Hey
As a person who gives so much importance to body health, I do sports in my free times as much as I can. Around the vicinity I reside, too much gymnastic apparatus stand amidst the grassy areas those take place in the parks and along the coastal roads. I like to do exercises with them a lot, and instead of going to an indoor sports facility, I prefer to work with the workout devices on the outside, for IMHO, doing gymnastic exercise within a confined space can't do its duty as sporting in an open field with breathing clean air. Instead of working with gymnastic equipments, I do heavy lifting, which greatly helps me to blow off steam. The very sports I've mentioned get me into shape, but some time ago, I was looking for an another branch (of sport) , with which I could channel both doing exercises and weight training, and I decided to start doing Karate. In Karate, you use all part of your body 100% , you learn to concentrate and balance, but above all, you learn focusing. Not focusing on only Karate, but focusing on all life as well.
Besides, Karate is a sport I'm not stranger to. Waaay back when I was 15, I was going to this dojo which was close to the place I reside. I started there with great expectations, but 3 months later, I decided to stop doing Karate for good and quit that dojo with a big disappointment. Many years later, in the passing April, I stumbled upon one of the Karate-lesson videos of the Champions Karate Dojo Channel while I was glimpsing at the contents of Youtube. I watched the video, and I liked the (Karate) instructor's (namely Chris Crisostomo) style of teaching a lot. When I got into the channel itself (Champions Karate Dojo) , I saw more, much more Karate-lessons. Chris Crisostomo (who's also the administrator of the very channel) had put 30+ lesson videos, and in the classes, Mr Crisostomo passes on the things he knows to the learners with teaching Karate from scratch. After I took a glance at the very subjects, I decided to start from the first lesson, which includes Karate moves "inward block" , "back fist" , "knee strike" and "front kick". When I started the very moves; doing the front kick came a bit hard for me. My right leg is ok, but doing the very move with my left leg taxed me, but as the time went by, I get used to it (front kicking) , and perfected my left leg kick. Right now I'm in the fifth lesson, in which Mr Crisostomo instructs in "front leg round kick" and "spinning back kick". I study one lesson at least (I'm saying "at least" 
) for two weeks. I don't go through the classes like "I shall watch&learn the first lesson today, I shall skip to the second one tomorrow, and I shall pass to the third video the next day". On the contrary, I'm proceeding so slowly in order to "assimilate" the very things I learn.
Instead of doing sports, I also watch sports competitions. As I'd mentioned in one of my previous topics, I like to watch Formula E races, but instead of Formula E, I also like to watch matches of sports branches such as American Football, Baseball, Basketball, Football and Volleyball. For instant, weeks ago, I watched the Volleyball competition made between Turkey and the Asian team of China, which resulted as the Europeans' topping China with a score of 3-1 within four sets. The Turks won their first world-level title; they claimed the VNL (Volleyball Nations League) title by getting gold medals, and they made their home country Turkey very proud .The very competition was made at College Park Center in the city of Arlington, Texas, USA. At the end of the match; the team players celebrated their triumph, and team captain Eda Erdem lift the VNL trophy aloft in her hands.....Nowadays, the team is shooting for the sky and struggling to win the cup of European Volleyball Championship. I wish them good luck in the very league, and I'm sure the Sultans of the Net shall put the best performance they ever can during the tournament 
.....
Well, by opening the Champions Karate Dojo Channel, Chris Crisostomo did a great job. As I've written above, I'd decided to stop doing Karate for good when I quited the dojo I used to go, and I couldn't imagine that I'd return to Karate after so many years. I consider myself very lucky for taking online lessons from Mr Crisostomo, for instead of being a smart instructor, he's also a great person. Unfortunately, "some" people who teach Karate are so pretentious and self-centered. Their arrogance prevents them from steppimg back and seeing the big picture, therefore they approach Karate so "dogmatically" and think that Karate was all about breaking bricks&tiles .The main purpose of Mr Crisostomo's opening the channel is to give opportunity to people from all ages to learn&practice Karate in the comfort of their own homes. I like to train Karate in my home, and I listen to music while I'm working out, for music gives a great motivation to me, and I don't feel any exhaustion with music. But instead of doing Karate withindoors, I also do Karate workouts outside; in the parks and on the coast. I see other people instead of me those train martial arts in the open area, and most of them do Kickboxing.....
Since I've bad, distasteful memories with the dojo I used to go, practicing the Karate which Mr Crisostomo teaches gives me a chance to face the ghosts of the past. Instead of giving online lessons, Mr Crisostomo has Zoom classes, and he also runs a dojo (again; named as Champions Karate Dojo) in California, USA. From here, I'm sending a BIG THANK YOU to Mr Crisostomo because of his kindness, quality and the "patience" he shows while teaching the lessons, for he didn't only show me what "true Karate" is, but he also made me love that sport. And if you want to see a qualified, civilized dojo that keeps up with the times, you may enter CKD's instagram and facebook accounts and glimpse at the photos taken from the dojo.....I've been training Karate for four months (since the beginning of May) ,and I reap the benefit of it both physically&mentally. Well, since I do Karate amateurly, I don't have any big goals, but by Mr Crisostomo's teachings, I believe I can become the best I ever wish to be .....
Is/are there anyone out there interested in martial arts instead of me?
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Gosh, I'm playing my electric guitar, but I can't concentrate it because of the doorbell, it's ringing DING-DONG!!! I salute the mighty, fabulous Sultans of the Net with this song : Edge Of Thorns - Savatage
Savatage '93 line up : Zachary Stevens - Lead Vocals ||| Criss Oliva - Guitars ||| Johnny Lee Middleton - Bass ||| Steve "Doc" Wacholz - Drums ||| Jon Oliva - Piano, Keyboards
