RaidenTB

Heian 1 - 5 for yellow to brown belt. For the black belt you're required to perform two of the katas listed below. Which two is your choice. Seienchin Seipai Sochin Nipaipo Kururumfa Ananko Naihanchi shodan

Hmm, the axe effect™... My medium bag carries the gi, belt, shin pads and a small first aid kit containing lots of 3M tape, a bandage, a couple of sterile gauzes and most probably some other stuff I don't know about. Lots of hair bands and clips. Something to write on and write with. And of course, a knit cap to keep my head warm after practice.

I always liked to do my schoolwork before practice. It just felt better to have everything done, so my mind wouldn't wander to some assignment that was waiting somewhere... And another thing - I'm ussually too tired to study after practice.

0 oz. for me. I don't drink milk. I do eat other dairy products like yoghurt and cheese. Minimum 8 oz. a day.

I personally spend the rest of available time with my boyfriend... Every now and then I also take time after classes and meet with my schoolmates and other friends. But mostly I hang out with the folks I train with. We're close, kind of like a small family so it's not uncommon we go biking or hiking together. Yes and no...Sometimes it seems that more injuries arise when I train less...

Counting the time at work which is 8 hours per day, then at home studying or writing my diploma thesis can add another 3+ hours... That in the worst case scenario makes 11+ hrs. Yes, I spend a lot of time with comp.

Rateh: Best wishes to you and I hope you'll be ok and able to train soon... This is how my scedule looks like: Monday: 2'5 hrs Tuesday: 3 hrs teaching kids classes Wednesday: 1'5 hrs Thursday: 3 hrs Friday: Doing nothing, relaxing and regenerating... Everything totals at about 8hrs/week.

I think my two favourites of all times are Shogun by James Clavell and War and Peace by Tolstoj. Otherwise, I liked White Oleander, East of Eden, Timeline and most recently the Dan Brown novels... just to name a few.

That's another way to do it.

Open any folder. Click Tools > Folder Options > File Types. You should be able to find the *.cgi extension and change its properties from there. Hope this helps.

No problem for me!

I don't think that anyone can honestly say that the moves and techniques collected in katas can't teach you anything new and useful. One can only choose either to dig in, study the kata and learn how to use the techniques or take the easier route, buy himself a punch bag, sweat tons of sweat, be able to throw one helluwa punch and call himself a "martial artist". No disrespect meant here, but there is a bit more to the martial arts than just plain punching, kicking and building muscle mass. If thats your game, fine. Just don't call it martial arts. In the west, karate is a sport. In the east it's an art. Two different mentalities, different cultures, different sets of mind. If you train karate for self defence purpuses or just to be able to fight - then you probably want the results fast. You want to have the feeling that you're able to protect yourself. You won't see anyone sitting and watching classes for a year, before actually starting to learn. You also won't see anyone voluntarily learning a kata solely for that purpuse. Maybe cause learning a kata and mastering it is quite a project to take on. A project that takes a lot of patience and time. Perhaps the question that should be asked is - why people learn karate in the western and why in the eastern countries. What kind of attitude do they have towards karate and what kind of expectations. To get back to kumite vs. kata topic I agree with those who say that one cannot go without the other. Katas are encyclopedias of kumite... You just have to take time and study them. And on the side note: I've noticed that in most cases people that are good in kumite suck in katas. And vice versa. There are of course execeptions. There's a guy in our club, the one you go to when you have questions about katas. He'll beat the living crap out of you in such an elegant, fast and skillful way you won't even know what hit you. Guess where his knowledge comes from?

That's ok. Just wanted to answer your question correctly. That's what our sensei is trying to teach us lately... It's really effective and useful when I get it right, but still need a lot of practice.

Aren't you asking two different things? In the topics title you're asking what you're focused on during kumite itself. But then in the post below - what you're focused on when training for kumite. To answer one - when training for kumite - for me - attack combinations are just slightly more important than blocks and counter strikes. To answer what I'm focused during kumite itself - I honestly don't think I'm focused on anything in particular. Should I be? Shouldn't one be in a state of mind called zanshin? (Or at least strive to be...)

My mom too I agree with ninjanurse. It's a matter of deciding and then doing it. Try to relax about it. After all - it's just a pill.