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Hi Emerson! Welcome back to KF. I hope you'll enjoy it here.

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Hi glenncof! Welcome to Karate Forums! I hope that you find the info you are looking for. There are several kempo practitioners use this site, and I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help! It might be worth your while posting yout query in the Karate section of this site, as most of the Kempo posts tend to be in that section.

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Hi June1, welcome to the wonderful world of martial arts! I'm glad that you're loving your karate training... you're becoming a karate addict like the rest of us!! :lol: I started karate a little over 5 years ago and I'm now the assistant instructor for my karate club. I love karate so much that I wanted to explore other martial arts. I've trained in Aikido and I currently train in Wing Chun, both of which I also love as well as karate. I've changed SO much since starting MA. As well as the obvious health and self-defence benefits, I've grown a tremendous amount in confidence - I'm no longer a shy, retiring person!! I suffered from an eating disorder and depression from many years and martial arts has helped me to break free of that. MA has also given me new friends - my dojo buddies are like my family. Cheesy, I know, but true. Anyway, I could ramble on for hours about why I LOVE martial arts, but I'll let someone else have a turn. lol

My karate instructor is a sweet and lovely man but he is also the untidiest and most forgetful person on the planet. He once went on holiday for a week and got back to discover he'd left both the electric oven AND the iron on. Another time he was cooking some food in a wok, went into another room to do something and forgot about the food. He then went out and came back about an hour later to find that his next door neighbour had called the fire brigade because Sensei's kitchen was full of smoke. I'd hate to think of the state of my house and the state of my sanity if I had my Sensei living with me!

Not as far as I know. My knowledge of Shinto Ryu is very limited and is based mostly on the description of the art in a martial arts book that I have. It seems to be a mostly no-gi "reality based" and "street" style of karate, although they do incorporate some kata training. The book doesn't mention the lineage of where Shinto Ryu was developed from. It also seems to be more popular in the UK than in the US. Sorry I can't be of further help. I hope that I'm not presenting you with incorrect information...I'm just passing on what I know!

Well, as the Goju people will advise you to take Goju and the Shotokan people will advise you to take Shotokan... it has to be your decision. I train in Shotokan-based karate, but I've done a little Goju training too, which I enjoyed. There are similarities and differences between both of them, but both are excellent styles and suitable for beginners to the karate 'world'. As for choosing which one to pick... go along to each club and have a few lessons (not just one, as you'll get a better 'feel' for each club if you have more than one lesson there). Think also about factors such as training costs, location of the school and the amount of times you will be able to train. Good luck with your decision! I hope that you find a MA that is right for you.

I got... 1. Aikido (a good choice for inclusion as I've trained in Aikido) 2. Jiu-Jitsu (we incorporate a little JJJ at my karate club) 3. Tae-Kwon-Do 4. Doce Pares 5. Judo (also incorporate a little Judo in our karate training) My 'main' arts were at #11 (Shotokan) and #19 (Wing Chun) respectively. Hmm, maybe its telling me I oughta be into grappling more??

Cool clip opnek! Congrats on your first place, too!

'course we care!! Good luck in your tournament. Try to relax and breath evenly. Practice some deep breathing excercises before you perform your kata. If you are too tense and nervous then you won't perform a good kata. Also, if you make a mistake try not to show it on your face. A member at my karate club once entered this tourney and made a huuuuuuuuge mistake in his kata. However, he kept going and finished well. He endd up coming first, as the judges liked his determination and concentrated. Also he finished his kata with a look on his face that said "that was the best d*mn kata that you ever saw, so you'd better gimme a trophy!" Make sure you drink plenty of water beforehand - it's important that you don't get dehydrated. Most important of all, have fun!!

In my karate dojo we train to kick to the legs. However, we don't do that much competition sparring. When members from my club enter competitions they tend to enter the kata division more often than kumite (point sparring). Seen as my dojo is a bit of a hybrid of different styles, and we use techniques and tactics from all styles, I'm probably not the best person to ask about point sparring. We were doing a little full-contact sparring this evening in training and I got my ear busted open by a hard punch - I "got my opponent back", though, and whacked him in the face and bust his lip open. Just another day-to-day training session at the Swinton bloodbath! lol On a side note, to all those kyokushin karateka - is it common for you to enter point sparring competitions as well as knockdown/full contact? I ask, because I was at a point-sparring tournament on Sunday and there was a large kyokushin contingent there (couldn't miss 'em - they had the word KYOKUSHIN emblazoned across the backs of their gi's in red).

Make sure you practice well beforehand! Try searching on google for videos or websites that have tips on breaking. Sorry, I can't recommend any sites, as we don't do breaking at my school and I've only ever done it a couple of times. I agree with the other posters, though... aim to go through the board with your technique, rather than have your fist just hitting the top of the board. Good luck!

Well, I have several tattoos, so I personally think it's a great idea! I have the Japanese script for "shotokan karate" on one arm, with a sillhouette of a karateka doing a kick underneath it. I agree with Rich about having "themes". I have a few tribal tattoos, as well as my martial arts ones, but they're in a separate place to the martial arts ones. My main 'theme' for my tatts is that they are all in black or grey. I was tempted by a dragon design that I saw in a book a few weeks ago, but it was in red, which wouldn't have fitted in with my other tattoos. I'd have had to have had that tattoo in a completely separate place entirely - probably legs or lower body as I haven't got any tatts there (yet!).

lol! "and now, as part of the ultimate blackbelt test, here's Noob with his 'breakfall down the stairs whilst on pain medication' technique!"

lol, good story!

Try these: Richard Amuzu's Karate Guide Shotokan Karate Database Karate on the Web Shotokan Karate For Everyone The Cyber Dojo Wonder Okinawa Karate Database Karate Resource (this website is run by a Karate Forums member, AngelaG)

Yes, as well as abdominal excercises such as crunches, you need to add cardio workouts to your fitness programme. This could include jogging/running, power walking, swimming, skipping, cycling, stair climbing etc etc. Training in cardion will help you to lose weight from around your stomach and hip area. No, I've not heard that wearing tight elastic or dresses would affect your physical structure or build. However, what you eat will affect your build. If you are trying to lose weight from your stomach then you need to cut out fatty and sugary food from your diet. Eat more fruit and vegetables, lean meat and carbohydrates such as boiled/steamed rice (not fried), pasta and baked or boiled potatoes. Cut out sugary drinks and have plenty of water each day. Good luck!

You'd think someone else coming out with a confession like that would make me feel less insane but.. nope. It's the way you have to jerk to innocent attention if someone comes in unexpectedly! Yeah, and try and pretend that punching air in the toilet is a perfectly natural thing to do! lol Personally I've found that my work bathroom is the perfect size to practice the Tekki kata series.

Hope you feel better soon Noob!

Hi jarrett! Welcome to KF. I'm glad that you're enjoying your karate training and that you've found it is making a positive difference to your life. Keep going!