanted to elarn when you were a lower grade? A particular one that you couldn't wait to do and learn the application for? For me, that kata was Kanku Sho. I always wanted to learn it when I was coming up through the lower kyu grade ranks. I finally got to go through it when I was a 2nd kyu and it was great to actually be doing a kata that I had watched and liked but never actually done before. I felt quite similar when I first learned Bassai Sho too.

lol, I like that bit about if Judoka ruled the world... bars being required to have mats - just great!!

cool, very cool!

I train in karate and have done some aikido too, so my main MA training is in stand-up defence work. However, I think that ground training in important too. Most of the ground work I've done has involved trying to keep the attacker(s) away from you whilst simultaneously trying to get back on your feet, which I think that not enough people work on, from what I've read on this forum and also from talking to martial artists that I know.

I've not had any experience with KFM, or know of anyone who practices this style. However, I have heard reports of its street-effectiveness and rigorous training methods. This was only for adult training, though - I've never before heard of children doing Keysi. I'm a bit wary about kids doing martial arts anyway. I'm not a big fan of young children training, especially not being awarded belts either and certainly not black belts. I don't really think that kids under the age of at least 8 should be training in martial arts at all, as they generally haven't got the mental or the physical capacity to deal with it. Having said that, though, the KFM Little Dragons classes might be very good and suitable for a 5 year old to learn basic physical skills. Maybe going along to watch a class or two before your 5 year old goes would be a good plan - then you can judge before your child even goes there whether it would be suitable for them or not.

Thanks for your kind words Delta! That price quoted does seem to me to be slightly high, although many lesson prices that I've seen here on this forum do generally appear to be more expensive in the US than UK prices (apart from Shorinryu Sensei who offers excellent value for money IMO!) I would say that you'd be alright training in both arts at the same time, especially as they are both Japanese - the terminology and dojo ettiquette will be very similar. Many people do train in more than one MA at one and are very sucessful with that. However, seen as you are a beginner it might be worth your while just doing one MA (possibly karate, as you can practice more easily at home) for a couple of months until you start to get into the whole 'training regularly in MA' thing. Then after a couple of months you could start the other MA. I'd say that karate and JJ would work very nicely together - both are Japanese arts so there is no need for you to have to learn 2 sets of teminology at once. Plus, you will be more rounded as a martial artist by taking a mostly striking art alongside a mostly grappling one.

I think that either style that you have described would be good for you. if you are slightly more into the grappling side of martial arts then I'd suggest Ju-Jitsu and vice versa if you'd prefer more striking to ground work. However, probably the best thing for you to do would be to go and try out a few classes in each club to see which you prefer. Which has the better instructor? Could you see yourself sticking with that club? Could you see yourself sticking with that art? Try out both and it might help you to make up your mind. People can give advice and tell you about their JJ or Karate training, but it's better for you to experience it first-hand. Good luck!

Guys - don't say either... that way you won't have to pay for expensive dental treatment for when she clobbers you in the mouth!!

eeeh yak, I did General Studies at A level for the same reason as you - its a nasty hateful subject , and a form of torture for overworked A level students IMO!!

Good post, as ever, Monkey. I call my instructor 'Sensei' inside the dojo and occasionally outside too, especially if I am talking about him to someone else. To me it is a sign of respect, not a sign that he is some ego maniac on a power trip, or someone who lords it over all his cowering students. My karate instructor doesn't insist on being called Sensei (except by the under-18s at the club, who can either call him Sensei or Mr Smith), but I address him as Sensei. To me, he has earned that title because of his dedication and experience in training. Even though he doesn't insist upon being called Sensei, I believe that he has earned the title, so I call him by it.

Yes, unfortunately, most karate competitions can be biased in some way, even if it's just with the weight or height divisions for sparring(as you experienced RedTriangleStudent) or the belt divisions for kata. For example, because there don't tend to be as many women enter traditional karate competitions as men, the ladies kata section is generally for all grades whereas the mens & childrens are usually split up into different groups depending on belt rank. This means that a female white belt could be facing a black belt, but not the same case for a male. However, you just have to look beyond things like that and do your best and really go for it! If you feel that a competition was unfair then you just have to try and get over it and hope to do better next time.

LOL, I'm Welsh and I know what we're like!! heh heh, stick together... just kidding. Well done Jiyn for getting to the 4th round in the comp, especially as it was your first comp I think? Correct me if I'm wrong. What kata did you do?

Bah, Warlock, you stole my style!! I've been practicing it in secret, ready to unleash on an unsuspecting public who have large wads of cash and now you've spoiled it!! *sulk* I suppose I'll have to go back to the drawing board and develop my other system, which is Wing Chun Aiki-Shotokan Gracie Jutsu (now with added Okinawan Kobudo!!). I'm gonna be a 20th dan in it - if anyone wants to be a 19th dan, then whoever sends the largest cheque gets it first. I'm hoping it'll be a big success amongst those with no brains and large bank balances....

Hi lux, welcome to KarateForums! Why dont you pop along to the Introductions Forum and say hi and introduce yourself to everyone there? Thanks. Whether a move to another dojo would affect his belt or not would depend upon the individual instructor. Some instructors will let your son keep his grade, some will make him re-test for his current grade and some will start him off as a lower grade. It all depends on the individual instructor. Be prepared for your son to have to start again as a beginner grade if you move to another style of karate from what he's doing at the moment or if he moves to another martial art. The differences between what he's been doing and another style might be too great for him to keep his current grade. As for looking for karate schools in Georgia, I'm afraid I can't help you with that one! Try looking in the yellow pages or doing a search on Google. Remember, though, most small MA schools won't necessarily be found in either place. Also, ask around at work - see if anyone you know knows of any martial arts clubs in your area. Plus, you could phone up local sports centres, community/church halls or other places that an MA club might hire and ask them if there are martial arts classes at that place. Good luck in your search for a new place. I hope you have a smooth move to another club if you do decide to move your son.

I agree with you about the point that a lot of people are now taking up some form of 'Eastern practice', but I wouldn't necessarily say that it was karate, especially not in the UK. The use of yoga and non-MA Tai Chi (ie that sort that is taught as nothing more than a fancy dance with an instructor who learned it on a weekend course!!) is on the rise, a point that can be seen if you go into any book shop, especially one of those 'cheapie' ones. There's always loads of books about meditation and yoga and tai chi, but I am yet to see any book about karate on sale in a general bookstore. Karate is a path and a way, but to a lot of non-martial artists it is still all about karate-chopping things whilst shouting Haiii-ya! That's why people often choose Yoga or commercialised Tai Chi over karate - it has all the health and mental/spiritual benefits that karate can offer but without the stereotyped image of it just being people fighting whilst wearing white pyjamas and coloured belts. I wouldn't have said that karate was the most popular or even the most commercialised of MA's. I would say that that dubious 'honour' goes to TKD. It is a very sad fact that for every one decent TKD club there are a hundred or more McDojangs out there, ready to give out black belts in as short as time as possible for maximum amount of profit. Unfortunately, Karate is heading the same way. As for films, I would have said that many people associate Kung Fu with MA or action films, rather than karate (unless you count The Karate Kid series of movies!). Most MA action stars are Kung Fu stylists and, because of Jackie Chan, Jet Lee, Bruce Lee et al, the public will continue to assume that all MA in movies in Kung Fu.

I'll just ditto what she said...

Nikkyo is a commonly used Aikido move; it uses the principles of 2-joint manipulation (the shoulder & elbow) to disable an opponent. It is one of the main disabling and pinning techniques used in Aikido when you start as a beginner. I've also seen the 1st move in Bassai-Dai described as a block (as well as a strike and a joint lock as has already been mentioned).

Batosai Imora, please do not call me an idiot - I do not appreciate it. I assumed that you disliked all MA movie stars since you have made negative comments about all of them so far. As you did not write anything positive about any MA action star I naturally assumed that you did not like them. I think it was a fair assumption to make, but I'm happy to be proved wrong by you. However, that does not make me an idiot.

EDIT: double post.

Yeah, I agree there isn't particularly a set 'curriculum' within organisations. My point was that if two instructors from the same organisation can't even agree how to do a technique (which is not necessarily a bad thing) then how confusing it must be for their students, especially beginners. For example, my karate organisation regularly holds courses run by the chief instructor or other senior instructors within the org. If I do a particular technique with my instructor (say, an Ushiro-geri, for example) I have to remember that my instructor likes your head to be positioned in one way when doing this technique and that the chief instructor likes you to do it an other way entirely. It is still the same kick, only done two ways. Also, a third instructor that I often train under tells students to perform the kick in a different way to my instructor and the chief instructor. There isn't anything wrong with their 3 ways of doing this kick, it's just that it can be a little confusing at times. All I was meaning that even within a particular style or an organisation (whose members are all supposed to be singing from the same hymn sheet!) there can be big differences. In the end, there are as many varieties of martial art as there are martial artists. It's just that humans like lumping things together in groups, so from that we get the 'shotokan group' and the 'wado-ryu group',etc etc, even if the techniques practiced within that particular group are wildly different in style and form from one another.

Hi alfman, welcome to KF! Try looking in the yellow pages/phone book or do a search on google for JJ clubs in the SD area. Remember, though, that small clubs won't necessarily be listed in either place. If you don't find out anything that way then you could try asking around at work or school - some one you know may know of a JJ place. Also, you could phone local sports centres or church/community halls or other places that a martial arts club might hire. Ask them if they have Martial Arts classes there; if they don't, ask them if they know anywhere in the area that does!! I don't know if you've done MA before, but it is important to remember that the quality of the instructor is the most important thing. A person could train in the greatest martial arts style in the world, but if their instructor sucks then there's not much hope for the student. Find out how long an instructor has been training and teaching and if they're affiliated with any martial arts governing bodies (if he/she isn't then that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be a good sign if a large respectable organisation recognises their qualification of rank). Good luck in your search for a JJ school!