aefibird

Hey, now kicking Barney's head off would be a GOOD use of a 5 year old black belt... Sorry, but I detest Barney the dinosaur.

We don't have one, but if we did it would either be "speed power" (one of my sensei's favourite sayings) or "more beer, please"...

'Empty hand' doesn't always mean literally empty - it is supposed to signify the clearing of the mind and body in preperation for training. It also signifies 'empty of any evil intent'. There are many karate clubs that incorporate weapons training, especially traditional Okinawan style clubs. However, a lot of clubs do borrow weapons and aspects from other styles too. For example, there are Shotokan clubs that train with kobudo weaponary, even though Shotokan is not a traditional weapons-based system. As for the grapplig, there is a lot of that in karate. It just depends on your instructor as to how much you do. Karate isn't just about kicking and punching, but sometimes the other aspects of it have to be 'looked for'.

Just out of interest,Practice Is The Key, why is it less to take 8th kyu at your club that it is to take 9th and 7th kyu? or was that just a typo??

Very scared... of the fact that some poor kid is gonna grow up thinking they're a competent martial artist just because someone decided they could have a black belt at age 5 or 6. I think that a child should be AT LEAST 10 before they're even considered for a black belt.

Good luck! I'm sure you'll love it at university. Don't work too hard!

Ah well, a visit to the states wouldn't be much of a hardship for me - I've always wanted to go there!

It takes about 4-5 years in my club, but that's training on a regular basis, plus practicing at home too. Just out of interest, who chose less that 3 years???

I think it depends more on the instructor and club, rather than the style. Some instructors recognise previous grades, some don't. Just out of interest, Sibylla, why are you wanting to move from Shotokan to Wado-Ryu?

Well, I went through at least 10 'put-it-in-hot-water' type gum shields and I never found one that would fit me properly until I had one made for me by the dentist. It cost me £35, which is not that much more on what I spent on the others.

I'm with the Federation of Shotokan Karate. Aidan Trimble (the first Westerner to win the All-Japan!) is the head guy. My sensei is Graham Smith, 5th Dan.

I think that if people move to a different style of the same martial art then they shouldn't automatically expect to start from the same grade that they got in their old style. It should be at the discretion of the sensei (like what happened in your case, equaninimus) and the student should respect their decision if he/she wants them to start back at white belt again in the new style. Also, taking away gradings previously earned might be a bit harsh, but I think that if someone has had a long absence from MA then they should possibly have to test again for the belt they got up to (eg if someone was a green belt and then didn't train again for 3-4 years they should maybe have to do the green belt grading again to prove they are capable of progressing up to the next level.)

I think that if you get into a fight with an average Joe, especially one who is drunk, then, yeah, s few striking techniques will probably save you. However, if you get into a fight with someone who really knows their stuff then you're in trouble if you only know striking or only know grappling! Im a karateka and I know that (even though my instructor does a little grappling with us) my grappling technique is seriously weak. Hopefully I'll never have to use my marial arts knowledge on the street, but even if I don't a good knowledge of grappling will help make me more rounded as a fighter and can only help to improve my karate. That's one of the reasons I took up aikido (I wanted to do judo but the local club looks cr*p and there's no bjj club near me...), because it will help me to develop as a martial artist. So, yeah, the point of this long and rambling post was to say that, even if you're never gonna use the skills in a real street fight, learning a grappling art if you're a striker and vice versa is a good thing IMO.

Your basic training routine sounds OK, just try adding a bit more to it as you progress. Do you practice your basics stationary or moving up and down? Maybe combine doing some on the spot with doing some basics moving back/forwards/sidewards. What martial art(s) did you used to do? If you really want to get back into training seriously again, then I'd try and find a club if I were you and train with them. Even though you're a black belt, because you've not trained for ages a few bad habits may have crept into your techniques and you might not have noticed them. Find a good instructor and he/she will help you get back into martial arts!

A guy (Neil) came to visit my karate dojo about a year or so ago now. He's a nidan in shotokan and a shodan in goju, and used to have his own club. However, he hadn't trained in martial arts for about 11-12 years. He joined my club and trains semi-regualrly with us and also trains with a local goju club too. He now wants to take his next Dan gradings soon. The head of my organisation (who will be testing him for shotokan sandan) has told Neil he has to have some one-to-one lessons, either with him or my sensei to make sure he's up to scratch for sandan. Neil hasn't said what the goju club thinks about him wanting to grade after such a long absence. I just presume they'll want him to do plenty of training before he takes his Goju nidan. IMO, I think a rank should stay with you for life. Just because someone doesn't train after they get that particular rank, doesn't mean they weren't up to standard to get it in the first place.

I agree. Kata done too quickly and without thought really annoys me. I feel like saying "that wasn't a kata, it was a glorified dance routine" It's a good 'lesson for the week', ESA-Shotokan! You gonna make this 'thought for the week' into a regular slot??

I don't think it should be a case of "full contact vs not full contact", but rather full-contact, semi-contact etc should all be used together to help with fight/sparring training. For example, full-contact fighting will really help you to know what a full power kick feels like, but semi-contact will help to develop control and distancing. Light / no contact can help develop techniques and is useful (IMO) for helping people to learn what techniques will and won't 'work'. Mixing different types of sparring is a good thing I think. Plus, doing full-contact all the time means you get to spend a lot of time with your first-aid kit!!!

Hmm, it's a bit of an odd one, that. I was thinking about it the other day, actually. I suppose that it's because people probably realise that grading isn't everything and that it's the martial art that counts. Plus, like you said, work and family and stuff gets in the way. I think a lot of people strive so hard for their first dan that it is probably a bit of a relief to not 'have' to grade again. I was speaking to a shodan that I know, who belongs to the same organisation as me, and I was asking her if she was ever going to take her nidan at some point (she's been shodan for about 4-5 years). She said no and said that she found the kyu gradings so stressfull that she'd never want to take a martial arts test again. She told me that, for her, shodan was enough. She didn't want to be an instructor or top competitor and she felt that she could keep on learning and training without having to take another exam just to get a fancy piece of paper that said she was now a nidan. I agree that someone who is, say, a 4th or 5th Dan deserves great respect for their achievement. I think also that the practice of 'awarding' Dan grades on heads of organisations, etc. is getting just a little bit silly. Where will it end? In 20 years time we'll have 'Master X' being presented with his 150th Dan if it carries on...

Hmm, maybe you ought to think about trying another sort. I've had to get my dentist to make one for me, as gumshields that seemed to fit really well when I wasn't sparring just lost all their effectiveness when I was going full whack. They tended to pop out unless I kept my jaws claped shut together (which is not a good thing to have to do). The one I've had made for me is great, and going to collect it was one of the few times in my life that I haven't utterly hated going to the dentists!!

Its certainly gotta beat the cold, dark days that living in the UK brings!! Rain again, here. ^sigh^

Well said, sriney! It's up to each person to truly know what they're capable of and when they feel ready to start MA or start a new MA.

Watching a movie 3 times?? Hey, I'll do you a job swop for the week. You can come and look after a group of children with severe learning difficulties and behavious problems and I'll watch "All Quiet On The Western Front". Although, come to think of it, that movie is deathly dull, so I'd probably want to kill myself after the first watching of it, so the job swap is off. Can you clear up a mystery for a confused Brit, please??? What's 'Econ'?? Does it mean Economics? Sorry, I'm having a "D'oh!" moment here.

A karate room - waaaay cool idea! Make it as big as you can, the less lawn there is to mow the better. Cutting the grass is an evil occupation... Think about what you wanna put in your room - do you wanna have heavy bags and stuff? If so, you're gonna need room for those, especially if you're planning to leave them hung up all the time. This is probably dead obvious, but don't forget to check out stuff like planning permission/regulations before you start building it. I'd go with a wooden floor, certainly not carpet. Too hard to keep clean for a start and too much of an 'ouch' factor if you ever want to train in bare feet. Good luck with the karate room (I'm not jealous at all, oh no... ). Can we all come and train there when its finished??

Ah well, reading long posts gives us all something to do! lol Plus, music and playing musical instruments rock!!!

ooh, there's loads I should imagine. I read once (I can't remember where, sorry) that karate was the most popular MA in the UK and that martial artists account for about 15-20% of the population. That's just a rough guess, I should imagine that it would be very difficult to accuratly record all the martial artists around. Anyway, what would you class as a 'martial artist'? Would someone who has been training for only, say, a month be counted? I'm sure they'd feel like martial artists! Or would it be restricted to people who had only been training for a certain length of time or who had reached a certain grade? Why would you feel afraid with so many black belts around, anyway? Most people who are black belts have the common sense of years of training to know to keep clear of fights and not start trouble. Therefore, the more black belts there are around, surely the less danger and trouble there should be??