Karate, Martial arts and self defence

I started out at Karate rather as a joke; my current boyfriend was an instructor and he only had one woman student. I watched them in action and thought "I could do that", so decided to give it a go. What I didn't realise was that Karate, and I studied Shotokan Karate, requires a lot of discipline, self restraint, energy and enthusiasm. If your mind isn't on it you could quite easily get hurt!

Saying that I suddenly found that I was enjoying myself, enjoying the fitness I was getting (without joining a gym), the commradeship (with people I had never met before), and the competition. I became quite passionate about Karate and made my way up through the levels to become 1st Kyu - a brown belt with two white stripes, a grade just below black belt. Unfortunately life then got involved and I had two children, with all that it involves, and found I had no time or energy for obtaining my coveted Black Belt. But, with my youngest just about to turn one, my thoughts are beginning to turn back towards Karate, and that longing for the black belt; so who knows, I may just be heading back to a Dojo soon!

Here are a few pointers on Karate for you.

Shotokan Karate comes from Okinawa, an Island near Japan, and was created from various forms and styles by Gichin Funakoshi. It is relatively modern, being formed in 1936 but carries a lot of Japanese history and discipline within it.

All Shotokan Karate students learn Kumite (fighting) and Kata (a set of attacking and blocking moves rather like a dance). The beginners Kumite is striking and blocking techniques. As you learn more there is less structure to the fighting until at higher levels you take part in free style fighting.

Karate students start at white belt level and with each grade attained change the colour of their belt. In my Shotokan Karate school the grades were: white, orange, red, yellow, green, purple, purple and one white stripe, brown, brown and one white stripe, brown and two white stripes, black.