Sensei_Suzy

For me, tonfa are incredibly difficult. Not only am I currently lacking in a substantial forearm muscle necessary to stop the weapon from wacking my elbow every time I swing it, but they feel very awkward to me. Weapons are supposed to be an extension of the body...but to me tonfa feel like wooden sticks with handles that I can't control. Practice, practice, practice.

In Shorin Ryu (the particular style I study anyway) we practice kicks that can be used on any part of the body. A low kick like that may be used to injure a knee joint, and the same kind of kick may be used to knock a person out by hitting the side of their head. Not sure if this answers your question...but to the extent of my knowledge there is no specific name for a low kick such as the one you described other than "low round kick."

I'd probably be dead quite frankly. Karate taught me that I can be confident in myself, that I have something to be confident about. I actually "quit" training and then came back 2 years later because I was in an incredibly bad place. I probably wouldn't have graduated high school, or gotten into college. Where would I be without karate? Nowhere really.

The main thing that martial arts teaches you (well, me anyway) in a self defense situation is to not be a scared victim. Rather than saying to yourself (during the confrontation) "Oh my goodness why is this happening to me?" or "Holy crap I'm going to get killed." martial arts teaches you to say "How dare someone try to hurt me." I helped out with a self defense class a couple months ago that my sensei taught. It was a very small turnout and only 3 high school seniors showed up, all girls, so very similar to myself. At one point my sensei asked them "What would be the first thing to go through your mind if a guy came up behind you and grabbed you?" He went down the line, all three said some variation of scared...I said angry (I used a different word but the censor yelled at me). That's the difference. Martial arts teaches you to not be a victim. Having been in a situation where I had to defend myself from a single guy I know that the martial arts mentality saved me even though it was not a life or death situation. Good luck with your new classes!!

Why not start your own club? I taught karate for 2 years before even starting college (I recently decided to focus on being a karate student rather than a teacher) but I found that I gained a lot more knowledge in teaching a class than I did in simply taking one. Beginners often have the best questions, and if you are the teacher you are forced to examine something you may have otherwise not thought about. I would find a school that makes you happy in academics, see what they have for clubs, and if you don't find one that suits your fancy...make one.

There is a pair of nunchaku kata that we practice in my school. I've learned the first one, and am quite hesitant to learn the second, however they are part of the Shorinkan system so it may be easy to find videos or instructions on them. The names are Shorinkan No Nunchaku Dai Ichi and Shorinkan No Nunchaku Dai Ni Dai Ichi is incredibly easy to learn, and reasonably repetitive in spots. Good for practicing figure eights and pokes. Dai Ni introduces the backwards figure eight and different pokes and well as blocks and turns, far more complex than Dai Ichi.

The training floor at our dojo is mats, so our sensei used to require rubber tips on the three points of a sai. They're not really required anymore but if you drop one while on the mats you're supposed to put your foot under it to save the mats. A friend of mine actually dropped his sai during a test and couldn't get his foot under it fast enough...there was a small hole in the mats (you can barely tell where it is) and a VERY unhappy sensei. As for the bo...I looked like a total idiot the first time I picked up a bo. It's a big six foot stick and I'm supposed to make it look powerful and not stupid? Haha, that's a funny one. But I stuck with it, even tried some fancy spinning and such that aren't in the kobudo kata we practice but it got me familiar with the weight of the weapon as well as the length. The more you practice with a weapon the easier it gets to use, I'm finding this with nunchaku as well. Although I did smack the knuckles on my left hand pretty good in class last night...fingers were numb for a while.

I'm pretty fond of Tekko. They're incredibly easy to manipulate and can be deadly if used correctly. They're super fast and hurt a ridiculous amount. I'm beginning to like Sai more and more as I get more comfortable with them. They're increasing my hand and wrist dexterity which I hope will help me with the more advanced kama kata. Another thing I like about tekko is that you can keep at least one with you at all times and if anyone asks you can say that it's a napkin holder Honestly though, as a 19 year old female college student...I'm thinking about putting a tekko in my backpack next semester. They're small and fast.

I agree with a previous post, it would come down entirely to the skill of the user. Kama are absolutely vicious when you know how to use them and aren't scared of them. They can be held in a couple different ways to increase effectiveness. Sai, which are probably my favorite weapon, are also intense. The clear advantage I can see that they have over kama is that they can be thrown. These, too, can be held in a multitude of ways to inflict pain. I would say that kama may have the upper hand in a fight purely because of the length of the blade and having a seemingly bigger striking/slashing surface. Against a very skilled sai practitioner though...one killing blow from a sai may be faster than a deep slash or gouge by the kama.

Shorin Ryu Shorinkan, wouldn't have it any other way

Karate kata I've learned so far: Kihon Ippon Kihon Nipon Nihon Sanbon Fukyu Dai Ichi Fukyu No Kata Naihanchi Shodan Naihanchi Nidan Naihanchi Sandan Pinan Shodan Pinan Nidan Pinan Sandan Pinan Yondan Pinan Godan Passai Sho Kusanku Sho Chinto Passai Dai Kusanku Dai Gojushiho (one of my newer projects but quickly becoming my favorite) That is the order in which they are taught at my particular school.

Yes, it's unusual for a Okinawan based style to start with Pinan Shodan because Pinan Nidan is usually the first Kata learnt to most Okinawan styles. My style, Shindokan, also starts with Pinan Shodan, but, my Soke had originally started teaching Pinan Nidan first, but, he changed it so that Pinan Shodan was taught first. Why? He felt that Shodan was more easier than Nidan. Again, as far as how long before whatever, should be left to the sensei and nobody else! In my experience Pinan Nidan was by far the easier kata to learn. The five Pinan kata were created for school children to practice basics so it makes sense that they are sometimes taught first. We learn three very basic kata to practice some blocks and basic punches, as well as two basic stances. We then learn the 3 Naihanchi kata before moving to Pinan Shodan through Godan. I think our progression is based on movement. The three basic kata move forward and back without a turn. Naihanchi kata simply move side to side. Pinan kata is the first place where students in our dojo are confronted with turns.

To fully "learn" a kata is impossible. If you ever stop learning, it doesn't mean you know everything...it means you THINK you know everything, which is a very dangerous state of mind. In terms of learning the pattern, some people take a month or so, and some people take just one class. For learning the pattern so that it is committed to muscle memory takes even longer. The only way to remedy "thinking" while performing a kata is to commit it to muscle memory and carry on a conversation while performing the kata, or having a ton of distractions going on around you. It takes me anywhere from one night's class to a couple of weeks to learn the pattern of a new kata depending on if my brain wants to remember things that night.

In my dojo there are not too many with extremely worn black belts. My sensei, who is 6th dan, still has his original black belt and it's basically white. He also has a rokudan belt that he usually wears, and a newer plain black belt that he wears when we go to seminars as a sign of respect to the Kyoshi and Hanshi that are there. My black belt, though not very old, is starting to wear a little where it knots but that doesn't make it any better or worse than another belt. Most of the black belts in the school where I train have 2 belts, one for training in the dojo (usually made by Shureido) and a less expensive one that they wear to the beach when we have beach classes and tests. I agree with what was said, that the belt is merely a piece of cloth. The belt does not hold the knowledge you have gained over the years of training. Why then, is my sensei's first black belt looked at in such awe at times? I think this is because the worn nature of some black belts carries an idea. A lot of work was put into obtaining that belt, and a lot of work was put in while wearing that belt. The awe is not so much the belt itself, but the idea that it's worn appearance signifies someone that has trained for a long time and has a lot of knowledge to share if they wish to do so.

I'm happy that I found what seems to be a pleasant and knowledgeable karate/martial arts forum. I'm currently a shodan in Shorin Ryu Shorinkan, just tested for it last year, and have been training for 8 years, since I was eleven. I taught for about 2-2 1/2 years but recently decided that I wanted to focus on being a student not only in the dojo but also in college. As a part of my regular training I'm also bettering my skills in kobudo, though that seems to be more difficult for me because my coordination skills with weapons are not exactly stellar. So, yeah, that's about all I have to say about myself, nothing too special. I'm happy to have become a member of this forum and hope that I can contribute in some way.