aefibird

In my old Aikido club we used to have white belts for 7th-1st Kyu and black belt for 1st Dan onwards. My karate club has the following system. Personally I dislike it and would like to ditch the stripe belts, as I think we have too many colours and too many kyu grades. 10th kyu - white 9th kyu - orange 8th kyu - red 7th kyu - yellow 6th kyu - green 5th kyu - purple 4th kyu - purple with a white stripe 3rd kyu - brown 2nd kyu - brown with a white stripe 1st kyu - brown with 2 white stripes 1st dan onwards - black The belt system is the same for adults and juniors.

Hah hah, I see martial arts has sucked you in, just like the rest of us on here! There's no escapin' it!

In my karate school we line up from high grades to low, highest grade at the top of the line on the left. We bow to the instructor before the lesson starts and when it ends - sometimes in seiza, sometimes not.

Before I had my guard made for me by my dentist, I had a Shock Doctor mouth guard, which was pretty good.

http://www.woodendummy.net/images/chingjongmobile.jpg http://www.ukwingchun.com/assets/photos/Dummy.jpg Do you mean something like this? It's called a wooden dummy and it is a central part of Wing Chun training. They're also used in Choy Lay Fut and Jeet Kune Do. Try this website for sales and more pics of wooden dummies.

Bonner make ice bandages (you put them in the freezer then wrap them on the affected area), so you might wanna try those.

Thanks for reading, Doc. I hope that your Shotokan classes work out great for you!

If you do switch to this school, let us know how you're getting on. Good luck!

intraining, good luck for when you take your first test! Keep on practicing what you have been doing in class and I'm sure you will be fine.

I got my butt kicked by a blackbelt in my first ever poinst sparring match. I was an orange belt (just graded from white!) and I was soooo nervous. I didn't know what to expect - I didn't even know what I was doing. I did slightly better in the kata - got 4th place with my rendition of Heian Shodan. I think they gave me a trophy 'cos they felt sorry for me - I was the only lower grade adult there, all the others were brown and black belts.

I'd say that the best person to ask would be your instructor. Good luck for when you next test!

Congratulations! Nice story - with an important lesson that appearences can be deceptive.

Good luck for when you take your Nidan!

Iaido Hsing I Kalaripayatu (sp?)

Some great MA memories of 2004: A close friend of mine testing for and passing her Shodan Managing to win 2nd place in a large sparring competition without even having to fight (very long and very funny story to that one!) Earning the Senior Student of the Year award from my karate association - and one of my junior students from the beginner class I teach earning the Junior Student of the Year award. Starting Wing Chun. Winning my weapons kata category - the first time I'd entered the weapons division & I won! Having more females join my dojo - I don't mind training just with the blokes, but a bit of female company is nice now and then! And here's one thing about training in 2004 that I'd rather forget: Having my instructor do a sweep on me so hard that he chipped the bone in my ankle. Ouch!

To anyone in the UK wishing to donate money please visit: https://www.dec.org.uk

Happy New Year to all who visit KF! Hope your 2005 is a good one. Have fun and stay safe if you're off out partying tonight.

I enjoyed Christmas. Like Dean, I too ate like a pig... Sensei is making us do gut-buster killer workouts for the next few sessions, so that'll be something to look forward to.... I got a new digital camera for Christmas! Woo hoo! Aren't parents great?? :D

WOW! Well done Krunchyfrogg! Congratulations to you (and to your wife, 'cos I'm sure she'll be able to easily spend your extra money ).

Hi TexasGuy! Welcome to Karate Forums. Have you found a Tae Kwon Do school near you? If so, then see if they'll give you a set of trial or free lessons for you to take so that you can try it out. if there isn't a TKD school near you that you like, try searching for a karate or sport karate club. As for being scared... don't worry about that! Many people are scared when they first join martial arts - I was convinced I was going to be hopeless at it! See my article about Why I Love MA for further info. However, with hard work and determination I'm sure that you'll suceed. Tournaments can be very nerve-wracking things, but as long as you go and give it your best shot then no-one will be able to say anything against you. Yes, winning medals and trophies is nice, but I like entering karate tournaments for the sense of personal achievement that it gives me - I can also see where my mistakes are and try to correct them for next time. Plus, tourneys can be fun! If you have any further questions about TKD or Sport MA or just Martial Arts in general, then please don't hesitate to ask. There's a lot of knowledgeable folk on this site, so I'm sure you'll get great answers to any questions that you might have. Good luck with starting MA! I hope that you enjoy it.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas (if you celebrate it)! Hope also that everyone (including KF!) has a great New Year/2005!

Before my Aikido club shut down, we once all turned up for training, only to find that the sports centre that we trained in was locked. So, someone had the 'good' idea of doing a spot of training in the car park...which was covered in gravel. Ouch!!

We've had Bruce Lee, but no-one has yet mentioned the other 'obligatory' MA movie stars: Jackie Chan and Jet Li.... :D I'm surprised to see no votes for Seagal either...

What's your training 'resolutions' for 2005? Many people make New Year Resolutions - has anyone made any for their martial arts training? Mine is: to try and become better in everything MA-related that I do, especially when teaching classes. Specifically, my resolutions are: to keep working on my 1st form in Wing Chun and try and get it the best that I can to improve my side thrust kick in karate and to learn a kama kata with lots of application.

Doc, why not try out both schools and see which you prefer? Remember, it's the instructor that it more important than the style - as long as your inbstructor is competent, friendly, helpful and a great teacher then that's much more important than the style. Also, when considering choosing a martial arts school you have to think about other factors such as how much it costs to join, how much it costs to grade, how often you can train, how far away the club is from your house etc etc. Also, are there 'hidden extras' to pay for, such as Weapons Club, Black Belt Club etc etc? As for the uniform, you'd probably be better off getting your own from over the internet - you'd be able to get a good quality beginners uniform for less than A$140.00 Whichever martial art you choose, I hope that you enjoy it! Good luck with your training.