Like many adult karate students my karate began when I promised my children that if they kept it up for six weeks I would join them. That was in Summer 2004 and now the whole family train twice a week at Newton Longville and other MK dojos too. The Newton club is a great mix of young and mature students alike and we have made some good friends there.
I recall watching my daughter practising Taikyo-ku Shodan in the garden and thinking how awesome it looked and then attempting to copy her, without success. I realised then that it was a challenge and hoped I hadn’t bitten off more than I could chew. I have never been a sporty type and it was reassuring to note that the classes were/are not full of nubile athletic types and it is clearly a sport with wider age and ability appeal.
Having tried many different types of fitness training nothing quite fits the bill like karate does, I never come away from training thinking: “not that again” or ” well that was an easy session”. My goal was to achieve brown belt and anything beyond that was a bonus. Each grading brought its share of fear and tension, but the elation on succeeding each time cannot be described. Attempting Shodan just didn’t enter on the radar and I still can’t quite believe that I have completed it. The work doesn’t stop now either, how much more there is to learn... how true is the karate precept that: “Karate is like hot water and will cool if taken off the boil”.
The focus, determination and strength of character karate builds is something which we can translate into all we do whether at work, home or school. I can’t imagine not training; karate is part of our family life and our social life and it occupies my thoughts frequently each day. I hope I will be training for many years to come.
Oss!