I am a 5th Kyu and I’ve recently started at a new Dojo which is supposed to be low/non contact.

We often practice some of the kata application in pairs. It’s not intended to be a full fight, we go through the movements in a controlled manner to see how they function.

The problem is I keep getting paired with another student (also 5th Kyu) who will always escalate things beyond what the training exercise allows.

For example, we were practicing one movement which turns the opponent away from you, and they followed up by punching me hard in the back.
Or if we are practicing punches, we are supposed to tap the opponent but they will aim to hit as hard as possible and start improvising and adding lots of follow up hits.

I’ve started to dread getting paired with this person as I would rather learn the techniques the senseis are trying to teach rather than it feeling like a full sparring session where I’ve got to guard against whatever this person starts doing.

Its honestly started to knocked my confidence quite a bit as I feel I should be defending myself against them better in these situations.

Anyone have any advice, experiences with something similar?

Long story short , there are two dojos that offer these arts. Ima test both out before making a commitment. I wanna hear from yall also.

For the record , I’m interested in eclectic martial arts and I don’t wanna do MMA. Kajukenbo, Enshin , Kudo and Kenpo is what I’ve been targeting but the only one I can find is kenpo which is a bit further then I prefer. These two are less than 10 mins away.

By far, I have only learned enpi. What is the best second kata? Easiest as in: short amount of time to perform + learn!

"any karate technique can be used effectively in sparring as long as it more or less fits in the rules. the key is not ruling out the technique, and instead specializing in creating opportunities to use it. especially if you feel it is effective for you."

it may seem wordy, but a friend says it helps their advanced students be more creative and make more progress.

one advantage I see is that it it really makes a lot of room for personalization in study. I wish I had this kind of encouragement to reflect on my sparring experiences early on.

I would have done a lot of things differently, like hunting for setups more often. anyway, I just thought the details were interesting and I never heard anyone say those specific things before inside of a dojo.

Hi people, Ive been doing karate for a month now but I am keeping doing the same thing over and over again and its getting boring to me. My sensei also doesn’t teach me new moves. Can you guys help me and give me advise on how can I continue without getting bordem? Thank you

So I'm 20 and neurodivergent but recently I was offered the chance to do karate and I have the choice between shotokaun and goju ryu. The goju ryu gym being closer and cheaper but I had a friend who got his black belt there and I remember him complaining alot about the ego of his peers and his master. Mainly that they'd regularly beat the dude even outside the gym for no reason other than to let him know theyre better than him. But I'm not exactly looking to do karate competitively and I'm mainly doing it for self defense so I wanted to ask are ego gyms really that bad?

Hi guys! I'm taking the yellow belt exam on July 1st (this is my second exam; the first was for a white belt). Please give me some advice on how I can improve my kata speed and technique. The exam program is in the photo
The exam program in the photo is a little off, Virna, because I translated the Lithuanian text through a translator and it translated a little incorrectly. We need to do 10 push-ups, 10 jumps in place, or 10 squads, if I'm not mistaken, and 10 crunches.

Butokuden Martial Arts Training Center of Irvine

The reviews for this place are solid. I visited in person and it's a real class. The only thing that is throwing me off is that the monthly charge for the classes is only $60. Im a bit skeptical with it being that cheap. My current dojo is pay $150 for 2 classes. I looked around and prices varied from $180 all the way up to $300. Im just trying to understand how a place makes money charging only $60. I should mention that they aren't in a traditional type of dojo. It's more of a giant warehouse/studio hybrid.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice on the mental side of dealing with an injury and having to sit out from karate.

I only started training in January, so I know I’m still very new, but karate has already become really important to me. It gives me structure, progress, achievement, and a sense of belonging. Because of that, having to sit out is affecting me more than I expected.

I have a toe/foot injury around the big toe area. The pain is triggered when my big toe bends upward/extends, and it can cause a burning feeling on the top of my foot. I’m also tender around the 1st and 2nd metatarsal area and the space between them. It is not severe pain all the time, but walking for longer periods can make it noticeable, and even light stationary stance or hip work can irritate it afterwards.

Because of that, I’m trying not to be stupid and make it worse, especially since karate still puts pressure through the feet even when you are not moving much.

I’m not looking for medical advice, more advice on how people handled the mental side of this.

I’ve still been attending classes while injured and doing "mitori geiko" watching from the side, which does help me feel connected.

But at the same time, it is mentally frustrating. Watching others train makes me want to jump back in, and I keep feeling guilty, like I’m missing out or falling behind. Part of me feels like I could probably do something, but another part of me doesn’t want to risk making the injury worse.

It’s not exactly fear of reinjury, because I haven’t properly returned yet. It feels more like frustration, guilt, and FOMO from not being able to train.

For those of you who had to stop or reduce training because of injury, how did you deal with it mentally? Did you keep attending and watching? Did it help, or did it make the frustration worse? How did you stay connected to karate without rushing back too soon?

I'm part of the IOGKF and in Sweden we aren't a part of any tournaments/Competitions due to... The philosophy of karate not being for competition.
Funny thing is, I'm in Japan right now for a year, and my IOGKF dojo in Japan will participate in competition this month.

Kata + Kumite.

But because I always trained sorta aimlessly since I "won't compete anyway", my kata is definitely not up to par.

I'll probably just be last place innit. Which is frankly embarassing as a brown belt, but it is what it is.

I've decided I'll do Shisochin and Saifa since those are at least somewhat advanced kata rather than beginner kata. I *should* do Seiyunchin but my Seiyunchin is extremely bad due to my shikodachi stance.

I don't really know what I'm asking for here, just wanted to share.

Especially when doing kumite, I keep injuring my toes, mainly the hallux but I ve also rolled and microfractured another one. Any advice? How to avoid this?

I practiced Kajukenbo for several years as a child and really enjoyed it. I remember that the classes I took were heavily focused on self-defense. We did some light sparring but the contact and intensity increased with your level - I remember watching a black belt promotion exam where the examinee had to defend themselves against several attackers at once and thinking it was very cool and impressive. I also enjoyed the "forms" in addition to the more practical elements of the classes. 

I got busy as a teenager and dropped karate for other activities but now as an adult I'm interested in going back. I can't find any Kajukenbo classes near me. There are several karate and martial arts schools in my city and as far as I can tell it looks like my options are Shotokan, Shorin-ryu, or other types of martial arts entirely like jiu-jitsu.

I am wondering which of those styles is the most similar to Kajukenbo with a similar emphasis on self-defense and actual combat but with some of the more dance-like, performance-based elements as well. Has anyone practiced multiple of these styles and can offer some comparison?

I’ve never been to one, and I have an upcoming one in June for the next rank after white belt.

I am absolutely scared shitless because Im not the greatest at performing in front of crowds / memorizing stuff and I know that memorizing is a large portion of it.

Im aware everyone’s dojo is different but if someone can give me a general idea of what it might look like for a lower belt rank, that would be awesome. Thanks!

I’ve only been training since February and I know that I have a long ways to go til June, thus plenty of time to memorize stuff but alas my fear persists.

TLDR....What do you heavier or older fellas or guys with foot issues use to support your feet during training or high intensity workouts. My current socks work great but without shoes they end up getting twisted.

So when I started I had horrible foot pain after a month or 2. Especially when I went to the....little did i know the harder classes....

We believe it was plantar fasciitis. It promptly stopped occuring after I started compression socks. However now that I'm doing more advanced moves I find they are twisting. I happened to look online and saw somee copper fit ankle/foot/heel support with straps and similar products. They were open toe.

I'm a beginner, just started Karate - what should I shout for Kiai? I don't think it's just "kiai"; is there a specific sound you make? Thanks everyone!

Ill be taking my black belt test on December and one of the requirements is a written dissertation, any topic related to karate.

I don’t want to go to the classic topic of “history”, but want to take the opportunity and talk about women in karate, and mothers in karate (me F, mom of 2 green belt girls)

I haven’t found that much information about it :(

If you can share any info, comments, sources, anything I can refer to, Ill really appreciate it :)

Not sure if this is the best group for this, but I have a very nice heavy weight gi that I was regularly, but the sweat stains are really starting to show. I’ve been trying Shout’s stain remover spray and it’s not evening touching them. Anyone got any tips?

I am 3 months away from my goju ryu black belt grading, I have been doing karate for as long as I can remember and I've had phases where I got demotivated but this one is stronger than any other. I have lost all interest and I'm overall very burnt out and I don't know if I should stick with it or not, I haven't been going as often and when I do, I don't enjoy any of it. Since my grading is coming up I have to put in a lot of time and focus to my karate though it's hard to do that when I don't care about it at all.

Random post, but opinions would be appreciated.

I did karate for nearly 8 years, and got my black belt about 2 years ago. Unfortunately a lot of life/end of high school stuff came up and I stopped going. Now I’m in my second year of university and I’m trying to go back to my old dojo but I’ve really lost a lot of skills.

I’ve been going to the dojo when they have open mat because no one I know ever goes, but due to work scheduling I have to start going to the other open mat where the people I trained with are, including my Senseis. I’m worried they’ll be so disappointed in me, I’m so out of shape, I gained 40lbs since leaving (now officially 10lbs down from that but still), and I’ve forgotten so much it’s embarrassing. I only remember half of my katas, half of my kihon, and my cardio is in the gutter.

Anyone who’s ever taken this kind of extended break from karate, what did you do to get back into (I want to prime but that’s not what I mean. How you used to be I suppose)? Like maybe types of training you did outside of the dojo or moreso how you handled the pressure of coming back when you’ve fallen behind? I don’t feel like I used to and it sucks

Hi fellow martial artists,

Thank you for taking the time to help me with this.

I used to do a lot of weight training in my younger days and packed on some weight. Round about 220lbs but with a highish (20%) body fat. No great feat yet it is what it is.

At the ripe age 42 I decided to take up karate which is an art I always wanted to do. A year later I'm really glad I did, however, now I'm starting to wonder what is better for real life application, losing the weight or keeping some focus on strength training and keeping the weight a bit higher.

Thus, my dilemma, which do you guys think is better for real life application and not necessarily sport karate. Im still biased to having some weight on the bones but thats more than likely because I spent many hours weight training. That being said I want to be efficient and effective in the art.

So my question is more about effective bodyweight for real life application. In other sports weight classes exist and for good reason. Its very seldom that those are mixed to avoid the advantages weight brings to the competition. Point is Im not sure how much that carries over to karate. Thus Im asking to get some information on practitioners general experience.

Is there any advice or thoughts you guys can give me with regards to your experience and weight management?

Thanks

Hey everyone, looking for some advice on style translation and muscle memory.My long-term goal is to train Taekwondo when I move to a larger city in 2030 (when I turn 30). Right now, I live in a smaller area with very limited martial arts options. Aside from a very male-centric combat club, the only major gym is a BJJ school. However, I am strictly looking for striking, especially because I have an upcoming reconstructive nasal surgery this year and cannot risk the heavy facial pressure or accidental elbows that come with live grappling.There is a legacy Fred Villari’s Shaolin Kempo studio in my town run by an established master. I know the franchise has a massive "McDojo" reputation globally, but my options are thin.Is it worth spending the next few years training there to build up my conditioning, flexibility, and basic striking reflexes? Or will Kempo drill in specific mechanical habits that are going to completely mess up my form when I transition to Taekwondo down the road?Appreciate any insights from people who have transitioned between these styles!

Basically the title. I came back to working out regurarly and have no trouble with taking in side kicks or head kicks both with equipment like a shield as well as without. However I still struggle when receiving front punches or kicks, people can move me back as far as they wish especially when training with shields/pads and I cannot seem to be able to stand in place.

I tried to lower my stance, didn't help too much. Is there anything I can do or there's a chance it will go away as I keep training?

Any dojo owners here who have locked in membership agreements for their students? Why or why not?

For context, on one hand, I feel if your instructors are good enough at inspiring people to stay for long periods of time, you shouldn’t need them, but on the other hand, I know how….fickle people can be in todays day and age. So I kinda see both sides.

(Mods, if this is the wrong place for this post, I apologize, and if you could please direct me where this post would be more appropriate, I appreciate it.)

I used to do Trikonaasan, Padhastana, Ustrasan, Pavanmukatasan, Vrikshasana, Shasankasan, Matsyendraasan(Fish Pose). Always eat pure food, no junk. can balance on leg for more than 2 min, also with closed eyes I can.

have I ability to again start? How to check HIP joint structure? Height is 177cm 5Feet 9.25 inch.

Any start roadmap which is authentic so before giving trial I can practice.