Shui Tora

^ Well; that wasn't bad for me! If it were written in japanese/katan/hirgagana then i would've been able to do a better job... That's the problem with writing the words phonetically, you can bet that you'll get a word wrong and the whole thing will sound completely different!

I usually have a Chinese Meal 3 days before the tournament... Hmmm; crispy beef, egg fried rice... *drool* And to drink with it, that would be my all time fave; Pepsi and Malibu!

Okay... lets see; "Yoshiro", could be "Well..." or "Ready!" do you mean " ushiro "? Which means Back "Omawato", have no idea... "Migi" means "right/correct" "Obi" is belt "Na" could be name/title... And "Su"... no idea! So (my interpretation) could be; Ready! All gi's and belts correct to Rank... Again, my interpretation... What is it meant to mean?

*drool* Another one of my fave! Catonese Crispy Beef! *hmmm*

Kinda got that wrong didn't I? Yeah - that's right! I have no clue what is happening! I'm gonna book an app. tomoz (a.s.a.p) and see what he says; I'm also gonna ask for a blood test to be taken (just on the safe side) Thing is thought - I haven't been stressed (work load is good...) life is great for me at the moment! I could run the length of a footy pitch quite well... This has struck me so suddenly. I will tell you what the Doc says (fingers crossed! )

I weighed myself today, (every month to keep check that I'm maintaing a steady weight; not gaining or losing any) however, today my weight was 40kg. An overall 10kg lost from last month. This is worrying me as I do not weigh a lot, and if I lose any more, then I dunno what to do! (For those in imperical measurement; 8lbs --> 7lbs) I do cardio and some toning at the gym (and at home pending time) and I have a healthy appetite. What is going on here!? Is it my metabolic rate of digesting food? Thyroid? Preneicous Aneamia!? (all of these link to weight loss...) I think it is in order to see the Doc... Any suggestions welcomed...

^ yeah; Empi puts a lot of strain on your joints, especially the beginning... Though I could never get that jump right... Saying that; last night i got it spot on! w00t! But when my Sensei asked me to do it again, I ended up on the floor! (oh dear! But even monkies fall out of trees!)

For me, it depends on what else I have going on... But I try and get in about 45minutes in the spare room. I do 10 mins with punching and strikes (like empi-uchi etc) and 10 mins with kicks (I mainly concetrate on mae geri, maswashi geri, yoko kikomi/keage and heel kick) The other 25 mins I practice on one kata from; Tekki, Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Hangetsu, Jion and Jiin.

^ Okay, calm down 'Kez... You can some of each every other day... Okay? [j/k] Hmmm; red and green peppers with ham and pineapple! *drool*

Mine would have to be; Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai and Jion...

I prefer Club Music (like Ibiza anthems etc) with that fast driving beat/tempo; really gets you going... Then again I like any music apart from Rap and R&B... Can't stick it...

How old are you Neil? As for food, I usually eat a small bowl of pasta (nothing else) and a glass of water about an hour before class. You must remember that you should not eat anything too heavy (like chocolate etc) and also eating before 20mins when you set off for you class usually helps too! Drinks wise, well I drink water, but ever thought of Lucozade? I haven't tried it, so I cannot comment on it... Hope that helps!

Within our Dojo, we would have the Sensei, then the two highest grades within the Dojo (me being one of them! )

" Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. " ~ Japanese Quote

" To first move a mountain, you must start with the smallest stone! "

When I was 6yrs old, my Sensei had just opened up a dojo. It was specifically built to be a dojo, with the bamboo matts etc. He already three other successful dojo's in other towns not far from me. But we didn't know that! Anyhow, my dad (who was a 2nd Dan in Judo) was me to go and do Judo, but I was too young... So the leaflet came through the door, and instead of my dad asking me, I asked him! Before long, he had phoned up about the times, and we went down there! We entered the Dojo, and it had the smell of new paint in the air... It stunk! Anyhow; we walked into his office, and he was doing some paper work, and there with him was his Assistant Instructor... WE both exchanged hello's, and by then, all of his other students came to the lesson (apparently they wanted to "test" out the building! :lol) So, Dad and I sat there watching, and they did some kata work (Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai and Tekki) along with some drills... After I had seen Bassai Dai and some drills, I knew that I wanted to begin to learn and practice Shotokan Karate... That very same day, I signed up, got my gi and obi; and I was away! That was the best day of my life! Signing up into Martial Arts! Now here I am! 3rd Kyu in Shotokan Adult Syllabus, won loads of reginoal competitions, and also an Assistant Intructor! The one I mentioned earlier retired, and so I was assigned to it!

Don't for get to move your back foot when doing the kick... This will allow you to move your hips and do a mawashi geri quite nicely. Use the top of your foot... Unless your syllabus has aksed you to use Tsumasaki (the tops of your toes...) Another thing, is bend your back leg slightly... I have been doing this for some time, and I saw a difference... I could aim (and hit with control! ) my partners head (who is nearly 6ft, an I am only 5'6"...!) well with a mawashi geri, and mae-geri too (front kick)... Give it a go!

Oh dear... Mine would have to be a nice peice of Vanilla Cheese cake! With a cool glass of Malibu and Pepsi (i hate Coke!)

Seisan (or Hangetsu for Shotokan) is taught at 3rd Kyu/2nd Kyu in the syllabus. We aminly use it for developing out breathing, and getting used to rooting ourselves / stances. Saisan and Hangetsu are the same in most way, but different in others. I like Seisan, its a good kata, and I know that (if it is Gojo Ryu or Wado Ryu) that use it as their first kata, like Isshinryu.

In a way; yes it is different... But on the other hand, a Sensei is there to tach us, and so we must respect that... We learn, and so we follow his rules... I s'pose it is courtsey and respect... However, he is thinking of changing it! More or something to; " Sensei; Doozo o oshieru ware ware o " In other words, "Sensei; please teach us." Along the lines of that! But still in the thinking stage!

Here are some more! 1.) He who asks is a fool for 5 minutes... He who doesn't ask is a fool for a lifetime. 2.) Even monkies fall out fo trees 3.) Money makes the world turn round 4.) A faithful friend is medicine for life 5.) (my favourite one!) A good sword is one that is left in its scabbard

Welcome! Have a good time here! Any questions, feel free to ask!

Well; first off, achieving black belt whilest you are learning on the way is realisitc, bit silly etc... That is a good goal. As long as you learn, strive to do your best and keep working hard, then that is a good enough goal for me! As for your friend/sensei; he should understand about the situtation, everyone isn't fitted for a certain style... If he asks, then just say "the style is really for me..." And leave it at that, if he doesn't understand that, then leave it, all the time you're having to explain yourself you are giving him a reason to grill you even further... Enjoy it! Hope you have a good time!

I dunno if many Shotokan (or Okinawan) practionners (sp?) do this, but if we bow to our Sensei, our feet are together; but if we bow to the class (juniors/students) we have our feet slightly open. OUr Sensei would say "Rei!" and we would reply by saying; "Sensei, hai!" and that's it! The lesson begins.

Lets face it; everyone at some point in their lives must've been afraid to die... However, its when certain events that happen which change our mind about it completly. I s'pose you can say that we are afraid of losing our way of life that we have grown accustomed to. Be it, money, home, family, relationships etc we are scard of losing it. But in the end, as I have said before, we all die; we all live: its a cycle and to disrupt that cycle will cause something extremely horrible (not sure how to describe it as it hasn't happened before! ) It is our path that we choose will decide how our future will turn out (bit like fate/destiny) and once that has been chosen, we cannot change it. There are events in my past life, which caused huge side-affects to my family, that if I could've change it, I would. I was near " deaths-door" in two of those events, and I wasn't scared. I felt happy, safe and secure; knowing that my family were there to see me before I left (however, the doctors got there first, and closed the door! ) And so now I wonder, looking back on those events, that I had the right attitude about death; not being scared. Its only after that you've experienced something like I have, or others have, that you do really know if you are afraid to die... I know that I'm not.