wagnerk

Congrats mate, excellent news

I bet they just mean Jiyu Kumite (freestyle sparring) as gohon kumite (5 attack sparring) and kihon ippon kumite (1 attack sparring) is still part of the grading syllabus. I wondering when the JKA changed their/implemented this sparring rule...

Definitely will be taking pictures (I'll be taking Nokia moments, lol) Will pass on your wishes, thanks -Ken

Just wanted to announce (as I'm a proud dad) that my boy is going for his first grading on Saturday, 9th kyu in Shotokan karate (the first art that I studied) So this afternoon, going thru the kata, kihon and (go-hon) kumite with him. He's 7, so as long as he enjoys it, I'm happy

I've done a couple of basic Bo, Sai, sword (Katana/Bokken) and knife courses. Not sure which one is my favourite though

All but one of the clubs I've even attended advertises it prices.

I've trained in Shotokan associations from "both" branches (Kanazawa and Enoda) as I see it anyway... If you've done Ticky Donovan's Ishinryu, you will find the first 3-9 months very similar (dependent on club and instructor). You can see an example of the the grading syllabus here. However what you'll actually learn on a lesson to lesson basis will be again dependant on the individual club and instructor within the JKA. As for attending non-JKA sanctioned tournaments or open tournaments, I guess there is no "average" sensei. Some approve, some don't. EDIT: poor grammar, sorry

No real view on this one. I guess on the issue of sponsorship, it depends on what the terms and conditions were for it and if he broke any of it.

Used to train up to 6 times a week (1-2 classes a day/evening) in my teens/early twenties. However due to health issues it was reduced to 2-3 times a week, this year hasn't been great so it was reduced to 1-2 times a week, which leads me to now which is 1 times a week. I still practice at home, at least a few minutes (a couple of forms) a day. As for what I do/am, I work two jobs (1 full time - 37 min hours a week depending on work loads, 1 part-time - 3-6 hours per week), study for my postgrad qualification part-time at Uni and have a wife and kid.

Sorry don't know about Ashihara or Enshin around London, however what about Seido? From what I hear, it's similar to Kyokushin as well.

Just a quick question, a lot of the forms in TSD are based on variations of Okinawa/Japanese forms with the exception of the Chil Sung forms (which there are no direct variations that I know of). According to what I've seen (I've also seen it on other sites as well), Tae Kuk Kwon is basically Tai Chi Chuan. Would it not be the same movements? Just like So Rim Jang Kwan is Shaolin Long Fist.

+1 I agree with Wastelander. Your martial arts journey is personal one and it may take you elsewhere in the future

We tend to use "Wipe Out Stain Remover" for the odd weird stains that appear on my Gi. Saying that, I'm not sure what it's made from, but it hasn't affected my Gi in anyway

Welcome to our corner of the internet

It's slightly different from me, as I have Sjogrens (so my joints are affected anyway). However in a lot of Shotokan associations that I've trained in, the foot positioning plays a lot with joints - which I didn't actually realise until after I started Tang Soo Do, this in turn has made it easier on my joints. Added to this, it is very similar to Shotokan karate to begin with.

WooHoo Happy birthday, Virtual beers all round

Congrats mate You earned your Nidan the year I was born

To be honest, I would approach your TKD school of choice and see what they say. Depending on the organisation/club/instructor the outcome can be either way.

To be honest, I wouldn't be worried about this. TKD, like karate, does have grappling aspects to it. And like karate, it's not "codified" and taught uniformly across styles or even across organisations within the same style. In some organisations, they don't teach it, in others they do. Getting back to "incorporate elements from jiu-jitsu and judo". Well, it's well known that those two are grappling arts, so it's easier to explain it that way, then to convince people that a striking and kicking art contains grappling. I mean just take a look at the forms that you do within each art. However how well they teach or integrate it into the class it a different matter. There are various books out there, like this one for example. But like it's been said already, have a go at both, then decide which one you want to do

Sort off, lol. I used to study with a branch of karate called Ni-Sen karate which is an "off-shoot" of Ticky Donovan's Ishinryu karate. While it has roots in Kyokushinkai, Wado-ryu and Shotokan, this style of karate (Ishinryu) was formed in the UK. So didn't really have to go overseas

Is it an offence? Personally I would say no. There are lots of different interpretations of kata bunkai out there. However unless you have a partner to practice on properly, you're going to get a bit muddled up with the movement and placement. I would say, be aware of the different bunkai out there, a great starting point would be watching Iain Abernethy, my instructor's mentality is similar so it's great to see others like that (more of a self-defence point of view, rather than sport). But taking into consideration you're also an 8th kyu, I would concentrate on learning and perfecting the movements of your existing kata's and maybe the next 1, 2 and maybe even 3 kata's ahead. Well that's my opinion, anyway... BTW, welcome to the forum

Congrats on your pass and new belt

I keep on swaying between the question of junior/kid black belts. She may not have the maturity of that of an adult but then again the do these? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN4wsMDNpWw Added to that, what is a black belt? There's no universal standard, even within the same art/style, let alone across the whole spectrum.

Congrats on the pass What kyu is purple in your association? As different association can/will have different colors for different kyus.

Cool, welcome to KF Glad to have you onboard...