Monkeymagic

Sorry, I didn't mean to go off track. What is good enough when you reach a belt? Only you will know if you are good enough when you are ready to go for your next belt.

I think it gives people an incentive and inspiration to continue to progress, especially children. I teach children (PE teacher) and they need incentives. Most clubs have children attending, either seperate classes or the same. They would need to follow the same belt system as the adults. They set a standard and a benchmark for people to reach, otherwise, unless you are expremely dedicated and train all the time, you can loose the way. we are overworked and streesed and we all have incentives and benchmarks to reach in this day and age, especially in the western world. people need goals. Children especially. people need to know how well they have done and belts help them and others recognise their comittment and achievements. Of course, they don't show how good they are but it does give some kind of indication. Each person can then identify where they are themselves with the other karateka around them. we have this belt system at our club: White Red (10th kyu) Blue (9th kyu) Purple (with white stripe) (8th kyu) Purple (7th kyu) Yellow (6th kyu) Orange (5th kyu) Green (white stripe) (4th kyu) Green (3rd kyu) Brown (white stripe) (2nd kyu) Brown (1st kyu) Black (1st dan) Blacks ++ This site uses belts - I bet everyone who writes on here has a quick sneek at the belt they are and how many times they have written. I think there is an orange belt and Purple belt in this site's belt system too (can't remember if there is purple, I think so)

Well done. i was always nervous and tense during my gradings. My instructors always told me to calm down.

wingedsoldier - gyaku zuki is a reverse punch. I would do chudan gyaku zuki. aim for the side where there arm is higher. Move to the side and punch. As for what Eiichi said about mawashi geri, it depends why you want to attack someone. If you are points sparring, this is a good quick way of getting someone. Face them in a stance as if you are going to attack them where they are ready to defend (where their elbow is lower) then switch stance quickly and attack where they are open. Make sure you pull back straight away though, don't step into the attack. This is my opinion and this has worked for me and I have seen others, who are vertically challenged, work with this.

gyaku zuki - quick and sharp straight after they have just made an attack or mawashi geri (to the waist) - swap your stance quickly, just before you attack. I am five foot four and have always had to think of tactics for tall people. these two work the best for me. I knew a very good female black belt, who was an inch smaller than me. She was very fast and sharp. She used gyaku zuki all the time, very effectively. Good luck

I feel belts are an important incentive but don't get hooked on the idea of racing up the belts. You can never learn karate too quickly. Take your time. Understand the level you are at and don't forget what you learned in your previous belts. I would always keep practicing all the moves from previous belts and return to beginners classes when I was allowed. My sensei didn't like higher belts to go to beginning classes as they overcrowded them, unless they continued that evening and took the advanced class.

Good luck karateka477. Keep training. Don't worry about other belts and when you are going to grade. It is important to know your moves and kata well, especially the basics as everyone says.

Good luck. Don't worry about it too much. It does come with practice but maybe you can practice with someone else outside of the dojo so your not as nervous

It depends on your club. All clubs and styles are different from one another. Karate is an overall name for the art/sport. It could depend on how many belts there are in you club up to black belt, or what is involved in each grading.

Most dojos don't video. What belt is your instructor? If he's a black belt, he should be able to grade you himself.

"The ultimate aim of karate-do lies not in victory or defeat but in the perfection of the character of its participants” (Gichin Funakoshi, 1936) I don't believe karate is about winning and loosing (competition - basically what modern kumite is aimed towards) but about it all and perfecting karate itself and learning the moves. Some of these moves and combinations come from learning kata. I love kata but think sparring is important also as it is the end game of what you have been learning because you have to actually put the moves into use against someone to see if they actually work. But karate is not about competition and winning medals. That was not why is was developed.

Brown belt (1st Kyu) - for just over a year now but noved country last summer so may not get my chance to take black belt. Still training by myself and teaching what I have learnt in school as part of the curriculum. I feel I am still developing and can wait for my chance to get a black belt in my style of another. Karate is on going and you are forever learning things about it. Belts are important when you are in a club, to show rank and for others to look up to the higher grades and want to aspire to that - they are an incentive for those who are learning. Black belt is still my incentive but my individual learning of the martial art is my incentive now as I don't have a club here where I live. My style is Seki Juku.

Static stretching should be done first before the dynamic stretching. There should be a good warm up to get the blood flowing around the muscles being used. A good jog, run - maybe some balistics, such a jumping. Then hamstring stretches, groing, aductor, calf muscles, etc. Then maybe some forward and side leg swings for your dynamic stretching. You do need solid exaples to actually see if you are to get it right though.

I think with constant practice and rest for your muscles to recover you can become flexible and do the splits. I don't think it is only important though to be able to do the splits but be flexible all round. I think with a proper club you can achieve this. I have been very flexible for many years and have kept this up. I had to practice and keep this up. It was important to let my muscles rest though. I went through a period of overdoing it and had many problems with my hamstrings. It is not biologically inherited. You can do it. A good type of stretching practice is PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular facilitation) - Look for this book - Sports stretch - Michael J Alter. Some good ideas and diagrams. I am a physical education teacher and have always incorporated stretching into my classes. Good luck.

See, I got to brown belt and trained for half a year towards my black belt, so really want to continue with karate. I am hoping to get an opportunity to take it if I return to England at the right time in the next couple of years. I am living here in Beijing for at least two years. Maybe doing Kung-fu will help me a bit but I don't want to forget what I have learned. I am a PE teacher, so I am teaching karate as part of my curriculum, which helps. Thanks for the advice.

Thanks!

I've been asking around but no luck. Been here for just over a month now. I'll keep looking if you do. Please tell me of anything you hear of. I live at Capital Paradise.

But they'll also speak in chinese...not sure i'll follow too well yet

I know i've asked this before, but does anyone know of a karate club in Beijing, that teach in english? I have moved here now and am desperate to continue training.

If it wasn't for guys like them, there wouldn't be such a massive interest in martial arts, meaning less money put into clubs and the promotion of them. The films are great to watch and they inspire people (unfortunately, sometimes the wrong people) and this is what keeps it all going. Peace to Bruce and continue with the Jet lis and Jackie Chans.

What does it show when you break some wood? How strong you are, how focussed you are? What is a martial art for, breaking things? I don't think so. I had to do it for my brown belt. I didn't make me better at karate.

My brown belt test was straight forward. We had to learn two katas, several techniques and show these doing them well. We had to spar against other karateka going for their belts and win 2 out of 3. I only won one (but still got through). We had to break a wooden block with our fists. The black belt grading is much tougher. Spar against 15 opponents for 2 minutes each. Know three katas plus any of the 10 previous that they may ask you to do and three bo katas. Know all the moves and names in japanese of everything you have learned. Break brick blocks. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to do this as I have just moved country. The grading was four days after I left. But that is life and I learned a lot during my three years and am ready for the next step into another style. I live in China now, so probably have a fair amount of good opportunities.

Does anyone know of a karate club (which teaches in english) in Beijing? I have just moved out here??

Has anyone seen the recent film by Tom Cruise: The Last Samurai? What did you think? I thought the idea was a bit silly but maybe the history is fairly close to the truth? The fighting scenes were great. Do you think the ancient meaning of martial arts have been lost by the west engulfing the east with all of it's ideas about how to live?

Sorry to go back to this but is philosophy not a set of basic principles or concepts underlying a particular sphere of knowledge or A precept, or set of precepts, beliefs, principles, or aims, underlying somebody’s practice or conduct. If so, according to Gary J Krug (who wrote the article 'At the feet of the master: three stages in the appropriation of Okinawan karate into anglo-american culture') Karate is an object of knowledgeand a set of beliefs and practices. Many other writers have made a similar assumption. Practitioners in the west would maybe mot adhere to this yet but this 'philosophical meaning' of karate is essentially its essence. Would you not agree? I have been researching more into this...hence the late comeback on this. Ta