kkennedy219

Hi, everyone, I am currently working on the kata Empi (Enpi...seen it spelled both ways and not sure which is correct), and I can't seem to get the 360 jump to save my life. I can do a 270 and land in back stance just fine, but when I go for the 360...I always fall off balance and end up crashing into the wall, twisting my ankle etc...it's just a bad scene. Does anyone have any tips that might help me stay on balance? Are there any video tutorials out there? Thanks for any advice. This is so frustrating.

Yeah, I guess narrow cut is what I would need. I wear a size 4 gi...tried a 5 but it was waaaaaaay too wide in the waist/hips and looked silly (but the length was perfect). I haven't had much luck finding a 4 in a long enough length...sigh. I'll keep looking! Thanks for your help!

Hee hee! I always thought I was tall....in fact, I'm the 3rd tallest person in my karate class...the other 2 are men both over 6 feet. For kumite and grappling I always get paired up with the men because the other ladies are way smaller than me. So I feel huge sometimes!

I'm a tall woman (5' 10") and as such have been stuck wearing ill-fitting gi pants forever. Does anyone know of a brand of gi that makes a)women's sizes and b) comes in variable or extra-long inseam lengths? I need a 35" inseam in regular clothes, but for gi pants I'd be thrilled with anything longer than 33. My current ones are about 5" too short in the inseam. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Can anyone recommend any type of chest protector for women to be used in grappling? I study karate, but we do a lot of grappling, and I've taken a couple of misplaced elbows to the breast in the past couple weeks that just hurt like hell for days afterward. I'm hoping to find something that's easy to get on and off quickly and not super-bulky so it won't interfere with mobility. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it immensely! Thanks!

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I just recently passed the test for 5th kyu, which at our dojo means a promotion to the advanced class. Tonight was my second night in the advanced group, and I'm beginning to realize how little I know about karate. It's humbling indeed. Still love it, though. I know I'll catch up one of these days.

Yeah, no one outside of our dojo seems to have heard of it. I'm beginning to wonder if our senesi made it up himself... Thanks anyway!

Can anyone direct me to a video link for the Shotokan kata Kensei? My son's class is just starting to learn it, and I want to learn it too so I can hep him if needed. My class is doing a different kata at the moment and won't be doing this one for some time, so I'm clueless so far. Having trouble finding it on YouTube, or anywhere else for that matter. Thanks!

We are not required to write out the answers to questions, but we do have to keep an ongoing notebook of things we've learned (kata, teminology, class notes etc) and present it for review at every test.

Congratulations, John! Onward and upward! I tested today, too! I'm now a 5th kyu blue belt and MAN OH MAN WAS THAT TEST HARD!! I think it was because there were 2 people testing for 1st kyu, so they really make it a killer when the upper ranks are there. I didn't do as well as I should have (at least in my own opinion), but I still passed. Congrats! It gets better and better!

Well, as it turns out, the guy has a hernia...so I'm now guessing his grumpiness was due to excruciating pain. He was actually really cool during Monday's class, and tonight another instructor taught the class and told us sensei was resting up before hernia surgery. I'm sorry for his pain, but I'm glad the jerk has gone bye bye.

So our sensei is typically a really great guy...friendly, helpful and an excellent teacher who really encourages students to succeed. The past several weeks, however, he has somehow morphed into a real jerk. He has never been a jerk to me personally, but I have witnessed the jerkdom being directed at others, inclding little kids. There are a couple of teenagers in my class (adult intermediate) who are very shy, kind of geeky, withdrawn and lacking in confidence. It seems clear to me that the way to reach these kids would be through positive reinforcement and enouragement. But lately sensei seems hell-bent on tearing them down in front of the whole class. And then in my kids' class yesterday, he made an 8 year old cry and then told him to get out of the class if he was going to be a crybaby. I was floored. Unfortunately, the kid's parents were not there to see it. But lately, my head has just not been in the game, so to speak, and I think the reason has something to do with sensei's change in personality. I understand that he's stressed out about money (his wife is very forthcoming with the personal details about their lives), but in my book that's no excuse to act like a putz. Anyone else have this type of experience and what, if anything, did you do about it?

Argh! I've totally been there! I one took a class at one school where there were adults and children all mixed in together, so the group ranged in age from about 65 all the way down to 6. And I was a grown woman (very tall as well) of 32 and constantly getting paired up with a 9 year old girl who was scared to death of me. It was ridiculous, really. Luckily there was another school of the same style not too far away, so I've been training there ever since. If you're constantly having to pair up with a child (not a teenager, but an actual child), you're both being cheated out of the value of training...you because you have to hold back and the kid because he can't keep up with you. I vote that you find another dojo. And don't give up! Sometimes finding the right fit is all it takes. We'll both be black belts some day!

Our dojo does teach the axe kick, but it's tyically not used much in kumite.