The first exercise anyone will do during their first lesson in karate, will be kihon(basics) Kihon - is the basic blocks and strikes of karate, you will perform them in a straight line along the dojo floor and then back again, this is where you learn the basic stances, steps, blocks and punches. Although tiring and sometimes repetative, it is of great benifit for developing your technique.each movement is performed to the shout of your instructor, who will be walking around the dojo floor and checking and correcting any mistakes you may make. After kihon during a lesson you will usually move on to kata training. Kata- Is a series off movements including blocks throws strikes etc.It represents a fight situation and you have to use you imagination to decide what attack your opponent is coming with from where, and how many attackers there are. Kata is also a sort of moving meditation, relax and harmonise your breathing with your movement, focus completly on what you are doing. When you have got the basics down pretty well and have learnt some of the kata you will move on to sparring. Sparring- Can be semi contact or full contact, It is a fight between you and your opponent.Sparring gives you the chance to learn distance, timing and put the techniques you have learned in to use and ensure they are effective. There are many different types of sparring which i will go into in my next article I hope this has given the beginner an insight into what to expect during a karate lesson,In later articles i will go into more detail on each aspect and different techniques within karate and there uses