Himokiri Karate

This post really breaks my heart. I do not know how to respond to this. Ki is the essence of life, in yoga, its called a prana, in kung fu, its called qi and in Japanese martial arts, its called Ki. If someone were to read your post and accept it as the truth, then it would discredit, yoga and Chinese/Japanese arts that many people have practiced and found the practice to enrich their soul.

Great post! Excellent perspective in respect to how the trainers see the world. What you mentioned is fair because a boxing trainer also has to make ends meet and they too as well wish to live the good life with being financially set and having their legacy secured in terms of their contribution towards a sport they love and have dedicated themselves to be a part of. Up to this point, I have no problem and so many trainers are like this that I decided to come up with my own boxing techniques through Korean Karate or karate/TKD. Then I came to a realization that, a trainer regardless of a style is also a mentor, teacher, psychologist and a confidant. In my Ki training, George Dillman was mentioned. But at one point, he trained Muhammad Ali. Its not like he taught him some crazy moves, but rather he was probably a good level headed person to be around that Ali enjoyed which put him in a good mood. Now lets go back to boxing trainers again, most of them treat their boxers like livestock and not human beings. So to that end, my problem is the fact that they throw two beginners to see who has the killer instinct and who is the most vicious one of them all. This is WRONG and it is wrong because what you get might be an aggressive person who is good short term. But the kid that got smashed might be a diamond in the rough and may have the potential and character to have the innate drive to train long term if he was given a chance. Also this method does not challenge the trainers own wisdom because a true trainer will find a way to devise and invent radical and incredible method of improvement that allows the weakest member to grow very powerful. That is the essence of mastery. Real boxing masters throw you in front of the mirror, they have you shift your weight from backfoot to front foot and then show you how to move your hips and shoulders. So now you are learning weight transferring and head movement through hips. My TKD/TSD teacher is a young person in his early 20s, but I was extremely intrigued by his intelligence, his determination, his understanding and curiosity of various training modalities and knowing the name of the muscle, the strengthening, the stretching, the elongating the tissues for preventive measures. On top of that, he is extremely passionate and not jaded. This is a hallmark of a true grandmaster in the making. Final thing to say about boxing trainers is that, it is very dangerous and very unethical to throw a beginner in to a vicious spar in hopes to see if they sink or swim to the top. Even in karate kid series, Kreese made sure kids were not hitting to the head.

Many reason why karate is superior and it goes beyond and I mean BEYOND the physical aspect. For starters, karate has a healthier culture and it fosters a community that fosters healthy attitudes. The gi, the belt, the Japanese and Korean commands (TSD) serve as a way to deter bad disrespectful characters because chances are, they are not going to be in to wearing a gi, bowing and immersing themselves in the tradition because they feel like they are above it. I say this as a person who spent almost a decade in boxing and MMA gyms. Its not just the art but the culture that is included in the art form. That and in some boxing gyms, they set beginners up to be punching bag for experienced fighters. Real bad stuff can go down. A boxing gym I used to go to made the local news because the trainer has intense and irrational anger problems. Sadly he is not the first guy and not even the worse guy and yet he made it to local news and its on YouTube. Problem with MMA is, they focus on wrestlers or other stylist who mastered their art at some other place. MMA gym is also very expensive, the best fighters come from a singular style that they mastered and an MMA gym is just a glorified fitness. In the mid 2000s, the talk was that in the next decade, every fighter would not even learn any style, they would all be saying "mma from the first day baby" Meanwhile welcome to 2022 and yet, we have a kickboxers and wrestlers as champions for most division. One guy is a jujitsu guy and tons of contenders are also wrestlers and strikers. Truth be told, Karate is very powerful but you have to be able to truly immerse yourself in its subtle nature. Most folks want to just hit the pad and get a good sweat. It wont work like that, the form, the posture, the mind, the focus, the concentration and freedom from thoughts is the hallmark towards mastery of any style that is truly worth learning. Ultimately speaking, karate is about mastery and self perfection as well as learning how to fight. Its not about money, fame and glory. These three aspects can create a toxic environment and if someone makes it from the gym and others do not, it can foster a sense of envy and jealousy. Seen it way too many times. I think it is wonderful to learn the art of boxing but I truly believe its best to avoid the gym culture and learn it in a private setting with a qualified trainer. While with karate, I feel comfortable with the people. Even if a bad character makes it in karate, they still have to respect the tradition and so they cannot act the way they want and so even they muzzle themselves just to stay in the culture. Himokiri, Very well said indeed Thanks Tyler, This is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I love my boxing trainer. When he is not in town, I do not even bother with boxing. To me, its not just the art but the master that teaches the style of art. Others have coerced and dangled many types of promises such as " if you turn pro with me, I can take you to places" and I have heard other lies and dishonesty. Karate is so pure, free from gambling, bets, fixes and other underhanded tricks that serves corrupt individual. I have always if the white gi represents purity of someone's passion and principle. But to be fair, I find that boxing is an extremely incredible martial arts. The right type of boxing coach can take your breath away with the magnificently subtle techniques and shifts that produce incredible results. Problem lies within the sporting culture that attracts problems. It is a shame because boxing in its purest artistic form has so much to offer that extends beyond the naked eye. I believe boxing skills learned from the perspective of karate can produce incredible results. ....this whole 'pure' thing is just creepy to me. seems like a blind worship.karate is plagued by all sorts of corruption, from mcdojos, to pedophiles, and other sexual predators/creepers. there's nothing about karate that makes it inherently more 'pure' or less corrupt than any other martial art or combat sport. as for betting i'm sure there's plenty of betting going on for the big national competitions (relatively speaking) and if not, there sure as heck would be if karate as a sport ever became truly popular, and there's probably about as much betting on karate combat as MMA again relative. You are misrepresenting my post again. I already mentioned that the art of boxing is incredible. Techniques are just that, they are techniques. You are using the word "if" and yes "if" there is betting, if there is money then yes, karate will be just another combat sport filled with corruption. If you read my quote, I made sure to mention that the art and the technique of a style is not what is on trial. But with karate, you get an equal shake of getting good. In boxing gyms, the pupils with the talent get training time. Everyone else is cannon fodder. This was my point. Also creepers and predators can occupy any and every space. From martial arts to tennis or video game culture. There was certainly betting going on during the 2020 Olympics. I would be surprised that there wasn't betting going on at World's and other large events that, while not popular in the public eye, does have no small number of watchers. I assume that, when it comes to betting, the rules follow the format of Rule 1 for the internet: If it exists, someone is betting on it. Add to this newer formats of Karate media like KarateCombat which betters would be more familiar with the spirit of, and I think it's safe to say that there is betting. I disagree here as a philosophical matter. I don't believe that things, in and of themselves, have value. We create and assign value to things and we tend to be incredibly biased when it comes to our favorite things. Value only matters insofar as as those that find value in it. Many people would say that Karate does not have any value at all, or negative value (I've met plenty of martial artists who take this position). We tend to view things like martial arts in terms of pure when it is closely related to the source material. We often ask questions about lineage to pre-judge the quality of the practitioner. We ask questions like "How related is it to Shuri, Naha, or Tomari-Te?" or "Was your teacher taught by someone taught by Ginchin Funakoshi?" We obsess over purity but in all reality a system can be as pure as we want it to be but if it isn't effective at what it is trying to do then it needs to change. In sense of purity, also, one could argue that modern karate is not "pure" at all. It isn't the karate of the past, it's blended and morphed. It changed with the world and it should have. It's a good thing that this has happened. It's good that Itosu created a program less rigorous so that schools would take it up in their P.E. programs. It's good that Funakoshi changed it to appeal to mainlanders wanting to learn Karate. As we learn more about physical health and as the world changes, we should change. Do not listen to lionsden, that is not what I meant! By pure meaning that every student has a chance to get good! In boxing gyms, if you do not show talent, you are just a cannon fodder designed to take a beating. These trainers are called cherry pickers. Boxing has no classes, you show up to the gym like its a weight lifting gym and you do your own thing and if a trainer takes a liking to you, then he will teach you. Otherwise, your money goes towards using the facility and it may not come with instruction and mentoring. In karate, everyone receives instruction!

You are roughly right if you compare karate to boxing, but one word comes to mind: "Mcdojo." When teachers dilute the art for financial gain, the purity is gone. If I may partially defend McDojo is with me saying that: While I agree that McDojo is very bad, some McDojos have a decent fight team that is seperate from the recreational programs. 1.The McDojo training is safe and at times can be a great place to cultivate coordination and athletic movement. 2.Some McDojos do have redeeming quality like decent training but the business side is unethical like stringent contracts. 3.McDojo may instill confidence that allows the student to do well in life because the training is less effective and more of a metaphor for better life. Overall I agree that a McDojo is bad and in the way of the world, sometimes it is a necessary evil because life in modern times is hard in terms of making ends meet and putting food on the table. But for me, a ruthless boxing or combat sports gym is unforgivable. You can get hurt, develop bad habits like becoming a mindless head hunter due to brawling and unorganized training. Cherry picking coaches that focus on talented boxers and neglect passionate students who actually are loyal and dedicated all make these places a far worse place than a McDojo and the damage at times maybe forever.

Many reason why karate is superior and it goes beyond and I mean BEYOND the physical aspect. For starters, karate has a healthier culture and it fosters a community that fosters healthy attitudes. The gi, the belt, the Japanese and Korean commands (TSD) serve as a way to deter bad disrespectful characters because chances are, they are not going to be in to wearing a gi, bowing and immersing themselves in the tradition because they feel like they are above it. I say this as a person who spent almost a decade in boxing and MMA gyms. Its not just the art but the culture that is included in the art form. That and in some boxing gyms, they set beginners up to be punching bag for experienced fighters. Real bad stuff can go down. A boxing gym I used to go to made the local news because the trainer has intense and irrational anger problems. Sadly he is not the first guy and not even the worse guy and yet he made it to local news and its on YouTube. Problem with MMA is, they focus on wrestlers or other stylist who mastered their art at some other place. MMA gym is also very expensive, the best fighters come from a singular style that they mastered and an MMA gym is just a glorified fitness. In the mid 2000s, the talk was that in the next decade, every fighter would not even learn any style, they would all be saying "mma from the first day baby" Meanwhile welcome to 2022 and yet, we have a kickboxers and wrestlers as champions for most division. One guy is a jujitsu guy and tons of contenders are also wrestlers and strikers. Truth be told, Karate is very powerful but you have to be able to truly immerse yourself in its subtle nature. Most folks want to just hit the pad and get a good sweat. It wont work like that, the form, the posture, the mind, the focus, the concentration and freedom from thoughts is the hallmark towards mastery of any style that is truly worth learning. Ultimately speaking, karate is about mastery and self perfection as well as learning how to fight. Its not about money, fame and glory. These three aspects can create a toxic environment and if someone makes it from the gym and others do not, it can foster a sense of envy and jealousy. Seen it way too many times. I think it is wonderful to learn the art of boxing but I truly believe its best to avoid the gym culture and learn it in a private setting with a qualified trainer. While with karate, I feel comfortable with the people. Even if a bad character makes it in karate, they still have to respect the tradition and so they cannot act the way they want and so even they muzzle themselves just to stay in the culture. Himokiri, Very well said indeed Thanks Tyler, This is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I love my boxing trainer. When he is not in town, I do not even bother with boxing. To me, its not just the art but the master that teaches the style of art. Others have coerced and dangled many types of promises such as " if you turn pro with me, I can take you to places" and I have heard other lies and dishonesty. Karate is so pure, free from gambling, bets, fixes and other underhanded tricks that serves corrupt individual. I have always if the white gi represents purity of someone's passion and principle. But to be fair, I find that boxing is an extremely incredible martial arts. The right type of boxing coach can take your breath away with the magnificently subtle techniques and shifts that produce incredible results. Problem lies within the sporting culture that attracts problems. It is a shame because boxing in its purest artistic form has so much to offer that extends beyond the naked eye. I believe boxing skills learned from the perspective of karate can produce incredible results.

Many reason why karate is superior and it goes beyond and I mean BEYOND the physical aspect. For starters, karate has a healthier culture and it fosters a community that fosters healthy attitudes. The gi, the belt, the Japanese and Korean commands (TSD) serve as a way to deter bad disrespectful characters because chances are, they are not going to be in to wearing a gi, bowing and immersing themselves in the tradition because they feel like they are above it. I say this as a person who spent almost a decade in boxing and MMA gyms. Its not just the art but the culture that is included in the art form. That and in some boxing gyms, they set beginners up to be punching bag for experienced fighters. Real bad stuff can go down. A boxing gym I used to go to made the local news because the trainer has intense and irrational anger problems. Sadly he is not the first guy and not even the worse guy and yet he made it to local news and its on YouTube. Problem with MMA is, they focus on wrestlers or other stylist who mastered their art at some other place. MMA gym is also very expensive, the best fighters come from a singular style that they mastered and an MMA gym is just a glorified fitness. In the mid 2000s, the talk was that in the next decade, every fighter would not even learn any style, they would all be saying "mma from the first day baby" Meanwhile welcome to 2022 and yet, we have a kickboxers and wrestlers as champions for most division. One guy is a jujitsu guy and tons of contenders are also wrestlers and strikers. Truth be told, Karate is very powerful but you have to be able to truly immerse yourself in its subtle nature. Most folks want to just hit the pad and get a good sweat. It wont work like that, the form, the posture, the mind, the focus, the concentration and freedom from thoughts is the hallmark towards mastery of any style that is truly worth learning. Ultimately speaking, karate is about mastery and self perfection as well as learning how to fight. Its not about money, fame and glory. These three aspects can create a toxic environment and if someone makes it from the gym and others do not, it can foster a sense of envy and jealousy. Seen it way too many times. I think it is wonderful to learn the art of boxing but I truly believe its best to avoid the gym culture and learn it in a private setting with a qualified trainer. While with karate, I feel comfortable with the people. Even if a bad character makes it in karate, they still have to respect the tradition and so they cannot act the way they want and so even they muzzle themselves just to stay in the culture.

Thanks Nidan, one thing is, I checked and different companies are offering different rate. What is the average monthly cost for insurance and public liability?

I have been showing friends karate techniques and practicing my teaching skills by training them on a more informal setting. But now, I am ready to teach others but it seems like I need some type of paper work done? Can someone tell me what the legalities of teaching is in respect to avoiding lawsuits? Also what kind of insurance do I need and how do I apply for them?

Most of my 20s was spent on boxing training and mostly being in the boxing community with very few competition. The last 4 years have been serious karate training. Because of my boxing background, we learned that the most important criteria is to win fights without taking damage. That's it! Nothing more, nothing less. Its that simple. After that, you move on and focus on paying your bills and spending time with your family and social circle and that is life. This is the value system of boxing and its based on hit and don't get hit. Its simplified to that level. Nothing else is relevant aside from negotiating for higher pay and maybe a percentage for attendance fee. My point is, this attitude has carried to my karate training. My style is of course a mix of Japanese Karate and Taekwondo which pretty much is almost exactly like Tang Soo Do but without being in a TSD org. The reason I mention that is because I can walk to a session and we might focus on TKD footwork and working on transitioning to a low karate stance in a fluid way. This is how boxing works, you show up, work on your lead hand and changing angle to avoid a counter and you learn feints and body shots and level changes. Its all just work work work on specific techniques. Belt simply exist to denotes who needs to work on what since a sensei might show up to a dojo and may not know everyone and so to keep the class structure orderly, the belt system separates the students from beginners, intermediate and advance. Final thing to say is, you can have a black belt that has good technique and he can run in to a white belt who has superhuman cardio. If the black belt gets beat, then he has to work on his cardio and not be left behind. So in a way, a black belt has to maintain their black belt status and so, you always have to be alert and vigilant. A belt system keeps students in check and it gives a teacher an organized class.

I have studied Chinese, Japanese and Korean martial arts. I have noticed some styles are really in the concept of ki/qi that comes from prana from Yoga and Kalaripayattu. This led to internal martial arts in China which became Kung Fu and then it made its way to Japan. That being said, the only time that ki training is discussed seems to be from the ninjitsu dojos and not so much karate. Are there any karate dojos that explore this aspect?

Ok this is a strange title but here is the thing, culturally speaking, TSD is recognized culturally as karate because they use many similar traditions. This got me wondering one thing, if you break it down, you get Karate, Kung Fu and Taekkyon in Tang Soo do. I am curios to know how do the kung fu and karate styles within tang soo do flow together? Like what specific aspect is karate and kung fu? I have had a hard time deciphering it because I can easily detect the taekkyon in TSD but not the karate or the kung fu.

As a Tang Soo Do or Korean Karateka, I see two meaning that mean 1 thing: Karate: China Hand Tang Soo Do: The Way Of The China Hand Now you can rename it to "empty hand" or to "taekwondo" is fine and all. By all means do so but you cannot change the origin of the art regardless of preference. Also the horse stance is a game changer. With passing of time, I see how important it is to dedicate time to it. It increases your ceiling potential. To that end, we practice it as much as we can whenever possible. In conclusion, my karate comes with a Korean seasoning ( Taekkyon) and then there are different Japanese or Okinawan seasoning as well. But the meaning is pretty clear. Changing it doesn't change a thing. The origin point is Kung Fu because that was the original meaning of karate.

Sorry about your loss. I think lots of people keep it private so perhaps its best to make phone calls to people that know him but of course do so in spirit of how good he was to you.

Unless it's a kata Tournament? It was a Terry Silver quote but I guess in this context, it doesn't work.

Kata is good for working up a sweat but its not going to win you a tournament. All seriousness, my answer is a yes and a no. Let me explain: No for part time karateka Yes for full time karateka What I mean is, most folks that Karate do so maybe 2 or 3 times a week. The classes are an hour, the time SHOULD be dedicated to body conditioning, cardio and extreme flexibility as well as restorative stretches for folks who are part time karateka. That being said, I also understand members of the karaeforum.com. You guys eat, breath and live karate. To omit kata is to deny the essence of life because karate is not part of your life but rather IT IS life itself! Because you guys are so deep in to karate, kata serves as a way to improve your software without damaging your hard wear. Karate is physical and a full time karateka has to treat their training as a marathon and not a sprint since you guys are frequent practitioners. In conclusion: Part time karatekas should focus on intensive, explosive fighting techniques because the down time for next session allows for recovery Full time karateka should do katas because they are training all the time and because of that they should ease up on explosive training and focus more on kata type training provided its done right. Also it depends on students personal goals as well. If a young lady wants to learn protection, then she should be in a superb cardiovascular shape and better knuckle up for Makiwara training or conditioning. If another student wants to understand the essence of karate and engage in its subtle nature, then I suppose kata can be effective if its done in a meditative state with mind being clear of thoughts and breath being synched in with the movements to provide that potent experience.

If I may offer a perspective from a Korean Karate/Boxing hybrid. What I learned and what I currently teach is what people call "boring stuff" I get them in front of the mirror and they have the DRILL footwork left and right, center, circle. This + flexibility and basic techniques. Fact is, if you can't move in different direction then you end up with bad foundation because everything starts from the ground up. No footwork+ sparring= sloppy brawl. I have trained with a legendary boxing coach and he is all about the footwork. Move and punch from every direction. Now we add this to Korean Karate which is TKD/TSD which is bouncing and kicking. A mobile fighter is hard to deal with. There is a saying in boxing" if the guy has better footwork than you, prepare for a LONG night" This is why I do not like heavy bags. Guys get flat footed and complacent and just want to mindlessly wail on it. Same thing with Kumite, it just turns in to an abomination if proper fundamentals and footwork are not covered. For me, I take it to EXCESSIVELY OBSESSED levels of just footwork. Single steps, weight transfer, foot rotation, jumping in and out, bouncing up and down as well as forward and back and shuffling. Afterwards strikes and other skills are added.

I am watching this documentary and man, talk about that level of commitment and work ethic that was applied for such a strangely convoluted con. I noticed that people are divided, some are hailing Simon as a hero and others say that he is the worse type of monster that can exist within the soul of humanity. I disagree on everyone here for what its worth.

Based on my understanding of members over the years, I have noticed many have mixed or cross trained or compared techniques IIRC based on the past posts and reading members share their experience and not to mention a karate and taekwondo expert in this forum met in person though not sure which member. I only assume to be Bushido man and Sensei8 but I could be wrong. Anyways I ask because as a person who does both through export of Tang Soo Do as well as pure Taekwondo and also trained briefly in Kyokushin, I can say that they are extremely complimentary once they are combined with each other. I noticed I am better at level changing in terms of low stance to bouncing around as well as switching stances and also generate powerful punches from the hips only while in boxing we rotate the legs/hips. The mastery of hip only power punch and hip/leg rotation produce different power but most importantly, they have their own timing which counter fighters will have a hard time dealing with. Anyways, I call it Korean Karate because sometimes lines get blurry, some Tang Soo Do teachers teach it like its almost Taekwondo and others teach it like its Karate. Now having done both in their purest form, I can see that best of both worlds are a great base for boxing and MMA as well as self defense. They are the platform that can give birth to colorful techniques that can come from many direction and from different stances be it low stance to high bouncy stance as well as narrow or wide stance. This is my perspective as a person who trained in boxing for years and fell MADLY IN LOVE with the Korean Karate a year ago. Also the superhuman cardio with all that bouncing, spinning, jumping helps a great deal and also not to mention the my favorite F word...FUN!!!!

As a personal friend of mine for many years, Glenn wrote about alot of things... With Glenn though, you almost needed a decoder ring...he wrote the way Hatsumi Sensei talked at times...riddles wrapped in enigmas and then a touch of Glenn thrown in. Have you read all of Glenn's books? I read his book, martial arts madness: light and dark in the esoteric martial art This was almost a decade ago and so I forgot lot of things mentioned. But he talks about similar methods as Steven Richard in his book of invisibility. Like I remember that they both talked about forming something first, Steven used the word cloud and I believe Glenn used the term sphere. I could be wrong but different language but similar instruction in respect to manifestation. The difference is that Steven used the theme of medieval mystics for most part with sprinkling yoga and Egyptian knowledge while Glenn was using ninjutsu traditions. My current curiosity is the contribution of Koreans. In respect to my Tang Soo Do or Korean Karate, I have heard that lots of Ninjutsu comes from the Tang Dynasty or that the masters escaped the fall of the Tang Dynasty and took refuge in Japan. As a show of gratitude, they taught their arts to the Japanese which became ninjutsu. But more importantly, Koreans were the export of knowledge to various parts of Japan and they made great contribution to further evolving the art. This is what I heard, it could be all wrong, or all right or it could be 20 percent wrong. Currently my interest is taking me to different places. One is the leader of the yellow turban rebellion. Some say he was a true mystic and some say he was no different than a dodgy televangelist of his time who convinced others to dedicate to his cause. Once I can find more about his source, I can see if it was related to other wisdoms of different culture in respect to martial arts, yoga and of course my love that is Korean Karate or Korean martial arts culture in general. Since I plan to teach, I need to have solid perspective of all things since Korean Karate is an amalgamation of various arts mixed with Taekkyon to form Tang Soo Do and Taekwondo.

Pretty sure that I did unless you sent something else more recently. I did get that book you were talking about. It is in the "pile" to read. I usually have 4 or 5 books going all at once. His is tough because it is all PDF files. But, I'll get to it. Looking forward to becoming invisible! I already mastered that without even knowing what chakras or meridians even were. I guess I am natural at it. Steve Richard also has a great book that mentions an Egyptians mantra and forming a cloud. Glenn Morris I think mentioned something similar.

Similar to our dojo/dojang. Our puzzle mat is light red/pinkish. Wall is light green. We don't have stretch machine but skip rope and of course safe to assume that every Korean school would have board breaking. Thanks man, I hope you got my PM and I hope you are doing well. That is awesome, I remember watching the web series, street fighters: assassins' fist and they had a nafuda . It seems like some dojos have two training spaces, one is off the mat on the wooden floor and one on the tatami for grappling. I believe Mas Oyama and Masahiko Kimura would cross train in their respective style. So it would make sense to have a dojo that is hybrid judo and karate in some cases.

More of a decoration question. But I was thinking about Korean Karate and Japanese Karate as well as Okinawan. I have noticed that each have their own design and décor. With Okinawa, it seems to embrace outside training and equipment. Some have tatami mats and some are wooden floors. I have always wondered if these designs ever had a specific name or even nickname? In the Dojo/Dojang I train, it is mostly mats with but it also has a wooden floor in smaller areas. For most parts, there are tons of equipment that revolves around footwork development like skip rope, ladder and cones to jump around and bounce nonstop. There is also shields as well for protection. There is also a sword as well that I believe that the Hwarong used in Ancient Korea. Looks like a samurai sword but it looks long like a spear. Anyways, I like to know more about designs. Share with me whatever you like in regards to decoration and different styles of decoration.

Soon my friend, soon!

My mom owns an all you can restaurant. I make the breads and I absolutely love and I mean LOVE the brown and multigrain breads. Its been 8 years and although we have pancakes and all kinds of pastries. I myself stick with brown/multi with butter and jam on my calorie counting days. On my non-calorie days. I do a raw food fasting to clean the system. More so now than ever before since Korean Karate be it TSD/TKD is very dynamic and so I have to be feel light but also have the calories as well. I just realized that our conversation went deep in to the mystic realm. My town has become a legit dystopian nightmare like series in Riki Oh. To come out of it unscathed, I meditate and meditate. Afterwards I meditate some more for sake of not losing my mind. Korean Karate + meditation and yoga is helping me big time. Hence the time in meditation has taken me in to the more deeper depths of these practices.

Well, I don't know the full width and depth of what you may be referring to here, so what follows may be implicitly implied here. But, I think it is worth stating to be clear... When you refer to asanas, then I am assuming that you are speaking more to the more "modern" use of the term (descending primarily from that hatha tradition and then more modern versions). I only make that distinction because the original use of the term was referring to seated meditation poses. Not saying that anything is "right" or "wrong" here, but just trying to clarify for the purposed of framing everything correctly. The asanas are certainly good for "stretching" the muscles, tendons, fascia, etc. Even, to an extent, the nadis (नदी) or the jingluo (经络) for those of us from a Chinese persuasion (meridians). And, this is good in a micro sense. Meaning, there is nothing wrong with doing them in and of themselves. The problem is when this is all there is to it. Sorry...I am writing this as kinda of a brain dump as I go and I am afraid I am not making sense here. My apologies to you and everyone else reading this if it seems a bit disorganized or scattered...let me keep going... As I understand what you are talking about (and I may have it wrong) and what is generally taught in most kundalini traditions (especially the more modern ones) is that the asanas are taught and then the move directly into the work to open the chakras (more or less, I am just trying to cover the high points here). The problem is that you need a more broad foundation than just that...to be safe and prevent potential problems. A "for example" situation... From my Taoist studies, I can teach you just breath work (kokyo-ho - 呼吸法 - for the Japanese/Okinawan karate folks). This alone can make you healthier and/or feel better. It can make your martial arts better. It can help with mental clarity and acuity. Many, many benefits. But, it is just a portion of the foundation. I can also teach you meditation work (meiso-ho - 瞑想法). Again, as a standalone skill, many benefits. But, again, also just a part of the total foundation. The point here is that the asanas are just one of the building blocks that you need to start down that road. If you are not utilizing all of those building blocks, then you run into the potential for "danger". Another example...I don't know the specific tradition or school you are following for the chakra or kundalini work, so it may vary slightly. One of the first main things you should want to do is open or activate the Sushumna nadi (सुषुम्णा). To do that, you first have to reach a balance or equilibrium in the Ida (इडा) and Pingala (पिङ्गल) nadi. To do THAT, you have to activate the smaller nadi (nadikas) that attach to the Ida and Pingala nadi. So, you start with swara sadhana (स्वर साधन) which are, at the most basic level, breathing exercises. If, in part, all of the above is not done or done correctly before moving on, than the kundalini shakti (कुण्डलिनी शक्ति) is either not going to move upwards OR, if it does, will cause you all sorts of problems. AND...all of what I just went through was just a small part of the overall pranayama (प्राणायाम) methods. SIDE NOTE: All of what I am speaking to above is based on exposure to Kalaripayattu (or just Kalari) of India (Northern and Southern). Because of my interest and work in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and, in particular, the application of the associated vital points to the martial arts. Ayurveda is a part of Kalari. Ayurveda is divided into eight categories (Shalyatantra) and Marmashastra (the science or use of marmas) is one of them. Again, for those not familiar, the marmas are what you would think of as the pressure point or vital points that lay along the lines of the nadis or meridians. Your mileage may vary. But, if it does, then you might have more information here to follow up on. It is! Remember, qigong (気功) or kiko just means energy work. So it is very generic without more context...like wuxing qigong (五形気功) or five element energy work. There, it is refined down a little. Well, Hung Ga is a Southern China martial art. But, I have never read anything that indicated that this particular art was an influence on Okinawan "karate". I would suspect that the white crane arts...in particular Mínghequan (鳴鶴拳) Whooping or Crying Crane, Monk Fist Boxing (Luohanquan - 罗汉拳), Five Ancestors Fist (Wuzuquan - 五祖 拳) and, more recently proposed Incense Shop Boxing/Fist (Xiang Dian Quan - 香店拳). Wow...I really went into ramble mode here! LOL! Sorry, too much coffee this morning I guess. Hope it is of some benefit to you. Lol got to avoid caffeine, it overloads the energy. Also I got your PM and replied and with that understanding I will clarify few things. What I mean by warm up is, in karate, you are not going to throw high kicks out of nowhere, the body has to go to a process of waking up in terms of getting the circulation going. Its like diets, your first meal or "break fast" is not going to be something heavy. You start with something light as oppose to a kings feast. I have heard of Kalari and in a series called HSDK, there was a kalaripayttu master and there was also a scythe master named Michael Schtilvay:) Ogata and Michael are my favorite characters. In a way, Ogata was using dangerous and forbidden techniques as a power enhancement. I will stay away from meridians, I am not qualified to have an opinion on it and so I can only learn more. In the yoga we do in respect to David's book, we use several forms of meditation for the following: Developing relaxation Developing visualization Developing Focus Developing will power These different techniques are designed to create a platform for the work we do. Like Qi Gong, a meditation can mean a million things to different people Just like the word exercise, its an umbrella term for many different things. Another thing to mention is, we make sure our immune systems are healthy and so we have to exercise and have diets that contribute to gaining the strength needed to engage in these practices.