Bangor Shotokan Karate Club

Kihon today with Kawasoe Sensei, relaxed body then Kime, then immediately relax again.Stance work, rear foot in Zenkutsudachi, body position, always things to work on. Sure if it was easy we could all do it..
Average age in the photo is 65.

Choose a Kata to practice for a month, maybe you will find out something new about it, and yourself.

Sad news today that Andy McAvoy has passed away.One of my first Karate teachers, in 1989 he gave me my first black belt, seen here, when I passed my grading under Enoeda Sensei.
Some happy memories, thanks.
Sympathies to all his family, R.I.P. Andy.

The Grading structure.
We join these clubs and soon start doing gradings, we accept it as part of the process and dutifully take them, pass them and think we are advancing in our skills.
Kyu gradings get progressively more difficult, by brown belts , 2nd Kyu to Shodan, the Karateka you hoped to be is actually very close to the final product.Yes, there will be more Kata to learn, more intricacies to find, but your general body type, it's limitations, are now generally defined.
You continue playing the game, taking gradings, maybe getting half grades, but ending up a high Dan grade, still with the 1st Kyu style, still weak, still inflexible, only by this stage there are many lower grades who are much more capable of doing Karate than you ever were.A person who is Godan is unlikely to be equal to another Godan, they may do the same style, for the same length of time, with the same determination to be the best they can be, but there is always one who is doing techniques better.
We can all "grade" others in the Dojo, by looking at them, how they carry themselves, how well they perform, how well they know Kata or how they dodge the hard stuff.
Yes, gradings are a necessary thing, there is good and bad in it but there is something sad about a high grade performing techniques like a low grade.