karate training: first class

ok. here it is. the post you were waiting for...

i have no experience with martial arts but i recognize it as a wonderful form of fitness and self defence that requires practice and dedication. i have always been slightly curious about martial arts, so when the opportunity presented itself, i signed up for a karate class.

yes. me. in a karate class.

as a teacher of fitness myself, i am also always curious about different teaching styles and interested to learn teaching and motivation methods that i can apply to my students as well. so, learning a new fitness skill myself is something i am striving to do more often.

as I entered the class, however, i felt more and more nervous. i have hinted in past posts that sometimes participating in a group fitness class is slightly outside my comfort zone and i quickly realized that i may be quite out of my element in the class. i introduced myself to the teacher and reminded myself why i was here. after hearing that all the other students were beginners i relaxed a little and found the enthusiasm needed to participate in the lesson.

as i suspected, karate is much more than a physical method of combat. the words ‘kara’ and ‘te’ are often complimented by ‘do’ to form the meaning: the way of the empty hand. 'do' refers to a way of life that is practiced by karate students, a way that includes physical, mental, and spiritual elements. there are five ‘tenants’ of ancient karate and our sensei, told us that his club states these at the end of every practice. these tenants are as follows: seek perfection of character, be faithful (in whatever form resonates with you), endever (to always improve oneself), respect others, and refrain from violent behaviour. the last statement seems contradictory in an art that uses punches, strikes, and blocks, but our sensei assured us that "there is no first attack in karate"; one aims to defend oneself before ever attacking another.

our sensei also demonstrated a ‘ka’ or a projection of one’s spirit. this is equivalent to a shout, but not just any shout. the demonstration made the hair stand up on my neck and left the entire class speechless. was i going to have to make this sound? the thought terrified me. i am usually a fairly quiet person. sure, i may talk a lot, and giggle, and laugh, but i don’t remember the last time i raised my voice. i never yell. this was going to be quite a challenge for me and, to be honest, the first few times we yelled as a class, i didn’t make a sound.

i found the session a little challenging. i felt comfortable with the basic stances we learned and i felt that my strength training allowed me to stand in them for an extended period of time. the blocks we learned left me somewhat mystified, however. i rarely play sports and have never taken a dance class, but i likened the hand movements to some type of choreography that most students could comprehend, but not me. our sensei laughed, good-naturedly, and said he was thankful we had a few months to work on this. all the students had a good laugh at ourselves in the mirror too. i think laughing at myself is going to be a requirement for this class.
ok. i can do that, at least.

disclaimer: i do not intend, in any way, to miss represent karate if i have done so. this is mearly a interpretation of my humble learning experience. thank you for understanding.