aefibird

Awww, thank you!!! ^blushes^

Yeah, shadow boxing is a great training technique and can give you a good work out too if you train hard enough! One combo I train with is jab, jab, reverse punch, back fist, but that's just off the top of my head, I do others as well. I usually use it for footwork training.

lol, and beware of people with the surname Mustard... (heh heh j/k)

How much?!?!?!?!? (jaw drops open in shock) £100 to take a kyu grade?? It's only £15 in my organisation, and that includes a 2 and 1/2 hour lesson beforehand too! At £100 a grade you'd have to be pretty certain that you were'nt going to fail - I bet they charge full price for re-testing too. Sheesh. No wonder Joe Public often gives martial arts a bad name with rip-off merchants like that around.

I agree that sometimes there are many people who could be called 'worthless' black belts, usually because they've come from a belt factory/McDojo type of club. However, it's always better to concentrate on your own training and try to become the best you can, rather than look at other people and think that they could do better. Sometimes students get their next belt because they've significantly improved since last grading. They may still have fairly poor technique, but if they've made a significant improvement in their own progress the instructor may grade them and pass them.

Angry White Pyjamas is also an interesting take on training in aikido in Japan. I highly recommend it to all martial artists!! You said that you were training in aikido at the moment - does your club have an excahange program/affiliation with any dojo's in Japan? As for working, you'll probably be allowed into the country for a certain period of time on a short-term tourist visa. This could be up to 3 months. If you've never been to Japan before it might be a good idea to go out there for a short period of time before moving there and getting an apartment and a job. There's no point taking a job in a foreign country, only to find you hate the place and can't wait to get home!! Not that I think you'll hate Japan, but there's always the possibility. I'd try to become at least semi-proficiant in Japanese before you go, though, especially for things like shopping. Also dojo training will certainly all be in Japanese. Good luck with the training, hope you get to Japan. Don't forget to let us all know how you get on!!

Well, maybe go back a few more times to the Lau Gar club, and see what you think of it. You've already noticed differences between LG and karate; if you can handle doing two similar yet different MA's then I'd keep going with it. If you think that doing both together might be too confusing, then it's probably best to just stick with one for the time being. You're from England - check out https://www.ukjudo.freeservers.com to see if there's a club near you that you might not know about.

Can I 'ditto' delta1's reply???

If you're sparring with a higher grade than you, maybe you could mention to them that you haven't sparred much at all and so could they take it slowly with you at first? I'm sure they'll understand; everyone has been a beginner!! Keep practising at home. Visualise yourself in a sparring situation and try to think what you might do. For example, if your opponent steps forward with an oi-tsuki punch (lunge punch) to the stomach, imagine yourself stepping and blocking smoothly and easily and countering their technique. Visualisation might sound a bit wierd, but it can work. Also, thinking about karate techniques can't harm you - the more you think about it, the more you should begin to understand it. Also, try practising at home moving out of the way of an imaginary opponent. If you're rigid and stiff and stand on one spot then it's more likely that your opponent will make contact with you. Another good thing to remember is breathing. Try doing some relaxing deep breathing excercise before you practice, as incorrect breathing will make you more tense and rigid. Good luck with your training and DON'T GIVE UP!!

Good luck with your training, Steinhauers! I'm sure you'll get your black belt some day. Don't forget to tell us all when you do!!

You can just 'show up' and train in Japan. I was reading a magazine article the other day about a Shotokan black belt who went on holiday to Japan and just decided one day to go train with the JKA Hombu dojo. It sounded as though he was made welcome and that any grade was accepted to train there - a person doesn't have have to be a Dan grade. However, all the classes are in Japanese, which is a problem if you don't speak the language (or at least know someone who does). As Tommarker said, what attracts you to training in Japan? You don't state which MA you'd want to train in over there (karate? aikido? ju jitsu? etc). Also how lon would you want to stay there for? If you're serious about going to Japan to train, then I'd suggest contacting the Japanese embassy in the US. Also, if you know someone at your dojo (you don't say if you're training currently) who has been to Japan, then squeeze every possible piece of info out of them that you can get!! Going to a foreign country, especially if you're planning to go on your own, can often be a daunting thing. Make sure you're fully prepared before you do go to Japan. Good luck.

Yeah, have a look. If you want a bit of variety in your training I'd say 'go for it!' Go and pay a visit to the Lau Gar club and have a chat to the instructor there. Just make sure that you're not trying to learn too much new stuff at once - it's better to keep going over the same techniques again and again rather than rush to try out all sorts of different moves. Good luck with your training!

Yes, it's possible to fail. I know of one guy who failed his black belt test (under a famous Japanese sensei) 5 times!! It's always wise to remember that, just because an instructor has invited someone to test for their next belt it doesn't automatically mean that they will pass. However, instructors don't/shouldn't generally put people in for the grading that are most likely going to fail it. Congratulations on passing your grading, HellBurner!

I may be wrong about this, but I'd think it wouldn't be very likely for there to be any well-known McDojo fighters because techniques taught in McDojo's are that weak and watered down that they would be easily defeated by someone whoi has trained properly. It's the 'guaranteed black belt' that many McDojo's offer that really annoys me. grrr... Most martial artists work their butts off to get a black belt and then the martial arts are just cheapened by McDojo's that hand them out like sweets. I know that a black belt is only a black piece of cloth and that it is dedication and skill that count, but most people work d*mn hard to get their black belt and I think that it is unfair that someone with only a years training can be considered at the same grade as someone who has trained hard for many years. Plus, many people outside martial arts see the black belt as the 'be-all-and-end-all' of martial arts training and if someone has been given a black belt with a year or less of training then they're still gonna be considered as a skilled martial artist by Joe Public, even if they'd probably get their butt handed to them by a lower grade from a decent club.

I agree. I think that it would do many people good to train more with lower grades. It helps to improve basic technique no end!

What's wrong with saying the pledge of alleigance? I'm not American and therefore have never said the pledge ('cos we don't have anything like that in the UK), but I see nothing wrong in respecting the flag of your country and demonstrating that respect. Martial arts place a lot of emphasis on respect and loyalty and saying the pledge is one way of showing small children this.

IMO, his problem is basically that he was beaten by her and can't take it... I agree that he should have a chat with the head instructor, though and see if the 'no water' rule is one that just the black belt has come up with or if it is a rule for the whole dojo.

yeah, it is obvious. I was trying to think of someplace else apart from the groin!!

This doesn't show you how to tie a belt, but it's a good cartoon about belt tying. http://www24.brinkster.com/thecyberdojo/beltkata.html If you're unsure about tying your belt correctly then maybe ask your sensei or a higher grade to show you how they tie theirs. Don't be embarassed about it, we've all been beginners!!

One kata that always affects me is Unsu. I don't really know it yet, but watching my sensei perform it I'm always impressed by it. A 'turning point' kata for me was Nijushiho. Short but effective and it got me thinking a lot more about how I perform my other hata.

Try and breath in and out with each technique, but don't force yourself to do this if it doesn't feel natural to you or comfortable. Build up to it by breathing in on one technique and out on the next until you can breathe naturally in and out on each technique. Your index finger should touch the floor slightly with the push ups. Don't try and 'force' it not to, as you could damage your hands.

Well, my sensei says that it takes about 2 years to learn how to punch correctly in karate, so I would imaging that, yes, that many repetitions of a technique are needed. As aes had demonstrated, being able to 'do' a technique and actually 'getting' a technique are two different things. Something relatively simple like a basic upward block would be able to be done after a couple of dozen times of practice, but being able to do that technique naturally and without thinking about it is another matter entirely. It's always a good feeling when your body does a technique naturally!

My dojo has about 25-30 students, but there's usually only a max of 15 there at anyone time, due to the way the weeks' lessons are arranged (eg, beginners, black/brown belts etc). I think that larger dojo's can be a good thing, but it is often very difficult to ensure everyone gets full attention from the sensei and/or assistants. Also, I once read on a karate website (it might have been 24fightingchickens) that "Sensei's are human and have favourites. Get over it." Basically, even if an instructor tries to be impartial there's probably one person or a group of people that he/she favours and will concentrate on a little bit more. Plus, some students need extra attention from the instructor. For example, it's more likely that an 8th kyu will need more assistance with a technique than a 6th kyu. It is a bit of a delicate balancing act trying to make sure that all students needs are catered for. I'm not a karate instructor, but I do teach the beginner clas (under supervision of my sensei!) and sometimes it would be dead easy for me to concentrate on one particular student in a lesson because that student is struggling. However, this wouldn't be fair to the others, so I have to try to balance out the needs and abilities of all the students in the group.

It's generally a bad idea IMO to compare yourself to another student or group of students, especially those you don't know. At the lower kyu grades you're certainly not gonna find perfection of technique. Heck, you don't find perfection from many dan grades!! lol, that includes me more than anyone. There's always areas where people can improve their technique. As equaninimus wrote, students are often graded as to how much they have improved since last testing. So, even if someone is the same belt as you but has 'worse' technique, it doesn't necessarily mean they shouldn't have that grade. They may have improved a 100% since the last time they graded. Yes, I think it is possible that a sensei would take it on themselves to not have any 1-on-1 time with a student. 'Belt factory' clubs would be a good example of this, where the instructor just cares about getting people through gradings (to get the $$$/£££), rather than ensuring that students have good technique. Also, some dojo's are very large and it would be nigh-on impossible for the head sensei/instructor to be able to concentrate on everyone in the club 1-to-1. I think that the emphasis of the club can also have a lot to do with how well students perform certain techniques, kata, etc. For example, a sport-karate orientated club may concentrate less on kata than a more traditionally based club. My instructor is very 'hot' on basic techniques and we concentrate a lot on those in my dojo. Students from my club always get comments, whenever we go to association events, about the good quality of basic techniques. However, because we tend to sometimes concentrate more on kata and kihon than kumite other clubs would maybe look 'better' at kumite than my club. It just depends on the outlook of the sensei. After all, he/she is in charge, so students have to concentrate on whatever sensei wishes! That was a very long-winded way of saying that not everyone can excell at everything in karate; there are usually weaker spots and stronger aspects in everyones training. Concentrating on one's own training and trying to improve faults is the way to go, even if you do privately think that 'that guy with the belt above me sucks!!' lol, I've rambled on a bit there...

Congratulations on your new baby! That's really cool.