sensei8

Yes...Happy Mother's Day!!

The balance must be found within oneself, imho. The MA can get in the way of ones own MA journey. How so? Misplaced emphasis as brought on my well meaning styles/instructors. The forest does get in the way of the trees, the individual trees, that is. Bunkai, competition, and the other things only become counterproductive if self ALLOWS it to be so. A proponent of one but not all is akin to only eating one slice of the pie, and not the whole pie. Training in a balanced nature of Karate, and I respect Egami's teachings, but I'm an individual who may respect his teachings, but, the summation of 'why' is to the summation of 'because' while I'm learning to understand my own karate-do. Imho, if one cannot do all 3 well, then that practitioner has lost their way, if they ever had it. My 50 years in Shindokan wasn't done in vain!! I did all 3 well; they were well balanced. Immaturity allows one to dominate aspects, and I was immature until I matured as both an individual and as a MAist. Shindokan ISN'T sport Karate; it's an oxymoron! Yes, I competed! Yes, I train in Kata/Bunkai! Yes, I fight! I'm complete as a MAist!! NO ONE can tell me that I can't do all 3 well when I've been doing just that. How so? I'm not a Karate robot programmed to do this and do that and only this and that. I'm an individual who searches the balance within my own Karate-do. To say that I can't do this and can't do that, and it's impossible is to say that Saitou Sensei and Takahashi Sensei didn't have a minimum of an idea of what they were doing. But ONLY Egami knew!! Either of these fine MAists had their ways in their own Karate-do, and while I'm a product of Takahashi Sensei, I'm my own Karateka!! I hope you continue here, Davis because I believe that you've a lot to contribute. Isn't the beauty of discussions to not always see eye to eye. I'm a proponent of Karate and all of its ideologies and methodologies, but I'm not the programmed dolt of a robot that blindly follows in the shadows of other MAist's. NO! I'm forging my own MA path...STILL!! Is my MA path perfect? That too, is an oxymoron, imho! No ones MA path is perfect!

Nice tutorial, Alex, as always; thanks for sharing it. How do I/We work the open guard? All of the above!! Things change! Why? Ones opponent isn't just going to "allow/let" me grab them at will without some sort of fight. The give and take can be just that; give and take. I move around the base, my opponent counters in some fashion. I pressure, my opponent counters that pressure in some fashion. In short, as in anything, nothing always happens as planned. For training purposes, everything works. But add a resistive Uke, the game of give and take takes on a different face; surprises can, especially with beginners, birth panic. I'm a fan of pressure!! The prominent pro I see IS the pressure that you're applying WHILE moving around the base!! I like it!! It took me awhile to use both pressure AND moving around the base TOGETHER, and not one or the other. The prominent con I see IS that grabbing the gi pants isn't always that easy, and even more difficult in maintaining because a resistive opponent will manipulate in such a way that grip is lost, if only for a moment. Not everyone has an iron clad grip, and one sharp flail, the grip can be lost. The possible scary scenario is that once a grasp is broken, and for that instant, that one arm can be trapped and vised in ones legs and such...submission possibility. The pros I see for pressuring is akin to pressuring the center of the board in a chess game. Pressuring can cause my opponent to make mistakes due to the level of the pressure I'm applying; not just pressure from me, but in a highly calculated pressure. Don't move a piece on a chess board and assume that pressure will work because the hidden traps are realized when it's too late. Don't pressure just to pressure!! That's the con of a pressure. Overly exhumed pressure backfires at it's most unpredicted moment; pressure is mistaken for dominance, and it's the farthest thing from it. The pros for moving around the base is that elements can be checked and re-checked whilst moving around the base. Move here...fix here...move this...fix this...move that...fix that; it's a constant adjustments while moving around the base. Therefore, moving around the base isn't all static!! The cons of moving around the base is that often students don't move enough or they move too much both intentionally and unintentionally. Fixing and adjusting this and that by a calculated and experienced practitioner is part of the game and thusly, the base is lost to an over zealous student moving around the base. Experience fixes mistakes OVER TIME!! BUT...no everything, including what I've posted here, works every time; experience is the deciding factor for success over failure. Back to my corner!!

You say receive, but I don't see you receiving, as we know it. What I'm seeing is deflections. When we receive a technique, it's akin to catching a ball. [Man...I need a recording camera] Your knee did you no favors because you stayed in one spot while in Kiba Dachi.

I hope everything works out for you!!

You can be a white belt, and still open a dojo.

Just train...rank will be earned when it's time and appropriate, not until then!!

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

Aha...thanks, Shotokannon!!

I suppose that Soke and Dai-Soke saw something in me, that I didn't see, then or now; I'm nothing special. Besides, I was at the dojo 6 days a week, except during baseball season, then, I'd be at the dojo 3 days a week.

Welcome to KF; glad that you're here!! From what you posted, I'd say...RED OAK...all the way. Boils down to a personal choice!!

WOW...congrats...good luck!!

What's your gut feeling?? The pros seem great! The cons aren't so great! Go with your gut feeling, and don't second guess yourself!! This is my short answer.

Welcome to KF; glad that you're here!! Solid post!!

This concept is seen in the MA...Karate, Judo, Aikido, etc...still, very nice tutorial, thanks for sharing. BTW, have your student, the one in this video, do some makiwara and the like training to condition his body, as a thought. That way when hard meets the soft, he'll absorb it properly. I did get a chuckle, mean of me, but I'm sick that way.

I like the fact that your students spend a month on one section before moving to another. To many things pass by unnoticed when things are rushed, and students can be quite impatient at times.

So, having the student discover the new angles and the like from what you've taught them as a foundation??

Similar to Master Ken??

Solid post!! Please understand, our way is just a way, but it's our way. We do yield, but the circumstances must favor to do so. I have meant to come back to this for several days, but the works has conspired against me doing so. Sensei8, I didn't mean any disrespect in my post. A bit odd a devil's advocate perhaps. All movement, positioning, must be to your advantage. Always. Whether to get off your heals, gain a better angle of attack of more advantageous position of power etc. Small or large, movement has to better us in our moment of need. Do you ever do anything to restrict students ability to retreat or maneuver? We have in the past cut the "ring" to a 4 or even 2 meter square, had the other students circle around like an encroaching crowd, and even tired them together at the belt at arm's length. All to restrict movement and force close range engagements. No disrespect taken; it's all good!! One of Dai-Soke's greatest training aides... Put the student IN THE CORNER!! Can't back up; can only transitional shift left, right, in varying angles of left and/or right, and/or forward.

In laymen's term... What's PHOTO EMBEDDING?? Is it difficult to do??

Being a 3rd Dan before one can open a dojo and become the CI has been around for as long as I can remember. It's an unwritten rule; more of a rule-of-thumb, nonetheless. I waited until I had earned my Sandan before I opened the Kyuodan Dojo in 1977.

I use them, especially in my age, and I'm in Karate. Habit started when I began learning our brand of grappling, in which, years later, I still don them; kind of like a security blanket. For the longest, our Hombu had NO mats at all; bare floor. I know, some of you here will rib me to no end, but that's cool because it's true...habits are hard to die.

Fuyuhiko Saitou was born in 1917. He founded Shindokan Saitou-ryu in 1950; so, Soke was 33 years old. Yes, I believe you're right about the Judan being an automatic happening when one finds your own art. I didn't know that Soke was a Judan until I was in my 3rd year as a JBB. Soke being a Judan...well...I don't fault him for that because it's none of my business, imho. When, where, how, and why of when Soke earned his Judan, isn't spoke about in our Densho Scrolls and the like in any great details. While I've been quite hard on myself in our discussions, I'm not that overly concerned with it because the what, when, where, why, how, and who my ranks/titles came about, imho, is out of my hands. Has been out of my hands ever since I joined in 1964; only Soke and Kaicho/Dai-Soke had the authority to do so. Really, what's one to do?!

No...we're the same age; 57 years old. Seniority is based on rank and when said rank was earned.

Sorry, I didn't watch the whole thing; after all, it's 3 hours long.