Soni33

I have two jobs unfortunately. I work Mon - Fri full time, i also work Fri & Sat nights, i go to Karate Tuesday nights, and also go to college on Thursday nights, and i also have two young children of 18 months and 5. So, the only nights i get to myself are Sunday and Wednesday, of which i spend with my family, so i find the only time i can train is early in the morning, i normally start at 6 and finish at 7, then its a mad rush to get the kids up, washed, and dressed, before taking them to the child minder and getting to work myself, as my Wife starts work at 6 so its all up to me in the morning - and its a mad rush

Buy a good pair of running shoes - thats my recommendation Seriously though, if he really is a big guy and you really are a weaker guy, you would be mad going along with it just to save your face - because you won't be saving your face at all - you'll be getting it kicked in. Don't worry about being a coward, tell the guy that your no challenge for him, and you really don't want any part of it. If he wants a challenge, then start on one of the bigger guys. If that don't work then tell a teacher, you will be mad going along with it

You did exactly the same as any othe father would have done in the same situation. He was bang out of order doing what he did - he obviously doesn't think straight. I've got two daughters, one of 5, and one of 18 months, and if anybody ever hurt one of them, or even shouted at them like that nutcase brother in law of yours did, i would be on to them like a tonne of bricks. To be perfectly honest with you, i would have probably thrown him down the stairs, i would have certainly kicked him out of the front door thats for sure. I'm of the firm belief that nobody should shout at your children, other than you - if its warranted. Their your own flesh and blood at the end of the day - and what gives somebody else the right to take control. I'm really dreading the time when they get to their teens and start dating - i'm going to be one hell of an overprotective father......

You should stretch for all kicks, if your not then your missing out greatly on potential. I'm starting a stretching page on my website, haven't got many excercises on it yet, but will adding them over the next week or so. However, i've got a few on there allready, open my site and go to the kicking page, there's a picture there of a stretch called the frog, you'll see why when you see it, its a great excercise and will really open those hips up!!

Don't just think because you do Karate and not Taekwondo you'll be at a disadvantage. I started at a WTF Taekwondo club (following closure of my Karate Club) and had my first competetion in the England Open at Southampton about 5 years back. I won by KO in the first 20 seconds of the first round (no this isn't a wind up) and won with a reverse roundhouse (my favoutie technique) to the head - it was the second kick of a combination, a roundhouse opened the way for the reverse roundhouse. The guy had all the head gear on, but it still knocked him out. The crowd went wild, but i was bricking it big time as i thought i had killed the guy. The First Aid were called and they gave him the salts, it wasn't a very pleasant experience. Although i'm quite leggy and flexible for a Karate guy, trust me when i say it doesn't matter what style you do, a kick is a kick and a punch is a punch.

Thanks for the warm wellcome Kanku

Jay, how long have you been training in Shotokan, and where abouts in England do you train?

I luv your screen name m8, its a classic

Thanks Jay, wasn't allways like that m8, took a lot of hard work, sweat and a fair amount of pain in the early days, but its worth it looking back

Thanks y2_sub, ShotokanKid, and Pineapple for the wellcome, what a freindly Forum this is

Thanks for the wellcome guys!

Hi Guys! I'm Soni, first post on the forums, i'm 33, just started Shotokan however i've been training in the Martial Arts since i was 14. Anyway, i'll keep it brief, Hiya!