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Well, if you enjoy the Kung Fu at that dojo you've found then... go for it! Train hard and listen to what your instructor tells you and I'm sure you'll do really well with it. You may be able to find and switch to a Jeet Kune Do dojo when you get a bit older and have had some experience with Kung Fu. If your mum stopped you training last time because you didn't practice...well, this time prove her wrong and make sure you get plenty of practice in!! As for the other situation, there's never a 'good' time to fight. Try and stay away from the guy who wants to fight you if possible. I know it may be a difficult thing to do, but you'll not be doing yourself any favours if you get into fights and trouble. Good luck with your Kung Fu training!

Yes, I'd say that having a chat with your sensei would be the best way to solve this. He might not realise that you're feeling 'questioned' about your rank. If he's allowed you to train at your current school with a BB, then he obviously has no problems with you wearing it. I know that belts don't matter and that it is technique and ability which do, but if you've earned your belt then you should have to put up with someone from outside your club questioning you about your rank - especially if your Sensei doesn't know! Train hard and I'm sure that the others in your club will respect you for your skill, even if you do have to wear a white belt again for a short while. Good luck, I hope you manage to get everything sorted out.

A TKD instructor that I know once said to me that "Martial Arts aint a democracy!!" After all, if you move to another school you are agreeing to abide by the rules and regulations of that club. If you move to a new school and become demoted then it is very tough, but I think that it shows the sort of mental strength that martial artists ought to have if they can cope with being demoted and show dignity about it. Generally, though, I think most instructors are sympathetic to students who have come from other styles and try to encourage them without demeaning what they've done before. We had a bloke come to join my Shotokan dojo about 18 months ago. He was a 1st kyu in his old karate system (I can't remember what style it was) and he volunteered to go back to white belt again. He'd been along to watch a few lessons and realised his karate was very different from ours. My sensei offered to let him stay at 1st kyu, but warned him it would be a long time before he could test for black, or offered to demote him to 3rd kyu if that's what Steve (the guy) would prefer. However, Steve insisted that he wanted to go back to white belt, which I thought was a great attitude and showed he wanted to learn a new system and get it correct from the start. He's managed to work his way back through the kyu ranks and is now back at 1st kyu again and is looking forward to testing for black!

Great article! There's some very good points in there about switching MA schools. Good luck with your grading for red belt, I'm sure you'll pass it with flying colours - and your black belt too!!

You coukd also look at how long she's been studying Jujitsu and the effect it has had on her life, especially as she's only 18. Good luck with your project!!

If your sensei /school uses Osu a lot then it is probably best to 'go with the flow' and say whatever your sensei says. Just remember that using Hai instead of Osu is more correct and if you want to use Japanese terms then, like KotegashiNeo wrote, Onegashimas and Domo Arigato Gozimashita are the correct terms to use. If is serious doubt then stick to English, or your native language, if you don't understand Japanese well enough. If all else fails, don't say anything!!

IMO, it isn't possible just to learn karate through the internet (or books or videos or whatever). Really, you need the experiance and guidance of a good sensei. At least with this sceme you can only acheive low kyu grades online. That doesn't necessarily make it right, but at least it reduces the number of useless blackbelts that there are out there if you can't get a blackbelt with this course online. I've always heard that World Oyama Karate is a good place to learn karate. Please lets not turn this into a style bashing thread!

Tell 'your friend' to tell his friend to wear groin protection next time!! As long as you(r friend) didn't kick him in the groin on purpose then I'm sure that you(r friend) will be forgiven. Accidents happen, even with the best fighters in the world. Sensei might view it as lack of control, but a martial artist can't expect to be perfect from Day 1. Control and timing is something that comes with practice (although I wouldn't recommend kicking someone in the groin to try and learn about control and distance!!) Happy training.

Good luck with your training in Kyokushinkai! I'm sure you'll really like it. As for wearing a white belt again... you'd have to ask your instructor about that. He may want you to start from white, or give you a higher grade or may even let you wear your black belt. Kyokushin is different from Shotokan but IMO it's a good thing to train in other styles. It can only help your martial arts to get better.

Hi Welcome to the forum! I love all kinds of music, but rock, metal and punk are my favourites.

Maybe you could ask around at school/college/work (sorry, I don't know how old you are!) and see if anyone you know does a martial art. Even if you think that no-one you know does MA you might be surprised. Where I work we once had a 'fancy dress' day to raise money for charity. I went dressed in my karate gi and discovered that 3 other people where I work also do martial arts. Try a search on google and look for info on martial arts that you're interested in. If you find some clubs in your area that sound good then go along and watch a session or two and maybe try out. Don't be afraid to ask the instructor lots of questions!! Good luck in your search.

I'd still suggest that you see a GP or a nurse. Make sure you're not training until your finger is fully healed or you could damage it even more.

Good luck with your grading! Keep practicing your kata and I'm sure you will do great with the test.

A zen master called Dominoes to order a pizza. He said "Make me one with everything". (groan) The same zen master also gave the pizza delivery guy too much money. When he asked for change the delivery man replied "Change comes from within". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ How many karateka (or other martial art of your choice!) does it take to change a lightbulb? 15,000 - One to change the bulb and the other 14,999 to stand around saying "Well, in MY dojo we do it slightly differently." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you're using a jo and a bokken at the same time you must be jokken... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Why do we call it a hakama? A: Cause tough guys are always asking "Hakama gotta wear a skirt to learn how to fight?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Did you know that Bob the Builder has opened his own dojo? He called it... Yeswekan! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The zanshin joke Two guys are walking down a road. One walks into a bar... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How many non-martial artists does it take to change a lightbulb? None - they all live in eternal darkness. (ooh, that's lame. sorry) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And finally... How many 1st Dan black belts does it take to change a lightbulb? One - they hold the bulb and the world revolves around them...

Hmm, tell me about it. Surely there's gotta be a bit better design for gi's than the usual?!?!? One day I'm gonna design the perfect gi and make a fortune out of martial artists everywhere!

if you 'penetrate' and aim to go through your target with a punch or a kick it will do far more damage than if you 'bounce off the surface'. Here's an idea for senior students = pick a lower grade that you don't like much and hit them repeatedly with both 'bounce' and 'follow through' punches. Then get them to tell you which hurt the most... J/K PLEASE don't try that! Seriously, if you aim to go through your target then it will cause more damage than only attaching the surface of it. For example, a needle stuck in the end of your finger would do more damage if it was pushed deep than if it just scratched the surface. It's the same with punch and kick attacks.

That's why I don't agree with child black belts. My point about being given/awarded belts is that it is a recognisable award for acheivement and understanding. If there isn't understanding then no belt should be awarded.

I wouldn't recommend learning any style from a book. You need someone to be able to correct you and help you in your training. Books are great for reference and seeing techniques represented pictorally, but not as a textbook to learn from. TLynne, what art were you thinking of learning?

My organisation (the FSK) holds gradings every 3 months at a central grading site for the North of England. However, most students don't tend to grade every time. It's usually about 6 or 9 months between grading, although my instructor will only allow someone to grade if they're ready - regardless of how long they've been waiting to grade.

I'm double jointed too and one guy at aikido always complains when we partner up to practice techniques because he says that what works on all the other 'normal' people in the club doesn't get any effect on me!! lol I'm so double jointed in my hands that I can bend my wrist so that the back of my hand (the knuckles) touches my forearm. It's not really usefull but it makes a great party-trick

Anyone know of a website that has good martial art desktop wallpapers? Thanks!

I love Akira Kurosawa's films. My favourite two movies of his are 'Seven Samurai' and 'Yojimbo'. I had to write a 3500 word essay on 'Yojimbo' for a course I was taking at university. Such hardship... having to watch a great movie over and over again!!

'The Office' has just won 2 Golden Globe awards. Woo hoo! It's a great show, and horrifyingly realistic. Did anyone here from the UK see that program about real life in an office? There was a guy on there just like David Brent (main character in 'The Office'). For those who don't know 'The Office' is a comedy type series set in an office. Sounds boring, but isn't.

Hi Gina, welcome to Karate Forums!

Welcome to Shotokan and welcome to Karate Forums!