Shotokan-kez

Yes i agree with both of you, getting so tired shows how much effort has been put in, plus it shows a good example to the lower grades, especially if i perform the lower kata's well.

Oh Big Scott it wasn't a grading it was a normal session, they just did it because the Kyu grades are taking their gradings in a couple of weeks. We do this routine regulary. Yeah i guess it is about breathing and stamina, building it up. Maybe i should do that at a regular basis at home, then next time i will breeze through it ha i wish. It is hard though having to remember all those Kata's, sometimes when we are doing this i find myself looking at the person next to me through the corner of my eye just to check i got it right lol

Wow Brian what a great set-up you have! Wish we had that. Generally our club is quiet but it is open to anyone who wants to watch or join in. A while back we did have a problem with a group of kids who kept coming in shouting abuse and messing around. Sensei just told them at the main desk never to let them in again.

Hey guys..this is mainly just a moan lol I just got back in from training and there is a kyu grading coming up. Sensei took it in turns all had to stay up for Kihon Kata, then white belts rested, then all had to do Hiean shodan, then orange belts rest and so on and so on. Of course me (and others) being a dan grade we had to stay up and perform them all, then right at the end there was only us left and we had to do one of our own. Needless to say we were absolutly bushed Has anyone else ever had to do this and how do you go through all these kata's one after another without getting too tired. When this happens to me my legs tend to go weak and i loose balance ect, then of course my technique and strength falls. Grrr i guess i just need to build up stamina. Any advice? Kez

I have never seen any of the conan's. I may buy them if i can pick them up cheap enough.

Thanks dete. He's actually doing very well. He's putting weight on gradually and he is playing and smiling. He is still very small for his age so at nearly one year he still cant sit up or crawl so he has to have physio. His heart hasn't improved but hasnt got worse either and the doctors are very pleased at the way he is coping with it, so thats all good signs!

No sorry food all eaten up by hungry children..even my cat had a try Wow disneyland, think i would have prefered that

Woohoo i threw a great party. We played apple bobbing and mummy wrap and the kids had to go on a pumpkin hunt around the house, it was great fun. I mad a huge pot of cilli, hot dogs and potato wedges. The kids went trick or treating for half an hour and they came back with lots of sweets. Everyone was dressed up, we had skeletons, dracula's and goblins and witches. Everyone had a fab time, it was brilliant. Although i could have done without the cleaning up afterwards.

Well as i have only got shodan i dont know what i would have to do yet. But all the same, very best of luck.

OO i have this same problem. I dont have the problem with belts anymore but my sensei always used to forget belts and things, usually if it got to long i would just go buy one myself. I dont think he has ever left it that long though. Just keep reminding him, if you knew his email addy you could email him everyday..if you felt cheeky enough hehe.

congrats hun

we have always kicked off our back leg. Dont get me wrong we kick off the front leg too and i feel they are much faster. I agree with what brian said the side kick from the back leg is quite slow to get going and i cant get an awful lot of power from it.

I feel so lucky when i see how much you guys pay for training. I don't know the equivilent between dollars and pounds but i pay £2 per lesson and thats it. There are no programmes or anything like that. In England i wouldn't pay more than £4 a lesson because thats the average cost. Of course i have seen some much dearer, which would be out of my price range. I can't really comment on this because i dont know what it is or had any experience of it. It seems though you have had some great advice so far, try a trial time and see how you feel, work out your usual budget for living for the month and see if you can spare the cash. Good luck and welcome to KF. x

Hmm that is a lot but i bet it's great having so many pets, i love animals but hence the cost of feed and vet fee's i can't afford more than what i have now. My mum has two horses, a skewbald and a piebald...i think thats how you spell them lol

Wow Brian this is fantastic Time for a party! I know you have been talking about this for some time so im very happy for you. When you described what you had to do it sounded awesome...hey we would love to see you in action! Don't spose you wanna post a video? Well done hun xx

Not heard of it till now, sounds like it could be good though. Is this out on dvd yet?

Well i agree with most of these replies. I feel you are far better off doing a kata you know well and have been doing for a long time rather than one you are or have only just learnt. In my experience judges can be very picky and may notice your slightest mistake. Your kata has to be perfect, good techniqe and form and lots of power and strength, and i found with lots of heart. I made the wrong choice with my kata, i chose Kanku-Dai and with me only being shodan for a few months i am just learning these advanced kata's. I should have performed Godan, instead i picked my 'favourite' which i feel was a mistake...but don't get me wrong it could work for you. Your best bet would be for maybe to perfrom both your kata's in front of your sensei as much as possible before the comp and get some sound advice from him/her. Good luck

Two of my fishies died When they all go i'm going to get a tropical set-up so i won't be replacing these two.

I too get sore feet sometimes but i think it's mainly due to the floor we train on. It doesn't last very long. Tonight for instance we were training on the jumps in Kata's and my feet killed afterwards. I would be tempted to go see your gp though if it's a constant thing.

To be perfectly honest i have never researched Bruce Lee, i'm sure what you all say is true. I only ever saw him in movies, and just consider him to be a great martial artist.

Haha very good Brian I am holding a halloween party this year for the children. They want me to dress up, should be fun My boys will be dressed up as skeletons. I'm going to have them playing the apple bobbing game..does anyone know of any good halloween party games?

Hah funny you should say that...it was the fighting part we wasn't allowed to watch Their Kata's were awesome. One guy grading for his third dan was lucky cos sensei allowed him 3 chances because he kept kia'ing in the wrong place, bless him he was shattered after that.

When we are practising this in our dojo we go to the bars hold on with one hand and use the other for balance. Do the kicks very slowly to practice pivoting your supporting foot. Don't know if this is any good for you but worked well for me.

I'm not quite sure what you mean, sorry i'm not much help. I don't think we did anything like that. What belt are you grading for? Do you think you would be able to speak to your sensei to ask him before your grading on saturday, might be wise if your worried about it. Good luck.

Foreign language is cool, i would like to learn chinese and spanish.