Ikigai

You're right, some drills with those tools were designed for power and some for toughness. Morio Higaonna Sensei does a drill with the kongo ken where he spins it around and let's it strike him (for toughening purposes). There is also the maki stick for arm and torso toughening. The exercise you are thinking of is done during Sanchin kata, predominantly in the Goju Ryu. This is a classic drill to improve rooting, focus, and toughness. Most of the time the strikes aren't at full force; just enough to test the student's tension and proper breathing.

Check out http://ebogu.com/ as well, they generally have that sort of stuff.

In Okinawa Kenpo, Seikichi Odo created concurrent karate and kobudo programs. They are separate, but act as augmentations of one another. Students from other styles of karate who are affiliated with us can come in and learn kobudo separately; however, okinawa kenpo karate students are expected to learn kobudo as well. When Dan ranking is achieved, the student receives separate certifications as each is its own 'system'. The weapons taught are: Bo, Sai, Tunfa, Nunchaku, Eiku Bo, Nunti Bo, Tekkos, and Kama

Pool players also have a hand chalk that they use to keep the cue sliding smoothly. Could be something else to look into. If it's any consolation, training with sweaty hands is actually a more realistic way to train. If you were armed with a stick, broom, or whatever in real life when you are about to defend yourself, you can bet your adrenaline will be pumping and your hands will be sweaty.

Gradual progression has always worked best for me when trying to introduce newer students to contact. There are a lot of instinctual reactions to overcome in order to remain calm when getting struck. To enhance actual physical toughness, the Okinawans had many drills they called Hojo Undo. These were (by today's standards) archaic tools that helped strengthen the body. Examples are makiwara (a padded hitting board), chi ishi (weighted stick for wrist strengthening) and nigiri game (gripping jars). Investigate that a bit more online and you'll find videos/articles about it.

I would highly doubt he receives any communication from real "masters" both because no master would accept such a frivolous challenge and no real master would actively consider himself a master. yes, I said master many many times.

I've gotten the chance to watch a few students come back from a long hiatus and the pattern is always interesting. despite early trepidation, they are almost always glad they came back (or got into some sort of martial arts again). It seems like an itch they had to scratch. One common hurdle, however, is not being able to do everything they used to do physically.

Here's one that is often overlooked - ice scrappers. The longer, two handed ones work great because they can be handled like an escrima stick or bokken. The smaller ones, while not as good, can be handled like a sai (although without the flipping in and out).

Ours has the style (okinawa kenpo) on the left, name on the right. Both in Japanese. One unusual thing that we have is a small patch on the inside left for students who also achieve their black belts in Kobudo. Seikichi Odo was as big into kobudo as he was karate, so he amassed experience in many kata and weapons. That ultimately led to a necessary split of karate and kobudo, in case students of other styles of karate wanted to enhance their kobudo experience. Hence the need for two parallel systems and the small patch on the belt.

Joe, Yes I think you hit the nail on the head! Thank you for responding to my post. Your example of children thinking differently than adults and responding to belts is exactly the kind of thing I was referring to. And I agree - it's not a bad thing at all as it keeps the children actively involved. But, on the flip side, it's also the same reason why many of the older styles of martial arts didn't award black belts to children; the kids simply didn't have the means of understanding the life-and-death severity of their art, not to mention the philosophical depth. To answer your question under the second quote, I do believe that pursuing self-actualization is an innate part of many arts. You'll often hear that certain arts pursue the perfection of body-mind-spirit, which is a sister concept to self-actualization. Of course, this pursuit is not strictly necessary - but I do believe a lack of it is why many people feel no need to pursue martial arts past shodan. They've learned the techniques and come to the end of that 'road.' best regards.

I think so too Zanshin. I was able to sneak a quick look at your site today, but will definitely have to take a closer look later. Very sharp, and I like your availability of video. Unfortunately, I do not have any video online of the Okinawa Kenpo version, but will let you know if one becomes available or pops up on youtube somewhere. I'll be perusing your videos, but feel free to post a link to niseishi kata or bunkai, as I am always interested in gaining a better understanding of how wadoryu and other styles work.

I think there is a significant perspective shift at shodan. Up until that point, it's very easy to chase external goals in the form of rank, tournament wins, etc. Once shodan occurs, the ranking and such slows down. Successful students must turn toward internal goals such as self perfection and exploration of deeper aspects of their art. If the attachment to external goals is strong enough, they don't have to make that switch...but usually the hollowness of it catches up sooner or later.

Thanks for the welcome Zanshin! This is a great forum. Excellent question also. As with all bunkai, interpretations vary. That's one reason why I enjoy studying it so much - there really is no final answer, and as a person changes, so does their perspective on kata. That being said, here is a little bit of thought when it comes to the beginning of niseishi - Let's examine a very practical application from wadoryu first. As the attacker comes in with an aggressive straight punch, the defender shifts back and parries across his/her body. The defender then shifts into the attacker and counterattacks with a straight punch, following that up shortly after with an elbow strike to the solar plexus (or nose if the opponent is short). The defender then turns and executes a U-style punch to a different attacker. Okinawa Kenpo is a bit different (please note - not better or worse). The kata actually begins with sanchin style inhalation and dual inside block. If we were to maintain our practical level of bunkai, this motion would be to protect the body, add power to the arms, and break off an intended double handed lapel grab. The attacker then continues his aggression with a straight punch, and the defender shifts back just like in wadoryu. After the punch, Okinawa Kenpo utilizes a two hand motion instead of elbow - signifying a control of the attackers arm in conjunction with a strike to the temple. Of course, as we integrate more advanced concepts, things change a touch. For example, the initial shift back and parry across can be used against a single handed grab. In this bunkai, you don't shift back so much, you simply drop your weight into nekodachi with a slight shift back to pull your opponent off balance. simultaneously you use your parry hand to buckle his elbow inward. if done properly, the attackers head should lurch forward, exposing his temple and neck (two very vital areas). As he lurches forward you strike with your straight punch into those areas. After that you use your forward shifting stance, leg check, and elbow to finalize a take down. That's just one concept, there are plenty of others...which is why I find all kata (and that beginning in particular) so engaging!

as stated earlier, The whole "trick" is to allow your mind and body to relax. If you're actively looking for openings, you will see one and immediately compute it - you'll feel a little shock about discovering it and try to arrange which technique to use - and then by the time you make your motion the opening is gone. If your mind and body are ready but relaxed, you are able to react to an opening rather than actively strike it. Here's the tough part - no one is programmed to react to an opening because they don't have the skillset ingrained in them yet. In order to acquire the skillset, you have train repetition. repetition,repetition,repetition so that your body moves without excessive conscious thought. You don't need to free spar all the time to get better at free sparring (although fairly regular sparring is important). Best of luck in your continued training!

hmm very good question. Every kata is valuable in it's own way, and yet every kata is interconnected. So, I think I'll skip the favorites question and just select 5 (if I had to choose): Kusanku - They say this is the mother of the Pinan katas...and historically, that statement stands up fairly well to scrutiny. Gojushiho Ni - Generally broken up into two kata, I prefer the second portion. Sanchin - Very valuable breathing/tension kata. Passai - Very slick, very agile kata. Niseishi - Unique movements and intriguing beginning.