Why Karate?

Looking for martial arts in Midsomer Norton/Radstock?

There are good reasons why Karate has been around for hundreds of years and is practised by over 100,000 people in England alone.  Apart from being a form of self defence second to none, it is great for development of mind, body and spirit!

 

 

Karate puts function over flash!   

Japanese martial arts are often connected with Zen, which is a philosophy (amongst other things) of reducing everything to a minimum.  Karate technique has been honed over the centuries to take out an fancy flourishes and training teaches the student to take out any superfluous movements; refining technique to pure functionality.  This means that although Karate may not be the most exciting martial art to watch, it is extremely efficient in application.

This is also reflected in the plain white uniforms, which generally have no adornments other than the colour of the belt and perhaps a club badge.

 

Body

Karate exercises all the main muscle groups and joints of the body; improving your health, fitness, strength, flexibility and co-ordination.  When taught right, it also trains the core muscles, teaches you to breathe more efficiently and to relax your body.

 

Mind & Spirit

Karate is a long term training system, not a “quick fix”!  Movements are drilled over and over to “program” efficient body mechanics and body structures into the muscle memory (neural pathways), so that they can be reliably called upon under pressure.  This takes patience, focus and dedication.

The focus and single mindedness required becomes a kind of “moving meditation”, pushing out other thoughts.  This and actual meditation practised during class calms the mind, builds confidence and over time helps to silence that inner voice which is usually negative.

Partner work is gradually increased in intensity as appropriate to the student progress and readiness.  This is one the strongest areas where the spirit is forged as we learn to deal with violent conflict, albeit in a controlled and safe manner.  When we are confident in this area which is one of our most primeval fears of all, confidence can be transferred to other areas of our lives.

 

Respect

Karate emphasises respect, which is so often missing from modern sport based martial arts where competitors insult, threaten and abuse each other.  Not good role models for kids.

Habitually treating fellow students/instructors with respect and receiving respect back from them, not only makes the student a more productive member of school/society, but is a self defence skill in itself.  People are less likely to want to fight you when you treat them with respect!  And the students confidence and self worth increases (especially children) when they are continually treated with respect from others.

Karate is fun!

It’s a friendly supportive environment.  Karate has a very methodical and structured training syllabus (reflected in the belt grading system).  This gives incentive to progress, ensures that the student is constantly being challenged at their relevant level and rewards effort.  All this whilst receiving the above benefits!