Beginners' FAQs

Q1: How do I start? Will I need any special equipment?

A: Just turn up on a Tuesday evening. If it is your first time training with us, make yourself known to the instructor so that they can facilitate you in the class.

You don’t need any special clothes or equipment to start with. Just make sure to wear loose fitting clothes – a t-shirt and track bottoms will do fine to begin with. Also make sure to remove all jewellery, watches, rings, etc.

Q2: Do you hit each other during sparring?

A: For beginners, partner work is very controlled, with the focus on correct distance, technique and targeting., however there will be some light contact (especially on the arms when blocking). For developing impact training, we typically hit focus pads.

Q3: Where can I buy a karate suit?

A: In Dublin, cheap karate suits (or “karate-gi” as they’re known) from about €30 can be bought from Mullen’s Sports, Mary St., Dublin 1. For a more extensive range of suits visit 

Q4: What do the different colour belts mean?

A: The different colour belts that karate practitioners (or “karate-ka”) wear, are an indication of grade. Each grade up to black belt is called a “kyu”. Each black belt grade is called a “dan”. The sequence and colour of belts varies from club to club and association to association. In the the JKA Shotokan Ireland, the sequence is white, orange, red, yellow, green, purple (x2), brown (x3), black.  For more information about gradings, visit our "Gradings and Belts" page here.

Q5: What’s the difference between karate and other martial arts?

A: The main focus of Shotokan karate is to deal with an attack through evasive body movements and/or blocking, and counter attack using kicks, punches and strikes. Joint locks, restraints and takedowns are also used, but to a lesser extent. This compares with arts such as judo and aikido which depend mainly on throws and restraints, or taekwondo which places more emphasis on kicking than karate. It’s not a case of any one art being better than any other – each one just takes a different approach. Because of this, different arts suit different people.

Q6: What’s the difference between Shotokan and other styles of karate?

A: There are many different styles of karate, each with its own emphasis and characteristics. For example, styles such as Wado-ryu and Shito-ryu are characterised by light, fast movements while styles such as Goju-ryu and Kyokushinkai are typified by heavy, strong techniques. Shotokan lies somewhere in the middle with elements of both light and heavy styles. 

The main focus of Shotokan is learning, through correct technique, how to move your body to generate as much power as possible as efficiently as possible, and then using this power to apply defensive and offensive techniques (particularly those from the various kata) against an attacker.

Q7: How long does it take to get a black belt?

A: It really depends on how much you train. With JKA-Shotokan Ireland, it is possible to grade for a black belt under the Japan Karate Association after about 4 years of consistent, regular training. Note however that many people take much longer to pass their black belt grading.

Q8: Are there karate competitions?

A: Yes, these are karate competitions in both kumite and kata, with different organisations having different rule sets from full contact to light-touch, points based bouts.  At the YMCA club we do not particularly focus on the sports aspect of karate, however if you are interested in eventually competing, the instructors will be able to advise you and point you in the right direction.

Q9: When do we start singing?

A: ???? Karaoke!!!! Sorry, you’ve joined the wrong club!