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Getting started

Getting started in karate is as easy as turning up and watching a lesson. If you haven't done a martial art before it can seem quite a daunting prospect with all those people running around shouting and making funny noises. It can really make you wonder what's going on.
I have said to many a new student, "In three to six months, you'll look back and wonder what all the fuss was about".
Obviously, karate is not that simple - you get out of it only what you put in.

Initially, you can wear loose comfortable clothing, such as a top and track suit bottoms. Eventually you will need a Gi (karate uniform) which can be purchased through the club. Shotokan is for people of all ages and abilities, as not everyone can leap tall buildings at a single bound and smash through walls.

We all learn at different rates and have different physical abilities. The physical and mental benefits of doing a martial arts is well known.

Some of these benefits are:
Improved reflexes and coordination Increased performance in all physical activities Increased strength and stamina so you feel great all day Increased flexibility and weight control for better overall fitness Cardiovascular workouts ( heart and lungs ) to keep you in top shape Greatly improved balance Ability to defend yourself Those who follow Karate-do must never forsake a humble mind and gentle manner. The tremendous offensive and defensive power of Karate-do is well known, where one can defeat enemies with a single attack.
The value of the art depends on one's application. If the application is for a good purpose, then the art is of great value, but if it is misused, then there is no more harmful art than karate. One who truly trains in the art of Karate-do is never easily drawn into a fight. Karate is to be used only in those rare occasions in which one must really defend one's self.
An ordinary person experiences this situation possibly once in a lifetime, and therefore may only have occasion to use karate techniques only once, or not at all. In Karate-do, one's individual goal might be improvement of his or her health or training of his or her body to function efficiently.
One might wish to develop total body strength and co-ordination, or to attain poise and spiritual fortitude.

One who trains in Karate-do strives internally to train his or her mind to develop a clear conscience enabling him or her to face the world truthfully, while externally developing strength.