How did you prepare yourself for the first karate class ?

[Zaine]

Mentally I don't remember how I prepared for my first class. I was 12 so it didn't really sink in how important this journey would be to me later in life. I think I just wore regular cloths.

[sensei8]

I don't remember; I was 7 years old, and this was back in 1964.

[Nabil Kazama]

By giving myself the mindset of this guy: http://streetfighter.wikia.com/wiki/Ryu you may think that's silly or stupid, but unless you know about his character you won't know what I mean.

[Nidan Melbourne]

Mentally i was nervous as hell (i was like 8 at the time)

Physically i was fine. your fitness gets better the longer that your physically active

[Hawkmoon]

hmm....

Can't say much about my mental state (as it were) I can say I had one memory one thought in my head and that was to do the stuff I'd watched on TV!

I'd watched Enter the Dragon when I was younger and so wanted to do this mystical far eastern fighting thing?!?!....

The fist dojo I walked into was a Judo school, which wasn't what I was looking for but was later directed to a karate school which is where things picked up for me!

I watch the first lesson from the kitchen through the serving hatch and pretty much decided this was the thing for me! I was more than happy to come back for more and join in!

I wore some shorts and a plain white tee for about a month and then was given a 'Shogun' Silver heavy weight Gi! The other Gi I was offer was a Bronze but it felt wrong, a later experiment with a bronze confirmed my first feeling regarding the light weight suit!

In a few weeks sensai worked out I was fast, nimble and more flexible than some of the more senior students, (at school I'd been member of the track and cross country team, and the holder of the full back position in the Rugby team accordingly!)

(I can hear the sports teacher now; "Get the ball and run like hell! )

Jeez thats a while ago!

LOL!

[Safroot]

Thanks for sharing your experiences Hawkmoon