ESA-Shotokan

If your instructor is aware that you are entering the tournament, then he/she should set aside time for sparring. Maybe they will but don't see the need to do so, as it is only January. I'd say work on your stamina now as that is what most people fail on in a fight. Do some long jogging / running with plenty of sprints in there, to get your mind and heart ready for some serious action. Shadow boxing is good along with bag work to get the fighting spirit building but at the end of the day, you will need some sparring. Light practice sparring, up to full, competition-like sparring with constant pressure rounds to contend with. If there is nobody suitable in the class to spar with, then ask your instructor to volunteer themselves. Either way - best of luck and have fun

Yeah I did that with the hot water-thing but the gum shield still pops out. The one I bought had to be hot-water moulded to start.

When I first saw the title of this topic, I thought it was something about coming out of the closet?!

I don't know why but I find that quite funny! I've never used it in the street; people don't pick on me for some reason so that is good. I'd like to think I go through life without ever having to beat some daft person up.

Yeah the dentist option may be the one to go for, despite it being £40!! Got to be worth a try.

Living in Hawaii? How lucky can one get? That must be incredible.

Yes. If I move about and the such, it will stay in, even with my mouth open but once I go into full attack mode, it will pop out about 50% of the time, so hence a distraction.

True, when you look at most karate sparring sessions, there is no karate there - just a load of swinging legs and flying arms and accidentally, one touches the other and "point!" I also agree that training with a senior is much better with the lack of injuries to yourself though they will alwys tend to hit you a lot harder! All good learning fun. If you are scared of being hit then simply don't give your opponent time or space. You watch a fight, either relaxed or full pelt, and most of the times is spent dancing around. Just keep up the pressure with attacks from your hands and feet and should you get hit, you'll be too busy landing the next combination to worry about it.

It all comes back to comparing yourself with others. It is natural to do this and to find fault in others - just make sure you are able to cast the same judgemental eye over your own technique. God-knows I do and I am never satisfied with what I do.

One thing I find amazing is how people grade through the coloured belt ranks and would not even for a moment want to miss out and yet, once they attain their shodan, they then don't grade again! Why do people do that? Yes life can take over your time so you don't train as much and what have you, but I'm talking about people who do train regularly in a dojo at least twice per week. I know quite a few black belts who have been first dan for a dozen years or more and you wonder, why didn't they continue to grade; to test their ability further? Yes a black belt is a black belt but you should always strive to better yourself in both your training, understanding and achievements. There should be more pressure on dan grades to look for such achievement. I know it is not all about what dan you are but when you meet a person who has graded regularly and is say, fourth dan or higher, you certainly realise and respect that incredible achievement on their part. Oh and by pressure, I'm not talking about the belt factory/McDojo type of rubbish who hand out black belt grades for wearing the most badges on their silver gi!!

The biggest problem I have found with full-contact is that you normally have to wear boxing gloves, and these just get in the way of everything! I personally prefer semi-contact as then you can send in the attack with speed and make contact while controlling the actually hitting power; and the mits you wear give you the better freedom.

Hmmm doesn't help a lot as my kiai tends to throw people off a lot, especially in freestyle, so I use it to that effect. I'll have to work on something.

Having had a hard week of karate training, the week can be summarised with the expression: "Execute kumite as you would kata and perform kata as you would kumite!" It does make sense. When you watch some people perform kata, it is just a set of moves to them...step this way, do that block, make that attack, step that way... It is nice to see kata done with spirit and I don't mean just fast and hard, that's not fighting spirit, that's just exercise!

That is very true!! I didn't think of that, thank you.

One thing that bothers me during hard kumite is ensuring my gum shield doesn't fly out? What do you people do to combat this problem? If I kiai, it has to be with teeth together or else the gumshield will hit jodan before my fist does!! Is a double sided gumshield better?

Yes, good stuff. I don't do competition fighting now but that was fun to watch

Hi there. What is the view / opinion of people on here and your particular organisation regarding retaining of black belt status after breaks in training? Most organisations allow you to continue training at the grade you left but what if you had a break of 5,6 maybe 10 years? Should you not have to retake your last grading as a minimum? Of course, you may have stayed fit, started another style, etc and so it is apparent you are in top, if not better form, but what if you are not? Ten years later, you have not trained in as many years and it looks it! Such people who return to training will have to break themselves in slowly as a matter of safety but surely, there should be some specific rules regarding this? Losing a grade or having to retake the grade may be seen as a "punishment" for leaving and not enouragement for restarting? Over to you.

It is one of things you have to practice to appreciate what is going on. Words can start to describe it but you have to work on the application yourself to feel the kime.

Wow! Well done! I somtimes feel that the guy who married Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy) is one of the luckiest people alive!! Mmmmmm...Buffy!

I once mated a chicken with an octopus, so there was a leg for everybody at the table! Bum Bum!! Yeah I know, the old ones are the best

The thing I always find funny is how when you watch a class, you seem to forget how tiring the work is. I have sat and watched a lesson and thought, "Easy!" and then when I'm there in the thick of it, 15 minutes and I'm half dead. Watching other people is a good thing though. It is when you do find fault in other people that you start to formulate teaching strategies for your own classes. I don't look at a person's technique and think how awful it is, more on how to ensure I myself am not doing such a thing and then ensure people in my class don't also do such an error.

In all honesty, yes it does. While a person may be able to execute what looks like an okay technique, they will always strive to improve it. I have had many a person in a lesson huff and puff when I have started to go through Heian Shodan. They will groan that they passed that grading x-number of years ago and how they don't need to know it now. Then you watch them do it and yup, they do need to practice it. Same thing with basic stepping punch. Most people will argue they do it well and yes, it might look okay, but then you will see all the little errors creeping in after they have done it a few times. I guess it all comes down to personal understanding. What is okay for you today may not be as acceptable next year.

In theory, if you hold in your breath, you are weak. You should exhale with each technique, the idea being that in doing so, should you receive a counter blow, you are much less likely to be winded. I'd say breath fast, in and out, with each individual count.

Thank you for that link. I love to see other katas. It is like a cross between shotokan's Bassai Dai and Bassai Sho, but different again. Interesting stuff. Shorinryu Sensei: If your email server is any better, I could email it to you? I just downloaded it and it is just under 6 Meg.

Well done aes. I can't remember where I read it but the body should remember the kata, not your brain. So you are naturally developing into your style. It's a great point to reach and you can look forward to many more, such "Wow" moments in your training. Keep with it!