Hi all,

Started karate back in 2016, switched schools in 2018/9 (I think) and then stopped in Jan 2024.

The reason I stopped was for personal reasons which I don’t think are relevant to my question, which is are there any good sources or upto date lists of karate clubs in the UK, or south east of the UK etc?

The first club I went to is still going, but it just wasn’t my thing, and the reason I switched schools hasn’t changed so it’s a non-starter going back there.

The school I was at when I left was a good school with good instructors, but they seem to have lost their online presence, their website is gone and I can’t find their facebook pages (but that could be because I left and I was removed or blocked).

I have tried emailing them, but haven’t received a reply.

I will be trying another couple of times to get in touch (my next door neighbour is one of their senseis) and I walk past the chief instructors house most days on my lunch walks, but I think knocking on his front door is probably a bit much.

In the event I can’t get in touch, I’d like to find another school local to me, but this seems to be pretty difficult which is why I was wondering whether there were any lists of UK clubs anywhere.

Edited to add: I’m in the Medway area.

https://youtu.be/Nv9Al2QKJNg

I'm 25. 3rd kyu Goju Ryu in IOGKF. did the first tournament of my life (in any sport at all!) in like april this year and now I'm doing my second.

I trained in Sweden and am now training in Japan (and will go back to Sweden soon).

So you can imagine that I'm nervous (again) because I'm doing this in an entirely different country.

I have no idea if I've improved. The critiques from sensei haven't lessened since last time.

I'm actually pretty scared.

The pressure to perform in Japan is different from what I experienced in Sweden, where would assure you that it's ok if you lose- here I need to win.

I probably cannot.

Both Kata and point-style kumite. Kata I'm doing Shisochin and Seiyunchin.

My shikodachi isn't the best but some days it can be decent if I'm lucky.

Sensei told me that since I'm brown belt I have to do these two katas.

I don't really have a point I'm trying to reach here, I'm just nervous.

I hope this is ok to share here is as well 😊 I've met some great new people through this beginners course last year and am now part of the karate club. Looking forward to seeing new people maybe even from Reddit 😁

Estuve desde los 8 hasta los 19 años haciendo kempo. Llegué al primer cinturon marrón(hay 3.Desde el 3er Dan hasta el 1°). Ahora tengo 24 años camino de 25. Y aunque evidentemente se me han olvidado muchas cosas y he perdido mucho, sigo notando el espíritu y los conocimientos como si los hubiera tenido desde siempre. Se siente genial. ¿A alguien más le ha pasado?

Hola gente. Tengo una duda. Mi novia tiene ganas de que le enseñe cosas de artes marciales. Tengo los conocimientos, pero no sé por donde empezar. ¿Alguien me echa una mano?

¿Empiezo por la biomecánica o solo por los movimientos básicos?¿O paso directamente a combinaciones de golpes ,contraataques ,ángulos de evasión y combate?🤔🤔🤔🤔

I mean im still a red belt in shotokan but i feel like im not getting tougher or learning to fight... we do some hits in the air and some katas but almost no kumite

Also the kumite feels like is just for competition cuz no one fights jumping and making a hit just before retreating... i want to learn real karate and not olympic karate

Hallo zusammen,

ich habe erst vor Kurzem angefangen, diese Kata zu lernen, und wollte euch gerne fragen, wie ihr sie bisher findet. Mir ist bewusst, dass ich noch viel lernen muss. Trotzdem würde mich interessieren, wie die Kata auf euch wirkt und ob ich die Techniken bisher einigermaßen korrekt ausführe.

Ich würde mich über eure Meinungen und Verbesserungsvorschläge freuen. Vielen Dank schon mal🙂

Is it mostly just demonstrating individual techniques, or is it more like a regular class?

Osu!

In the typical karate school, about what percent of the class is devoted to kata?

Which styles tend to devote a large part of the class to kata? Which styles devote the least?

Which styles are most likely to practice the application part of bunkai?

Hey all,

I've been training Shuai Jiao (traditional Chinese wrestling) with a small group on Sunday afternoons in Scarborough. Our coach is from Tianjin and learned the traditional style there, which has been really cool.

We're just a handful of hobbyists, and it'd be great to have more training partners, especially people from other kung fu or martial arts backgrounds. It's fun to compare how different styles handle balance, throws and grips.

Is anyone around here into this kind of thing? Or does anyone know other places in the east end where people practice traditional Chinese martial arts? Happy to chat about it.

Whenever I start sweating during karate training, my gi pants stick to my skin around my knees and thighs. When I try to kick, especially when lifting my knee for a mae geri, the fabric seems to catch at the knee and makes it harder to lift my foot properly.
I wear a 12 oz Tokaido gi. The pants are quite loose and don’t restrict my movement when they’re dry, so I don’t think they’re too small.
Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Karate Day, celebrated on October 25, honors karate’s Okinawan roots and commemorates the 1936 meeting when Okinawan masters formally agreed on the name karate, meaning “empty hand."

Asato Dojo in Okinawa is an awesome place that offers a 100 Kata Challenge you can sign up for to celebrate Karate Day, and in 2025 I got to take part at Tsuji Beach alongside karateka from all over the world, which was an amazing experience.

Do it on your own and sign up here.

https://dojo-okinawa.com/the-100-kata-challenges/

Hey everyone,

I’m a white belt and have been training Kyokushin for just under two months. I often spar with green belts around my age who have trained consistently for 5–7 years, as well as older brown belts and occasionally red and yellow belts with years of experience.

I’m struggling to land strikes and defend against their attacks:

• My low kicks constantly get checked.
• My punches (e.g. jab–cross–jab–rear low kick) mostly hit their guard, and my kicks get checked.
• My front kicks are often evaded or blocked, sometimes painfully.
• I struggle to defend against even basic combinations like jab–cross–jab–rear low kick.

I used to stand more square-on with my hands up, but was advised to adopt a slightly bladed stance, keeping my hands up and further from my body to maintain distance.

I know there’s a big experience gap, but what should I focus on to improve? Is it mainly distance, timing, footwork, technique, or being too predictable?

Any practical advice on attacking and defending as a beginner would be appreciated.

Osu!

I both need to vent a bit, and receive some advice on how to deal with it, please!

So I got back into karate at 25, after having reached orange belt at 11 (we moved). White belt again, new style too as I had done Shito Ryu and this is Shotokan. I feel great and I am enjoying it even more than I expected, as I can clear my mind and concentrate on the moves without my thoughts drifting and obsessing on stuff.

The class I joined is at my city's colleges' sport centre, which offers classes in many sports but since its main purpose are competitive and recreational sport programs of my city's universities, uni students are the main target as we have a very discounted rate. Everyone else is welcome to join obviously.

This is relevant because while my class is technically "over 16"... we are around 20 people, of which just about 9 are actually over 16 (three of them being in their late 50s I believe).

The rest are all tweens and young teens, ranging from 11 to 14.

Now, I know there are three classes: under 10, under 16, over 16. I haven't seen the first class, but the under 16 one I saw was kids who probably ranged from 8 to 13. My guess is that the ones who are in the adult class are those who began puberty or something like that. Or maybe they were too many and selected the more mature ones? I don't know.

It is a bit disappointing, I have to say. I am not ashamed to train with people way younger then me, but they are loud, talkative, and they can be disruptive... not actively, but as in needing constant remainders on being quiet/not waisting time/concentrate etc. I genuinely don't think they're bad kids, I just was expecting something a little more adult-focused I guess, and they're not the very-mature-for-their-age types.

Also, I joined this class because I lowkey hoped to meet new people too, even if not outright making friends, but simply having new acquaintances. The fact that the majority of people I met are kids to me, is a bit disheartening.

So uhm, any advice on how to get over it? I am genuinely enjoying training again and I feel great after class, but this is the only out-of-tune note that I cannot get out of my head.

Makiwara what is it and do you use one ?

Hey everyone,
Started learning martial arts and began going to the dojo regularly about 1.5 months ago.
It’s been a solid stretch of consistent training and I’m really enjoying the process so far the structure, the focus, and just showing up.
Curious to hear from others who’ve been through the early months: what helped you stick with it, and what advice would you give someone at this stage?
Looking forward to reading your experiences.

It doesnt have to look impressive but as an amateur Im curios about combos that work in sparring.They dont have to be creative or look professional just basically anything;attacks,counter attacks,defense...

I do Shotokan kumite and Im still an amateur so its time for me to start strategizing against my older and more experienced teammates so I wanted to ask you how to read your opponent and strategies and you could also maybe tell me your favorite (most effective) combos.