Wastelander

I see that all the time in styles that do long, deep front stance. If you want to get really confused, start training in our style, where we DO lean just slightly forward I'm afraid I can't really provide much more guidance than having someone check you periodically, or check yourself in a mirror, and get used to the feeling of when it's right so you can self-correct

Hi Curtis, There are actually some recommendations being posted in this thread, already, which may be useful to you: http://www.karateforums.com/recommend-a-youtube-martial-art-video-vt49983.html

I appreciate the endorsements! Honestly, I don't even upload that many videos on my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/wlbushido). Most of what I do is with my instructor, and uploaded on our dojo YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/peacefulwarriormartialartsandhealingcenter). As far as my recommendations go... Paul Enfield Sensei - Okinawan Goju-Ryu: https://www.youtube.com/user/GKCgoju John Titchen Sensei - Practical Karate (Shotokan based): https://www.youtube.com/user/jwtdart He Jinbao - Yin Bagua: https://www.youtube.com/user/YSBinternational Funker Tactical - Modern Weapons and RBSD: https://www.youtube.com/user/FunkerTactical

Welcome to the forum! You're lucky to be finding an interest in karate while living in the birthplace of karate! Don't worry too much about the language barrier. Karate can largely be learned physically, at least to start with, and most dojo will have a few people who speak some English, even if the instructor doesn't. The Okinawan people tend to be quite friendly and welcoming, so it shouldn't be an issue to get some help when you need it! I hope you and your son enjoy the experience!

Congratulations, CTTKDKing!

My Sensei and his girlfriend, who co-own the dojo, collect payments themselves, by check, money order, cash, or card. Dues are paid at the beginning of each month, and there are different rates depending on how many classes you plan to attend each week. Instructors fill out timesheets and turn them in to be paid on the 15th of each month. It's a pretty antiquated process, from the perspective of an IT guy (me), but it does work.

Welcome to the forum!

Ridgely Abele Sensei has written some books on Shuri-Ryu, which I understand to be quite good, but they are also very expensive. Since Trias created Shuri-Ryu, and it is a relatively small style, there just isn't a great wealth of material covering it, specifically. You can definitely find valuable information elsewhere, though! The Bubishi is a good choice from a historical and cultural perspective, and a very interesting read. I would also suggest Mark Bishop's books, of which there are several to choose from, for an exploration of Okinawan styles. The best book for karate history is going to be Karate 1.0 by Andreas Quast.

That's awesome! It's great when kids are involved and excited in their training! I started my training under Joey Johnston, back in Morton, actually

Well, which hammerlock are we looking at, specifically? There are several ways of applying locks which would be classified as such. Generally, though, you can roll out of it, limp-arm out of it, or grab your own arm and physically oppose the lock with strength.

Welcome to karate, and to the forum!

For those who don't know, the Shorin-Ryu that I practice comes from the Shorinkan--and organization that was founded by Nakazato Shugoro Sensei in 1975 to continue the development and transmission of the karate that he learned from his teacher, Chibana Chosin Sensei. Born in 1920, Nakazato Sensei has seen a great deal of change in the world, and has been a major contributor to the development of Shorin-Ryu karate. He began training in karate in 1935, under a Shito-Ryu instructor named Iju Seiichi Sensei. He enlisted in the Japanese military during World War 2, acting as a bayonet instructor and manned torpedo pilot, before retiring back to Okinawa and becoming a student of Chibana Sensei. As a senior student of Chibana, Nakazato Sensei passed on all of the material that he was taught by the legendary Shorin-Ryu master, but his curriculum also included his own material--namely Fukyu no Kata, Gorin no Kata, and a set of yakusoku kumite drills--and the Gojushiho kata that he was taught by Iju Sensei. Here is a short clip of Nakazato Sensei teaching ashi-waza (leg technique) and kuzushi (balance breaking) concepts on his last trip to the United States, at the age of 80: Nakazato Sensei at the age of 90, demonstrating his favorite kata, Kusanku Dai: Nakazato Sensei as a young Kyoshi, demonstrating Chinto: A few weeks ago, Nakazato Sensei celebrated his 96th birthday, which is quite a milestone, even for famously long-lived Okinawans. Unfortunately, he had been having some health problems lately and, three days ago, on August 25th (on Okinawa, which was the 24th for those of us on this side of the world), he passed on from this life as the result of complications from pneumonia. Nakazato Shugoro Sensei built the largest Shorin-Ryu organization in the world, and contributed to the development of many outstanding karateka. While I never had the pleasure of training with him, personally, he was a great master of karate, a great man, and an inspiration to everyone in the Shorinkan. He will truly be missed, and I wanted to spread the word of his passing to any who may be interested. For those who would like to send flowers or letters to his son, Nakazato Minoru Sensei, I can provide an address.

Congratulations, and welcome to the forum!

You might break fingers or toes with a shinai, but it has enough flex that you shouldn't break any other bones. It'll leave you with a heck of a welt and bruise, and the edges of the slats can cut you. Additionally, you can cause ligament and tendon damage that takes a long time to heal.

I don't regularly teach our fitness kickboxing class, but I do occasionally cover it. Basically, as long as the students have good enough form to be safe, we don't dwell on it. Because it's a fitness class, intensity is more important than the development of skill. Even so, with enough classes, you'll see people learning to hit harder just by virtue of hitting things on a regular basis with some simple instruction. I usually start the class with low intensity, mobility focused warm-ups, such as side bends, hip rotations, and arm circles. Then, we get into slightly more intense warm-ups like air squats, sit-ups, and push-ups. After that, I generally have them work some simple striking combinations in the air, with footwork, until they're sweating. At that point, I'll either bring out punching mitts or heavy bags, so they can work the combinations on actual targets. I'll usually alternate between working combinations in the air, and working them on targets, and I'll mix in exercises like squats, lunges, push-ups, and sit-ups in the middle of combinations. Toward the end of the class, I'll usually teach a self defense technique that they can drill as a cool down, and then we spend about 5-8 minutes stretching out.

We have those titles, but we don't generally use them in speaking with each other--we just use "Sensei" or "Senpai," as is appropriate, most of the time. As far as titles go, Shihan requires a license from the organization on Okinawa, and you have to test in the Honbu dojo for that. Renshi, Kyoshi, and Hanshi, however, come automatically with rank for us; Renshi for 5th/6th, Kyoshi for 7th/8th, and Hanshi for 9th/10th. When you pass you tests for those ranks, people just start referring to you by those titles, although typically only in writing.

Congratulations to him!

Best of luck to you!

Hello, everyone! This week's Waza Wednesday is a special presentation of applications for the entirety of the kata, Kusanku Sho. These are not the only applications for the kata--or even the only applications that we teach and practice in our dojo--but they are some simple examples that you can use in your own training. The distance between the attacker and defender has been increased to allow for easier viewing on video, but should be closer in training. The attacks shown are also just examples, as the specific attack isn't as important as positioning, points of contact, and direction of movement. I figured that some folks here may find it interesting to compare with how they do the kata, and it may give some ideas to play with in the dojo.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome back!

That is very terrible news, Bob, and I'm very sorry for your loss! It's bad enough to lose one friend and colleague, but to lose 6 at once must be devastating, and I can imagine how much turmoil it causes in your organization, as well. I hope you are doing alright, and are able to pull things together.

Congratulations and many thanks, Brian!

We have found that the WKF shin/foot gear is actually very good. It protects well, holds up to abuse well, and stays in place pretty well. It's also pretty light, so it doesn't really impact your strikes too much. Personally, I don't like the gloves, but I also don't do point sparring, and tend to spar more like MMA. They keep your hands partially curled the whole time, which protects your partners from accidentally getting fingers in the eyes, and the padding is sufficient for keeping your hand protects, but the thumb is definitely completely exposed.

As martial artists, I would like to think that we have the control and composure to walk away from unnecessary confrontation. That said, sometimes you can find yourself drawn into an argument, and sometimes those can get very heated. In this week's Waza Wednesday video, we look at when one of these heated arguments becomes a physical confrontation, with the possibility of a weapon becoming involved. Bear in mind that, of course, leaving the situation is going to be the best course of action for self defense. This is primarily looking at what to do if you don't have that option, for whatever reason.