Apobiosis

I think that's the biggest reason. And little kids fighting...gotta love it

Circular movements are used by many styles for many reasons. With foot patterns, circular and sweeping transitions between stances provide better balance and awareness of surroundings. When dealing with application of hand techniques, circular movements can be used to move to another 'plane' around an opponent and strike to an unprotected part (such as moving from full-face to your opponent's side and attacking the kidneys or floating ribs). Circular movements can also be used for defense against linear kicks, such as a side kick - stepping back and using a circular block can counter the kick, whereas moving out of the plane of the kick and attacking another plane (similar to the punching example) can provide an effective counter to a very strong technique. Also, circular techniques are easier to augment and frequently provide openings to joint locks and/or sweeps.

For a beginner, I'd recommend going to as many classes weekly as you feel comfortable going to. Since my usual workouts outside of class take a little more than 2 hours to fully complete, I'm not able to hit every single session. However, to make up for this I train every other day with weights. I find that weightlifting paired with the cardiovascular activity that any martial art naturally has directly compliment each other. Don't kill yourself - if you don't have the time or the bodily endurance to keep up extended daily workouts, you shouldn't be trying to. The fatigue that you experience is your body's way of saying "I'm not ready for this yet." Work up to extended workouts. Oh, and stretch daily too

The problem with some schools today is that they are concerned with making money - some dojos are businesses too. This is where some instructors can get irritated - if you are cross training or checking out another style, there runs the risk that you will join that style and stop providing money to your current school. Cross-training is encouraged in my current school back home, and I encourage those that I instruct to cross-train if they desire to. There is nothing wrong with learning another style and picking up bits and pieces of the best they have to offer to apply to your own forms and sparring. This was not always the case; when I was younger, it was severely frowned upon to visit another school, even attend another school's tournaments. Look at the entire picture and determine what is best for you. Like it was said earlier, it's your life.

I spar all of my instructors just about every class; our school is very fighting intensive and emphasizes learning how to adapt to any fighting situation via experience rather than repeated drills. We always get banged up, bruised, jammed fingers and toes, but we rarely have any serious injuries. My most serious injury came during my black belt review, where I was faked out by my sensei with a low roundhouse which turned into a heel kick. I caught the foot below the temple and don't remember a whole lot. Granted, it was partially my fault - I dropped my guard and moved in for a counter, and it was about an hour into the full-contact fighting segment of the review after all the other requirements. It suffices to say that both parties involved felt bad

Hey everybody - this looks like a great foum with lots of cool people, so I decided I'd better join and introduce myself. I've been involved in the martial arts for about 9 years now. I currently hold a black belt in Shorei-Goju Ryu, and I've had extensive training in Kobudo, Iai-Jitsu, and Judo. You can say that I take the martial arts very seriously and they have a significant place in my life. I'm currently 19 years old and attending college. Next year I'll be the head instructor of a Karate club here on campus, as well as being the co-president. If you guys have any questions or just want to chat, feel free to message me on here or on AIM. I'm looking forward to participating in some discussions!