aefibird

Have you thought about returning to your studies of Shotokan or Chinese Kempo? Maybe you could give them another go. Being a Shotokan 'freak' I'm always happy to recommend that to people! I'm sure that most instructors would be happy to have you in their lessons. Just because you have arthritis doesn't mean that you aren't going to be a good student and get benefit out of training. Any instructor that wouldn't want to have you in their club because of your physical limitations isn't worth training under in any case, IMO. Martial arts should be for all! Good luck in your search for a club.

Good advice. It can be really off-putting to watch other people spar or perform forms or whatever. Sometimes it can get people into a negative mindset, such as "OMG, those guys are really good, much better than me. I bet my opponent is at least as good as they are!" Keeping out of the way in a quiet corner until it is time to do your stuff is a good way of keeping relaxed but focused on what's coming.

I initially chose karate because of a friend - she started and I joined a few weeks later. I wanted to do judo when I was younger but my parents would never let me, even though my dad used to do judo and my brother is a first dan and competition winner. It was really unfair! I've always wanted to do martial arts, but I got into horseriding and competing in horse trials (eventing), so I never really had time for it. When I started at university I didn't really have much money to keep on keep on competing at horse trials so I was sort of looking for something to take up instead. it wasn't until my friend started karate that I really thought seriously again about staring martial arts. I started aikido because I wanted something that would complement my karate training. I was looking for a judo club but there isn't a good club in my area so i chose aikido instead. I still get my competition 'fix' by competing in karate competitions, just small ones usually, although I have been to quite a few 'biggies' too. My karate competition career has given me lots of shiny medals and trophies to dust, but I think that there's a lot more to karate than competition and if I was never able to enter another karate competition again I can't say that I'd be overly bothered. It's just a nice added bonus to get a trophy or two!

I really hope that 24FC isn't gone forever as I always found the site informative and thought provoking, even if I didn't always agree with some of the opinions shared there! Good luck to Rob Redmond in whatever he chooses to do next. If he sets up another website then I hope it is a good as 24FC.

Ah! I'm glad someone else has heard of that one.

That reminds me of that quote about nothing in life being certain - except death and taxes! I suppose that any hobby (and karate is a hobby to most people - we can't afford to do it full time!) works out expensive, but if a person enjoys it enough they'll probably pay anyway. Just out of interest, monkeymagic, how much do you pay for training, gradings etc?

Well, to me, all aspects of karate are as important as each other. This includes the mental/spiritual aspects as well as purely physical training. Before I started karate I was very shy and introverted and I suffered with an eating disorder. Karate has helped give me self confidence and self esteem - passing each belt grading was a great way to boost my self worth. Also, being asked by my instructor to teach the beginner class (under his supervision) was great for my karate and for my self as a person. As well as boosting my life mentally karate has helped me physically. I am now much stronger and faster than I was prior to training. I am much less afraid of being out on my own after dark (I live in a very rough area of town, on a housing estate with more drug addicts than regular residents - I'm the latter not the former!) as I feel that I would be able to cope much better if I found myself in a nasty situation. Karate has also given me new friends and the people at my dojo are like my family. I know its a bit cheesy to say so, but we really are like one big family, except with less arguments . We hang out together, go places together and are always there for one another if anyone needs any help. If I had to give up my karate training for any reason it would be a big loss to my life. I've got to go into hospital for an operation soon and I'll not be allowed to train afterwards for at least 2-3 months. I'm not looking forward to giving up my karate, even temporarily!

Good link! Very funny...

Just thought of another few - Kiai at the end of every sentence.Kiai! Perform your kata like it is being shown in slow motion on the TV - with a long slow drawn out kiiiiaaaaiiiiii. Rush out suddenly in the middle of a class decalring that you have to get back to the psychiatric ward for your medication or else you'll turn into a werewolf. When using a heavy bag stop all your kicks and punches a couple of inches short of the bag. Claim you're doing this because you don't want to hurt it.

How about... Refuse to talk to anyone but orange belts for a whole class. The next class talk to everyone else BUT the orange belts. Keep asking for 'help' to tie your belt (only works if you're not a beginner and actually do need help to tie your belt!!) If you do more than one style keep saying, "well in my other club we do it this way..." Ask everyone to refer to you as 'san' after they say your name, in the manner of 'Daniel-san' (from Karate Kid). Declare yourself to be a 10th dan in a secret style only known to one other person in the world and claim that you're really a martial arts master but you like 'slumming it' with the plebs in the lower grade classes. Challange your instructor to a fight and pull out at the last minute by telling him you don't want to fight because you don't want to hurt him... Crack your knuckles loudly at every possible opportunity (could be substituted for any other annoying bad habit). Keep asking in the middle of class if you can go to the toilet. Declare loudly to your fellow students that you think "Sensei's technique has really gone downhill lately". Turn up to class without your gi and say that you sent it to Japan/China (wherever your art is from) to learn the secret techniques of the Way of the Gi.

Well, ist one thats used a lot round my area of the UK, usually in a town called Barnsley. Basically, if a lad is in a nightclub and he sees a lass that he likes he might go up to her and say that chat-up line. "Get your coat, 'cos you've managed to 'pull' me and we're gonna go outside and...!" is what it is meaning. If the girl likes the lad she might laugh at his cheeikness and let him buy her a drink. If she thinks he's a jumped up arrogant little * then she'd do well to slap him one. Mostly that chat-up line is used in jest but some men don't see that and take it for real that they're the greatest and women should fall at their feet. Huh, there's guys like that everywhere

True. it's not so much the art but the artist... You can train in the greatest style in the world but if you or, more importantly, your teacher suck then there's not a lot of point in training.

I took up karate because my friend did and she showed me a kata. I was intrigued and went along to the club. Five years later I'm still training... I suppose I started training, really, for self defence and fitness. I keep on training because I love it and it has become a very important part of my life. I like the fact that it is a martial art and that there are so many different facets of it - there's always something to learn and study.

SF, backyard wrestling is definately NOT the way to go, especially if its with the 'kids' from your wrestling team. A bunch of inexperienced kids together having a free-for-all (which is what it would be) is a sure fire recipe for disaster. Get plenty of training in the dojo and up your skill level there BEFORE going and entering competitions (or else you're gonna get your butt whipped again). If you train hard and seriously it might show your parents that you are prepared to take MA seriously, and not just be like a whiney little kid who sulks cos he can't have is own way... I know you're only young but you have to try and be mature about the whole thing. So your parents won't let you compete at the moment? Well, it isn't going to affect your whole martial arts career is it? Try and keep a sense of perspective on the whole thing.

Good luck with your first VT fight!

Good idea, Solo. That sounds like a fun way to get students thinking about which moves would naturally follow each other.

Champ, which kata do you learn at/for blackbelt? For shodan test we can choose from Jion, Empi, Hangetsu, Kanku Dai and Tekki Nidan. Bassai Dai is compulsory in the FSK shodan test, as is a Heian kata of the examiners choice. I agree that lower grades should take their time over learning kata - one kata for each belt level is the way we do it in my club too. However, my instructor makes us (lower grades especially) regularly go back and practice previous kata, because he says that if you can't get Kihon or Heian Shodan correct, what's the point in learning anything else?

I agree. Thre isn't just 'one' set bunkai for each movement. A lot of it is open to each karateka's interpretation. There'a always new ways to look at a kata.

I can see McDojo-ism happening in a lot of martial arts the way things are going. There's thousands of McDojang TKD clubs since TKD became an Olympic sport, to the detriment of the genuine and respectable TKD clubs out there. Many people now consider Judo just to be a sport and not a martial art any more. The Chinese government is pushing for WuShu to become an Olympic sport (cue dumbing down of a once-effective system) and I read last week that one of Roger Gracies goals is to see BJJ as an Olympic event. I've even heard that quite a 'high-up' Traditional JuJitsu-er is wanting TJJ to enter the Olympics too. What next?

Well, if you find out she's single... go and ask her out! Just because she's a fellow karateka doesn't mean that she can't have feelings or consider going out with another karateka. Good luck ShotoMan. I hope it goes well for ya! Enjoy the course too.

Yep, still here. Still trying to get that perfect ushiro-mawashi geri too!

Thankyou! I don't feel as technologically incompetent now..

Here's a link to a competition called Judgement Day that's happening in Chesterfield, UK on the 2nd May. https://www.judgementday.co.uk

Aslong as it's tied tightly enough not to come undone my instructor isn't really bothered HOW it's tied. There's only so many ways you can tie a belt, anyway, I'd have thought. Usually I tie mine the the 2nd way, as described by stl_karateka.

Yeah, if you do them every day it will be more beneficial to you than doing them every few days (or when your arms have stopped hurting!).