AngelaG

Oh yeah, actually we have it in the soto uke combination... but it's not 2 years in more like just over a year. And then they keep adding more on

You ask about disrespect? I think it would be disrespectful. I know my instructor would be totally against me wearin my gi in public. We had a karate demo the other day, the dojo is about 5 or so minutes walk to the green where the demo was to be held, and yet if we went to the dojo to get changed we were driven down to the green. He says that you will get morons trying to pick fights with you, and how does that reflect on the dojo? Ok, it may not even be your fault but people won't see it like that. IMO if you want to practice then practice, but it should be a personal thing, not a show of "Hey, look at me I'm a martial artist". It's not a spectacle. Do you get taught about humility at your dojo?

How long have you been learning? How many hours of training have you put in? How clean are your techniques? What kata do you know? What kata are you currently working on? What kick/punch combinations do you know? Currently empi is no a part of our grading routine, and each dojo will have their own requirements, so it's hard to say, and in addition to that there are number of other factors to take into consideration.

Do you learn applications with your kata? If so it may be worthwhile picking the best application you like for each move and visualising that. I was training kata with my mates last night and we realised that our early kata are starting to look quite good. As the moves become second nature we can constantly tweak them and play with timing, hip twists, placement, rhythm, power etc. The new kata still look very precise and technically perfect but (as my friend put it) not 'sexy'. There is nothing dynamic about it. this is because we are still having to concentrate slightly on what move is next and what goes where that we cannot relax and just have fun with it. For the moment don't worry about playing with the kata, that will come later. Just concentrate on the bare moves, once you have those ingrained deep into your memory THEN you can play about with it. Once you have the moves try the kata fast and whippy with no power, and again this time slow and very, very tense. Then work on combining the two, whippy right up until the last moment then tense right at the end. So eventually, it'll all come naturally and your kata will start to look powerful yet dynamic.

Excuse my ignorance but could you define a military push up and a chinese push up.

Really, never at any grade? Don't you feel you lose some of the fear factor here. People move faster if they know they may get bumped. Anyway what about no/light contact sparring? It's a martial art, accidents will happen (with or without wrapping yourself in bubblewrap). I've had several knocks, 2 knockouts and cracked ribs, all of which were accidents.. but hey, I didn't take up aerobics, there was nothing malicious in intent and I healed and went back. Depends what kind of training you want. None of my injuries have put me into hospital as an in-patient... none have affected my training for really long periods of time... but you can bet your bottom dollar I get out of the way if I see a Mae-Geri coming in now!

I have two heavyweight gi (brushed cotton though) and 3 middleweight gi. When I first started wearing the heavyweights I thought they were horrible, heavy and hard and uncomfortable; now I have got used to them I like the feeling and find if I have to put a midweight on that it feels far too light and flimsy.... like wearing pyjamas.

I wear a white gi for karate, and for OFM I wear a T-Shirt with the logo on, and full contact trousers. However, for OCFM it is not compulsory to wear the 'official' T-Shirt and you could turn up in a tutu if you wanted.

I voted no because at the moment I feel we have struck a healthy balance. Although, to be honest, it would probably not bother me much either way... as long as the classes were still interesting and I was learning as much as I am now.

Hi We call it Kihon Kata as well, and we only do the first one.

lol, there were a gang of us at school who all had a crush on D.D. I cringe to think of it now! The X- Files was a cool program, though. One of the highlights of British TV when I was a teen. That and Red Dwarf... but I never fancied anyone from Red Dwarf! I had a crush on Rimmer (Where's the utterly embarrassed, cringe-worthy, Oh my god I can't believe I admitted that smilie when you need it?)

My nickname at school was David, because I had a massive crush on David Duchovny. (The shame!) My name here... well it's my name and the initial to my surname... rocket science????

Yeah I am on a pressure point forum with Rand, Russell, Mooney and a whole host of other people. I mainly practice my Shotokan (about 5-6 times a week) but I also do my OCFM once a week. I went over to Cyprus to train with Russell and co in February, and he is back in England this month and coming to our dojo for a seminar on bunkai with pressure points. Anyway sorry this is off topic... so sorry for hijacking the post.

You train with Rick Moneymaker? Interesting! I haven't had the chance to get to anything he's put on, and now the OCI has split from the DSI I don't know if I ever will. I think it would have been very interesting.

We are quite traditional. Everyone wears white gi, only the belt changes. I have 2 gi with our club badge on and the others are completely plain. Some people have the organisation badge as well.

I'm not sure that is BAR. That is pressure testing. BAR is when you put shock into your opponent. They are expecting one thing and you do something completely different. The body can't deal with it and for a fraction of a second shuts down, giving you time to land your technique. Pressure testing is different, and doen't necessarily have to be done by tiring a person out with a physical fitness regime... you could just as easily put someone in the ring with someone else twice their size and warn them that the other person is going to try their best to knock their block off, and all they have to do is stop them. Acting under pressure and under the huge, ineveitable adrenaline dump that will happen.

Have there been any incidents where people have been hit in the head? Personally I don't wear head-gear unless specifically told to as I find it restricting, not to mention hot and sweaty, but if it makes you feel happier then you should be able to if you desire. You pay the fees, you should not be doing anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. However you may feel it 'alienates' you from the other adults, and there may be some ribbing I guess. Depends what the other people in your club are like, and if there's a lot of machismo.

I'm sorry but I disagree that you can tell for certain whether a place is a McDojo from a tlephone directory listing or a website. You may get an idea but you cannot be certain. Plus who are we to mock other people's ways?

The likelihood is that these places are McDojos, but personally I think that you cannot make a judgement unless you have actually gone in and trained with them. Maybe they just have someone who has studied PR doing their adverts? Never judge a book by its cover.

Hiya I have occasionaly had to train in shoes because I have rheumatoid arthritis, and when it is flared up I need ankles support and a little padding to bear my weight. Any decent instructor will take medical conditions into account, if they don't then just walk right on out of there because that small minded attitude is likely to continue into everthing they do. If they have mats they may ask that you buy shoes which won't rip them up, which is fair enough, but anybody that turns you down flat (no pun intended) is not worth the bother. Welcome and I hope your search for a MA you love is successful!!

Right, sorry for the delay in getting back to actually completing the questions, other than my pointing out the poll paradox Anyway, I have finally got my butt into gear, so here goes. I have been doing martial arts for 2 years this September. I am currently a 4th Kyu. (Out of 10 Kyu grades) I study Shotokan karate, which I am the 4th Kyu in. I also train in something our organisation does called Open Circle Fighting Method. There are no grades in this, just different levels of instructorship and people who train. I just train. In Shotokan, yes. In OCFM, no. 26 Shotokan Kata. Kihon. Flow drills. Not in every lesson though… it’s pretty varied. In some classes we may concentrate purely on bunkai for the kata, in which case we may drill the kata once or twice but the rest is a lot more relaxed. Talk through applications, try them out. Discuss pressure points, work out moves for a variety of situations etc. As above. Yes. Kihon, flow drills, kata. As an exercise. To aid muscle memory. To help fitness. To tweak it until we get it right. To keep it fresh in our minds. And partially tradition I guess. Feel free to post it on my forum if you want.

We've had a couple of examples of students that have had it drilled into them so much that you DO NOT do karate on your friends in the playground, that they have been bullied and then unfortunately hit. In that circumstance we spend the next lesson making sure that they haven't missed the important part that you can ALWAYS block a punch. Bless them!

I think enjoyment of a martial art comes down more to the Instructor you train with and the other people that attend. It's vital that you feel comfortable in your surroundings. Don't let people tell you that X art does this and Y art does that, because each centre will be different. It's best to try out a few and settle with the one that you feel suits you best... you may be utterly suprised as to what that is... I started out looking at TKD... ended up doing Shotokan Karate!

We have a display in a regatta in the next couple of weeks. And to think that when I started the thought of doing something like that in public would have had me widdling myself. (not literally)

I haven't used it within a fight situation, but then again I don't tend to go to places where fights may erupt. Plus I am a talker... a smoother of ruffled feathers. However on the one or two situations that have started to become dodgy I feel that my karate has helped me be more aware of this, and be able to place myself in a better position. It has also taught me a lot about not putting myself in bad situations... for example in a pub if given the choice I will not sit with my back to the door. I also feel that the confidence that karate has given me helps deter situations. People notice body language first... so maybe a change in the posture, the way the body is positioned lets people know that maybe it isn't worth getting into that fight after all.