By Paul A. Walker

Have you ever walked into a karate school and wondered what all of the rigid hierarchy and bowing is all about? Are you currently a new member of a karate studio and are wondering what all of the foreign words and chanting means? Or are you an avid student who still wonders what it all means when you enter your "Mini Martial Arts Experience" every Wednesday evening at 6pm? Lots of people share your confusion and many people wonder if it is all necessary.

Here is your quick cheat sheet to "The Dos and Don'ts of Karate Etiquette."

Depending on your karate school and style, some or all of the following may apply:

1. DO show respect to your instructor and fellow members while you try to find your place within the group and see if the school matches YOUR goals and has YOUR best interests at heart. If the school does meet your expectations then continue to train there and continue to show respect to the instructor, the club members and the traditions of the style. If the school doesn't meet your expectations then get out of there faster than Bruce Lee coult throw a One-Inch Punch.

2. DO open your mind to different ways of doing things. For the most part karate practices and methods have been transmitted down through the generations and as such carry a lot of cultural-specific traditions. In many ways these traditions help to accentuate the overall benefit of the "karate experience", in some ways they serve to distract you from your main goals for beginning karate in the first place. Be sure to be clear about why you want to start karate.

3. DO try to learn more about the background culture of your chosen martial art. For example, Karate is originally from Okinawa, Taekwondo is from Korea, Kung Fu is from China. By knowing where your art originated you can begin to learn some basic cultural knowledge about your chosen style. Your instructor should be able to help you find material for this.

4. DO your best to follow the directions given by your instructor and to fit in with the class, at least while you are in the discovery phase of seeing if Karate is for you. You will probably have lots of questions and depending on the situation it may be bad timing to ask your questions in the middle of the class. However, make sure that you ask your instructor and other club members about things that don't make sense or that are confusing before you go home. They should be more than willing to answer your questions and offer help.

5. DON'T take karate etiquette too seriously. A bow is simply a form of greeting, just like a handshake in the West. Some martial arts schools embrace traditional values, others don't. It's not a big deal either way. Your decision to join a particular school should be based on the quality of their martial arts programs and on their customer service, not on their chosen rituals of etiquette.

6. DON'T give up your spiritual values or religious beliefs. Just because you start learning about some mysterious Chi force or miraculous feats, don't suddenly think that you have found the answers to all of your unanswered questions. While karate can provide some very enlightening wisdom and inspiration, you should always remember why you first enrolled in the martial arts. It was probably to learn self-defense, to improve your health and fitness, or to join in with a worthwhile activity together with your child. I doubt that you wanted to join a pseudo-religious cult.

7. DON'T think that your instructor is some transcendental guru or sage, or even a demi-God. He's not! He is just another human being like you. He happens to be very good at karate; you may be very good at playing the piano, singing a song or telling a joke. Recognize that all people have strengths and weaknesses - even karate instructors!

8. DON'T forget the value of humility. Despite my rather light-hearted look at karate etiquette, it is still important to be respectful in a martial arts environment and not to be too outspoken. As with anything "actions speak louder than words" and all too often members of martial arts clubs get into trouble by speaking out about things that they don't understand too soon. It is better to give your chosen art a fair chance and to let your efforts in class initially do the talking until you feel that you have reached the point of being accepted and are able to ask intelligent questions.

To many people martial arts are a completely foreign activity and it takes some time to acclimate themselves to the specific culture and nuances of the art. Give karate a chance and don't deliver yourself a killer blow without first paying your dues.

So there you have it. These are "The Dos and Don'ts of Karate Etiquette."

If you need more help with this or any other karate subject, please be sure to download my FREE Report "Beginners Guide to Karate". You will find out how to download it at http://www.freekarateinformation.com

Good luck and best wishes on your journey in karate.

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Paul A. Walker, is a 4th degree black belt karate instructor with over 25 years of experience in the martial arts. In June 2003 he attained his 4th degree black belt, after studying with the legendary Karate Master, Hirokazu Kanazawa at his Headquarters Dojo in Tokyo for three years from August 1996 to July 1999. Paul has operated his own karate training center in Southern California for the last five years.

Additional free information on karate for people who are investigating, just beginning, are advanced in their practice, or who are instructors, is available at Paul's website at http://www.freekarateinformation.com

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By Spioros Arena

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http://EzineArticles.com/?Karate-Secrets---The-Hidden-Truth-Behind-Karate&id=4347129

By Al Case

I'm going to tell you something incredible but easy to do in this article. I am going to tell you how to make your style of Karate into Kung fu. And, of course, you should be able to make your style of Kung Fu into Karate.

The fact of the matter is that Karate developed from Kung fu. For hundreds of years Okinawa was the shipping center of the far east, and every art, soldier, ambassador, or whatever, came through the doors, and the arts gathered, were dissected, and reorganized to the extreme. Still, there are only so many things you can do with the body, and the main differences are stylistic.

A punch is a punch, a block is a block, a kick is a kick, and a technique is a technique. Uechi Ryu used to be Pan Gai Noon, Shotokan used to be Te, and so on. That said, let's look at the exact stylistic differences and what to do about them.

First one will find that the stances in Kung Fu arts are lower, have more show, and are badly altered by the students desire for artistic manifestation. What I am saying is that somebody will sink into his back stance, put the ball of the foot forward, and tweak the hell out of the stance just so they can put on a display of having more power. Nothing wrong with more power, but this is not really power, it is not the real thing, not the real chi power that is available to a student who delves into the true art.

The stances common to karate are usually a bit higher, and they put more emphasis on snapping the hips into the move being done. Nothing wrong with this, but in the case of the back stance, for instance, the back leg is usually turned out too far, splitting the intention, and immobilizing the stance. Now, if you want proof, take a gander at images of classical stances in kung fu and karate and see if I haven't described what is happening accurately.

Moving up to the arms, the kung fu people have smoother, more liquid motions, and they swing the arms in a more circular fashion. Karate people, on the other hand, turn the hips sharper and explode the power outward in a more linear fashion. So the motion, and the energy involved in the two arts, vary from explosive lines to swinging arcs.

So, if you want to change your karate to kung fu, simply align the turn of your stance with the turn of your hips and let the arms swing wider. If you want to change from kung fu into karate, push off the floor, snap the hips, and make the circle of the arms tighter and more efficient. Yes, I realize this is simplistic, but, done for a few weeks, and your eyes are going to open, you are going to tap into the power of a different art, and that power, karate if you are kung fu, kung fu if you are karate, is amazing.

Now, before the purists get ahold of me and raise a rant, let me make a point. There is ballet and there is jazz and there is ballroom and there is...and in the martial arts, scratch the surface of the styles, and you will find the fundamental principles that are heart and soul to the immense power and art the human being is capable of. So, whether you practice a style of karate like shotokan, or a kung fu like mantis, give yourself a chance, try what I've said here, and let your art flower.

Al Case has studied martial arts forty plus+ years, including several systems of Kenpo, Karate, Kung Fu, Pa Kua, Tai Chi, and more. He is a writer for the magazines with hundreds of articles and a column, and he is the originator of Matrixing and Neutonics. You can sample Matrixing Technology by getting his free ebook at Monster Martial Arts.

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By Linden John

A day to learn, a life time to master!

I believe karate kata is the soul of karate, but learning karate kata, can be difficult, frustrating, disappointing and many people miss the true meaning of the kata.

At first and only at first, think of a karate kata as a wood carver would think of a new carving. Let us say the wood carver is going to carve a beautiful tiger, they would have the piece of wood ready, obviously looking nothing like a tiger.

They would then start carving, after a while, you would see the basic shape of the tiger, but it would still look pretty rough. Gradually the carver would chip away at the wood, until a perfect tiger is revealed.

Technically, you and your karate kata, are the same as the wood carver and their wood.

1. The first objective with a new kata, is to simply piece together the moves, so you can get through the whole kata slowly, it may look rough, but you know what move goes where and in what direction.
2. Now is the time to start working on each individual karate technique. Try and get a technical understanding of each karate move and know the application for each technique.
3. Now repeat each kata move, slowly and fast, working on technique and meaning (application). When you practice the moves fast, imagine each karate technique is your last and your life depends on it!
4. Each karate kata has a unique rhythm. Timing varies from kata to kata, but once you understand the meaning, the timing will become clear.
5. Now you understand the technique, meaning and timing, it is time to practice the whole kata. At first, try and apply the timing whilst going through the kata slowly, then as you get more confident, speed up.
6. Now it is time for repetition and attention to the small details. By now you should have a good understanding of your new karate kata.
7. Application and partner work. This is where you can practice the karate techniques of the kata against an opponents attacks. The first way, is to defend against an attack, using the techniques, just as they are in the kata. The second way is to take the karate moves out of the kata and use them in self defense situations, where the techniques may vary from the original form.

So there is seven tips on shotokan karate kata practice. I hope they help and remember the saying, 'karate kata! A day to learn, a life time to master'.

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

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By Derek McCann

Like anything you are going to build in life, you need a great foundation to work from in order to make your construction strong and durable. With Karate - Kata is the foundation!

Originally back on Okinawa island off the coast of Japan where modern day Karate was born they used to teach Karate only by Kata, this was to avoid detection from the authorities who had banned it but also as a way of embedding the basics to build a great foundation, without Kata Karate as we know it would not be around today.

Kata teaches you the basic movements of Karate in manner that makes it easy and interesting for people to remember them. It is also a great way of creating muscle memory. Muscle memory is created when you do the same movement over and over again until it becomes natural when it feels natural and you know longer have to think about it is in your muscle memory, like holding a pen.

So by practicing Kata you create muscle memory for your stances and your attacks. As you move up through the belts you continue to practice the lower grade katas which keeps engraving those movements into the memory.

There are 2 very important parts to any Kata that must be given equal attention in order to both master the Kata and to make your karate better.

First is the stances. As I mentioned, by practicing Kata you are creating muscle memory. If taught correctly there should be a lot of emphasis based on the stances. If someone tries to make an attack and their footwork/stance is not correct they will have very little power in their attack, they will be off balance and as a consequence of these they will not execute an affective attack.

Think about it, if their stance is only slightly off centre and they are delivering a punch then they will have to twist their body further one way or the other in order to land that punch exactly where they want it. Therefore as a training tip it is a good idea to make sure your stances are ending up in the direction you actually want to attack. Mark a line on the matt or floor and check if your stances are lining up centre with the line. By taking your time and practicing this early on in your Karate career it will feel completely natural as move to the higher grades and the katas become more complex.

The second focus should be on the actual attack/block/hand movements. (Make note how stances should be the first focus when most often it isn't.) The focus on the attacks should not just be on creating a block or kick in a certain direction and hoping it looks good which again is generally the focus in many Dojo. More emphasis should be put on the actual effectiveness of the move. There is no point early on learning to throw your arm out in front of you and calling it a punch without knowing what it takes or what changes you need to make to actually make it affective. Early on a great technique to use in training for this is to get one or two partners to hold punch pads for you and they should position themselves in the line of your attack and have you execute it with accuracy, speed and power. They should also give you feedback on how effective it was, if you were on target, if there was enough power etc. As you become more advanced a fun and great way of ensuring your technique works is to get some partners to hold training break boards for you and see can you actually break the boards with your technique, if you can and you don't injure yourself then you know you are executing them correctly.

For blocking you should get a partner to attack with full speed, power and determination and you should practice your blocking - you won't need feedback from them as if it doesn't work you will most likely get hit.

If you learned and practiced your Kata in this manner how good would your Kata be? if your Kata was this good you can only imagine how good the rest of your karate would be.

Imagine if you knew that with every punch in a Kata that you were able to execute it with enough speed,power and accuracy to break a board while also knowing that every block was fast enough and strong enough to block any attack while all being executed from a rock solid unmovable stance. Doesn't that excite you? It should because when you learn Kata like this you are on your way to mastering your Karate Kata and only when you master your Kata can you master your Karate.

I am not going to go into Kata bunkai today as that is a whole other topic but is one that needs to be covered and learned if you are going to master your Kata.

Some Thoughts to help you become the best Karateka you can be:

• Every time you train and do a Kata, think about each movement and what it could mean. Is it a block? If so then what is it blocking? Maybe it looks like a block but could actually be used as an attack.

• Could your attack actually break a board? If not then why not, what needs to change?
• Are your stances solid, grounded yet light enough to move with speed?

• For all those who prefer kumite to Kata - Imagine if you could execute an attack or defense with speed, accuracy and power from a Kata move and then tried to apply it to Kumite - how good would your Kumite become?

Karate Del

Derek started karate training in his early teens and has trained with many different instructors and in many different Dojo around the world. Now his aim and goal is to discover, breakdown and unlock the secrets of Karate Kata and to share these with you in the hope that you will get a greater appreciation and understanding of Kata which will in turn improve your overall Karate training.

[http://www.karatekata.net/category/shotokan-karate-kata]

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http://EzineArticles.com/?Karate-Kata---Why-is-Kata-So-Important?&id=2851205

By Spioros Arena

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