Karateka

Another way to help you train in Kumite and learning to fight effectively is doing Randori. You and your partner face off, your opponent does one technique which you must block and then you do a technique which they must block. Attack, block, attack, block. As you start to get used to it, you start going faster and build a rhythm. It builds up your ability to block a technique as you see it. It helped me a lot in my tournament and dojo kumite training. Try it out.

We learn Kihon Kata 1-4 at white belt along with Pinan Nidan for Shito Ryu Seikokai

I have to agree with Equaninimus, this is different then the Superempai I have seen. You can get videos from Kamikaze.com which is the Canadian company. Less Shipping and Handling charges.

https://www.karatebc.org has a history of karate section in which it gives the origins of all of karate and especially the four major karate styles of the world, including Wado-Ryu. Hope this helps.

Kregh99, i recommend going to https://www.wkf.net and downloading the rules. It will tell you all about how they run things...particularly about advertising on uniforms. I find competition to be beneficial to students. Sometimes, students who are at a developing stage need to see how they are measuring up to others who are the same age and weight. This allows them to set goals for themselves that are realistic. Unrealistic goals are goals such as "I am going to win the tournament" However admirable that sentiment might be, it is better just to say "I am going to TRAIN to win the tournament" This allows the kids not to get disillusioned when going to tournament. Furthurmore, I find that tournaments can build a lot of character. Sportsmanship is a skill that is not just necessary on the baseball diamond, it exists in karate as the form of respect. Lastly, tournaments allow karateka to take training into a new level. In my prime for competing, I was 3rd in the province. I was 5'7" and weighed 200lbs. I didn't find that the deck was stacked against me, I found that I just worked harder and learned more. I give competitions a thumbs up!

WKF, World Karate Federation NKA, National Karate Association (Canada) Karate BC, British Columbia Shito-Ryu Seikokai Karate-Do

Politics belongs in any organization. You cannot have one without the other. It is a system where people ambition to become higher than their current status by any "legal" means necessary. Guys who keep paying and paying and paying; find out what you are paying for. If belts mean that much to you and you want to stay with this group...you are going to have to pay the money. They will not change for one person. The other option; don't get the belts, stay a white belt and only do your black belt test. Go through the ranks, but retain the one belt. A little cheaper. I know that with Karate BC, my association, there is a lot of politics involving who will run what; simply because it is similar to a government institution. My style's organization has politics about who the "elite" sensei's are. My Sensei used to be of the top 5, but got removed because he didn't follow one or two of the traditions. Oh well!

I think it is getting ridiculous. You hurt someone's feelings, you pull out a chequebook, you hurt someone in sports, you get sued. What is the point of even doing martial arts if all that is going to happen is students who look stupid and don't follow instructions get fed up and decide to collect? I mean, if I was being stupid and hurt someone, then yeah, i would expect to pay some consequences. However, if I don't intentionally hurt someone, especially if it is their fault, then I don't expect to do much more other than apologize. This is ridiculous.

I probably would have done w/e I could to get the knife away from me, and probably run. In a real situation, you have about a 5% chance of living if you are in a knife fight...without a knife in your own hand! Best idea is to slam them to the ground and run like hell. Honestly, who the hell is going to make fun of you for that. Most guys with knives aren't going to go for the direct thrust or overhand drop, they are going to try to cut you from neck to groin. Just get outta there.

he may have wanted them to do a more difficult kata. I am not sure about this one. The problem I see with that is that it is on the WKF's Kata list, and it says that Shotokan recognizes it. I don't know...maybe things have changed.

I picked Kata mainly because of the significance it has on my training. The sad thing is I am not particularly reknown for my Kata skills.

Reasonable force...a fine line that should really be a fence. It is true that juries will give you a hard time in court. The real issue is to make sure it never goes there. I got involved in a fight with an ex-friend of mine and he knew that I took martial art training. He tried to tell the police he had no idea and that it was a complete shock to him, but I had told him and others in front of him, so he knew. Also, I only made sure that he couldn't attack me again till I had the chance to walk away. That being said, martial artists should always be wary of the effects that our techniques can have on others. A simple punch in the wrong place can have loads of damage...physically and legally.

Waivers in the end mean nothing. The lack of a waiver, in court, is just a nightmare and you are asking for trouble. Having a waiver present not only gives you some breathing room in court, but if someone is considering suing and they remember the waiver, they lose hope and don't persue the case. Its a smart idea. There is always the factor of negligence. Also, the waiver may not allow liability in a criminal trial, but civil court is just completely different. Criminally, no one is responsible for injuries sustained in sports. Since the instructor was not paying attention to the fight, however, it creates enough of a legal case to have merit. That being said, if the instructor ignored the two students and they were the ones who were being injured, it would be the Sensei at fault again for not supervising. Moral of the story: supervise where you can have sight of all people in the class, that way disturbances can catch your attention. Sad lesson to be learned the hard way.

All I know is, from what my Sensei told me, if you are in a situation where u have to defend yourself, your obligations is to stop the attack and run. Get out of the situation. If you are defending someone, get them out as well if you can, otherwise stay and defend them till its safe. If someguy comes to you and starts hitting you in the face with punches, you are not allowed to go and break his neck or his legs. You have to show JUSTIFIED force in dealing with each situation. Just like the police are supposed to.

Politics allows you to see what Martial Arts training can be and what it should be. I know about the political game where certain instructors try to take other students by offering them discounts and promotions just so that they enhance the club. It is just a nightmare. However, it gives you a valuable lesson in life that helps you determine who you can learn from and who wants to use you.

I am the only guy in my grade who can use the one at our school. It is so far apart that no one is flexible enough to use them. Yeah Karate training!

This summer someone tried to mug me after the local fireworks. I managed to grab his arm and pull him in another direction than he intended. He was about to come after me and I'll admit I was a little flustered, but I was ready. However, thankfully a policeman, who were all out in force to stop riots, came and quickly threw him to the ground and arrested him. Later, I found out he had a knife on him which he admitted to almost reaching for. That was a close one!

I have this extremely tall person in my club, who has long legs and arms, and it is difficult for me to get in. What i find is that, since he isn't exactly proficient technically, I have the advantage of experience. Leg sweeps work well against tall persons. I find that they have a natural tendency to always watch their feet when they walk, so give them a distraction. Furthermore, getting in close is good with a gyaku tsuki to the body. If you keep your guard up and just go for a good gyaku at mid level, it will get you the reaction you want. I did not think of the idea of going for their face and jodan with jumps, I have to give that some thought.

I say its a government conspiracy to train new espionnage agents. Why else have it? It sounds rather odd that they specifically ask that you have nothing to leave behind, as in no one to look for you after you have gone. Hmm....thanks, but no thanks.

Since there is a large sport aspect with my club, we have some slogan's that are uplifting and make us work. The biggest regret is from not doing your best Never hit a man while he is down; kick him, its easier There are only two things to remember when in a relationship...yes and dear.

Long enough post to be an article

The same thing happened to me. I decided to take a small sabatical from Karate. This break lasted a year. I wanted to see what my life was like without Karate, since it started to take over my life. In my view, karate is not my entire life, it is just a part of it. You have to incorporate the demands of life around Karate. Sometimes, the reason doesn't sound good enough, yet it is done anyway. I was allowed to train back at brown belt where i left off, however, i let some students go ahead of me in seniority. I think that if a person earns a rank, it is theirs unless they do an act that allows them to lose it. However, out of respect, the person who comes back after a long time or is from another style, should wear a white belt at first and then talk to the Sensei. Let them know your situation and see what they think is best.

My Sensei is a firm believer in Kumite. He was quite an established competitor himself, as is the assitant instructor. We have a well rounded class and we use the Kumite as sport oriented training. To those who find trouble with sparring; practice practice practice. If you have a move in your head, try it out by yourself. My Sensei told me that you don't need to know every move in karate to be a good competitor. Just have 5 good combinations and you could win a tournament. If you talk to your Sensei and he or she isn't listening to u, talk to your opponent. Ask them to give u some pointers while fighting and help you develop. It makes it enjoyable for both parties, instead of one beating on the other.

Hmm, there are good arguments for both sides of the coin. I think that Semi Contact allows us not only to learn control but also to fight smarter and see how are techniques work on each other. Full contact allows us to truly feel what the Martial Art was used for. However, I think we all need to learn control. Even in the real world, where God Forbid if we have to use our Martial Art to defend ourselves or someone else, there has to be control. A lot of school's don't teach that your skills are to be used so much so that you have a chance to get away. That means, punch, kick, RUN! The police and the lawyers say that if we go all out on them, unless in EXTREME (and also very limited) circumstances, we will get charged with assault or worse. So, I think that control of one's emotions during combat is very essential. If you can learn that in either semi or full contact, more power to you.

depending on your age, it could be 20-30 dollars for Kyu grading, and 75 dollars for First Dan.