The most important stuff for beginners in Shotokan?

[Sibylla]

He-he..I already have my callouses...it is more of a burning sensation in the muscles under the foot and it makes me do all sort of contortions when the instructor doesn't see me...I hope it passes.

 

This may come back to haunt you later on if you don't do something about it. Bare feet on hard floors is a bad thing.

 

That is a good point, I'll definitly ask him about the shoes.

 

About the water breaks and things, I think this practice is common lot's of karate dojos so I'll try to hydrate as best as I can during the day. The instructor is known for being especially good at kihon, the classes are small and I get a lot of pointers regarding techniques, ways of learning, the principles behind things...it is definitly better than the other MA I've been doing. So I'd like to adjust to the regime some way or another.

[Guest]

I personally think the most important thing you need to first practice is block

 

I think part of blocking is having a good stance, or base. If you work on basics, like how to stand in your stances, as well as blocks / strikes, it will help you later on when you are learning new stuff. You have to build a strong foundation!

[Shotokan_Fighter]

shotokan will tear away at your feet for along time and you just get used to it after ahwile my feet can hardly feel any pain beacuse they are so callused up lol

[G95champ]

The pain is good. That means your probably stepping right unless you have bad feet or a really hard floor. One way or the other it should pass in a few weeks.

 

Water breaks when I trained we were lucky to get one. I personally give about 2. Because I break my class down into sections and that is a good way for me to get the upper ranks off to the side and tell them what I want them to do to help me. But those are not set in stone we may take them we may not. Sometimes the AC unit plays a factor in that as well. LOL

 

As far as what to learn first its your stance. Sounds like you got the stepping down. The blocks and punches will come with reps. You will get plenty of them. The stance is something you will always work on and quicker you can move in a low stance means the quicker you can move in a high one. The only other major thing I stress to my new students is FOCUS. Don't watch other people just do what I tell you to do.

[Rig]

Sibylla, I have the same problem with my feet as you have described, in fact I was going to post the same question today.

 

I have only been training for a few months and I get what I can only describe as cramp in my feet.

 

I have a few blisters etc. these I can deal with but during every class I get this camp type feeling in both my feet that's very painful.

 

I have asked my instructor about it and he's response was that it may be due to me using parts of my feet that I have not exercised before, and that the cramp type feeling is my body's way of telling my to slow down. We also train with bare feet in a sport hall.

 

I used to train with the same instructor over 10 years ago and never had this problem then (I trained for 5 years but had to stop due to family issues) but obviously I was alot younger and fitter then.

 

If you find an answer I would be grateful if you let me know.

 

I have the feeling that it's just something that will pass with time, more training and conditioning.

 

As for your question about water breaks, I always make sure that I've drank lots of water before training, I always have a water bottle in my kit bag and take a few mouthfuls of water when putting pads on etc. We also have a break session after 1 1/2 hours.

[Sibylla]

Actually I just graded, and I was told to work on my stances, especially while turning/changing direction...(I didn't expect to get asked to grade at all so soon, the grading itself was complicated, I had to show a lot of things, even things I've hardly practiced...so that was quite an experience... )

 

The feet thing, it hurts like doesn't it?

 

The pain under my feet is really bad when we have to stand still in one stance, it is like cramp/fire in the soles of the feet. When I move about, it goes away, so I figure it must be some sort of cramp (?). It has gotten a bit better lately...I've noticed that some higher grades have problems with the stance training, they lift their feet, and look like they are in pain, so it must be hard training for everyone...I figure that it is a matter of conditioning the feet, getting used to the stances. Wearing shoes are not an option in my dojo. I don't think there is much I can do about, expect practicing the stances at home and stretching the legs a lot.

 

My feet are quite flat, could be that that contributes to the problem to...

 

I think I have solved the water thing with hydrating during the day and drinking a bottle of sportsdrink right before class starts.

[Rig]

Sibylla, congratulations of passing your grading.

[Sibylla]

Thanks!

[Shotokan_Fighter]

champ my class is broken down into 2 different classes also but im not a teacher one for the lower belts and one for higher ranks

[G95champ]

Yeah we stretch and do basics or some sort of balance / cordination drills about 45mins total. Then I usually break no longer than 5 mins for everyone to get back. Then the core part of the class what we are working on that day. Could be kata, sparring, SD, etc. Anywhere from 30mins to 1 Hr. Then Depending on how hard or fast that goes will determine if I give another before we go into our last 15/20 burnout. Thats just the way I do it.