first night at kyokushin

[AngelaG]

I teach my nephew and my co-instructor also teaches his daughter. I always think it must be weird for them calling us Sensei, but they do it, so much kudos to them.

[Jiffy]

Its's weird at first, but like anything else, you get used to it.

[ff100]

Hi.

I found this site to be fairly informative.

http://www.geocities.com/sadenoo2/mykarate.html

Good luck in your training.

[End]

thanks for the response everyone, ive got some more questions now, im trying to learn alot so i write alot down after every class.

1. my sensei gave us a break and said we could get a drink(we only had like a minute tops) and i left the dojo area to go to my back with my water. i said osu when i left and when i entered but when i got back in i wasnt sure if i should have left the dojo area. everyone else stayed in and had their gear on the side off the floor. should i have left? should i have asked permission?

2. what is it that everyone shouts all the time, i dont think its osu. when we have to do our techniques my sensei says something and then everyone shouts something and they say that one thing for every time they do the technique.

3. theres a technique they do when they raise there arms and bring it down making a loud noise, i think its a breathing exercise, ive got no idea. what is it?

thanks again if anyone could answer them.

[New Beginner]

Hi End and welcome to the world of Kyokushin!

Just keep your water bottle where everyone else does next time, I'm sure nobody minded but in theory you should always ask permission before leaving the dojo, and when re-entering you should bow and 'osu' and kneel in seiza (formal kneeling) until the senpai or sensei invites you back into the class.

The shout is a 'kiai' which most karate styles use. Often students use a loud osu as their kiai, but more advanced students often use something that sounds more like "Seeeeyah!!!!". Traditionally the modified version would only be used to mark a specific point (say the 10th repetition of a technique) or in kumite.

Kyokushin specifically uses two types of breathing, 'nogare' (silent) and 'ibuki' which is a forced tension breathing. Nogare is usually used to aid recovery after anaerobic activity and is accompanied by specific hand movements, the air is taken in deep through the nose and breathed out silently and gently with the tongue tucked behind the lower teeth. Ibuki is usually performed in sanchin or uchi-hachiji dachi with the arms by the side, or in sanchin no kata. Ibuki is used for several reasons, strength of the abdominals, general health, and it can also aid recovery if you have been winded.

I hope that helps and don't worry too much, it will all come in time, especially if you are keen to learn.

[jaymac]

You shouldn't be too worried to not go to someone and ask. If you feel uncomfortable asking a black belt or a head instructor, talk to one of the other higher ranks. I am sure that they would be more than willing to help you get famaliarized with what they are doing. Good luck.

[y2_sub]

welcome to kyokushin , I remember I had the same question in my first training session , all went normal after few classes and I got the answers for all my questions & I belive the other guys have answerd your questions well ..

In regards of what would you call your instructor outside the dojo , I always refer to hin as sensei , or master .. And I believe he is more than capable of defending himself in a street situation .. My students call me 'sempai' outside the dojo since they are used to it .

[jaymac]

In our dojo, we address all instructors outside of the dojo as we would inside. Of course, if I see an instructor across a parking lot, I don't yell "SENSEI", but we do have strict rules to follow and I don't mind them at all.

[Abraham_lincoln]

3. this is just a general karate question, but if i see my sempai down the street or just outside class do i refer to him as sempai? or just by his normal name?

Yeah, this one is one I've wondered about too. I'm usually the sempai in question, or it's another shodan. Back when I was a little kid, half the little dragons (the little kids) I knew went to my school, or I saw them a lot. Now, the teen/adult classes have maybe 5 teenagers. (I don't really know, just a guess.) I keep seeing a person I know from the dojo around school. We usually just wave, but it feels sort of awkward.

[jaymac]

I work with people that also attend class. I ask them to not address me as Sensei, (they do sometimes to pick on me ) especially because we were friends prior to them attending the dojo. However, if I am out and a student says hi to me and addresses me as Sensei, I do not correct them and tell them my first name, especially because when they get to that rank, they will expect and deserve to be addressed as the same, and it is one my instructors rules.