aefibird

...just as an aside... if your Shotokan training movements are too stiff for you to spar with comfortably then you're possibly not training correctly in them. I've never had a problem with applying my Shotokan training to fighting, whether that be point sparring, free fighting or 'street' self defence work. A stance isn't something a karateka should get stuck in - it's just a position of the body. Stances are moveable not static (yes, even in Shotokan! ).

I've done that before, but I tend to prefer to use a slapping/palm block.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of board breaking, but I can see how some people can say it's a useful training tool (plus, it's a handy skill to have if you ever need firewood!! ).

I wouldn't change anything about my styles or my clubs that I train at. Well....apart from having free lessons, free uniforms, free beer... oooh, look, is that a flying pig up there???? Seriously, I love the styles I train in. I wouldn't want to change them.

I once spilt my head open from tripping up whilst wearing too-big gi bottoms. I was leading the warm ups and tripped and flew out of the open door and onto the fire escape. I also was once in this big competition and performing a kata. It was the final and I was doing really well until I missed a section out. In most katas you end up facing the same way at the end as you did at the start. Well, I missed a chunk of the kata out and ended up finishing with my back to the judges. I stood there for what felt like hours but was really only a couple of seconds trying to figure out why I was 'backwards'. I was sooooo embarassed... The kata incident was not a good day for me - I'd got lost on the way to the competition, I goofed up in the kata and then I managed to break my big toe in the fighing. I did a roundhouse kick and the other person blocked...but with their elbow. All I can say is OW! I think I should have stayed in bed that day.

In all my Shotokan training it has always been techniques and proper body mechanics that have been emphasised, rather than muscle. It just depends on the instructor as to what emphasis is placed on particular things - that goes for most martial arts.

Dean, are you testing? If so, good luck!

Welcome to KF!

Hi and welcome to Karate Forums!

Hi and welcome to Karate Forums! Good to have you here.

Hi torris, welcome to Karate Forums!

Arnica cream can be good for bruising. Try juice/oil of Aloe Vera if it is an open wound. Taking a good general vitamin and mineral supplement every day could also help you.

You may have to buy one off the internet.

Most of my washing seems to consist of gi's or other martial arts related clothing...

Thanks for the tips DM!

Hi bluetiger, welcome to Karate Forums! Good to have you on board.

Oh yeah, I'm also a tea freak. I love any sort of tea. Lapsang Souchong or Earl Grey are my faves.

Good for you Budderfly! Glad you're getting over your fear.

Chili burn, OW OW OW. Yeah, I've done that before. Thankfully, I 'only' touched my face, not rubbed my eyes. I'd probably have had to go to A&E if I'd got chilli in my eyes. I also once chopped up chillis and a bit got into a tiny tiny tiny scratch on my hand. It felt like my whole hand was on fire! I had to sit with it in ice for about an hour. I love chilli's, though, the hotter the better! Now I always wear gloves when chopping one up. Im sooooo accident prone, it's unreal. I'm always the person that finds out the hard way... My colleagues at work call me Mr Bump, as I have so many accidents. They even bought me a little Mr Bump figure to sit on my desk.

Rocky Horror= :up: !

Well, I know it's not related to your quiz... but I have a Shotokan karate crossword that I give out to my lower grades to test them. If you wanna include that then let me know and I'll email it to you. Some other questions... Which kata name means "To storm a fortress"? Which kata name means "Crane on a rock"? What colour belt is 6th kyu? What is the Japanese name for front stance? What animal is often associated with Shotokan karate? Who is the head of our karate organisation? (only applies if you belong to an org! lol) How many Heian kata are there? What does "Sensei" mean? Hope they're OK.

Yes, I agree that Aikido will go well with Shotokan. I used to train in Aikido for a while (until my club had to shut down ) and I found that it actually helped my Shotokan training and vice versa. It does take quite a long time to be any good at Aikido. Generally, it can take around 7 years to get to Dan grade (blackbelt) level. My instructor had been training for about 20 years and was 'only' a 2nd Dan (he was due to take his 3rd Dan when injury prevented him). So, a person has to be in it for the love of Aikido and not just to grade. I've only recently started Wing Chun, so I can't really comment much about it at the moment. Drunken Monkey is the best person to ask if you want any info about WC. I'd say that you'd need at least a couple of years training in Shotokan before thinking about starting Wing Chun. The way of doing one technique in Shotokan can be completely opposite in Wing Chun, so if you're a beginner or still fairly new to Shotokan then training in Wing Chun would probably only confuse you. Having said that, I think that it can be a great idea to train in more than one martial art, as long as you get a good base in your first art before moving onto others. Feel free to send me a private message if you want any more info.

...or if you're handy with a needle and thread (or know someone who is!) then remove the ties and sew elastic round the top of the waist. A bloke in my club has done that with his gi's. He's built like a beanpole, so all of his gi bottoms used to slip down when training, unless he tied them so tight that he couldn't breathe! He got his wife to sew elastic on the waistband of them and he's had no trouble since. The only problem with buying a pair of gi bottoms with elastic already on is that they only tend to sell elasticated gi trousers (at least, in the UK anyway) on the lightweight range of gi's. The medium and heavyweight gi's tend to only come with tied bottoms. You can buy separate gi bottoms from most martial arts suppliers. The one I really recommend is Playwell. They're a UK supplier and they sell their own range of gi's in white and black (or black and white). I've had separate gi bottoms from them before and they're decent. Cheap prices too. Other than that, try the Blitz website.

eek, better get practicing, then! Actually we did a lot of Chi Sau last lesson. I was just starting to get the hang of it when we finished...

I prefer the Welsh ones to the English ones, anyway. GO WALES!! (my mum is Welsh, she'll kill me if I diss Wales... )