Stretching - The Driving Force in Karate

Many karateka both past and present refer to stretching and flexibility training as an essential element of any karate training programme.

A karateka actively seeking self-enlightenment will say that his stretching and flexibility training is essential if you want to become a true karateka.

As a perquisite for the practice of karate which is after all is a combat training. Stretching brings the body's muscles, joints and tissues to a state of readiness and perfection so the karateka can not only control the movements of his hands and feet to maximum effect but also his breathing as well.

Karate Kata And Health Benefits

The kata are vital in the development of anyone participating in the martial art of karate. The kata have many uses that enable the practitioner to develop throughout their karate training. It is essential that anyone entering into the art has the ability to focus, and that they are prepared to be patient, and realise that certain levels of fitness and stability are required.

Movements in all martial arts should be smooth, and they should appear effortless. One of the most beneficial elements of kata is fitness itself. Both the upper and lower body will be worked on during the moves, so the fitness of an individual partaking in the art will increase.

The Truth About Karate for Kids (Part 5)

This is the last article in this series, with the last two life skills, and three additional benefits that children receive from attending Karate classes, on a regular basis.

Self-Confidence
Many adults struggle with self esteem, so it is natural that children would also feel a lack of confidence. Also, children of parents who have self-confidence issues will copy their parent's example.

This is one reason why the self-confidence CD we have in our Pro Shop is so popular with adults. This CD is actually a form of self-hypnosis for adults, but Karate is a much more effective self-confidence tool for active children.

The Truth about Karate for Kids (Part 4)

Here are two more fantastic life skills your child can gain from a kids Karate class.

Goal Setting
Any child, who starts to learn Karate, arrives to class with a few goals in mind. These goals are as simple as learning a new Karate technique, advancing to the next belt rank, and impressing his or her parents. Once a short-term goal is achieved, confidence settles in, and Karate training is a succession of goals.

Therefore, overcoming obstacles, which routinely occur within martial arts, become "second nature." Children, who regularly accomplish goals, within their Karate class, learn to accept adversity, set-backs, and disappointments. Finding solutions "under fire" is a routine part of a Karate classes for children. This is extremely rewarding and builds a child's self esteem to the core of his or her inner being.

The Truth About Karate for Kids (Part 3)

Here are three more valuable life skills for children who study Karate.

Attraction
Doesn't everyone want to feel appreciated, popular, and get some recognition? Children need it even more that you do. This is why a child, who has leadership, success, and social skills, will go far among his or her peers. This is one more reason why a child who studies Karate will avoid following the crowd and become a trend setter.

How can a child be so self assured? It comes with inner confidence, achievements, and enhanced athletic abilities. These are all benefits that children gain from regular participation in a Karate class.

The Truth About Karate for Kids (Part 2)

This section covers two extremely valuable life skills that many adults pay a "king's ransom" to attain. Adults pay a life coach, business coach, or read plenty of self-improvement books, to gain this knowledge and develop these life skills. However, within a Karate class, children can be molded toward a lifetime of achievement.

Success
There are many types of success such as: The power of influence, mental, physical, spiritual, and material success. A child can get a strong grasp of most of these types of successes, within the structure of his or her Karate class. Each form of success is valuable in today's world.

The power of influence is learned through social skills, and children have to work together in order to learn Karate. Children work in pairs, or groups, to accomplish a single goal. Sometimes, the highest ranking child will lead a group, while the Karate teacher (sensei) observes or corrects at certain points.

The Beauty and Value of Kata Practice - For All Karate Students

All styles of karate- and there are many- have kata, or formal exercises, as a central part of their training regimen. Debates are often had regarding the value, if any, of kata in regards to its value in helping one to fight. Kata are often deemed way to traditional, or "stiff" to be of significant help for a karate student in the development of fighting skill. When it comes to pure fighting, there probably are much better ways to train- just for fighting. Bruce Lee might say that if you want to learn to fight- "just fight"- and that may be good advice. But, kata hold value for many reasons.

The Truth About Karate for Kids (Part 1)

Do you want to give your child everything in life you never had? Of course you do; you want to give your child all of the opportunities that you didn't have. That's what every responsible parent wants for his or her children. However, it's hard to keep up with all the new and expensive toys available today.

Can you imagine giving your child a gift that has twelve valuable life skills and one more benefit - on top of those twelve skills? As you already know, it's not the latest Ipod or Xbox, but your child will be very successful in life, as a result. You may have heard all this talk about life skills before, but the explanations were vague, so let's make the explanations and results clear.

Life Skills are the self-improvement skills that we, as adults, need in order to be more successful in life; but children and adults can acquire them in a Karate class. Adults usually visit the self-improvement section of a library, bookstore, or shop on the Internet, to reprogram their minds for success. Sometimes, adults stay with a self-improvement program, and many times - they don't.

Is Karate Training Violent?

Is Karate a violent sport?
The quick answer is No, the practice of karate is not violent. To answer this question clearly and completely you should understand what violence is.

Violence is not simply the act of hitting. According to the World Health Organization, violence is "The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation...includes physical, sexual and psychological abuse (such as the significant abuse of power arising from a dependent relationship, threats, intimidation and neglect)."

Karate at Home - The Benefits and the Problems

Learning karate at home has it's problems, one of them being, no martial arts instructor!
This is not to say that people should not learn karate at home, actually I believe learning karate at home should be encouraged.

The warm up and stretch is an extremely important and sometimes over looked are of karate practice. The warm up and stretch should be thorough. Not only is this great exercise and healthy, it will also greatly reduce the risk of injury.

The basic karate moves for beginners, consist of a few punches, kicks, blocks, strikes and stances. These karate techniques can be practiced at home with the right training materials. Having some great karate books, DVD's or online resource is essential.