aefibird

I wear a white gi for Shotokan and a white keikogi for Aikido. For my karate instructor's freestyle self defence lesson I wear a black gi or black gi trousers with a t-shirt.

We train in kata usually every lesson. Each kata usually is repeated between 5 and 10 times, although the number of kata that we do varies with each lesson. If we're learning a new kata then we keep going through it until the order of the techniques are learned by heart. Last week the black belts and 1st kyu grades learned Chinte and we spent about 3/4 of the lesson just repeating that kata.

I made my own makiwara too. It was fun to do and far cheaper than buying one. I also helped my instructor to make a couple for our karate dojo. They cost about £4-5 each to make.

Shodan in Shotokan Karate. 6th kyu in Aikikai Aikido.

I have a friend who has the exact opposite of your problem... She had trained in classical ballet, as well as jazz dance and tap for about 15 years until too much school work forced her to quit. A year or so ago she joined my Shotokan dojo and has real trouble in making the moves look like fighting movements, rather than just ballet excercies. Maybe you two could get together and trade tips?? lol Maybe you try a Chinese style to help you relax a bit more into your dance moves, instead of it being like a 'fight to music'. I'd suggest doing some relaxation excercies beforehand to try and get you in the right frame of mind for dancing, as well as lots of stretching to get you relaxed and almost 'floppy'. Just keep persevering with it and I'm sure you'll get it! Just think how long it took you to learn to do correct martial arts techniques - it's the same with dance. You'll not get it overnight but lots of practice will help you to 'get it' sooner. Good luck with the dancing.

In South Yorkshire, England where I live it is TKD that has the most clubs. In my small village alone there are 3 clubs. After TKD it is freestyle and shotokan karate styles which are also popular. There's also Goju-Ryu, Wado-Ryu and some Judo, as well as Kung Fu (Wing Chun) and Tai Chi. There are a few other styles too, but they're not very poular.

Welcome to the forums! Yes, it is possible to combine being a competitor with being a full time student... been there, done that... I'm also now combining being a MA competitor with being a part-time student and full-time worker. Sigh. Too much stuff to do, not enough time to do it in!! Just try and get a good balance btween your school work and your martial arts. If your grades drop, then maybe cut back on the competitions and training for a while. It is important to get a good education - Martial Arts competitions are happening all the time and you could concentrate more on them when you finish being a full time student. As for supplements, I take a general vitamin & mineral supplement as well as a specific supplement for joint health (knee problems and martial arts don't go together well ).

The forums. (Karate Forums) Some people call TKD "Take One's Dough" because of its supposed many McDojos/McDojangs. However, there are good and bad schools within any martial art and it is a bit unfair to single out TKD as a money-grabbing style when, as many people on these forums will testify, it has reputable clubs and is a serious martial art. I know you were asking a serious question, krunchyfrogg, and if you're looking for a new MA or MA school then it is right to ask questions about a possible new style. Good luck in your search for a new dojo, but remember there can be McDojo's in any style!!

Please can we all try showing a little respect for one another instead of just trading insults? We can't all agree on everything, so it would be good if we could all present our opinions in a reasonable manner without possibly offending anyone. Thanks.

Try ordinary cross-trainers (sneakers), as they tend to have better grip than martial arts shoes. I have a pair of Blitz MA shoes and a pair of Adidas MA shoes and both are fine, although the Adidas ones cost more!!

It depends where I am as to where I look when I bow. In my Shotokan dojo we tend to look at the floor when bowing, especially when bowing from seiza. However, whenever I visit the Chief Instructor's dojo we all look at the person we're bowing to. This is the same in my Aikido dojo. As for bowing in a social setting, well, I don't tend to do that. I generally bow to the Chief Instructor of my Shotokan association whenever I see him out of uniform, but that's hardly ever.

Go along and watch a few classes. Beware if the instructor seems more interested in just signing you up straight away than asking about you and what MA you've done before. Also, have a look at the quality of the higher grades there. I'm not saying they should be perfect, but if the black belts look like they could get their butts kicked by a white belt from any other club then watch out! The club may be more interested in just grading students, regardless of ability. If the club practices a system that you've never heard of before then it would be worthwhile doing a little research. Lesser-known martial arts systems aren't a bad thing, but they're sometimes a bit McDojo-ish - i.e. created by someone who has had a years worth of MA training and then thinks they can go run their own club and start their own style... You could also ask what sort of focus the club has, eg sports, traditional etc. This won't really help you sort a good club from a bad, but it will help you to choose. For example, if you are seriously interested in competitions then there's not a lot of point in joining a dojo that emphasises traditional training and doesn't go in for sport martial arts much. Good luck in your search!

Good luck with qualifying! Don't forget to let us all know how you get on.

Hi, welcome to the forums.

Hi, welcome to the forums!! Hope you like it here!

Hi and welcome to KarateForums! Hope you enjoy it here!

Welcome to the forum! Hope you enjoy it here!!

Here's one more I missed when typing them up. It's not very good & I apologise for it, although my Aikido instructor told it to me, so it's not my fault!! Did you hear that Old MacDonald has started his own martial art?? He's called it E-I-E-AI-DO...

Do all styles of karate have colourde belt grading systems? Obviously I know that Shotokan does and, as far as I was aware, so do other karate styles. Are there any that just have white & black belts or a limited range of coloured belts?

My karate sensei is quite strict on stances and tends to try and make us hold them for for what seems like hours, but in reality is a couple of minutes. We also occasionally have a 'kibadatchi competition' with the seniors (adults) standing in kibadatchi with a junior student on their shoulders. The winner is the person who can last out the longest. As we usually have this competition as a bit of end of class fun we're all usually too tired to keep the stance up for very long, especially if you end up with one of the heavier juniors!! One good way to practice kibadatchi or shikodatchi (sp?) is to stand in it whilst brushing your teeth. The longer that you can hold it for, the cleaner your teeth will be! lol

Just out of interest, is Osu used within any other Japanese martial arts or is it only karate? I've never heard it said at my Aikido dojo and it got me wondering if the use of Osu is limited to karateka or does its use (especially in the West) extend throughout other martial arts?

I'd suggest trying to find someone who is fluent in Japanese and who could draw out the calligraphy for you. Try and think about which part of the club and aspect of your training you want to emphasise and create a name based around that. If not, why not consider an English name? There's nothing wrong with having an English club name - it doesn't have to be in Japanese!!

Thanks!

Well done MonkeyGirl! Now... could you explain to a thick Brit just what SAT is and what you have to do for them/it? Thanks!!

I chose the 'other' option in the poll. I started Shotokan because a friend of mine started and she showed me a kata one day and I was intrigued. I went along to train and was hooked!! 4 and 1/2 years later, after 1000's of hours of training and goodness-knows how many injuries (I'm very accident prone) I've reached black belt and still only feel like a total beginner at times... I started Aikido because I wanted something that would go nicely with Shotokan. I was hoping to train in judo but I didn't like the look of the local club I went to visit and so I started Aikido with a friend of mine who has a dojo. Between being pumelled and bruised by karate and being streched into wierd shapes by aikido I'm now a walking wreck!!