honoluludesktop

Ho.....Interesting topic. Once when I was a kumite beginner, my Sempai placed the edge of his foot on my tummy, then picked me up by yoko geri, and tossed me into the wall. I was about 20 at the time. I have had my kidney hurt for a week, a busted nose, been kicked in the nuts, and have dents in my leg. As most of this happened a while ago, there is probably more that I don't recall. After a while, your skill keeps you safe.

Yes, that is equally true. As society, and technology, change over time, kata bunkai changes. At one time, jujitsu kata had to address fighting in armor against opponents dressed in kind. This is no longer true, and accordingly judo kata has changed.

My understanding of "bunkai" is that it is meant to be an analysis of the kata. Accordingly, there is no right or wrong bunkai.

In a school where the founder is alive, grading, and knows the student well, it is not unlikely that the higher grades are untested in the conventional manner. In a large organization, published criteria would help to assure everyone that they have a fair chance to be graded. Even then, it is likely that some will feel passed up for some arbitrary reason.

The application of any technique in free sparring, is circumstantial, and in response to a situation. Kihon, and kata are basic and basic variations that must be adjusted for fighting. Each styles basic form, affects the body in different ways, and no way is right or wrong, only different. In the late 60s, all TKD fighters could yokogeri very high, very few karateka could. It was probably because of kihon training. In those days, TKD was weak in maegeri. Again probably because of kihon. There is no best way, each style has its good and bad points. In open karate competitions that I have watched, very few TKD persons were able to beat a karateka. While I havn't been to any open TKD matches, I'm sure that karateka would have problems winning.

In 2002, this post states that a study found about 5 million persons practiced some form of martial arts “every chance they get”.

While a obviously accurate observation, this is not a good example when the context of the discussion are fights like the YouTube sample. Is there any chance that the survey included persons from MMA, boxing, wrestling, etc. fights? Probably not, but that can't be determined from reading the study. This is another assumption, however correct sounding it is, IMO is "out of context" regarding the kind of fighting that is the topic of this discussion. Is it relevant to include in all the fighting, that which is part of warfare, being blind-sided, etc.? I don't think this is what LP meant, but clearly a better definition should be provided for "all the fights on earth" to make this a discussion.

It doesn't help when they rush your promotion. As long as you are "on the mat", you have to show that you are up to the grade. When I returned after a long absence, my shodan was reinstated in less then a year. Except for the kids, it was a bunch of time before I felt up to my grade. Even thereafter, each promotion made me feel that I was behind the 8 ball, forcing me to work harder. Eventually there came a point that I felt my skill was matched to my grade, but that was long after, and at a point in time when my grade (the one I, ha, ha, already had.) didn't matter to me.

Sensei8, You are in good company. Wado's founder, said that Naihunchi Shodan was his favorite kata; not because of his technical understanding of it, but because he felt "something special about it". His student, Shoimitsu Sensei gave a seminar and dedicated several hours on Naihunchi. If I find the time, I will extract and annotate if for those that may be interested. After a long lay off from training when I was a young adult, it was the first kata I was able to recall.

In post war Japan, it still remained that regardless of its functional value, sincerity of ones beliefs often counted for more then what was in step with reality. Even today, in fields such as Theoretical Physics, this is often the case.

You don't mean at the stop between the pair of shoto strikes, the position when stepping from the first shimata-dachi, to the other? But, the case when the pair of hands in shuto are backs facing each other, you are right of course, in the kata, the pause there is mental, not physical. In the case of bunkai, if the opponent stands, there is no physical pause. If he advances or retreats, there may be a momentary pause to adjust ma-ai, and destroy the opponent's timing.

He did, read the references to noru.

Shojobo, How do you conceptualize the movement between the pair of nukite strikes? Do you visualize an opponent, or practice the movement as a irimi drill? I do the latter, and use the pause between the strikes as a momentary opportunity to reset subject to the situation. In blocking exercises, I often low block by noru, in the manner of the nukite, but with my fist closed, and from a forward stance. In kumite, I have yet to encounter this movement.

No, but if you are walking around a blind corner, and a person who has had a drink comes around the corner from the other side, and you run into each other, that is an accident, for both of you.

No, I only responded because you asked me to. Perhaps you could provided an example so that like minded people could respond.