Calling all Shotokan students

[Dr. Flem]

For those of you that do Shotokan or know about this martial art....

 

From my understanding, it is a well rounded and traditional style of Karate that is great for the mind, body and spirit.

 

How long have you been training in Shotokan? How are you finding it so far? Is it useful for self defense? How many times a week do you train?

 

Thanks.

[June1]

Hello!

 

Well, let's see...

 

I've been training for about 3 months, and loving every minute of it! I go to the dojo 3 times a week, but not at the moment, as it is closed for the holidays.

 

So far, I think that getting into this art has been one of the greatest things I have done. I plan to study other forms of karate in the coming years, but right now, I think that Shotokan is very powerful and graceful at the same time. I can't explain it, but even before my sensei told us what style we were practicing, I knew it was Shotokan (I had been reading a book on karate before I found out, and somehow, my eyes kept glancing at that word. Shotokan. *gaze dreamily into nothingness*)

 

I think this is perfect for me right now. It may sound stupid, but I feel that this style is absolutely "me." I dunno... perhaps that will change with the next art I try.

 

As for its use in self-defense...

 

Luckily, I have not had to use it, but I'm sure it would work well.

 

Well, that's my 2 cents! Thanks for posting this question!

[Dr. Flem]

Thank you for the reply June1.

 

The reason I started this thread is because I've seen so much dislike for the Shotokan style. Not only on this forum but on other Martial Art forums aswell. Everybody seems to think that it's a rigid and stiff martial art that isn't very practical. I could be looking into it all wrong but this is what I've seen so far.

 

I haven't started any classes yet. I'm going to check out my local Shotokan school in the new year(after the holidays are over) so I'm just curious as to how many people will actually speak kindly of this system. So far, you've been the only one. I hope to see some more.

[AngelaG]

I've been training for 2 years and 4 months. I currently train about 4-5 times a week and assist with instructing a further 4 lessons.

 

I love it. It is a strong art and has been great for me losing weight and getting a lot fitter. I've met loads of lovely people and learnt loads... and I can nearly do the splits (on a good day! ). We do loads of application work at my dojo and I love it.

 

Under-educated people will always slag off stuff that they know nothing about. Ultimately it will be down to the teacher and the instruction more than anything else. Find somewhere that you love and it will all slot into place. Karate is karate - all the rest are the trimmings.

[Dr. Flem]

Thank you very much for putting it into perspective for me AngelaG. I've just seen alot more negative than I have positive hence the reason for this thread. http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/smilies/smileJap.gif

[pers]

Dear Dr. flem

 

I see you are interested in shotokan and I wish you luck in finding a good school of shotokan . shotokan is a dynamic ,fast and powerful style of karate that uses relatively less techniques than other styles but concentrate more on the quality of those techniqus with the concept of finishing the conflict with one technique (ideally).In a good club you will find (like all of us !) the basics difficult and confusing at first but gardually things improve ,but shotokan and gojuryu are both very good martial arts and the only thing you must remember is that in the world of martial arts there are lot of people claiming to be lot of things as public in general don't know much about it ,so it is to your benefit to find a good teacher is more important than the style !maybe you have a great master of goju in your town and a micky mouse guy claiming to be a shotokan 8th dan ! then my advice is to go to the first one.Good luck

[Khan]

I have been training for about 9 months now, and I've triple graded once. I'm currently 5th kyu.

[grey]

Hello, for my first post on this forum I will recommend Shotokan as a style.

 

I was fortunate to be pointed to a good traditional Shotokan dojo when I was looking for a school for myself and my son 13 years ago. I have kept at it practically all of the time since, and have made progress when I applied myself.

 

Karate styles are like religions - everyone has good things to say about the one s/he belongs to. There are tolerant ones, strict ones, and poor schools within good styles. The instructor is the key. If an instructor tolerates bad attitudes/practices, it will affect how newcomers experience the school.

 

Your understanding of Shotokan is well stated, and I would agree with it. As for being "good for self defence", it is what you make of it, and what the instructor shows you. Shotokan has what you need, if you are looking for it.

 

I am now over 50, and last year I was considering leaving Shotokan and switching to a softer style. I have since decided that the problems I was having were largely due to what I was putting into my training. I adjusted my attitude, and made my long delayed advance to Nidan. I may someday switch to Tai Chi, but I have no current inclination to do so.

 

Train hard!

[pineapple]

I trained in Shotokan for 4 years.

 

If you want strong basics and a strong punch, then this is the way to go.

[Dr. Flem]

Good to see that others are enjoying the Shotokan experience.

 

As for me, I've been emailing the chief instructor with a bunch of questions etc. Eventually, I got around to asking about him and his background so he sent me this link. Just click on Sensei and it has a bit of info on him. Being a "newbie" to the Karate world, I don't know if those credentials are worth anything.... What do you think?

 

http://www.karate-do.com.au/