ESA-Shotokan

Nope that is not what I call kime. Kime is the contraction/decontraction of the applied technique. I would never describe kime as power and speed myself, but in a very basic sense it could be perceived as such. As far as driving the energy into the ground. Imagine standing with your out stretched arms about a foot or so from a wall. With your palms, push away from the wall - nothing happens, of course. Stand by the wall and push away, what happens? Yup, you get pushed away. The force you exert against the wall is transfered back at you from the wall and you fall away. Do the same thing but this time, also push away with your hands and a foot - you'll fly away from that wall. Same thing when you punch. Correct kime should come not just from your fist, arm and shoulder, but from all of your body, especially the hips and along your leg and foot.

Not quite, Ripper. Firstly the focus is not in the direction of the attack - what use is that? Kime is a downward force : Newton 3 applies here; equal - opposite etc. You are driving the energy through your feet, not your fist. I am not talking about a one hit, one kill situation. What use is that except to spend the rest of your live in a small concrete cell and get to know some other men very well. One hit should only knock your opponent down and hopefully, they wont want another one like it, or it will allow you the opportunity to remove yourself from the situation.

One reason why you want to "focus?" First is to save energy. If you are tense as you attack, you are wasting energy through basic muscle friction as the attack is executed. Also a tense attack is a slower attack. This can be demonstrated when/if you train with a makawara - you should attack the surface of the target, not punch through it. If you "focus" your contact to the exact surface, the makawara will bounce of your fist and not just be pushed back. This same "focus" of attack against an opponent is where you will see the one-hit application which is what is sought after in karate.

In my 20+ years of studying shotokan karate, it has dawned on me of late that I have never been taught, by a sensei, the jumping kicks. I am referring to mae-tobi geri, yoko-tobi geri, etc. Now I have in the past read about the execution of these particular kicks and hence, have taught myself the basics and application of said techniques, but I wonder what experience other people on here have, regarding this? I realise the original use of such techniques was to enable the forced dismounting of an opponent on horseback, which I guess in this day and age would be quite a rare thing, depending on where you live of course! Kanku-dai applies mae-tobi geri near the end but outside of that, such a thing is a rare thing indeed. Again, I have seen extensive use of such techniques in demonstration karate but this kicking style appears to be more geared towards tae-kwon do and certain kung fu arts. Curious.

I have to echo, it is never too late to start learning karate, or most martial arts, for that matter. If you were a lot older, then a style such as ju-jitsu may be a bit harder. I studied that for a while in my late 20's and I found it painful being thrown - knees would smash together!! Very painful. I have found if you have done karate for a long time, like over 10 years, then suddenly trying to change style and ideas will be harder as you get older. That was the hardest part about the ju-jitsu. I was so used to 'not' being knocked or taken off balance, that other students in the classes found me a hard opponent. I wasn't trying to be smart or anything and I didn't let on I was a karateka, but it was just the basic mechanics of the ju-jitsu art not being applicable. Of course, the senior grades were able to adapt very quickly and start throwing my * all over the place, but that is another story!

If I was a wise master (which I am not) I would hasten your attention to the issue that being able to beat your dan grades should not be see as an achievement but instead, you should be concerned for their weaknesses! Of course, in any style, it is a persons ability that counts and while they may have achieved their shodan status, if you are finding it easy to get the best of a nidan (or above) then you need to question the system you are learning. I know for a fact that if I spar with a senior grade of mine, it takes a hell of a combination to score upon them and that only comes from my own many years of experience. Still, it may simply be as Sasori_Te says, in that they were offering you an opening which you have rightly taken. Good fun and keep at it.

Excellent movie and a great summary to the three films. I have read the books many times but for me, the movies were incredible and a priceless contribution to my DVD library; or they will be once the third one (extended version) is released next year.

Yes - Happy Christmas!!

Bristol, England, UK

I always thought it was Yoshitaka Funakoshi who introduced the deeper, stronger stances to shotokan, as we know it.

Yes, three months minimum and then the grading is subject to availablity of examining sensei.

Sounds like a mae-geri kekomi - but I think I may be wrong there.

I am not a member of the JKA (though was indirectly via the KUGB) but in all honesty, any bad words about them will most likely come from childish people or somebody who may have failed a dan grading with one of their sensei. The JKA is a true and traditional promoter of karate. Some of the most senior, respected and knowledgable masters of shotokan karate are with the JKA. I would suggest taking heresay with a pinch of salt and let your own experience be the judge.

Hi there, people. New person here. Quick intro to myself. I started training in shotokan karate with Steve Cattle in 1980. I then left school, discovered women and suddenly I hadn't been back to karate for a while. I had also moved away to a new area, where I took up the shotokan training again with the KUGB and senseis Jimmy and Frank Brennan; being graded on my way by Andy Sherry. Many years later, a life times of experience and I was introduced to the teachings of Sensei Kase, via a friend from Sweden. This has changed my life and understanding of karate completely. I am now with the ESA and I truly believe I am now learning "real" karate from my sensei, Alan Armstrong - 5th dan. In effect, I have come full circle as the ESA was founded by my first sensei, Steve cattle. I feel like I am a beginner again as his teachings are so new and unique. Thank you.

That's quite interesting that and no, I haven't ever done that in a dojo. I have trained by myself wearing civi clothes but once pulled a muscle in my leg due to the restrictive moment of a pair of tighter jeans when perform ushiro-geri. Now that was painful.

Once again this sounds like a fear situation and humans tend to close their eyes during such events. Don't fear the attack, think more about the counter or even countering as the attach advances. Don't see stepping back as backing away. When you perform gedan-bari stepping backwards, the actually blocking technique generates a forward momentum towards the attacker. With practice, you should be able to wait until the very last moment before actually stepping back. Get someone to throw a tennis ball at you - you block it too soon or late and it wil hit you. That is all that is happening here - you are pre-empting the attack and straight away, your concentration has gone.

Confidence comes with time. If you attack with no confidence then you will attack with your eyes closed, mouth open and a weak arm (or leg). A good exercise is to use a simple zenkutu dachi step in and punch and allow your opponent to stop your advancement with mae-geri (or yoko geri). This is a drill exercise and not a free style situation. You will soon find that if you attack with conviction and strong stomach, you will actually push your opponent away, even despite their counter. Be strong and just forget about being hit. Remember, they don't want to be hit either, so go for it and make sure you have the attacking face to match an attacking kiai!!

I found this article on the web. If you have a few minutes spare, it is worth reading. http://www.judoinfo.com/bb.htm Enjoy.

Yes it is so true that a block is a strike etc. Whenever I perform age-uke for example, I always think of this as a break. Left hand up (catching attackers wrist), pull down and right arm up, applying the age uke technique, this is the break. Also try counter attacking with a soto-uke to a person's mid section: very painful. I understand the idea behind the first move in kate is a block comes from Funakoshi's saying, "In karate, there is no first attack". This first "defensive" block thus upholds his teaching.

Hi there. You could try http://www.shotokankaratedatabase.com They tend to have plenty of news of the big karate events. Failing that, the KUGB's own web page http://www.kugb.org is another possible source across England, UK. Hope that helps and I haven't just told you what you already know!

I personally feel there should be longer gaps as colour-belts grading are advanced. For a large part of my karate life, I was with the KUGB and their kyu-belt grading are every 3 months (a little longer subject to availablity of examining sensei). Once you get to 1st kyu, you then have to wait a minimum of 6 months to grade to shodan - the pass rate at shodan is about 20% on average. I feel that the brown belts should be a bit harder to achieve as, if you check the official wording with the JKA, it is legal for a 3rd kyu to grade to be submitted to grade for Shodan; not a lot of people know that and I think you will find literally all sesnei will from upon it. So I feel there should be at least six months between 4th and 3rd kyu and the same up to 1st kyu, upon which a minimum of 12 months should pass. Too many people are in a hurry to get their black belt and should concentrate on building their foundation for a lot longer.

Heian Godan. I love the opening block/counter technique. The whole kata feels nice and strong and the kime is so great. Higher level, it has to be Jiin. Advanced kate despite the simplicity of the actual moves. This kata begs for good kime and exact timing.

I guess that when you have attained a vast amount of knowledge in karate, the confidence this gives you puts you in a position were you don't feel you "need" to fight as such. You feel quite confident that the loud mouthed guy over there is not a match for you, so why bother fighting him? When it comes to losing confidence in your sensei, then yes, you have to move on. I have had a sensei tell me I was doing a particular thing wrong but it wasn't, he just wanted the class to mirror him and I think that is daft. Your sensei is a guide, not a judge. They should introduce an idea to you; a suggestion on correct and good form or technique but they also have to undersatnd that people physical ability is different. Move on.

Bruce Lee once said that the best form of self defence is to run the other way - so yes, karate will develop the fitness and stamina to do this. I echo what everybody has said in that any person who trains hard in a combat art/sport will have an advantage in a face off. Even a seasoned street-fighter is in the same class; such a person could grab you and but you in the face 10 times before you even thought about it. The best advice is to keep out of trouble, yes sometimes easier said but I would not train in karate just so to make me feel safer. The people who do combat sports that then get beaten up tend to be those people who "think" they are great martial artists because they have been doing a bit of training for a couple of years. I've been studying karate since 1980 and I still feel like a beginner at times. Okay it's my first post and I'm rambvling on already! Hi everyone