taffswell

Hi fellas. This topic has been such an interesting read for someone who is still relatively new to karate. Some people are being very honest about an art they have dedicated their lives to. I have a question, but I'm not sure if this relates to the current topic or whether I should have started a new one. If you guys who have trained in shotokan for a long time could do it all over again, would you do the same or would you have branched out to keep learning and what would you have switched to?

Thanks for the advice fellas. AnonymousOne, If I could, i'd love to try your workout plan but unfortunately with my working hours and other stuff there just isn't enough hours in the day at the mo. Bushido, your plan would probably be more do-able. I'll probably try and mix a bit of strength and core training in too. elbows_and_knees, at the mo I weight training on a Mon, wed and Fri. I had a shoulder injury 8 months ago so I do stablisation exercises followed by compounds like rows, presses, deadlifts, pull ups etc. Again, thanks for your help.

Hi guys, I expect to take part in my first Shotokan tournament in November and I was wondering if any of you have good workout plans or advice that will help my do well. I do shotokan training Tues and thurs, so my extra training would have to be Mon, Wed and Fri (maybe Sat too if my G/F alllows it!) for about 1-1 1/2 hrs. I already run and lift weights on these days anyway but I was hoping to do some specific training to hopefully give me more of a chance of doing well. Thanks in advance for any advice. Taffs.

I probably would but I've only got the time to train in one style at the mo. I only asked because I like to learn about other styles, so I'll usually do some research on the net. But when I did some for this particular style, the closest I came was addresses for 4 dojos. 2 in New Jersey, US and 2 in Portsmouth GB...but on websites. Thanks anyway.

I'm guessing that's a no then!!

Hello to you all! I've got a question. Does anyone know anything about Gyodo Karate? I ask because a Gyodo Karate club has opened up near to me but I've never heard of this particular style (i've done a search on the net but all I came up with was an advert for the school I'm talking about!).

How do some of you guys find time for a life outside of Martial Arts? I can understand you guys who are instructors and others who have important gradings coming up, but how do you others find time for family, wives, girlfriends, friends, jobs etc? Also do you not find you pick up alot of injuries with all that training? I started doing shotokan 6 months ago. I wanted to try something different to just weight training and i'm glad i did coz i'm really enjoying it. But if i tried to put in the hours some of you do, i reckon I would be shattered all the time and my body would be in bits after a while....and my girlfriend would kill me! I hope this post doesn't look like i'm critisising anyone, because i'm not. I think its probably coz its a hobby to me but i understand it can be a way of life to others. Anyway, this is how often I train: Mon and Fri, 1hr weight training. Tues andd Thurs, 1.5 hours Shotokan and stretching. 10mins a day practicing blocks Sunday, blocks, strikes and bag work.

This is my first message on the forum, so hello to you all! In my experience in using the heel palm strike, it is very effective. when fighting someone in the street, if and when it ends up on the floor and you can manage to get on top, using it to strike to the head instead of punching means that if your opponent moves and you miss, you won't smash the bones in your hand on the asphalt.