Kruczek

If only he were single...jk Good points though!

I have never heard this before, but I think I will be quoting this regularly. Good thoughts.

Well my sensei, at my dojo, has no idea. He told me that Yamashita Sensei taught him and it was part of the style. After joining Nakazato Sensei's style (Yamashita's teacher) we were told it is not part of the curriculum. Because my dojo instructor had such a bad falling out with Yamashita Sensei...it is rather difficult to ask lol.

Again thank you for the thoughts. After searching around more and more points to the idea that Yamashita Sensei created this kata but I would still like proof one way or the other.

Tadashi Yamashita was a student of Nakazato. He came to America to spread karate and over the last 20-30 years has developed his own style that I have heard called Suibukan Shorin Ryu. It is based on his concept of Suikendo (The way of the water fist). I know first hand having trained under him and now under Nakazato Sensei, that his style is Shorin-Ryu with influence from Shinpo Matayoshi and being Japanese not Okinawan I believe his moves are more "powerful" rather than fast. To my knowledge in last ten years Yamashita Sensei had a bit of a falling out with Nakazato Sensei, as the story went - during some parade/ceremony Yamashita Sensei stood with Matayoshi Sensei instead of Nakazato Sensei. While I do not agree with some of the changes that Yamashita Sensei has made to the katas, I believe he is doing exactly what Gichen Funakoshi did, he is changing things to better suit his American and Bulgarian followers, in particular, who are much larger than Okinawans and need to use more strength than speed. This is just like the formation of Shotokan. Any other questions, I still have contacts in his organization that I could get more info from if you would like.

axispower hit the nail on the head in my opinion. Edit: oops didnt see the next point - very good point also.

My school was originally $40 a month per person and $5 off every additional family member ($35, $30, etc..) Currently we charge $40 "liberally". We have had people who didn't have the money and they would come in and help clean on the weekends to make up for it. I myself chipped in $50 just because I knew we could use it. I assume this method doesn't work well in a big city though .

Very well then, glad to see someone who thinks about all things before making up his mind.

Although I have my thoughts on age and a black belt... If your son's muscle problems are getting better, if he is getting more mature, and he is happy with it - then I think everyone should worry less about rank and more about the effects karate has on people. If you would have asked Gichin Funakoshi in 1890 what he thought about 8 year olds with a black belt he would have said "What difference does it make how he dresses?" This idea is new and it has caused people to forget the important things you should be getting out of karate, those things more important than rank, those things your son has got. So be proud and keep him interested, as he ages he might feel it is dumb or hard or a waste, keep him in it and he will thank you ten fold later on in life.

A few things I thought of tonight listening to some of my students "comment" on another teacher: Always be willing to double check that you are right. If everyone is saying they thought there was two punches in the kata and you think there are three, ask another black belt - there is no shame in being sure you are right. Sometimes thinking of yourself as the senior student in class rather than the teacher can be helpful for everyone. You might be sensei, and they should think of you as SENSEI, but you still have lots to learn too and you are not better than any white belt - just working on more complicated things. Just my take on things.

Well I just typed up a solution for "cat stance" only to realize you said "back stance"...I don't have this stance - if you could give me a photo or a description I may have some suggestions. One thing I have found that helps with almost all stances is to stand in shizentai dachi (natural stance) so feet shoulder length apart and staggered. From there you should slowly transition into the stance. If you wanted to go to "horse stance" from there for instance you would slowly lower your body shift some weight to your left and slide your right leg slowly out and shift the weight back, hold it and then shift back the same way. By going very slow back and forth you build the muscles, train them to transition from one stance to another, and if there is something that makes it hurt you can better figure out EXACTLY what makes it hurt. Not to seem oblivious, but aren't some stances just a bit painful when you aren't used to them? We were always told cat stance should "hurt" when you first start.

But does being the best fighter make you a black belt? If you can't convey what you have learned to anyone else why do you deserve that rank? I won't pretend that I know anything about Joe Lewis, because I don't, but I do think he brings up my earlier point about needing time to learn all the extra things that come with a blackbelt.

Not to seem ignorant, but there is no way I would ever agree ANYONE is ready to wear a black belt...more less 3 in under a year. Perhaps a year of 6 hour minimum daily training, which is unheard of, and I MIGHT say that is plausible, but I think guys like Joe Lewis are exactly why people are hesitant to double test.

I disagree with this. You can't say they aren't evolved just because they do something different. As was stated this is not a submissive act, but one of pride that is optional, but to say they shouldn't be worn because we are more "evolved" than that - I think is obscure.

I am an instructor, and that is the BEST advice you are going to get. Know what you want to do before you start, but at the same time be willing to adjust based on who shows up. Another huge mistake I have seen is people who put their students feelings before the karate. Don't be rude by any means, but don't be afraid to ask someone to work something again or to refine the way they do their kata. If you get a reputation of going soft on tests it will scare away serious students who feel they aren't getting the full experience and give you the "McDojo" reputation. Overall just relax. Make sure you are enjoying teaching. If you don't want to be there how could you ever expect the class your teaching to want to be there?

I'll second that...

I was simply pointing out that many school perform kata differently because "my teacher said it was this way", so I see no reason why not to wear my belt a bit 'different' for the same reason.

I think armanox is implying that they meet those requirements too. If I understand him correctly, "Why should anyone be held back to meet a time requirement, if they meet all of the other requirements?" I have no answer. I know a 8th Degree Kyoshi in our style who got his 4th degree black belt after four years. He went from student (White Belt) to 4th degree black belt because Nakazato Sensei said he was ready...so if he can do it I don't know why Green to Brown Belt is an incredible leap lol.

NightOwl: I think the reason much of America has not adopted this is because it is cheaper not to. You can order a batch of belts and let them sit for whoever might get them. But to have special belts for female students you would have order them case by case OR you would have to spend extra money to have both belts on hand. As for why some black belt women don't order them for themselves... I think this could be because many people don't know about it. I myself, had not heard of this until yesterday. My third thought on why America doesn't adopt this is because it could be seen as a "women aren't good enough to have a regular black belt". Not that I haven't made it clear but, my school doesn't have these belts lol.

I teach it that way because my teacher taught me that way...I think we all do this, just in this case it involves the uniform instead of how the kata is done.

Was never explained. Our instructor was an elderly Japanese woman and this was one of those things many people just assumed she had a meaning behind. I found it similar to how on male jackets the buttons are the right but on many female jackets the buttons are on the left. I still teach it because "traditions" have to be made by someone

We do the same. There are no rules prohibiting special custom belts...but most people in our area (who are in our style) tend to look at it as "showing off". I don't think there is anything wrong with stripes and such, but my style doesn't and I think it looks better, if we are all uniform.

I have had times when no instruction was available, especially now that I am trapped at military school. I have learned a great deal off of youtube, but you have to have a good foundation in the art and you have to know what your looking for. If you see someone from a different style do it you may be mislead, or if you see someone do something different than you were shown - they could just be wrong. I personally believe that all karate was made up by someone at some time in history. If you have no instructor, try to get everyone uniform on what you all learned from your instructor and then start trying things you find in Kempo books, movies, and youtube videos. If they do not work effectively on someone else ditch them and move on. If they work great....keep them and worst comes to worst...You join a new dojo, they tell you that there is a better way, and you do it a new way. There is so much you can learn by experimenting - BUT BE CAREFUL lol.

When I started my instructor told us that: Ends should be equal length. Boys Knots should point to the right. Girls Knots should point to the left. The back should NOT criss cross. Over the years I have found myself being the only one who pushes the issue on new students. I do not think it is something of huge importance, but I think if everyone is uniform in this idea it makes the whole school look more professional. If I was at your school and everyone did it completely opposite...that would still be "correct" in my mind as long as EVERYONE did it.

We have oral tests during promotions over terminology, famous teachers, and "What does....mean to you?" I don't know if a written test should be mandatory, but reading and learning about karate history, philosophy, and such is invaluable to anyone holding dan rank.