There are many reasons why people start karate, they may want to keep fit, they may be looking for a hobby, self defense, socialising, or they have simply been fascinated by the whole history and mysticism surrounding karate and the martial arts. Most people, in my experience, are not very fit when they start karate, fitness seems to be one of the main attractions, for a lot of people. When a karate-ka (a karate practitioner) has been training for a certain amount of time, they will sometimes, naturally, supplement their karate practice, it may be running, swimming, cycling, weight training, etc, etc. Of course, there will be senior karate-ka who only practice karate and nothing else. But these karate-ka are normally very serious and are practicing five and more classes each week. But what of the person who only trains once or twice each week?

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