Jeffrey

I took it home and careful laid it beside my uniform and went to bed. The next morning I celebrated with a dozen pain killers and a bottle of brandy. True story... well maybe not a dozen.. more like half a dozen pain killers.

You have a computer right? Why don't you use skpye. This is how I trian with others that are a great distance away. Anytime you want to let me know. I call it the other form of kitchen kata.

I have this one. I'm very pleased with it. It was a lot of money but has sood the test of time well. http://www.arawaza.com/arawaza_emerald_karate.html

Welcome Luke

Congrats

Just awesome, Congrats to your fiancee

Welcome

Congrats Blade96

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate. A Happy Birthday to you and wishing many more days of fists and sticks. Jeffrey

Welcome Big Daddy

Welcome Christiane

Welcome Alex

Congrats!

One thing that is often overlooked is distance. Learn yours and pay attention to the others.

Haha! I thought it was fairly simple as well... than something happened and it is not anymore. Now at least once a week I spend a day on it.

Welcome all you new peoples..

Another Political mess! It seems this happens more with forms competition than with sparring/fighting. Certain judges will like to see certain things in a form, and will judge accordingly. But in sparring, the rules are usually clear enough to see who is scoring points/winning and who isn't. I do agree but I have seen Judges "not see" a clear point. Maybe next year I will do some judging and than I might have some different thoughts. I will not say much till I have done it myself. Have to be fair that way.

Sign me up also.

Another Political mess!

Great Job and Congratz!

Many of the points are lost in so many ways when you cross the political side with the Martial Arts side. You watch Higher Ranks juggle for position with in a large organization much the same way a modern politician would. It is sad when people put their own agenda ahead of the students and the school. What bothers me the most, is the clicks that form with certain schools banding together. Do people really believe that you need to be on the right side of the political fence to receive a high rank? But what happens to the schools that are not on that side of the fence. Students have a hard time competing at various tournaments because of this or that judge. The whole thing just makes me sad. For those that try to adhere to the code, they are often few and alone.

Congrats holley

Yes sojobo, I could have worded that different. Must remember to think before I write.

Hi Jeffrey, I don't wish to get into semantics here, or indeed derail this thread in any way, but Iain Abernethy does not do Wado. If you ask him he will tell you the same thing. Iain is very good at what he does, but the "process" of bunkai does not fit into the Wado-ryu paradigm of things. Its not unlike the OPs description of Wado ryu's Jujutsu roots and grappling in the modern day sense. They are distant cousins perhaps, but don't get too distracted. Sojobo LOL! No need to get into semantics at all. Like I said I don't want to say they are right or Wado at all. Just some interesting ideas. We do have a group here that seems to think these ideas are correct in their interpretation but to me they are just some ones else perspective of the Kata. But for me, I’m still working on Pinan Shodan corrections from that new set of DVDs you had suggested. I have a lot of work ahead of me.

For good examples of Bunkai in Wado go visit http://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/ I have been to a clinic with him and he has some interesting ideas. I’m not going to say they are right, just different. He was an amazing Sensei with a great teaching perspective on Karate. There are some articles on the Pinans as a grapplers kata. Most the Bunkai seems to be reversed engineered from the Katas themselves. It is worth a look.