sensei8

Kanazawa Sensei has a great DVD out called "KANAZAWA MASTERING KARATE: TE-WAZA", this is an excellent DVD. This DVD is produced by Rising Sun Productions and it's found almost anywhere.

My bad! I wasn't trying to sound all Zen and that. I was just getting a little tired of reading and hearing the argument of what's better and all of that. Just shut up and train! I also like Funakoshi Sensei's answer to why he practiced Karate...to get better! A cheeseburger is better! No, a hamburger is better! SHUT UP...just be happy you're even eating at all! I know...it's the preference thing...that's fine...but...eat the darn thing and let's just move on for the love of cheeseburger/hamburger lovers across the world over.

MOVE THE WEAPON AROUND YOUR HEAD! NOT... MOVE YOUR HEAD AROUND YOUR WEAPON! What's the importance of this basic in Kobudo training? It never ceases to amazes me how often this rule is ignored/violated. It's violated/ignored in class, at tournaments, and during testing. Why? LACK OF PRACTICE! Lack of confidence! Respect of the weapon is what's needed, not being in fear of said weapon! Moving ones head around the weapon unbalances the practitioner, changes posture, and changes the center-line; these spell disaster for the Kobudo practitioner. Transitional changes with a weapon are then compromised by moving ones head around the weapon. What other things could happen by moving ones head around the weapon?

This martial arts versus that martial arts have been debated for as long as I can remember. Nothing's ever solved, imho, with these types of discussions for one reason or another. Both sides of the fence are just as compassionate as the other, therefore, only argumentations can only ensue from these type(s) of conversations. The missing the forest for the trees seems to become prevalent with these type of arguments. Conclusion...just be happy that you're even training in an effective martial arts at all!!!! Your thoughts?!?

When I was just a kid, my parents had me go through a series of urethal dilation to stem off my bed-wetting...QUACKS...every single one of them! The dilation is one of the most barbaric things to put any child/person through. WHY? It's done in the doctors office, you're put under anesthesia, something that resembles a long knitting needle is inserted into the male organ, thus, dilation is achieved somehow. Then, they bring you out of anesthesia and before you're allowed to leave the doctors office you've got to urinate...this is where the screaming and crying begins. Why? The dilation causes so much pain and so much blood when you first urinate after dilation, it's inhuman! It usually takes about 3-4 more visits to the bathroom at home before the pain/blood stops. The urethal dilation done at the hospital is 10 times worse as far as the pain and the blood is concerned. I'd never do this to my two sons and I pray that they never do it to their sons. After all of the pain/blood I endured as a child...the urethal dilation DIDN'T WORK!!! Please seek out other alternatives to cure bed-wetting if you're entertaining urethal dilation because it's beyond pain...and it doesn't work!!!!

Nobody's surprised that politics have raised its ugly head in tournaments! No matter where one might look in the martial arts, politics are evident. No instructor should EVER judge their own student, no matter the division! This destroys the integrity of the tournament. If one of my students were in a ring that I was one of the judges, I'd excuse myself to conserve the integrity of the tournament!

PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! Nothing improves anything without practice...tons of practice! Some good ideas have been covered in this thread and they can't be argued with, but, without practice nothing is achieved.

It's going to be difficult to write about Te waza's in general terms with any effectiveness without having the general knowledge. It'll show up in your writing, imho. Te waza can be such a broad topic, and in your writing, it'll show up as rambling. One must experience Te waza in order to write about Te waza...this can't be avoided. Good luck with your writings.

WOW! What a question! The martial arts is all I've ever known and it's all that I'm truly passionate about. To answer the question at hand... I'd be BORED out of my skull! I just don't truly know what I'd be doing if it weren't for the martial arts. Having said that... I would've been a police officer if I wasn't a martial artist. Yes, I know that as a police officer I would've been able to do both. That's fine, but, I would've dedicated my life to law enforcement and I would've done some self-defense as part of being a police officer.

I know I'm late with this, but, I've been a little busy... LAKERS WIN! LAKERS WIN! LAKERS WIN! With that win...that gives the Lakers...LAKERS WIN...LAKERS WIN...sorry...with that win the Lakers have won 15 NBA Championships...LAKERS WIN...LAKERS WIN!!!!! Ok...now...GO YANKEES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yet, without the human factor, the martial arts is nothing. What? It couldn't have been created without the human factor being directly involved with its totality. Music, for example, is nothing UNLESS there's a human factor involved in its totality! Therefore, without the human factor, the martial arts is just a thing; nothing by itself. Add the human factor, well, that's a different matter. Why? The human factor adds life to 'it' and when that happens, the summation of why is to the summation of because! 'It' can't be independent from the artists if there is no human factor in its totality. 'It' just is! IMHO!

One of the Board of Regents brought something to my attention this afternoon. The testing room will be packed! "Huh?" was my response. "Think about it. It's not everyday that someone tests for a Hachidan, let alone a Hachidan in Kobudo. More importantly, it's not everyday that someone gets to watch the Kaicho/Hombu Chief Instructor TEST! The room will be packed" says the member of the Board of Regents. "Do I get a percentage of the door?" was all I could say at that time.

With your permission...I could show your cert to my Dai-Soke for a complete interpretation.

My belt...my rank...Doesn't make me who I am as both a person and a martial artist. No! My belt/rank; are nothing more than platitudes! What's inside of me}heart, mind, and soul} this makes me who I am as a person and a martial artist. You want my certs? You want my belt? You want my rank? Here they are...you can have them. But...my knowledge/experience is MINE! The DMV can take my drivers license and all of its priviledges away, but, guess what? They can't take away my driving knowledge/experience. I'll get a bus pass!

Our interpretations of Kata are only limited by our imaginations, but, are they effective?!?!

I was a Jr. Black Belt, 14 years old. I was in my Dai-Soke's office, which was allowed, but what I did wasn't allowed...ever...when out of nowhere I did the stupidest thing... I saw it hanging, I was tempted, and I was by myself...three wrong things for a curious kid, as I was, to be... I committed the biggest sin in a Dojo...or at least in my Dai-Soke's Dojo... I couldn't resist it....it begged of me to do it... I put on my Dai-Soke's belt.... AND I WAS CAUGHT RED-HANDED!!!! My Dai-Soke wasn't happy, this is to say the least, he was furious! "What are you doing?" yells my Dai-Soke I jumped out of my skin from fear alone...what should I do? What should I say? I was stuck with my mouth wide open and I was shaking... "I said, What are you doing?" my Dai-Soke yells even louder I stammered...no...I nearly wet myself... "I was pretending to be you!" was my answer... "What? GET IT OFF Nnnnnooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!" This was followed by some words in Japanese that I still don't know what my Dai-Soke was saying, but, I'm sure it wasn't good...for me that is. I was suspended for 2 months! Harsh? No! I knew better, but, sheech, I was just a kid, a curious dumb kid! My Dai-Soke forgave me! I never EVER did that again!

Enjoy... http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ys-rcscantmiss061109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I didn't follow the NHL this year...sorry that I didn't. Congrats to the Penquins!!!!!

Nice! I liked the original...it's old like me.

Series is now 3 - 1. Go Lakers! When it's all done, the Lakers will win, series will be a 4 - 2. Why? I think that Orlando will win game #5 because of their fast break game style. Orlando won game #3 because of their fast break style and the Lakers played Orlando's game and lost. If the Lakers at the end of game #3 had just slowed down and took their time, the Lakers would be the Champions NOW! IMHO! GO LAKERS!!!!! Yankees rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had to give a shout out to my Yankee's

Congrats! Feels good; doesn't it? It should!

XMA Bo work is dizzyingly fast! Training with a heavier Bo until its amazingly fast, then switch to the lighter composite Bo, this is Kobudo 101 and it's solid advice! Is the XMA Bo's speed as effective as a heavy Oak Bo? Yes! The key word for me here is...SPEED...of the Bo. If the XMA Bo is spinning as fast as an airplane prop, it's going to hurt! Shoot, swing the Bo like a baseball bat back and forth, that's going to hurt. For that fact, swing anything fast and it's going to hurt...alot! The thing for me that makes the speed work is CONTROL. Control over any Kobudo weapon must be achieved first and foremost! If the XMA practitioner appears to be in control of the Bo, and is of a matter of fact in control of the Bo, then control X speed = OUCHY for the attacker. However, if you lose control of the Bo...RUN!!!!

You might not like my answer. It looks ineffective to you because: 1) You're doing the combo/techniques wrong in totality 2) You're not allowing one tech to finish before the other begins Whether the block/punch look the same, each are seperate. Remaining tense througout each technique only slows it down. Tense at the very end, then become relaxed to allow the next technique to begin. Both the block and the punch are seperate!!!! The reverse direction as you describe isn't counter-productive. As the block has caused you to go to, for example, the right. The punch is being helped by your hip rotation as you come back from the right into center of your target. Hips are vital and the sooner martial artists understand hip movements and the like, the better martial artists they will be. You must stop the force of one technique before the next technique can begin! I mean no disrespect to you at all! It's possible that you're just beginning on your martial arts journey, if so, that's fine. Things will become more clearer to you over time, be patient, and seek knowledge! If you've been a practitioner of the martial arts for some time now and things don't make sense to you. That too is ok, let time be your teacher...or...ignore what is useless and absorb what is usefull...or practice until it becomes clearer...or...don't try to understand it, just do it! But not understanding it is wrong! Master Han said to Grasshopper..."Pick one!" For some, the martial arts is a sound pick, while for others, the martial arts isn't for them!

It's a wonderful Kata; powerful start to finish. I love it as well as I also love Kanku-dai. Fun...fun...fun! On to some of your questions/comments... Yeah, this jump is much easier than the second jump. I concur! This second jump is an introduction to another big jump in another Kata...UNSU! The jump/landing in Unsu, imho, is a much bigger jump than the jump/landing you're refering to here in Kanku-sho. Yes! Chest high! As you know, just before this jump, your bring your left hand 180 degrees at chest high, ever so slight pause, then, JUMP...cresent kick your left hand with your right foot. Key, TRY, to be at YOUR chest high when executing the cresent kick. If not chest high, get it as high as you can, but proper training to achieve the desired height is essential. The more you practice this, as in anything, the easier it becomes. Just get up...and yes, it's just that simple. Watch your posture on the way up because any leaning this way or that way will cause you to lose your balance in that given direction. Also, watch that your feet don't get tangled while getting up, your feet shouldn't get tangled up, but, one never knows. I don't understand as to why because the following seguences that follow the side snap kicks aren't the same, not even close. It's possible that your brain doesn't want to continue in Kanku-sho because of the up and coming BIG jump, therefore, your brain wants to do Kanku-dai where there's no jumps to do at all, except with the little flying front kick at the very end! I'm spit-baling here as to why you go from Kanku-sho into Kanku-dai at the side snap kicks. I love Kanku-dai and Kanku-sho both equally! It took me a couple of months to get the jump right. Why? Getting the jump is one thing, getting the proper height in the jump to turn, kick, and land is another. My Dai-Soke got us to the proper height by stacking mats until we achieved the proper height consistently. Then, he moved the mats away and had us go at it. I must tell you, when my brain realized that I had no cushy mats to land on, my brain said..."No mats!" SLAM into the floor with the grace of a hippo. Once my brain got ok with no mats, I was flying with the birds...with an occasional THUD. GET THE PROPER HEIGHT...it's downhill from there! How did it feel to you when you did the landing your first time? It freaked me out! Why? The ground was coming up fast and I wasn't! Banged my knees up alot because I used my knees to absorb most of the impact. Flying is easy, landing takes skill! Kanku-dai VS Kanku-sho...Which one LOOKS easier? Which one IS easier? Kanku-dai LOOKS easier and Kanku-dai IS easier, imho!

I'm very stubborn and set in my old ways. Having said that, anybody training in the martial arts is ALSO training in "self-defense" whether one will admit it or not. One can reason it away until they themselves believe it, but, a by-product of the martial arts is that one will be learning some type of self-defense whether one wants to or not. One might not want to learn how to fight, but they'd rather learn the martial arts in order to learn how to live a healthy life mentally and physically through discipline, control and virtuousness. But if someone grabs them from behind, they'll be ready for that, too, and they'll be so glad that they learned some self-defense at the same time.