Protagonist

I'm only fourteen, turning fifteen on the third day of June. -Protagonist

I'll do that. I have karate tomorrow. -Protagonist

Well, my mom was going to schedule an appointment with our doctor for other reasons, but she hasn't gotten around to doing that yet. And yes, my dad is in the Military. -Protagonist

Thank you very much. I might start going to class early, it seems like it could really help. -Protagonist

Hmm. How exactly should I do this? How should I tell my parents I would like to suggest creating a 'karate body plan' with my doctor? But, it's a good idea, so I'll probably end up doing it anyway. -Protagonist

Thank you very much for your input. -Protagonist

Hi. I had just joined the site and had decided that the best place for me to post first would be in the Getting Started forums. There, I had written in my thread that I'm currently a white-belt in karate and would like a few answers to my questions. I had also written about my height and weight so that I could get some input about what exercises I should do: I was told that for my height I was pretty thin, so it was would be wise to eat more and workout. I'm planning on starting to run a mile daily when the weather gets warmer, asking my Dad to take me to the gym whenever he has the chance, and going down into the basement to practice. The thing is, though, is that I eat very much. I'm not quite sure about my calorie intake, but I have a very big appetite. I'm thinking my weight has to do with my metabolism. If so, should I eat more, or do I just need to workout more? I'm also a female, and was told that females do not have as much protective muscle on their bones unlike males. I was basically wondering if any of you had any tips on what workouts I should do and on what my diet should consist. Thank you for reading/viewing/responding. -Protagonist [if you need to know, I'm taking karate as a class in my Freshmen year in Highschool, so I'm in the dojo two to three times a week for ninety minutes. I don't do very many cardiovascular activities since the weather is currently cold and unpredictable, and I'm still not sure if the gym here on the Airforce Base allows minors.]

Thank you very much for the helpful replies! Well, I actually eat very, very much. I have a huge appetite, but I'm not quite sure how many calories I eat a day. (I usually don't pay attention to this.) But if you're suggesting that I eat more and work out, I'll do that. Makes sense. We also have a heater for when it gets cold in the house, so I think practicing in the basement would be fine. -Protagonist

Hello everyone. I apologize in advance if this isn't in the right forum. I didn't know whether or not to write this here, or in the karate section. But, since this section is for beginners and their questions, I felt it should go here. Don't be afraid to tell a newbie if she's wrong. (But don't be so harsh please, I'm quite thin-skinned.) To get to the point of this thread, I'm currently a *white-belt in Karate, which is a class I'm taking to get a Physical Education credit for my Freshmen year in Highschool. Overall, I highly enjoy the class and will possibly take it over the summer, and possibly at a public dojo next year since it's a really expensive class to take at school. (One hundred and eighty-nine dollars for the class and thirty for certification I think.) Even though this class is enjoyable, I can't help feeling a few insecurities. For one, I'm about as introverted as introverted can get. As I've figured out, this class deals with being quite loud, stating the student creed, and shouting kiai(s). This is something I know I will get over with time; doesn't karate also help with self-confidence? And besides I'm getting used to it. (I'm very competitive BTW.) But, I also have a couple of non-avoidable insecurities and questions. Another insecurity I have is having no previous martial-arts training, and yet 99.9% of students at my dojo, (excluding another *white-belt in the same boat as I) have been doing karate at young ages and have tons of experience. Because of this, I feel that fourteen is too old, since it seems most wise if you begin to develop your skills at a young age. Secondly, I think I've heard somewhere that karate deals with muscle memory, meaning that I'll possibly need to practice on my own time. The problem is, since I live in Colorado, the weather is too unpredictable and cold [now] for me to practice with a decent mat outside, and the house I live in is government owned; it's decently-sized, but still too small for me to practice katas and whatnot. My mom suggested that I go down into the basement, I don't mind the basement, but it's currently filled with boxes since we had just moved into government housing and it's cold, since it's not insulated. I can't go to a public dojo because we're tight on money and being the insecure little shy girl I am, seeing five year olds with higher rankings than me is discouraging. So, I was basically wondering if any of you who practice at home can give me a few suggestions. It would be very nice. **I had just received my yellow belt today, but I still feel like my knowledge and skill in karate is at a white-belt level. I feel (it's not exactly a gut feeling, but something I made myself nag about) that I am not ready for my yellow-belt, but I'm sure sensei gave me my yellow-belt for the right reasons yes. I would ask him, but I'm kind of afraid of the brutal honesty that would come if he told me I had just made it through the belt-testing. [i also was wondering if running daily and doing push-ups would help me maintain good weight and help me in karate overall. I'm currently five-feet and six and one fourth inches and weigh about 114lbs, and even though it's not like I'm obese or noticeably chubby, I still need something to not make my so-called 'athletic genes' go to waste.] Thank you for reading such a long thread and viewing/responding. I really appreciate it. - Protagonist