ramymensa

Well I'm not doing TKD. I don't come here to bash it, cause as you noticed I've already took its part in other threads I had the opportunity to work few times with a BB in TKD. I was impressed. The guy moved great and his techniques are to be admired. High kicks are very good looking and no matter their effectivness, they are necessary for a true martial artist. If we want to become better we need to do the hard stuff, not just the easy part Keep on going

Meiou ... what you are feeling is natural and with some time it would get OK. I remember (apart from MA) having a car accident (I wasn't driving ... it wasn't that serious I got my head busted a little from breaking the windshield and a knee that hurt). Although it wasn't that serious I got quite a phobia. I don't have a driver's licence and didn't indend getting one. My new boyfriend (Mr.Perfect) made me drive his car and little by little I get over my fears. This spring I'll go for the licence. Still anytime 'm in a car and the driver gets too close to another I turn pale and my heart beats a little faster There are things that take some time and soul wounds that would heal ... ginen a time. Find a person you really trust and work together. Slowly you'll gain some confidence and you'll start enjoying sparring. This is fascinating, but when you get the "wrong" partner it can get messy and you know it better. Sparring depends a lot on the person you are facing I always chose carefully my partners. I don't look for the weak ones, but for those who fight fair and don't use excessive force when not needed. Those who act like machos and live for hurting the others can alway get someone else to work with

If my belt gets dirty I wash it, if it gets worn I buy another ... they are not that expensive as for respect ... I respect it, take care of it, and offer it the chance to rest in my room after it's life has passed. I never put my belts through the shame of appearing in front of the world torn and dirty

in Romania there's a saying: running is shameful, but healthy. Gues it appear in other cultures too And RUN do, the way of the rapid uncatched ninja would be always an option. Instead of putting your life in danger, just walk away. A dead hero is no better hero (especially when the whole thing could have been avoided )

KickChick, what you say looks like Shotokan One killing blow Well for myself. I love high kicks, just because they are a challange. I have a problem with all challanges and of course I love them. Maybe kicks at a high level are not that eficient, but my God they look great and make you feel the same. So I spend some time perfecting those inefective kicks A martial art is ... an art and we all, artists, should take care of the esthetic apect also. My opinion

I voted all cause they're all bugging ... Hmm mispelling style names, kickchick? Like teikwandu?

Well it's a Gyaku Tsuky performed in Zenkutsu Dachi (the stance is a little weird ... the back leg shouldn't have the knee bent ... it should be straight.) And the stance in the first pisture is too high ... and the left fist should be closer to the knee (Gedan barai is supposed to protect it in that stance) Let other Shotokans come and tell us more

Kick ... you made a point. I gues it's indeed OK for women to learn to defend themselves especially when taken to ground. Some murders and rapes coul dbe then avoided and they would get a chance

Sparring high ranks is the best: they teach you something and take care of you ... cause we all have been beginnners The nest sparring sessions are those with BB or high kyus (if they don't beat the crap of you ... in normal conditions they would act like gentlemen/ladies). Have fun. You'll like it

When I fininsh training I look just like you've mentioned, but at the begining I'm clean and decent. A martial artist entering the dojo and looking like a savage from the woods should be shown the comb and the shower So I was reffering to the moment one starts the session, cause after that everybody looks "worked" And for those who wear worn belts ... why would you wear them? Just to be looked with admiration ... and have the others say, "well ... look at his/her belt ... He/she's been a BB for so long !!!!" ... And it would contrast the "humility" thing in the Karate Dojo Kun and Ninju Kun

You'll be told what and when In some dojos (including mine) sparring is common even for beginners. We spar at first in a very light manner, almost no contact at all, and afterwards with some contact. The things get nasty as you grow in rank, but it's always up to you and your partner. You decide if you sparr high or low level of contact. It's your right I guess to determine how you want to work

And now you'll hate me A yellow belt has got little chance in defending him/herself. It's a beginner and the techniques are not learnt that well and reactiion is not as good as of a person who's spent more time in MA. BUT it could turn out OK, with some confidence and a harder training ... not to mention luck Try to avoid conflicts. It's important for yellows and black belts as well. And regarding your problem. SHUT UP. Don't tell anybody you are a karateka and everything would be OK. Some people are jerks and like to make other misserable just because they themselves are good for nothing Try to avoid them and chose with care the persons who deserve to know such things about you

Great idea to bring it into discussion Some wear the belt until it's rotten that it falls apart ... I think it's not OK. To make it fade with blades and so on ... even more weird. Why? To make the others beleieve you are experienced? For me a person with such a belt is not a God, but a person without any self-respect. Rags are not worn in normal life and they stand for poverty, lack of hygiene and so on. Why would it be different in the dojo? Your belt fadde away? Get a new one and look impecable. I guess a true martial artist is like a painting: flawles and perfect (even in looks). Just MY OPINION

TKD ... taught in a sports like manner .. a problem I've never heard of in this part of Europe. I guess in America it's quite an issue and here it's just OK. TKD training is quite serius and goes well. Why would it be different in the States? Why so many McDojos? I guess I can find a small explanation for this fact ... It's the USA ... land of the Economy ... the most important thing there for a business is to make profit. For many instructors MA is a business and must be lucrative. There are bills to pay and some want to make money ... you won't make money by running a small dojo/dojang, teaching too many spiritual things, avoiding contests and trying to make real martial artists. But ... lots of money can be made from entering in tournaments, teaching easy stuff, winning medals, giving 172346782647823 belts til black belt (with high prices also), putting contracts and so on ... In my country MA is present, but it's not an industy. We don't even have dojos, we learn in sport halls and the instructors have other jobs, cause MA doesn't bring them so much money ... so they teach from the heart and that's why the McDojo phenomenon is scarce ... So my conclusion ... before bashing any style, try to find a good dojo/dojang ... there are still some quite good who didin't enter the money making machine thing TKD like any other style can offer lots of results if taught well. Find the right instructor ... the rest is sweat

A sixth Dan ... in Shotokan is quite impressing (mu instructor is a 5th dan after 27 years of karate so imagine the work ...) If you liked the instructor and the school is well known and has got a good reputation it's almost OK. You must try to imagine you there while looking at the classes. Do you like the atmosphere? Are they respecting each other, are they agressive (if so , go elsewhere), are the instructors willing to help ... and so on. Regarding the karategi problem ... wait a little. If you like, sttle in and after some classes (if you really like the stuff) get a karategi (from the school or elsewhere). Try to stay away from longterm contracts ... and regarding your questions to the master ... anything goes. Be respectful and inform yourself. He'll answer You must know how the belts are given, how much it costs, who's teaching and anything you can think of Hope you'll do fine. Let us know

Guess it's ok for the girls to work with girls ... no problems could arise, but then again there are some persons (oposite sexes) who are friends (not lovers ) and trust each other ... In this case they work very well together. I have a friend (a guy with whom I work when my coleague ... a girl... is not around) I trust him and it's mutual ... so no problem. The problem of harasement is important though. I know my instructor is very careful when demonstrating a technique on me ... so nobody would think it's other thing just plain work (he's quite cute when trying to be as distant as a cloese technique permits ) ...although I guess I wouldn't mind a closer aproach ... he's cute

Fortunatelly out sensei preaches all the time these things: awareness, peace and so on A good thing is they work a lot on tatami. Learning how to fall properly (some can't even roll ), and for fun some throws (like o soto gari and so on.) Of course they lerarn to punch, kick, block. Some could do well, if trained harder and as you said some come to karate to really learn something. Of course we have some youngsters who just come once a week and declare they are exhausted ... Thanks for the replys .... wanted to know if my opinion was OK

I'm quite near you ... in Romania (that's in Europe, in the south east of great Russia ) I wish you all the best.

Well I'm not arrogant, justy concerned I don't sparr them. Not yet. It would be like beating a 3 year old kid. I don't do such things. I show them blocks, kicks and so on. I wouldn't sparr them until they've learned something. They get scared when I and my friend get near them to show them how it's done, because when we show them in general the move I and the instructor show the moves real slow and after that "the real thing" Seeing us so "deadly" frightenes them Of course when they go out it's them (who do self-defence) and the others And their ego gets high I'm more concerned in helping them improve and finding a miraculous way to make them better in short time. I'd like to help them, but it's hard, that's why I thought if they had some MA training before, things would be more easy

Well we all have some ... issues there (at the high level) cause otherwise we'd do something more useful than kicking butts and bragging about it in forums Dustin ... Don't let this get you. Go, find a good school and have fun. You'll become more confident, make new friends and feel good about yourself. You'll have to take some care ... but we all do ... so it would be OK. Hope you'll be happy. and I'm almost sure it would improve your life. BTW ... we're the same age

Well ... I'm quite preocupied with it Let me explain: I'm doing Shotokan at my University. Our sensei started a self defence course for the students who would like to learn somehing in thi matter. I'm there too, with my best friend in order to have some fun and learn something more. The problem is ... for us it's a walk in the park (being used with the tough training in karate) ... the others though don't seem to last long. They are out of shape ... know nothing regarding techniqies and so on. The 2 of us are always helping, but it's like I'm teaching music to a deaf ... And so I came to the conclusion ... Sometimes it's good to have some prior MA training. When you know some basics ... then you can go and build more technique. For us it's simple and efficient ... but they ... well ... suck Another thing I'm concerned ... there are times the newbies come to the self defence class, learn some throws, falls, blocks, kicks and tend to feel good about themselves ... thinking they are senseis. Then it comes to trouble, cause in a real encounter they wouldn't stand a chance, although they feel like Gods ... I think it important to tell them million of times they are not prepared for a conflict and that in order to have a chance they have to train very hard and often. Has got anybody something to add? I'd be glad to have some opinions here. And please ... we are not talking styles here. i don't want to hear TKD is useless for self defence or Aikido or Muay Thay.

I use sometimes low stances, and sometimes I tent to get "higher". Low stances are good when it comes to be swept of my feet. A correct Zenkutsu Dachi and the other person can have fun trying Ashi Barai When I chose a high stance it means for me I'm gonna finish quickly ... hop around a little and ... bang. Getting used to using both stances gives you an advantage. In our dojo we have 2 women shodans. One is quite "big" (small and "round"). A very powerful person ... Like a bull I guess She fights in low stances, cause she can't "bounce" like us. It's too much weight. God forbid you have to fight her. She is very dangerous ... still a great person. On the opposite side is the other ... thiner. She uses higher stances and moves a lot. When the 2 are face to face ... you can never tell who's winning. They've got their own strategies and low or high stances work best for each of them. So I guess it's best to be very good in what you do and then the rest is just ... conversation.

Once a week for an hour it's not enough. You should go at least 2 days a week ... Anyway better than staying home ... Another way for you to complement this its to work more home. You use a bag in the gym, so get another one home, you'll enjoy. Get a harder one and punch it with bare hands too, so you'll be used with the pain. When in a fight, you have no gloves and the other guy isn't quite soft, especially if you are aiming at the face Good luck and enjoy the training. And of course tell us everytime how you feel there

Guess it's the girl you had some problems with Grappling arts and girls ... nice for the guys ... guess they are quite happy when it comes to embrace a good looking girl

Well don't expect too many spiritual things, cause they are not always available and not even important in such an extent. Before you come to cut my head off, let me explain Shotokan, like other traditional MAs has got a lot of philosophy and similar stuff. Don't expect to spend all the time in the dojo with those ... in a way it would be a waste of time. You are there to learn techniques, katas, to condition, sparr and perfect yourself. I'm not saying your character, although I guess you'll hear soon enough about the Dojo Kun. You are not there to become a nicer guy, but to become strong, quick, good and so on. The spiritual thing is yours. There's nobody there to teach you to become a better person. You can do karate and be an ass, do karate and be a good guy, not do karate and still be a gentleman. Don't expect Karate to make you a "saint" Don't be too disapointed if you don't recite the Kun. You can take care of the philosophycal stuff by yourself, read about Ninju Kun, Dojo Kun, Mizo No Kokuro, Tsuli No Kokuro, Tora No Maki and so on ... You can chose from what you read what behaviour to incorporate and what suits you as a normal person ... Bushido was great, but we are not Japanesse When it comes to become the best, be serious in your traning and still modest and always ready to learn, it's OK. Don't become a pseudo Japanesse, be moderate and don't look at your sensei like he was a God. They are normal people, your teachers to respected, not idolised. I'm boring ... I know ... I just want you to have a good start and not be disapointed. All the best from here. Keep us posted