AikiGuy

You are already doing it. As the others have said, practicing with your neighbor is one of the best things you can do other than taking a class. What style does your neighbor do? Is it a grappling art? What you two can get from each other depends a lot on how similar your styles are.

I am not big on the internal arts since it is a small part of my MA style. But I have learned to harness Ki in some aspects. Anyone who has done board or brick breaking has experienced Ki on some level by focusing his physical energy. In class we also use Ki for meditation and relaxation. On a side note, I have practiced on my own and I can use Ki to control pain. Cool huh? Those are my experiences but I'm sure there are many different aspects as many have pointed out.

I think you said it all in your predictions. Gi is more realistic and better for the street. No gi is harder to work with but better preparation for MMA type bouts where fighters have no shirts. Still I will (, at the risk of sounding redundant,) give my take on it. My style does some grappling but not much so any competition I went to would be mostly stand-up or take-down and break. So the gi works for my style since that's what we train more. If we are talking about just grappling, then I see your point in saying it would be slower. But what if it's MMA or freestyle? It should not be slower at all. It just requires you to switch approaches and use your stand-up game more. Grapplers are always saying how it does better than stand-up in MMA. But here's a situation where the striking ability shines a bit. If I throw a good front kick, it does not matter what my opponent is wearing or how sweaty he is. I'm not saying a striker would then be unbeatable. I'm just saying that here a grappler would have a hinderance while a striker would not.

He did use the classic forearm blocks. But there were a couple others. The "wax on, wax off" movements are called "knife hand blocks" (shuto uke) in many styles including mine. The "paint a fence" movements are called "chicken blocks" in my style, although I never really knew why. That name does not seem as universal though. There may be another name for it in other styles.

Bench pressing first. Then leg extensions.

Since you are looking for an interesting class, I suggest going to see one in person. You can't tell much from a website. If you are just looking to observe for the sake of research, you can walk into most martial arts dojos and ask to watch. Some may not welcome you if you are not intending to take a class. Others will be glad to help. It varies a lot. If you don't have a lot of time, maybe call ahead to places listed in the phone book and see if they will let you observe or even give you an interview. If you are looking for a place with a lot of credibility, try to find a place with multiple locations (Karate Institute or Tracy's Karate are well known in my area), or a place associated with someone famous (Chuck Norris, Ernie Reyes, the Gracie brothers, etc.), or a place that often sends their students to competitions. I don't imagine it would be too difficult to find a place willing to accept free publicity (assuming you could provide some). If you have any miscellaneous or preliminary questions, many people on this site (including me) could probably help in that area. Good luck on your research.

Yeah, I guess that counts as one obvious difference. Katas are preset and not to be altered. Boxing drills may change daily. That definitely makes them more versatile. Of course with katas, you can always just do a different kata for variation, but even then you are still somewhat limited. So they are not perfect. On a side note, my dojo also does sparring drills similar to shadow boxing. As much as I like katas and recognize their attempt to do the same thing as drills, it is helpful to supplement the training with some freestyle drills.

Well they are and they aren't. I'm not saying they are identical or interchangeable. I'm just saying they are two different methods for accomplishing the same (or at very least similar) goals. Kata and drill practice (let's say shadow boxing since it is the most similar) both require repetition, give a fighter a level of comfort with the movements, and provide muscle memory. If my boxing instructor says drill a combo of jab-jab-cross-cover-hook-uppercut, and I do that 100 times in a row, it will be similar to going to Karate class and doing a portion of a kata that calls for a similar sequence. Of course there are differences in the movements included, stances, and other variations due to the style of fighting you choose. But that aside, they both attempt to improve your proficiency at a number of moves. Then you can use them in sequence, out of order, one at a time, or in any combination you want. I see the benefits to mind, body, and reflexes to be pretty much the same thing. Also let me say that I have cross trained in Boxing and MT for a short while so I have experienced the results of some of their drills and other training methods first hand. I never saw some of these similarities until I actually did them. I have also sparred with boxers and I now see the benefit for some of their movements that seemed odd to me before. I am just a novice at boxing but I have many examples of how their fighting and training methods parallel those of a martial artist. If anyone wants some specific examples, just ask and I will be happy to share some of them for discussion.

Wow, this is quite a debate. I practice Karate (among other disciplines) and I realize the purpose for Kata and think it's a great learning tool. There are many reasons to do kata and few people truly understand all of them. I happen to like them a lot so I've given it a lot of thought and I believe I understand more of this issue than many I have met. However I do think some schools do more than they need to. Of course you are doing simple movements for muscle memory. Each move taken by itself is simple once you have learned it. After that you just do 45 of them in a row and call it a kata. But then they look complicated to the untrained eye. Actually it's better to exaggerate the movements in practice instead of doing shorter, faster, more realistic movements. You tend to shortcut your movements when you are hurried or under stress. So if you overdo your movements in training, then shortening them will put you right where you need to be. Yes this works! I have experienced it in a real fight and it's true. Also practicing with a partner is sometimes not very realistic since it's usually someone in your own style. This means someone of a different art (or no art) may surprise you. Choreographed? Yes. Stiff? No. Not unless they are doing it wrong or they just learned that kata. Also, a huge mass of movements is nothing more than many smaller movements done one after the other. It's like a boxer learning a 2 punch combo, a 3 punch combo, and a 4 punch combo and then putting them all together in one sequence. Boxers call it shadow boxing. Martial artists call it kata. Actually we do this. We practice each single movement alone before we are expected to perform the entire kata well. The kata just strings them together so it's easier for an instructor to test/evaluate a student on many key items in a shorter amount of time instead of calling out one item at a time then waiting for a student to perform it, then going to the next item and waiting again. Kata is also a good way to memorize this list of required key movements so you can practice at home by yourself. There are different modes of fighting. Sparring prepares you for stand-up fighting at some distance the way another trained stand-up fighter would spar. Defense techniques (called waza) prepare you for for wild or lunging surprise attacks. Grappling prepares you for clinch and ground fighting. I'm sure every school boasts a higher success rate at their own specialty. If the Kyokushin people you mentioned go to a jujutsu or wrestling school, they may not do as well. This is true of any art. Again it depends on what type of combat you mean. But anything that helps you remember a movement will help in combat. This includes kata. Hopefully after reading this post, you realize kata offers far more than relaxation and meditation. Some might say the same thing about a boxing or MT gym where they spend half the time doing bag work or shadow boxing (since kata is our version of shadow boxing). Should they do more ring time with a partner? Not really. It's really the same movements so it still works to improve your skill. You start out shadow, move up to the bag, then move to the ring once you have become proficient. But you are still doing the same movements. Once you understand that, it doesn't matter which one you do.

This is not true. All the exercises you and others have suggested will help. But you are excluding weight training as if it will not help at all. The original poster did not mention strain in her lungs or heart. She stated she gets the shakes in her legs. This indicates an anaerobic issue which can be remedied with more leg endurance. When you exert a muscle to a point nearing anaerobic failure, the "shakes" is a common result. If this were a purely aerobic issue, one would be out of breath before any considerable level of muscle fatigue or failure occured. The common level of sustained aerobic alone activity may not isolate the area in question enough to remedy the leg shakes. The one thing I will agree with is that H.I.I.T. may help. This works only because it is not purely aerobic. It is a modified form of aerobics that is both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. Due to the speed required, the faster intervals are explosive movements similar to weight training. That's why track sprinters have can develop stronger legs without ever lifting weights. However this is still a combination exercise. While very good as a total body workout, it divides the focus of the workout. Weight training would focus 100% of a workout session into strengthening the legs. Of course we still do not know if the poster wants such a focused workout. But if so, then weight training is a valid option.

That's not a negative. People make up their own exercise variation so I'm sure some do these as you have described. But, you are correct in saying they are cutting down the effectiveness but it changes more of the power and endurance you get from it. Not so much the range of motion. A proper negative rep is done after a full set of normal reps until failure. Then you no longer have the strength to lift the weight but you have enough to slow it down as it descends. You will be straining against gravity and failing to hold the weight the whole time until it hits bottom. This increased strain is what gives you faster strength gains. Then your spotter helps you lift the weight all the way up so you can do another negative rep by yourself. You get weaker with each rep so it will drop faster every time. But continue to resist as hard as you can for as many reps as you desire. Of course this is an advanced technique that should not be attempted by beginners. You can cause injury by going all out if your body is not accustomed to it. If you haven't already worked up to doing "failure" sets regularly, I would not recommend negatives yet. Even if you do not injure something, you can still cause an extreme amount of painful soreness for days after.

Oh yeah! I was so nervous at my BB test, I bowed at the beginning of my kata but I got distracted and forgot. So I bowed again. Then in the middle of my kata, I totally left out a step/guard movement. I knew that kata very well. It was just my nervousness messing me up. I still passed since that was the only kata I messed up. Congratulations on passing!

I think weight training for the muscle that usually fatigues will help a lot. For most people it's the quadriceps. If this is the case, assuming you have healthy knees and other joints, do some leg extensions or squats with a moderate amount of weight that you can do for 15 or 20 reps.

I'm sure there are many great products but I will recommend the two I have seen to be very good: "C-Gear" by Century and "Gladiator" Pro-Force. I personally find that gloves tear up a lot faster than boots. And both of these brands have OK boots, but really great quality gloves. The first thing I look for is a glove that has more than a thin cord or strip of vinyl to attach it to your fingers. These tear very easily if you do anything more than very light or no contact sparring (and even then it's possible to ruin them). Both of these (and others I'm sure) have more of a finger "compartment" similar to a mitten or boxing glove. I have the C-Gear and they have lasted for years. The gloves have double padding over the knuckle and normal padding everywhere else. They also have a more durable surface coating than the usual dipped foam gear that cracks after a while. In 6 years mine have never cracked. The only other thing I would like to see is a tied or covered thumb. Although it is padded. Other than that, they are excellent. http://www.centurymartialarts.com/Default.aspx?tabid=53&categoryid=70437471-c50b-44f2-aaf5-483851413a85&subcategoryid=4a90a49c-cee5-4bd9-bc7e-09cce522cbe5&itemguid=3c100a34-2739-49e4-bf37-9d73a45f972a A class mate had the Pro-Force gear and it seemed very good as well. It doesn't have the same shell coating as C-Gear so I'm not sure how durable the surface is. Slightly less knuckle pad than C-Gear too but probably about the same as your average dipped foam gloves so it should do fine. The great thing about these though is the protected thumb. I think it had little or no thumb padding but it was completely shielded. The finger compartment was like a boxing glove with a permanent curve to it. Also, it was oversized to be wider than your hand and it wrapped over the palm to cover the thumb. Great feature to have. http://www.proforcema.com/cnt_show_product.cfm?product_id=10102 Happy shopping. Hope this proves useful.

Agreed. As I hinted before, I am not saying they always do a great job. I'm just saying they do teach as part of their training at that level. I guess I got a little off-focus. What I meant to say was that as a Blue Belt, many assistants do adjust their technique either for their own performance purposes or to make it easier to explain to others. Again, this is not always the best answer, but people do it a lot. And sometimes they do so without even realizing it. I suppose this experimentation is a normal part of learning. But I agree that many times, they should not attempt this since they are not fully qualified to analyze advanced techniques. What are these principles of "Su-Ha-Ri"? It sounds like it may include a recommended level at which students are allowed (or expected) to adapt movements to suit other purposes. If that is so, it is different from the adaptation I mentioned as being common at blue belt level. I did not mean they should adapt things. I'm only saying that they do. Some may do it as they try to make an otherwise difficult movement work for them. Or they adjust things without realizing it. They may believe they are doing it the same way it was taught even if they are not. Of course this will cause confusion so hopefully they learn not to do this very often. That's what I was getting at before. Sorry if I was unclear.

Yeah, the interval method is a good one. Just for the sake of variety, here's another option. Pick a day you don't have MA class (or any other exercise activity) and run 2 miles (or as close as you can get). You may slow down toward the end but that's ok. If you only run for a mile each time, your body is trained to give out after 1 mile so you always will. But if you push a bit longer once in a while, your body will try to keep up by increasing your endurance level so it takes longer for you to become exhausted. That means the last portion of your mile (when you are probably very tired) will not be so strenuous and you will maintain a quicker ending pace.

Not at blue belt though I think. Yes, most certainly at blue belt (although sometimes they shouldn't). When I was a blue belt, I taught lower ranks all the time. The other blue belts and I would compare methods and found that we had many different ways of doing or explaining the same techniques. If there was a big difference, we usually agreed that we all had valid ways of doing them but we should ask Sensei which way to teach it so we don't confuse the newer students. Everyone who said check with your Sensei is right. However Lexmark, you have a good point about not wanting the assistants to think you are wasting their time. The next time two assistants show you conflicting explanations of the same thing, point it out to either of them and let them take it from there to clarify it. Say something like "Here's your way and here's his way. Are both acceptable?" or "When should I use each variation?" An assistant can then compare notes with the other assistant or check with the instructor and give you a better answer. This way you don't have to offend anyone by going over his/her head to the Sensei. The assistant will appreciate this too since you are letting him do his job instead of making him look bad to the instructor.

I can back that up. I've done weight training for over 20 years and this method does work. When you do slow reps, it's more of an endurance exercise than a power movement. When you do a lift that does not require much strain, you don't need to use every fiber of a muscle. If you do a variation that requires sustained tension for a longer time (slower reps or pause and hold), the fibers that are working will get tired. As they fatigue, other fibers around them will activate to help out. So it forces more of the muscle to be involved. To see the difference, pick an exercise and do all your sets in slow motion (10 to 20 seconds per rep). If you work out with a good level of intensity, you should notice some extra soreness in the next few days.

That's odd that you say "anywhere in the U.S.". What kind of training situation are you looking for that enables you to go anywhere in the country? Do you travel a lot? Or are you touring the tournament circuit? I'm not sure how to reply without knowing what your schedule requirements are. Do you want: permanent? temporary? seasonal? specific dates?

The best motivation I ever found is to get a training partner. Whether you're lifting weights, jogging, or doing forms in your basement, this works great. Just find someone who wants to practice the same thing and schedule a time to get together. When your partner shows up, it forces you to train.

Good answers by everyone else about brushing up on the Japanese. So I won't bother to repeat any of it. As for the compartments, I will suggest trying to do one at a time. I believe they would run together as you suggested. If you can alternate semesters (or years), I think it will be easier. For me, learning two languages would be very confusing. It's the same as martial arts. Most people agree it is easier to learn one style well, then start another one than to learn two simultaneously. At first, you can understand two different concepts individually. But it's hard to build up habits when you have to switch from one to the other depending on which class you are in. The result is that it may never become a true habit at all. You may just rely on your memory which is good for short term things but not so much for long term retention.

At my school, certification is part of the BB test. As soon as you pass, you are automatically qualified to sub for any instructor, or go start a class elsewhere.

I vaguely remember the Taikyoku katas from my first MA class (over 20 years ago). What style do you do? Mine was Kajukenbo. This looks like the kata I remember as Taikyoku 3, but he does his blocks much differently than we did. He also leans forward on his steps which I did not expect from someone with a pretty high rank. In the vid, it looks black or brown. Very odd to me.

It does matter and it does indicate where you are in rank. But it is specific to a certain school's ranking system. It's like saying a general (army) and an admiral (navy) are the same rank level. Even though they are in separate branches, they are the same number of levels from the bottom so they are equal. That's why some people refer to their "kyu" or "grade" level instead. These are numerical values so they are generic. In my style, green belt is 6th kyu. I once knew someone who wore a purple belt and said in his school, that was 6th kyu. So the two are equal. (Purple would be 4th kyu at my school.) So your "kyu" is universal. But your color is specific to a school or style, so it may or may not be the same kyu level at another dojo. Hope this makes sense.

I've never heard of that one. What kind of style is it? Do you have any specifics about it? Is it: hard, soft, linear, evasive, purist Karate, mixed style, etc?