Wastelander

I wouldn't necessarily call kakedameshi a drill, since it is supposed to be free-form, like sparring, but for a specific context. We could certainly just be using different terms for the same thing, though We promote and teach the close range techniques, the closer the better, and our goal is to get behind our opponent, as often as possible. If it's not feasible enough to get behind our opponent, then remaining up close and personal is quite acceptable. Cut the distance by remaining in the close range proximity with our opponent that is where most MAist shy away from due to the uncomfortable feeling that that type of combat. We describe this our brand of close range techniques as it being akin to being claustrophobic. It's just not for everyone, and most assuredly, what Noah is offering here is quite worth to explore....taste as see if it's good for your MA betterment. Surely, it can't hurt to try, you just might like it. Thank you! I know that training at close range like that does make some people uncomfortable, but I definitely find it very valuable! The wrist-to-wrist scene you're talking about can definitely be one of the positions in kakedameshi. I typically try to stay connected to both arms, unless I'm actively executing a technique, though, so I'm not usually in that particular position quite so long. I have recorded some light kakedameshi, focused on flow and not really worrying about resistance or strength, although I haven't recorded harder kakedameshi. I mostly did that with my Sensei, before he passed, and I wish I had video of it. Now there are only two people in the dojo I can do that with, on occasion, and it's usually rather spontaneous, so I don't set up a camera. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85TyUOWckR8

Congratulations, Alex, and thank you for all you do for the forums!

Congratulations!

Bear with me--this is a long one... Kakedameshi means "connecting/crossing/hooking to test," depending on how you interpret the first portion of the word, and as the translation suggests, refers to a method of pressure testing or sparring. Masters like Motobu, Nagamine, and Funakoshi wrote about it in their books, and while some schools still practice it, today, it has fallen out of fashion. Indeed, there are many people who have never even heard of it, or misinterpret it, believing that it refers to "street fights." This is unfortunate, as kakedameshi is a far more appropriate method of sparring using kata movements than the long-range sparring developed on mainland Japan, which became the popular sparring method for karate. That more popular method is very poorly suited to the classical methods of karate that are contained in the kata, however. Rory Miller, an expert on violence and personal security, has actually addressed this before, saying; "When I look at their kata and kihon, they have possibly the best body mechanics for infighting that I've seen... then they choose to test it at sparring range, where it sucks. Or, worse, point contact range where it sucks AND it screws up everybody's sense of distance and time." So what is kakedameshi, exactly? Well, defining it is difficult, as it can be approached in a variety of ways and it isn't a competition format (yet, although I'm working on putting something together for that). In general, though, it is a method of sparring where the participants remain close, and attempt to maintain at least one point of contact with each other at all times. Nagamine Shoshin described it as being like "very aggressive Chinese pushing hands competition," because the opponents touch their arms together, and attempt to manipulate each other through limb control while utilizing that connection to feel what the other person is trying to do, and avoid or counter it. We also know that strikes, locks, chokes, and takedowns are meant to be used in kakedameshi. All told, what you end up with is something like a blend of pushing hands competition and Muay Thai clinch sparring--if you look up those two things on YouTube, and keep in mind to add joint locks and chokes, you will have a reasonable idea of what kakedameshi is. It is a specialized type of sparring, certainly, as it doesn't account for longer ranges, or specific habitual acts of violence, both of which you should be including in your pressure testing methodology. Since most karateka only spar at point fighting range, or kickboxing range, however, this specialized sparring method becomes very important, especially for those concerned with self defense, as the majority of self defense situations occur at close range. From my perspective, kakedameshi can be approached as a spectrum, although you could broadly classify it as kakedameshi-ju (soft kakedameshi) and kakedameshi-go (hard kakedameshi). The soft approach is not really meant to pressure test, so much as it is develop skills. Neither partner is trying to resist anything with strength or speed, but rather trying to find ways to avoid or redirect, while staying relaxed and going with the flow. The idea is to develop tactile sensitivity, to be able to tell what an opponent is doing by touch, and to help figure out when you can best apply certain techniques at that range. Kakedameshi-go, on the other hand, is where participants actively resist and counter each other, as one would expect from sparring, and while they are still intended to remain at close range, connected to each other, relaxation and flow aren't the emphasis. Of course, these are not two distinct approaches, but rather a spectrum from one to the other--one might begin kakedameshi-ju, and over the course of a training session, add more resistance, speed, and power, to transition into kakedameshi-go. Even within these approaches, one can be fairly granular. Perhaps, you need to specifically work on getting to a particular joint lock, for example. Kakedameshi-ju is a good start, but you may also want to isolate your session so that you are only allowed to use joint locks, and perhaps your partner can do everything, or perhaps only strikes, if you are trying to counter those, or just their own joint locks. By picking and choosing the specific technique sets used in the session, you can isolate methods that need to be focused on for improvement. As I mentioned, this is not the be-all, end-all sparring method. When people think of "sparring," they often think of one type of training, when it should really be a variety of methods used to cover a variety of ranges and skills. Kakedameshi allows you to focus on developing your close range fighting methods, especially those found in the kata. Point sparring and kickboxing-style sparring give you the chance to focus on long range strikes. Randori (grappling sparring) gives you the chance to focus on just the grappling methods of your art. MMA-style sparring allows you to blend all of the ranges together. "Bully sparring," self defense scenario sparring, and bodyguard sparring, give you the chance to work those same skills in a specific context that karate was meant for. If you only do one type of sparring, then you are limiting the development of your skillsets, but by combining them, you can become a much more well-rounded martial artist.

I use my forms heavily in my fighting, intentionally. At long range, that doesn't happen much, but once I get into close range, I use kata methods almost exclusively. Now, I tend to think that my focus on application makes my kata a bit on the "ugly" side, but it's functional. Perhaps this is due to having to make many types of adjustments, such as distance, timing, including opponent's size and skill level, in sparring.As opposed to when doing katas, where there is no need or urgency to consider these factors. Katas usually translates better in to self defence than sparring. Yes, I would say it is. And kata was developed for recording self defense and peacekeeping methods, so of course it is better suited to that than what most people consider "sparring." I just have a much broader view on what "sparring" is than most

I use my forms heavily in my fighting, intentionally. At long range, that doesn't happen much, but once I get into close range, I use kata methods almost exclusively. Now, I tend to think that my focus on application makes my kata a bit on the "ugly" side, but it's functional.

Welcome to the forum!

Keeping it level makes things look "clean," but I find it can actually be detrimental to the generation of power for some of your techniques. Our Naihanchi kata do this, because they are focused on rotational power, but the rest of our kata feature some degree of level change. I also practice a version of Naihanchi from KishimotoDi, which very specifically incorporates level change (using shiko-dachi, actually)

We have a "Little Warriors" class for the 3-5 year olds, although once they are 6, they usually move to our regular youth classes. The Little Warriors class has a reduced curriculum, where they just work a few basics, our very first Kihon Kata (basically just punches going forward, and outward middle "blocks" going backward), and one self defense technique, and it's all structured in a way that makes it playful. We're going to practice kicks, but you have to balance a pad on your head! We're going to practice blocks, but sometimes I'm going to swing this blocker at your legs and you have to jump over it! You are going to break out of this grip and race each other to that punching bag! That kind of thing.

Congratulations!

I find that it tends to be sloppy kickboxing, at that--a lot of those competitors are coming from WKF-style competition, and so they are not used to the range difference for full-contact fighting. You even see Rafael Ahgayev overcommit because of it, although there are some who are much worse about it. Regardless, OF COURSE it looks like kickboxing, because they have done nothing to actually encourage fighters to utilize the curriculum that actually differentiates karate from kickboxing--all the close-range fighting, locks, chokes, etc. that are part of the kata. Karate Combat does allow for a small amount of grappling, but they are really just trying to get people to throw lots of punches and kicks, so there is no incentive to use the ugly stuff. I'm hoping to start working with some people to put together a competition circuit that is more reflective of old-style karate methods, but I don't have anywhere near the funding or star-power that Karate Combat has, so it's not like I'll be able to put it on TV--I'll just have to get various tournament organizers to sign on the host it as time goes on.

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I could see that, although I haven't seen anything written to suggest that was the case. Certainly plausible, though. My own pet theory is that some of it derived from boredom--many Peichin were tasked with guarding temples, palaces, and gardens, which would be a rather peaceful occupation most of the time, after the Ryukyu Unification. I could easily see highly trained martial artists/nobles being bored and picking up the gardener's kuwa or kama and start trying things out . Of course, there is no written evidence to suggest that is the origin, either, but it's just as plausible, to me.

There are similar-looking items that were used as a grain thrasher and millstone handle, but I find that to be a retcon. Nunchaku were likely some conglomerate of the iron flails of China and the horse bridles of Okinawan nobles. Tonfa come from Siam/Thailand, and are called "mae sawk" (arm shields) there. As for the concealed weapons, what was the point? The Japanese had specifically signed an edict allowing Okinawan nobility to keep and carry weapons appropriate to their station, and only banned firearms. Okinawan nobles could confidently march through any checkpoint with their swords, spears, and whatever else, no problem. It's easy to claim that bo, jo, hanbo, etc. are peasant weapons, because they are essentially just sticks. That doesn't change the fact that the standard issue weapon for guards at Shuri Castle were octagonal hardwood bo, with the faces painted alternating red and white.

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Congratulations to all!

Without knowing your definition of "bone power," it is hard to say. Bones do not actually generate power, but they do transfer it, and in that regard, we incorporate the study of bone alignment as part of chinkuchi. Essentially, trying to ensure that the joints of the body move in such a way, and the bones line up in such a way, that power is transferred as efficiently and safely as possible.

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The trouble with that is one of the timeline. That absolutely did happen...during the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th Century. I don't think we can necessarily say that the masters during that time period were wholly responsible for developing karate/kobudo. That was the start of systematizing them, though. Prior to that, even after the Japanese invasion in 1609, they allowed the Okinawan government and nobility to remain in place, so that Okinawa would act as a Japanese tributary state, and a go-between for trade with China, since that was prohibited on mainland Japan.

Welcome to the forum! I would definitely say that online training is NOT a replacement for in-person training, and if you have the ability to train in person, that would be vastly better. That said, online is better than nothing, if you have an interest. Just remember that the training you will be doing is not of equal standing, so to speak, as in-person training, because you can't get the same direct feedback and assistance.

Congratulations, and thanks, Alex! You have definitely made a huge contribution to this forum, not just in content, but in the way you engage with members and staff

Can you send out a mailer? Those can canvas a wide area, and adults are the ones who will generally be seeing them, so as long as the mailer is targeted at an adult audience, it seems like a good place to start. Can you get the boxing club or MMA club to host you as a guest instructor, here and there, for cross-training purposes for the people who want to develop their kicks? That might generate some interest from those folks, so they would start doing both, especially given some of the kicks that are becoming popular in MMA competition in recent years. Can you set up seminars at the local college? That might generate interest, in short bursts, for people wanting to get involved in something active. Can you use Olympic TKD marketing materials or strategies to assist your current approach? That might help pull in younger adults, with a mind for competition. Just throwing out some ideas.

Repetition is necessary to refine movement and build skills, but personally, I feel that there is a tipping point where repetition is no longer helpful. Generally, that is when you are no longer able to repeat a technique properly.

We do many types of sparring, although I will admit that number of types has been diminishing over time, since my Sensei passed away last December. Even before that, though, we didn't do bogu kumite. My Sensei did a lot of it when he was younger, and competed in it pretty frequently, doing very well. I'm honestly not sure why he didn't have us do it--he seemed to like it well enough. Like aurik, I used to train Shuri-Ryu in Central Illinois, so I was exposed to bogu kumite, there, initially. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to try it because, at the time, I wasn't a high enough rank for the chief instructor to allow it. By the time I was a high enough rank, I ended up moving out of the state. In KishimotoDi, there is occasional bogu kumite, but it is less "freestyle" and more focused on self defense, somewhat like an old-school "Redman" or "Bullet" suit. I haven't participated in that, though, since I'm basically a lone bastion of KishimotoDi here in the US, aside from a guy in Florida, which isn't exactly nearby. Personally, I'm a little torn on the idea of bogu kumite, myself. The use of headgear has recently been discontinued for boxing by the IOC because it hasn't been shown to reduce concussions, and may actually result in MORE concussions, because it makes the head a larger, easier-to-hit target, and adds mass to the head, making it harder to absorb a strike to the head without rocking the head. The body armor can certainly be beneficial, certainly, but at the potential cost of developing toughness, and the ability to take a hit and keep fighting. I wouldn't want to rely on sparring in armor as the ONLY method of sparring for that reason, although it would certainly have its place. I truly am of the opinion that there is not, and should not be, just ONE method of sparring in the dojo. Every sparring method has limitations, and compromises, but by viewing sparring as a training method, rather than a skill unto itself, it is pretty easy to incorporate a variety of types of sparring to cover a broader set of skills and situations and characteristics.

No, although when I tried wrestling in Junior High School, the coach hated me, and never taught me how to actually DO anything, preferring instead to give me no instruction, at all, and partner me with guys who were two years older and several weight classes heavier to have them beat me up for a couple hours, several times a week. I put up with that for 2 months before I quit--it's honestly a wonder I ever even considered joining martial arts after that experience. I wouldn't call him an exceptional teacher, by any stretch of the imagination, but his character was pretty terrible.