aefibird

I agree with the general feeling that most SD classes are rubbish or unhelpful. When I was still at comprehensive school (high school equivalent) all the 15 & 16 year old girls had to take a compulsory 6-week SD course as part of PE class. We were taught by a TKD instructor and his assistant. The course was mainly quite good, but there were a lot of students and only 2 instructors. Also, we only ever did stand-up techniques - no ground defence work at all. Because each session was short and the course didn't last very long we didn't really learn very much. Those girls who didn't go on to do a martial art, or even to do another self-defence course, will be unprepared against a real-life defence situation, as much of the course we did at school will now have been forgotten by my classmates. I agree that the environment of an MA class isn't for everyone and I do feel that the whole culture of MA still has a bit of a 'boys club', 'all the lads together' type feel about it, even though that is (very) slowly changing. However, if women want to do a SD course, but not train regularly in MA then I think that the whole structure of SD courses should be overhauled. You can't learn realistic self-defence in a couple of sessions - nor can it be learned in a women-only setting. Women need to practice fighting off male attackers to get the feel of what it would be like if they ever were attacked. Also, more emphasis should be placed on the fact that women who have been on a SD course should go back for regular 'top-ups' of their knowledge, as even the most intelligent person is bound to forget some of what they learned after 6 months or a year or so. I think SD instructors should also encourage their students to practice their knowledge at home, even if it is only occasionally. My instructor runs a weekly freestyle self-defence class, for women and men. He incorporates lots of aspects of SD, but emphasises to each new-starter that it isn't just a course for x number of weeks - learning SD techniques is an on-going process. We have quite a few women who come to the SD classes but who don't want to train in the regular karate classes, which is fair enough, MA isn't everyone's cup of tea. However, I think that by taking an ongoing SD class they are getting better self-protection than if they just took a 6 week course or (even worse) a one-off session.

Welcome to the forum, Malic! Why not pop along to the Introductions section and really introduce yourself to people there? Sorry I can't answer your question. Maybe the guy in the movie was on a wire. :-/ Hey, keep practicing, though - you never know, you may be able to do that type of roundhouse kick someday!

lol, yes you'll be walking round in an enforced Kibadatchi for weeks after your first few lessons! Ah, the joys of horse-riding... Good luck with the A Levels, Angelica. I hope you do well!! What are you taking?

Well, the booklet/leaflet/hand-out thingy we're going to be producing for the club will be more along the lines of Andy's double-sided A4 sheet, rather than a flash colour booklet with pics or whatever. Certainly not a video, either!! lol, we've hardly got the money to print off a few leaflets, never mind make a video for students. Thank you all for your help and advice.

Does anyone have a link to a vid of either the I-Ryu or Shorin-Ryu version of this kata? It sounds interesting, especially the application given above. Thanks!

I wuld say that in some way, yes, there is a lot of TKD in Kyokushin. In certain aspects, there are elements of most martial arts in most of the other martial arts. There's only so many ways you can use your hands, feet etc. However, it is the interpretation of what to do with these movements and the emphasis placed on certain areas (such as kicking for TKD - yes, yes before anyone flames me I know that's not just what TKD is all about - or grappling in JJ) that makes each martial art different. I don't know much about Kyokushin (apart from the little I've gleaned from my instructor, as he has studied that style for a while)or TKD, so I can only make general comments. As an aside to the original post, and a follow-on from Delta's post, I generally tend to fight in a 45 degree angle stance. I prefer this way to a back stance/ front-on stance, even though it can be slower to kick from.

I agree. Instructors from the same organisation, or even the same club can teach differently from one another, and they're all supposed to 'pulling in the same direction'. No wonder instructors from different karate organisations teach so differently if instructors from the same club can't even agree on a technique...

Yes, I had a class like that tonight. Generally I'm very very tired after every class, even the ones I teach, as I try to put full speed & power into everything I do, but tonight really was a killer. We did lots of individual basic techniques to 'warm up' (that was after the actual warm up!), then moved on to combinations from a freestyle fighting stance, such as gyaku-tsuki, kizami-tsuki, gyaku-tsuki. We did those for what felt like a million times each, then we did some more combinations, this time concentrating on kicks and sweeps (such as ashi-barai, gyaku-tsuki or mawashi-geri twice followed by uraken). After the individual work we moved onto some bag work and then did some partner work with the combos practiced earlier, followed by a session of free-sparring. To round off the lesson and 'calm down' we went through Meikyo at half-speed a couple of times, finally finishing off with stretches. We had no breaks in between each section and a very limited water intake throughout it all. By the end of the lesson it felt like an elephant was sat on my chest, my feet were raw from the wooden floor and my gi was literally dripping wet with sweat (mmm, nice). I loved it!

(A higher grade to a lower grade)"I don't want to spar with you because I don't want to hurt you" --> I'm gonna get my butt kicked if I fight you!! "I think that the spiritual aspects of Martial Arts are more important than being able to kick someone in the head" --> I think that because I can't kick anyone in the head. "Sensei, can you show me that again please?" --> I wanna watch you kick Phil's * for the 70th time, it's funny. (When on a night out with the club) "Sensei, let ME buy you your meal/drinks!" --> The next belt grading is really soon and I wanna pass. "I don't wash my belt for spiritual reasons" --> I'm too lazy to bung it in the washing machine after training. "I like talking about the technical aspects of Karate?TKD/insert martial art here" --> I such sooooo much that I talk far better than I train. "I went to this other club, but I didn't like their attitude to training." -->They were all ten times better than me and whupped my * in my very first session with them. "I tried TKD/BJJ/Karate/Capoeira/insert MA of your choice here, but it wasn't for me." --> It was darned hard and I was too unfit to keep up with the rest of the class. "I think that paying to grade is a very unfair system" --> I failed my last belt test and I want my money back!! (A higher grade to a lower grade) "Yeah, it didn't take me very long to learn that particular kata." --> It took me months to learn and I still haven't got the hang of it now. "I totally agree with what you just said, Sensei." --> I have absolutely no idea what you're on about. "I haven't got time to demonstrate that just now, I'll show you another time." --> I can't do it very well and I want to go home and practice without you watching me! (Just before starting a sparring session) "I'm just going to straighten the mats." --> I'm utterly kn******* and I want a couple of minutes rest. "I think that doing lots of push ups is over-rated" --> If Sensei makes us do another push up tonight I'll cry...

lol! True!

I hate exams with a passion - I've got mine coming up next week! What with work, study, karate and all the other stuff of life I could do with a 48-hour long day and a 9-day week...

Does anyones club have a handbook that you give out to new students? If so, what sort of info do you put in it? My karate dojo is thinking of creating a handout to give to new students and I'd be interested in hearing what you all have in yours! Thanks.

Out of my skateboarding 'career' I learned the ability to land safely on the floor (due to falling off a lot practcing tricks)... a skill usefull in my later attempts at Aikido, where you attempt to blend with your opponents energy and your opponent attempts to blend you with the floor. I'd say skateboarding is also good for improving balance. I'd say that, but I'm not actually sure seen as it never seemed to improve my balance one jot! lol

lol, the story reminds me of one of my sensei's favourite sayings... "You should have blocked". heh heh, never underestimate a woman with a grudge!

Good luck to you too Trekmann!

Interesting article, thanks for sharing.

That's a good stretch technique. I try to do that as often as I can with a willing victim, oops, I mean partner, to hold my leg. Azmyth, try to stretch every day, twice a day if possible. Remember, you'll not see results overnight, so be patient. Also, don't just do stretches from cold - you'll need to have done some form of warm up before hand. It helps prevent injuries and also you'll be able to strech further if you're warmed up. Good luck with your high blue belt test!

ouch, nasty! Good luck with the gel - I hope it works.

Good advice Dijita. Anything with complex carbohydrates in it will help you to feel fuller for longer, such as jacket potatoes, pasta and oatmeal (porrage oats). If I feel hungry between meals I try to eat a piece of fruit (usually a banana) instead of junk snacks or have a handful of raisins or even a low-fat yoghurt. Dee, I'll 'ditto' the previous advice and really recommend swimming to you, if it's possible. When I was a child I had to have quite a serious operation on one of the tendons in my leg. Swimming really helped me to get back on my feet and I'm sure it quickened my recovery time. The fact that my mum was a swimming teacher and she kept nagging me to do my rehab excercises in the pool also helped too!

Sorry to hear about your toe. I'm glad you went to the docs, though, even if it was bad news! Hopefully the anti-inflammatory tablets will do the trick. When you've finished those, if it still hurts then simple Ibuprofen is a good anti-inflammatory - you could get it as a gel to rub straight on your toe.

Batosai, I take it that you really dislike Hollywood action heros?? Hmmm, wonder how I got that impression... Personally, I like Seagal's Aikido - sheesh, I wish my Aikido was even half as good. I think his movies are a bit pants, although, Under Seige wasn't too bad. As for Segal not being able to apply his Aikido in real life - well, I bet there's plenty of martial artists, famous and not, who couldn't apply their techniques in a real life situation. If he can't then he's not the only person in the world that can't.

As a basic 'diet' plan I'd recommend plenty of fruit & veg, cut out simple carbohydrates (like cakes, sweets etc), ditch the fried food, trim all visible fat off meat (this includes skin on chicken), cut down on alcohol (cutting it out altogether would be even better, but you gotta have some pleasures in life) and drink PLENTY of water - at least 8-10 large glasses a day. Even simple things such as switching to skimmed milk, wholemeal bread instead of white, diet cola instead of regular. Heck, even grilling chips (french fries) if you're gonna eat them is better than frying them! Even small differences to a persons eating habits can make a big change. I'll ditto what everyone else has said and add that plenty of regular excercise is important too. Diets without exercise aren't half as effective as a diet + excercise.

If you feel well in yourself and don't feel that you need to drastically lose weight, then don't worry about the numbers. A person can generally tell in themselves if they need to lose weight. Plus, remember muscle weighs more than fat - on a standard weight-to-height ration chart I'm classed as overweight, but that's because I have a lot of muscle for my height (I'm 5'2"). It doesn't really mean that I'm actually overweight - it just means that numbers don't necessarily mean anything and that you have to judge yourself what shape you should be. Plus, you're doing excercise by doing regular MA training, so I shouldn't worry about it too much.

Yep, definately go see a doctor! Hope your toe heals up soon.

Buddefly, where did you get the desktop pic from? Thanks! The "may I have a glass of water, please?" line is the gretest in the whole film - sooooooo funny!