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Hey all, It was on this day, 24 years ago, that we launched this community. Last year, at this time, I opened up public testing for a new version of KarateForums.com on modern software. We were still on our (very) old software that eventually would have led to this community breaking and simply ceasing to exist. After months of testing (between the staff and member testing periods) and years of testing behind the scenes that I had completed with @Chrispian, we migrated to our new platform over an intense 4 days culminating in an opening on September 9, 2024. Over 8 months later, it's clear to me that our combined efforts were a big success. Our slowly breaking platform is no longer breaking and, in fact, updates to the latest version of our software have been installed multiple times, helping to ensure our platform remains online and secure. All the work that @Chrispian and the folks at Invision Community did (along with my annoying insistence, ha) to ensure that passwords would work paid off. Whether you registered in 2001 or 2021, your password worked when our new site launched. It has all worked so well, and I'm grateful for your help and support. 24 years is such a long-time, and with it, there are so many people that have made a mark on this community over the years. I'd like to extend a thanks to all the members who made amazing contributions since our migration. This includes @ashworth, @aurik, @Bradlee, @bushido_man96, @Chuck, @crash, @DarthPenguin, @Drew, @Fat Cobra, @Himokiri Karate, @JazzKicker, @KarateKen, @Luther unleashed, @Montana, @Nidan Melbourne, @pandaGIRL, @Revario, @RJCKarate, @ryanryu, @sensei8, @Spartacus Maximus, @Wado Heretic, @Wastelander, @Wayofaswede, @Zaine, and others! Thank you! I celebrated today by uploading an avatar for the first time in several years, since I tried to change my old Yankees logo into something else and realized avatars were 100% broken on the old site! On that note, I'll continue to bring enhancements (mostly small, occasionally bigger than that) to this community, but the main thing I wanted to do was to get us on modern software that would be up-to-date, because that will naturally introduce new features over time, too! My ability to do things here always rests on the time I can squirrel away from chasing my toddler and other pursuits. Thank you to everyone who has made KarateForums.com a special place to be and, if you're reading this, that's probably you! This also means that next year will mark 25 years! Which is a massive milestone. Which means we now need to think about ideas to celebrate that! Please feel free to let me know if you have any. Thanks again, Patrick

After six pages of discussion, I think it is clear that the proposal is full of risks. Injury, cost, retaining students, ect, and furthermore is very limited in what it teaches the students. The risks are much higher than the reward. I encourage the OP to reconsider this proposal, if that has not been done already.

First of all, welcome to the forum! You sure are coming out swinging with this subject! What you are proposing is essentially pre-Queensbury bareknuckle boxing, with the slight modification of not allowing punches to the head instead of it simply being uncommon due to the danger of injury. That's fine, but it's not karate. The way I see it, Shotokan and Kyokushin both significantly diminished the effective curriculum of karate by focusing almost exclusively on kicking and punching in their sparring, to begin with. You are then proposing to take one of those arts and strip it down even more so that it is just punching the body. At that point, you're just doing bareknuckle boxing. Everything that makes it karate is gone. You essentially admit that you understand this when you point out that it isn't a style of karate, and that it can be slapped onto any curriculum. I am in no way trying to offend you when I say this, but it sounds, to me, as if you DON'T actually want to train in or teach karate. Nothing in your post suggests, to me, that you actually value the art, as it is. You just value full-contact fighting, and you don't like how people are doing it. I'm afraid I will have to contradict your position on protective gear and the value of body-only sparring, as well. The fact of the matter is that protective gear allows for more consistent sparring without injury, at all levels of contact, whether you like it or not, and sparring without punches to the head develops very bad habits that will carry over into every form of fighting you try to do. As others have already mentioned, you will also have a hard time dealing with insurance as a full-contact school that uses no protective gear. I just don't see enough value in this methodology to outweigh the issues, and I certainly don't see why it should be attached to karate, at all.

OH MY GOSH... I just realized that if you look closely at the URL of this thread: https://karateforums.com/topic/52125-24-years-of-karateforumscom/ "52125" 5/21/2025. Today! That is wild! That number is simply an accumulating number that counts upward with each new topic posted here. I can't even begin to fathom the odds of that happening, like having the exact number of threads/topics here over 24 years to lead up to the day we turn 24 where the number of this topic matches the day we turn 24.

CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE UPDATE: I saw my kidney doctor, Dr. Marwah Al-Khazaali, M.D., and she says that my last bloodwork shows that my numbers went down!! That means that I’m in between stage 3 and stage 2, which is great news!! My kidney doctor was very happy with my progress!! She wants to see me in 5 months!! She wants me to stay away from SALT!!!!! *NOTE: I’m sorry that I’m posting ALL of my different medical updates within my prostate cancer thread, and I know it might be quite confusing to follow, but I thought it might be best to post ALL of my medical updates here in this thread instead of starting new medical threads for each.

I have personally tossed around and dropped Kyokushin 1st, 2nd, and 5th Dans, while I was a 2st Dan, myself. These sorts of generalizations and style-vs-style claims don't hold up, and don't serve any real purpose.

You say "Always" but there is a flaw to your logic. Kyokushin in itself as a whole has their own specific rules when it comes to kumite in the dojo and for tournaments. In comparison to the "other" styles where they all often compete against one another with a unified ruleset. At tournaments here in Australia we have National All Styles (NAS); which all styles (including Kyokushin) compete under the same rules. And Kyokushin Fighters often are at a disadvantage when it comes to those bouts. Then we have Karate Australia; which operates under World Karate Federation (WKF) Rules. So no Kyokushin Dojos have joined or compete in those tournaments. So for your logic to work effectively; you would need fighters to fight on an even basis where the competitors can demonstrate their styles to their fullest. Which in my mind is close to the UFC. Now something I do when teaching, but with Adults with sufficient experience and their consent and forms signed stating that they didn't hold me, the club or the other participants liable for injury. Is to do rounds of sparring; but as close to realistic as possible so slaps, grabbing, pushing, shoving all that fun is ok. But to start our rounds we just bow to each other as a whole, and go. But we do also rounds with specific situations; but we don't give the "attackers" or "defenders" any guidelines on what to do. Just to either be a threat or stop the fight.

Thus far, you’ve received solid feedback to your OP question. Instead of providing more detailed information/explanatios to your enquirer, please allow me a more simplified answer… Whether a kata is or isn’t either “beginner” or “advanced”…one’s Governing Body makes that decision.

NANI!!???? They CANNOT go 100 percent!!!! I train in sambo/judo and believe me, you cannot go 100 percent. In fact BJJ fighters get tons of injuries and ground fighting can be brutal because some people cant control themselves and spaz out big time trying to power through the next move. In judo and Sambo, you have to breakfall like a million reps for very long time and have EXCELLENT conditioning, you have to be very strong and flexible to endure all the turns, twist and high impact throws. This is not something you gain just walking to a grappling gym even if its a more of a lax ground style absent of big throws and takedowns. Also you can easily pull a muscle when you are defending submission attempts and getting suddenly reversed or countered in submission exchanges and scrambles. If you train with Japanese and Russians, they take conditioning VERY SERIOUSLY and are stringent with making sure students are well trained in the basics to keep themselves safe from the chaos of grappling and the intensity that comes with it. BJJ culture has a tendency to, how do I put this, glamorise what they are offering...

Obligatory: I am not a lawyer, and you must refer to the laws in your country/region/state/locality/etc, because they can be VERY different depending on where you are. Where I live, now, use of force in self-defense is justified if the victim sincerely believes there is a credible threat to their safety or the safety of someone else. This means that, in your hypothetical scenario, use of force is justified if you sincerely feel that your safety is threatened by the aggressive man invading your personal space. Generally, deadly force is only justified to stop grievous bodily harm or death, so it would not be appropriate to, for example, stab the aggressor in this scenario, unless they were larger/stronger, supported by a group, or had a weapon of their own, and you felt that your only way to stay alive was to end their life. You may have to testify to this in court. It's also important to bear in mind that, legality aside, maiming a person or ending their life with a weapon is VERY traumatic, and you will almost certainly need mental health services after the fact. As for the techniques or weapons you use, there is generally a force continuum that should be in place in your self-defense skill set to appropriately deal with threats, because if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail, and if all you have is a firearm, everything looks like a target. People like to say "there are no rules in the streets" and "better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6," but there ARE rules--they're called "laws"--and if you end up in prison, you didn't make it home safely, which is the whole point of self-defense. The force continuum that you use is going to vary based on your training, but for me, I like to group things as follows: Low-risk threats (verbally abusive, escalating speech, shoving, etc.) - Escape and evasion, or restraint using pins and joint locks Medium-risk threats (punches, kicks, headbutts, etc.) - Escape and evasion, or strikes, throws, joint dislocations, and strangleholds to disable/knock out attacker or deescalate threat level High-risk threats (significant physical disadvantage, group violence, weapons, etc.) - Escape and evasion, or purpose-built and improvised weapons, strikes, throws, joint dislocations, and strangleholds to potentially kill or disable/knock out attacker or deescalate threat level Now, escape and evasion isn't always possible, and sometimes even when it is possible, it may not be the best course of action, such as in the case of a home invasion where you need to protect your family from the threat. Additionally, everyone's lines between those levels of threats will vary, based on a number of factors, not the least of which will be physical characteristics and level of training. The more physically gifted you are, or more well-trained you are, the more intense a threat generally needs to be for you to consider it an escalation. Someone who is 5ft tall, 100lbs, with zero training, could see a threat as high-risk that someone who is 6ft tall, 200lbs, with 10 years of training would consider to be a low-risk threat. Of course, your level of awareness is also going to come into play, because someone with a heightened sense of awareness could notice a knife in someone's pocket, or someone circling to get behind them, raising the threat level to high, while someone with a lower level of awareness might completely miss those things and mistakenly believe that they are in a low-risk situation.

Statistically, the vast majority of male-on-male violence is made up of punches to the head, and I have seen many Kyokushin fighters struggle with defending head punches because of the emphasis on punching the body in their competitions, even though knees and kicks to the head are allowed. I expect this ruleset would have the same result.

It's been a full year now without a drink. I promise this is the final update

I would add a little subtle comment to this; figure out how to train around minor injuries and not make things worse.

That’s quite presumptuous to indicate because, again, it’s the practitioner that one must face on the floor of battle and not the style itself. Imho.

Also, at the risk of sounding slightly rude (if it is then i apologise) can i ask what level you have gotten to in Kyokushin and / or Shotokan? I am much junior rank wise to a lot of the people on here (people don't usually make comments here based on rank which is refreshing) but some of the sentiments i am hearing are similar to ones i have heard before from newer students / members who have not trained enough to work out why some things are as they are. Sorry if this embarasses them but @Wastelander has multiple dan ranks in a variety of styles (including practical karate ones) and @bushido_man96 is a 5th dan in TKD plus works as a LEO (so will have real hands on experience of defence situations) and they both have laid out cogent points as to why body only striking as you espouse may not work for self defence. If you are equally as credentialled / skilled then fair enough but it is possible that this is a case of "you don't know what you don't know".

Thank you all. This is quite the honour to have been awarded this five times. It is humbling. Again, thank you all.

Your statement that "fist fighting was far more common than it is today" is most likely true, in a broad sense, but I don't agree with the proposal that this means karate is "supplementary training for 'the guy who can already fight.'" I'm not sure where you got that idea from, as I have only ever heard that from people who train in MMA and have little to no actual karate experience. I can't think of a single reputable instructor or historian of karate that has made such a claim, and if we are looking specifically at the history of Okinawa and the development of karate, this is simply not the case. The form of combat that the majority of Okinawan people had exposure to and training in was tegumi/muto, a folkstyle no-gi submission grappling sport, meaning that if karate were supplemental to anything, it would be the ability to grapple, largely on the ground. Untrained people certainly got into fist fights, but there was also a saying in Okinawa that went something along the lines of "if you see people fighting with closed fists, move along, but if they fight with open hands, watch and learn." Despite how it is presented in the modern day, karate is much less about punching than people realize. We must also bear in mind that karate was developed by nobility for three main purposes; self-defense, law enforcement, and security/bodyguard work. None of these contexts is really best served by learning how to fist fight, and the people involved in developing these arts were not the sort of men to get involved in fist fights, more often than not. COULD you use the sparring format you propose to teach students "the bare instinct of how to 'fight,' with more traditional karate techniques being taught along side it as...supplementary knowledge?" Honestly, I don't think so. What I DO think you would get out of it is the development of grit and the mindset of aggression, which are definitely beneficial for people who want to learn to fight, and I think that's really what you're getting at, but I think the skillset developed by the format is too limited to actually teach someone how to fight effectively. It also doesn't matter how many other techniques you teach if this is the only type of sparring you do, because if you never use the other techniques in sparring, you'll never develop the skill necessary to use them, so all you will ever use is body shots. I realize that I'm not telling you things that you want to hear, but I truly don't think you're going to get the benefits you're looking for out of the format you've proposed. There is no singular sparring method which is perfect for pressure testing karate, which is why my late Sensei and I employ a layered approach where we employ multiple different sparring formats to develop different skills and attributes, and to cover gaps left by the compromises and limitations of each format. I'm not saying that you shouldn't spar the way you've described, but it has some glaring flaws that need to be addressed by other forms of sparring. I also don't think removing protective gear is beneficial, at all. If you want extra conditioning, do body conditioning bareknuckle in controlled training exercises, as it is traditionally done. Wear protective gear for sparring, not just for insurance purposes, but because it increases the safety, health, and longevity of those involved without significantly reducing the effectiveness of the sparring.

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 am nowhere even close to a black belt, ...if I do get to that point I'd like to stick around and help other students, but we'll see.

There is something to be said about finding the right community. Great people with great attitudes in a great atmosphere goes a long way in keeping people around.

"It may seem difficult at first, but all things are difficult at first." --Miyamoto Musashi

Hello you lovely people... Have you thought about any goals you have this year? I used to be rather big on setting goals for the year, don't always make a big deal if I didn't meet them, I didn't want to put unnecessary pressure on myself, just gives me something to work towards I guess. Also, since covid I think I have finally thought about setting goals like this again... since I have stopped my regular classes and focusing more on my training for the past 18ish months, I'm still constantly working on my own content and putting together sourcebooks for kata I practise, so some of my goals are more focused on that, but within my friends club that I have now become a part of, he is keen on having me share more of what I do, particularly with his black belts. So one of my biggest things I want to do this year is get myself to a place where I feel comfortable doing that. Since covid and stopping my club I did suffer with confidence issues and anxiety when teaching, but I do want to get back into it and especially give something back to this club for taking me in, so would like to get more comfortable there and start helping out a bit more, have done a few little bits one on one there and always get good feedback. Another thing is that I'm trying to do something exercise or martial art related everyday, even if it's just 5 - 10 minutes. Just to create a habit more than anything. Going strong so far! 6 days in and haven't dropped a day yet.

Something important to remember is that you're not alone. Everyone has gone through periods of feeling overwhelmed and disappointed. It can be tough looking at people who have already gone through what you're going through and think that they somehow were better at learning than you are. The truth is that they weren't any better, they just stuck with it.

Mine is to get back into BJJ. I trained in it for about 2 months in 2023, but eventually had to drop it because adding it to karate was keeping me out of the house too much and it was causing problems with my wife. However, I found a BJJ school that has 6 am classes, which will allow me to get back home when everyone else is waking up. And, most importantly, these morning classes will allow me to continue having the same number of evenings per week that I stay home with the family.

I don't have any martial arts goals this year. The only goal I set is to intentionally travel, by foot or bike, the distance from The Shire to Mordor, about 1779 miles (2863 km) over the course of the year.

Lots of great advice has been put forth already. As martial artists, we've all been there in that beginning phase. The truth is, it just takes time, and you have to tell yourself that you're looking years down the road, not days. It's easy for me to say, "don't be so hard on yourself," but the fact of the matter is everyone is different and this is tough for some to accept. I started Aikido back up very recently, and I get frustrated with myself in class at times because I just can't seem to make some things work. The sensei is good about telling me to not worry about trying to be as proficient at Aikido as I am with Taekwondo, so I try to take it all in stride. You need to do this for you; it's got to be your journey. You'll have lots of help on the way, but only you can put the work in. Try to take one positive thing out of every class. Just one. And focus on that. Keep a journal, and have an entry for every date that you go to class or practice something on your own. Write down little notes you remember. These could be feelings you had about a certain topic in class, or they could be tidbits you recall the instructor telling you to improve one aspect or another of a technique. Jot these things down, and you can look back on them for reference, and it's also a log of your progress. It also keeps you accountable. I've found it to be a very handy tool. Then, come back here to KarateForums and talk to us about it. Heck, start a thread that's a log of your training like several of us have done here. I've found this community to be very supportive, and coming here to discuss my thoughts on classes and testings really is a motivating factor in going back to class. I think you will find it to be true, as well. Go back to class. Believe in yourself. We do.

I hope that you do return! There's a reason that we're so passionate about it. Those who stick with it become incredibly passionate about it. There's just something about martial arts that keeps us coming back. Lean on how supportive the people are. They don't care about how good or bad you might be, they care that you showed up willing to learn. It can definitely be frustrating. I've been doing martial arts for 23 years and I still get frustrated when learning new things sometimes! I remember learned a set of kata and thinking that "I will never teach anyone these kata!" because it was frustrating to me. They're still not my favorite, but now that I'm a few years removed from that learning experience I see the value in them and would teach them to anyone who wants to know.

I also wanted to add - for most belt manufacturers, kanji characters are 2.5 cm tall on a 4.5 cm wide belt, and 2 cm tall on a 4 cm wide belt. Most will reduce them to 2 cm on a 4.5 cm wide belt if you go over a certain number of characters. To determine the proper length of the belt ends, multiply the number of kanji or katakana characters by 2.5. You'll need 5 to 10 cm of clearance above the kanji to prevent the embroidery from going into the knot. You'll also need 8 to 10 cm meters of clearance below the characters on the label side, and 4 cm on the non-label side. So: Length of label side end = 8 to 10 cm + (number of characters x 2.5 cm) + 5 to 10 cm Length of non-label side end = 4 cm + (number of characters x 2.5 cm) + 5 to 10 cm This assumes a 4.5 cm wide belt, so on a 4 cm wide belt, use 2 cm instead of 2.5 cm. Whichever side is longer, that's how long your ends should be. The belt size calculator on the Kataaro website assumes the ends below the knot are 30 cm. So adjust for that if your ends need to be longer. Kuro Obi Ya has a formula on the site as well, but it doesn't tell you how long the ends are when using that formula, so it's not of much use.

I'm not sure that we'd be having this debate outside of the English language. An example of this: in classical music, we don't translate the word "maestro." We just leave it in Italian. I think we're reluctant to call the conductor a "master." It's taboo in the English language, hence why we're so ready to dogpile anyone who uses such a title. Is it possible to "master" a martial art? If a martial art cannot be mastered, then what can be? Perhaps when the word "master" is used in martial arts, it means that someone has reached a particular level of authority within the art. I think it's fair to say that, in any subject, it's at least possible to do that. I say that if there's a problem with the word "master," then perhaps even a title such as "master instructor" doesn't adequately solve the issue here. Perhaps titles like "senior instructor" and "chief instructor" would be perceived as even less pompous and self-aggrandizing.

I look it at more as being a 'master instructor,' like how one might earn a master's degree in a field at college. I don't truly feel that I'm a "master" of the martial arts, but I do feel that I can competently teach another person at a high level.

We were very similar in this regard! and it's an aspect of my training journey that I regret. I chased that Sandan hard! I was already teaching at this point and felt like I needed that grade to ratify myself in the instructor world... I achieved my Sandan at the age of 21, faster than I should have done. But like yourself I completely gave up on chasing ranks. and the more time passed the more I realised there was no need to chase. 10 years later was the next time I graded when I got my Yondan. To be honest for me, my current training period is the one I want to relive... After covid and becoming a father, I have had to take a step back on the teaching side of things. for the past 18 months I have been training at a friends dojo, it's a different style but they have accepted my grade. I'm just happy being there and training as a visiting black belt, occasionally I help with the teaching, most of the times its a black belt group and the main instructor likes me to teach them something from my style to give them something a bit different to work on. But at the moment it's just nice to be focusing on my training just for the sake of training. One day I'll look into kick starting my club up again, but when the time is right

My answer is sort of bittersweet, I think. I would like to go back and relive my Shodan phase, for a number of reasons, but the biggest one is that my late Sensei was still alive and in good health, and I would love to have all that time to learn from him again. I would ask so many more questions, and workshop so many more things with him. There's also the fact that, for a long time after getting my brown belt, I just figured I would never actually earn my Shodan, both because I didn't really see it as very important and because I didn't think I was good enough.

空手の日, "karate no hi", or Karate Day, celebrates the meeting of karate masters on October 25, 1936, where the name 空手, "karate" was officially adopted for the art we know today. It also established the kyu/dan ranking system. In 2005, the Okinawan Perfectural Assembly officially established October 25 as Karate Day to celebrate this anniversary. Each year, karate-ka from around the world gather in Okinawa to celebrate, culminating with a massive group demonstration of kata in Naha, Okinawaa. In fact, the 2016 Karate Day celebration established a Guinness World Record for the most people simultaneously performing a kata. This year, my CI and his wife went to attend the celebrations and to train with other high-ranking instructors in Okinawa. The video of this years' celebrations is posted below. The Uechi-Ryu contingent performs the kata Sanseiryu (三十六) at about 9:40 into the video. My CI is front and center in the contingent for most of that segment.

Patrick's belt should be gold color.

It is true, that is a thankless job. You need to have bit of a thick skin to do it, but I found that it was great for me to develop it and also to work on how to communicate effectively. People lose their minds on the 50/50 calls or the ones that are difficult to make without video footage that we could technically use. What irked me the most, is the comments by coaches/players/spectators of "how did you miss that Ref?". Now I have one of two responses: 1. "I didn't see it because I wasn't in your position to see it" 2. "I did see it, but didn't have much of an impact on the game let alone on the play" - If we called absolutely everything that was a foul, then there would be no players! - If it impacts a shooter = foul gotta be called I taught my guys and girls that if they let abuse fly at the start of the match, its going to be hard to stop later on during the match. Give 1 warning, after that Tech them or DQ them.. IF it is an issue with a spectator I would throw them out as a Supervisor. The things that make me laugh the most are some violations; where players nearly always go "I didn't do that!"

My wife has started writing recently. Not her memoirs or anything, but a story she wants to tell. She doesn't know if she'll share it with anyone (even me), but she is writing. If you are toying with the idea of writing your memoirs or the history of the SKAA, or whatnot - go ahead and do it. Just because you don't feel like you're a good writer now doesn't mean you can't learn the skill. And if you decide it is something you want to publish you can always take one of those ghost writers up on their offer, and you will already have something for them to start from. Bob, there's no time to start like the present. That goes for any journey, whether it be writing, self-realization, martial arts, or whatnot.

@DarthPenguin this is from his initial post. Don't forget that @Wastelander is very open in regards to his training. Considering he is a Yondan in 1 style; it is impressive in itself as not many clubs have someone with that rank in itself. Same goes with @bushido_man96 and his years of experience. Like I'm a Nidan, but some have said I have the knowledge/experience for a 3rd/4th Dan. As I am well overdue to grade for my 3rd Dan in itself. But on the same hand; Rank and Experience can be two vastly different beasts. Like I haven't graded for the last 7 years; when I very much could have to be promoted to Sandan then be eligible to grade to Yondan this year. Even if I can't train; I am still educating myself and breaking down the basics to their biomechanical movements and doing the same with kata. Then working out how they can be best utilised for Self-Defence Routines. With respect; I do encourage discussions as to why we often do things, as it should enhance our understanding of how things work. But for that to work; both parties need to be respectful to one another.

most here seem to have a few years in the game. i myself began this journey, life, back in 1980. trained 5 or 6 days a week 2 hours per day on three of those days of the week. did so for the first 6 years before joining the military. while some buddies and i would train in the PT sawdust pits, trading ideas and techniques, that was the first of my lapses in actual training at a dojo or a particular style... i did resume training after leaving the service for a few years in a different style. then came the second drifting away, after getting married and starting a career that required travel. once we got settled in halfway across the country i found and started training again. but this was only for a year before another move, again across country, took place. this was followed by a lapse of 5 years or so. afterwards i did start teaching for a few years for a local dojo, settled in and dove deeper into the philosophical side of life. looking back its cool to see the changes we go through and how we have matured or the directions taken. these humps, obstacles and lapses come and go, but the life always calls one back..... that last dojo went out due to the owners age/health and the timing of the pandemic.... but even before then i had built my own training area in the back yard, a full outdoor workout area with gym machines, free weights and multiple benches. and a full indoor dojo. just for myself and a few students i will occasionally take on......so, from an activity/sport in 1980 to a lifestyle today, interesting journey, is this just another lapse, so to speak, or is this finding the meaning of sorts. a coming to a new chapter or realization....... what are some of your stories? any lapses or times of drifting away?.....lessons in themselves of who you are?

I'm right there with you on this one. Explain stuff! Sometimes students won't understand it yet, but someday they might and it'll help them move a little further down the road. For now, I have less virtues and more philosophies, I’d say. My starting point was the 2nd Goju-ryu Precept – GOJU-RYU KARATE-DO IS THE MANIFESTATION WITHIN ONE’S OWN SELF OF THE HARMONIOUS ACCORD OF THE UNIVERSE. Yea it’s a mouthful and sounds very 19th century. But I believe that it means that there is a balance in the natural world, an orderliness, a “harmonious accord”. And Goju-ryu, as the hard-soft style, is a tool/method that practitioners can use to develop the same balance within themselves. One of the sayings that I first heard from Frank Van Lenten was that you should be as hard as the world makes you be and as soft as it lets you be. Obviously, this proportion varies for each of us, and it probably changes over time, but being able to harmonize the hard and soft is the final goal of Goju-ryu. I take that as more than just being flexible in your techniques, but knowing yourself and being in control of yourself enough that you can find that equilibrium. There’s another prominent idea in the martial arts that I think dovetails well with the idea of balancing hard/soft – that the Budo mentality is a harsh battle with yourself. For example, Shoshin Nagamine wrote that: “Karate may be referred to as the conflict within yourself, or a life-long marathon which can be won only through self-discipline, hard training, and your own creative efforts.” That resonates with me. It is really easy to follow your whims and avoid doing anything too difficult, but for those who learn how to endure, how to commit, how to take little steps consistently, it is so empowering. Of course, a student doesn't need to believe any of this to train. I've just found it enriching to have a bigger philosophical framework around my training. I've struggled to learn and articulate this aspect of my training, but it's really the core of why I've found karate to be so useful in my life. If I had to name specific virtues to support this, it’d be similar to what you have – perseverance, integrity, consistency, honesty (esp. with yourself), and courage. Perhaps temperance, prudence, patience as well? Martial arts training is powerful so a lot of these virtues exist to develop a sense of responsibility in the student.

Aaaaaaaand this is when I jump in; I understand your frustrations around some rigidity or how some styles of karate (or other arts) fight in the dojo for Health and Safety Reasons. This is where as a Shodan; you should already have an an idea of the WHY around why they may want you to do spar in a certain way. But seems like you haven't broken the rules to find what actually works for you in terms of kumite. For instance; I am a 2nd Dan in Goju-Ryu. Do I spar anything like other Goju Practitioners? - Absolutely not, I fight somewhere in between a karateka and a boxer. Is it evolving as i learn more? yes it will I understand that it may be a high learning curve. but depends on how you train outside of class. Although I do question how your teacher explains the concepts and at what rank they do so. By that I mean that I explain say Zenkutsu Dachi and minor details very differently to a 9th Kyu (White Belt) vs. how i explain it to a Shodan. Or are you talking about the learning curve once you were promoted to shodan? Also a "Good" Fighter is separate to what you may do in the dojo itself. In Tournament Situations; it is very much about experience and how you train and learn. However in Self-Defence situations; it is a different situation because everyone reacts differently. But being a "Good" fighter seems like you would seek out fights to prove that your better than someone else. From my experience in Cross-Training; I found that Simple is often more effective than something that overloads you with information. So I learn Balintawak Arnis (GM Bobby Toboada started this), where you progressively build up to Level 6 (Completion of the Art/Black Belt Equivalent) then Level 7 (Fully Qualified Instructor). Level 1 you learn the basics, then as you progress up each level you review the prior levels (and demonstrate competency showing you have improved). By the time your doing your Level 7 Examination; your demonstrating Levels 1 - 6 you are a competent person who can/should react at full speed. I understand the want to prepare students psychologically, as to be able to deal with being hit. But things do change quickly when you are punched in the face without gloves. Bareknuckle Boxing back in the day, was definitely the norm as that's how a lot of arguments were resolved back well before any of us who are savvy enough to use a computer were born. I know full well my grandfather most likely settled a lot of fights back when he was a young lad before immigrating from the UK to Australia in the 60's. Considering how nearly all young men served in some way shape or form in the Armed Forces throughout the world around the 1920's-30's. So Violence was the norm, and being hit the face wasn't nearly as much of an issue as is it is today. Because back then our equivalent of being punched the face back then was being shot and killed. Like others have said; to have proper full-contact sparring regularly, you either need to have really good insurance OR have students sign waivers not holding the club liable for injuries sustained in the course of their training. From what I've gathered from your post; your looking at doing full contact all the time. But the one thing I have learnt, is that no matter how much you condition your muscles through repeated trauma can cause a lot of issues later on. Unfortunately there hasn't been much research the long term damage or health concerns; as not many people are researching Martial Arts in the Health, Exercise or even Sports Disciplines. This is in the form of those of whom have passed away and we see what has occurred to the body after a lifetime of training. Now Abdominal training can only go so far for each person, before the damage accrued just leaves the person at a higher risk of trauma as the body wouldn't have the ability to recover. I have some friends that have trained in Kyokushin for a long long time; and they have found that they have had a lot of issues around their internal organs because of the amount of trauma that they had faced during their training. But with the amount of training that modern day instructors have, and their ability to help students with post-training recovery which may help with the reduction in long-term complications. And this varies greatly from each Martial Art and how the person trains; of which varies greatly for those who train for Competition vs. those who train for their own enjoyment. The Psychological side of things; I won't fully comment on because I am not trained in Psychology. Nor are (I assume) the majority of people who comment here. But Experienced instructors do learn a lot of tools that are psychology based.

Our dojo has 2 floors - we have mats on the downstairs dojo, and hardwood (bamboo) floors upstairs. I find that it's harder to balance on one leg on the mats; I also find the mats tend to get slippery a lot easier than the bamboo floors. However, I definitely do not like falling on the bamboo floors!

Some fighters that have bases in those styles have performed well, but they probably altered their training to mimic MMA training more in order to accomplish those goals. They excel in their style first, then move up to MMA style training, and that helps to give credence to the base training they had in their original style, if they had success. I don't think there are many dojo-to-cage stories that omit the MMA training aspect.

just read it..very nice!!

Pretty interesting. It's good to get data on things over time. I don't blame you for not wanting to jog. It is boring, and it does suck. I'd much rather do forms/hyungs for an hour than jog. Have you had any opportunity to wear that thing while sparring to see what that data looks like? It'd be interesting to see.

Just to wrap things up with this post. I attended his funeral and was very well attended by members of our Old School Community and our Year Level. In addition to members of his University Alumni and Work Colleagues. Our old school offered the family the use of the chapel, but since it was unfortunately undersized for the number of attendees, they provided the sports gymnasium (2 basketball courts), which was full to the brim with people, including some staff members who had involvement with our year level during our school years (2005-2010). I was asked to give a speech on behalf of the school community. I brought up that yes it is a sad time, as we lost someone too soon but it is also just as important to celebrate the life that he lived and that we should remember that. As the family has already gone through that period of mourning, so a celebration should occur. Which got me thinking about the people I've lost over the years, but also the music that I want people to remember me by and how they would celebrate my life.

The fight continues with my Prostate Cancer. Saw Dr. Goodman yesterday morning for a follow up. Dr. Goodman is very glad to see that my progress remains on the positive side. I’M STILL IN COMPLETE REMISSION!! I lost another 10lbs, so, I now weigh 267!! In a year’s time I’ve lost over 100lbs. This weight loss will help me to go from Type 1 Diabetes to Pre-Diabetic and will help me fight my cancer. My PSA remains at ZERO. Dr. Goodman reminded me that my PSA can’t get above a 2, of which he is very sure that my PSA will not reach that scale. My testosterone is at 76. So, I got a bit to go to reach the testosterone level of 275. It’s a slow climb. My body hair is sprouting back up again here and there, whereas before I had no body whatsoever. I long for the day when I can be intimate with my wife again because it’s been over 4 years in that regard!! That’s what the treatments have done but like my wife tells me over and over, she’d rather have me alive over the intimacy I long for. Next appointment will be on March 20, 2025!!

Thanks for sharing that interview. Really cool experiences there.

Back to the gym today. Felt good.

Exactly. A certain amount of flexibility and diplomacy should be expected. Everyone's situation is slightly different, and understanding their situation definitely helps with the instructor/student and provider/client relationship. It is certainly within your right to treat everyone the same and be firm with everyone. However, keep in mind also that the customers literally pay the bills (whether you're looking to turn a profit or not), so you need to weigh how close you toe the line with each student (and/or parent). Fortunately as an assistant instructor who doesn't deal with the financial side of things, that's something I don't need to worry about.

First of all, Welcome to KarateForums.com, MartialAGuy; glad that you're here!! The Sai's in your pictures look like Shureido Sai's. They're not Century Martial Arts Supply Store Sai's, which have distinctive Tsukagashirs. The basic rounded look of the Tsukagashirs found in your pictures make me believe that your Sai's are Shureido Sai's. Enjoy them!!