Wado

At my secondary school they were obsessed with ability groups. We had them for maths, English, languages and so forth - which is all well and good - but we also had them for PE. This was a bit of a farce, because you had to decide which group you'd be in yourself. We had A (for the best), B, C and D (for the worst). I couldn't throw or catch - and seeing as the mainstay of girls' sport at the time was (unfortunately) netball, I put myself into the "D" group. The PE teachers weren't too kindly with the "D" group: there was an assumption that we were all useless, lazy lummoxes devoid of any sporting ability whatsoever. So I ...  Read the complete review

This review is aimed at those who are changing from another style to Wado-Ryu. I recently changed from Shotokan to Wado ( due to lack of Shotokan clubs in the area ). I am keen to say now that I am not knocking Wado but I find that it lacks a certain something that I found in Shotokan. It certainly is an effective form of defence but it lacks (personally speaking ) the power that Shotokan has. The stances are taller meaning that it is easier to be knocked down, and adjusting the depth of your stance is quite difficult if you have done Shotokan for any time. I am going to perserveer with Wado and see if I can change my ways but if you are going ...  Read the complete review

About 5 years ago, myself and a friend were down the pub, nursing our distended beer guts and smoking ourselves silly. The conversation turned to sport and he revealed that he used to do Karate but had to give it up due to a knee injury. He had decided, now that his knee had recovered that he would like to start again and did I want to join him. My thoughts turned to the likes of Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme and I was a little concerned due to my extreme allergy towards pain, but he persuaded me to try it. One lesson under my belt and I realised that it was not the macho, sadistic art I was expecting. The style I practise is called Wado Kai and is a soft ...  Read the complete review