A Karate Newbie.Please help

[sinclair84]

hi, i've never done Karate or any kind of martial arts before but I want to start. I'm 31 years old. I hope this isn't too late to start. I also wear glasses so hope this wont cause a problem??

I have read theres many different styles which use varying types or forms of "kata"

The school closest to me teaches Wado Ryu and they offer private lessons which is what I'd like.

Can anyone tell me what i'm likely to expect on a first lessons? i'm not in the best of shape so am considering getting a bit fitter before I start. and also do private lessons still allow me to progress up i.e. go from white belt to red,yellow etc? how is this grading done and who decides when the student is ready?

thanks

[Adam_XKT]

I think you might find some valuable information here, but my first suggestion would be call the school itself and ask some of these questions if you haven't already.

I've never been involved with private lessons before, so I'm honestly not sure about them.

Hopefully this school works out for you though, because you seem really into doing it.

[KarateGeorge]

The advice I've generally given people about starting is that it's never too late to start and if you want to learn it, just jump right in. At the school I attend we have a student who started at the age of 63. He brought his grandaughter to class at her school once, and as he watched he thought it looked like fun, so he then found our school which was closer to his home and enrolled. Granted, he couldn't do the same things an 18 year old could do, as age does play a factor, but that didn't stop him from giving it his all, and he could still definitely hold his own against the younger ones in the class.

The improvement in physical fitness will come along with it. With the exception of special health concerns, I personally don't see much point in trying to get into better shape before doing an activity to get in better shape. Just jump right in and start learning. (If you have specific concerns, it would probably be best to consult your doctor prior to starting lessons.)

Wearing glasses shouldn't be an issue either. Many students wear contacts or glasses, myself included. Under normal circumstances I can wear my contacts with no problems. When doing contact activities, I take them out. I see the same thing with people wearing glasses. Granting your vision will be impaired, but my philosophy about that is that if you wear glasses or contacts, in a real life situation, the chances are high that they'll get damaged during the incident, so training without them helps to prepare you for how to handle yourself with your natural, uncorrected limitations.

As far as what you'll likely learn during your first lesson, it'll largely be dependent on your instructor. However, from my experience, the first couple of lessons are going to involve a lot more verbal instructions, just going over basic concepts and practices. There will still be a fair amount of physical activity, but that will pick up more after you've gotten past the first couple of lessons.

That being said, everything I've said is just general guidance, as Adam_XKT stated, your best bet in finding out what to expect is to contact the instructor and see how they like to run things. Different instructors handle things differently, and he'll give you advice as to what he expects in terms of physical fitness, how to handle wearing your glasses, what your lessons will look like, etc.

[TokyoSuitsMe]

Hi,

I'd like to put your mind at rest with regards to joining martial arts, although I am far from an expert! I joined Karate (Wado Ryu) around 2 years ago at the age of 28.

I worried I wouldn't be fit/flexible/tough enough and I kept trying to put off joining. I even told the instructor that I would join when I was fitter.

He told me the karate lessons would make me fitter and to stop using excuses

Anyway, I joined one night and I was tired out after just the warm-up. I was bright red, out of breath and my mucles and bones ached like mad for the next few weeks.

But I enjoyed it ... so I kept going back and the pain soon went and my fitness certainly increased in no time.

What I'm saying is, it might be hard at first and people our age definately feel it more than say ... a ten year old but it's so worth it.

When I first joined I could do only one press up. Now I can do 10 ... it's just silly little things like that which show you how much karate improves your fitness no matter what your age.

Glasses won't be a problem although the sensei might expect you to take them off for sparring.

Never tried private lessons.

Good Luck

[rogue2257]

I've been involved in karate for a long time and I've seen many many people come and go in that time. If you're truly interested, get involved as soon as you can. Don't worry about your age, physical fitness level, or anything else. If you take the time to get "fit" before joining karate, you might end up never joining. I've seen it happen many times. There is no age limit for those getting involved in martial arts. Many people join in their 40s and 50s and do very very well.

You will gain physical fitness from being involved in karate, but you can always work on that outside of class as well. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive.

I used to wear glasses in class when I was younger, but I wear contacts now. I'd recommend contacts over glasses because you don't have to worry about them getting smashed or falling off.

[JohnASE]

I agree with what's been said here. No reason to wait until you get in better shape. 31 is far from too old! Getting fit takes work. Learning karate takes work. Be prepared to push beyond your comfort level. Talk to the sensei to get a better idea of what to expect.

I would guess your first lesson will probably include basic dojo etiquette, stretching and warming up, a basic punch or two, and a basic block or two. Nothing too strenuous. Usually, they teach you a few basics and tell you to go home and practice. The basics are all about repetition.

I'm sure private lessons will allow you to earn rank, but I'm not sure if your instructor will allow private testing. Probably not for the higher ranks, but maybe at the lower. That's just a guess though. You'll have to work that out with your instructor.

Regarding glasses, I've seen some people wear sport glasses (combat glasses?) with frames that rest against the face and elastic straps that go behind the head. My friend wears these for basketball. Something like this wouldn't be necessary for regular training, just maybe for sparring. If your regular glasses won't stay put during regular training, I'm sure you can find some kind of strap that will keep them in place.

[Wa-No-Michi]

hi, i've never done Karate or any kind of martial arts before but I want to start. I'm 31 years old. I hope this isn't too late to start. I also wear glasses so hope this wont cause a problem??

I have read theres many different styles which use varying types or forms of "kata"

The school closest to me teaches Wado Ryu and they offer private lessons which is what I'd like.

Can anyone tell me what i'm likely to expect on a first lessons? i'm not in the best of shape so am considering getting a bit fitter before I start. and also do private lessons still allow me to progress up i.e. go from white belt to red,yellow etc? how is this grading done and who decides when the student is ready?

thanks

Hello and welcome to the forums.

A others have said, don't be put of by your age and shape not so much a problem.

Reference to the content of the school, private lessons and how they conduct their training/grading syllabus - contact the school and ask, as process varies greatly from assoc to assoc and school to school.

I train with a group that is part of the JKF Wado-kai and as such our training encompasses pretty much the same traditional methods that Otsuka sensei and then later Suzuki sensei taught.

It’s the three K's really:

Kihon - Basic training - punches and blocks and kicks etc.

Kata - Forms or sets of pre arrange movements against imaginary opponents.

Kumite - Sparring/fighting - from pre arranged, semi free up to free sparring.

Likely hood is, that the Wado group you are thinking joining will follow this model (if they are traditional Wado)

If this is the case, your first lessons will almost certainly be very simple Kihon or Basics - I usually start beginners with upper blocks outer blocks lower blocks and lunge punches - that usually blows their mind for the first 4-5 lessons

- but it will be down to the individual instructor.

Additionally, some schools place more emphasis on Kata, whilst others might be nearly all fighting.

If it’s a good Wado club there will be a balanced diet of all three.

Speak to the sensei about your concerns before you start, take it easy, but most of all enjoy – then come back and tell us all about it.

WNM

[tufrthanu]

I have asthma, and diabetic neuropathy among other things. I also wear glasses. A good instructor won't care what shape you are in so long as it is safe for you to work out. I weigh 300 pounds or so now but I was always a heavy kid. I had one instructor tell me I had to lose weight before I could train at his studio. Suffice to say I didn't give them a second glance.

The important things are this:

Inform your instructor of any conditions that would make you unable to participate like asthma in my case,

Take your glasses off when you spar unless you are completely blind without them, even if it's supposed to be no contact to the head you can always walk into a punch.

What I did when I went looking for my current school was I actually brought a notebook with the questions I had about the art, the instructor, and the school and I wrote them down. Then I looked over the schools I visited and made my decision.

Just one more thing. Its about private lessons. Some people take those because they are shy or whatever but you have to realize several things.

First, EVERYONE sucked when they first started. Well maybe not everyone but I would bet 98% or so. So if you are afraid of looking out of shape or silly in front of others especially higher belts, don't. We've all been there. Heck I'm still there.

Second, there IS a benefit to training with others. Not everyone does things the same way even though technically they are supposed to. This means in a private lesson you will miss out on seeing how others do things which may potentially be very beneficial to you. This is especially true when it comes to sparring. Also learning solely from your head instructor may make it more difficult. My current instructor weights about 160 pounds less than I do and is almost 7 inches shorter. Is this a good person to learn solely from? He's very good at instructing and has all the knowledge of course but it helps to learn from people that have similar attributes to you also. For instance, he has no idea what it feels like to hit the ground as a 300 pound person off of a throw. It's just different. Hope this helps.

[mr_obvious]

Just one more thing. Its about private lessons. Some people take those because they are shy or whatever but you have to realize several things.

First, EVERYONE sucked when they first started. Well maybe not everyone but I would bet 98% or so. So if you are afraid of looking out of shape or silly in front of others especially higher belts, don't. We've all been there. Heck I'm still there.

Second, there IS a benefit to training with others. Not everyone does things the same way even though technically they are supposed to. This means in a private lesson you will miss out on seeing how others do things which may potentially be very beneficial to you. This is especially true when it comes to sparring.

^^^ Probably some of the best advice you'll read. A lot of what I've learned has been from observing my classmates, averaging it and applying to my ability and build.

I too got started (in formal classes anyway) about your age, and with some pretty profound back / neck problems. Be open and honest about your limitations to start with; if they accept you as a student, and most especially don't turn you away, then it's clear they're willing to work with you.

Probably the biggest takeaway -- if you're seriously thinking about starting MA training, don't delay! The longer you wait = harder and harder it will be to start; it's not going to get any easier.

[RichardZ]

hi, i've never done Karate or any kind of martial arts before but I want to start. I'm 31 years old. I hope this isn't too late to start. I also wear glasses so hope this wont cause a problem??

I have read theres many different styles which use varying types or forms of "kata"

The school closest to me teaches Wado Ryu and they offer private lessons which is what I'd like.

Can anyone tell me what i'm likely to expect on a first lessons? i'm not in the best of shape so am considering getting a bit fitter before I start. and also do private lessons still allow me to progress up i.e. go from white belt to red,yellow etc? how is this grading done and who decides when the student is ready?

thanks

* Never too late.

* Glasses are not a handicap

* Expect nothing, absorb and enjoy everything