Welcome to the Karate web page. I have participated in several tournaments and have been in Karate for about one year. I am an orange belt getting ready to test for my green belt. My Karate studio is Martial Arts America. My instructor is George Bell. Mr. Bell is a fifth degree black belt and is exceptionally qualified to teach Karate.
I am taking Tae Kwan Do (that may or may not be spelled right). I am very interested in the martial arts and it has helped me a lot. It has boosted my self esteem and given me excercise as well as self defense skills. Karate has helped me in more ways than I can imagine.
I also enjoy the tournaments. I have been to three tournaments and have placed in every event I have entered. I have 1 first place plaque, 2 second place plaques, 1 third place plaque, and 1 five foot first place trophy. Karate is rewarding and educating. I have Karate every Tuesday and Thursday. The tournaments are on Saturday.
I normally participate in the Sparring and the Kata's in the tournaments. Sparring is light contact fighting with protective gear. The Kata's are a form that we learn for belt tests that include various Karate moves. Some tournaments have grappeling. In grappeling you hold on to the opponents Gee (uniform) top in a certian place and try to steer them down and pin them like in wrestling.
Kick boxing is a full contact type of fighting where you wear boxing gloves and headgear (optional). There are several kickboxing events in my area. It is related to Karate in some ways and in others it is not. Mostly older teenagers and adults participate in kickboxing. It takes a lot of work to do kickboxing.