mizu

I've not seen any changes in our dojo following the rise of MMA popularity. I see no reason to either - we're there to train in Shotokan, not MMA. That's not me being all traditionalist or anything - just how I see things. If I were at a badminton club and they started to practice table tennis because it was more popular I'd think it suspect. Whilst there are cross overs and similarities, MMA and karate are different, and are mostly trained for different reasons.

I don't think karate has fundamentally lost its value. There are however two factors that are influencing how karate is perceived; Firstly, commercialisation has especially in the west watered down what is being taught, making it at the same time more accessible, and less effective. Secondly, the "Gracie effect" - the huge uplift in popularity of MMA and bjj inparticular means that karate is no longer the only show in town. In fact it's often seen as last season's show. My own view, from my own experience, is that where taught with the correct spirit and technical competence there is still a huge amount of value in karate. I certainly can't imagine my life without it.

If you want to compete in MMA then you should train at an MMA gym. Training in Shotokan and then judo/ju-jitsu/wrestling is complimentary of course (I train in Shotokan and did judo for a while in addition to add some throws and locks) but is no preparation for proper MMA competition.

I used to view transitions as moving from a "standing" fight to a "ground" fight, but James is right - it's about a change in "range" - I hear kickboxing commentators talk about transitioning from kicks to elbows as the one fighter "closes" in on the other. It's very interesting to consider this - within karate there is ma-ai or "fighting distance", and knowing how to change this effectively is key to coming out on top in an engagement. It's certainly something I need to work on!

This has been a good year for me. Nothing special happened - no grades or tournaments, just a good solid year of training under my belt. I really enjoy my karate when I can just get on an train, when I'm not particularly building up to anything - and that's what I've had this year! Great stuff!

Chinte is a great kata - I think it's quite under-rated. Certainly the bunkai is quite exotic!

We really suffer from not having a good stream of new beginners too - and when we do get new folk, it's hard to keep hold of them! Our sensei is quite phlegmatic about it though - he says we train for ourselves, not other people, so we shouldn't be too worried about it. He does practically no advertising at all, and as a result our club is built around a core of just four people. It's good training though, and whilst it would be good to have more people, I'll leave it to sensei to run his dojo as he sees fit.

If I could only keep five (which by the way would be terrible!) I guess they would be: Heian Nidan Tekki Sandan Bassai Dai Unsu Kanku Sho But that's a *horrid* question! There are so many others I would want to keep too!

I'm always interested to know how other people got started with their training - and what keeps them coming back for more. For me, when I was a kid, I lived in the back-end of no-where, with very little to do, other than the local karate club. It was a no-brainer. As soon as I was old enough, I nagged my parents until they let me go. There was something about the idea of it - it seemed mystical, like I would learn secret techniques and gain special powers (remember I was very young at this point!). I was in total awe of the black belts there, and the first few years were blissful, if massively difficult. I kept it up until University where, being a poor student miles away from home, I lost interest, or more importantly, I forgot what it was I so much enjoyed about karate. Then about five years ago, I found a local club, and started all over again. What keeps me going now is the endeavour, the reward for hard work, the satisfaction I get in improving - if only minutely - and the (this will sound completely corny) stress release I get from it all. So what about you?!

I only trained in judo for a short while (about a year), but imho, it doesn't need to do any more on the ground than it does now. I fought in a few novice tournaments, and watched plenty of seniors, and I think that they have the balance about right. Our dojo used to train three aspects - standing, ground work and transition. For me, the hardest part was transition, and that's where I always got whupped in tournaments!

I don't think there's a lot I can add to what you've all said. This kind of thing really doesn't do the reputation of karate, or martial arts in general, any good at all. What a pity.

Well done on your shodan! I live in Cambridgeshire, so not so far away!

Sorry, leng = leg!

I'm not sure I agree. Surely it's in the timing? Someone who has drawn their leg up to kick, but not yet begun to extend can quite safely be blocked in this way, and indeed, the double arms give extra strength to push back knocking the would-be kicker off balance (they are after all only standing on one leng at this time). I would conceed that this is not easy, and carries a certain risk, but then so does all confrontation. They way we are taught it, the jump in heian godan is to evade a strike at the knees with a bo, so it's all about pulling your knees up under you, then landing to the side, with a double block (for a kick) with kiai. I've seen the application where this is a throw not a jump, and think this is just as valid.

I go to the dojo three times a week, but like a few people have already said, I like to spend some time at home training on the other days. For me home training really just consists of stretching, but I find that this really helps for when I'm at the dojo. I certainly feel it if I *don't* do the extra stretches at home!

QFT. Tuck your knees up - that's the key!

I like pretty much all the katas - the ones I know anyway. I like watching Gankaku, though haven't learnt this one yet - it looks quite difficult, but when done well, looks fantastic. Actually to perform, I guess the Bassai katas, and Ji'in would be amongst my favourites.

I found the thing that helped me the most was when I started doing just some general stretches every day, rather than only at training. I didn't do much - just 30 minutes or so, and my flexibility improved quite quickly. Good luck!

Are you from the Portsmouth area by any chance? I used to train with Sensei Hazard, and Senei O'Donnell when they were part of SEKU. This is going way back to around 87 / 88 time now (I no longer live down in Portsmouth).

Take the advice above - i.e. use only for doing your techniques slowly, but bluntly, IMHO I don't think you should use these at all at age 16. Your body is still developing, and you should be very careful as far as the use of weights is concerned.

I'm currently learning Kanku Sho and Jin. I say learning, I've been shown the moves, and have them memorised, but I'm still to really understand them.

In our dojo, the term sempai is used for the senior student and no-one else, i.e. if he is not there, it is not used for the next most senior. He is currently at nidan. We refer to our instructor as Sensei, and he refers to his instructor also as Sensei.

Tokaidojapan.com gets my vote. I had a gi and belt made by them, and they are absolutely splendid. You really can't go wrong...

I thought it was commonly accepted that karate followed on from kung fu. The very word "karate" which is now taken to mean "empty hand" (kara te), originally came from the Okinawan pronounciation of the word "kara" meaning "chinese", i.e. "chinese hand". As Patusai said, everyone wants to think their style is the best - plain cognitive dissonance - but in reality, I would imagine they are all fairly much the same with regards effectiveness. I'm often asked by my none MA practicing friends who I think would win in a fight between a kung fu master and a karate master. I answer simply that they would not have cause to engage each other.

My sensei always told me that you only fail when you stop trying. Therefore, in my opinion, you haven't failed this test...