Wastelander

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!

My friend, Michael Nguyen, put together this great video comparing karate techniques and kata movements with MMA techniques, to showcase a side of karate that most people aren't aware of. As someone who regularly points out these connections, and has even used many of these examples to do so, I can really appreciate it! I thought it was a very cool video, and thought that some folks here might like it, as well.

1. Lose about 20lbs 2. Compete in a grappling tournament (I failed to do that last year, and it was one of my goals) 3. Pass my Nidan test 4. Keep improving, in general!

Welcome to the forum!

When I was training in Shuri-Ryu, we were taught the kata first, and then as soon as we had the pattern memorized, we started learning the "official interpretation" of the applications. At the time, I was never shown anything more than these "official interpretations," in their various forms, and they were essentially the same kind of material you see in JKA bunkai demonstrations. In our Shorin-Ryu dojo, however, we will teach applications along with the kata. Obviously, we don't show applications for the entire kata right off the bat, because that would be overwhelming. We tend to start off with the pattern, and show applications for any parts of the kata that a student has trouble understanding how to do. This often helps them perform the movement properly. We also teach applications as self defense on a regular basis, even if we don't explicitly connect it to the kata, although we usually do.

Welcome to the forum!

We have a Facebook page for our dojo, for business purposes. We post photos and video clips of classes and events, as well as posting about our schedule, upcoming special events, belt tests, etc. There are also deals on lessons that we post, occasionally. You can also use Facebook Ads to get more people to see your page, provided they don't have AdBlock turned on.

I've been interested in hojo undo, but piecing videos together isn't working out well. Is strengthening exercises the main focus of this book? Yes, the book covers a variety of exercises with a variety of tools, which you can build. All of the exercises are specifically connected with kata movements, as well.

Motobu-Ryu (Udundi) isn't practiced by a very large group of people, but it definitely has some interesting material. From what I understand, they do teach some kata, and they also practice weapons and traditional Okinawan dance. You can find some more details at these sites: http://okkb.org/karateandkobudo/stylesandschools/motobu-ryu/okinawamotobuudundi http://www.motobu-ryu.org/motobu-udundi/technical-system/ (you will need to use Google Translate)

Michael Clarke Sensei's book actually provides instructions on how to make your own hojo undo equipment. It's kind of like a rite of passage

Wado Heretic provided you with some good suggestions. Aside from that, since you are a Goju-Ryu practitioner, I would highly recommend that you research hojo undo (supplemental training). If you search for them, you can find videos of Higaonna Morio Sensei teaching a variety of stretches, warm-ups, and conditioning exercises. I also highly recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Hojo-Undo-Training-Traditional/dp/159439136X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1448904860&sr=8-7

Gekisai isn't part of my organization's curriculum, but many people in the system practice it, and several other Shorin-Ryu systems call it Fukyugata Ni. This video is a simple padwork drill I've been playing with for the mae-geri/age-enpi-uchi/uraken-uchi/gedan­-barai/gyaku-tsuki sequence. While we only recorded one iteration of the drill, there are several ways it can be altered to suit the people practicing it. Of course, there are more ways to apply these movements, but this drill is used to highlight and develop the striking applications, specifically.

Congratulations, everyone!

Well said, Heidi--thank you!

Here are a few. Boston University: http://www.bu.edu/today/2015/stretch-before-exercise-not-so-fast/ MIT: http://web.mit.edu/tkd/stretch/stretching_5.html University of Nevada: https://www.unlv.edu/news/article/stretching-truth

Rolling is one kind of ukemi, but not all ukemi are rolls. Ukemi is "break-falling," and there are several ways of doing it.

I'm not sure how popular the Nakaima family kobudo kata are outside of Ryuei-Ryu and the Shorinkan, but I figured some people might practice them, and find this interesting. It's a pretty simple application, but we've found that many people don't ever give much thought to the application of their kobudo kata, so maybe it will help someone out!

Being thrown IS hard on your head, especially if you are dehydrated. That said, if you know how to fall properly, and your partner is throwing you properly, it isn't so bad. Have you learned ukemi yet? I also recommend seeing a doctor to make sure there isn't something more serious going on.

There is actually a traditional training dummy for Okinawan karate, which is called a kakiya, or kakete-biki. You can find illustrations of it in several old books, and there is even a photograph of one that was in Miyagi Chojun's garden dojo. Essentially, it is a wooden post with a weighted (or spring-loaded) arm. Here is a playlist of videos to give you some ideas: