Adam_XKT

That is a different form. Shudo-so isn't referred to as a kata in the Pinnacle. According to the book, Robert Trias said he came up with it and it is more of a training exercise. It is performed with tension.

KarateOx's thread on Sanchin prompted this. Does anybody here know Shudo-so and/or have any informative links to it? Most of what I looked at on Google is just people talking about it and not really producing any quality information. I learned this about a year ago and am just kind of intrigued by the animals and all of the things surrounding this. I asked one of my instructors about it and he said I wouldn't find much on it, so I just wanted to know if anybody practiced it and what your thoughts on it were.

I want to read The Way of Sanchin Kata. Despite having known Sanchin for probably 4-5 years, I felt my grasp on it was only decent enough to perform it, get a "pass" from my instructor, and move on. I've also heard about what it has to offer for Okinawan stylists and off-and-on have thought about what it means. Applying thoughts from other forms, Sanchin could be extended. For one, I believe there is a version called San Mitsu where the hands are open and the feet are little wider apart (and another version after that with a hand position I don't remember and the feet farther apart still). Instead of performing it all under tension, what about doing it quickly? In a real fight, doing it with tension isn't practical. But if you need to break a choke, punch, and then eliminate the attacker with the middle block, it could be a very quick, very simple way to get out of that scenario. Again, not having studied the form in-depth for its philosophical meaning, it's hard to say. These are just my best guesses.

Congrats! My instructor is big on surprises and improvement too, so I'm pleasantly surprised to see this happens elsewhere. It sounds like you've been making strides to improve and it's paid off. Obviously your instructor seems pretty confident with you to invite you to test, but do you feel like you lived up to the expectations she may have had for you?

I understand where you're coming from. But for me, it's not that I didn't get it, I just didn't care anymore. I didn't get this till I was about 2nd or 1st kyu, so at that point I was so close to dan that I just stuck it out and wanted to see what would happen. Basically, I told myself what I was going to do, and I found that I was able to do it with relative ease. "I see the black/brown belts and think I'll never be able to do what they do so why am I bothering anymore. " Add a "yet" somewhere in there. Of course you're not able to do what they're doing because you haven't been shown. I look at my instructors and think the exact same thing. But then I remember that I'm still learning and practicing, and hope that somewhere down the road I'll be able to be in their shoes. Besides, I wouldn't focus on being their clones. Oddly enough, one of the other assistant black belt instructors and I have different things our students accomplish. We don't hold it against each other, and I've even encouraged my students to train with him so they get some variety. Point being that it is good to have differences. "I don't want to feel like this because deep down, karate is very important to me but I'm having to force myself to turn up training and I dread it." Then take some time off. Everybody deserves a little time off. Mostly over the last six years, I hadn't gone more than 2 weeks without training. This past summer I took about 6 weeks. I waited about 4 weeks till I got "the itch" to do it again, then waited another 2 weeks to make sure I was ready to make a commitment to myself. Burnout is natural, for me at least. It can always be overcome, but maybe the timing isn't right for you to be doing this because of other factors going on.

The Pinnacle of Okinawan Karate by Robert Trias. This is what we study, and it's got the basic interpretations and instructions for everything in our system. It also includes hints for alternative interpretations, though sometimes you have to look carefully.

Shoulders/chest for me. One of my instructors tried to instill in us the use of gaze over the summer. I tried it a few times in practice then but haven't been able to try it out for awhile, so it's definitely something that I'll need to work on.

I'll usually check shoulders. Low enough to get lower body movements, high enough to check any arm techniques coming my way.

My biggest hobby outside martial arts is watching wrestling. I've kept up with it for about 12 years pretty regularly now. I'm really into social networking - forums, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Delicious, all of that stuff. I want to start blogging on a more regular basis about stuff that isn't "random stuff I did today" or something stupid. I've written a few of my own reviews for WWE DVDs and am looking at adding in a review of TNA's Ultimate Matches DVD pretty soon. Plus I'd like to add in a few martial arts posts too. Outside of that, I'm going to school for interactive media and journalism, so I try to keep up with trends in both. I love listening to music - heavy metal is my favorite but I've been moving into other genres of rock.

I used to hate working out when I wasn't in class too. Then, my attitude changed, and strangely enough it's the only way I get to do anything anymore because of schedule conflicts. Anyway, my advice would be to pick one of two things. The first is pick something you like working on. Out of the three areas you mentioned - sport, self defense, and art - which is your favorite? Do drills that you've done in class and work them for different things. Maybe one time look for a certain habit you have and try to correct it (if it's a bad one) or use it to your advantage (if it's a good one). This way, you're practicing something you like, so you might get over the mindset of "ugh, I don't want to practice today." Or, find something of the three you need the most improvement on. You know you have the other two pretty well down (even though they still need to be practiced), but this one area in particular needs more work. Practice it! I've only got about an hour in the mornings to do what I need to do, too, but it can be done and it can be exhausting. Good luck.

I thought this movie was hilarious. I didn't know what I was getting into and thought it would be some stupid horror movie. But it was a comedy flick that just happened to have horror elements. Solid movie.

For what it's worth, the program I belong to was allowed to sub for a PE waiver for our high school. One of the English teachers leads the program. Students must attend class at least 3 times a week. One karate class and two conditioning classes, or two karate classes and one conditioning class. A total of four days were offered, but I think my instructor has his hands full with his job and trying to attain another MA degree. So I'm not sure how many days are offered currently.

I've been doing a kata drill here at home three times a week for the last two weeks. Perform 4 times for power (every move breaks a board). Perform 4 times for speed. Perform 4 times for grace (go really slow, focus on stances and correct targeting and stuff). Perform 4 times with 10-lb dumbbells and 5-lb ankle weights (since those are the only ones I have). I've noticed this really gets me going, and at the end of just one form, it takes its toll. Perform 4 times combining elements of the first 3 after the weights. This is somewhat of an exhaustion drill. But for somebody who hasn't done kata in awhile, it's a nice way to get back in the swing of things. I'm taking lots of notes on myself to write up something on it later on.

At the moment, I'm into books related to more of the history and how some things have come to be. I don't mean to take anything away from him, but our instructor doesn't focus as much on that as he does conditioning and mental aspects.

My dad made one for me and it does the job for me. http://www.metamoramartialarts.com/shop/beltracks.png Mine with the belts also includes TKD ranks I'd gotten...don't think I got demoted.

I'd never seen the TV show and didn't know much about Star Trek other than a few names. But I thought it was pretty enjoyable not knowing much about it.

Our physical requirements for black belt are... -50 pushups -75 bicep curls with 15-lb dumbbells (10 for girls) -200 jump rope -75 military presses with 15s -75 corkscrew punches with 15s -75 crunches -500 front kicks -5 minutes speed punching This takes about an hour, and it's the first part of the 6-7 hour test.

Are there any websites that are good for vital points? I looked for a few and wasn't all entirely happy. I like how this video points out parts and tells you what happens, but I think a good presentation of this could be on a webpage.

We have been taught that, among others, the core three ones sound like "ha," "sa," and "to." (I think...maybe it's So and Ta). Anyway, mine usually ends up sound something like "sahayuh"

Shuri-ryu

Currently reading Shotokan's Secret. It's not a book strictly about Shotokan (since I'm not a Shotokan practitioner) but it's got some very cool insight so far. I haven't gotten to anything bunkai yet.

Metallica Foo Fighters Slayer Down Red Hot Chili Peppers local bands I mostly like some heavy metal to workout to - fast and ready to destroy things.

Back to the Future...any of them.

Currently working as a night manager at a grocery store. I've been there about a year and a half. I wanted to get an internship this summer but with the way things are, I think I'll stick to my job since it's a few blocks away. Hoping to do web design/development work in the future. I've got a few websites but nothing big yet.

Has anybody seen this movie? I couldn't stop laughing.