kkennedy219

I have a large tree branch on my right shoulder blade, with a mama and daddy bird (they're technically doves, but I had them done in blue) and a nest with 2 baby birds in it. My ultimate goal is to have it expanded into a full back piece, with the whole tree and a lioness crouched beneath it...if only money grew on trees. My parents still haven't forgiven me for getting it done. That, combined with my studying karate, and they just don't know what to make of me any more. They think I should be sitting by the fire doing needlepoint and folding laundry...something more ladylike, as my mom says. Hee hee!

At my dojo, we learn bunkai first for a specific type of attack, and then when our sensei feels we're all "getting it", he will have us break into groups and try to come up with our own possible scenarios.

Yup...going to get one tomorrow...fingers crossed it's nothing too serious.

I'm lucky my sensei doesn't allow any spectators during testing. All the other students are there watching, though, and for me that's hard enough. It helps to know we are all in the same boat. As for the other people watching, do what Marcia Brady did and picture them all in their underwear. Congrats and good luck!

Hi, all, Over the last month or so, I have been experiencing this weird pain on the top of my left foot. It hurts a lot when I have been at rest and not using my feet for a while. It used to happen only when I first got out of bed in the morning, and then my feet were fine for the rest of the day. Now it hurts any time I have been sitting still for as little as ten minutes and then get up and start walking. Once I've been up and around for a couple minutes, it's fine again. I haven't had any problem in karate class until yesterday, when we were roundhouse kicking the heavy bags. Our sensei wants the lower grades to kick with the instep, so that's what I did, and after one try that was it for me. My other foot is fine, though. I'm not sure how this injury happened...it was either from roundhousing the heavy bags, or it could have happend when I tripped over my dog and fell down the stairs. My guess is it's due to the kicking. Anyone had such an injury, and what did you do about it? I plan on taking it easy on the roundhouse kicks for while and then wearing instep guards, but any other advice would be great! Thanks, friends!

So I was talking to an accquaintance the other day (someone I just met through my kid's school) and we realized we both study shotokan karate, but at different dojos. She is a 2nd kyu student, and I am 8th kyu. I mentioned that I was testing that weekend, which led us to start discussing requirements for the different grades. The testing at my dojo consists of kihon, kata and kumite, plus a lot of situps and pushups, plus the sensei examines your written notebook. She said her testing was only kata, none of the other stuff, and that they don't do any sparring at all in her class. She has been training for 2 years and is already 2nd kyu. According to my sensei, it will take at least 5 years to reach this point at our school. Is it common for there to be such huge differences between schools' requirements? Personally, one of my favorite things about training is that it's hard as hell and really forces me to push myself hard in order to succeed. I don't think I'd get the same sense of accomplishment at a place like hers (but of course not everyone is in it for the same reason). I just thought it was odd that there would be such a huge difference between her dojo and mine. Thoughts?

Looks like a fun tourney! My almost-6 year old started when he was 4 1/2, and he totally loves it. The dojo where he and I train does not do "tournaments" for that age group, but they do testing for rank advancement, which sounds a lot like your tournament...as long as they pay attention, follow instructions properly, behave themselves and give their best effort, they pass the test. I don't think 4 is too young to start at all...like you said, the important part at this age is confidence, self-respect and respect for others, and discipline. It's funny because at home my kid is a toal spazoid who won't sit still for a minute, but at the dojo he's super-focused and can't be distracted no matter how many of the other kids are goofing off. His kindegarten teacher says he's the same way at school, so for that reason, I know karate has been good for him. When did you begin training yourself? I started 7 or 8 months ago, and it's been so awesome. I really love it and I hope you will, too. Good luck! KGK

Hi, I am hoping for a set of sparring gear for either my birthday or Christmas (they're one right after the other). I've been shopping around a bit, and I'm wondering if anyone can provide any insight as to quality of different brands. My dojo contracts with Century, and I can order what they call their "Student Sparring Set" for something like $75. This set includes head, punch, kick and mouthguard, but no shin guards. So I'd have to order the shin guards separately for something like another $20...so roughly $100 for everything I need. I found another site that has a set of Macho Rival gear with everything I need, shin guards included, for like $65: http://www.kimpacific.com/martial_arts_supply/macho-rival-sparring-gear-set-p-91.html This seems like a significant difference in price, so can anyone tell me the difference between the two brands? Thanks for your help! Happy Halloween!

Thanks anyway. I'm testing for 8th kyu. I know our sensei will go over these things again in tomorrow's class...I was just hoping to have a better grip on them by then so I won't look like a big knucklehead. But as far as I can tell, all the other students are equally confused, since we've hardly spent any time on them in class. Sigh!

Hi, everyone, I'm testing on Saturday, and rumour has it we'll be expected to know advanced pattern of hands and advanced kicking pattern(Shotokan)...even though we have only gone over them in class once in the last 6 months. Can someone fill me in on what I'm missing?: Advanced Pattern of Hands goes like this: From horse stance - Left palm strike, Right palm strike Left eye gouge, Right eye gouge Left ridge hand strike, Right ridge hand strike ...and then what comes after that? Advanced Kicking Pattern goes like this: From left leg forward stance- Step up to Left Outside Crescent Kick Right Inside Crescent Step up to Right Outside Crescent Left Inside Crescent Spinning Hook Kick Wheel Kick End with straight legged drop-style kick (I forget the correct name!) ...is this all correct? Please point out any errors I've listed and help fill in the blanks! Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks, friends!

I'm sorry for your troubles. Best wishes and positive vibes to your wife and your friend.

My best friend just found out that her dad is dying of lung cancer. My other best friend just found out that his dad has HIV. Just makes me appreciate that my life is awesome and how lucky I am. I'll get off my soap box now. Best wishes, everyone!

My friend saw a doctor about her feet, which she said would hurt for days after karate training. The doctor told her her feet needed more support and to quit going barefoot, so she got a pair of special martial arts shoes. She says they've helped a lot.

Hi, Friends, Does anyone know where online I can find a video clip or written description of the kata "Shime" (am I spelling that right?) by Hanshi Vincent Cruz? I will be attending a seminar he is teaching at our dojo, and I'm having a heck of a time remembering all the moves...can't find it online either. Thanks, everyone!

I don't have a lot to add here, except that I totally feel your pain. I have been interested in martial arts all my life, but only recently (I'm 33) have had the opportunity to pursue it. The first class I took was at the local rec center and it had a lot of similarities to the class you describe...the age ranged from 6 to adult and while there was some sparring, I always seemed to get partnered up with a little girl in the 4th grade who was scared to death of me, and the instructor paid no mind. The testing for rank advancement was done every 6 weeks and you were only tested on kata, no kihon , no kumite, nothing but kata. So I know people who are still in the class who are about to test for their black belts after only two years of training, which seems silly to me because they haven't really learned much. I'm married with kids and I know how you feel about the time constraints. We all just have to do what we can, and try to feel good about our efforts. Maybe you would find more satisfaction with a school that's a little more intense. The dojo I train at now is VERY intense, which I love because when you pass a test, you really feel you've accomplished something. Good luck in your quest. Keep us posted on your progress!

Yes. Being in California, the weather is hardly wintery yet, but things are definitely starting to cool off. I find training is way more effective, and way more fun, when it's finally less than 100 degrees in the dojo.

Can someone recommend a good brand of sparring gear (gloves, shin pads etc) for a beginner? There seem to be tons out there...I'm looking for good quality that's not too crazy expensive. Thanks, all!

I agree about the elliptical machine. I bought one about a year and a half ago and it's been a really great investment. They range in price from about $200 to upwards of $2000. I did a lot of research on them when I was shopping around, and found that the lower priced ones(i.e. $200-$500 range) are typically pretty rickety. The one I ended up getting for about $900 on Amazon is a Schwinn, and it's proven to be an excellent machine. Definitely would recommend doing some comparative shopping with the Airdyne. Good luck!

Can anyone recommend any good books on the history of karate, specifically shotokan? Thanks, friends!

Many thanks to all the well-wishers. I'm all better and will be happily returning to the dojo tomorrow. Just hope I'm not too rusty!

Yeesh, how awful. Just to commiserate, I was once mistaken for a prostitute on the streets of San Francisco when I was in high school. I have no idea how this idiot thought I was a hooker because I was a very down-home, wholesome-looking girl with braids and freckles. I was standing in the doorway of my acting school waiting for my mom to meet me, and I had only been there for maybe a minute when this way older guy (he had to be at least 60) came up and told me I was very pretty and what was a "working girl" like me going for these days? I told him to go to hell and went back into the building. I never told my parents or they would have made me quit the acting program in the evil big city. You should definitely report him to all the other dojos in your area, if not the police. Good for you for keeping your wits about you. You definitely did the right thing.

Just need to vent...my kids keep getting me sick bringing home colds and stuff from school, and I swear it ALWAYS happens on a karate night. I've had to miss class this entire week thanks to the stomach flu and I desperately need to work on my heian nidan...sigh. So frustrating. Anyhoo, enough whining. Everyone else please do and extra heian nidan for me.

Did anyone happen to see Dateline the other night, where this guy named Wild Bill was talking about different kinds of self-defense strategies? He did all these test situations where he would pretend to be a stranger knocking at the door or whatever just to see how people would react and how many of us know how to use our brains and keep safe. The one test he did that was totally disturbing to me was where he was in a crowded bar full of drunken college age or 20-somethings. He went up to 2 guys and pointed out a very attractive woman to them and told them he was going to put a roofie in her drink so that he could have sex with her. And the 2 young guys at the bar were like "Go for it, dude! I've always wanted to try that!" and they thought it was totally awesome that someone would do that to another person. (Yes, believe it or not, women are actually people! Imagine!) So, being a student of martial arts and knowing how respect is a huge part of it all, I would tend to think that other martial arts practitioners would find these guys just as vile as I did. Not knowing what goes on in other people's heads, though, I could be wrong. Do we all really hold ourselves to a higher moral standard, or are there just as many drunken dirtbags among us as there are in the rest of society? Thoughts?

To improve my balance, I like to practice my kihon on grass instead of just the floor. The bumpy, sometimes muddy and slippery, surface will make you work harder to keep your balance. So then when you practice on your usual floor, it will become much easier. Also, if you do a YouTube.com search for "kihon kata", you will find a ton of video clips of people performing the kata. YouTube actually has video of most of the shotokan kata, which I have found very helpful when trying to learn a new one. Good luck!