Shotokan-kez

It's all mental to me i guess, occasionally i will write stuff after class but mainly it's memory.

Congratulations for your son, he sounds determined and i'm sure it's well deserved.

Aww best of luck to you hun, put in your all and you'll be fine!

Yes i thought that too?

I really like that idea Jaymac, that it's all supervised like that, only students allowed in is great. Unfortunatly anyone can walk in ours, but i think sensei doesnt mind to much in case they can be encouraged to train. I'm not overly worried about the kids that come in and shout stuff, nothing has ever happened so far, and afterall i do feel that they are just 'loud mouths' with no action. I was just a topic i thought about. I totally agree with you Jaymac, about boasting about Martial arts. I hardly tell anyone because i would be worried it could land me in trouble, however i guess it could also be a detterent. What i am concerned about is that when i take my black belt grading i don't think i'll be able to keep it to myself! Lol

Tekken, is just awesome, i do also really like the mortal kombat games, although i found the MA in it to be to far fetched, i know it's only a game but i thought tekken was more realistic to MA.

I am so excited for this movie, anyone know what it's called? I love Jackie Chan, he's amusing and a brilliant martial artist, Jet Li is fab also, so this should be interesting!

Thanks for your kind words and support guys!

He does sound like a drama queen! Yeah i think i would agree with what Brian said and let it go, he is making a very big fool of himself in class, also like Patrick says, any chance of avoiding sparring with him. Although it seems to me that he needs to be hit a few times to know what it's all about. Maybe he needs to learn to block!

Wow thats cool!

Yay congrats on your 1000th post!

At 29 i still suck my thumb....i know how shameful lol

Yeah i think toy story is a disney film, and i loved that too. Dunno if these two are disney but i loved monsters inc and finding nemo!

Generally i punch when im sparring in class, cos for some reason i never seem to be able to score with a kick, although i do throw one in from time to time, just to put my oppenent off a bit. I think if i was in a street fight i would probably kick because i have a powerful roundhouse kick, and in a street fight there are no rules and im not looking to score a point! How can kicking in a fight be cheap? Pulling hair and biting...maybe! Kick away if that means you win!

Yeah this is what i was thinking. It's so sad that kids can behave that way. I was on the bus the other day on my way to karate and there was a 12 year old girl on the bus swearing and shouting obscenities. The driver wanted her off and she wouldn't go, so the driver turned off her engine and called the police. Basically we were meant to sit on the bus and wait, and listen to that all the while being late to where we were going. A man behind me tried to get her off by grabbing her arms...and i though "be careful mate you could get in trouble". In the end i turned round and said.."will you just get off the bus, we all have places to go!". Then of course because i said that the other passengers got their two cents in and that got her off. I'm so glad she didnt try anything with me, or get violent with me after saying that to her because i would have defended myself and then maybe been arrested. This is the times when i think about limitations and and 'crossing the line' as far as using your martial arts training goes.

Yes i agree with you all, i will keep taking him to karate. They have a special kids class on a saturday but unfortunatly he can't go to that because he visits his dad and he won't take him. Well i had the meeting in school and the head said the kids involved have been severely punished and he has assured me that it's the end of it and it will never happen again. I do believe him because i know it has settled in school and Ryan seems a little happier. He has also said that the main ringleader has been put on a behaviour report and he is supervised at all times. Ryan has been really big and brave about it all, he has made friends with all the boys involved, but not to play with, just to say hello to. I am happy with the way the school has dealt with the situation, it just grinds me down when i think that these kids are only 9 and 10 years old, kids can be so cruel sometimes. I took bullying for four years when i was in school, it was constant and by the same group of girls, after four years i beat one of them up because i couldn't take any more and i just lost my cool. I don't want that to happen with Ryan, thats why i took it so seriously and why it bothered me so much.

Generally they get kicked out of the dojo by sensei, and he can be quite strict. I just worry sometimes cos we cycle to training and i think thats a bit of a target being in a rough area, they may want our bikes!! I see what your all saying. Here in the uk you can defend yourself with minimal force, despite the fact you are defending yourself against a threatening person they can still press charges against you!!

£2 for an hours lesson, no monthly charges or contracts, 5 lessons a week available!

Dim Mak translates to "Death Touch," or some equivalent. It is basically the idea that with intense training and focus, one can learn to channel his ki into a strike on a certain point of the body, that will cause death, in a nutshell. Look up George Dillman, and you should find a lot on the subject. Thanks brian, i will look into it!

Whats your favourite Disney movie? I have loads here but my faves have to be Beauty and the beast, Lion king and Aladdin.

No Brian just tell yourself your really really good

I suppose i'm starting this thread as it got me thinking over a few things after my thread about my lad being beat up. It drives me mad when i'm out drinking with friends because they always say things like "well it'll be okay if anyone starts any trouble because kez is out with us". Yes i know i should be able to do something but in all fairness i just don't know how i would react. Then of course you have the other side of things when people want to try and fight you simply because you do karate or other art. Also we have a lot of youths coming into our club that shouts obcenities from the back of the class, it bothers me that some may be waiting outside and may start. Although they may be as young as 12, what would you do then? Some boys that are under 16 can be very large, and probably are very street wise, yet if you defended yourself against them you could be up on a charge from the police. It's a difficult situation i think, knowing when to fight and who you can fight ect ect. Our dojo is in a rough area so i do worry about travelling to and from karate, especially since my friends son travels with us. Unfortunatly they are all kids, so how exactly would you defend yourself against them without any harm coming to them? Just thought i would run this by you all. Kez x

I agree with what everyone has said so far, practise, practise, practise. Try breaking the kick down and doing it slowly, eventually speeding it up. My side thrust kick is very week, and slow but i have just been trying to get the technique right first. We do this a lot with ushiro-geri.

Am i being dumb? What is this exactly? I gather its about certain moves that can kill people?

Wow people like this really deserve a pat on the back, they show bravery and resect ect. This is something i have always worried about for when i take my bb test soon. I have bever seen this happen in our club, just one story i heard once when a guy broke a womans nose, he actually failed his test for using to much aggression, apparantly he was so aggressive with it that it looked like he did it intentially to hurt her!