mudansha

First defense to hair grab. 1) Go to a Barber shop

In the late 70's my dojo was JKA affiliated. In 1988, they switched over to SKIF when my sensei was ranked shodan by Kanazawa sensei. He was SKIF for many years but then due to internal politics decided to leave SKIF. It had something to do with preferential ranking, and money. At that time sensei Belardo was ranked 4th dan in SKIF. Recently they became affiliated with USKA where he was promoted to 5th dan. He prefers this affiliation because they let him rank whomever he chooses. In SKIF he was only allowed to rank Shodan and when he did, the money was sent into SKIF. Here he can rank up to Sandan and he only pays a small fee. I guess with lax rules.... comes lax judges.

We are affiliated with an open organization. It is the United States Karate Alliance. It is not really practical to have a uniform grading standard because there are all kinds of martial arts affiliated with the organization. Instructors are free to assign whatever requirements and whatever belts they see fit. In dojo matches, all students get judging experience. In USKA tournaments, only black belts are allowed to judge. Because my sensei assigns them a Jr. Black belt, they would not be allowed to judge like a full black belt. Other schools do not have this concept of "JR. black belt". They are giving out black belts to everyone. The last Kumite match I was in, the center judge was a 15 year old girl. This is precisely why they should have separate standards for judging. Just because one is good at karate does not make him a good judge, and just because someone is poor at karate, does not make him a bad judge. Until requirements for black belts are uniform, (they will never be), then there should be a separate qualification program for referees.

Oh... I know the material.... I just get nervous and sometimes blank out. Its weird... sometimes I blank out... sometimes I get in an almost zen state where I think about nothing and it just flows. The problem is I never know which will happen until I am in there.

I don't like getting into "mine is bigger" debates. I am not knocking anyone else but I will say that I train with Abe Belardo. He has 45 years experience in Shotokan, muy tai, and kickboxing in general. He trains MMA fighters. He is also a professional referee. I would put his pedegree against almost any trainer, MMA or otherwise. I have battled many a "MMA fighter" in the 4 years I have been training. Does UFC matter? I am from the country; I can show you good old boys that don't have any formal training but because of their profession have strong cores and hands and can knock most people out with one punch. Some people are born with a gift; others have to strive for it. UFC fighters are talented beyond the average. For them, raw talent mixed with a couple years of training can make a champion. What about everyone else that is not so lucky to be blessed with the body? The average person cannot spend 2 years in an MMA gym and expect to jump into the octagon. This is where you are wrong. Martial arts is all about honor, respect and humility. If TMA has taught me anything it is that no matter how good you are, there is ALWAYS someone better. You might win 9/10 fights, but sooner or later you will lose. In an MMA ring there are rules. On the street, there are not. On the street, I can blow out your knee cap, gouge your eyes, or collapse your esophagus; things that are not legal in MMA. Do you think that a TMA on the street is going to play by MMA rules? This is where humility and respect for others gets involved. I know that should I get into a fight, I might have to resort to those measures and that will forever change the life of the other person. I have learned that most of the time, whatever we fight about is not worth it in the end. I would rather let that guy say what he wants and avoid confrontation than have to live with knowing I hurt him. No, that is not what is perturbing. Usually it is the person of questionable character that uses his fighting education to brutalize others. They are the ones beating on their girlfriends and starting fights at the bar because they got bumped. In TMA we do not train people of questionable character as a matter of honor. TMA is an art and a science. It has been developed over several hundreds of years. "trimming the fat" is cutting corners. It may make someone better in the short term but not in the long term. In the end, a fighter will be better if he does not cut corners. Your MMA fighter might win today, but lets see what happens after that karateka has his black belt in Shotokan and Sumo. Oh wait, that has happened. His name is Lyoto Machida. Lyoto didn't cut corners. He cross trained in shotokan and sumo since the age of 6, and now after 20 some years of training, none of your MMA fighters can touch him. You are incorrect. Kata is very important to the fighting arts. Basics, including kata, train the sub-conscience mind to react without thought. Repetition of movement establishes muscle memory and reduces reaction time. Over a 2-3 year session, it would have little benefit. Over a 10-40 year period, it is fundamental. Didn't you watch karate kid? Honor and respect for others also includes heart. The will to persevere. Those with good moral character and a strong base have the drive and the desire to survive. Its all about winning the battle or winning the war. That jerk who is a good fighter might go 5 years beating everybody up and feeling good about it. This will happen until one day, someone gets a lucky hit in on him, or they pull a gun, and the jerk will be dead. Then who is farther ahead? The man who avoided the fight, or the more skilled MMA fighter who because of a lack of honor and humility finally met his match?

Well... I am 1.5 hours away from my 4th Kyu exam. I am getting quite nervous. In preparation I went through most of my requirements, and I ate scrambled eggs and sausage to give me some energy for the test. These are the requirements for my 4th Kyu exam: Taekyoku Shodan Taekyoku Nidan Taekyoku Sandan Taekyoku Yondan Taekyoku Godan Heian Shodan Heian Nidan Heian Sandan Heian Godan Kihon Kata 1 Kihon Kata 2 Kihon Kata 3 SanBon Kumite 1 (with partner) SanBon Kumite 2 (with partner) SanBon Kumite 3 (with partner) Kihon Ippon Kumite -4 defenses against a jodan oi zuki (with partner) -4 defenses against a chudan oi zuki (with partner) -4 defenses against mae geri (with partner) -2 defenses against a Yoko geri Keage (with partner) -2 defences against a Yoko geri Kekomi (with partner) Then Kumite. It is a lot of material. I have been practicing and stretching.... I have yet to find a way to stop the pre-exam jitters.

Even the sanchin stance will work the core when done correctly. Its not just about foot placement... a lot of core flexing is involved too.

I have talked to my sensei about it and he agrees. It is not so much our dojo. Our sensei will not give a black belt to anyone younger than 16. He will give a youth black belt that is black with a white stripe in the middle and then requires them to re-test for a full black belt at 16 but that is very rare. He has only given out 2 youth black belts in 5 years and only 2 full black belts under 18. He has given 3 nidans and only 2 sandans in 10 years and those were to instructors. He is distgusted when he goes to these tournaments and sees 15 year old black belts. You are assuming that the belt represents the skill or the efforts achieved. These tournaments are smaller, local tournaments. Recently two of our 5th kyu karatekas had no one in their division to compete with. Rather than take the automatic 1st, they opted to compete in their respective black belt divisions. One took first in Kata and Kumite, the other took first in kumite, second in kata. It caused a problem because the tournament was forced to let them compete for the grand championship as a 5th kyu. I have two issues with that theory: 1) Some dojos give a black belt in 3 years; others it takes 6. Who would be more skilled: a black belt with 3 years experience or a brown belt with 5 years experience? 2) The skills of a martial artist are not necessarily the skills of a good referee. Visual acuity, judgment, confidence, knowledge of the rules are what makes a good judge. It is certainly possible to become a good judge without ever stepping foot in a dojo. Look at many other sports. Football, baseball, et cetera are full of good referees that never played professionally. How is karate any different?

I feel that "mixed martial arts" is a misnomer. It should read "diluted martial arts". MMA is nothing new. It is simply a watered down version of two martial arts styles. It mixes full contact karate with wrestling arts like Judo, Sumo, JuiJitsu et cetera. The problem is that it really tears the core out of traditional martial arts; its a shortcut. For example; for one to become a black belt level competitor in traditional martial arts (TMA) one has to study basics, and kata for YEARS. The average time frame for a TMA is 4-6 years of training to obtain a black belt. Then to persue a black belt in traditional Judo, or Juijitsu, another 4-6 years. This of course could be done concurrently if one could dedicate enough time to it; still you are talking about 6 years of training to obtain a base rank of shodan in these arts. Another integral part of martial arts is honor. We start karate with the mindset of being able to fight. After years of training we are taught honor, respect, and humility. So much to the point that many times a black belt is less likely to get into a fight out of respect for the other person. MMA comes along and now one can do it in half the time. Instead of learning kihon (basics) kata, and honor, that is stripped away and one is taught a mix of Juijitsu/Judo and karate techniques. WIthin 2 years one is an MMA star. The reason traditionalists are so against MMA is because of the popularity of that moniker. Everyone wants to study at an "MMA school" and they search it out. In essence, practitioners of TMA have stripped the core of karate, stripped the core of Judo, and rebadged it as something new. It has become so popular that sometimes people over look TMA completely.

According to inside contacts, the Japanese banking crisis shows no signs of stopping. If anything, it's getting worse. Following last week's news that Origami Bank had folded, we are hearing that Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank plans to cut back some of its branches. Karaoke Bank is up for sale and is (you guessed it!) going for a song. Meanwhile, shares in Kamikaze Bank have nose-dived and 500 back-office staff at Karate Bank got the chop. Analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank and staff there fear they may get a raw deal.

I had a two-year stent of Shotokan when I was young, I took a 10 year break, and now I have been back at it for two years again. When I came back my sensei honored my previous rank of 9th kyu (we have 11 Kyu levels). For the last two years I have dedicated 2 hours a night, 4 days a week to karate. Many of our students come half of that time yet are ranked at the same time I am (this doesn't bother me) but suffice it to say that in the last 2 years I have squeezed the same amount of training in that many do in 4 years. I volunteer at my dojo to assist the beginners in instruction and I referee in kumite a couple times per month. None of this bothers me because I consider the knowledge I gain more important than the belt I wear. I have sparred many "black belts" that were not very good and a belt is only used to hold the gi closed. This is not one of those "belt seeking" posts. Here is what I have a question about: I have been to several tournaments where 17-18 year old "black belts" are judges. There was even a 15 year old "nidan" and a 18 year old "san dan" at the last tournament. I have run into many TKD practitioners who received their blackbelt in 4 years. In my case I have trained for 4 years, probably the equivalent of 5-6 years, and simply because I am a 4th Kyu they will not accept my help at a tournament. I am 33 years old, and I cannot register for referee training because I am not a black belt. I understand restricting referee duties to people with experience, but to date I have seen many bad calls by inexperienced child "black belts" when there are adults more than willing to sit in as judges. Why restrict referees to "black belts only" when the requirements for a black belt are not uniform. I could literally buy a black belt over the internet and slap it on. P.S. I don't want a black belt BTW. I would be happy being a 1st kyu my whole life.

I would say that the two most important things to karate are: 1) Core 2) Flexibility Do core exercises. Here are the core exercises I do while watching TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYJ1XVNi46Q This coupled with constant stretching are things one can do at home while watching TV or throughout the day that greatly improve technique.

This is why people get registered trademarks. It depends on the state that you are in. In the State of California, business names are controlled on the county level. Legally, if you have "Way of Japan Karate" in one county, one can literally open a dojo in the next county with the exact same name; doing so would be completely legal. Unless your dojo seeks a trademark, I don't believe you will have a case unless he takes the exact same name.

I am just wondering how belt grades are given at most schools and what it usually takes to get a dan ranking in most traditional styles. I have a few friends that are in Tae Kwon Do that have obtained their black belts within 3 years. I have 3 years in and I am testing for 4th kyu in a week. Our dojo has 11 Kyu levels including white. The testing schedule is as follows: 11-7 Kyu every 3 months (15) 6th-5th kyu every 4 months ( 4th-1st kyu every 6 months (24) 1st dan = 1 year as 1st kyu (12) 2nd dan 2 years as 1st dan et cetera This puts the minimum time for a shodan at 59 months (just under 5 years). I have also noticed a trend that it is based on "time in grade". I have noticed that students that come once a week are tested at the same interval as students that come 4 times a week. I have also noticed a reluctance of my sensei to test for black belts. In the past, many people who have tested for black belt have stopped coming. As a result, in the last 2 years no one has been issued a black belt test and we have 3 first kyus. I realize karate is about the knowledge, not the belt. I am just curious has anyone else noticed this trend or in other schools are students tested on knowledge alone rather than time in grade?

I am in the dojo 2 hours a night, 4 nights a week. Have been for 2 years solid. I'm not a sensei so when I am in the dojo I am actually training.

My advice is as follows: It looks as if you might be pushing a little hard. 6-8 years old is a bit young to be so driven. Let them be kids while they are still young. Worry about world championships later. They do appear to be very good for their age.

Well... I practice Shotokan... so... as a descendant of Okinawan karate... I guess I practice a version of Shuri-te or shorin -ryu.

Very good! We are associated with the USKA and usually travel to their tournaments. We also attend the Camarillo tournament. Maybe we will see each other some time.

It is hard for someone at the beginning of the journey to understand why we do what we do. The original masters studied this down to an art and a science. They have developed it into a system that works. Some of the most misunderstood aspects of our art is as follows: Kihon and Kata: What we are doing when we do our katas and our kihon (Kihon kata, Kihon ippon kumite, sanbon kumite, jiyu ippon kumite, et cetera). We are training the sub-conscience mind to react through repetition. We do our basics so that after training your mind and your muscles after 10,000 high blocks, our bodies know how to do it without thinking about it and that improves our reaction times. As we get higher in rank and we practice the Kihon ippon (Basic 2 step fighting) we teach our subconscience to block and counter automatically. Stances: Shotokan is known by its deep stances. We do this for two reasons: to strengthen our legs, and to improve our movements. If one can move quickly from a deep front stance, how well can he move from a yoi stance or a fighting stance? No one expects that in a real fight he will do so from a super-low back stance, or an insanely-low front stance. This is why we practice both traditional stances, and a fighting stance, or more "boxing-esque" front stances. Exaggerated Movements: Even if one is not in shotokan and he uses a shallower stance, all karate uses exaggerated movements. In stressful conditions our mind operates in more of an instinctive mode. We get tunnel vision, meaning we lose our peripheral vision, and we react more on training than on thought. With adrenaline and other hormonal changes thrown into the mix, we operate only at about 75% brain efficiency when thrown into this "fight or flight" mode. For this reason, when we train our sub-conscience, we must compensate for this "mental retardation" that happens in this mode. The exaggerated movements insure that when it counts, your block/counter movements will be where they need to be. This is why traditional "basic" movements are performed exaggerated and the more contemporary jiyyu ippon kumite is more practical from a fighting standpoint. You will notice that at least in shotokan, the beginning of the journey involves over-exaggerated, seemingly awkward and impractical movements. Once one gets higher in the ranks 5-1st Kyu once notices that the art becomes much more fluid and practical. Once one achieves dan and continues to the higher levels the art brings out even circular movements similar to goju. One does not need 10 years to acquire a heightened ability for self defense but certainly after 10 years of training, one's sub-conscience mind will be adequately conditioned so that one fighting him might think he is acting on instinct alone. I am not yet there in my journey. I only have 4 years under my shotokan belt so I have yet to reach the higher echelon of Shotokan training. I am far enough along however to look back on where I came from, and see the road ahead. Those moves that seemed stupid at the time, make perfect sense to me now.

I might point out a key difference in this post. There is a big difference between muscle soreness and joint soreness. While muscle soreness is completely normal. You should NOT be having regular soreness of the joints. If you are, you may have a medical problem or you are doing something wrong.

No one martial art is "worse" on the knees than the other. Some people have weak knees, some people have weak hips. For every practitioner that gets a bum knee there are 4 that study karate their whole lives and never get hurt. The plain and simple fact is that if one is hard on his body for a long period of time, the body wears out. This is true of any physically-demanding activity. Take your pick. When you get old do you want: A) Bum knees B) Bad hips C) Strong knees, good hips, and a fat belly If you are worried about wearing your body out, just take it easy. Don't be super aggressive on everything. Karate in general does not have to be destructive to body parts.

I think the best senseis never reach a point where they no longer need instruction. As soon as one believes he has reached the end of his journey he becomes stagnant. The perfect example is Kanazawa sensei. The founder of SKIF. As a Shotokan practitioner I am familiar with his teachings and I have watched several of his DVD's. At the end of some of the more recent DVD's he encourages shotokan practitioners to study some of the other traditional arts like goju-ryu and even suggests tae chi. Just because one is a master in one particular art does not mean he cannot augment his knowledge with other disciplins. At 10th dan, Kanazawa sensei has long since been considered a master and even he is studying new material. Have we forgotten the teachings of Funakoshi and every other Master? The first thing they teach you is there is no beginning or end to karate. Karate is a life-long journey. If you have reached "the end" of your teachings and no longer "need" a teacher, then you never studied karate-do.

This is true, and I have noticed differences like this in my TKD practice. In reading the encyclopedia and books by Cho, I notice differences between the forms they did, and the ones that I do now, even though they are the "same" forms. Yeah... I guess what it comes down to is if one goes back far enough, it all gets traced back to China. The originator of TKD (General Choi) was actually a nidan in Shotokan. It seems that once someone has practiced karate long enough... he breaks off and starts his own "style"..

Is each kata different based on school? I would say that each kata is different based on the person. Due to body mechanics, each karateka will have certain strengths and weaknesses. As such, certain facets of the kata are emphasized in certain people and not in others. Many times, the big differences will be in which organization the dojo is affiliated with. Our dojo was SKIF for many years so as such, we emphasize the teachings of Kanazawa sensei. Some of our students were JKA and apparently, when Kanazawa left JKA, he changed a few things. A couple of the katas have slight differences, and the Kihon Ippon, Jiyu ippon, and kihon katas of SKIF are completely different than JKA. Even Funakoshi's students broke off in two different areas. The Style Shotokai share the same katas as shotokan but they are performed completely different. Throughout time, as masters break away, they add their own style to the art. After several splits over 50-100 years, the styles that emerge are completely different. This is the variance found in all martial arts. The most basic of this variance is found in the subtle differences that each karateka puts into his kata. After all, none of us are robots.

I think you are worrying too much about winning. Don't think of kumite as wins and losses. I learn twice as much from the matches I lose than the ones I win. Think of it as training. You did not start off doing kata either, you had to work at it. When you do kata, do you watch the brown belts and think "crap, I suck because they do it so much better"? If you do, then you have the wrong mindset. Even if your worst fears are true and you are the worst at kumite at your dojo, that is actually a good thing. Imagine for a moment you are at the top and there is no one better than you in the dojo. Who do you have to challenge you? How can you grow if everyone you train with is not as good? Kumite is 50% mental, 40% skill and 10% luck. You are wasting valuable mental power worrying about wins and losses. Take a different mental approach. Take for granted in the beginning that you will lose so you might as well use the time to train. Before long you will begin to tell who YOU are better than. You will begin to back off of the people you know you are better than to help them train. It will come full circle... trust me..