Hi all, i've just joined this forum after finding it by chance. I've finally decided to get serious about my karate, for at least 3 years i've been on and off, lacking focus and the will to improve, and thus i am still a white belt. I've got one hour a day which i wish to devote to training, at the moment i do warm ups and exercises (sit ups, push ups, squats, pull ups and leg stretching) for about 25 min. The rest of the time i use to practice the three aspects of karate set out by my dojo, sport, self defence and art. Any recommendations/advice would be greatly appreciated.

I used to hate working out when I wasn't in class too. Then, my attitude changed, and strangely enough it's the only way I get to do anything anymore because of schedule conflicts.

Anyway, my advice would be to pick one of two things. The first is pick something you like working on. Out of the three areas you mentioned - sport, self defense, and art - which is your favorite? Do drills that you've done in class and work them for different things. Maybe one time look for a certain habit you have and try to correct it (if it's a bad one) or use it to your advantage (if it's a good one).

This way, you're practicing something you like, so you might get over the mindset of "ugh, I don't want to practice today."

Or, find something of the three you need the most improvement on. You know you have the other two pretty well down (even though they still need to be practiced), but this one area in particular needs more work. Practice it!

I've only got about an hour in the mornings to do what I need to do, too, but it can be done and it can be exhausting.

Good luck.

Practice is a strange thing. When I first learned classical guitar, I wanted to play melodies and had little patience for tedious technical exercises that didn't even sound like music (I was only 8, if that's any excuse ;-P ). Later, I realised full physical mastery and conceptual understanding of chord, scales, arpegios is what liberates you to play an instrument well and with freedom of expression (whether improvising or interpreting).

Martial arts is similar: if you have the patience to concentrate on something seriously, even though it may seem boring, you can make very rapid gains. The single exercise I find most useful is for hip rotation:

- start in a forward a.k.a. walking stance: feet roughly shoulder width apart and 1.5x shoulder width in length, but adjust this to maximise strength in the movement

- front foot faces forwards, starts bent so the knee is above the heel; back leg straight behind with foot outward of forwards at a small angle (basically, the less the better, and anything past 30 degrees is a problem requiring better calf flexibility)

- while keeping both feet flat on the floor...

- practice bending the back knee downwards as the same side's hip rotates backwards: in other words, "fold" at the knee and hip, bringing your backside closer to your heel, but without the body raising or sinking much in absolute terms

- practice snapping the leg straight, driving that hip forwards, as the body spins around a central axis going down through your neck and out under your groin

Youtube shows Kagawa sensei teaching this, (albeit in Japanese) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdIJVDKJ_Os.

I start every training session by joint rotations, a little stretching and warm up, then this hip rotation exercise. I building from a loose, relaxed movement up to full power explosive thrusts accompanied by specific half techniques that leverage the movement: on the stronger reverse rotation :- reverse punches, palm thrusts, inward knife hands, ridge hand strikes, obverse outward forearm blocks, reverse inward blocks etc..

Cheers,

Tony

Solo Training, and Solo Training 2, are two great books to look into by Loren Christensen. Lots of good tips for working out alone.

In the time I've been practicing, I've found cardio conditioning more profound on my MA training than weight training. Too bad I hate cardio, but looooove hitting the iron.

Solo Training, and Solo Training 2, are two great books to look into by Loren Christensen. Lots of good tips for working out alone.

Good reference.

Allthough I like to point out that working out alone is much harder for beginners, per motivational accounts.

Solo Training, and Solo Training 2, are two great books to look into by Loren Christensen. Lots of good tips for working out alone.

Good reference.

Allthough I like to point out that working out alone is much harder for beginners, per motivational accounts.

True. But, if a new student is lazy already, it won't matter if they're by themself or not. Likewise, if the new student isn't lazy already, then that student will train hard no matter what.

Solo Training, and Solo Training 2, are two great books to look into by Loren Christensen. Lots of good tips for working out alone.

Good reference.

Allthough I like to point out that working out alone is much harder for beginners, per motivational accounts.

True. But, if a new student is lazy already, it won't matter if they're by themself or not. Likewise, if the new student isn't lazy already, then that student will train hard no matter what.

Nice point. But it maybe my imagination, but a lot of the younger generation seem to be less motivated or less willing to work for something. Please, this is not meant to say all, or categorically bash younger people.

In the time I've been practicing, I've found cardio conditioning more profound on my MA training than weight training. Too bad I hate cardio, but looooove hitting the iron.

Alas, me too. Strength is not a problem for me, but conditioning and flexibility are. Instead of lifting, I need to stretch and work on cardio but I don't enjoy either of those nearly as much as lifting weights...