joesteph

I just selected these sections. My introduction to Isshinryu as a teenager was not a pleasant one, due to an assistant instructor's improper teaching technique. What is interesting to me is that my hometown, Bayonne NJ, was used as Don Nagle's Isshinryu headquarters for this Eastern third of the US. The headquarters was right within walking distance from my home, and Joel Buckholtz (spelling?) was the chief instructor. (It's nothing new to have a NJ town be a national headquarters. Nearby Springfield NJ is the headquarters for the US Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation.) I remember Don Nagle with local karate students demonstrating at my high school (then an all-boys school, Marist High School) at a Father's Club night that had sons invited to be with their Dads to see the demonstration. Unfortunately, before Nagle's death, there was a falling out with Buckholz, so I can't say what the present state of Isshinryu is other than that there are different dojos around offering their versions of it. Some years ago, when I was in my thirties, a friend who had a green belt in Isshinryu tutored me. It was mainly fighting--and I mean we sparred bare-knuckled, supposedly controlling ourselves until reason prevailed and we got some sparring gear. This is one tough martial art. My forearms felt like iron (we did a lot of forearm smashes against one another's forearms), and we sparred the way he'd learned in class: you reach out and seize the other guy's arm/wrist if it's open, and then comes the kick or punch. I thought that that was the standard way of sparring until I took TKD, which was when I wanted to learn from a school under certified instructors. I think Isshinryu may even be good for certain body types, and if you work out with weights, which I did at that time, you develop a hardened body. The vertical fist of Isshinryu (and the "Isshinryu snap" that goes with it) is interesting in that it's fast, is harder for the opponent to see (especially when rising up) than the horizontal fist, and is good for someone who isn't as rapid when maneuvering/circling as TKD will demand. It seems to make you want to keep moving forward, and two other students at the dojang where I train had studied Isshinryu in the past; you can spot all three of us in that we all seem to move in as though on automatic. It's likely changed, but when I was a teenager, the black belt test included that the candidate wear no gi jacket, go through a special kata, be whacked at certain points at certain areas of the upper body during that kata, and show himself unphased by the strikes. I realize that much of the OP was about how quick you can get a black belt, but John also asked, "Can anybody else add anything about Isshinryu I left out?" That's what I wanted to address.

A search engine will turn up a web site for karate jutsu, but not the long, complex style claimed to exist. The karate jutsu site is: http://www.karatejutsu.org/ This supposed "Sensei" likely gets a kick out of people gullibly emailing him. When he isn't reading the emails, he likely busies himself re-arranging his sock drawer.

Home Leg stretches Ki Cho Hyungs (Il, E, Sam Bu) Pyung Ahn Cho Dan Chil Sung E Ro Hyung Class with my children And spoke with my teacher, who has no problem with me taking private sparring lessons with the instructor I'm trying to reconnect with.

I spoke with my sister, DWx, who just turned fifty-five. She's 5'1" and weighs 105. Her view about me is that I've come to associate food with comfort--"comfort food" in time of stress. She doesn't lead a stress-free life, but I have to hand it to her; she's a determined one about controlling her weight, and it's about the same as when she was in her twenties.

A very Happy Birthday to the US Marine Corps! From Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Marine_Corp : Originally organized as the Continental Marines on November 10, 1775, as naval infantry, the Marine Corps has evolved in its mission with changing military doctrine and American foreign policy. Two hundred thirty-three years old and ready for another 233. Semper Fi!

This I especially like. Kids often think that they're doing something wrong if they "say anything," when in fact they may be doing exactly the right thing, and it's likely they don't know how to go about it, how to express themselves, if speaking with the police. I'm thinking of a relative who, when her boss flew off the handle and fired her, pushed her out the door--he physically pushed her. She told her father, who went down to the place of business, and so boss, father, and daughter/ex-employee were on the sidewalk about to have it out. It fizzled, but I asked the father why he didn't call the police. He really didn't have an answer, which did his daughter no good.

In examining nos. 1, 2 and 3, Tallgeese, it looks like a combo of finger and wrist Chin Na. In 4, it looks like you're doing the break but not expecting that pain compliance has ended the struggle, that he might still strike with a cross punch to look out for, or that while you're going for the break, get out of the way of an incoming cross punch. 5 is that you have control, or continue your attack if you find control hasn't been established. Would you say that's right?

Did he say anything special you should do when you disengage, Brian? Is it that you should move in to re-engage, or did he feel that the separation would help to defuse the situation? (That once apart, your adversary might take off.)

I just receive the November 2008 Newsletter from Iain Abernethy - http://www.iainabernethy.com - by email, and it included an article, "Stickers and Bird Droppings!" by Nick Engelen. Although the article was about avoiding distraction while performing martial arts, the author included a conversation he had with a co-worker: eing grabbed by the wrist makes many people concentrate on the wrist . . . They feel limited and will start trying to free their wrist. The limits are imposed by your own mind. At work I have a colleague who knows about my training, he is quite big and strong and he asked me what will you do when I grab your wrist? I told him that I would whack him in the head on which he replied: how can you punch me if I got hold of your wrist? On which I answered that I have two hands.

Leg raises Ki Cho Hyungs (Il, E, Sam Bu) Pyung Ahn Cho Dan Chil Sung E Ro Hyung

Hi Zach. You're doing what many people who feel they're out of shape don't do; you're doing something about it. Lots of people don't join a health club, for example, thinking they aren't in good enough shape or look good enough to do so. I don't know if you want to do cardio-kickboxing or heavy bag training, but both will take off weight. Some people start with cardio to see how their bodies react (and it's less expensive, such as taking a class at the local "Y"), while others jump right into what's more realistic, such as what's offered at Club KO, where you not only slam away and do combos against heavy bags, you also burn off bodyfat. I'd say from your posting that you're the kind of guy who wants to do the latter; it'll get you into the shape you want with martial arts applications that are against objects, not air, and, before you know it, you'll be a "lean, mean, fightin' machine." Good luck in your endeavor.

Reminds me of the movie, "The March of the Penguins."

You both have a lot of experience to fall back on regarding kids and sparring. At about what age do you think sparring on this level can be done? Just a ballpark figure.

I wish I had the time, Wa-No-Michi, especially as a single parent. It's also tougher to recuperate when you're in middle age (will be 57 in January). But thanks for the advice.

Leg raises Leg stretches One-step sparring techniques Self-defense techniques Ki Cho Hyungs (Il, E, Sam Bu) Pyung Ahn Cho Dan Chil Sung E Ro Hyung

A fifteen-pound burger. And he ate it all. Meanwhile, I posted under General Chat, "Do we eat to live, or live to eat?" It looks like that guy doesn't have to post to let us know his view!

Thank you ps1! I'm reading what's common sense, and I'm wondering why I didn't picture this multiple attacker scenario before, which can happen in a bar just as well as "on the street." When I think of multiple attackers, I think of it being more blatant, while it can also be the "subtle approach" you're pointing out to be on guard against. I imagine that as soon as his friends move, loudly call them on it and zone as best you can. (Pre-empt attack? Maybe a necessity.) Forget the initial adversary's schoolyard stare; look about you with a resolute expression on your face, and watch out for "incoming." I take it that this "Tip of the Day" is presented as a public service to martial artists everywhere.

I reached a point about a decade ago (I'm fifty-six), in which my appetite has been greater than what I was able to burn off by weight-training or can burn off now by martial arts. I find myself eating when I'm not hungry, and I'm especially fond of sweets. I've gained ten pounds since the summer, meaning I'm 175 at 5'6" instead of the trimmer 165 that feels best for me, and I realize that it's really from my eating habits rather than my age. It's not that there's a lack of awareness or knowledge in our society about the "right" foods and the benefits of keeping trim, so I feel that I--and I'd say anyone who does as I've been doing--am responsible for my eating habits. Anyone else in this boat? Why do we do this? (Poll is above this OP)

Leg raises Ki Cho Hyungs (Il, E, Sam Bu) Pyung Ahn Cho Dan Chil Sung E Ro Hyung Sent email to Shurenkan instructor re: private lessons in non-tournament contact sparring

In reading your posting, Tallgeese, and in recent (last two months) MA happenings in my life, I've considered that traditional martial arts, with practitioners sticking strictly to the way of the traditional martial art, choose a path that Easterners might say leads to "enlightenment" (satori), while those who reinterpret the traditional martial arts, with practitioners improvising, seeking creatively to match the reality of MA combat, choose a path that Westerners would say leads to "self-actualization" (as the psychologist Abraham Maslow spoke of being the highest personal development level, attained by no more than 2% of the [Western] population).

I wondered what you meant by "from a 'confusion' society," Wa-No-Michi. Thanks for clearing up the confusion about Confucian.

The instructor has fought full-contact in the US and Japan, Tallgeese. I brought up private lessons, and he asked me to get back to him today on his cell phone. So far, I've phoned twice. To receive even a limited number of sparring lessons from an instructor with this US-Japan fighting background would be an excellent experience.

I wouldn't say this isn't a skilled golfer, but when the odds are 5,000 to 1 on an individual hole-in-one, and he's gotten five of them (and in so short a period of time), then it makes me think of an odd lottery win. The NJ Pick-6 lottery has approximately a 13,000,000-to-1 chance of being won on an individual choice of six numbers. The minimum prize is $2 million. People who play often pick five sets of numbers, so the dollar betting really becomes five dollar betting. A woman won the Pick-6 and then continued to play, either out of habit or for the fun of it. She hit again within a year. The odds of this happening were billions to one, but it happened.

Dojos/dojangs that encourage coming in to watch a class, and offer taking either a certain number of classes (in this case, two) or a couple of weeks without cost are the sounder ones to become involved with. They want people to join who know that they want to study there, and during the free sessions, you'll feel welcome not only by instructors but by others who are already students.

Unknownstyle, is this video what you're referring to: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/videos/135