Karate For Beginners - The Dreaded Karate Examination

Your friends, fellow karateka and family say when you sre practicing karate at home for your test,

It’s ok, don’t worry, you’ll be fine, you’re confident, you know what you’re doing, it’ll be a breeze!

But inside, you say,

It’s not ok, I’m extremely nervous, I’m not fine, look at me I’m shaking and when I get called I know I won’t remember a damn thing!

Exam night. It’s time, you bow on entry to the Dojo, everybody is stretching and looking nervous, there are smiles all around the Dojo but you know there is a strong undercurrent in the smiles, that undercurrent is FEAR!

Fear is in the air and even though people are smiling, you know that deep down they are mentally preparing, for what they feel is their impending doom.

‘Line up!’

Oh no, it’s time.

'OK, rest to the back and wait for your name to be called'

Calm down, breathe, relax, focus.

‘Joe Bloggs’

S**t, It’s me, Sensei just called my name, breathe, relax, focus, you’re fine, pull yourself together you wimp!

OK, we’re all lined up, here we go, breathe, relax, focus.

‘Step forward hidari gedan barai, GO!’

Oh no! I was the slowest, why can’t I breathe? I feel dizy, breathe, relax, focus.

‘Stepping forward, hjghfgasgwfligefwuefuiggwefgiwefguiggf!’

WHAT? Sensei just spoke goggledeegook, why doesn’t he speak slowly and clearly, oh no, everybody else is moving, they understand goggledeegook!

COME ON! Faster, how much longer is this going to go on? I think I’m breathing easier, I’m alive, I made it, that’s the Kihon (basics) over, what the hell am I doing here?

‘Joe Bloggs’

No, it can’t be, it is, it’s me again, Kumite (sparring), come on, think, strong attack, speed, distance, timing, breathe, relax, focus.

‘Pair up’

Please, no, why do I always get the psychopaths?

It’s over, what happened there, it wasn’t that bad, was it?

‘Thankyou, rest to the back’

Ouch, why am I limping, my leg hurts, should I tell sensei, NO, don’t be a wimp, just get on with it. What the hell am I doing here?

‘Joe Bloggs’

Kata, I’m ready, my leg is KILLING me, just do it!

OK, this is it.

‘Heian Nidan’

‘Hajime’ (begin)

‘Yamae’ (finish)

‘Thankyou, rest to the back’

I feel so relaxed, what was I so worried about, it wasn’t that bad, WAS IT?
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Karate For Beginners - The Warm Up and Stretch

This is one of the most neglected parts of karate practice and it is a part of karate that you ignore at your peril.
Not only is stretching healthy, it also helps prevent injury during karate classes. Stretching should be practiced before and after your karate lessons.
My sensei said to me, 'the only time your whole body is stiff, is when you are dead!" and he is absolutely correct.
Keeping the body soft and supple should be a priority for all karateka.
But before you start stretching, it is very important to warm the body up. An example could be, gently shaking the legs and arms, gently swinging the arms, walking slowly, then speeding the walk up and finally into a slow jog. Obviously this is just an example, but this demonstrates a warm up before the stretch.
There are many stretches and to get the maximum benefit, these stretches should be held for anything between, twenty five seconds and three minutes. I also encourage our dojo members to hold the stretches longer in the summer and when they are practicing karate at home, as in the dojo, sometimes time is the enemy.
Stretching at the end of training should also be encouraged as this allows the body to warm down slowly, keeping the elasticity in the muscles.
If you wish to explore the different types of stretching, of which there are many, I have listed the different types of stretching below and a google search will uncover some incredible information on stretching.
1. Ballistic stretching is a form of passive stretching or dynamic stretching in a bouncing motion.
2. Dynamic stretching is a form of stretching beneficial in karate, utilizing momentum from form.
3. Active stretching eradicates force and its adverse effects from stretching procedures.
4. Passive (or relaxed) stretching is a form of static stretching in which an external force, like a karate partner, exerts pressure upon the limb to move it into the new position.
5. Static stretching is used to stretch muscles while the body is at rest.
6. PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching is a stretching system that was first used in the 1940s and 1950s to rehabilitate patients with paralysis.
Although stretching may feel uncomfortable for someone just starting to learn karate, persevere and very soon your karate techniques will take on a whole new level and meaning.

Linden has been training and teaching karate for over 30 years and loves to share his knowledge and experiences from the karate dojo. Supplement your karate training with these free online videos, karate lessons for beginners.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linden_John

Karate For Beginners - Hit Them Hard!

I do not condone violence but if you are attacked, diffuse the situation if possible, but if it comes to it, hit hard! Doesn't matter if it's karate for beginners, same philosophy applies. The article below goes into a bit more detail.

Karateka! You Can't Restrain Them, Just Hit Them!

A lot people seem to forget that Karate is a striking art, they believe, that because you practice karate, you should be able to control and restrain an aggressor without hurting them. Rubbish!
Please remember, I am only talking physical, all martial artists should try and avoid confrontation, or diffuse a situation without fighting, karate practice, naturally develops (I believe) this skill, I have talked my way out of many situations, situations that could have easily turned very nasty.
If all else fails and the doodoo hits the fan, you're going to have to fight.
If someone attacks a karateka, then they should get both barrels, the karateka didn't ask to be mugged, attacked, picked on, or robbed.
If the situation gets to the point when the only way out is to fight for your life, then do what you do best, hit them hard and fast. Leave the restraining for the police, that is what they have been trained to do, controlling a situation without hurting anybody is what the police do and they're good at it. Karateka are good at avoiding confrontation and hitting things (or should be).
A quick story,
One of my best friends has a large karate dojo nearby, several years ago some parents came to him and said their son was getting severely bullied at school, both parents were in tears, it was really quite serious, anyway, my friend said he'll see what he can do.
Eighteen months later the parents came back, they were not happy. Their son had obviously got to the point where he could take no more bullying and he fought back.
He severely kicked the living daylights out of the bullies, the parents were called into the school because of what had happened. They approached my friend and said that they were not happy because their son should have used minimal force and restraint, instead of battering these bullies. My friend reminded them of the time they first came to him, they then just sat there quietly.
People do not understand reality, people will attack with no regard for life or outcome of their actions, if you get attacked by someone like this, you cannot use restraining techniques on these people, you have to use extreme violence, end of story.
Here's hoping you never end up in a nasty situation, but if you do, you must be ready to do, what you need to do, to survive.

For A Great Karate Resource Site That Has Hundreds Of Videos And Articles, Visit http://www.shotokanunleashed.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linden_Huckle

Black Belt is Not Important But it Means Everything!

Recently, we had two karateka pass 3rd kyu (brown belt) and I said to them,
'Congratulations on passing your brown belt, you are well on your way to black belt. Now your karate gets easier but it is harder and black belt is not important but it means everything!'
Many questions and emails later I decided to write this article, hopefully this will explain better, the point I was trying to get accross.
For a beginner to shotokan karate, it is all very confusing, both arms moving together as in gedan barai (downward block), one linear in movement and one circular, then both arms stopping at the same time, but one traveling more distance than the other, for someone new to karate, this alone, is a challenging exercise.
However, after several thousand repetitions and a few years of dojo practice, this exercise becomes second nature and is no longer a brain ache!
Ask a brown belt if performing gedan barai is difficult, they will look at you like you are trying to trick them, because to a brown belt, gedan barai is 'white belt stuff'. Ask a godan (5th dan) the same question and you will probably get a very different answer.
In the UK we have our football leagues, with the premier league being as good as it gets and everyone trying to enter that top league. Next comes the Championship league, then league 1, league 2, etc.
Now a premiership player may come into league 2 and find the football very physical, but technically no where near that of the premier league.
This is so true with karate also.
In my quote I was talking about going from purple/white belt to brown, but below I will talk about going from brown to black, it is the same, but on a higher level..
A brown belt trains very hard, their training is very physical and I totally agree with this type of training, but a black belts training is much more technical, the hard physical training is still there, but the technical side of karate now starts to kick in.
It is common to see a new black belts training change, before black belt the karateka was strength technique and spirit, but mainly strength and spirit. Once black belt, the same karateka steers a lot more effort to technique.
A new black or brown belt has trained for several years, their fitness levels are up and they are used to the hard physical training, compare this to a white belt who has just starting to learn karate and has not participated in any physical activity for several years. The white belt struggles in every class, not just with technique, but fitness also. Take the black and brown belts, they have gone through several years of physical and mental conditioning, so the physical side of karate is much easier for them to deal with.
Ossu
Linden Huckle

Linden Huckle lives in the UK and has been training and teaching karate for over 30 years. Watch some free karate for beginners videos now at learn karate online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linden_Huckle

How To Learn Karate

More and more people are wanting to learn karate online. Learning karate is fun and good for you, combining ancient fighting techniques and philosophy, karate will give you fitness, strength, self defense and piece of mind!
The free Karate moves for beginners video series, covers the fundamental karate moves that must be practiced before the more advanced karate techniques are attempted.

Karate For Beginners

Welcome to karate for beginners! I hope to bring you quality information, including videos, articles, podcasts,pictures,documents and all the top karate information out there.

For starters, check out these karate for beginners free videos, they cover chokuzuki (straight punch), rei (the bow), Yoi (ready position),Age uke (upper rising block) and more!

These karate moves for beginners, cover the fine detail in the karate basics.

Ossu
Linden
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