It is one year, almost exactly, since I started karate. At this time I was unfit, moderately overweight and had no habit of regular exercise. One year on, I exercise regularly, have lost 10kg, have a different (better) body shape and have improved my overall level of cardiovascular fitness as well as strength. I'm about where I should be with my karate skills - obviously still a novice, but that does not bother me since I can now do so much more than I could one year ago. In fact, I would never have imaged then that I could do what I do now.
Obviously, I liked karate and stuck with it, but karate will not be for everybody. Regardless, some of the things that helped me to persist in the early stages were firstly, not much is expected of you early on and secondly, you simply cannot do most of the class! Nobody on their first day can execute a half decent step-in back kick, or hope to learn more than a couple of the basic combinations, let alone do kata. Even pad work is slowed down while you are taught to hold the pad correctly and receive a blow. So overall, you are prevented from taking part in the strenuous work out everyone else is doing. This basic knowledge takes a few months to build up before you can make a decent stab at most of the class, still sitting out the kata's you don't yet know.
So overall, karate makes an excellent beginners activity which grows with your own ability.
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