Shotokan-kez

My mother has had two heart attacks and she STILL smokes....me, i think she's crazy! As for Patrick Swayze i really like him as an actor, especially his earlier movies. I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Thanks guys you have been very helpful i will look into all the things you all suggested. I worship my boys and i know i would never let any harm come to them, i'm very protective over them, so im sure if they were ever around when something happened i would protect them to the hilt.....although i'm sure my 10 year old would try to get in there first...he thinks he's so tough bless him

Thanks throwdown, what you say makes sense but unfortunatly i suffer with a panic dissorder. I used to take meds for it but one day decided i didnt want them anymore...pat myself on the back I'm ok in tourneys, i have never won anything but i have always enjoyed the experience and it has never really scared me, i found them to be fun. It's just real life situations where i would get stuck

I will never be able to fight in real life i don't think. I am okay in the dojo and im tough and even give the large fella's a good fight but in real life i would be completely useless. I can't cope with situations like that, i'm a like a frightened rabbit and im ashamed to say i wouldnt know how i would react if my family or friends were in danger.

Modern and International History 1900-1914. Yes a pretty boring read but i need it for my studies I just don't have time these days to read my books anymore...too much study.

I agree Brian. Take downs can be done in many different ways, from a sweep or more complex. They don't seem to be as violent, to me they seem to be more controlled. When we do throws i don't like it because if i land in a funny way it hurts my neck and head.

Ahh thank you night owl. When i looked on the net i did wonder why they had so many alphabets. I will pm you my name. I couldn't find anything for my surname it was just the first symbol of my first name was different to the one i saw...not a lot though i must admit. Makes me maybe not wanna learn the Japanese language lol....sooooo confusing

Ahhh right thanks Brian! Thats interesting to know

Yeah i was always under the impression that "master" would be reffered to as someone who was like a 10th Dan in karate or summat, never really thought of it any deeper than that.

I have been interested in learning Japanese for a while. Just out of interest really, and because i would like to know what all the writing is on my Dan grade certificate and the embroidery on my black belt. (Although i picked this myself i would like to see if its true) I would rather learn about it rather than just go ask someone. I know that each symbol doesn't resemble 1 letter otherwise my name would only be three letters, when its actually 5. Anyways i'm not very happy because they haven't done the first symbol right on my name on my belt! It's got my full name in Japanese on one side and i managed to find a site that shows the writing but for first names only, i wasn't very happy to see that the first symbol on my belt is wrong, the other two are spot on though. I know that a lot of people wouldn't know if it was right or wrong, as i didnt before i checked on this site, but now i know and i'm not very happy! So anyway now i have finnished babbling does anyone know any sites i can go on (preferably free) that will allow me to see the japanese alphabet so i can translate the words on my certificates?

Congratulations on passing, try not to be to down, just take it with a pinch of salt and be proud to have passed. I can imagine how you feel, i always felt elated after passing a grading....thats the way it should be really.

Bassai Dai is our brown belt kata, it is used for gradings in all three brown belt gradings, including the 1st Dan grade (as well as other kata's). I have practised Bassai Sho and i really like it, although i so sometimes get mixed up with some of the turns and hand movements. I think if you know this kata properly it's awesome and a brilliant kata to know. We have a BO course coming up in our club soon and we will be doing Bassai Sho and i can't wait for that.

We occasionally do throws and takedowns but i don't think they are "officially" for Shotokan, i think they would probably be the same as other styles would do. It's jolly good fun though!

We grade every three months, but because we have three brown belts before black the final brown belt has to be six months, and to get black belt after that it could be anything up to a year, it took me 9 months to get my black belt and that was without missing a single session. It really does depend on the amount of sessions a student has in that three months, but im not 100% sure exactly how many is required.

I'm forever jamming my fingers through blocking with an open hand, resulting in me having to tape them up for a week...i will never learn! One time we were doing line sparring and the person defending had to block front kick. He blocked my kick but caught the inside of my knee. I don't know how but my vein popped right out and it was agony. The bruise went from the side of my knee right down to the top of my calf. Very strange injury and very painful!

I had never heard of this, with the sound of the name i thought it may not have been genuine. Well you learn new things every day Sounds very interesting though.

Hmmm i don't even want a gun i hate them. If someone drew one up on me i dunno what i would do, probably try and run for it lol

He pegassi that sounds like a great way to learn control, may have to have a go at that myself

Yep i wholly agree with you Tori, i don't work but i still have to look after the kids and go to college. I was thinking when Karateka's do this do you think they just have a point to prove?

eeeeeee now we are getting 75mph winds. I worry because there are trees behind my house, which are actually much taller than my house!

Erm yeah i think a lot of this is true, we are not always saying nobody is going to get hit because we do aim for targets and it is the defenders fault if we don't block in time, but in my opinion lack of control is sloppy karate, simply because an experienced Karateka should know the difference. In answer to somebodys question i'm not sure what she is like with the kyu grades. Usually when we do partner work we automatically go together because she is the same height and grade. When we get our mitts and and spar in class i cant see what she's doing cos im busy getting my butt kicked (or not). When we do pad work sensei always says aim through the pad, go through it and sometimes thats what it feels like she is doing with my ribs. I have been injured before....i DO expect it. But constantly being hit hard in the ribs by an experienced karateka during simple three step sparring is becoming an annoyance.

Thats good news for you. I was just like him when i started teaching, was very quiet with my instructions and talking too much, only difference was the kids walked all over me lol Good luck with your orange belt grading!

Aww how sweet. My dad didnt care lol

I train in shotokan..always have but there are a few i would like to have a go at if i had the time...and of course the money. Mauy thai, TKD, Judo and Aikido

Yeah i saw that on fight quest to Erm i think i will leave it to the experts Does look cool though.