sojobo

Please don't tell me that this is running arround with a sword above your head....? Sojobo

I agree, If you have to ask (yourself or others)....?

What style will you be grading in? Sojobo

All grades below BB utilize kogusoku/katana and kogusoku/shoto as their daisho. This is to make sure the training has the most relevance to self defense. A lot of our knife techniques come from one of our instructors being a certified Kali master. At shodan your daisho becomes katana/wakizashi and the training becomes much more traditional. Kogusoku is wrestling/grappling with a dagger? Ie you are the one with the dagger? Do you practice this? Sojobo

As I understand it, most of the core techniques in Judo came from Tenshin Shinyo-ryu and/or Kito-ryu. Kano sensei was well studied in both of these Koryu and it was from these that 99% of all of the core techniques of Judo came from. Also don't underestimate the influence of Sumo in the equation. In most Koryu, "Jujutsu" refers to the unarmed section of the syllabus - so there is no weapon work per-se. That said, because the principles run through all sections of the syllabus - it would be wrong to study a section remotely. It was not my intension to be insulting. Just as the air force is specialist in their type of warfare, dentists are specialist at what they do - there is no disrespect intended, but the key is in what I mentioned earlier:- Originally, Jujutsu was taught as part of a whole unit in the Koryu Bujutsu schools of Japan. The core methods/techniques and principles of movement remained constant whether you had an uchigatana in your hands, a Kodachi, both or neither. Whether you were doing standing exchanges nage-waza or ne-waza. So when I mentioned perspective - that is what I meant, and although BJJ as a sport has paved the way for a new level of technical ability and Skill, chances are you would find many of the techniques the BJJ guys do today buried deep in scrolls of schools like Tenshin Shinyo-ryu, Takenouchiryu and Kito-ryu etc. Sojobo

To defend against, to learn how to use or both? Sojobo

It as as much about breaking down the mental barrier of hitting someone - as it is the fear of being hit. As part of our Atemi waza, we practice strikes to the face, pushes and slaps with no gloves or guards etc. You just have to take the knock. Sojobo

Daisho, Out of interest, what weapon work do you do in your school. Daisho = long and short sword - do you practice kogusoku? Sojobo

Maegeri is is one of my favourites. Plus it so easily converts to kingeri... which is nice Sojobo

Wasn't JJJ where it all came from? Find the right JJJ School and perhaps BJJ can be put into perspective. It’s a bit like comparing a dentist with a physician. Sojobo

It looks more like a Nidan-geri to me. Sojobo

Peter Spanton was one of the first Wado-ryu Karate Dan grades here in the UK along with the likes of Melvin Parry (who I think was based in the north). I have never trained with him, but my instructor was one of his contemporaries and also started his training with Suzuki Tatsuo in the late 60's. One of my friends, who started his Wado training under the auspices of Shinohara sensei, joined the Higashi-kai (a few years ago mind). He tells me that training was very, very physical - and thorough. I also met one of his top lads (purely by coincidence) 2 years back and we had a good chat – he had good karate but it was a country mile away from Wado-ryu... but does that really matter? If you read his bio - and it is true to say that this was the case with many of the early Wado students - what they lacked in technical knowledge they made up for in effort. This manifested itself in tough physical sessions with lots and lots of kumite. Technically, things are a lot different now - but maybe -as a result the calibre of the students has changed also. Enjoy your training and as long as you apply your self - that's all that any teacher can ask. Sojobo

Is it because they are correcting you in a way you feel unfamiliar or uncomfortable with? I've been training for 25 + years and yet I trained only last month at an instructors course and had to question a lot of things I was doing. I drove home feeling quite low, but on reflection the things I learnt were spot on and I have grown from the experience. sojobo

You could always try training with a small kazoo in your mouth? [edit] or party blower? Just a thought. PS... Safety first - don't actually train with stuff in your mouth

Me too, it's the hard bits to hit soft areas and the soft bits to hit hard areas. Callused knuckles are often a misunderstanding (or at least a mis-belief) in terms of why there are traditional striking exercises like Makiwari etc. Of course - they were not to develop calluses; they were to engender correctly conditioned form. Calluses were maybe a byproduct however - which is maybe where the myth has stemmed from. Sojobo

I take it these are display weapons? sojobo

Could be just a Wado thing but every lesson tends to start and end with "Mokuso". In my Koryu dojo, it starts and ends with a greeting to the spirits - with a clapping of the hands prior to the za-rei toward to dojo shrine. Then we get on with physical stuff - having (hopefully) got the most important thing going first. Otherwise - it's just aerobics sojobo

Good advice - thats what I train with my students. Strickly speaking however, the position is not Seiza- Seiza is sitting on the tops of the feet whilst kneeling - the position you describe is Kiza. Sojobo

What martial art are we talking about? sojobo

It is said that the seven pleats in ones hakama (two at the back and 5 at the front) represent the seven virtues of the Bushi namely:- Justice, Courage, Benevolence, Respect, Sincerity, Honour and Loyalty. I think I know where you are going with this sensei8. There seems to be less and less of this arround these days. sojobo

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. Hi Jeffrey, Good to hear you are getting something out of Roberto's DVDs. To be clear, I am also part of a group that thinks Iain ideas are certainly worth a listen to. My reply to your post was because of the section where you wrote "Examples of Bunkai in Wado". That always gets my Wado radar buzzin cos its an oxymoron of kinds. Sojobo

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

I'd say stop searching and start going. You have got to start at some point Sojobo

And of course the bog standard answer that I am going to give you is: Go and check out any club that you are thinking of training with. See what they are about and if it floats your boat. The internet is a wonderful thing in terms of finding out about styles - but deep down it’s about how good the club instructor is - it doesn't really matter what style he teaches imo - although if you "luck out" with a Wado instructor then it's a win win situation. Sojobo

The end result is more or less the same. Its the processes that may differ. Sojobo