aefibird

Very true. The amount that one person pays out each month for MA classes might be way, way more than someone else is willing to pay. However, if that first person is happy and fulfilled in the MA school that they're training at then their return over investment is a good one. It's always worth remembering that what Joe gets out of MA might not be the same as what Mary gets out or Bob. However, if Bob and Mary can only do basic beginner techniques but are happy they're much better off than Joe, who might be able to do a complicated spinning jump kick but who is unhappy with his school.

Reminds me of the saying that "to make a small pile of money from martial arts you need to start with a large pile of money..." Karatelok, good luck to you if you are thinking of opening a martial arts school! I hope that it is sucessful.

No probs! BTW, welcome to Karate Forums! :)

What is that in US currancy? About $5 dollars for adults. It's the same as what I pay for karate lessons.

Well if you really are serious about your new style and you believe it would be effective, start out by finding a friend to teach it to - perhaps someone in your current MA school. If the person has MA experience then they'll be able to tell you the good and bad points of the style. Be prepared to take criticism about it - if you're still refining it it will be nowhere near perfect and you'll need to spend many many years on it developing and tweaking it in order to have a system that you could teach professionally within a MA school.

For folks in the UK who want translations and good quality embroidary, I recommend Karate Kid.

Good tip, thanks! I'll have to try that. Kicking above waist height with a side kick is my weakest area and one that I'm really looking to improve on in 2005.

What's your favourite form(s) that you use when entering competitions? I like Jion, Kanku Dai and Rohai for when I enter MA competitions.

Well done to all who went! A friend that I know through karate was part of the GB mens team.

It's probably something that has been created for Fist of the North Star, although I am happy to be proved wrong about it. I've never heard of Hokdoshinkan before.

Coming joint first in a sparring tourney this year without even having to fight was pretty memorable! My first 2 matches I was automatically through, as my opponents didn't show. In my third match I was against a lady that I've beaten several times before - she pulled out when she saw she was drawn against me (which I was disappointed about - if the situation had been reversed I'd have given it a go, just to try and even up the scores a little!). The fourth round was the fight for the 1st and 2nd places. However, because the competition was running waaaay overtime AND because one of the judges had been called away the competition organisers asked if me and the other competitior would mind sharing first place. That way, they could get another category onto the area and also not have to go hunt for the missing judge. We didn't mind - we both thought it was cool, and much better to have 2 winners, than one winner and a loser. In one sense, that's what MA competitions are about.

Cake? Cake?? There's cake about?? Lead me to it! I love a good party!

Have a look round your area and see what is available. If you give us a list of the martial arts in your location then we'll be able to tell you a little about each one. As for starting MA, there's other things you need to consider, such as location of the school in relation to your house, price of training, size of the school, whether you'd just be training with those your own age or with all ages together etc etc. I'd suggest for you to see if you can have a couple of trial lessons at each of the MA schools that you're interested in. Find out how much it costs per month, if there's a contract to sign, how much for any testing fees, if you have to have a specific uniform with the schools logo on it, etc. Also, ask how many classes per week you can take - a school that charges (for example) $60 per month but only lets you train once a week won't be as good value as one that charges $80 per month but lets you train 3 or 4 times a week. Finally, and this is important, it isn't the style of martial art that matters - it's the instructor. Better to train in a small MA school with poor facilitiesbut a great instructor than to train in a large well-equipped school with an instructor who doesn't really know what he is doing. Check out any potential instructor's background: How long has the instructor been teaching? How long has he been training in the style he teaches? Has he trained in lots of other styles (a possible warning sign if so - he might have not stayed with each style long enough to have a good grasp of it)? Is the instructor or school registered with any organisation (not that is necessarily a bad thing if they aren't - some MAists don't believe in organisations)? Also, if the school is one that has gradings and belts, find out the average length of time to get to blackbelt. If they reply that it takes about 2 years or less, then it's probably a "belt factory" type of MA school. Good luck with your search for a martial art! I hope that you find something you like. Let us know how you get on.

Hi Matt! Good luck for your brown belt test!

Is it only open to MAists in the US or is it for anyone, regardless of location?

Try emailing or phoning the sites that won't sell Sai and ask them why not - If they won't sell them to NYers then they must believe they have a good reason for it - no store/shop would want to exclude potential paying customers if they can help it.

If you train in Martial Arts already, then ask your school owner. If not, see if a local instructor will spare some time to chat with you about the legalities of running a martial arts school. Good luck with your project!

I think it is OK to buy presents for your instructor. A couple of people I know buy their Sensei a small gift when they pass a grading or (in one case) when they passed their black belt. I didn't particularly buy my instructor a gift when I passed my Shodan - but I did take him and his partner our for a meal where the celebratory beer flowed freely. As for prezzies, I got a few from my junior students. Like Angela, I was hoping for chocolate, but not all of them were. Sigh, I'll just have to work harder on my "buy me chocolate for Christmas" campaign next year!!

In my karate dojo we have a girl who was born with part of one arm missing. We also have several students with asthma (both myself and a man who is an ex-coal miner have chronic asthma). One lady who trains at my dojo is also obese, due to medical reasons (rather than overeating). Sensei himself suffers from vibration white finger and an on-going back problem. There's also the usual collection of bad knees/backs/ankles/etc We just adjust to the training as we can. Sensei knows our limitations. He also knows when people are putting effort in. As he himself says - he'd rather teach a student who was putting in 100% effort but getting it wrong, rather than someone who was just doing enough to get by and getting things right.

I don't think that they should. However, some styles are more geared towards competitions fighting than others, so students should be aware of the competition-based focus of any art/school that they want to train in before they start to train there. I think that competitions can be a good thing for some students - increasing confidence is one benefit for example, but if a person really, really doesn't want to compete they shouldn't be forced to IMO.

Absolutely! Great advice - so true.

Well, it's good to have you here telsun!

Good luck for when you next grade Fish. I hope that you don't have an attack of the nerves again - I know how bad that can be and how it can affect your karate.

Sorry... I haven't...

Rohai/Meikyo I like the tempo of this kata Unsu For the applications Wansu The stances and movement in it Heian Yondan (my fave of the Heians) Hey, I just like it! Enpi (the free-choice kata I performed for my Shodan) This one is special to me as it took me ages to nail this kata. I deliberately chose this one to work on for Shodan, as I felt it was my weakest kata out of the list of free choice kata Other kata I like but don't know too well are Kururunfu Seipai