aefibird

Excellent post! Aravis, the best way to find out about all 3 martial arts you listed would be to go and train in a couple of classes at each school. Then you can decide which would be the best for you. Good luck!

I'm going to move this over to the Equipment forum.

I'd say to got for it! I found that too. Using Sai has also helped my wrist and forearm strength.

...as long as you leave some of those for the rest of us!

...and have they signed them up to your dojo yet and bought them their first gi??? Get 'em involved with MA right from the start!! lol

Excellent post Grenadier.

I do agree with you, but please remember that not all people who train in martial arts do so primarily in order to be able to survive in a "real-life" self-defence situation. These days a lot of MAists train solely for competition or simply for fitness.

Oh yes, happy birthday to you for Jan 31st! :bdaybiggrin:

I'd love to, but New Orleans is a little far away for me... I've always wanted to go to Mardi Gras in NO, though, so one day...one day...!

Sounds like it was indeed a great MA year for you and your family!

Good luck for when you test!

Great!

I agree with ninjanurse's view - all those are important when performing a kata or watching someone perform one. Also, the person has to look comitted to what they're doing - watching someone who is performing a kata with correct strength and execution of technique is all very well, but if they're ruining it by only looking half-a$$ed about what they're doing then it'll ruin it. I know that will come under the heading of Focus, but I just wanted to make the point that a persons face can say a lot about how they feel about the kata. In competition that can be the difference between winning and losing too. As for watching someone perform kata, I always enjoy watching my Sensei practice. His technique is amazing.

Congratulations Myst! Well done to you!

I always feel a little wierd going into the school that is owned by the head of my association. Although I know quite a few people there, I do feel a little strange, until I start training, then I'm OK.

Yes, Japanese (traditional) Ju-Jitsu. Just out of interest, where are you from Nick?

Hi ElSteve! Welcome to Karate Forums. Good to have you on board.

Hi Khan! Welcome to Karate Forums. Good to have you on board.

Good to have you on board.

I have very poor ankle flexibility. I stretch every day and try and concentrate on loosening them up. However, my right ankle is particularly poor, as it is affected because of an on-going knee problem I have - the knee-cap is twisting over to one side which is placing strain on all my lower right leg. My physiotherapist (that I see about my knee problem) says to keep going with the stretching, but I'm looking for some tips to improve the flexibility in my ankles and descriptions of and pictures of stretches, just in case there's any out there that I haven't tried! For additional information, I have a lot of scar tissue on the top of my left foot, because of a major operation on it when I was a child. I get a lot of pain in that when I stretch. It affects the tendon too, as the surgeon had to cut through it and reattach it. Any tips gratefully recieved!! Thanks.

Try and do some cardio excercise at least 3x a week - swimming, jogging/running, cycling, etc. Add push ups and sit ups/crunches to your training program too, along with weights. Start out slow and build up gradually. Try and aim to do some form of excercise every day. Stretching everyday will help you when you go back into the dojo again. Remember, it's better to stretch when you're warmed up, so do something to get you warmed up before you do any stretches. Even just jogging on the spot for a few minutes will help. As for your diet/eating plan, set yourself small goals and reward yourself everytime you reach one. It doesn't have to be anything major, just something you enjoy. If you lose 2lb in a week then treat yourself to a new CD as a reward, for example. Setting yourself targets for weightloss and having 'incentives' to hit them will help you stay on a healthier diet better than simply declaring that you're gonna cut out all soda and chips and chocolate etc etc. Your body will feel deprived and you'll be more likely to go back to your old ways of eating. Good luck!

They're a good thing to have IMO. We have a couple of them at my dojo that we use fairly regularly. You can do all sorts of excercises with them, although like m-a said it'll be a good idea to get a book to go with it. Even better, see if you can find someone who has one who can show you what to do.

I'd say to wait until you were a brown or black belt before training in another style. However, cross training can be beneficial at earlier stages as long as the two MA's that you are studying are so different that you couldn't get them mixed up. What evrer you decide to cross-train in, good luck!

Great article! I especially like the quote from The Book of Five Rings - one of my favourite MA texts.

Thank you!