Leaderboard

The idea that hikite generates more punching power, while popular, doesn't hold up under scrutiny. That idea seems to have been popularized by Nakayama Masatoshi and Kanazawa Hirokazu, with MANY people referencing the famous illustration comparing the mechanics of punching to an engine, with an axle running up the center of the body, and the arms being pistons attached to it. The explanation being that pulling one hand back will make the body rotate around that axle, naturally forcing the opposite side of the body forward, generating more power, and that this is an example of Newton's Third Law of Motion (every action has an equal and opposite reaction). On the surface, that does sound logical, but there are several flaws in this premise: The body does not actually have a rigid axle in the center, and doesn't rotate evenly around it, nor is power generated from that axle outward The body is capable of rotating regardless of what you do with the arms Pulling one arm back as you punch with the other side moves some of your mass AWAY from the target, reducing the power delivered to the target This interpretation of Newton's Third Law is completely incorrect, because the push/pull mechanic does not actually represent what he meant by "equal and opposite reaction" Additionally, we must recognize that the idea of pulling a hand to your side or hip while punching, without using that hand for a combative function, is tactically unsound. Doing this is a good way to get punched in the face, and is an example of shi-te (dead hand), which is a cardinal sin in classical karate. Of course, most karateka recognize this, but brush it off by simply saying "you do it for training, but not for real fighting." My question, then, is this; how does your martial art train for "real fighting," then? If your standard training methodology in a martial art teaches you to do something that is a dangerous bad habit for fighting, then you have to do additional, different training in order to un-learn that habit in order to be able to use your martial art, which means you are either wasting your time with training the standard methodology, or with the fighting training, depending on what you are training for.

Actually there is a PWHL (Professional Women's Hockey League) with eight teams (4 in the USA and 4 in Canada). Many of the players on both the US and Canadian rosters came from the PWHL. Speaking of their gold medal, the Mayor of Denver just invited them all to Denver for a proper celebration, since they declined their SOTU invitation.

The short answer is that it doesn’t matter as long as it puts the defender in the most advantageous position for the most effective possible counter. Secondly it ideally should be creating an opening for either a follow-up(if necessary) or an escape out of the range of attack.

It's nice that you can get so much focused test prep. That'll help out tons and tons, for sure.

I've never heard it broken down like that, but I think that most people develop a concept on their own that is similar to that by brown belt. Normally, from experience with ippon kumite. If I started karate at a much younger age and wanted to "go rogue" with Shotokan as you did with Shorin-ryu, I'd return the gedan shuto ukes to Heian Shodan and Bassai Dai (and the saguri-te to Bassai Dai). In Shorin-ryu and Shito-ryu, the gedan shuto uke is a valuable tool for intercepting kicks and we don't see it until Kanku Dai, which is normally taught at 2nd kyu.

And so it begins... (Another test prep cycle). Last night was the first night of the spring test prep cycle. We had 9 students there, and there are 23 students who will be testing for various grades of black belt this coming May. (2 sandan, 6 nidan, 4 shodan, and 11 shodan-sho). This is probably the biggest testing class I've seen since I've been an instructor. The class was scheduled to start at 7:10 in the upstairs dojo (much smaller than downstairs, and with bamboo flooring instead of tatami mats), but the previously scheduled aikido class went over. As I've come to expect, the first few minutes of the class was all about setting expectations; the goal of this class is to fine-tune everything you need to know for the test. Yes, he is explicitly teaching the test in this class. The only material on the test is covered in the class, and the idea is you get feedback on what you need to work on in the test prep class, and then you work on those items in your other regular classes during the week. The general rule is if you have something big that's wrong and you can't fix it during the test prep, you need to wait until the next testing cycle to test, and there are a finite number of classes you're allowed to miss (3), or you will not be allowed to test. He always explains the rules up front, but in each cycle there are always one or two students who miss classes and find themselves "on the bubble" where if they miss another class, they won't be able to test. We skipped warmups and went straight into hojo undo. Unfortunately with the aikido class running late, I didn't have a chance to warmup at all, but the hojo undo kind of did that anyways (even though I was kind of stiff for the first few elements). Next up was Sanchin kata -- the students testing for shodan-sho apparently didn't get the memo that this part of the test was done top off (ladies are allowed to wear a t-shirt or sports bra), and they weren't aware that there is a "right" and "wrong" way to take off/fold/put away your top and belt. Well, technically there are a couple of "right" ways, and many many other wrong ways. The important part is that you don't drop the belt on the ground, and neatly fold the gi top, and put the belt neatly on top of the gi top. On the test, this is done in full view of the test board; you won't get bonus points for doing it well, but you can get points deducted for doing it poorly. The Sanchin kata wasn't much of a surprise to anyone -- they have all been subject to shime ("focus") testing for their last couple of tests. We did one kata as a full group, and then he broke us up into smaller groups to do shime testing. A few students got feedback on their Sanchin (mostly the shodan/shodan-sho candidates), and then we moved on to kotekitae, where we were all partnering up. I partnered up with Parker (he is also testing for sandan) for the evening, and we worked kotekitae for awhile (arm rubbing/arm pounding). As we were working through the different drills, we were giving each other feedback throughout the evening (we are also both candidates for shidoin licenses). Next came Seisan kata bunkai -- I haven't worked this much lately, so I definitely need some tuning up on it. Parker gave me some good feedback on things that didn't look quite right, and I did the same for him. Additionally, as we were in between repetitions, we noticed some of the more junior students struggling with a few things, so we walked them through some of the nuances. I also gave him corrections as well, mainly adjusting his targeting by a few inches on certain parts. Last up was our rank kata (Kanchin). Since this is the new item on this test for each of us, this is the item we are both working the hardest to fine-tune. The sequence I've been struggling the hardest with is the one I got the most feedback on -- it's a sequence that starts from a cat stance right after a wa-uke strike. The sequence starts with a left half-step forward followed by a right full step into a zenkutsu-dachi. At the same time, the right hand posts to interrupt a downward two-handed strike (think sword or baseball bat), the left hand then circles underneath to catch/redirect the opponent, while the right hand pulls hikite and then as the right foot lands in the zenkutsu-dachi, you use your forward momentum to strike with a mae-hiji-tsuki (forward elbow strike). After that elbow strike, we shift into a shiko-dachi, perform a scooping block to catch an incoming kick, and then push forward/throw the attacker. All in one sequence. If you look at this video the sequence is shown in slow motion around the 1:30 mark. Well, our CI gave me some detailed feedback on the sequencing on that, and I spent a good part of the remainder of class working on that. And I'll be continuing to work on it. The thing is, we have a similar sequence in our Seisan kata (required for shodan), but there are subtle differences, and those differences are what are driving my muscle memory crazy. But this is also the *exact* thing I needed to hear so I can work on it. And that one piece of feedback made this class very valuable to me. Tonight I'll be doing Kobudo and teaching again. Hopefully I'll be able to work in enough time at the end of class to run Kanchin with the other nidans. Until next week.

So far I've bought 2 homes -- one was new construction, and one was previously lived in. I'll tell you, the process is VERY stressful. In fact, my previous agent once told me that buying or selling a home is one of the 4 or 5 most stressful things in your lifetime. (Right up there with getting married, getting divorced, dealing with the death of a close friend/relative, etc). I know I'm a bit late to the party, but here are a few things to keep in mind: - Make sure you aren't buying more than you can afford. A bank will come up with a number you can QUALIFY for, and then the agent will probably try to sell you in that region. Do your own math and be realistic in what you can actually afford, and stick to that. - Make sure you budget in for improvements/repairs. Things can and will go wrong. Less so on a new home, moreso on a 20+ year old one. Our first home we bought together we lived in for 3 years. During that timeframe we needed a new roof (hailstorms in Texas), a new upstairs A/C unit, and we needed to completely renovate a bathroom. Make sure you have a contingency fund for these things. - When your inspection report comes back, another way to use it is as a negotiation tool. If you can get some additional seller concessions (reduced price, rate buydown, etc) as a result of that inspection, it might change the equation. If you can get them to essentially pay for part of the repairs that are needed, it MIGHT make sense to move forward with the purchase. Or it might be a reason to walk away from the deal. Don't be afraid to walk away. If you walk away from the contract, you lose your earnest money, but that's a small price to pay for the potential headaches that those kinds of repairs can cost.

Test Prep Cycle Week 4: The last 3 weeks have been run by Heather Sensei (our CI's wife). She has a VERY intense personality and is a stickler for getting things right -- when she points something out, I definitely take notice. For example, last week she decided that our testing in Sanchin stance should be with pushes/pulls instead of strikes. Personally I prefer when they just hit you. Sure, it might hurt a little bit, but when they push, they will see how far they can push you before you break stance. Well, last week she decided to be pretty mean about things -- normally they push at the hips, but she was pushing on the shoulders. It's your typical physics problem, "give me a long enough lever and I can move the world". Well, when she pushes on your shoulders, she uses all that leverage to make you move. Fortunately I had seen this before, and when I knew I couldn't keep stable in that position, I just took a small step to the side and back into a stable stance. And that was the exact correct thing to do (in fact, she later pointed me out as the example of what to do in that situation). One nice thing about working this class with Parker is, since we're both instructors we point out where each of us can improve. For example, Heather called me out in our Dan kumite drill for dropping my hand in one place where I did a roundhouse kick. I haven't been critiqued on this drill in awhile, so I probably have gotten sloppy, so the tune-up was necessary. There were a few other tune-ups she offered to each of us, and in later weeks, we have been pointing out these things in each other's technique. I'm also starting to feel really good about the Seisan bunkai. Again, it's been awhile since I've practiced this drill regularly and even less frequent that I get critique on it. As Parker and I continue to fine-tune things during this prep cycle, we are continuously giving feedback to each other. One thing I'm trying to focus on is something that Gushi sensei mentioned in his seminar last spring -- slow down and let the audience see exactly what you're doing. So as we're practicing for our prep cycle, I'm trying to focus on targetting and follow-through. For example, we have one sequence where the attacker steps in with a right punch, followed by a left punch. The defense for the right punch is a circle block countering with a hammer-fist strike to the temple. In my demo, I make a point to stop before Parker's head, then slowly follow through, pushing his head to the side. Then the second attack is countered with a right circle block followed with a left boshiken-tsuki to the chin. And again, I stop right before the chin, then follow-through, pushing the chin and entire head slowly back. As usual, the area I'm working most on is my Kanchin kata. One thing our sensei mentioned to us last week is that there are several times you feel like a white belt again. When you start learning Kanshiwa (required for yellow belt), Seichin (required for brown belt), and Kanchin (required for 3rd degree). When we learn Kanshiwa, that's the first kata after Sanchin we learn. It introduces a lot of new moves, the concept of moving off the line, and all of the fundamentals in our kata. (And... you do learn that AS a white belt). When a student starts to learn Seichin, they are introduced to a lot of new sequences - moving at 45 degree angles, the concept of intercepting strikes WITH a strike (instead of block then strike), and it's the first kata where we start to see the "soft" side of Uechi-Ryu. And finally Kanchin introduces much longer sequences. It introduces the concept of starting from a low stance and pivoting 180 degrees while still in a low stance. It introduces shifting from a front stance to a low stance without raising your center of gravity. It has extended sequences that you want to get the timing and inflection *just right* on. You want to do the sequences quick and with power, but you want to make sure you display kime at just the right moments. And that's why it takes 2.5-3 years to go from nidan to sandan Honestly, the last kata, Sanseiryu only introduces one new sequence, but the sequences are longer, and go in 8 directions, instead of 4. However in terms of new movements/sequences there really is only one, and it's the final move in the kata. So once I get completely comfortable with Kanchin, learning Sanseiryu won't be nearly the mind-scrambler that Kanchin has been.

To the opening post, I think the ideas look fine. It sounds like you have identified what you want to see people achieve, and it reads as though you have consider how to so in a reasonable manner. I consider it wise to keep in mind the old proverb regarding throwing the baby out with the bath water. Which is to not do so. In simple English terms, it means to avoid throwing out something valuable while getting rid of something no longer needed. When considering my own curriculum I started with the question: “What in my training got me to where I am?” Now my answer will always be biased towards what I am able to identify as useful. What I can identify as useful is going to be what provided most immediate benefits to effort put in. Thus, some of what I worked on that was longitudinal in benefit, as in it took a lot of time to see a benefit, is going to potentially appear superfluous but could have in fact been the foundation of a lot of what I do well now. This is why I find it useful to be a part of an organisation, and to have a sensei, because it helps balance my perspective. It forces me to consider what I might otherwise abandon. Alternatively, it also forces me to take the initiative in innovating, because I have answers to questions, and questions to answer, which I would otherwise not encounter. In taking this approach, I feel it has helped me build a syllabus that can be useful to most people engaging in training. It is a safety net against my own egoism and just doing what I enjoy. The other thing I have asked is what do I want belts to represent. Personally, for me, they need to represent meaningful improvements in the fighting skills being worked on. Thus, I use fewer belts than found in most systems, because I think it takes a while to objectively improve from one level to the other, and just knowing more without getting better is easily done. Knowing more kata or more drills without getting better at them to me is not what I am looking for. Hence, building competency expectations into the grading system. I want to see someone has got better at the goal of the partner exercise, rather than just show me another drill they have learnt and do it poorly. Anyway, here is my colour belt syllabus (Though it is always subject to change) as posted in the flow drills topic: In terms of what has been “dictated” to me is the kata and the rolling bunkai. I follow the Kata syllabus of the Kodokan, as it was run by the late Aragaki Isamu Sensei, up until Nidan level. Which is the level I reached while he was alive, and the level to which I can technically grade people. After that, I take the direction of my current teacher, Derek Ridgway Sensei. The Rolling Bunkai are his creation and are used for Brown Belt and Senior Grades so my students need to know them to grade in the organisation. I find them very effective anyway, so I do not begrudge it, and they have been a solid base around which to build the rest of the partner exercises around. In my limited experience in Okinawa I would say that the syllabus approach is much less structured, and far more individualised. In training with other people that trained far more extensively, or even much less, with Aragaki Sensei we were all taught subtly different ways to do things and the principles were consistent. It seemed to be very much targeted to the individual. That said, I think that was the very old way to do things. As a person, Sensei did not need money, and taught for the love and passion of Karate. I cannot speak to schools which may be more commercial where the teacher lives from teaching.

I think the only point I have to add, when it comes to the power angle, is that the hand is just the end of the arm. Which is to say, when we focus on the hand, it is easy to neglect what we are doing with the rest of the arm, and its connection to the body. For me, from the perspective of power and structure, hikite is not so much about the hands but the shoulders. To add to Wastelander's point: drawing the arm back dramatically on one side, and often pulling the hand to somewhere ineffective martially (Such as to the hip), often over-rotates the body and moves force away from the intended target. For me, hikite is the most basic way of learning to get the hands to work together, and part of that is to learn to have the shoulders work to deliver force forward. Which is to say, have them rounded and both activated, allowing for the compressing of the body to allow through movement of the waist, and ensuring the arm is connected to the body as it makes impact. Otherwise, yes, I view hikite as effectively practicing to pull or to draw the hand for other purposes such as deflection or loading up a strike.

Doctor said that it could be due to a lack of calcium over a person’s lifetime. She didn’t want to say much more until all test results are in. I’ve drank an oceans worth of milk my entire life!!

Hi all, A couple of years ago (just realised it has been that long!) we had a Karate Forums fantasy baseball league - i was wondering if anyone would like to have one again? There is always a fair amount of engagement on the NFL thread and wondered if more people would be open to a fantasy baseball run through this time. If so then please post on this thread / mark with a thumbs up and i will see the numbers. Was thinking an auto draft league (you rank your players pre draft) and rotisserie (so just score points rather than weekly match ups) but if people would prefer head to head then thats fine. I think auto draft will best accommodate the different time zones etc. for the players

Hey DarthPenguin, thanks for asking. I'll play. I usually do head-to-head, but I'm up for trying roto. I've either never done that or it's been a longtime. I do like a live draft if possible, just because people can show up if they want, and you can pre-rank either way, but you can count me in regardless, if you get enough to make it worthwhile. I appreciate it.

My experience is mostly watching my parents buy a few homes over the years. We actually bought a house a few years ago, but the inspection came back so bad that we went ahead and backed out. It sounds like you've probably already found the one thing that I recommend to folks: An inspector who will give you reasons not to move forward. I feel like the whole system is generally adversarial to buyers. Even people operating on your behalf are often trying to simply complete a sale. For me, having a good inspector alleviates a lot of the stress I would feel because at the point of buying, I have come to terms with the financial investment and the fun side of it - the life it creates - but the inspector helps deal with the unfun side. We paid for a normal inspection, plus a termite and sewer inspection, and I'd do it again. I'll never forget the moment the inspector crawled out from under the building and said, "it looks like mold," and the real estate agent basically cut him off to say, "it could be [whatever he said]," like she wasn't let him talking. Sure enough, it was mold. Several types, including two black mold, and all sorts of other issues. If we buy again, I'll go back to that inspector if he's still around.

Keep up the fight bud. I know people that have beat it! I've had Chronic Lymphocitic Leukemia for about 9 years now. It's considered a "good cancer". HA! It's good in the sense that it's slow, and at my ripe old age of 73, I might just die before it gets me!

There’s everything about this that I love. Removing redundancy at all costs and by all means. The unfortunate difficulty lies with the overbearing Governing Bodies because they want it their way as though their way is the only way; that’s ridiculous, of course, and that’s why our founder left the Okinawa powers that be. Their way, the Okinawa powers that be, is their way and it never has been the way of our founder, and it’s not my way. I don’t have to tell anybody about the Heisenberg Principle that says the act of observing a phenomenon changes it.

My understanding of HOAs is that they can make things miserable. Many are not well managed and the people who run them are often unpaid volunteers who create petty rules and are selective about enforcing them. The goal behind the HOA is to make sure that people are taking good care of the outside of their homes to make sure they go up in value, but sometimes the board members abuse their authority, and it can be challenging for the homeowners the fight back.

Yeah, they will still be in the Kansas City metro area proper. Coach Andy Reid also quashed any rumors that Tyreek Hill might return to KC. He said "nothing's happening there" at this time. Things can always change, though. Hill would have to come in on a really cheap "prove it" deal to get back to KC.

One thing that always seemed odd as a non-practicing observer of grappling/throwing systems; is the way almost nobody(including those practicing these) ever brings the question of how and what happens before and leading up to the moment the throw/lock is applied. The only part shown/taught are the actual throws/locks. Unsurprisingly, the more focus there is on competition/sporting grappling, the less there is on set-ups that have a key role in how effective the throws/locks will be. Little things like striking to momentarily stun or unbalance an attacker.

I’ve never bought a condo/honeycomb; I’ve always been a renter. Many of my relatives have bought new homes; my dad built 2 house; one for his mom and one for himself. My understanding about buying a home is that one should NOT buy a home in a HOA community because the HOA can be a nightmare; they can end up taking your home away. Good luck in your search!! Please keep us updated.

The USA dominated Slovakia and advances to the gold medal game. The USA was up 5-0 and won 6-2. They will play Canada for the gold. The game is Sunday, Feb 22, at 8:10 am eastern time. February 22 also will mark the 46-year anniversary of the USA beating the USSR in the 1980 Olympics.

I'd be interested.

I actually like this approach. I think it keeps an instructor from being tied to a curriculum, which lends itself to "teaching to the test." I see that way too much in my TKD experiences. I think this is very much like the approach of BJJ promotion.

The testing process for kyu grades and dan grades are significantly different. Our school generally has at least one colored belt test each month (sometimes two). Each month, the instructors for each set of students will know which students are eligible to test in that month; there are fundamental time-in-grade and attendance requirements. The instructor will have a pretty good idea as to which of those students will be ready to test. Then the week of the test, the instructor will evaluate each potential candidate to see if he/she is indeed ready. There is (in most cases) a hard rule that a student must attend classes at least twice the week of the test so the instructor can thoroughly evaluate their preparedness. When the test day comes around, we will divide students up by age and/or rank, depending on the number of candidates. Generally the adult students and brown belt candidates will be tested in the upstairs dojo, and the younger students will be tested downstairs. Each group will run independently, and testing will consist of the following elements: - Sanchin kata - Hojo undo (randomly, in English for ranks below sankyu, in Japanese for brown belt ranks) - Rank kata - Rank kata bunkai (Not all ranks require bunkai, and if there are more than 30 students testing, this will be tested in-class - Kotekitae (body conditioning) - Sparring (required for sankyu and up) Generally we are more forgiving of mistakes for more junior students. As a student gets more advanced, our expectations increase and we are less forgiving of mistakes. At specific ranks (ikkyu, yonkyu, shichikyu), we tell students they're not allowed to make any mistakes (well, at least no egregious ones). Each student is assigned to an individual evaluator, but to a certain degree, all instructors will evaluate all of the students. At the conclusion of the test, the instructors will discuss the students performance, and the instructors will get with their students to give them feedback on their performance. After the feedback session, the CI will announce the results, presenting each student with his/her diploma and belt. Additionally, in certain circumstances if a student cannot make the scheduled test, our CI will run an in-class make-up test. Generally he will have the student demonstrate all of the test material individually to him, and he'll evaluate their performance. In the case of an in-class test, he will inform the student of their pass/fail status at the next at the conclusion of the next class. Dan gradings follow the same general format, but are considerably more formal. For one thing, our dojo only runs dan gradings twice a year - generally in May and November/December. Candidates are informed well in advance of the gradings, and they are required to attend an extra "test prep" class each week. This class focuses on the elements of the test, and students will get specific feedback during this class that they are expected to incorporate before the test (or they may not be allowed to test). They are also given a packet of information they are expected to know prior to the test, since there is an oral component to the test. Our CI prefers to run tests with no more than 10-12 candidates at a time -- more than that and tests start running extremely long. The dan gradings are done in front of a formal test board. The components are the same for the kyu gradings, but candidates perform either alone or in pairs in front of the board. Each component of the test has a minimum passing score and a total score associated with it. Each instructor scores each component of a candidate's performance, and the scores are averaged and collated. The instructors will then get together to discuss the overall performance of the candidates, and results will get collated. Once the results are known, the CI will announce the results, and award belts to the candidates who do not already have a black belt (our style does not denote rank on black belts, just shogo titles). After the results are announced, the instructors will provide feedback to the candidates as a whole, from most junior instructor to the most senior. The packets are then forwarded on to our hombu dojo (in Michigan), and the certificates come several weeks later.

This is something that can be seen across all Okinawan styles, although under different terms. The explanation is centred around the concept and approach that principles of movement are more important to acquire than individual techniques. Many techniques follow the same single applied principle of movement. Defense and counter is based on where one is positioned at the moment the attack comes. A punch for example: If one is on the inside, the defensive technique and counter(usually simultaneous actions) will be best from there. If one ends up on the outside, one will aim to defend/counter from there.

The testing isn’t quite as formal as what one might expect to see in the majority of karate schools in Japan or the West. Only Hanshi can decide who is ready and one simply does not test until Hanshi explicitly tells them to test. Perhaps this is only possible because it is a small dojo with few students and less than 5 training today one time. The test is judged by Hanshi and a panel of at least 3 other people who are at least 2nd Dan or 2 Dan grades above for shodan and above tests. The test content is nearly identical for each level, but the appropriate level of understanding for the grade tested for must be demonstrated. Usually as follows: 1. All kihon waza and 5 kihon kata. 2. Bunkai and bunkai application of 1 kihon kata drawn at random from a hat 3. One Naihanchi with bunkai(solo) and bunkai application(attacks by volunteer shodans and above). Students choice 4. Same as above for Pinan kata. One chosen by the students and a random one chosen on the spot by Hanshi 5. Demonstrate(no bunkai) the highest kata learned for the grade ex: candidates for 3dan must do Kusanku Sho or Chinto 6. Breaking with correct technique. Technique varies by grade tested: 1 inch thick pine board. 3dan and above must break 2 boards and 5dan and above can do tiles. All this takes maybe 45min at most. No gruelling series of push-ups or 5km runs through the neighborhood. No free sparring either. Those are expected to be practiced in regular training and at home. This is by far the shortest and most informal testing I have ever experienced.

yeah i watch it too (though only a few episodes into season 2 so far). I really like Walton Goggins and find he is usually only in good stuff (i always loved him in the Shield). Is good so far, though makes me wonder if they would ever make a Skyrim / Elder Scrolls show

My students know they are tested every day, every class. They are tested on their skills compared to their last test. Also on their new, and old, kata. Better speed, power and accuracy. And of course, attendance and effort in class. There is no "formal" testing. No scheduled day for testing. No "need to learn certain techniques" for testing, other than their next kata. They know each and every class that I'm watching them by the corrections I make, or positive/negative feedback they get. if I have to keep telling them to correct the same mistake each class, they aren't ready to advance. If they do correct it, and stay corrected, then they have learned. Being in an Okinawan system, we don't adhere to the military mindset of highly stressful examinations. We're not looking for perfection, as perfection doesn't exist. We are looking for a marked improvement over the last test. There are certain basic things that should improve every time, such as stances, blocks, punches, kicks, and every previous kata that they've learned.

In TKD, we have testings scheduled for the year, and they run about every two months. Personally, I think it's too short a cycle. If students are ready based off their performance of the material in class, they are allowed to test. If not, they are not. In Aikido, its different. I think the Sensei only has a couple of tests a year, maybe four (quarterly). There is an accumulation of hours requirement along with doing a "demo," which is basically a pretest, in front of the Sensei.

For some reason that isn’t quite clear, it seems like there is much less organized curriculum requirements in Okinawan dojos. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the number of belts/grades was very small before Sho Dan. White, blue, green, then brown. Everyone was expected to learn the Naihanchi and Pinan within the first year and every one trained those according to their level of understanding of the bunkai/application. From Sho Dan onwards in no specific order each person learned Passai Sho/dai, Kusanku Sho/dai, Chinto, Seisan, Gojushiho and Teisho

The Lost Forms of Oh Do Kwan Taekwondo, Volume 1: Taegeuk 1-3 Hyeong, by Orjan Nilsen. The author shows these three forms that were a part of early TKD curriculum in several kwans that had roots in Japanese Karate. The translations are taken from Choi's early TKD textbook. It has photos of how the form was done in the Oh Do Kwan, and also descriptions of differences from other Kwans. It also has some nice bits of kwan history, which I really enjoyed.

I do like the way you explain that approach. I think it's definitely easier to explain some tactics based on concepts as opposed to teaching with the "if this, then do this technique" approach. Some time ago at a multiple style martial arts seminar I was teaching a section on self-defense, working off the basis of some of our system's one-steps. I talked about being on the "inside" or the "outside" of the technique (I guess "attack" would be a better term), and finding the options from getting to those positions.

Excellent topic without any doubt; thank you for starting it, Noah. I enjoyed you YouTube video on this concept across the board. We also train in this concept as well because it greatly aids us in our close range which is a key factor in the Shindokan’s 4 key factors. We don’t use the term “quadrant’, we use ‘sectors’/‘zones’, and no matter how the concept is labeled, it’s effectiveness cannot be denied.

Hey everybody, I was just looking at these old posts and noticed, other than some spelling and punctuation errors, that I'd left out something important. First, Jack Slack likes to call the southpaw vs orthodox situation "open stance," and anything else "closed stance." He's written a lot of really great material, I'd definitely recommend all of it. In open stance, when someone looks to counter your southpaw left straight with their overhand, you can feint with the left straight and block the overhand with a high block. Simultaneously throw a lead uppercut (almost like an upside-down jab). That's the equivalent of a 1-2 counter against the overhand in closed stance. However, general principles seem to work better in the long run than this or that counter, and depend less on open/closed stance as well. Instead of looking for counters like these, it's a lot easier to try to fight from angles using attacks that begin with the jab or lead leg. And when you do see an opportunity to counter strike, you'll be in a better position with less risk of your counter being countered. Any defensive option, like parrying, blocking, or head movement, will be much more effective from an angle as well.

I apologize if I'm a bit late to the party here. A few years ago, our CI did this exact same thing to break down all of the kyu grades into smaller chunks for the youth (13 and under) students. For example, for yellow belt (9th kju), there are a few major components: conditioning (kotekitae), prearranged sparring (yakusoku kumite), Sanchin kata, and Kanshiwa kata. As a general rule, full-time students are able to test for 9th kyu after 3 months of instruction and X number of class hours. Well, for the youth students, he would break each of those core requirements down into thirds, and at each month mark, if the student could demonstrate that third of the curriculum, they'll get a stripe. He does this for each kyu grade up until sankyu (brown belt). Once a student reaches sankyu, the mini-tests end, and they are only testsed for full kyu grades. But this definitely helped the newer students with more frequent visual positive reinforcement of their progress. Another thing he changed was the belt system in general, or at least how it is visually represented: Kyu Grade - Adult belt - Youth belt 10th kyu - White - White 9th kyu - Yellow - Yellow 8th kyu - Yellow w/green stripe - Advanced yellow (yellow with black stripe around entire belt) 7th kyu - Yellow w/green tip - Orange 6th kyu - Green - Green 5th kyu - Green w/brown stripe - Blue 4th kyu - Green w/brown tip - Purple 3rd kyu - brown 2nd kyu - brown w/ black stripe 1st kyu - brown w/black tip

We actually practiced this very concept last night in our advanced class. Our CI discussed the rear-naked choke (hadaka-jime) and showed us one simple entry into it. This particular entry was based on our skue-uke (scooping block). At a high level, the attacker comes in with a (right) punch. The defender begins stepping same-side as the attacker, using his left hand to redirect the strike. As the defender continues to step around the attacker, he reaches over with the right hand and pulls on the attacking arm, both bringing the attacker forward/off-balance and helping him move farther around the attacker. He then reaches up with his left hand to the attacker's shoulder to start pivoting the attacker, while the right arm reaches up to clothesline the attacker, bringing him further off-balance. The defender then continues around behind the attacker, snaking the right arm around the neck, locking in the hadaka-jime, and then continuing to move to the attacker's left shoulder, pulling him off-balance and basically 5-10 seconds and that's all she wrote. As-is, it's a cool concept but it would be *REALLY* hard to get in on an attacker without a distracting strike or two in there. But it definitely got the point across.

I think that the new login change is an excellent idea across the board. It’s always better to be safe than sorry just in case. Thank you for the update, Patrick!!

No, I've never got into that particular hobby. We bought some stuff from a prop house once and it has a bunch of stamps in it but I haven't had time to look into them yet. I can see how it can be a fun treasure hunt.

Thanks for this!

I’ll tell my wife because she loves that genre immensely. Thank you, Patrick!!

It's been an interesting few weeks. Some good news, some really rough news (that really started before my last update). The good news: a week ago Thursday I tested for (and passed) my test for gokyu in Matayoshi Kobudo. It's considered one of the harder tests, since you are required to perform all of the hojo undo for bo, sai, and tonkua in sequence, in addition to whatever other additional things our instructor wants to see. Usually he wants to see a kata or two, although the kobudo kata aren't *required* until dan gradings. However, he likes to see where you are, so that when you *do* test on the kata, you look really good at them. The test pretty well gassed me, but I made it through, and I thought I looked really good for everything I did. For my next test, I need to start working bo no hojo undo bunkai... so I get to start whacking my partner (and defending from) a bamboo bo. I've had the chance to do it a few times, and it's a lot of fun. I talked with my CI a couple weeks ago about how I really wanted to start getting feedback for Kanchin (my kata required for sandan), since I am testing in May and want to polish it as best I can before I test. So he has been making a point to do so. On last Tuesday's class, our CI had me working seisan bunkai (a core test requirement, something which I don't get to practice very often), and then he and his younger brother made a point to get the nidans out to practice Kanchin. I got some really good feedback from that - in certain places I was stepping too far, and other places I needed to shift my weight further forward. Definitely good stuff. Thursday night, I attended weapons class, and we went through all the basics with a few kata in there. I'm starting to really get the hang of the second bo kata (choun no kun). It's hard memorizing these kata sometimes, because you don't get to run through them very often. But I'm pretty sure I've memorized most of that one. In my teaching session, I had the pleasure to work with Jack, who is a yellow belt who is about Zach's age. He's a real joy to work with. He's all knees and elbows and uncoordinated as a 13 year old can be, but he listens, tries to do what you ask, and he always thanks me profusely for working with him. Now for the really hard stuff. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was killed in a motorcycle accident. She had been going through some tough times - dealing with an abusive relationship, lost her job, was about to get evicted from her apartment. She weathered this huge storm of <insert epithet here>, and everytime life knocked her down, she got right back up. She had just found a new job at the beginning of January, and she had just signed the lease for a house that she loved. As she was riding home that same night from work, someone pulled out in front of her, and she slammed into that vehicle. I don't know if she died instantly, but she was gone before they could load her into an ambulance. And... she was the glue that held her whole family together, and I'm now watching the family get torn apart. Her 2 youngest (3 and 10) are going to NC to live with their grandmother, since their dad doesn't feel he can take care of them in his current state. Her sister and 21 year old daughter are trying to strongarm her 17 (almost 18) year old into moving in with either of them (he turns 18 at the end of Feb). And the 2 youngest's dad may be going back into a really dark place that it took him 2 years to get out of the last time. And sadly there's not a whole lot I can do from where I stand. But it breaks my heart to see it happen, because I know how important it was to her to have all 3 of her youngest living together under the same roof.

Two of the most obvious explanations for hikite or “chambering” become clear when considering the strategy and range of Eastern martial arts. Particularly those of Chinese and Okinawan origins in their older pre-sport versions. Unarmed fighting and self-defense is rarely if ever done at distances beyond arms reach and most techniques require closing distance. It makes a lot of logical sense to seize, trap and pull an attacker while striking. The other explanation for hikite is exploiting antagonist motions to train effective body mechanics and structure for maximum power generation. This is not really unique to Eastern martial arts, but a vital concept. Every technique involves opposite movements and push/pull is one of the most important. In Eastern arts, at least, this is more obvious in training and becomes more subtle once skill develops and when used in actual fighting or defense.

This got me thinking quite a bit -- we don't frequently pull hikite in Uechi-Ryu. For example, our kata generally start with the hands in a guard position, we chamber the strike, execute the strike, and then return to the guard position. We do pull hikite in some of our two-person drills, when we execute a sequence of strikes. However, it's sufficiently uncommon that we don't explain the "why"; we just do it. However, in thinking about the reasons you posted, several of them come to mind -- specifically the grabbing and pulling your opponent, and also activating the hips. IMO these both go hand in hand for us. We are taught that when we receive a strike, we should grab it, pull it (to disrupt the opponent), and this also activates the hips to prime the counterstrike.

I've seen many of Rick Hotton's YT videos, I love his approach and philosophy, though I'm not a Shotokan guy I find him very relatable. I don't find him at all eccentric. People like him, who are the real deal, don't need all the titles, Hall of Fame awards, etc. I've run into a few belt collectors, people who made up their own styles, exaggerated their backgrounds, had to close up and leave town in a hurry. I assume the OP is referring to basically harmless weird behavior, "colorful" or outlandish. We've all heard the horror stories of instructors who were abusive, sexual predators, or unscrupulous in business. The one name I'll mention that is most controversial is George Dillman. I went to some of his seminars in the 90's. At the time his theories and applications were eye-opening, a new perspective that made sense. He was also a brazen self-promoter, selling books & videos. But he got increasingly far-out, and lost a lot of followers when he got into "no touch" knockouts.

There was one Okinawan teacher who got rid of yakuza types who attempted to intimidate him thinking he was an easily scared old man. They would not so subtly remind everyone that the building where the dojo was and many other parts of the neighborhood was their turf, and therefore owed them something. They often showed up acting arrogant, threatening and belligerent demanding recognition and « respect ». Instead of cowering in fear, the 9th dan 70 something sensei invited the yakuza in and showed them his personal makiwara, which was basically a piece of iron/steel sheet. After striking it a few dozen times with his hands and then with his toes(similar to sokusen kick in uechiryu), he asked if any of the yakuza characters wanted to have a go. One tried to look tough not to loose face, but visibly winced and very obviously could not continue beyond a couple of halfhearted punches. The sensei asked if anyone else wanted to try, but they all looked at each other, gave a sheepish bow and left. They never bothered him afterwards, even ignoring him if they saw him.

I either listen to 80s theme music from Bloodsport, No Retreat No Surrender, Kickboxer, Enter the Ninja, etc., or modern beat samurai music. Here are some gems from youtube: