sensei8

It's not surprising to me that these two styles stances are so opposite. Why? Stances are one of the easiest things to change to make a style its own. Each of its founders where INDIVIDUALS who had their OWN ideas!!

Good to hear, hopefully things will be as you expected, or better. Having said that, I do want to say that no matter what the governing body says and/or appears to be, politics will be there in some form or another, and if you're not part of the administration of the AMASA, you'll be subjected to their politics. They might not be there that you can see, but they're there, and when that ugly head rears, it can be disappointing in more ways than one. I've not seen nor ever heard of a MA governing body that's without any politics!! Hopefully, IMASA will be that exception!!

Absolutely... this is great advice. I also agree that the #1 spot in Pinan Shodan that people have trouble with is the simultaneous/sequential middle block + front kick + body position + shuto uke. I find that where most of my students goof it up is actually the transition into it from the move before (foot-down cat stance + middle punch). The tanden/body shift and foot placement usually gets skewed, which results in the entire waza becoming skewed and performed incorrectly. You know, I never really had that trouble, wasn't even aware it caused folks a lot of trouble. I have always seen people struggle to transition from the left side to the right in the opening sequences. Incorrect stepping during the turn throws a lot of people off their initial line when turning. As to the original question, break down individual stances and work them individually, checking your distance and consistency on each. Doing so will show that there are small variations, perhaps between left and right stances etc. Do them as long "walking" drills. For us, the transition in the opening sequence is probably #2 in terms of trouble for students. I agree with how you described it, though: it's the mawate from the left to the right that throws beginners off. To the bold type above...it's the turning transitions, imho, that befuddles the beginning student...good call CredoTe.

I suppose that it's the...Can lead a horse to water, but can't make the horse drink the water. It's a mindset that the student wants to do, and when a student want to do something, well, they do it. On the other hand, if the student doesn't want to do something, they won't do it or they won't do it gladly and/or well!!

When the light finally turns on inside a student head that says..."Wow...I figured it out...yes" and you can see that in their face, and they can't wait to share it with you...a moment that can't ever be replaced! Btw, excellent thread, thank you for it!!

Again, Yes!! Especially when the student has figured it out on their own...magic. I tingle inside with joy for that student!!

Yes, because of those aha moments, it's their smiles that accompany those moments: Very satisfying!!

"I know 5 katas. I want to test for Green Belt". Really? Impressive! Problem with that, imho, is that students make the big mistake of assuming a position that they don't possess. Rank envy!!

Will you no longer be attending formal classes anymore? If not, hopefully you'll maintain the positive muscle memory that you've achieved thus far. Challenge yourself each and every day!!

Same in Shindokan.

The way it's meant to be!!

Thanks, Heidi; I'll pass this onto the appropriate teams at our Hombu.

Got to get me a camera!! Wastelander's post should be very helpful to you; he's pretty spot on!

Have done it my whole MA life. Having both Soke and Dai-Soke been born and raised in Okinawa, everyone in Shindokan knows this concept quite well; can't generate proper power without Gamaku...whipping ones hips drives the acceleration to and through target...if properly executed.

Absolutely!!

For the practitioner, that's true. However, for the instructor, his/her obligations are to teach effective applied knowledge about said style of the MA in which they are teaching. Outside of what your post intents, that's quite true; it's a personal journey, even for the instructor. Instructors are obligated to teach!! Imho. I agree, Bob. An instructor has to realize that his or her journey also becomes entwined with other journeys, and although it shouldn't be an instructor's job to "convert," they do need to guide, which is very important.An instructor doesn't have the privlege to be selfish in his or her journey. Very Solid post!! You didn't see me do it...but to the bold type above...I bowed to that wisdom!!

Solid post!!

This one really stood out, and you are spot on with that. Customers can see this, and it says volumes about what you want to do. Thanks, Brian, glad that you enjoyed the article. You're right when you say "Customers can see this...", and the reason that I do those things without thinking about profit is because it's something that I just want to do to help them out in any way that I can. It's how I was raised by my parents, and it's just nice to do something for someone without sticking my hand out for a monetary reward. Most of the time, I'm not even thinking about getting paid or even for getting them to be a loyal customer, no, I just do it!!

I believe that all MAists might enjoy this documentary, by Oleg Larionov, and not just by those MAists who train in an Okinawan Karate-do... Please, enjoy!

I suppose what I'm asking, Do students choose to train? OR... Are students forced to train?

Imho, I'd say that these two styles are like day and night, and in that, the only similarities these two styles have in common is that they both start with the letter, 'S'. After that, their methodologies and ideologies are separated as far apart as the north pole is from the south pole. Imho! However, I respect both of these karate styles!!

Seeing that the UBBT is for all styles and the like, I've just emailed our Legal Team and Teaching Team to get the ball rolling. Could how the UBBT is conducted compliment or clash with the vision of our Soke? However, change is inevitable, and change is suppose to be a good thing.

Training allows our students the ability of discovering the unforeseen chink in their armor so that the flaw can be smoothed out, and then polished to the luster that's hiding beneath. Do we, as instructors, force our students to train? And if our students do not train often, or at all, do we punish them some how and someway for whatever reason(s)? Do we treat our students with an indifference that cuts them to the quick? Do we favor the students that train as though their very lives depended on it? Is our job to teach or to punish/reward personal choices? A great deal of questions, to be for sure. But without questions, just how can one begin to know the depth of ones own mettle in the course of ones MA journey?! Furthermore, training, to do so or not to do so, is part of a personal journey that can't be denied, nor should it be rewarded. Not in a manner that's not befitting of an ethical instructor, and not in a manner that cast a darkened shadow where light is fighting to shine through. Whether our students choose to train or not isn't because they're in accordance with any rules or standards for proper conduct. Therefore, if our students choose to train or not to train, an instructor seems to mean that one is in favor of ignoring general practices and principles because they are given to do so. I encourage my students to train their every fiber within themselves so that their mettle isn't a questionable enquire to themselves. I must be that example of training! If my students see that the manner of which I train, and that it's my own desired choice to do so, and quite often, then, my students might then choose to train of their own accord. I don't punish, nor do I reward on training ethics: do it...don't do it...I don't give a bent-pins care if my students do or do not because I don't own them, and its their MA journey, and how they choice to walk upon it, is entirely up to them. When my students fail any given testing cycle, it's not because I'm punishing them because they don't train/practice...no, that's the furthest thing from my mind, but what's evident in my eyes during any said testing cycle is that their techniques aren't up to the expectations that I've laid out, now and forever. I see what I see, and I judge how I judge, but it's never a question, to me, that my student standing before me has either trained or hasn't trained, it's more of a question if what I'm judging based on what I see, if my student's improving in his/her effectively applied knowledge across the board from when I've last seen them before. Training can't be imposed; it must be chosen. And when practitioners of the MA are given the choice, I can only hope that they choose training. It is the harder thing that I choose to do because the easier thing to do isn't a part of my make-up. Imho!! Your thoughts, please!!

This October, I'll have been in the MA, mainly, Shindokan, for 50 years. I must admit that I'm no longer the young man that I use to be; I tend to take longer to recuperate than I use to. That's to be expected as we become older, however, that doesn't mean that we have to like, just accept it.

Oh yeah...sometimes we get in our own way, and that makes training the much more difficult to stomach as we try to increase our MA betterment.