Can *anyone* progress at Karate?

[BritNoob]

I only started Karate 4 weeks ago and I was wondering whether you have to be a certain kind of person to do well at it.

 

The reason I ask is because I'm not generally a sporty guy, I don't usually like confrontation and I'm not a particulary competitive or confident person. I am eager to learn Karate but I feel out of place and often ask myself if I'm right for it.

 

I see the more experienced students at my dojo and I wonder if I have it in me to get to their level.

 

Do you think it is possible for anyone to get good as long as they try hard and attend on a regular basis? Or are some people not cut out for it and just can't be taught? I'd like to think that a good teacher could make anyone good as long as they want to learn.

[BJJShotoshe]

Anyone is able to excel in the MA, as long as you do not attend a "McDojo" lead by a "Ronald McSensei" The right dojo and teacher is very important, but you must have the spirit and drive to accompish what you want to accoplish and strive to be your best. It may take longer for some people to excel, but don't worry, I am sure you will be fine. Don't worry about looking like the more experienced students in your class, just worry about what you look like and concentrate on your goals. As you are in the classes longer you will develope and change gradually. Everyone is different and your focus, stability, snappyness, power and wisdom will come in time. The best thing you can do is be patient!

 

I hope my advice comes in handy.

 

Good Luck,

 

Train Hard,

 

Never Give Up,

 

Focus,

 

and Be Yourself

 

[Jussi Häkkinen]

Just go and train. Train hard. You'll either like it or not - and you'll either keep doing it or not. There's no pressure to it.

 

Enjoy. Train hard.

 

And no, everybody can not excel in martial arts. However, one has to try to see if he can. For most, it will not be a lifetime hobby. For some, it will. From those whom will keep training it, only a small fraction will ever be masters or champions. That, also, has to be seen via time.

 

Sorry if I sound depressing. I try not to. I just am flat out honest. If you're interested in karate, go and check it out.

[Luckykboxer]

i think you are one of the people that martial arts will help tremendously.

 

Stick with it, try to do your best, the sense of accomplishment will help your self esteem, the training will help your coordination, and it will all come together if you put forth the effort.

[P.A.L]

Every body gave you some good stuff to think about, I wanna ask you this,Why don’t you try other arts? You already have a gi and almost in all the schools the first class is free so if you are not familiar with MA get some idea from each, also your body is a factor, for example if you are 6’ 6” tall or higher you would never become a kata champion you may become a TKD champ. If you are 5’ 7” and 230lbs you can’t practice karate effectively unless you loss lots of weight, but with same body you can practice Judo with not problem. I work every day even weekends so I need my hands and legs that’s why I never practice kyukushin karate or Thai boxing since the risk of injury is higher. So if you feel uncomfortable talk to your sensei. But bottom line as every body

 

Said before is hard work.

[cathal]

When I first joined my own dojo I looked upon the more advanced students similarly, BritNoob. I would constantly compare myself to their standards of performance. This turned out to be bad for my morale because I would constantly get myself down because I couldn't kick as high as they could or last as long in the stances as they could.

 

The point is, you should compare yourself with your own performance and capabilities. Set goals based on that and as you reach each goal, simply move on to another.

[wing chun kuen man]

To answer your question:

 

Yes, anyone can become good in karate if they attend on regular basis and try hard. That is the SECRET. They have to keep attending and trying hard always. It is important to never giveup and always attend the training sessions. If you train like this, improvements will come relatively quickly you may not notice them all the time, but others in the dojo will, primarily your sensei, if he is good. Take it one step at the time - you will be improving slower than some and faster than other members - don´t hurry at it and don´t think about winning competitions or titles, they are irrelevant, focus on improving your karate. Once you are good then you can decide wether you want to run around and chase titles and trophies. However, these should not be the motivating points for your training or you will miss the point of what karate is all about.

 

I don´t know much about Uchi-Ryu, other than then it is a traditional Okinawan style and that they use open hand strikes as opposed to fists-correct me if I am wrong. Generally speaking Okinawan karate styles are a good place to start if you want to learn real and unadulterated karate. Is the Goju-Ryu that you practice Okinawan or Japanese? I know for a fact that the Okinawan Goju is a great style(the same is probably true of the Japanese variety, if it is not watered down).

 

One of the most important factors other than yourself is wether your sensei is good or not. That, you will know sooner or later. If he is good, then he will know his karate and will be able to pass his knowledge. He will help you and will be there for you whenever you need him. If he is good then all you have to do is work hard, don´t give up and let karate help you become a stronger person and increase your self confidence.

 

Good Luck,

 

Wing Chun Kuen Man

[BritNoob]

Thanks for the replies, all.

 

I am 6'2" and very slim but I hadn't previously thought my build would be a big problem, I thought I would build myself up the longer I trained.

 

Both the styles we practice are the okinawan styles I believe.

[BritNoob]

Although it's the only dojo I've ever trained at I am confident it is a good one. It certainly doesn't fit the description of a McDojo posted elsewhere.

 

I'd also like to ask (while I have you all here ): do you think once a wek is enough for the complete beginner? As I get better I plan to go twice weekly at least but for now is once adequate?

[italian_guy]

I think that anybody can benefit from karate both physically and in terms of self-developement, I totally agree with BJJShotoshe about his/her advices of what should be your attitude towards training. As a consequence my additional advice is: if you really like it the more you train the better it is, I go twice a week just because my schedule does not allow me to go more frequently.