aefibird

Rest for a few days then try again with lighter weights. If possible, get someone to watch you and critique your technique.

Well, firstly, getting back into martial arts training will help you to lose weight. Secondly, doing cardio excercise would be a great place to start - such as swimming, running, cycling, power walking etc. Adding light weight training will also benefit you, and help with your MA training. Even simple changes to your lifestyle will help, such as taking the stairs, not the lift; cycling or walking if you're going somewhere close instead of driving or getting a ride; parking your car further away in the car park at the mall (so you have to walk further). Also, make sure your diet is a good one, with lots of fresh fruit and veg and plety of water. Cut down on fats and "bad" carbs - cakes, biscuits etc. Cut them out altogether if you can, although just reducing them will benefit you anyway. Good luck with your weight loss. It can be a very hard thing to do, so I really hope that you suceed with it. Let us know how you get on.

If you can't find MT, then kyokushin might be a good alternative for you if you don't discover a good KB instructor.

BJJ or Judo would be a good addition to WC. How about considering JJJ as well?

Do all BJJ schools use the white-blue-purple-brown-black system? Or does it depend on the instructor?

Take Wing Chun! (no, seriously)

Nice clips, thanks!

Alas, (like TKD) Shotokan does suffer from having many many instructors who are incompetent, because of the popularity of this art. Unfortunately there will always be "bandwagon jumpers" in any area of life, and Shotokan karate has its fair share of them - which only adds to the reputation of Shotokan as an outdated, incomplete and unworkable style. However, if you find a good teacher of Shotokan then it can be a great style to learn and very practical. In reality, there are a LOT of good aspects to Shotokan (such as the grappling and ground work techniques) but a lot of clubs do not train in these aspects and only do the 'stereotypical' Shotokan long low stances, chambered fists and unworkable blocking - all of which are NOT what Shotokan is about.

What MA equipment does your school own? Here's the list for my karate club: assorted gi cast-offs and belts (beginners can borrow them until they get their own) heavy bags (3', 4', 5' and 6') maize bag floor-to-ceiling speed ball gym balls excercise bike fixed weight training station (similar to what you get in gyms) lots of free weights in asorted sizes focus pads hand-held kick shields/bags Thai pads protective gear (mitts, head guards for the kids etc) medicine balls in several weights from 3kg to 14kg fixed wall bags basket balls (for use in one of the warm-ups we do with the kids) There's probably other stuff that we have, but I've forgotten it at the moment.

What MA equipment do you own? My list: several karate & a couple of judo gi and a rainbow of coloured belts to go with them MA training shoes t-shirts with Wing Chun school logo various MA training weapons hanging heavy bag homemade makiwara focus pads (pair) bag gloves & hand wraps mitts and assorted protective gear for sparring mouthguard, made specifically for me by my dentist 3-section wall bag (that isn't on the wall yet - its a Christmas prezzie that I haven't got around to putting up yet!!)

Well, in the comp, my first & second round opponents didn't show, my third round opponent pulled out when she saw she was fighting me (I'd fought her before and won) and in the fourth round (the one for 1st & 2nd place), the competition was running waaaay over time, so the organisers asked if me & my opponent would mind sharing the first place, as it meant that they would gain some time back and be able to get another event on. Plus, one of the judges had been called away, so they'd have had to have searched for another judge in a hurry. Me & the other competitor didn't mind - we thought it was cool, and much better that there were two winners, than a winner and a loser. As for the ankle - much swearing from me about that (it hurt sooo much). He apologised, but I didn't mind - taking knocks is all part of martial arts IMO. Plus, we were all wearing regular clothing & shoes/boots as we were having one of our "street" sessions. Sensei was wearing his old pit boots from when he was a coal miner, so it might not have happened had we just all been wearing our karate suits. I had a very impressive black bruise for a few weeks afterwards! I went to the doctor about my ankle and he bandaged it up for me. I just strapped it up really tight before training and carried on going to classes as before.

Good luck! I hope you find something you like.

Great pic Dean!

On a related theme, here's a website that is looking to Make Poverty History in 2005. It's a British-based site, but part of a world-wide campaign to eradicate poverty and death from preventable diseases. Please visit. Thank you.

My prayers for your Shihan. Please keep us posted!

Congratulations Master Jules!

I agree - get yourself to the docs. Good luck!

Good luck with your hip problem ncole. I hope that you get it sorted out soon! If the stretching doesn't make it any better, then go to a doctor. Better to be safe than sorry.

I'd say a sensible diet with a balanced intake of carbs, protiens and a small amount of fats is the way to go. Eat lots of fruit & veg and drink plenty of water too and you can't go wrong! IMO, a LOT more research would have to be done about the benefits and hazards of any such diet like the one you mentioned (CKD) before I would be tempted to embark on such a program. If you want to reduce your carbs then at least make sure that the ones you do eat are worthwhile - brown rice, wholewheat pasta, potatoes, wholemeal bread etc, rather than refined carbs and carb-based food with a lot of fat, such as cakes and biscuits. Good luck to you for any weight-loss program that you embark on. I know how hard it can be to cut those excess pounds - dead easy to gain them, but hard work to lose them!!

When I trained in Aikido I found quite a lot of similarities between my own Karate training and my training in Aikikai Aikido. Training in both of them at the same time actually helped to improve my grasp and understanding of both arts.

My karate school charges for belt testing. The money collected is used to pay for new belts, a certificate and to hire the cost of a large hall (we grade with other clubs from the same organisation). Any money left over is put into the club's bank account for purchasing equipment etc. Sometimes, if there's enough money in the account left over from testing fees, Sensei will take us all out for dinner with it. I don't mind paying for belt testing, because I know that my money will be used for the benefit of the students (new belts & certificates) and for the club (new quipment from any left-over money). Plus, our testing fees are very low too - lower than most of the other karate schools in my area. Testing in Wing Chun is free, but I pay more for classes.

At my karate dojo if we have a specific cardio or weights night we have music. We either just put a local radio station on (not a talk station ) or take it in turns to bring in preferred CDs. On the Thursday self-defense sessions that we have we sometimes have music on for the warm-ups. We always have music on in Wing Chun - but that's the music that filters through the wall from the pub next door. Thin walls!

They're pretty simple to build. We have 3 in my Wing Chun club and the Sifu built them all himself. As for training on it, you'd be better off getting an instructor to show you how to use one, but if that's not possible there are some good instructional videos out there. Although I only use the dummy when I train at Wing Chun, I've found it to be helpful for my karate training as well. I'd like to have my own wooden dummy one day, but until I finally finish the loft (attic) conversion that I've been working on for donkeys years I haven't got any room for a dummy... unless I could live without a dining room table or a sofa... hmm, actually....

I agree with Gloi. I've done the Shotokan version of Hangetsu and the Goju version of Seisan and I found them to be very different from each other - not that that is a bad thing. It's always good IMO to look at other styles and see how they do certain tecniques, kata etc. Learning from other styles can be very helpful and it can improve your technique and skills.

If your school holds formal belt testing, what are the minimum requirements you have to have between passing one grade and testing for the next? In my karate school, between 10th and 4th kyu the minimum time requirement is 3 months of training, minimum of 2 classes a week. Between 3rd kyu and 1st kyu the minimum time is 6 months of training, with attendance of a minimum of 3 classes a week. Between 1st kyu and 1st dan the minimum time requirement is 1 year of training and minimum of training 3 classes a week and assisting with a lower grades class each week. These are the bare minimum time and training requirements for moving between grades.