sensei8

Ok; thanks Alan Armstrong, I was just wondering.

Whilst it is commendable that you treat all students equal, male and female, I think it is still really important to acknowledge that males and females have different experiences in MA. You have differences in physiology which impact ability and how well a student might or might not be able to do something. This is especially important for young adults and teens who are just discovering themselves and are going through complex physical changes. To not recognise gender is to dismiss what these kids are going through. Practically I think for partner work it is good to distinguish between genders. Most definitely for some partner stretches it can be very uncomfortable for some students to be partnered with the opposite gender. Its also beneficial to sometimes deliberately partner male and female together such as in any self defense work so the females feel what it is like to be attacked by a stronger opponent. I understand and respect your points, it's just not my way!! My way is to teach them how to defend themselves, first and foremost. I've no time and/or inclination to be politically correct on the floor. That might come across that I'm insensitive across the board as to the plight of all ages as to their personal physicality, and that's the furthest thing from the truth!!

I'm the worse one to speak on this subject because I've little to no tolerances about a many aspects surrounding the MA, namely, Karate-do. Over the many years that I've been a KF member, I've addressed the 3 K's of Karate: Kihon, Kata, and Kumite!! Either of these tools are inherently important to the betterment of a Karateka, without any ambiguity!! I've spoken in tones of a three legged chair missing one of it's legs, and that same chair being unstable, and so on and so forth. What I found that helped me to get through the difficult times, and there's been more than my share, and to not appreciate one or all of the 3 K's, is the fault lies within me, the practitioner, often times, it's difficult to increase ones betterment. Many in the MA community see no value arriving from Kata, and their arguments are just that, imho, just arguments with no sound and viable basis, however, this can be also said for MAists as myself as to being a Kata proponent, stuck in the mud and in neutral as to the methodologies/ideologies of yesteryear. How to break the dullness about Kata?? How to break the stigma of Kata?? How to make a Kata breakthrough?? How to train outside of the box?? How?? One has to appreciate what possibilities exist through Kata. Without that appreciation, Kata will remain without value. Albeit, to appreciate Kata, one must first start to understand Kata. Not from its historical point of view, which is important, but that's for another time and conversation, but from its applicable possibilities, and those possibilities can only be seen is through the various avenues of Bunkai. That which can't be seen with the naked eye, can be realized, and seen through the willingness of being honest with oneself. Kata isn't easy...it's not suppose to be easy!! Kihon isn't easy...it's not suppose to be easy!! Kumite isn't easy...it's not suppose to be easy!! After all, what's the reward if it's easy?! Those Aha moments are there for the taking, but they'll not come if one already despises Kata to the very core of its existence, and to the core of their own being. Kata is an expression, but the expressionless can't experience both appreciation and expression for the beauty of Kata. You have to want it...Kata, that is...first...before that one leg of the 3 K's can be trained in. Bunkai...Oyo Bunkai...that Oyo is that beauty at the core of Kata. One makes Kata boring, imho!! One makes Kata useless, imho!! One makes Kata hard, imho!! Remembering the embusen by itself is enough to make one not like Kata; there's a lot to remember, that's for sure. There's a lot of Kata in ones style, and when one looks at a Kata syllabus, wow, that's a lot to take in, and then Kata becomes overwhelming. "I got to learn ALL OF THAT?!" The MA isn't a crash course in anything, particularly when it comes to the 3 K's!! Things will come when they come, and patience, both of the student as well as the instructor, can become an futile exercise. I've had to, from time to time, had to push through those times of mundane and long work of any 3 K aspects. Those plateaus can be quite disheartening on ones MA journey. Find that one thing, just that one thing positive about Kata, and expand upon it. If you can do just that, for now, then it's possible to see Kata as that valued entity of Karate-dos 3 K's!! Don't give up on Kata, please!! In conclusion, it's your MA journey, and while I might not agree with your decision, I will respect it, and you!! I've been where you are...often, and I believe that that's natural. That joy leaves, if only for a blink of an eye, but that joy quickly returns once one has pushed through the difficulties felt. What you're feeling is normal!!

Many MA styles use Chin Na and also many styles are shy to use the techniques, for reasons such as...It is a little contradictory to have a kicking style during the day and then teach grabbing techniques in the evening. Chin Na isn't used to subdue the opponent then beat the person to submission as some people like to be cruel with there force using these skills. Chin Na is mostly used in a humanitarian manner and not a way to gloat and brag how oppents needed to tap out of pass out, by egoistical maniacs wearing a GI. To master Chin Na's 700 techniques can take a considerable amount of time, if you can imagine just to learn 100 techniques a year, that's 7 years of training. Joint manipulation, muscle and tendon grabbing, pressure point striking, or the usual chokes, can seem more like a med student practice than a way to fight off bandits. It is also a way to learn how to prolong oneself by understanding a type human bio-machanics. The Shaolin monks first used Chin Na techniques to subdue wild animals, so as to not seriously harm them. White Crane style uses Chin Na techniques more than any other system but not more than the Shaolin fighting monks that developed it. White Crane MA is openly aware of it's fame for helping weak people due to illness or premature births. As the Crane is not a strong animal such as a Tiger, Chin Na can with practice increase a person's chances of survival in confrontations, not to kill the Tiger with Crane techniques but to prolong it's chances to survive fatal attacks; sustained attacks by a Tiger will however lead to the Crane's fatality. This is why MA practitioners also learn Tiger forms and strategies to harmonize with their White Crane system. What's the correlation between your post here and my quoted post??

What I'm saying is that, no matter the size of the individual, either one can or one can't defend themselves!! IF, a smaller stature of an individual can not defend themselves against a larger stature of an individual, and that smaller individual has both the effective knowledge and experience about themselves, then something is awry. An effective practitioner should be able to defend themselves without any concerns as to stature of any opponent. After all, we're talking about the MA, and not something else. In all of my many years in the MA, I've had countless amount of prospective students wonder about this very same thing. "How can I defend myself against someone who's much larger than I am!!" My answer..."Quite effectively, and with great resolve!!" With the MA, shouldn't the smaller stature mindset be only an illusion, at best?! Or is the MA nothing more than a fantasy?! I'm not saying that a smaller stature should not ever be aware of a larger stature!! However, being overly concerned can be a very bad thing. And yes, Greg and I literally tried to kill each other; that's us...that's how WE trained with one another!! Did we ever hurt each other?? Oh, yeah...many times!! You should've seen how Soke and Dai-Soke were whenever they Kumite one another...BEASTS...you'd think that one of them stole something from the other one!!

In Shindokan, a Karate style that's deeply engrossed in grappling/Tegumi, we incorporate our brand of Tuite in all things. Yet, if I might, whether it be Tuite or Chin Na, they're both about joint manipulations and the like. So, I suppose that Shindokan incorporates Chin Na...too. We just don't use that terminology!!

How about them 11-2 Cowboys!! Yes, I did say 11-2...our 11 game winning streak has ended. Team that killed the streak? None other than the Giants!! Wait...the Cowboys killed that streak themselves by forgetting the most important rule of the game...bring your heart to every play!! Here's my recap...as dismal as it might seem... Cowboys LOST to the Giants in their house; 10-7! Cowboys didn't win the NFC Division...as of yet! What a difference 2 Dak interceptions make...his first...his second...in a game of inches! Now, is not the time to emulate Romo on the field with interceptions. 1-15 in 3rd down conversions...not a welcomed stats when 1st downs are necessary for a chance at getting a 'W', and not an 'L'! Not one snow flake on a dreary very cold New Jersey night! The real winner in this game was Mother Nature; she was in full force! 20 degrees at kick off...with 10-20mph winds. JERRY JONES, the Cowboy owner, DO NOT BRING ROMO BACK; HE'S NOT THE ANSWER! Even though the Cowboys lost to the Giants, for the 2nd time, their still the best in the NFL! Hats off to Eli and the Giants; they've figured out the Cowboys this year, and that's a fact! We've got the Buccaneers...at home, Lions...at home, and Eagles...in their house...to still go; a tough season still remains in these opponents! How did your team do this week?? Hopefully your team did far better than the Cowboys!! GO COWBOYS!!

Welcome to KF, aazaaazaaazaaaza; glad that you're here!!

If you were to come to my dojo, you'd be a white belt, regardless of your experience because no one comes into Shindokan above white belt. However, any and all rank discretion remains with the CI, and the CI alone!! Knowledge and experience needs to be recognized by the CI, and the CI alone, as well!! Proof is on the floor!!

Why all of the concern over rank?? Are we in the MA for its knowledge or for its ranks?? One or another, but not both because one desire will suffer while the other desire doesn't. It took me, not until I earned my Sandan, to mature enough in my MA betterment to put a cease to my searches for the almighty rank!!

The barbaric way (hard styles) are fine when each opponent is fairly matched in size and weight but this is not the way of the other (soft styles) that are for smaller and weaker people, which are more appropriate for most everyone else.Imho... I just don't understand how and when MAists become so engrossed with size and weight and the like. Either you can defend yourself or you can't!! To me, this is a failed attempt to excuse off ones MA shortcomings. Never underestimate your opponent!! That has to count for something...doesn't it...anymore?!?

Once on the floor, I don't have male and/or female students, I only have students...period!! I don't worry about putting females with females or males with males, and this is because I'm there to teach my students the most effective way(s) for them to defend themselves. A drill is a drill, and so on and so forth!! Students, both male and female, if given the chance to "pick a partner" will pick someone of the same gender, and often times, it's the same partner over and over, and this, to me, is quite unrealistic. I'll constantly break up partner picks, and you can see it on the students face whenever I do that...it makes them uncomfortable. I don't have the time to make your training comfortable...that too, is unrealistic...we're there to train in the MA!!

My approach to Kumite is quite barbaric, and oftentimes, unsympathetic!! "Just get out there, and fight!!" ~ Takahashi Sensei Takahashi Sensei, our Dai-Soke, was barbaric in his approach to Kumite. He despised excuses when it came to any and all Kumite drills from his students. In his mind, to learn how to fight, one must get out there and fight...win or lose...just engage!! While I'm vaguely sympathetic as to the difficulties that students face when it concerns Kumite and the like, I've my limits as to my tolerance. Want to be able to defend yourself? Then get out there and fight for your life!! Every time that Greg and I would face each other on the floor for Kumite, we literally tried to kill each other, and those who've witnessed our training, were shocked at the raw barbaric tone that it had, but were amazed at the beauty of it all. It is said, the only way to defeat fear is to face it head on; taking no prisoners!! I'm aware that my advice here might not be possible for all students, but sooner or later, you'll have to face that fear one way or another.

Yes...this, right here!! I wholeheartedly concur with Wastelander...solid post!! I've ran across his name from time to time, but I've no personal knowledge about the art he founded and/or about himself!!

Over my many years in the MA, I've heard it said that we, MAists, use the language of the culture that founded the style, whether it be Japanese or Okinawan or Korean or whatever else it might be, to only show off, and to make ourselves seem more important!! Fair enough!! This might be warranted!! Is it, iyho?? As far as myself, well, I just don't subscribe to blanket accusations!!

Yeah, this!! ShoriKid said it much better, and much shorter, than I did...solid post, ShoriKid!!

Visit the Dojo Bar; it's a fantastic place...worth the visit, imho!! If you're wanting to train at an Okinawa dojo, you'll need a sponsor FIRST!! You just can't walk in unannounced. You'll want to call/write to Okinawa Traditional Karate Liaison Bureau before you sojourn to Okinawa, especially if you're intent is to train in an Okinawa dojo. There's usually a fee to train at these dojo's in Okinawa, usually $100-$300 PER DAY!! No, “OSS!” It's not used in Okinawa, and it's uncalled for. To do that is the quickest way to be shown the door. It's rude to do so because it speaks that you don't understand Okinawan etiquette. As far as touring Okinawa, and it's only abut 66 miles long, and maybe 5 miles wide, and while most of the time whenever we visited Okinawa, we had two of the greatest tour guides we could ever ask for...Soke and Dai-Soke. Their intimate and personal touch was breathtaking, which is of no surprise because they both were born and raised and trained in Okinawa. So, in that, we saw places in Okinawa that most others will not see!! So, when we weren't being shown around in Okinawa by Soke and Dai-Soke, we WANDERED around, and we visited places that caught our fancy. Wander around, mind your etiquette, and TRAVEL IN GROUPS!! Also, don't be offended if you see "Japanese ONLY" signs!! First, do not go in there for any reason!! The Okinawan's just want places of their own without having to be on display for the tourists!! Secondly, well, just don't enter wherever you're not wanted!! Learn basic Japanese like, "Hello" and "Thank you", as well as how to count to '10', and whatever you do, after you've learned a few key phrases, do not shorten these phrases, say the entire phrase, otherwise, you'll run the risk of insulting the person(s) that you're addressing. We, American's love short-cuts, and we use it in our language all of the time, and that's fine here in America, but in Okinawa, that's just pure rude, and unacceptable. If you're just going to visit Okinawa, and NOT train in karate in Okinawa, then by all means, enjoy the sights and sounds that are of their own. In any how, it might be a good idea, I never had one, to buy a travel book that covers Okinawa from a book store...never hurts to be prepared in anyway possible Have fun, be safe in your travels!!

I'm cheap...that's why I've used landscape beams for my Makiwara. They stand up to a beating and they keep on ticking. While the spring might be gone, it serves my purposes through its resistance. Cost about $3-$4!!

I didn't have the chance to use it before so can I ask how ?! Well, I can't say I'm an expert, but I did put together this video a while back on some basics of working with the makiwara: Excellent video Sensei8. Thanks for sharing it. The thanks need to go to Wastelander; that was his video!!

One of the worse things that a CI can do with a student that's ADD is to give those long, and drawn out speeches about everything and anything, and not just about MA. I've visited those dojo's where the CI went on and on and on about whatever; will kill drive in a second! Keep them engaged on the floor whether it's a drill or learning something new, but for whatever one does, positively engage that student...challenge that student, but make sure there's meaning, and not just killing time!! I usually have those students test first! Otherwise, they're no use to even call them up!! In drills and the like, put them either in the front or just before the middle of the line, even though they'll be at the back of the line from time to time, but if possible, have them in a shorter line!!

Going backwards is akin to blindly walking backwards...off a cliff. The fall will overwhelm you on the way down, but the landing, that's not going to be a good thing at all!!

And that's all that matters at the end of the day; your daughters betterment!!

Safroot wrote: Hit the Makiwara wrong...that pain that you're feeling immediately thereafter...is what I'm referring too. When the Makiwara doesn't give you what you're seeking, don't blame the Makiwara, no, blame yourself. Ever hit a hanging bag wrong?? Same thing. Bag/Makiwara is to help you learn proper technique, BUT NOT JUST WITH THE PART OF YOUR BODY THAT CONTACTS THE MAKIWARA!! The Makiwara teaches the entire body to be correct in its execution at all times!

To me, they're day and night, all around; focuses different with each having their own faults, yet, more successes than not!!

Well, seeing that our Soke and Dai-Soke were born and raised and trained in Okinawa, and that they're mastery of the English language was deplorable, our classes with either of them was also a lesson on Okinawa/Japanese; terminologies were in their language, yet, spiced up with them trying to speak English. A lot of our terminologies were posted on the East wall of the Hombu. That, I believe was for our benefit as a reference. But man oh man, there was a lot of grunting, mumbling, and finger and Shinai pointing!! "Go here!"..."There!"..."NO!!", and so on and so forth!! As far as my dojo's, both English and Okinawa/Japanese was on the menu as far as terminologies and the like.