CuriousCat

the grade i am now was a huge goal for me, it means i am beginning to understand and internalise. if i never grade again, i wouldn't mind. i might not anyway. for me, its more about learning new katas and understanding further.

i don't drink tea...i'm a coffee girl myself. it's good for early mornings!!

hey, any other Australians around? im from Tassie. it's summer round these parts!!!

kiais (IMHO) should not go on for ages. they are the expulsion of air from your lungs so you can have maximum tension at the moment of impact. they should not come from your throat, but from your hurra (three fingers below your bellybutton - the energy centre of your body...press it...go on!). a kiai from the throat is useless, and will just make you lose your voice!

yeah, don't stress too much! if it's your first competition then just go out there to have fun. just make sure you know the rules, do a good warm up before, have all your gear organised, and eat well beforehand. i love competing, it's a huge adrenaline rush, and you always make good friends. just make sure you don't talk to people in your div before you compete! some of them, unfortunately, try dirty tricks, and it's harder to fight a friend.

i've never heard of or seen red or white belts higher than black, in fact, i thought they were about equivalent to brown belt in some styles. and actually, they used to wear belts, white belts, but they gradually changed colour due to the fact that they got all sweaty and rank and immediately wrapped up in their firoshuki (spelling?) after training.

yeah, ours go for about an hour and a half, which is pretty perfect, because you can either go home, or do another class after. but the little begginner kids classes (peewee's) go for about an hour, otherwise they tend to get bored.

hi all, im CC from Aussie.