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I agree! MA is certainly now "in every fibre of my body". I get grumpy when I can't train, I think about techniques at work, at church, out shopping, heck I even practice kata in the toilets at work!! I really am a martial arts junkie. Hey, that's great! It shows the positive effect that MA is having on your life. I don't think it's funny - I remember how I felt after my first karate class. The next day I could barely get out of bed I was so stiff. But after a few lessons the stiffness and the aching and the tiredness all wore off, which I considered a 'mini milestone'. I think that martial arts are full of these mini milestones, and they're all different for everyone - such as when you can remember and perform a kata all the way through, or when you get your first grade or when your teacher tells you that your technique is good or whatever. They may not seem like much to others, but to a MAist they are important and we need these milestones to help us to keep on training and keep going. Good luck with your training jarrett!

There is a lot said these days about child martial artists, and much debate about the 'right' age at which a child should start martial arts. However, most people here agree that there is no 'upper' age limit on martial arts. It is agreed that MA's provide many physical and mental benefits, and this is why people often take up a martial art 'late in life'. There are many stories around of elderly martial artists performing difficult techniques and of older martial artists who can perform amazing feats of strength and endurace. So, my question is - do you have any elderly people in your MA school?What is the age of the oldest person at your club? Also, do you think that the martial arts are becoming more popular amongst older people, or are they still dominated by children and youngsters?

Good luck for both the tournament and your testing!

I'm going to move this over to the Health, Training and Fitness section.

Shotochem, all I can say to that is... OWWWWW!!!

Yes, go to the doctor! Better to be safe than sorry.

Yes, good luck to you. Best wishes for a quick recovery!

Thank you for the info!

Sorry, I don't know. My only suggestion is to try searching on google.

I like WWE and watch it from time to time, but personally I wouldn't consider it to be a martial art. However, I think of it as a martial "sport" and I certainly have great respect for the wrestlers - they obviously train hard and are good athletes.

To all the kenpo/kempo guys out there - do you train in forms/patterns/kata at your club? If so, where are they from? Are they taken from karate or from Chinese styles (for example) or are they forms that kenpo practitioners have developed for use in kenpo schools?

Hi Shawn! Welcome to Karate Forums.

I had a tooth out last week - I got whacked in the face at karate and it caused one of my teeth to crack and an abcess to develop under the tooth. Not pleasent. I personally haven't had to have my wisdom teeth removed, although my brother did when he was about 18 or 19. He looked like a hamster for a week afterwards and would only eat soup, milkshake or melted chocolate for a fortnight. Personally, I think he played on it for as long as possible in order to get the maximum amount of sympathy from mum and dad!

Speaking of voting... the Karate Forums Awards awards will be coming up for voting soon. But before that, we want people to nominate candidates in various categories! Please click on the link in my signature to go and nominate. Thanks! Also, please remember that we do not allow non-MA political discussion on KF - so please keep this thread politics-free. Thanks again.

Believe me you don't wanna.... As someone who has "been there, done that" then trust me - stay in your nice warm dojo this winter!!

Angela, my mum has severe arthritis in most of the joints in her body. Several years ago, she tried a 'diet'/'eating plan' (whatever ya wanna call it) by a man named Dr Dong, who devised it in order to help his own arthritis. She followed the plan for a few weeks and the difference was clearly noticable. She still follows the plan to this day (although with the occasional lapse for cream cakes ) and it has helped her arthritis to be much less painful. I can't remember the name of the book, but I'll find out for you if you like.

...although many Shotokan schools now incorporate weapons.

Yes, it's a very good thing. My karate dojo is really shotokan in name only, as we're more of a hybrid style of martial arts. My instructor works on the principle of "if it works, use it!" - no matter which MA system it comes from.

Monkey, it'd be great if you could do some stance drawings and post them on here! I think it would really help people who are following this thread. Thanks in advance.

I don't know if this is a general theme of Shotokan schools or of this is something that my instructor incorporates, due to his having trained in other styles. However, my sensei is into techniques like that and often incorporated what he calls "shock" techniques into our training. He isn't much of a believer in the 'one strike' theory common in some dojos and styles, but uses and teaches moves to take away an opponents balance and sometimes sense of direction (that sounds a bit wierd, but I can't think of another way at this moment to explain what I mean). The "check" kick to the knee, thigh or ankle is a favourite move of his, as is pushing and twisting movements designed to unbalance an opponent. I was once slammed from the middle of the dojo into the end wall, thanks to my instructor demonstrating a push technique... Actually, from what you kenpo guys have talked about, a lot of what we train in at my dojo sounds very similar to things that you all do. I don't think my karate instructor has ever trained in kenpo...but I'll make sure to ask him when I next train.

Samurai Shotokan, the best person to ask for information about Nsasho ans Shiho I is your Sensei. He will be able to tell you about the origin of them and why he teaches them to you before Heian Nidan and Heian Sandan. Some schools incorporate recently created kata (usually created by the head of that school) - Shiho I and Nsasho may come into that category.

Try AngelaG's site Karate Resource. It's a great website with a lot of good stuff on there. (you can pay me later Angela! )

Fillipino Martial Arts are usually written as FMA, rather than PMA. The Phillipines are spelt with a 'P', but Filipino is written with an 'F', rather than 'Ph' at the start of the word.

Wow, very impressive!

I'm going to move this over to the Health, Training and Fitness section.