By Anna Reusing
I did karate for at least 6 years and what I learned from it, I will never forget. Karate is not for fighting as many people seem to think. Karate is much, much more. It is where you learn how to stand up for yourself and how to defend yourself. What they teach is more than the fancy punches and kicks or stunts you see in the movies. You learn how to focus your thoughts and it is a place to learn what is right and wrong when it comes to self defence. You will also learn Katas forms. There are quite a few belt levels, the highest one being Black Belt and the lowest is a White Belt. For each belt level you have a card with all the requirements for that belt. Each student is given a card and must learn everything on that card. There are numerous punches and kicks as well as a Kata. A Kata is a series of moves of punches and kicks and many other manoeuvres. There can be either 20 moves or more. The higher the belt colour, the harder the Kata.. On your card there is also things that you have to learn the defend against such as a defence against a bear hug (orange belt ) or self defence against a roundhouse kick (green belt)
When you decide and have the confidence to go for the next rank you apply for a grading which is held every 2 months. That is where you will be tested on everything you have learned in karate. You will show your Kata, your Self Defence and many other things. There are sometimes as many as 3 or more judges and they decide whether you are ready for your next rank or whether you need to work on this level for a little longer. You will be graded on everything and the judges will write comments on your grading paper, giving you tips on how to improve.
In karate there is a Sensei, they are your teachers. They are the Black Belts who have gone through every belt rank and have learned all the basics, self defence and katas up to their belt rank. There are different degrees of Black Belts as well. All the Sensei’s are willing to help you learn what you need to learn. It is the Sensei that will teach you the importance of self control, self defence and concentration. Each and every one of them cares about you and will work you hard to make sure that you learn everything you possibly could. They will teach you the respective Japanese words for the movements and how to count in Japanese. Ichi, Ni, San, Shi Go Roku, Shichi, Hachi, Ku, Juu. You can always ask a fellow student for help as well as the Sensei. You will learn to respect the higher ranks and the rules of your Dojo. If anyone was thinking about joining karate, I would strongly advise it. You will never regret it.