aefibird

battousai, I can sympathise with you there. As a recent 'devotee' of WC I found it totally alien at first to what I've always done in Shotokan. What? No chambering of the fist? What, no horizontal-fist punching? What, not loud kiai every other minute?? I've only been training in Wing Chun for a few weeks, but I'm already starting to get used to it. Training in WC after first training in another style is a hard step to take (as Drunken Monkey has pointed out), but I'm sure that if you persevere with it then you'll soon adapt to it. I'm finding that even after only a few weeks of training I'm looking at my Shotokan techniques and re-evaluating them in the light of what I've learned so far in WC. That's not to say that what I've learned in Shotokan is wrong or ineffectual compared to WC...it's just different. Good luck with your Wing Chun training, I hope that you stick with it! (them we can be the clumsy beginners of Wing Chun together... ) >BTW, Monkey, you been to the Post Office yet?? :D

It compares to some other brands that we have here in the UK - Top Ten and Pro Force are two that spring to mind. Anyway, I think it's just a matter of opinion about sparring gear - I love Firepower gear, but someone else may hate it. I probably had a bad batch of stuff with the things I bought from Adidias - my Adidas gi tore very easily and the stitching on the gloves came undone after a week of use.

I prefer seperates.

My personal faves are Century, Blitz, Firepower, Meijin and Top Ten. I've also had gloves from Pro Force, but they split after a very short length of time. I've tried Adidas gear, but I'm not a fan, although I know of people who swear by Adidas MA equipment and won't use anything else. People like different brands - it's hard to say which is the 'best'. If you can, try out a few brands and see which you prefer, or find people in your club who have different brands of sparring gear and ask them which they prefer.

Hi Matousek! Welcome to Karate Forums. Glad you like it here!

http://art.kht.ru/kht_gallery/zas/zastavka-katana.jpg The Katana. One of my favourite weapons of all time, although carrying a great big sword around with you at all times isn't very practical and will probably get you arrested... My other favourite weapon is the Bo (and it's relatives, the Jo, the Hanbo and the Nitonbo). Basically, a big stick but very adaptable and excellent in combat. Also handy for general household sweeping if you attack a broom head to one end... lol, j/k

True, but I'm just a little picky. Even when listening to cheesy pop songs I like them to be good cheesy pop songs (if there can be such a thing!) Same with MA movies - the movie might be "Martial Arts Lite", but I still want the actors to look as if they have at least half a clue about what they're doing. Thank you Battousai, my day did pick up. Maybe it was something to do with the beers I had later... hmmm....

Yes, could it be trying to get "points" Just messin..... I gave my instructors "gifts"...but it wasn't after a belt test. Its ALL good!!! OK Hmm, good idea. Thanks, I'll mention it to my friend. I'm sure that she'll go for that, especially as it would be to benefit the club.

...it's when they ask you if you want fries with your black belt that you know you're in a McDojo...

Sorry, I don't know your friend, but I hope that you manage to locate him!

I wear martial arts shoes about half the time to train in at Karate and the other half of the time I train in bare feet. We also train on a regular basis in 'street' clothing and shoes. Techniques that people are able to do in a gi with bare feet suddenly become much more difficult for some individuals when they're wearing jeans and a sweater or a suit. I like Blitz shoes, but I've also worn Adidas in the past. The Adidas range of MA shoes are the one thing out of their martial arts range of products that I'd actually recommend. Most of their other MA gear is too expensive or too cheaply made IMO.

I'd like to come over and watch, epsecially if members from KF are competing, but I'm afraid that New Orleans is a little too far away from England for me to travel...

Hi there! Welcome to Karate Forums.

Well, good luck with it! I hope you manage it. Are you planning on just cycling England, Scotland and Wales or are you going to cycle Northern Irelend too?

Good luck with your move! Hope you're back on KF very soon.

I'd say the best Bo style would be one you could get an instructor to teach you. I wouldn't recommend simply learning a weapon from a video kit, especially if there's no one you could go to to ask if you're doing the techniques correctly. However, if that is all that is available to you (ie no weapons instructor near you) then I'd suggest that you do some research on the styles you listed and pick the one you like the sound of the most. Failing that, go with the one for just 'plain' Bo. It'll probably be the one that would be able to be adapted to be used with any other martial arts training if you ever did learn weapons from an instructor. (edited for typos)

...because life is unfair... (can ya tell I'm having a bad day today?? ) lol, seriously, though, it can be annoying to see 'famous martial artists' on screen who couldn't even punch their way out of a paper bag. Y'know the actors I mean - the ones who the non-MA public think are big action heroes, but who have little or no flair for martial arts and no real understanding of the concepts behind them.

Try adding squats and star jumps (jumping jacks) to your press up/sit up routine. Also, try varying your ways of doing sit ups too. Leg raises (where you lie flat on your back and lift your straight legs up and down together) are also another good excercise. There's also another excercise that you could do, but I don't know the proper name of it - I only know it by the name the British Marines give it, which is too unprintable! Basically, you get down on the floor in a push up position, flat hands feet together, but instead of bending your arms for push ups you keep your arms straight and 'jump' your legs forwards and backwards - bring your knees into your chest and back out again. It makes it harder if you rest both your hands on something, such as a medicine ball.

Yes, to everyone in Florida or the Caribbean - stay safe! Good luck to you and God bless.

Sorry, I've not heard of him before. However, I hope you enjoy the training sessions with him! Don't forget to share any useful tips...

...what's the .5 of an animal...

Yes, could it be trying to get "points" No, it isn't trying to get 'points'. She genuinely appreciates the help and effort that my instructor has given her. She wants to say "thank you" in return. My instructor isn't into Christmas and doesn't give or recieve presents at that time, so she's never got him anything for Christmas or his birthday or anything like that. However, she feels that it would be apropriate to get him a gift to mark her appreciation for his teaching. It may be a little unusual, but I think it is a nice gesture. When I passed my Shodan I didn't buy my instructor a formal present...but I did get him several 'thank you' beers at the bar afterwards!

Good point, doubletwist. It reminds me of that campaign with those supermodels a few years back - the "I'd rather go naked than wear fur". Well, I'd rather not train at any dojo than train in a racist one.

Hi Matousek! Welcome to Karate Forums. As you're 'only' 14, you'll probably be growing for a while longer yet (unless both your parents are very small, in which case you may have reached your maximum height). Other factors can affect how much you grow, too, such as diet and nutrition. Also, premature birth babies tend to be shorter than infants who went full-term. Both my parents are very tall, but I'm only 5'2" as I was born 12 weeks early, However, I have very large feet (UK size 7) in relation to my height, so my GP thinks that if I had gone full-term in pregnancy I would have also been tall. If you want to increase the chances of growing taller then make sure that you eat a balanced diet, with emphasis on plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Also, drink lots of water each day and make sure that you get plenty of sleep. Anyway, onto your other question! The style of martial art that you choose to train in will depend on many things, such as if you favour a mainly grappling style or a mainly striking style. Also, what about 'traditional' martial arts - could you see yourself practicing forms or kata? If not, then a traditional martial art such as karate may not be for you, unlesss you went to a 'freestyle' or 'sport' karate club. Other things to take into consideration when choosing a martial art are weapons - would you want to train in weapons? Also, when trying to decide which club to join, factors such as price, location (how far away it is from you) and if you have to sign a contract are also important things to consider. Probably the best idea would be for you to have a look round your local area and find out what martial arts are available. Then, if you let us know what arts you might be able to train in we could give you more info on each one, if you need it. Also, there are quite a few members of KF who are from Canada - if you say whereabouts you live then someone here may also live in your area and be able to recommend a martial arts school.

A friend of mine at my karate dojo is due to be taking her 1st dan shortly. She wants to buy our instructor a present if (when!) she passes. However, she wants to get him something a little unusual. She asked me for advice on what to get, but I can't really come up with any good ideas, except for a good bottle of whiskey or a martial arts related book, both of which aren't really unusual ideas. Any suggestions as to an appropriate gift?