JohnASE

Kubota Takayuki Soke is a legend in the martial arts and the head of an international organization. As you said, he used to be Shotokan. I'm sure he used that as the basis for Gosoku Ryu. I guess he most known for being the creator of the Kubotan keychain. I know a few people who teach Gosoku Ryu, and I have met Soke once or twice, but I'm sure he wouldn't remember me. Over the years, I've heard lots of good things about him, but I don't remember ever hearing anything bad. In case you didn't know, Soke has also done some stuff on TV and in movies. IMDB lists an appearance on the TV show, Heroes, that I kind of remember seeing. He usually does pretty small parts, but he's done a bunch of them. More than IMDB has. Enjoy Gosoku Ryu!

Maybe you should try a dose of Funky Cold Medina! Sorry, Loc. Couldn't resist. I wouldn't think timeouts would work if he's non-responsive. He WANTS to do nothing. Maybe have him do something active, like pushups or jumping jacks. That's probably not much help, but I wanted to at least try to make up for the bad joke. Good luck!

Isn't Nishiyama Sensei (head of the ITKF) still affiliated with the JKA in some way? On the JKA Japan website, he's listed as the Instructors Committee Technical Advisor. Of course, Okazaki Sensei is listed on the site too, and he broke away from the JKA, so it isn't current. http://www.jka.or.jp/english/about/chart.html I was always curious about the relationship between the ITFK and JKA. ITKF members don't seem to participate in JKA events. I asked one ITKF sensei, and he says he's JKA and pays JKA dues. But, I've never heard anything about the ITKF being affiliated with the JKA/WF America (Japan Karate Association World Federation America) or with the ISKF (Intl Shotokan Karate Federation) when they were still JKA.

Oh! How could I forget about this! http://www.martialoceansint.com/

I'm sorry to hear that. Don't let the actions of one person, or the attitudes at one school, sour you on training. Like any community, there are all kinds of people involved in martial arts. My experience has been that as a whole, martial artists are quality people. I don't know if something like this would be right for you, but I know that some people with limited training options have had good experiences with correspondence courses. I've heard good things about The Karate Connection, mostly from Vic Leroux, one of the people involved in creating the program. I don't know if they still do this, but they used to send you instructional videos, then you would send back videos of yourself, and they would critique you. They do Kenpo Karate. http://www.karateconnection.com/

I don't know who put the blocks in the story, but I believe the martial arts coordinator was Pat Johnson of Tang Soo Do, and Pat Morita's double was Fumio Demura of Shito Ryu. Both men are highly respected in the martial arts world.

I prefer realistic fight scenes, but I also enjoy movies like Crouching Tiger. I don't think movies need to be realistic. Usually, they're about escaping from reality. I understand people are passionate about martial arts and want it portrayed accurately, but sometimes it's fun to just let go and get lost in a fantasy. Of course, it's much easier to do that with some movies than others. I can think of several movies I've seen lately where I've thought "Aw, come on" more often than "Wow, that was cool." Hey, sometimes slamming a bad movie is fun too!

Since you didn't specify any type of camp, I assume you're open to different styles. If you don't mind traveling, I've heard of a couple that are supposed to be petty good. One is a Kenpo camp in Northern California, and the other is a Shotokan camp in Southern California. The Shotokan camp is put on by the ITKF, Nishiyama Hidetaka Sensei's organization, on July 12-18, 2008. I'm not sure if it's open to non-members. It draws internationally. IIRC, it involves some beach training. Here's their website, but there's not much info there. http://www.itkf.org/ Camp Kenpo is hosted by Scott Halsey's Kenpo Karate of Redding, California, but the camp wil be at a nearby wilderness area on September 20 & 21, 2008. Instructors include Huk Planas and Frank Trejo. I didn't see a website for it, but here's some of what the flyer says... I don't know if they'd want their contact info posted. With a little searching, you can find their school phone number, or send me a PM, and I'll send it to you.

Terms like "master" don't have a single definition. It means different things in different styles and to different people. I've seen "master" used for the top member of an organization while others use "grandmaster." A lot of Korean organizations are like NewEnglands_KyoSa's group and use "master" for 4th degree and higher, similar to how some Japanese styles use "shihan." I don't think that one use is necessarily any better than another. Each group should decide what they want it to mean. Sangngak, in your case, your students or your students' students thought it appropriate to honor you. There's nothing wrong with that. It sounds like you and your friends sparked something that turned into something great! Maybe, there, you ARE a legend. There are a lot of legends in martial arts. Someday, someone might tell a story of how you knocked out a bull with one punch or how you could send someone flying across the room with your fingertip, only using your chi power and without actual contact! Wouldn't that be something?!

It depends on what kind of location you're looking for. A lot of people do what ninjanurse did and start with community centers or dance studios. Community centers might include Park & Rec centers or churches. Sharing with dance studios or other martial arts schools is pretty common. Some hold classes at gyms, either independently or as employees. Many teach after-school programs, especially at private schools, and some teach at colleges. For these kind of locations, you'd probably have to ask around. As far as renting your own space goes, some prefer storefront locations, while others are happy in warehouse spaces. Obviously, the tradeoff is visibility vs lower rent. Again like ninjanurse, a lot of people hear about these spaces from someone they know or classified ads, but you can always use a commercial real estate agent.

I agree with ninjanurse. Sounds like you're school doesn't offer what you're looking for. Maybe another one in your area does. Schools here in the US vary quite a bit, so there are a lot that offer programs which stress the things you're looking for. I don't know what kind of variety you have in England. If you're not learning the way you want to learn, I'm sure that's not how you want to teach. If you spend some time in a school that works the way you like, it will help you become a better instructor.

After reading the plot, it sounds like a remake of The Karate Kid, just for modern times. A bit discouraging, but if I can rewatch the Karate Kid (Decent movie), I'm sure I can watch this one and be entertained. If I were a teenage boy, I'm sure I'd love it! Since I'm not, I'll probably wait until it comes out on video. Speaking of The Karate Kid, I'm eager to see Will Smith's remake with his son, Jaden, as Daniel-san!

Training in martial arts isn't just about learning self-defense! There's so much more to get out of it. What about the discipline you learn? Learning to set goals and achieve them. Learning to handle stressful situations, like when testing. How about the comradery of a dojo and the friendships you make? I took some judo as a kid, and I can't tell you how many times learning how to fall has saved me from injury, especially when playing other sports. The list goes on and on.

A little off topic, but among inexpensive sai, some are better than others. We've bought sai from one vendor that were obviously made in different ways. Some were very well balanced, some were a little off balance, and one group of them was VERY off balance. They were horrible! We returned them. One thing you pay for with "high end" brands is consistency.

Sizing will vary from company to company and even between models from the same company. Some uniforms are designed to have a fuller cut or a slimmer cut than others. Like Ninjanoir78 says, Japanese brands tend to be cut slimmer and US brands fuller, but that's not always the case. Shureido is cut fuller than Tokaido and Hirota. Also, Tokaido has some non-Japanese-made uniforms which were designed for the American market which are cut fuller. The same goes for US brands. If you're asking because you want to buy something online and there's no sizing chart, you might want to contact the company to see how their product fits.

Yeah, that WAS Gene LeBell! I noticed when I saw the episode but forgot until seeing this thread. I took judo from him for a couple of years when I was little. 30 years ago! I remember seeing him get beat up by Hutch on Starsky and Hutch back in the 70s. Most of you probably know, but he's done an incredible amount of stunt work over the decades. I just popped into his imdb page. It's amazing! Hundreds of entries. Everything from Reno:911 to RoboCop to Planet of the Apes to The Jack Benny Show!

I've heard good things about this movie. I've seen one or two sites that say they'll start selling the DVD on March 25, 2008. Does anyone know if a subtitled version is coming out? I've only heard of all Japanese versions.

I suggest you stick it out for a while. See what happens. From your description of the events, it sounds like she was out of line, but people do that sometimes. If it's not a pattern with her, try not to let it get to you. People make mistakes. You admitted to making one. She made a bigger one or rather compounded hers. If she continues acting out of line, or you end up not being able to forgive her for her shortcomings, then maybe you'll need to find somewhere else to train.

You seem to have a pretty clear idea of what you want, and your dojo doesn't have it. Your sensei might teach some of these things to advanced students, but he obviously doesn't stress them. And it sounds like you need to spar. It sounds like you want MMA (mixed martial arts). There are a bunch of MMA schools around here, but I don't know what it's like in your area. If you can't find MMA, many stand-up fighting schools have integrated some grappling into their programs. When looking for a new school, don't worry too much about the style. Different schools of the same style will stress different things. For example, unlike your current dojo, there are lot of Shotokan dojos that have a fair amount of sparring. I can even think of one that has an MMA program. Make some calls and ask some questions. Maybe a school in your area will have exactly what you're looking for.

Switching dojos can lead to a lot of hard feelings, not just between your sensei and you, but between your sensei and the 2nd sensei. Some senseis wouldn't accept you as a student without the permission of your current sensei, especially when they're in the same organization. Oh, and while I don't exactly think it would be unethical for you to switch, I do think it would be a HUGE slap in the face. Ultimately, you gotta do what you gotta do, and if you can't work things out with your current sensei, maybe you'll have to switch. I wouldn't count on being able to continue working out at your current dojo though. Good luck with your decision. (EDIT...) I thought of an analogy that illustrates what I think about this! It's like you're dating a woman. Things are going okay, but she's not putting out. So you tell her, you want to keep on dating, but, once a week, you want to date someone else... someone who will give you what you want. Oh, and the other woman you want to date is her sister! Okay, so maybe my analogy is a little extreme, but I think it still works.

We have some experience in doing belt embroidery. For our customers, gold is by far the most popular color. Some prefer the orange-gold. Some prefer bright gold. I'd say red is the next most popular. Traditional Japanese styles almost always use orange-gold. Others vary a lot more. Oh, since the OP mentioned Japan vs America vs Europe, our customers are from the USA with most in Southern California. Some people use embroidery color to indicate rank. IIRC, one used white for shodan, silver for nidan, and gold for sandan and above.

My main ride is a 2005 Honda S2000. I love convertible sports cars! My wife has a 2001 4-cylinder Accord that gets great gas mileage for its size. My wife and I each have a Ninja 250.

Obviously, there's no single answer to this. Different brands or even different models within a brand will not wash the same way. To be safe, wash in cold and hang dry. SHRINKAGE How much a gi will shrink depends on a lot of factors. Generally speaking, heavier weight gis shrink less, and tighter weaves shrink less. Many gis are pre-shrunk, but there are varying degrees of this. Most high quality gis are 100% cotton, especially the heavy weights, but some of them are synthetic blends. Synthetics tend to shrink and wrinkle less, but typically don't breath as well. Most gis should be washed in cold but many are okay in warm. BLEACH/FABRIC SOFTENER As mentioned, bleach can eat holes in gis. I've seen it happen lots of times. Even when it doesn't eat holes, it can make the material weaker and more brittle. I recommend not using bleach. Even be careful of detergents with bleach in them. Many have had good luck with non-bleach whiteners. Also, I've heard that fabric softeners can damage fibers in the long run, but I don't have a reliable source for that. HOT HOT WATER One reputable gi manufacturer told us that washing gis in extremely hot water will not only make them shrink, but will actually damage the fibers. I don't remember how hot he said it was, nor do I remember if that applied to a hot drier, too. It's better to avoid high heat. INSIDE OUT Some people recommend washing clothing inside out. One friend's gi developed holes along the creases. I bet if she washed her gi inside out, that wouldn't have happened, or at least not as quickly.

Most of the people I've talked to don't wash their bets. How a belt will hold up to washing depends on its construction and materials. I would guess most will shrink a little, but some will shrink a lot. Some won't fade at all, but, again, some will fade a lot, especially if they're not colorfast. Some people's belts rub color onto their uniforms! These, obviously, will lose more color in the wash. I've heard of people ruining belts by washing them, so if you decide to give it a try, be careful. Minimize shrinkage and fading by washing in cold water and hang drying. Maybe even hand wash. Just my thoughts. I've never done it.

I don't know about the legality of carrying them in public, but I've heard of them being confiscated by airport security. I think I even remember hearing about someone not being allowed to take one into a concert. I carried one back in the day, but I didn't really know how to use it. I have an instruction book somewhere by Kubota Sensei, that contained a bunch of Kubotan locks and strikes. I know people who give seminars, but I never asked anyone how much training it takes to use them effectively.