Shotokan-kez

Hi everyone. I have a grading on friday, i'm going for 2nd kyu (brown belt with a white stripe) and i'm scared. I started training in Shotokan when i was 8 years old, i am 29 now. I stopped training when i was a purple belt white stripe to have kids and i had ten years or so out. I have only been going back for 8 months and it's just starting to hit home with me how close i am for achieving my goal after all these years. I have had so many years out of training since being a kid for various personal reasons, and my sensei has always let me come back on my old belt, on the condition that i train for 6 months before i graded. I just seem to be storming ahead now and it's getting scary, i get butterflies everytime i think about friday. I am also nervous for my boy as he is grading for his green belt (he doesnt seem to care at 9) lol. So tonight is my last training session at the club before the grading, we are both going to put in our best!! Will let everyone know how we get on friday. Kez

My legs, they are toned through lots of cycling and training, and my eyes, lovely deep blue.

Thanks ps1..just for the record i'm mum hehe. No chorley not far at all karatek xx

Aww what belt is she on karate k? Where in the uk are you? I did shukokai for a short while in Stockport.

Thanks Gimmik i appreciate that and karate K. Our grading is on friday i will let you all know how we get on. When Ryan gets it wrong when we practice at home he stomps off in a mood lol

Is Shito-ryu just another term for Shukokai?

Do these things really work? I do a lot of Stretching when i work out because i want higer kicks, and i would love to be able to do the splits. They are expensive, any opinions before i go buying one? Don't want waste my money. Kez

Well Mainly Kata i think with some bunkai. Also if anyone in the uk can answer me this, Traditional karate magazine sold in the uk, i heard it's sold out in the London area, i am in the manchester area. Can anyone tell me if this magazine is still in circulation. I used to buy it a few years ago but now i can't find it anywhere. Kez

Thanks everyone!!!

Karate Kid, Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Savate. And has anyone seen American Ninja 1+2 they are old and corny but good fight scenes in that.

Jet Li rocks, i loved the film Unleashed it was wicked so i will look forward to seeing this new one.

Yeah Jackie Chan is brilliant with his acting and adds a lot of comedy in there too, this doesn't interfere with his MA. I haven't really seen any of his older movies but a lot of his new ones i have like shanghai noon/knights with Owen Wilson. Also Gorgeous and Mr Nice Guy, like i say funny too.

hi everyone. I was just wondering if anybody can recommend some good imformative karate dvd's or videos. I have seen one called advanced Shotokan karate but it's really expensive, the cheapest you can get it is £18. Or even anywhere that i can download Kata videos for shotokan from the net? Kez

Yeah good one karate kid, isn't it a 2nd or 3rd dan kata? Kata is my favourite thing about Karate. I also like Heian Yondan, but dislike Tekki Shodan. Is Hangetsu the one where you have to jump and do a full turn in the air and land in shuto-uki? Kez

I haven't learnt hangetsu yet but i have just Jitte and i love it, it's short but not that easy. Thanks for the weblinks for Hangestu i will defo look. Kez

I think he will probably burst into tears if he fails because he keeps telling me how rubbish he is with karate, i have to keep telling him to stop putting himself down!!

Orion try Holland and Barrett if there's one near you. I don't know what their prices are like but you could give them a go. I only take Cod Liver Oil capsules for dodgy knees and elbows

Yeah lots of good advice. I really don't want him to quit, and he doesn't want to either he just has little confidence and gets upset when he gets it wrong. I will let him grade this time, i think he will pass but by the skin of his teeth. I think i may have a word with sensei see about him maybe grading every six months instead of every three. It's going to get a lot harder for him now, even i'm finding mine difficult.

My son Ryan is 9 and he is yellow belt in shotokan. We train together (i'm brown). Trouble is there is a grading next friday and he is going for green belt and his techniques and stances are sloppy. He doesn't finnish the moves properly when doing combinations and his fist never comes back to his hip. His stances are always wrong and he is virtually standing instead of being in a proper stance. Tonight in training the Sensei was forever telling him off because being a yellow belt he should know the basic stances and techniques by now, also he made a complete mess of his Kata Heian Sandan. The Sensei shown him countless times but he still continued to get it wrong. Sometimes i find myself getting cross with him, i wonder weather he's doing the sport for my benefit because i am so serious about it. I really want him to do something he enjoys but when i ask him if he wants to carry on with his karate he always says yes. Sensei says that in training by wednesday if he hasn't got his kata right he may not be able to grade, which would deeply upset Ryan because that would be another three months on yellow belt, totalling nine months. I can see he hates getting it wrong, his eyes tell me everything because he thinks he's dissapointing me but i try so hard to be supportive, sometimes he just gives up instead of keeping trying. has anyone every experienced this with their children? I would deeply appreciate any advice to help my little fella along. Kez

wow yeah, i am very good with stances, all those excersices i can do at home and baby Ethan can help too lol. I had a check up recently with my nurse and she says i have a high metabolism because like you i can eat what i like and then i burn it all off with all the exercise i do. My cholesteral level is low too which is a good thing.

Thanks a lot for that. I called the local muay thai club and they said i can come along and speak to the master and watch as many times i like. I must admit the website of the club i would be joining is awesome and it's very exciting. Unfortunatly though it's very expensive, so it may have to be put on hold for a while.

Orion, your belt system is exactly the same as mine, only our orange comes after white then red. How long do you have to wait between the stripes on the brown belt? Ours is six months, then it's at the senseis discretion for the dan grade.

Yeah i'm not a big eater at all but when i have been karate i feel starving. There is a macdonalds on my way home from karate and i always end up popping in there for a burger lol naughty i know. I do eat lots of pasta, potatoes and salmon with salad.

Thanks for those tips. I am actually considering turning my garage into a gym but it's going to take a lot of hard work and money as it is a mess. I have heard though that my local gym has a creche so i'm going to look into that. Another thing i was worried about is that i am very small and slim, how can i do all this without loosing any weight?

I'm a woman and only 5ft 1 and weigh in at 8st 13lb so i am very small. I am into weight training and have quite muscley legs and a good strong torso. Unfortunatly i still would like much more muscle. I can't really afford a proper gym, and since my youngest is only 2 years old on no-one to look after him i can't go regulary. Can anyone suggest any healthy good ways of building muscles at home in a safe manner? Kez