ryanryu

I'm right there with you on this one. Explain stuff! Sometimes students won't understand it yet, but someday they might and it'll help them move a little further down the road. For now, I have less virtues and more philosophies, I’d say. My starting point was the 2nd Goju-ryu Precept – GOJU-RYU KARATE-DO IS THE MANIFESTATION WITHIN ONE’S OWN SELF OF THE HARMONIOUS ACCORD OF THE UNIVERSE. Yea it’s a mouthful and sounds very 19th century. But I believe that it means that there is a balance in the natural world, an orderliness, a “harmonious accord”. And Goju-ryu, as the hard-soft style, is a tool/method that practitioners can use to develop the same balance within themselves. One of the sayings that I first heard from Frank Van Lenten was that you should be as hard as the world makes you be and as soft as it lets you be. Obviously, this proportion varies for each of us, and it probably changes over time, but being able to harmonize the hard and soft is the final goal of Goju-ryu. I take that as more than just being flexible in your techniques, but knowing yourself and being in control of yourself enough that you can find that equilibrium. There’s another prominent idea in the martial arts that I think dovetails well with the idea of balancing hard/soft – that the Budo mentality is a harsh battle with yourself. For example, Shoshin Nagamine wrote that: “Karate may be referred to as the conflict within yourself, or a life-long marathon which can be won only through self-discipline, hard training, and your own creative efforts.” That resonates with me. It is really easy to follow your whims and avoid doing anything too difficult, but for those who learn how to endure, how to commit, how to take little steps consistently, it is so empowering. Of course, a student doesn't need to believe any of this to train. I've just found it enriching to have a bigger philosophical framework around my training. I've struggled to learn and articulate this aspect of my training, but it's really the core of why I've found karate to be so useful in my life. If I had to name specific virtues to support this, it’d be similar to what you have – perseverance, integrity, consistency, honesty (esp. with yourself), and courage. Perhaps temperance, prudence, patience as well? Martial arts training is powerful so a lot of these virtues exist to develop a sense of responsibility in the student.

Funny finding this thread, I was just talking about this in class. Right now I train on two surfaces – the standard high school gym floor which is wood covered in some sort of polyurethane sealer and a concrete floor covered by those thin stick-on carpet tiles. The concrete floor is unforgiving on my feet and knees and I was hoping to get some tile mats to cover the space, but I don’t want to drop the cash right now. The space is also in my home so I use it for shorter training sessions and can always put on shoes if I want. BUT I’ve trained in two dojo that both had beautiful floors that I’d consider to be the gold standard for each style of training. The karate dojo I grew up in had a “sprung floor”, which was a thick (~1.5’’or so) gray foam pad underlayer on top of which were wooden slats, maybe ¼’’ thick. So the floor felt solid and firm for kata, but had some give when you did throws, breakfalls, or even a hard stomp. For karate, I thought it was the best of both worlds. You didn’t even realize the level of support it was giving you. I also trained briefly in an Aikido dojo which had a central training area bounded by this wooden frame. Inside the frame was a thick pad, maybe 3 inches?, but still firm, covered in a canvas that was pulled tight and lashed to the wooden border frame. It was solid enough to walk on and move around easily, but had the right amount of give for the rolling and falling that was the bulk of the training. And I thought the canvas cover helped prevent sticking or sinking into the padding itself. I think you have to tweak the training to fit the surface and other features of the training space. Seems like another aspect of being aware of and adaptable to our surroundings.

The idea of an endless journey is something that resonates with those who continue to train past black belt, but I think it falls flat with most people. The black belt is a tangible goal, a status symbol, and, imo, a real measure of skill. It’s an accomplishment to be proud of and also seems like a natural breaking point in training. Yes, it would be bittersweet to see a student leave at that point. If only because of the bond you’ve formed with them over the time spent training. It is like how any graduation is bittersweet, honestly. In my mind, if we’re comparing situations, the bigger tragedy is if a student leaves in the high ranks just before black belt. There’s something about the validation, the confirmation, the “sealing” of things that comes with a black belt. It seems a shame to come so close and walk away without that "final" experience.

I’m going to agree with crash on this one. If you are running a full-time, stand-alone dojo, these strength and conditioning classes seem like a very obvious thing to add to the schedule. Maybe you’ll need to develop your own skills to teach fitness classes like this, or hire a group fitness instructor to teach them, but I think any martial artist would benefit from a heavy bag workout, a punching mitts/padwork workout, HIIT, yoga, etc. etc. etc. I don’t run a full-time dojo so the limited classes I have are focused specifically on the martial arts. Although even then, some sessions are more focused on conditioning and others are more focused on skill-building. There’s a mix, but it skews heavily towards skill-building. I spent a few years regularly attending one of those boxing fitness clubs and I’d say at least half of the customers were the people who would’ve been training in a dojo 20 years ago. It was actually fascinating to see customers start, get some skill, then plateau, lose interest, and leave. They came for the workouts initially, but I think they would’ve stayed long term, say 3-4 years instead of 1-2, if the boxing fitness included more skill development. That development is something martial arts do really well. So, from the “martial arts as a business” perspective, I think adding this type of stuff to the class schedule could be really effective.

As a Commanders fan, I still can't believe the turnaround. I didn't think they'd have a winning season, let alone make to through several rounds of the playoffs! But with a new owner, new GM, new coaching staff, and 60% turnover of the roster from last year... plus the 2nd overall pick and a ton of other draft picks... plus the most salary cap space in the league going into this year... I just don't think any other franchise has ever been in the position of having THAT much change in a single year. And it worked! Absolutely a fun team to watch, win or lose. I think they have a great chance against the Eagles! It's really the Bills that scare me. They just seem like the most complete team left.

Welcome! I am in a similar situation with my work after starting a job in a new field. It is really frustrating to want to be better, but just not be there yet. I've been trying to do 2 things - 1. Take small steps. Just focus on a small portion and get that down first. Once I understand that, I can get the next building block. 2. Give yourself time. Literally, put a timeline on it. I've given myself X months, X weeks even, to just work at it then I'll re-evaluate at the end. The martial arts are very complicated to learn and, in my opinion, everyone will go through a period in their training like you are now. I certainly have. But I think in a lot of ways that ability to be bad at something and just stick with it is a major benefit of training. It can be a grind, but it is very empowering when you get to the other side. There is a common Japanese saying that I put in my training space that captures this idea - Seven times down, Eight times up. Good luck!

Oh that's a great idea! The sensor hasn't really shifted much during solo drills - part of why I went with the chest strap - so I think it should stay in place during a sparring round. Assuming I don't get hit, I guess. I'll post that reading when I can.

I wanted to share a little experiment I've been running to see what others think. A few months ago I got a chest-strap heart rate monitor. It syncs to my phone and I've been wearing it for a variety of workouts. I originally got it because I was trying to do more aerobic exercise - longer durations where my HR was elevated and relatively steady. My preferred workouts (karate, heavy bag, lifting) don't really require that type of performance. For the pictures below, the color bands are % of heart rate max - 60%HRmax is blue, 90% HRmax is red. All these workouts were about 30 minutes, the vertical lines are roughly every 5 minutes. My screenshots cut off the number labels. Anyway, mission accomplished on the jogging ^^ You can see the jogging profile is relatively flat. I didn't do much of a warmup for this workout but had a nice long cool down at the end. ^^ Here's a kata workout I did one day. I wish I took better notes on what I did, but clearly a long warmup. Probably stretches and kihon. The sawtooth peaks and valleys in the middle are what the kata look like... I see at least 4 separate kata, but I can't remember what that last plateau was. Suparenpei? Wanshu? That's a really long time to be working that hard... ^^ Here is where it gets interesting. This was a workout where I was hitting the heavy bag. Ignore the parts where the sensor glitched. I usually do "rounds" of combinations for this type of workout - 1 minute on the bag, 1 minute off, with a recovery every few minutes. I use the early rounds to warm up and the later rounds to really hit hard. So it's a slow rise in intensity overall, with a broader spread for each "round" compared to those sharp kata HR peaks. The amount of time I spend at > 80% HRmax is actually pretty much the same for this bag workout as for the jogging workout. ^^ This last one was also interesting. This was a kobudo workout where I was practicing bo and eiku. Both weapons kata are very long and both weapons are quite heavy. I think that's why the heart rate peaks are broader than when I did empty-hand kata. Probably also why the peak-to-trough is deeper than kata as well. The kobudo workout also puts me into the highest HR for the longest time, although I think I could get there on the bag too. It is tough for me to get that intensity on the treadmill though. So after looking at this, can you fault me for not enjoying jogging that much? What a boring workout... I think it's also pretty clear that jogging probably won't improve my kata that much. Totally different demands on the body. I'll keep using the HR monitor. I'm very curious about if certain kata make my heart beat in the same way every repetition. You can kind of see that in the kobudo chart - the first peak that gets into the red is the same kata as the second-to-last peak, the 2nd peak that gets into the red is the same eiku kata as the final peak... maybe I'm seeing things? But this seems like an interesting way to measure kata performance. Anyway, thought this forum might find some interest in this too!

I had success bringing my belt to a shoe repair shop, but only to embroider on a stripe, not full lettering. The other places I went (tailors and such) could not physically fit the belt into the sewing machine. KI International will embroider belts: https://www.kiintl.com/1/home.php Not sure about Hang Gul, but you may be able to send them the characters to work from.

If the college teams are truly starting to run like pro teams... can't they simply create a "minor league" NFL circuit? These kids are already studying football full-time... I also thought a 5-year deal was a bit long for Bill. I'm curious if he can develop players like he did at the Pats when he's only with them for 1, 2, maybe 3 years. Although he was always merciless cutting even long-time players. Anyway, just dropped by to say the Commanders are somehow still in it! IF they beat the Eagles next week... and win the following two... and the Eagles lose the following two... then we got a new NFC-East champion! Seriously though, if Washington manages to get a wildcard spot in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, coming off the dumpster fire 4-12 previous season, that's unbelievable. Amazing how fast the game can change.

Wow I wasn't expecting such a range of replies! It's been a long and winding road for everyone it seems. I wonder what it was like for your Sensei teaching a beginner-but-not-a-beginner. That must've been tricky, but hopefully also rewarding. I went through a similar, but lesser, journey when I moved dojo and my new Sensei worked with me slow and steady through each Goju kata over about two years. It's hard to "reprogram" yourself. It seemed like Sensei really enjoyed reviewing the kata in such detail though.

This is one of the best posts I’ve read on this forum, Nidan Melbourne. I think a lot about how karate training applies to life outside the dojo and I think you really hit the core here – As we train, we’re always revisiting what we’ve learned. Studying the old to understand the new, with this mindset of continuously studying our technique and our practice to keep it up to standards. It’s a process of continual refinement that is based on self-reflection. I think this ability to look honestly at yourself is the most important benefit of martial arts training because it applies to every other part of your life too. Having a child made this real clear to me too - When trying to teach a toddler to identify and control their emotions, I have to pause and think about whether I do that for myself. Same thing with asking for help or treating others with kindness. At least I’m potty trained. I love how martial arts, and karate in particular, has this well of lessons to pull from when you need it. It’s a deep art and I’ve found it provides a different perspective on life than I get from other places.

Do you have any time periods in your training you wish you could relive? I’ve been thinking about the karate journey through the ranks and how your experience changes as you continue to train. While I am happy with where I am at now, it would be nice to relive that newly-minted black belt feeling. I remember the confidence and happiness of those months after the big test – what a fun time to be in the dojo! I’d also love to revisit my green belt days (5th kyu, right in the middle of the progression to black belt) and see if my perspective on those ranks today is at all true of what I actually experienced. I remember being in awe of the art at that point - it's the start of moving to more advanced (and exotic) requirements, but there is nothing quite as challenging as what the brown belt ranks bring. I remember it being a real period of growth where the training moved on from just block-kick-punch. Anyone else have some training period they would like revisit?

I’ve been digging through some old books in the attic for re-reads. I just started Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. It’s the 20th anniversary edition so they had the author put in footnotes about what he was thinking for each of his decisions. Really fun idea! Has anyone else seen that before?

What do you think you'll use the bag for? My favorite bag ever is the Versys 3 - Versys VS.3 – Century Kickboxing - it's very hard to topple so you can really lay into it with striking techniques. The legs are useful for low kicking or working some entry techniques. But I was looking for a heavy bag that I didn't have to hang from the ceiling and this fit the bill (and more). It is very very pricey... but I was able to get one for 1/2 price on Black Friday a few years ago. If you are looking for a more general freestanding bag, the Versys 1 is also good, imo- Versys VS.1 From Century Kicboxing – Century Kickboxing - didn't fall over easily, but could still be used for striking and even throws. Sometimes I would stand behind the bag to hold steady while my students hit it, basically like a kicking shield. They do make a BOB/Versys hybrid... I think it depends on how important "arms" are for you on the dummy. If that's the goal you may have better luck with a muk jong or other wooden dummy.