Wastelander

I usually teach 3-5 classes a week, although I also assist here and there with some others. Mostly, I teach classes for kids, or all ages.

Nakazato Shugoro Sensei is certainly a 10th degree, and he is 95, so I'm sure that's who your Sensei is talking about, but as Spartacus mentioned, he has largely retired. His son, Nakazato Minoru Sensei, was promoted to 10th degree and has taken over running the organization. So far, we have been quite happy with the direction that he is taking things.

I'm a Shorinkan member, for what it's worth. Shorinkan is an organization that teaches the (Kobayashi) Shorin-Ryu passed down from Chibana Chosin. It isn't really a style, unto itself, although Nakazato Shugoro added a few things to the curriculum.

Haha, yes, of course my instructor is the most influential, to me! Eventually, I'm sure he will be considered one of the most influential people in the martial arts world, generally. Right now, though, our realm of influence is rather small And if your realm of influence remains rather small, for whatever the reasons(s) might or might not be, will you all continue on your journey, nonetheless?? The reach of my instructor's influence isn't the reason I train with him . Of course, an expanded influence would mean more opportunities for him, and for me, but neither of us will stop training if it doesn't grow.

Haha, yes, of course my instructor is the most influential, to me! Eventually, I'm sure he will be considered one of the most influential people in the martial arts world, generally. Right now, though, our realm of influence is rather small

There are really too many to name, considering how many arts are out there. Iain Abernethy and Patrick McCarthy, certainly, are among the most influential people in the karate world, right now. I would also say that Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming should be included when looking at Chinese arts. Maul Mornie takes that role for the Silat world, I believe. Buakaw Banchamek and Tony Jaa in the world of Muay Thai/Boran. Hakuho in sumo. Ronda Rousey in MMA. Etc. I appreciate the vote of confidence, Nidan Melbourne! I would hardly consider myself to be influential, though!

We have a section of a wall covered with mirrors, and they definitely have their benefits! That said, they can also be a distraction, particularly to younger students. I honestly wonder if it wouldn't be better to have the mirrors covered the majority of the time, and only uncover them for specific times to have the students check their form. When they can see the mirrors all the time, they can often be caught watching themselves just for entertainment, or perhaps narcissism.

Having followed Jesse early on, I think that his success was largely due to his charisma and humor. Prior to his blog blowing up, he was really just a dedicated karateka with a good competition record and a family history in the martial arts. It was his humorous, down-to-earth writing style that got people's attention in the beginning. Once his material started being shared, he just had to follow marketing templates from any number of companies that make their money by advertising to readers. Iain Abernethy is a bit of a different case, in that he built on his teacher's popularity through teaching, rather than writing. Peter Consterdine was already a well-known figure in the UK, when it comes to self defense and karate, and Iain's relationship to Peter helped give him a leg up, locally. He has good material, of course, and a down-to-earth manner that makes him likeable. The more he taught, the more word spread about him, and he was able to put out videos and books for sale, which allowed him to become more well-known worldwide. In my opinion, both of them were able to do what they did because they are in smaller countries. Sweden has only 9.5 million residents, which means that there are likely fewer instructors to compete with. Jesse's parents are both long-time figures in the Swedish martial arts community, so he already had connections to become well-known locally. Once you are well known throughout the community in your country, it's much easier to launch globally. Although the UK is more more populous, with 64 million residents, it is still much smaller than the US, which has nearly 319 million residents. With a population that large, it is going to be difficult to stand out on a national level, which means you are going to have more competition for attention. If you look at it from an international perspective, if you are looking at bringing someone from another country in for a seminar, you are more likely to book a seminar with the top instructor of another country than with the 10th best instructor in that country, right?

There are a lot of implied kicks in kata, but yes, explicit kicks are few and far between. In Shorin-Ryu, as you noted, we mostly only have front kicks and stomps, although my style also has a crescent kick in Passai Dai, and back kicks in Kusanku Dai, and some styles include side kicks. Roundhouse kicks are really the odd man out. Old-school karate really didn't rely too much on kicking, to begin with, unless it was low-line kicks to damage the legs, or kicks to vulnerable targets that were made to be low and open. Roundhouse kicks tend to be attrition techniques, that work best to slow and damage your opponent during a long, drawn-out confrontation. That isn't really what karate was going for. Additionally, you need more distance to use a roundhouse kick. Sure, if you get a good hit to the liver, spleen, solar plexus, or head, you can put them down, with a roundhouse kick, but when you're already engaging at nearly-clinching-range, there isn't much space to throw a roundhouse kick. Kicks to the knees, on the other hand, will work just fine!

Welcome to the forum!

Chito-Ryu is a bit of an odd style, being an amalgam of methods from teachers of different styles, and having kata that were created specifically as expansions by the creator of the style. There are some kata that you will find are similar to Matsubayashi-Ryu, but there is a lot that is different, as well. Here is an example of Chito-Ryu kata:

It's true, I have no clue how available they are. I want to say KI/Mugen has a fairly decent reach in Europe, though. As far as the cut goes, I always take mine to a tailor or seamstress to be hemmed, anyway.

I've had a Tokaido, and known many people with Shureido gi, and they are certainly cream of the crop. That said, Ronin and KI/Mugen make some very good heavyweight gi that are more affordable. My Sensei has actually taken a real liking to his KI/Mugen, even more than his Shureido.

Hello everyone, Over the weekend, we hosted our very first webinar, ever! It was held online via Skype, and it worked out pretty well. Online training definitely has its limitations, but in this format we were able to see how the attendees were doing with the techniques, and provide immediate feedback, just as we would do in person. We took an hour to cover 2-4 applications for every sequence in Naihanchi Shodan. Of course, there are many more ways to apply the kata than just what we worked, but I think we gave everyone enough variety that they can find useful material for a wide array of personal approaches. Here is just a small selection of clips from the session:

Welcome to the forum! Pretty much any martial art can be tailored to your personal needs. Of course, there are some limitations, but by and large, you should be able to just go check out the martial arts schools in your area and see which one you like best. Oh, and don't shy away from Shorin-Ryu because of the intensity you remember--it's always more intense for college kids than for older adults

We do not have standard applications that students must know and demonstrate as part of their tests, although my previous style did. As it stands, we teach a variety of applications for every movement, and different people pick up different applications depending on their body type, the body types of their partners, and their personal preferences. In tests, we do "spot checks" for applications, rather than having students demonstrate applications for the entirety of a kata. Basically, after they have performed a kata, we will ask them how they would apply a certain movement or sequence from that kata. We do that for a few sequences in each kata, typically. Now, in my previous style, there was a standard set of applications that was required for each rank. More than that, you had to demonstrate those applications in several ways--being attacked randomly in the kata, being attacked for every movement in the kata, verbally explaining every application while demonstrating it, and non-verbally instructing someone how to attack you while you perform the kata. This was done for every kata that you learned, for every rank. At brown belt, they did start adding "hakai" (destruction) applications, which was basically just making you pick a spot during the regular bunkai demonstration to do whatever series of finishing moves you want on one of your attackers. They never did any real personalized applications, beyond that.

It looks as though you and I have been doing a martial arts discipline for the same length of time (since 2010) and I too will hopefully be testing for Nidan this year. Good luck to you! I've been in my current style since 2010, although I've been in martial arts since 2006. Good luck to you, too!

Welcome to the forum, and welcome back to martial arts!

Taekwondo dobok are basically a baggy v-neck longsleeve shirt, and many manufacturers make "female cut" uniforms. Most female karateka I know who have trouble with the gi coming open just sew it shut.

Our testing is always open to spectators. Parents like to watch their kids, and sometimes friends come along, too. For adults, their families tend to come and watch, as well. We see the dojo as a family, so we also have other students come just to watch their dojo-mates test. I think it's good for these things to be open, because it takes away some of the mysticism that can sometimes build up when talking about testing.

Spear hands are generally better used for other things than fingertip strikes, but there are certainly ways to condition them. You can fill a bag with mung beans and hang it up for striking, or make a taketaba (bamboo bundle) for striking into with your fingertips and thumb. Those are my two preferences.

Over the course of his lifetime, and following his death, Taika Oyata had some students break away from him, or be kicked out, for a variety of reasons. Oyata had the RyuTe name trademarked, and copyrighted all kinds of material, so most of those students had to use Ryukyu Kenpo/Kempo for the name of what they teach. Oyata taught a lot of very good material, and so do his students. Putting politics aside, there may be some variety in methodology and quality among the students who left his organization, but the core should be the same.

How long is the bag? For a 6ft Thai-style bag, I like to have it 4" or less from the ground. That gives me the most striking area, and I can set a tire around the base so I can work stomps as well. For a shorter bag, though, I just make sure that the striking area starts at head level.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum! I hope you find a good dojo!