sensei8

Thank you Brian...thank you all!!

My theory is not scientific at all because I believe that Mas Oyama's seiza position is comfortable for him. It is said that one can tell a lot about a karateka/martial artist by how they assume their seiza. Was the reason that he changed the seiza position was to make the seiza position unique and to its own for Kyokushin karateka's? I'm not sure, but, it's possible. That's my two-cents.

Congrats to all of those who were nominated as well as to those who won. I'm speechless...I'm humbled...3 time Member Of The Year...thanks for the vote of confidence.

Congrats and well deserved!!

That's one of the ways that I increased my grip; mixing it up with others. Grip strengthening devices helped as well. Climbing ropes by only my hands helped as well. Peg climbing was another way to build up my gripping strength. Rolling devices build up strength in both the hands and the wrist. What also helps my grip whenever I'm in a test of gripping strength is to go with my opponents movements. When he pushes, I allow him to push. When he pulls, I allow him to pull. Therefore, I'm not an opposing force but I'm more of an apposing force, but, I'm an agreeable force, and then at that right moment, I use his actions against him. Ask Brian, he'll tell you that I'm not easy to "throw off" as it might appear.

Again, I believe that it's not the martial arts that's ineffective, it's the martial artist that's ineffective.

I'll get aggressive during training when someone who's junior to me is going full power because I'm senior, especially after I've warned them that "you're learning, so stop, return to learning NOW", I'll give one warning after that I'll remind them of their position in the dojo/Hombu. Now, Greg and I will actually try to kill each other and we're quite aggressive while we're doing it. We've known each other since we were kids in and out of the dojo/Hombu. It's a trust issue for us!

I'm ashamed to admit this but when I was a teenager weekend warrior, I'd soak the very ends of my Gi sleeves and pants because the water caused the material to pop even louder than normal. Helped final points.

Danielle referred to Tai-Chi, which I once studied. When doing Single Whip, one hand was in a certain position that resembles both Kakuto/crane-head and Washide/eagle-hand to me. I was taught that it can be used to block with, but it's also a fingers strike to one eye of the opponent. (I even remember an old VHS of Peyton Quinn, which included him saying that an opponent in a sparring match used this [illegal for the match] strike to poke him in the eye.) When I used to practice knifehands against the higher end of a makiwara board I had at home, I'd use what's called Seiryuto/ox-jaw, but just thought I was using the strike in what was the most comfortable way to me. I didn't realize it was a separate strike. Kumade/bear-hand is called "the Lion's claw" at a dojang I studied sparring in last year, and is used against the face, just as I'd learned the bear-hand is used by Googling it. A really interesting post, Bob. Solid post Joe!! Glad to see you again, I've missed you sir!!

Isn't anything "specialized" another way of saying "advanced"? I spoke advanced in my OP because these strikes are not taught to Kyu level students in Shindokan, but only to Dan level students for one reason or another.

Absolutely!! Also, Spacers ease the break, while no spacer breaks require near perfection across the board [pun intended]. My only way I'll break anything is without spacers. I've used spacers before, but only when I was learning tameshiwara.

Board breaking CAN be pure showmanship, because non-martial artists are toppling mountains of ice and brick. What's not pure showmanship is those who practice tameshiwara not for show, but to only test their mettle because tameshiwara materials are more denser than the human body, and while I might not break bone, I'll surely put a hurt on the human body effortlessly.

Tameshiwara [Art of Breaking], imho, is essential training to Shindokan, in that, we believe in its training across the board. Try doing a speed break; it's not that easy, but becomes easier when one's trained to do it correctly and effectively. Wood, stone, brick, ice, and/or tiles are the materials that we train on and our fist, foot, elbow, palm, shin, back-fist, hammer-fist, ridge-hand, bent-wrist, knee, fingers, and forearm are the weapons that we utilize in a wide array of combinations. And Danielle's quite right when she said..."Boards do hit back!" Execute poorly and the body suffers. Every practitioner of tameshiwara has injured themselves one way or another. But, it is he/she that gets back onto the horse, so to speak, after a mishap, it's that practitioner whose mettle is improved across the board. DON'T TRAIN IN TAMESHIWARA WITHOUT A QUALIFIED INSTRUCTOR!! That would be my only warning for anyone wanting to try tameshiwara.

I would also respectfully disagree with RW. I've not wasted my entire life in a pursuit of emptiness and ineffectiveness. I've trained hard and I continue to train even harder because my imperfectness demands it of me daily. I seek to perfect every technique, including kiba-dachi, not because I want them to look pretty, but to be as effective as I can make them, and in that, I'm very complete in my totality as a MAist. It's not the Martial Arts that's ineffective, but it's that some Martial Artists are ineffective for one reason or another.

Doctors/Hospitals give their patients by the truckloads...7-Up soda...why? I'm not a hundred percent sure of why but it soothes the tummy or whatever else. Just my two cents.

Eye contact with the judges...all of the judges...not just the center judge. Walk smartly in and towards the judges and speak in clear phonetics and be heard, but not shouting. These are first impressions and first impressions have a lingering effect on your final scores. If you don't look at me AND all of the other judges, I'll deduct .5 off your score. If you walk disrespectfully in and towards the judges, I'll deduct .5 from your scores. If I don't understand what you've just said, I'll deduct .5 from your scores. If I can't hear you or if you're shouting way to loud for me, I'll deduct .5 from your scores. That's a 2 point deduction from me before you've even started. You've received a lot of helpful info here. Good luck, train hard, and PRACTICE. As an instructor, I can tell if the Kata competitor has or hasn't been practicing. "How would you know? You're not that competitors instructor" and you'd be right, but I can discern sloppy from solid just as any of the other judges. Believe in yourself, visualize your Kata, and visualize your new trophy. And if its a weapons Kata, please don't drop the weapon unless it's part of the Kata and you've informed the judges that you'll be dropping said weapon and at what point. Good luck and have fun!

Keito [chicken-head] Seiryuto [ox-jaw] Kakuto [crane-head] Kumade [bear-hand] Washide [eagle-hand] These extremely advanced strikes are often very neglected. These techniques more than likely stemmed from the influences of Kung-Fu during the early years of karate's development. They occur only in very high-level kata. Two of the strikes, kumade and kakuto, do not appear in any Shotokan kata at all, that I'm aware of. These attacks, or if used as blocks, are useful to strike an opponent's vital areas. What value would you place on these uncommon strikes? Uncommon because there must be other ways to strike areas on the body with more common strikes, such as shuto [knife hand], empi-uchi [elbow strike], uraken [back fist], and/or tetsui [hammer fist].

Judo has strikes; Atemi-waza. Even though Atemi-waza is only practiced in Kata, that doesn't mean that Atemi-waza's can't be transitioned outside of Kata to defend oneself if need be.

I want to wish everyone here at KF a belated happy Thanksgiving!! Hopefully everyone had a fun and safe day while eating some turkey and pies and so many other goodies for the tummy's.

The only way I know the tactics of anyone from my style is that I know them personally. Dang hybrid arts that encourage cross-training. ROFL!!

Thank you Patrick, Danielle, Alex, Jeffery, and Blade96 for the b-day wishes.

Congrats!! Feels good huh?

I retired from active competitions in 1994, and open tournaments is all I did for 29 years. After that, I would judge or be an arbitrator. For me, I didn't like the idea of going up against those from my style because I knew them and their tactic ways, and going up against those not from my style was a total rush for me, no matter the divisions.

Does anyone know what made Nolan Ryan such a force to be reckoned with during his 27 year long MLB career and he easily threw over 100 mph and even in his 40's he was able to throw pitches well over 95 mph at will? The SAME Basic Mechanical Fundamentals over and over and over!! Nolan Ryan paid close attention to his repetitive basic pitching mechanical fundamentals and he practiced and practiced and practiced.

A gut feeling is difficult to ignore; in that, "Go with your gut feeling". Good luck and let us know how things work out.