Shotokan-kez

I wouldn't know about that, as i'm not an instructor but i do see where your coming from. My sensei doesn't compliment very much, if he says nothing or just 'good' then you know your ok, if he doesn't like what your doing..you better watch out lol. I can often look around the class though i think to myself 'man he's good, or she's good'.

It's such a shame when it's like this. It's a bit of a let down, when someone wants to be the best they can be by testing, but then finding the fee's being very high. I can honestly say i could never afford those kind of fee's, i struggle now just to pay for ours. When it's like this i can imagine kinda losing a little faith in the system.

Wow compared to our dan gradings you guys go through some greulling stuff. I'm not saying ours are easy but we don't have to go through half the stuff you guys do. Normally what happens with ours is a two hour black and brown belt course. This gives the brown belts that are taking their gradings can have a good warm-up. Then when that two hours is over the grading begins. Lots of basics the kicks, mea-geri, keagi, mawashi-geri, ushiro-geri, uraken gyka-tsuki some heian kata's bassia-dai Lots of combinations from other grades three kicks from one leg, front kick, side thrust kick, and back kick. Then the same on the other leg. fighting (you must be able to defend well, as well as score a point). There is probably loads more than this but i can't think of them at the mo and i can't find my grading syllabus This probably seems lame to you guys but it's none stop and lasts around an hour.

That is a great point, and i am happy to stay on 1st kyu for some time. Simply because i don't want to rush things and then mess it up as a consequence. Thanks for you kind words and support guys!

Thanks for the info bearich. I went to the docs this evening and he basically fobbed me off again. He prescribed me some tablets called pseudosphedrine, he said i just had a blocked up head and sinus's. I asked him about a hearing test but he didnt even answer my question...how rude!!

Hehe yeah come over, i will make you a pot of traditional English tea

Yes i totally agree, from 3rd to 1st kyu is a battle for the student and they must show maturity and perserverence. Being a 1st kyu myself it has been a long fight and i haven't finnished yet, it gets harder and harder and it's down to the student to prove they are up for the task. Like Lordtariel said sometimes there are exceptions when a student excells and is virtually ready to wear the black belt sooner. I find this situation to be rare, well it is in our club anyway. We do have a rule that no skipping is allowed from 3rd to 1st kyu. I think for me i wouldn't want to be one of those students, i much prefer to wait.

I agree with what Brandon said, you would be surprised how ma training can keep off the pounds, combined with a good diet and lifestyle there is no reason why you can't start back now.

Oh thank you very much, that sounds promising. I know what you mean about the medicine we used to get as kids. We used to call it banana medicine because it was yellow It tasted nothing like banana's though it was just penicilin So these tubes you had, what was the procedure and did it hurt? Whenever the docs mess with my ear it kills . There is something called a grommit that get's inserted into your ear, not sure i want that though. I am actually going to the docs this afternoon so i will ask him about ear plugs!

Hey there. Welcome to Kf! Kez

Hey there welcome to KF! Kez

Yeah i agree with both ps1 and Brandon. I have never been told by my sensei that the foot should be turned at a pecific angle. Turned yes and i do tend to turn it quite a lot but i am rubbish at maths and angles so i won't be able to tell you how much. lol The snap kick i barelt turn my supporting foot at all, but always have my supporting leg bent slightly, this enables me to get my snap kick higher and more flexible.

Hi guys. Just wanted to run something by you. Since i was a child i have had earache and infections in my right ear but never in the left. As i have grown into an adult the earache has subsided slightly but i can't hear very well. It still gets infected slightly and boy when i get an infection i am crying with the pain, it tends to burst, then it bleeds sometimes and the pain is immense. I always need the stronger type of anti-biotics and drops to get rid of the infection. My gp did refer me to the ear nose and throat clininc at the hospital and they told me my ear drum is defformed slightly and there is a very small hole in it, they said that there is no need for surgery as long as i keep it clean. By this i can't get any water in it, so washing my hair makes it difficult and i can't go swimming. The thing that bothers me the most is that i can barely hear a thing out of that ear. I did a test over the phone with my friend last night and i asked her to say a long sentence on that ear, when she did it i didnt hear a thing she said. I should go to my gp but he just gives me drops again and sends me away. I also noticed that when there is a large class at karate and say i'm at the back i can't hear my sensei's instructions. So basically i'm thinking. Does it matter if i can't hear anything out of one ear? Do we really need both ears, and should i see about having an hearing aid? I would be gutted if it happened to my other ear too and i went completely deaf. Thanks for listening and any advice is appreciated! Kez xx

Yeah thats why i made the thread Bushido, Kf is very supportive. When your as crazy on MA as all of us are on the forums it's difficult to talk to friends/family about it. They may listen to you but they don't undertand.

Laughing my head off at these jokes, they are so funny. What goes...black and white black and white black and white black and white black and white black and white black and white black and white. A penguin rolling down a steep hill!

Ahh right so we would be cheaper then. Thanks for working that out!

Wow that's so cool. Thanks for the info!

Yes Brandon i'm glad i'm not alone there. I don't disagree with kids having black belts but only as long as they can live up to it, but unfortunatly there are a few kids in our club with a black belt that doesn't, and it really bothers me. I agree with what your saying Jaymc, i really should be able to nail those heian kata's and that's why i was so dissapointed that i had messed them up in front of lower grades.

Awwwwwww hugs kirsty...miss ya

Hey Bushido, i can't really comment properly because we have different currencies, can anyone convert that into english pounds? When we take a dan grade it's normally around £75, then if you want a decent embroidered belt it's an additional £60. So if someone can convert that into dollars then we can compare.

Hey congratulations on passing well done! So is the brown belt and stripe like in shotokan, do you now have to grade for two white stripes? Just curious. Kez

I do agree with you to a certain extent Kara. There are lots of painful and dangerous aspects in MA. Then again you find people that have been training for most of their lives and never had any serious injury, maybe they have just been lucky. A lot of it comes down to careful control and good training.

thanks Bushido, i do totally see where your coming from. And it's funny because i have said similar things to people on the forums, then i find myself in the same situation, surreal really. But i guess we do all go through it.

Welcome to the forums hun!

Thanks guys. When i started the thread at 10pm last night i went straight to bed, so this morning it was nice to see the replies. Brandon i see what your saying, sensei is hard to understand sometimes and sometimes we are not sure how to take him. I do like him though and i do look up to him. A young girl (around 9) just got her black belt last sunday. When she took the grading she performed really well and well deserved the belt but when she's in class she fools around. I know she's just a kid and they do that but it does annoy me a little. It also annoys me that it's mixed classes and i find it difficult when i have no-one suitable to pair up with because they are all being silly and small people! I think this is interfering with my training too. I'm going to take your advice and take monday off, then see how i feel for the wednesday session. I think what it boils down to is failing the black belt grading. Yes it is down to sensei's discretion but there are a lot of 1st kyu's at the moment in our club waiting to grade and i don't want to be left behind, because then i will feel i wasn't good enough. This is just so immensly important to me, it takes over sometimes so much that i have karate dreams every night Again thanks for listening and your replies guys, i appreciate it heaps! Kez