aefibird

I'm going to move this to the General MA forum, as you might get a better response to your question there. Welcome to Karate Forums Mtal!

It certainly is! Welcome to all those who are new here.

Try deep-breathing excercises before you spar. Also, sparring more often and with different ablility partners will help you to become a better fighter. Good luck!

I wear Blitz TKD shoes for training in from time to time. I find them comfortable to wear, although as Stanton has said, you'll need to wear trainer/sneaker socks with them at first, as they can rub a bit. I've also used zinc oxide tape (the white tape that rugby players often use to tape their hands) on my feet to stop slipping, especially when training in the Chief Instructors dojo - I'm sure he deliberately polishes that floor to a high shine to test the balance of students! Generally, though, I prefer to train in bare feet.

My club is Shotokan...although in practice there's a 'bit of everything' in there. There's a big JuJitsu, Judo and Okinawan influence on how we train.

Congratulations!

I do both, but only a little sport karate. My club trains mostly in 'street effective' style training, although competition entry is not discouraged. Our students tend to just enter the kata categories in competition, rather than the points-sparring. As far as kumite goes, we train in all ways of kumite. Yes, we incorporate point sparring, but not in a major way. Full contact for adults is regularly practiced, but we tend to concentrate more on self-defence/'street' applications and "what works".

I don't "know" any 10th Dans, although I have trained a couple of times with Kanazawa Sensei, who is 10th Dan. He was also my instructor's instructor for about 2 years. The highest Dan grade that I actually "know" personally would be the head of the Karate federation that I belong to. He's 6th Dan; my own instructor is 5th Dan.

Congratulations to all winners and thank you to everyone who nominated and voted!

Enjoy your visit Hudson! Let us all know how you got on and what it was like. When are you planning to go?

Hi Gungrave! Welcome to Karate Forums.

Hi ShotokanKid! Welcome to Karate Forums.

I'd suggest that you stick with Shotokan. There's plenty that you can learn between now and when you'll be eligable for 2nd Dan. However, if you're only in the arts for the belts/grades, you'd probably be better off dropping Shotokan altogether and going to another styles, preferably one that will allow you to advace faster. If you're looking for a martial art to take as well as Shotokan, I'd suggest one of the Filipino Martial Arts, or Ju-Jitsu (BJJ or JJJ would both complement Shotokan training) or Aikido. However, I think that you'd be better off sticking with what you know and trying to perfect your techniques. Staying with your chosen art, even though you can't grade, will show maturity and dedication to it. After all, you've trained for 5 years - if you gave up now, it'd be like you were throwing all your hard work and training away! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

I once saw a show presented by my 'local' (local in the sense that they're within 150miles of me!) capoeira group. Their techniques were AMAZING. It was incredible to watch - the sheer power and ability of some of those people was outstanding. I have no doubt at all that Capoeira is a martial art.

Well, welcome back Ken! Good to have you back on KF.

Please keep this thread on topic and respectful of the styles being discussed. Thank you.

Good luck with your training Emerson! I hope that you enjoy whatever MA you choose to train in.

Take it steady and build up your training slowly. It sounds to me like you overdid it.

You still need something to wash it down with! I recomend red wine- it's good for the digestion as well! lol, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!

MA is my life. I couldn't imagine not training.

It makes me sad when martial artists have to bicker over their chosen styles. MA's tend to get enough negative press as it is without the "my style is better than yours" brigade adding to it. Just because I may never train in 'style X' doesn't mean that I can't learn from it. In a thread in the karate forum SevenStar recently wrote: I thought that was an excellent point - my MA knowlege can and should transcend stylistic differences. It's good to learn from other folks. That's one of the reasons why I like Karate Forums - a lot of knowledgeable people use this site and there are always interesting and informative discusssions going on. Generally, members here are helpful, respectful of other styles and courteous - the way MAists should be!

Hi bwgreen! Welcome to karate and welcome to Karate Forums!

Shawn, when will you find out the result of your grading? I'll say "congratulations" to you now for passing your yellow belt, as I'm sure that if you worked hard during your grading you'll have passed! Sorry to hear about your back. Try to rest it as much as possible and go and see the doctor if it doesn't get better soon. Better to be safe than sorry.

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

Hi Papillon950! Welcome to the world of martial arts and a big welcome to Karate Forums too! I hope you enjoy it here.