Shui Tora

Jeet, I have the exact same problem... I am too the only skinny one in the family... I go to the gym (i do cardiac and toning on different days as to not completely tire me out...) and I eat! (a lot too!) I have a nice healthy appetite I like my food, and i sometimes eat more than my family, yet i am classed as underweight.... huh? This coming week i am seeing the docs, see what is going on, could be something in the blood etc or just high metabolic rate, either which i would still like to see a pro... Just cannot understand how it can happen.... I am very puzzled!

All of the above statements are good advice! Follow them! When I became assistant instructor, there were a couple of kids that basically did the same to me as they did to you... So one day, they played up again, and this time i told them to squat in the corner til I told them to join back on.... Unfortunately, i forgot about them for 20 mins (and our lessons are 2 hrs long with a break)... Anyhow, after that little incident they didn't annoy me again.... Yet they continued to say things like "it isn't meant to go like that..." and I caught one of them oof guard by saying, "how is it meant to go?" and they showed me, and of course i done it the way my Sensei taught me, and ironically, they got it wrong... The thing is, some of them are young and so you have to keep on praising them so that they get the idea/concept... Also they see things differently and so how I might do it may be wrong to them, and so I try and reinforce the "proper" way of doing it so when it comes to the gradings, they get it right and pass their belt... I was talking to some parents after a class and they said i was a good teacher (thinking i thought i was bad, trying to lift my esteem) and i told them that i want them to advance, but they mustn't mess about in class or they won't advance... I know they are young and have high energy, but they will get something wrong if they won't listen.... I don't mind spending more time going over something that they don't understand, that is how we learn, from our mistakes...

Have your leg relaxed when you perform the kick... Turn your hips and use the back of your foot (unless you are performing the kick with the tips of your toes... but that is neither here nor there!) As Shotokan-Kez said, your back foot must turn as well... Your back leg must be slightly bent in order to return back to Kamae effectively, that is where I was going wrong when trying to learn the kick... Hope that helps! Shui Tora

Yeah - I can see you point there Bushido.... My Sensei's old Teacher was not the best in Shotokan (so to say) and so when my Sensei came into the world, there was a lot that his master did not teach him... Everything was linear until now, when we move about from attacks... My sensei will teach us something that has a history to it, that he uses and how it works etc.... Not knowing where it came from, how it works (and so forth) is wasteful, empty and has no meaning.... (I think i should've put that up earlyin my first post! ) Shui Tora

Not a bad idea! It would give students the confidence needed to be able to stand up for themselves... Occasionally, you tend to get those that would just use it for fighting, but they will always be bigger and better students that'll teach them who's boss (so to say... ) And for competitions, going to take other schools on would too be good! If only over here they would do it... *sigh* Then you could build up a reputation before going National... I envy schools which approve of the idea, and then you get every school involved, and the more makes it better....

Here's a tip... Leave part of your body defenceless... When i was in the junior class, we did some kumite (non-contact...) and there was one kid that had ADHD so he was very quick... Anyhows, i had twisted my ankle outside of the Dojo, and i came in to watch... My chief Sensei was away, so the second in command took over and for about 45mins he did kumite (not something i would do, but we are all different)... The kid with ADHD was first in, and he was in there for about 15 mins... During that time i looked at how he fought, and he always went to the chest area and the head... His kicks were not that good! Anyhows, I fought with him some time later, and this time i left my chest area open.. I knew he would go for that, and so I had my left hand extended in front for a uracken (back-hand punch)... He came in, did two punches to my chest in which i brought my knee up to do a front kick, stepped in and did a back-hand punch to the face... all controlled.... He was soo surprised that he fell to the floor and I won! Point is, leave an area open, and you'll know that they'll go for that area... Bit like baiting them to attack there... No point in being all closed up because then the attacker will punch everywhere with no target.... Hope that helps!! Shui Tora

Well Done Laurie! *pops open bottle of champagne!* LETS CELEBRATE!!! Glad to know that it is traditional style of Shotokan... So you will be doing the Pinan Series instead of the Heian Series? Doesn't matter which, but the Pinan series are for the traditional style of Shotokan... Anyhows! Good luck with your training now... Its nice to hear of people accepting those in difficult circumstances.... Not like some that are just money orientated..... Good luck! Shui Tora...

I was discussing this post with my Sensei for some time now, and in both of our opinions; Kata does play a vital role in Karate... However, that is not my sole point! Kata is used for many purposes; the use of techniques, control of techniques, balance of stances, distance, thinking of what the techniques actually do as well as learning how to move about in stances with no ill-affect of loss of balance... Now; take away Kata in a style that is Sports orientated and you'll see that some of the pupils will have troubles in those areas (not all of them, but some) more so than with a style that has Kata.... This is going onto the same lines as Kumite... Some styles accept kumite for training, while others see it as a championship worth fighting for (excuse the pun). Everyone has their own opinion about this... Consider Bunkai... Now everyone might question someone's perception of how that particular move works... Everyone is different, and so what may work for one may not work for another... Its individual. Why have a system where everyone has to be taught that same exact thing, as like in Bunkai? The debate of this can go on with many opinions of others outweighing those said. I consider that Kata plays an essential part in Karate, you take Kata out, what is the system now? Learning how to punch in straight lines? Anyone can do that, but an ordinary person cannot understand the concepts about Katas though can they? I love performing Kata... It is only until you know how a Kata works that you can truely perform it no matter what the circumstances are (being attacker etc.) No point in learning a kata, then have no clue about what the heck its about! Yes, you do get some styles that "over-do" some of the moves, but you ask them what or how they work, and they'll be able to tell you... (Again, in their perception) So consider this point; Because we are all Martial Artists, and we are disciplined in our area of being Martial Artists... Why are we questioning the concepts and understanding of Kata in Karate? Didn't we take an understanding of being a MA in the sense that we do not question the origins of Karate... Yes, we will have our own perceptions of how something works, but that is not questioning how Karate works, merely adding something in... In other words, if our Sensei asks us to jump, we reply "how high?" Shui Tora

IMO, when you are in the Dojo, you have all respect for others around you... When you spar, you have controlled contact... If you hit someone with no malice, you stop the fight/spar and see if they are okay.... Now, in Japan, they are very strict about this. If the situation happened there, then the Sensei would have both of them doing crunches for the rest of the lesson, and then listen to the stories.... Being that a Dan grade was going to continue to hit the brown belt makes it more disgraceful.... That shows he has no discipline, but that his training has gone out of the window.... Okay, the brown belt should've had control to him, but it still doesn't make the Dan grades' cause just. When with a lower grade than you, your ego should be pegged down a knotch or two.... Or ask your sensei for someone near your grade...

Looking at distance of the attacker.... this happened to me when i was in high-school; A kid was walking towards me in the corridor at break (i was going to get some food, and he was going outside) and the kid decided to bang shoulders against me (insinuating he wanted to fight... lucky me didn't have my bag with me!) so i spun around facing him with me hands by me side (i've always concluded that having your fists showing makes you the aggressor) and the distacne between us was round 6foot... He looked at me, then he closed the distance... I stood my ground and he came up to with about an arm's length between us... He rose his fist, and swung at me (roundhouse punch) I defended it with hiwan-uke and put him into a wrist look... After that the bell rang and i just walked off.... The idea being that if the kid maintained his distance from 6foot, then i would've just left it as it was, but seeing that he closed the distance, confirmed that he wasn't going to just talk.... Distance is the thing with fights... The greater distance, the less chance of a fight.... However, I could be wrong... It doesn't always work out like that...

Being of Shotokan Origin.... My fave kata are; 1) Nihanchi 2.)Bassai Dai 3.)Nijushio 4.)Seyunchin (i know it isn't a Shotokan kata, but we;ve intorduced it into the adult syllabus... )

Very good advice there! The last time i asked a girl to the dance was about a year ago... I had asked her about 2 weeks before the dance and I got her number too... The day before the dance, she rang me and asked if i wanted to go into town with her to get her dress and some other things and then see a film.... I did (as if i wouldn't... she is hot! ) Then after that I took her home, and she said she couldn't wait to see me at the dance... (What a hit!) Anyhows, I took her to the dance, we danced, had food, danced some more, then after the dance, we kissed.... WOW! Ever since then, we've been going out... My point is, just be yourself... We i asked the girl before the dance, i just made jokes, made her laugh (even though I was petrified with her friends there!) and started talking about things... I then blurted out if i could have her number, and she said yes.... Funny i thought it would've been harder with her friends there, but I just said it! Be yourself, act normal, and get her talking about things that you both like.... the worst that could happen is she'll become one worded answers and seem uninterested....

If you look at some the stuff the Goju Ryu uses, most of their techniques are not grabbing etc... They use uchi-uke (in close combat) to deflect a punch (like its used for) as well as a strike.... Most of their katas, they use blocks with little grabs etc.... I just wonder that the people that writes this has little or no clue about what Shotokan is really about, or any other karate style for that matter...

We have four cats (one of them being a Ragdoll... Sooooo cute! and the others are moggies... lol) as well as having a Cavalier King Charles (again; cute but this one has no brains! lol)

^ Yeah - I have been watching Avatar... Book 2 is coming out soon, and apparently this book is all gonna be about fighting and the elements etc! YEAH!