Shizentai

I'm used to wearing non-preshrunk gis myself, so I always wash them cold and hang dry. It does minimize shrinkage (or at least delay it substantially). It kinda sounds like it might end up being too small for you anyway though. The ties really shouldn't be taut when you tie them like that. If I were you, I'd wear it to class and wash it on cold a few weeks before getting it cut any smaller. Also, I really wouldn't try to shrink it any more via hot water or drier.

no need to belittle other ryu. Funakoshi Gichin was an Okinawan too you know. He was also all for giving respect to all branches of karate equally, and learning from them what we can at all times. What about that is not traditional, Okinawan or for that matter productive? TBH, I say it hits all three points well. Also, thanks for posting the video.

I have a new funny one: a sprained hamstring. After training I had taken to stretching-out by loosely high kicking the head of a new training dummy in my dojo. It's one of those ones that looks like a giant rubber man's torso. Well, I was unaware that this rubber torso could be adjusted in height, and without thinking, went straight after class over to it and roundhoused, then "RRRIP" ...I was in so much pain. Someone had moved his head up to around 6 feet. I am not much over 5 feet tall myself, and in-stance I'd guess that I'm something more like 4 ft. Dumbest injury ever. lol

Regardless of your conjugation preferences, the answer to your question is yes. lol ...not that I'm SKIF or anything. Although I've also heard that Kanazawa has added several other advanced katas as well, including . Quoth he on the Kata of twenty eight steps: "This kata is from Shurei, like Gankaku, Chinto. This kata developed from the White Crane and all these kata developed from the same family."edit: on another note, my original post should have read that for ranks 3dan and up, Any kata may be performed, but the randomly chosen kata is one of the sentei or below (though usually sentei)

Below are the 26 basic kata recognized commonly in Shotokan. I have also listed what kata you need to know to pass each of the below ranks in my dojo (Please keep in mind that this order varies a lot from dojo to dojo, especially when it comes to testing for 3rd kyu and higher): Heian shodan (平安初段) - need to know for 8th kyu test (yellow belt) Heian nidan (平安二段) - ntk for 7th kyu (orange belt) Heian sandan (平安三段) -6th kyu (green belt) Heian yondan (平安四段) - 5th kyu (purple 1) Heian godan (平安五段) - 4th kyu (purple 2) Tekki shodan (鉄騎初段) - 3rd kyu (Brown 1) Bassai dai (披塞大)* - 2nd kyu (Brown 2) & 1st kyu (Brown 3) Jion (慈恩) Empi (燕飛) Kanku dai (観空大) Tekki nidan (鉄騎二段) Hangetsu (半月) Jitte (some call it "Jutte") (十手) Gankaku (岩鶴) Tekki sandan (鉄騎三段) Nijūshiho (二十四步) Chinte (珍手) Sōchin (壯鎭) Meikyō (明鏡) Unsu (雲手) Bassai shō (披塞小) Kankū shō (観空小) Wankan (王冠) Gojūshiho shō (五十四歩小) Gojūshiho dai (五十四歩大) Ji'in (慈陰) - blue = the Heian katas (you perform one per test as listed above) - blue + green = katas you have to know to test for shodan (1st black belt) (you choose one, and a second is chosen at random) - blue + green + purple = katas you have to know to test for nidan (2nd black belt) (one is your choice, a second is chosen at random) - Any kata may be called during a test for sandan (3rd black) or above (one is your choice, a second is chosen at random) *note: many people choose one the four other sentei kata (instead of bassai dai) to test for 3rd kyu to shodan.

really? cool. I've never heard of that before.

I train in shotokan We don't use them In fact, my belt has nothing on it but black.

I too am too poor to afford a daily, or for that meaning even a monthly massage, but I did have a good hour long neck massage around this time last year. It did wonders for my rising block training for several days (until my work place tightened the muscles back up again -_- ).

I suppose that just goes to show, ranks and belts only have so much meaning for any karate-ka. Put them on too high a pedestal and you're bound to be disappointed. I know it's not karate, but here is a nice snipit of the converse to this over-ranking dilemma, the way a good high-rank test should be in my opinion:

I'm shotokan myself, but I've trained with goju people in the past. I believe most of the basics are quite similar between the two styles. Most different are the kata I would say. I think people have told me in the past that goju and shotokan are the most similar of all ryu. On that note, if achieving a higher rank as soon as possible is your goal, then yes, I would say definitely choose either Goju or Shotokan and stick with it. Though if it is something more substantial that you are seeking, I would have to recommend conversely, based on my own experiences. I have found that training in other karate styles has opened up a world of new ways to approach conditioning and has helped me to improve my understanding the wide array of applications of even very basic techniques that these styles have in common, while introducing me to many useful techniques that I would never have seen were I not to venture outside of my own style. In short, yes, it may slow you down belt rank wise a little if you choose to train in two styles at once, but it is my opinion that it is a very worthwhile endeavor none the less. I believe that Gichin Funakoshi himself (founder of shotokan) was a big proponent for cross-training in all styles of karate, in fact, he said in his autobiography that he wished people wouldn't call themselves goju, shotokan, etc., but rather that people would work together to keep karate unified and open to all students from all dojo.

I've never owned a century gi, so I can't tell you from experience how they size. Hopefully someone else on these forums can though ^_^ What I would do if I were in your position is measure myself in the shoulder and around my hip (or wherever you want to wear your pants), then call customer support (the number's on the bottom of that page btw) and ask them about the pants and shoulder width of their size 6 7 and 8 gis. The length of your sleeves is less important because they can be hemmed easily (if you're willing to get it done that is). Getting different size pants and top may be a good idea, though once again, depending on how the sizes are. I don't know. Unfortunately, the case for many gis is that the length/width ratio is simply not right for every body. Some cuts/brands run slimmer and longer in their proportions (like Yamaga and Mizuno), while some run shorter and wider (like Tokons) If you are ever in the market for a heavier (though admittedly more expensive) gi, I bet Tokon's Europa size 6 1/2 or 7 would fit you like a glove. Their jackets and pants run wide and their sleeves and pant legs are shorter than average. It's sad, because I love the fabric, but a shrimpy chick like me looks ridiculous in that cut. It's definitely built for someone with a more substantial build.

well I'm not an instructor, but once when I was in class training basic maegeri, a new student next to me who joined my college club that day suddenly stood on one foot and folded his hands into some pseudo-ninja-movie hand position. When the instructor said "Uh...What are you doing?" he said, "shhh... don't disturb me, my energy is low so I am pooling my chakra." The funny part was that the student was an American... who I'm pretty sure only knew about chakra from anime. Meanwhile the instructor was a Buddhist who lived and trained most of his life in Japan. ...I was torn between giggling and cringing.

... you do know that Hirota and Yamaga are both brands that split from Tokaido right? Not only are their methods of manufacturing, fabrics, cuts and prices almost the same, but most of the higher-ups in the company used to work for Tokaido. The reason why people in the US talk more about Tokaido is because it's existed longer, not because it's export fodder compared to Hirota. They're virtually the same. I am not saying this because I just own belts and gis from all of these brands. I also went to all three companies' factories while in Japan and have seen dojos full of Japanese people who train in all three brands about equally. Something I did notice while in Japan is that each dojo I trained in did tend to choose one brand to be loyal to. Maybe WNM's dojo chose Hirota?

Another option is Tokaido They have cotton, satin, and silk. You can even choose a corresponding label to your organization (if they have it). As nice a company as they must be, I guarantee that finding out how to spell your name in Japanese first is the only way to be certain that it is right. It's not the kanji people mess up, it's the pronunciation of English names and hence the phonetic language (katakana) they use to write it. For instance, I've seen someone named Demitri get his name translated as ドミトリ (which funny enough, means "dormitory" in Japanese), when it should have been デミトリ. It's an honest mistake if you didn't know how to pronounce it, but he got called "Dormitory" and "Dum-tree" by mistake because of it. If you don't have a Japanese master, it probably doesn't matter that much. Just remember that it's a name tag you may wear for the rest of your life. In that frame of mind, I'd rather have no name on my belt than a wrong name.

Ichi makes a good point, but not all dojo provide new shodans with a gift black belt (mine didn't lol). It's best to ask someone in your dojo about this point before relying on someone else to purchase something for you. Almost any type of belt will turn white if you wear it long enough. Silk ones just wear the fastest. However, I also have a super thick cotton one which is white on the edges from just about two years of wearing it. The cotton ones last longer, but thick cotton belts can also be really stiff and stand out in a silly way. I prefer my silk one because it's nice and floppy. It's really up to you which feel you prefer I think. In regards to ordering a belt with red emroidery, I recommend KI international. They do red embroidery, you can buy it online, and it can ship most places. As for what to put on your belt, this is another matter I should think would be best asked to another dojo-mate as this too can vary from school to school. In my dojo, we wear belts with our name in Japanese on one side and our organization name (ISKF, JKA, WKF, etc.) in Japanese on the other. One word of caution though: Should you chose to have your name in Japanese on your belt, be sure to give whoever does your embroidery your name in katakana, not in English. I've seen sooo many terrible mistakes happen. If you would like to put your name in Japanese on your belt but don't know how to write it, I suggest asking a Japanese speaking friend. If not, I can help you out. Just let me know.

What surprised me most? That after my whole young life of listening to people tell me my body was too sick and frail to even participate in school p.e., karate training alone has made me the most physically capable person I know, male or female.

Probably no one is checking this thread anymore, but I can't help putting in my 2 cents. Not many people on this forum seem to have trained shotokan in Japan before, so I'm not surprised that no one knows. As far as Jpanese karate-ka go though, he's pretty dang famous. He's a Chief Instructor at the headquarters of the Japan Karate Association, founded by Masatoshi Nakayama and Gichin Funakoshi. Here is his offical bio in English: http://www.jka.or.jp/english/about/02_tanaka.html I've never heard of a Japanese person with the last name "soto." Did you mean Masaki Sato? If so, he was one of the first graduates of JKA instructor training (in 1959 to be specific). As for what happened to him after that, I'm not sure. However, he is not on the list of graduates who quit or was expelled form JKA, so my best guess is that he's off running a dojo somewhere. See what I mean?

Jeez, yeah, I had really hoped that I could find a link to it somewhere, but no luck. I saw a documentary some years back (long before 2006 mind you, so this could be a moot point by now either way) where a karate-ka on film produced a force measured by a piezoelectric sensor to be some number greater than 2000psi (though I forget exactly what). In the documentary the narrator had said that this may have unintentionally been the strongest punch ever recorded. Ah well, if I can't even remember how much it was or what the dude's name is, there's no way I can actually verify any of this. lol sorry guys! Agreed. In many full-contact karate dojo, no one even practices punching "at" the opponent's face. Meanwhile, no-contact karate dojo can aim anywhere they please without harming someone. I consider this to be one advantage of not always training full contact. It allows the student to practice launching attacks to the face, and even more importantly, allows the uke to learn defensive techniques to protect himself/herself from these dangerous maneuvers.

First off, let me start by telling you that I have trained in both traditional Shotokan karate in Japan and the US, as well as the "hard-hitting" style of Ashihara karate while in Japan (so that you know where I am coming from, having experienced both teaching methods). First in regards to why some people don't condone full-contact: The strongest punch force ever recorded (if I have my statistics right) was from the fist of a karate-ka (~2000lbs/sq.in.) NOT a boxer. If someone wielding a force like that just smashed into a person's temple unrestrained like a boxer would (minus boxer gloves), the result would be murder. Personally, I would never want to participate in such things, unless I am in a life or death situation... in which case, so far, I have done just fine without practicing by beating up my dojo mates either in day to day training or in competition. You're absolutely right. I've never seen a street fight stop and restart. That is unrealistic. However, I do have the unfortunate experience of having been attacked on two occasions (I guess because I'm a small single woman who lives in the #3 most dangerous city in the world). In both cases, my assailants, who were both large men, were subdued with one technique on my part. If you actually look at any footage of a REAL attack (not 2 drunk guys beating eachother for the fun of it, but a real situation), things are almost always decided by one crucial moment, one crucial strike, throw, etc. That, in my opinion is the value of one-point sparing training. It prepares the individual to make their very first move this crucial move. Agreed. Hahaha. See, this was my one qualm with Ashihara training. Being originally trained in Shotokan, I am used to punching at my opponent's face if I see an opening. However, in the Ashihara dojo where I trained, I got reprimanded for even punching at my sparing partner's face. Personally, I feel like the no-punching-at-face rule is even less realistic than the no-face-contact rule. It is my personal opinion that even if you think the face is "an easy target" you have to train your reaction to seeing it unguarded, or when it comes down to the wire, you'll slip up. The way to do it is to practice control, which, by the way, is useful in everyday life, even when not being attacked on the street. Let me point out something extremely obvious (so do excuse me): No method of training/competition is 100% realistic in every way at once. If it were, then we'd all get way more beaten-up by learning self-defense than if we had gone into a "real-life" fight unprepared. As it stands, different styles and teaching methods have their own benefits and costs. I like full-contact karate a lot. It's great if that's the method you prefer. Go for it! More power to you! Just don't knock other styles' efficacy if you've never actually used them in a real life situation. Otherwise it's all just speculation on your part.

What? Nothing for us over 50 people? Well...I never! (In case you were wondering, YES, I mostly just wanted to use that eyebrow face)

If you're interested in traditional Japan Karate Association shotokan karate, there is also a dojo in your area with a good instructor it seems. The website for the West Tennessee Karate Association is down, but you can contact the director (Ben Anderson) at wtnkarate@remgaz.com The dojo is a member of the JKA, and the JKA/AF

I would also like to point out that in the past 15 years, the Anual JKA All Japan National Championships has been won 11 times by men in their 30s and 40s. Similarly, 6 out of the past 7 Funakoshi Cup World Karate-do Championship Tournaments were won either in kata or kumite by people in their 30s 40s and 50s. In fact, Taniyama Takuya won the All Japan Championship in 2007 at age 42. Also, Imura Takenori won first place in kata at the Funakoshi cup at age 54. Lastly, the 2008 all-around US national champion in my organization is 40 years old, and he is moving on to an international competition next year. My sensei explained it like this: In your 20s your body is at its strongest, but in your 60s your mind is at its strongest due to having more life experience and emotional maturity. Since it takes both sides of the coin to train karate well, most open-age competitions are won by people in their 30s & 40s.

I think most importantly, you need to find out what credible teachers there are in your area. After all, unless you live in Japan, many styles may not be taught near you. So round about where do you live?

I believe Jesuit priests used to study swordsmanship as part of their theological education, so yeah, Catholics are in too. ^_^

I agree, you will most likely be divided into a group with only people of your age and experience level. So don't fret about that. Besides, in the unlikely event that you were thrown into a division with strapping young blackbelt men, the benefeits may outweigh the consequences. You know, my first tournament at age 16 I was about your rank, though only about 100lbs. I was also the only girl who showed up that day, so they put me in with 16-17 year-old intermediate boys of all weight classes for kumite. Did I win? No. But going home with second place that day gave me confidence that what I was learning in class could work against much bigger and more able-bodied opponents. Remember, a tournament is just more training! Rank tests too! So don't be afraid of trying tournaments! They might help you to improve more than you know.