aefibird

Keep practising moving in different directions when you block, not just straight back. If you have to move straight back, then use your feet & ankles as springs and push off from them, sort of like a 'leap' backwards, but not enough to actually physically jump out of their way, just enough to help you move at speed. My instructor always says that we should concentrate on making our blocks work for us, rather than moving too much or moving out of the way, because there may come a time when you can't move when attacked and then you'll have to rely on your blocks totally. Just keep on practising, goedikey, and I'm sure you'll get it soon!

I'm not a member of a goju dojo, but I know of at least 2 in my immediate area, one in the IOGKF. To find martial arts clubs in the UK try: http://www.martialartsregister.co.uk/index.asp http://sportslinks.info http://www.crackedfinger.com/index.shtml or try the online Yellow Pages / Thompson Directories.

If I were you I'd try and join a martial arts class, even if you only go for a couple of months or so. Even if you buy the greatest martial arts video/book/CD-ROM in the world it will still not replace a good teacher. A video can't correct technique or tell you if you're doing something potentially dangeous but an instructor can. If you wanna go ahead and train without a teacher, then I wouldn't advise trying to follow a free course over the net. With stuff like that you get what you pay for - if you're determined to do an online course then it's worthwhile forking out a bit of cash for a decent course rather than just following a useless 'ultimate self-defence' style programme just because its free. There's nothing wrong with learning self-defence from one style and staff techniques from another, but, again, you really need someone to physically show you the basics. Learning martial arts on your own at home is a difficult thing to do. As G95champ wrote

Well, my favourite martial arts site has gotta be THIS ONE, of course! I also like: https://www.24fightingchickens.com/index.html http://www24.brinkster.com/thecyberdojo/index.html https://www.playwell.co.uk (they sell martial arts stuff) https://www.meijin.co.uk (ditto) https://www.fudebakudo.com https://www.crackedfinger.com https://www.karate-kid.co.uk (they sell martial arts stuff too) http://freespace.virgin.net/jeffrey.goodwin/ (a friend of mine, this is his aikido dojo's site) https://www.red-lizard.co.uk/index.shtml (they sell cool martial arts t-shirts) https://www.martialartworks.co.uk https://www.aidan-trimble.co.uk (the head of my organisation) I'm (very slowly) putting together a website for my dojo too - watch this space!! LOL

Wow, that sounds like an amazing class! Will the 6th & 7th Dan be visiting your dojo again, sometime?

Thanks. I'll probably end up building my own site for the club, I was just wondering if https://www.masitebuilder.com was any use. I haven't fully checked it out - someone else on the net told me about it.

https://www.masitebuilders.com I've come across this site, they create websites for martial arts clubs for free. Has anyone ever used them and, if so, are they any good?

FrozenRose, I know this probably isn't what you wanna hear, but if I were you I'd try seeing if there are martial arts schools in your area. Maybe you could ask around at school or try asking at a local sports/leisure centre, classes are sometimes held in those. Martial Arts isn't really something that can be learned from a book or a video or over the internet. It can take years of dedicated practise to become proficient in martial arts, especially swordsmanship, which you obviously want to do. It's much better to try and have some classes in a martial art and practise at home as well, rather than just struggle through by yourself with a book. A book can't correct your technique/stances etc, but a good instructor will do. Try and find one! I don't know where you live, but if you're in the UK then a good club directory is https://www.crackedfinger.com or try https://www.martialartsregister.co.uk or https://www.sportslinks.info Good luck with your search.

Maybe whoever takes over after your instructor retires would keep the name in honour of the previous instructor.

There's a guy at my dojo who prides himself on seeing how long he can go without washing his gi. We wear white gi's, but it's a running joke in my school that we're gonna get Thomas a black gi, seen as he's obviously trying to turn his suit that colour! He's 19, just moved out of home and he clearly doesn't know what a washing machine is for...

I agree that practising a technique before possible having to use it in a 'street-fight' is a good thing. In my dojo we do practise using groin kicks, with opponent wearing a guard. Contact has to very light, though, even with groin protection. We're trying to get a technique right, not damage an opponents 'nether-regions'! lol And, yes, even though I'm female it can still hurt getting kicked in the groin. *eyes watering at the thought* What do you think is the 'best' or a good technique to use when attacking to the groin? I always like front snap kick, myself.

Shotokan will help you with stamina and speed training. You'll also get to learn kata (patterns). There's emphasis on low stances when practising basics in shotokan to help develop strong leg muscles - strength in low stances helps when you come to being in 'higher' stances when free sparring. However, shotokan and TKD are fairly similar in a lot of respects (techniques, etc). I don't really know a lot about TKD, so I can't really talk about that (well, not without sounding like a complete idiot, anyway!!). I think either style would be useful for you, though, and would complement what you've already trained in. I think that the best thing for you to do would be to go along and watch a lesson or two at both clubs and speak to the instructors there. Explain that you've had some previous MA experience, but that you want to try something new. Ask about fees, contracts and gradings. Also what sort of emphasis does the school have? Is it geared towards competitions and sports karate/sports TKD or is it more traditional, concentrating more on kata for example. Also, have a look at what sort of other students are there when you go. Is it mostly children? Do they have separate junior and senior classes? How often would they expect you to train? etc. You could even see if you can try out a couple of lessons at both places before deciding firmly on which one you want to pursue. I hope you find a suitable club!

Although I do prefer open tournaments, I agree that sometimes the divisions/classes/categories (call 'em what you will!!) are often wierd and hard to fathom. I went to one tournament once where there were a lot of competitiors, yet in my kata category there were only me and 2 other women, but there was a very similar kata category that was jam-packed with female competitors, some of whom were the same grade as me. The categories just seem to have been thought up at random, especially the ones for fighting. If you manage to get to a well-organised open tournament, though, it can be a lot more interesting. Plus, you get to show all the other martial artists that your style kicks butt!! LOL

I go with heavy weight. It just feels 'right' when you're wearing a heavyweight gi! I have a couple of lightweight gi's for when it's red-hot in the summer and I don't feel as comfortable in a lightwight suit.

When we were setting up the competition team from my dojo we just got warm-up suits from a small sports shop in a local village. Because it wasn't part of a group of chain store sports shops then we were able to 'haggle' and get a good deal. We also got some t-shirts printed through the shop and we got a big discount because we agreed to have the shop logo on the t-shirts as well as the name of our regular sponsor!! If you can't get a good deal from a local shop, then try the internet MA websites. MA stuff can often be cheaper if you're buying in bulk for a dojo.

I think that Open tournaments are better than ones for just one MA or branch of a particular MA. I've been to quite a few open tournaments and I prefer them to ones where the competition is just karate, or even just shotokan. There's a lot more variety and they're more interesting I think. The only trouble with tournaments in the UK is finding out about them. The biggest ones are advertised in the martial arts magazines we have in this country, but it can be a real pain in the @ss trying to find out about smaller tournaments.

Yeah, I know that you said you wern't embarassed, CrouchingTiger. When I wrote 'you' I meant the word in the general sense, not aiming at you in particular. I meant that if 'someone' was embarassed by their dojo name maybe they shouldn't be at that dojo in the first place. Sorry if you thought I was talking to you personally!

Go for it! You have to do something that YOU want to do, not what other people think you ought to do. I'm sure you'll enjoy Muay Thai - don't let others put you off. Just because you're female doesn't mean you can't train in Martial Arts and be as good as (or even better!) than men. When I was younger I always wanted to do martial arts, but my parents wouldn't let me, even though my dad and my brother have both trained in judo. Their sole reason for why I couldn't do MA was simply because I'm female. Well, after I left home I joined a karate dojo and I can now give the blokes in my dojo (some of whom are big, strapping rugby players) a good fight, and come out on top most of the time too! Good luck with your training, Spacecowgirl.

I've got several gi's (some second-hand!) but the best two I own are an expensive Tokaido gi that I have for competitions & gradings (it cost me about £100, but its worth every penny) and a Blitz gi that I wear a lot for training, although its too heavy to wear in the summer, seen as 'air conditioning' in my dojo consists of opening a window... My 'dream' gi would be one that was long in the body (ie a long 'skirt' bit on the jacket, below the belt), that stayed white and soft no matter how many times you washed it and that always stayed tied no matter what you're doing!

Great article, Sai. Well written! I'd heard of the first possible reason behind the tiger coming to symbolise Shotokan, but not the second. Thanks for sharing.

My organisation (the FSK) doesn't have specific training camps, but we do have day courses and week-end courses led by the chief instructor and/or a guest instructor. You have to find your own accommodation for the week-end courses, though, which led to 5 people from my club trying to cram into a 3-man tent last summer... The best of the courses that we have over the year is the one in December because it combines a days training (for all grades) with the Annual General Meeting afterwards followed by the Christmas fancy dress party. Training, a good argument at the AGM and a party to follow - what more could you ask from a day?!?!

Aw, why not?? I thought it was pretty good, but maybe I just need to get out more...

I don't think it seems too bad on the website - a few dodgy areas perhaps, but it's difficult to really tell what a club is like just from a website. I think the best thing to do is go along and watch a class or two and talk with the instructor.

Congratulations on your place at Leeds Uni!! Good luck with the course too. Just out of interest, what A levels did you need to get on the Japanese degree course?

I support Rotherham, firstly because they are a 'local' team (I live about 6 miles away from Rotherham) and secondly because a friend of mine was in the Rotherham rugby juniors program and I started going along to juniors matches to see him play. I also prefer union to league, too. I also go along to see Wath rugby club play (its the village where I live) and for a small village team they're actually very good. I've got to say that, though, most of them are my friends whom I was at school with and I also drink in the same pub as most of the team!! lol