Seija

I have had SSOOOO many “aha” moments (we call them light bulb moments) over the years that I could write a book. But probably one of the greatest that I can list briefly is that all Martial Arts relate to simple geometry. If your geometry is good your technique will be good if your geometry is bad your technique will be bad, 100% of the time, every time.

I like your analogies here, but if you look at the McDojo trend, the McDojos tend to cost more than others usually do, as opposed to costing less. Just a thought...This is precisely why I put (not necessarily paid in dollars but always paid in “sweat equity”) Most McDojo’s will ask all kinds of things from you in the way of money, but very little of you in the way of actually learning anything or actually working up a sweat. I even know of one McDojo where belts are awarded on a points system and you can earn major points for signing up your friends. To make a long story short, if you are popular enough and have enough friends that you can get to sign up, you can earn a BB and not know a thing. The point is, true Bushido takes hard work, dedication, devotion and discipline.

To me, it is a matter of breaking down the analogy. McDonald’s food is quick, cheap easy and fast and it will fill you up if you can keep it down, but it isn’t really good, high quality cuisine. Five star gourmet foods may cost a little more (not necessarily paid in dollars but always paid in “sweat equity”) and may take a little longer, but it is so much better that it goes beyond comparison.

Martial means military and there is an old military principle to be considered here. In the military it is often a common practice to forgo all salutes while out in the field as you may just tip off a sniper or other enemy observer as to who the officers are and subsequently who to hit first. I believe the same principle kind of applies here. Always show respect to your Sensei but when in a public situation be mindful of not drawing undo attention to them or yourself. Our Sensei used to have a Belt on – Belt off policy. When the Belt is on treat him like a Sensei, when the Belt is off treat him casually but not too cavalier.

I make what I call “Pocket Makiwara” which is just a small, hand sized piece of plywood wrapped with military 5/50 parachute chord that I get from the Army surplus store. I keep one in my work truck and do 100 knuckle conditioning strikes on it per hand every other day. I don’t have deformed looking knuckles like I have seen on some people, but the skin is thick and calloused like an old baseball mitt.

5th degree Black Belt (Go-Dan) in Shinsei Wado-Ryu Karate-Do 5th degree Black Belt (Go-Dan) in Shiho-Karano Nippon Karate-Do 2nd degree Black Belt (Ni-Dan) in Shinsei Kenpo 1st degree Black Belt (Sho-Dan) in Shiho-Karano Ju-Jitsu Founder and Kyoshi (Head Instructor) of Kirisuto-No Seija-Ryu Iaido-Batto-Jitsu Including Kung-Fu and Judo lessons from the time I was 8, I have 35 years of Martial Arts training.

Earning a Black Belt isn’t a reason to lose your sense of humor.

A young man is trying to find the best Samurai masters in the world. He acquires a list of who everyone tells him are the three greatest. He first goes to the master who is renowned for being the third greatest in the land. He approaches him and asks; “Master, I’ve searched very long and everyone agrees that you are the third greatest master, what makes you so great?” The old man removes a small black box from his clothes and opens it and BBZZZZZZ!! A housefly escapes and begins flying around. With one swift draw the old master cuts the fly in two. Impressed but undaunted, the young man seeks out the second most renowned master and also asks him, “Master, I’ve searched very long and everyone agrees that you are the second greatest master, what makes you so great?” This old master also produces a small black box from his clothes and opens it and BBZZZZZZ, BBZZZZZZ!! Two houseflies escape and begin flying around. With one deft draw the old master cuts both flies in half, leaving four pieces of fly on the floor. The young man can’t wait to see what the greatest master has in store and when he finds him he asks, “Master, I’ve searched very long and everyone agrees that you are the greatest sword master in the land, what makes you so great?” This old master also produces a small black box from his clothes and opens it and BBZZZZZZ!! A single housefly escapes and begins flying around. With one nimble draw the old master swings his sword in the direction of the fly and BBBZZZZZZZZ!!! The fly continues to fly around. The young man says with great surprise, “Master, the other Samurai cut their flies with ease, what is the matter???” The old man just smiles and replies, “Ah my son, this fly will never have children!”

Here are the MINIMUM time requirements for our school, Beginner / Mu-kyu (white) 8th kyu / Hachi-kyu (gold) 3 months in previous rank, 50 hours training, 3 months total 7th kyu / Shichi-kyu (orange) 3 months in previous rank, 100 hours training, 6 months total 6th kyu / Roku-kyu (blue) 3 months in previous rank, 150 hours training, 9 months total 5th kyu / Go-kyu (purple) 6 months in previous rank, 250 hours training, 15 months total 4th kyu / Yon-kyu (green) 6 months in previous rank, 350 hours training, 21 months total 3rd kyu / San-kyu (brown) 6 months in previous rank, 500 hours training, 27 months total 2nd kyu / Ni-kyu (brown) 9 months in previous rank, 650 hours training, 36 months total 1st kyu / Ik-kyu (brown) 9 months in previous rank, 800 hours training, 45 months total lst dan / Sho-dan (black) 1000 hours training, 4 years total Each rank also has either, written tests, essays, book reports or other academic requirements as well as stringent physical requirements and character/attitude requirements as well.

Back in my day if you wanted to “test your skills” the only option was to get into full contact matches. I still have a few health issues related to this experience. Going off on someone who is fully padded and protected is a good, and much safer, way of doing things than we used to. One point to note however, as an experienced Martial Artist, don’t add your $.02 about a technique unless the instructor directly asks for your opinion. This would be rude IMO!

Dobbersky, The question that I have for you is; Have you ever been attacked on the street by an expert trained fighter who is well versed in wrist grabs and joint manipulations??

Wa-No-Michi I’m sorry sir; I’ve gotten a little “gun shy” over the years. With over 35 years of Martial Arts I have been on the wrong end of “Karate Politics” way too many times. I was with the U.S. Eastern Wado-Ryu Federation from 1985 -1997. Currently I am not affiliated with any Wado group. My instructor is Riedner Soke, the founder and Grandmaster of Shiho-Karano-Ryu. Our style is Wado in our curriculum requirements but is greatly influenced by the other styles that I’m ranked in. Although we train the Kihon Gumite, Ohyo Gumite, Kumite Gata, Idori, Tanto Dori, Tachi dori, Kisokata, Sanbon kumite, throws and kata of the Wado system, many Wado purists would not consider us true Wado as my instructor is from another system and that system has had an influence on the way we do things. Of course, Shiho-Karano and Wado are very similar in many ways. As to the bios on my site, I’m the head instructor.

UM….Please do not take this the wrong way, I mean no disrespect, but two things come to mind; 1) Why are you asking me these questions? And 2) You mentioned that you viewed my website, why didn’t you just read my bio if you are interested about me?? It is fairly detailed.

I was always taught that there are four stages to kata. 1) Learning kata 2) Knowing kata 3) Owning kata 4) Mastering kata Learning a kata is getting to know which move goes where etc. This can take one class or many depending on the difficulty of the kata and how quickly you learn. Knowing a kata is being able to do all the moves in sequence without assistance. This can take several months. Owning a kata is running a kata so diligently that it has become a part of you. Someone can wake you out of a dead sleep and ask you to perform a kata that you haven’t run in months and it is so much a part of who you are that you are able to run the kata without error. This typically takes several years. Mastering a kata is knowing all that can be learned from the kata and is a lifelong journey that is never complete.

I used to be back in the 1990’s. Currently I’m with the Christian Black Belt Association, as well as the Ambassador Martial Arts Network, and the Kicks for Christ Federation.