would love some feedback

[gman]

Hello everybody! I am 40 years old and have a little background in the martial arts,I recently decided that I would like something new to try.I've seen this martial art school near my house and decided to take a look at it,met the teacher,and got a good vibe about the school and art.can someone please give me feedback on shotokan karate.

[disgruntled]

i don't do shotokan karate, but i think sirdarksol does....

is there something in particular about the art that you wanted to know about? honestly i think the most important part about a school is a good instructor that can and will teach you. i have found that to be even more important than which style you take because all MAs have strengths and weaknesses

PS Welcome to the forum

[gman]

thanks disgruntled...you reminded me what's important about a school,meaning the instructor,because all arts are good,I guess what I'm trying to know is that do the teachings of shotokan make you effective within a shorter period of time as opposed to(wing chun) kung fu,a great art in itself,although complex,and would need many years to realistically use in a hostile situation(especially against an experienced fighter)..e.g. deflecting,intercepting,trapping,and countering.

[disgruntled]

why the urgency?

and again it comes down to your insturctor. if you are looking to learn quick for a ring fight, i hate to break it to you, but at 40 it would be a very challenging up hill battle. if it is for self-defence, which it likely is, then again it comes down to your instructor and your own body awareness. i always harp on about this, but self defence comes down to very basic principals that can be used and applied in ANY situation once you know them. but they are very hard to teach and learn. and inorder to train your body in the proper movements and for your body to learn how other bodys move you have to start basic. thus when you start up you will learn a bunch of movements for certain situation that will not work in other situations, but that is a baby step toward the what you need to learn.

wing chung, interestingly enough, appears so hard to learn because (i have found) they skip the smaller steps and start right in on the complex things. the movements are smaller, but a lot of leasons packed into one movement. so what i am trying to say is that the learning curve for MAs are very similar, the teaching method varies wildly so you have to find the right teacher and style for yourself.

MA is a life long pursuit and i know that if i ever stop feeling like there is not more that i could learn or work on, i might as well give up practicing because no one can master MA with an attitude like that.

keep us updated on your progress and hopefull Sirdarksol will speak up soon

[SteveO]

Firstly welcome to the forum and to MA the first step is always the hardest one and thats trying to find a MA that suits you , alot of them look great but for some reason you dont get what your looking for so my advice would be to go and look at a couple of different MAs speak to the instructors and students as you will get what they think its like and what its really like and if its the same as here in the uk sometimes they allow so many free trial lessons and all MAs have there good points and bad and most students of them MAs will swear by them and defend them with there life so just keep an open mind and do what feels right for you , there are many out there and all have something to offer us....

[sirdarksol]

Welcome to the forums.
I do not do Shotokan karate, though I do know a bit about it.
Shotokan is the "mainland," or Japanese karate, whereas most of the other styles are Okinawan in origin.
Shotokan is the result of karate being brought to Japan during yearly Imperial martial arts demonstrations. Around the time of the World Wars (unsure of precise timing of this) someone in the Japanese Empire thought it would be a good thing to develop a martial art that would serve the multiple purposes of
a)Producing a warrior camaraderie among the young men of the country even before they began true military training.
b)Providing a workout that would develop strength in those same young men.
c)Providing a basis for the movements and thought processes of combat.

Shotokan became somewhat simplified, because the idea behind it wasn't to have a self-defense art. A smaller number of moves that, combined, worked all of the muscles, was more important.
This is not to say that shotokan will not provide aid in self defense, just that its strengths lie more in other areas. The basic punches and kicks in shotokan are excellent.

As far as choosing a place, you have expressed a positive as far as your visit to the dojo. That is, in my opinion, the most important thing. There are dojos that claim to teach a well-known and respected art, but the master is a crock. The art is only partly important, a bad master can turn a good art to crap, while a really good master can improve on a marginal art (though most arts, having been given a trial by fire, have a basis in usefulness)

[gman]

to disgruntled,steveO,and sirdarksol...thanks for your input,i think I'm going to follow my curiousity eagerly and join the shotokan dojo,and hopefully find what I'm looking for...Harmony!.

[disgruntled]

great! i wish you the best of luck and i hope you continue to visit the forum and discuss MA with us. and we will definately be here if you have any noob MA questions.

[Shirindo]

Originally Posted by disgruntled

great! i wish you the best of luck and i hope you continue to visit the forum and discuss MA with us. and we will definately be here if you have any noob MA questions.

Or any other types of questions too

Welcome to the forums, hope you hang around.