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Good luck Kicks! You guys stay safe and don't take any chances! Our best wishes are with you and everyone else in Katrina's path.

Welcome to KF.

All good advice so far. Go check out some of your local dojos and see what they have to offer. All dojos will have a place for you to start so don't feel like your infringing and someone else's training. We all had to start somewhere. I'm going to move this thread to the "Getting Started" section. Good Luck with your quest.

Hello and Welcome to KF.

Welcome to KF.

I recently bought a Canon Powershot A510 3.2 Mega Pixels. I love it. I did some research and Consumer Reports rated this camera the best bang for the buck (199.00). It will take video and the quality of the pictures are very good. It comes with some pretty good software to interface with your computer and is fairly simple to use. If you want to get more sophisticated with your pictures it is capable of that as well. It uses two "AA" batteries and will go through them quickly. Invest in some rechargeable batteries and that solves that problem. The rechargeable ones last much longer as well. It comes with a 16 MB card which will only hold a few pictures. I got a 512 MB the same day I got the camera, that is also a good investment. A 512 MB will hold a 1000 pictures. I also purchased the Canon IP6000D Printer as well for printing my photos. I love it!! Easy, fast and great quality. The one thing I like best about it is it comes with six different ink cartridges so when one color runs out you don't have to buy one big expensive color cartridge. The single cartridges are only $12 a piece. It also is PicBridge capable which allows you to plug your camera directly into the printer and print photos from it. I haven't really used the video part of it. We bought a digital video camera about the same time so I can't comment on the quality of that. Canon may have a newer model out now but I would check into it to see. Oh well, I'm getting long winded. If I can answer any more questions about the Canon let me know. Good Luck with your search. I think you'll like going digital.

That's great, I'm glad you found an art that brings excitement back into learning. We have a jujitsu fellow who knew of us practicing karate and asked our Hanshi if he could train with us. After our Hanshi got a feel for what he was there for and what his intentions were he invited him to teach us what he knows. It's been great!! He also knows kali which he is also just starting to teach us. He is a very humble man and "emptied his cup" as well to learn from us. It's a great mix. Going to class tonight to work with the sticks. I can't wait!! Never turn away knowledge, learn as much as you can!! Good Luck!

Hello and Welcome to KF.

Here's a web site that has a section on history. You may have already of seen this and it is no help. Sorry it's the best I could find so far. Your Sensei should be able to tell you the history of your style and it's lineage. I'll kept looking. Sorry for not being more helpful. http://www.shoryukan.com/index.html

I'm going to move this one to the Getting Started Forum. You may get more answers for your question there.

No problem. From what I read he didn't feel like he deserved the title but felt he should accept it considering the work that Master Cruz and the Yudansha had put into the presentation. A very humble man.

OK, I was able to find some info out on the names you listed. I hope this will answer some of your questions that you had. Let me know if you want some of the links where I found the info. If I can find them again that is. Masatoshi Nakayama "Masatoshi Nakayama Sensei passed away on April 15th, 1987 at the age of 74. He held the grade of 10th Dan." Hidetaka Nishiyama "On November 1, 2003, Master Vincent Cruz and the Yudansha of the International San Ten Karate Association formally recognized Master Hidetaka Nishiyama as Judan, the tenth and highest rank in traditional karate." Taiji Kase "Taiji Kase sadly passed away on 24th November 2004. He was widely regarded as one of the greatest teachers of Shotokan karate. His immense power and charisma was a sight to behold combined with a stamina that men three times younger would find difficult to comprehend." I found nothing saying Kase was promoted to 10th dan in my researching. 9th dan is the highest rank I could find that he had achieved. Hirokazu Kanazawa "In April 2000, while attending the 7th S.K.I.F. World Championships in Bali, Shihan Hirokazu Kanazawa was promoted to the grade of 10th Dan. He is currently the only living Shotokan Master to hold the grade of 10th Dan."

As fangshi has said above. Take it slow for now and concetrate on your technique. The speed and power will come in good time. If you try to use too much speed or power without proper technique you could come away with an injury (sprained wrist, jammed toes etc.) And of course practice, practice and more practice.

Hello and Welcome. We do have a few Kyokushin practioners and the boards. I'm sure they pop up from time to time.

Hello and Welcome to KF.

Hello and Welcome to KF. Enjoy your stay here.

In our dojo we practiced kata with six things in mind. The three S's and the three B's. The S's - Strength, Stamina and Speed. The B's - Beauty, Balance and Breathing. All six of the things have an equal importance and are crucial to kata. It takes a long time for them all to come together. Sometimes we'll concentrate on one of the six components until we have it down and go on to the next one and then bring it all together. Don't let one component become less important then the others. They all have their place in kata.

If I remember correctly at one time a 5th dan is the highest that could be achieved but as the style splintered (Shotokai) from Funakoshi (JKA) 10th dans were granted. Sometime in the 70's many of the splinter groups were brought back together under WUKO and some of the 5th dans in the JKA were granted higher ranks based on thier technical knowledge to bring the desparity of the dan rankings closer together. I believe some assoc. still only use the 5th dan as the highest achievable rank as for as technical knowledge goes. I my be wrong on some of this so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Hello and Welcome to KF. Hon-Shin-Do is my style.

You should be exhausted after doing your kata if done with the right intensity. It is absolutely a great work out and a great training tool for muscle memory and reacting without thinking. For my shodan testing we had to do 16 empty hand katas and 5 weapons katas. Talk about a tired puppy.

Welcome to KF.

Welcome to KF.

Welcome to KF.

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. Defend: To defend yourself and loved ones against an attack or to come to the aid of those who are unable to defend themselves against an attacker or attackers. Is this not what we have always heard that Martial Arts is all about? I think we can all agree that conflict should be avoided at all cost and every effort should be made to deescalate a situation before it turns to violence. A karateka should always try to verbally diffuse a situation before resorting to his/her skills. Gichin Funakoshi has a well known quote, "Karate-do ni sente nashi" or "There is no first attack in karate". The opening move in kata is always a defensive move followed by more offensive and incapacitating techniques. But let's never forget that a "Block is a Strike, a Strike is a Block". A simple definition of kata is "a series of techniques set to a pattern to defend yourself against one or more opponents." How many times have we been told or conveyed the message to our students about how the martial arts is about defense first? Is this the right message to be teaching our students? It is my belief that it is the right message and should be drilled into the beginning student every class and every opportunity. Now with that said, does this mean that there is no such thing as a pre-emptive strike? Absolutely not! If multiple attackers or a weapon is involved then a pre-emptive strike may just save your life. Situational awareness is another thing that needs to be taught to every karateka. Be aware of your surroundings and walk with confidence in your ability that if something should happen you'll be prepared to effectively handle yourself. Studies have been done to prove that the way you carry yourself and the type of attitude you display can deter predators from making you a target. Predators look for the weak to attack and tend to keep their distance from the strong. Stand tall and be confident, that alone could be enough to avoid a confrontation with someone. Disorient: To disorient, what exactly does this mean to a martial artist? The definition is "To be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly". Chances are that we as martial artists are going to have an advantage against an unknown opponent because all he/she will be expecting is a confrontation with an untrained person. They think they have the advantage because they see you as a victim who they're going to inflict pain on. Think of what happens to their thought process when they go to punch you and are blocked or you side step their attack and use their momentum against them. A quick strike to a vital point, a wrist or arm lock, send them sprawling to the ground wondering what just happened to them. For a moment their brain shuts down and they're befuddled by what just happened. A quick strike to a nerve point can stun someone for a few seconds. That moment is all a trained martial artist will need to diffuse the situation. You would be amazed at how many attackers will stop in their tracks if you just hold your hand up and forcibly yell STOP! It works, try it! This may give them a second chance to rethink their actions and could help avoid a violent confrontation. Of course these tactics change when weapons are involved but I believe they do have a place in every confrontation in one way or another. Make them believe they have the advantage, let them think they have you right where they want you and then turn the tables on them. Disable: Ok, this attacker is determined to hurt you and nothing you say or do is going to change his/her mind. They may be hyped up on drugs or alcohol in which case you must remember that they can be 10 times stronger than normal and their adrenaline is pumping. The definition of a truly dangerous person is someone who is welling to take punishment as well as inflict it. The two options above didn't work and you now have a potentially dangerous situation to deal with. Are you ready? If you have any doubt in your mind at all about your ability to defend yourself or others the best option is to remove yourself from the area as quickly as possible. As yellow belts our Hanshi told us that "now you know just enough to get yourselves hurt". You must be confident in your ability and your art for it to be successful. Doubt can cause fear and fear is the unknown. Learn to control these feelings and they can work to your advantage. When you have made the decision in you own mind to make a stand then your actions must be quick and decisive to disable your opponent to the point of not wanting to continue or being unable to continue with the confrontation. Be relentless and don't stop until they are totally disabled and unwilling to continue with the fight. In the end it's "better to be judged by twelve than carried by six". This doesn't always mean to break both arms and legs even though some circumstances may call for that. The police and the courts may look at when the threat was neutralized and determine that it was after the initial elbow break, take down, arm lock, etc. Always be in control and don't get caught up in a possible assault charge. The courts would rather hear about all the things you could have done to the aggressor. This will help prove that you showed some restraint in defending yourself or others. As I mentioned before each situation you may encounter could call for a different approach and it is up to you to determine how much force will be needed to control or neutralize the threat. In a street fight you must expect the unexpected and assume that they are armed. Untrained fighters can be unpredictable and erratic in their actions so you must be prepared for whatever they may throw at you. Disappear: No, I don't mean to throw down a smoke bomb and disappear into the smoke like a ninja. But what I do mean is too create distance from yourself and the person you have just had a confrontation with. This could mean to turn tail and run if you feel the odds are not in your favor or you have any doubt in your mind at all. But for the most part I mean to be sure you don't leave yourself open for another attack. If your opponent is down don't stay in his/her personal space, this could leave you in a bad situation if they're not hurt as bad as you think or have friends coming to their aid. In our dojo we refer to it as "closing the door", don't leave it open for someone else to come walking through. Ready yourself and be prepared for the next encounter should there be one. Summary: After all is said and done, awareness and knowing your surroundings as a martial artist is the most important thing in my opinion. Being alert and diligent can not only help you avoid dangerous situations but can be a powerful ally on your side in case you should find yourself in a bad way. We all know as Martial Artists that when something does happen you may have only a fraction of a second to react and deal with a predator. If this does happen remain calm and confident in your ability to handle any situation at hand and end it quickly and decisively.

Welcome to KF. And the return too Martial Arts.