Shotokan Dan

Great post.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone - some wise words there. I'm definitely not giving up this time - am sticking with it through the good and the bad! Will let you know how I get on. Cheers

Hi folks I started doing Japanese Jiu-Jitsu shortly before Christmas last year, and I've been along to about 7 lessons so far. I had a break from February this year until last night, due to a major confidence crisis and a bout of depression. Basically I just stopped going because I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere and wasn't any good at it... I find the moves really complicated, and by the next day after the lesson, I'm trying to remember what I was taught the night before. Thing is, I really want to get good at it, hence me starting up again. How did you guys fare when you first started? Any pointers or advice for a Jitsu wannabe newbie. I love this art and the moves are awesome, but I'm struggling to get into it at the moment. Does there come a point where it all starts to fall into place? Probably doesn't help but my co-ordination is a bit rubbish at times as well! Advice and inspiration would be greatly appreciated right now! Cheers

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm sticking with my training, I just got a bit discouraged a few weeks back because I couldn't get anything right. This info has been really helpful and encouraging. Cheers Dan

Thanks. Think you're right about the instructors needing to be good teachers as well as good martial artists. I've had a few incidents in the past where instructors have got impatient with me, and it just puts me off going back there again. What do you think makes a good instructor?

I started in Wado-Ryu Karate when I was about 12. My mate at school did JuJitsu, so he got me interested in martial arts. Then there was an ad in the local paper for Karate classes, so I just went along and was hooked. I stuck at it for 2 years, but when I reached orange belt I just stopped going. I was suffering from low self-esteem and my parents had just got divorced at the time, so I didn't think I was good enough and had other things on my mind. I've regretted it ever since, so just last June (2006) I joined a local Shotokan Karate class and I've been going ever since. I'm sticking with it this time, and wish I had never left before. I was also fascinated by JuJitsu and decided to take that up shortly afterwards (November) so that I could learn throws and holds etc. I've always liked MA films, and I think they've fed my interests.

Thanks for all the pointers everyone. Useful stuff... The training session last night was a bit hit and miss I have to say. Some nights, I just have two left feet basically and can't take anything in. We were doing a lot of joint locks and pressure points, and I just kept applying them incorrectly. It's taking me a while to get into Jiu-Jitsu, but I'm sticking with it. How long did it take you all to get used to it?

Hi As I'm still fairly new to Karate, I'm having trouble with the sidekicks and roundhouse kicks. Basically, I'm not twisting my hips and turning on the balls of my feet properly when I'm doing the roundhouse, and I'm not positioning my feet correctly when doing the stamping sidekick. My foot seems to go all over the place and have a mind of its own. I'm definitely weaker on my left side, but when we were doing basics the other night, I just couldn't get the movements right at all and was all off balance. Has anybody got any advice on how to get the kicks right, and also help me to get used to balancing on my other foot when kicking? I'm guessing repetition is the key, but is there anything else and have other people encountered this when starting out? Cheers Dan

I've always adopted a boxing stance as well for sparring, although I haven't done much of it yet. I find it helps me to dodge punches and kicks more easily, as well as giving me a good defence against jabs because my arms are covering my face. I can manoeuvre more quickly with it as well.Quite similar to boxing itself I would imagine, where you need to protect against a series of jabs at times.

In addition to my original post, just wanted to say that I had an excellent training session the other night. I seemed to take a lot more in, and the moves seemed to come more naturally. We actually went over time at the end because we were all so into it. I had a few bruises the next morning though, especially around the sides and the ribs, as we were practising a lot of breakfalls and throws. I guess this is par for the course though. Sessions like that are great though. You come away feeling so empowered and positive somehow. Anyone know where I'm coming from with this?

Thanks for the welcome everyone. Cheers Dan

Thanks for the tips, Bushido_Man. I'll try that out.

I've never trainined in Aikido, but some of the techniques look very effective, and I would imagine that an expert in the art would be a formidable opponent indeed. I think it's one of the lesser talked about arts. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I think a lot of the 'softer' arts such as JJ and Judo embody some of the same principles i.e. using the attacker's strength and force against him etc etc. Like you, I find Aikido fascinating, and if I had more time and another free night in the week, I'd probably look for a club.

Thanks Cross. Nice to meet you.

This sounds like a difficult situation: you're surrounded, outnumbered, and things are about to get nasty. I've never had the misfortune to be surrounded like this, but if I was, my first thought would be: can I get away and remove myself from the situation without resorting to physical violence? If the answer to that is no, then I would probably use a pre-emptive strike or some kind of stun technique for self-defense purposes -and within reasonable force- in order to allow myself to get away. I suppose the key words are self defense and reasonable force. I don't think fighting is ever ideal, but in some situations you have no choice. You also have to consider the law and make sure you only use techniques for defence rather than attack. You also need to consider the level of damage your technique is likely to inflict, and make sure you only do what you need to get away. As I said, a difficult one...but violence (in my opinion) should be the very last resort.