Well, what do I mean by, ‘choose the right karate dojo for you’. Quite often there are karateka who are completely out of place in their dojo, they are as good as every other karateka in the dojo, but they look uncomfortable, unhappy and uneasy. This is normally down to differences in their mind make up when it comes to karate practice. The sensei (teacher) has their way of training, a way that has developed over many years, they may be more interested in kumite (sparring), than Kihon (basics) and Kata (forms). Because of this they practice everything, but the majority of their training steers towards kumite training, this is only natural for sensei who have been training many years. Everybody should find a karate dojo that fits their martial arts mind set. If you like kata, find a dojo where kata is the main theme. If you like kumite, find a dojo where kumite is the main theme. If you like competition karate, find a dojo that competes often. If you like a mix, find a dojo where they do just that, etc, etc, etc. If you really not happy at your present dojo, look around, there are karate dojo everywhere. Keep trying different dojo until you find the one for you. Whenever a karateka moves on from my dojo for that reason, I’m happy and I wish them well. You must be happy at your dojo, or what’s the point? I know this article is about choosing the right dojo for you, but a little advice for the sensei reading this. If you try and please everyone at your dojo, you’ll end up pleasing no one. If someone isn’t happy, the sensei or senpai should go have a chat and maybe recommend another karate school. Well, if you’re happy at your present dojo, I’m happy. If you’re not happy at your dojo, I hope you soon find the perfect karate dojo for you! Ossu Linden Huckle learn karate

You must enjoy you training, as I have said before, life’s short, make the most of it! I do not practice karate just for fitness, fighting, character building, socializing, a hobby, or any of the many advertised reasons. I love karate, I practice karate because I want too and because of a combination of all the above reasons. Why do you eat chocolate? It’s not because it’s healthy, it’s not because you have too, I would hope, it’s because you like it, well, that’s the same reason I practice karate. If I just wanted fitness, I would join a gym, if I just wanted fighting, I would practice no holds barred fighting, if I just wanted character building, I would join a monastery, if I just wanted socialising, I would go clubbing and if I just wanted a hobby, I would choose an easy one! I have had lots of people tell me why, for fitness, I should be doing this or that, for fighting, I should be doing this and that, I have been told I shouldn’t be doing kata, because it doesn’t help in a fight, but I don’t care if it works or not. For character building I should do this. Linden you should do this, do that. I say to most of them (in my mind, because I don’t like to be rude), please go away, or words to that effect. I like what I’m doing, you go off and do what you want to do, I’m happy for you. As everybody knows, in life there’s always someone waiting to give you advice, waiting to let you know how you should be living your life, they can’t wait to tell you their way and how you to can be just like them! The hard part, is knowing the difference between good advice and poor advice. But remember good advice to one, can be bad advice to another. I always listen to people’s advice, the people that make sense to me, great, I’ll take their good advice and implement it, the people who don’t make sense, can take their advice and…………… I look for people that like training the same way as me. When you have a group of people that all want to practice martial arts the same way, not only is it a great feeling, it’s also very powerful. I do listen to people, but most of what I hear, I don’t like. That’s not to say that what they’re saying is rubbish, it just doesn’t make sense to me. People should first determine what they want from the martial arts, the way to do this is to try different clubs, styles and instructors. It shouldn’t take long to find the right martial arts school for you. If you want to cage fight, mixed martial arts is the way, if you want slow gentle movement, Tai chi is probably the way, if you want to keep fit, go to aerobics, etc, etc. So, in a nutshell, the reason I practice karatedo is because I want too.  Ossu Linden Shotokan Karate