aefibird

Hey, I'd never thought of that, but you're right...

Well, taking a good vitamin and mineral supplement could help your nails. Keep them cut as short as possible (it's a good thing for any martial artist to do anyway). Also, see if your local chemist has anything you can paint on them (no, not nail varnish!) to strengthen your nails. If you think that your toenails could get caught regularly, then wear plasters or tape over them. Boots makes an excellent padded strapping tape - I've used it a lot in MA classes and I really recommend it. Tesco's own strapping tape is another good one. Also, you could maybe have a chat with your instructor and ask him if it would be OK for you to wear martial arts shoes, as you have a problem with your nails.

Great advice!

Very true. Even if you do all training in the world it is wasted without the correct mental attitude.

I wear a vest-top (strappy top) under a lighter weight gi, but just a sports bra under my ultra-heavyweight gi. That thing is so heavy it takes an earthquake to shift it; it's never come undone or been revealing, even when grappling! The top is also a half-size too large, so it crosses over more at the front anyway. That's why I like heavyweight gi's, even though I sweat to death in them during the summer months. :-/

Initial motivation for me= a friend had recently started and she showed me her first kata. I was intrigued and went along to the class to find out more...

Welcome to Karate Forums Tomahawk! Glad you enjoyed your first Hapkido class. Yes, I think that for a beginner twice-a-week training is a good start. You'll be able to remember more than if you just went once a week, but you'll not be overdoing it at first by training in as many classes as possible. When you get more confident with it and have been training a while you could move up to 3x a week. Also, try and work on your Hapkido techniques at home. Even if you only practice 10 or 15 mins a day it will help you to remember stuff. Students who train at home progress much faster and tend to stick with martial arts longer than students who just attend classes.

Yay! Congratulations on passing your brown belt test, zuluking.

We 'meditate' at end of class, but it's really more of a cooling off period. We're supposed to relfect upon the lesson during that period of time. It's only for a minute or two. Apart from that, there's nothing 'internal' about my Shotokan training at all.

Not necessarily. My "style" is Shotokan - but I bet I train differently from other Shotokan stylists on these forums. In turn, the other Shotokan stylists will train differently from one another. My training emphasises street self defence and works a lot of grappling into it; not everyone who trains in Shotokan will train the way I do, but we still share the same style.

Hope you enjoy the class! I've never had first-hand experience with KSW (as my nearest school is miles away), but from what I've heard of KSW from the guys on these forums it is an excellent style. I'm sure that you'll love it.

What's the weather like where you are today? Here it's sunny (now), but we had torrential rain and flooding last night and earlier in the week. The joys of an English summer...

Hi and welcome to Karate Forums! Yes, I did feel a little silly when I first started karate. When I first started training at my club there were only my friend and me who were adults - all of the other beginners were kids/teens. However, because I loved training so much I tried not to let it bother me. Because there were a lack of adults to train with in the absolute beginners class, I actually got moved up to the more advanced class sooner than I should have. Keep on going with your training! After a few sessions you may not even notice who is there and who isn't - you'll be so intent on training. Good luck with it.

The trouble with lightweight gi tops is that they have a tendancy to tear easily. I find that they also come open quite a lot, which is a bit embarassing as a woman. To stop that happening you have to wear something underneath, which makes you just as hot as wearing a heavier weight gi. :-/

Yes, it's amazing how a ding round the head can suddenly sharpen a persons reflexes!

I have quite a few tattoos, but only one martial arts related one. It's the kanji for karate, on my upper right arm, with a silhouette of a karateka doing a kick underneath it. I agree with Rich's point about not getting just any old piece of flash - I think it's much better if a persons ink is designed specifically for them. All my tattoos have been designed specifically for me and they all have meaning. Aw, you're all making me want to get some more ink work done now!! lol

Great video link Dean, thanks!

Well, the Olympics start soon (in case you hadn't heard ). Which events are you most looking forward to watching? Who do you think will be the dead certs for gold and who could throw up some surprises? Personally, I'm looking forward to watching the martial arts events (naturally ) and the equestrian events. Go Pippa Funnell! I'm also interested in the ladies hammer throw too. That's because one of the women contenders (the one for GB) only took up the hammer throw just under 18months ago. Before that she had no previous athletics experience at all - she was a professional ballet dancer!! It'll be interesting to see how she gets on.

battousai, the hole that you're in is getting bigger by the second.... It's a good job we know what you mean!

Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2 Rush Hour 1 & 2 Enter The Dragon Ghost Dog Drunken Master Once Upon A Time In China Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Dragon Fist Hitman Yojimbo (and any others by Akira Kurosawa)

A couple of months ago there was an advert in Martial Arts Illustrated magazine (in the UK) for anyone who wished to audition for Kumite. You had to send tapes and your martial arts career experience to a place in LA.

Yeah, I'm trying to. When I was younger I swam for my school, as well as a local club. However, my main stroke was back crawl, so I used to spend most of my time doing that. I never did 'fly much. My mum is a retired swimming instructor/coach and she always says I look like I'm trying to kill myself by drowning everytime I swim butterfly.

Which would you say was the better exercise - a mile of swimming or a mile of running? I swim pretty regularly (3-4 times a week usually, more if I'm off work on holiday), but one of the guys at my karate club has told me that I'd be better off running instead, as it is better excercise. I was always under the impression that both are good cardio and that neither is better than the other. I generally swim between 1 and 1 & 1/2 miles per session, alternating breast stroke, front crawl and back stroke (I can swim butterfly, but I'm very bad at it!).

Ramymensa, we use Taikyoku kata as a base for teaching Heian Shodan too. We use Taikyoku Shodan as a way to teach beginners what a kata is all about. To get their first grade they must know Taikyoku Shodan. Heian Shodan is the kata we use to test for second grade.

Welcome back Angelica! Good to have you on KF again. Did you have a nice holiday? (you lucky person )