Wastelander

Welcome to the forum, and good luck!

My Sensei is 30, and Sensei Bethea is 71, but I don't know the precise ages of the others. I would guess that Iha Sayuri Sensei is in her 40's, and Nakazato Shugoro Sensei is in his 60's.

Hello everyone, I just thought I would share a bit about this event. Over this past weekend, I attended the 20th Annual Shorinkan Cal-South Camp, which is an event hosted every year by Nabil Noujam Sensei in Winterhaven, CA, just across the border from Yuma, AZ. It is specifically for members of the Shorin-Ryu Shorinkan, which is the organization I am a part of. Normally, I'm running classes at the dojo while everyone else goes to camp, but this year I was able to attend, which was really cool! The event begins with a workout for the black belts (and some select brown belts) in attendance, with the keynote instructor leading the count. This year, Nakazato Minoru Sensei--the son of Shorinkan founder, Nakazato Shugoro Sensei, and current head of the organization--was the keynote instructor, and I would say there were about 130 karateka attending this workout. After taking us through junbi undo (preparatory exercises), he went through our kata. As we went, he made corrections here and there, and demonstrated some applications, and answered questions. Overall, he was pleased with most of us, saying "good instructors, all same kata." I was very interested in some of the things he said about the kata and applications he showed, and it was a great experience. After that, there were dojo demonstrations. Most schools demonstrated karate or kobudo kata, but a few included yakusoku kumite drills, or kata applications. What really threw us off were schools that had students read poems or do interpretive dance. Our dojo went second to last, which is usually a sign that they expect a good demonstration from you. We did a pretty varied demonstration, including karate and kobudo kata, karate and kobudo drills, and kata applications. Normally, my Sensei has our brown and black belts do it, but we had a bunch of kids attending camp for the first time, and he wanted to include them, so they were pretty nervous, but had a good time. Here is the video of our demonstration--my Sensei only acted as uke until the end, when he demonstrated a few techniques on me, because he wanted the demo to focus on the dojo, not just him: The next two days were mostly set up in breakout sessions, with four instructors running classes in different rooms, so people could choose which sessions they wanted to attend. I attended every session with Nakazato Minoru Sensei, except for a kobudo session he taught. Other than that, I attended sessions with Eddie Bethea Sensei, Neil Stolsmark Sensei, Clint Green Sensei, and Art Garcia Sensei--all of whom are Kyoshi-ranked instructors in the Shorinkan. It was a great experience, and I'm very glad I was able to attend! Before I left on Sunday, there were demonstrations by the camp instructors. Everyone did kata, except for my Sensei and his Sensei (Eddie Bethea), who also demonstrated techniques. I was able to record a few videos, which people might find interesting. Iha Sayuri Sensei--one of only two active female Kyoshi in the Shorinkan--performing Sai Dai San, which is part of the Kokusai Rengokai kobudo curriculum: Nakazato Minoru Sensei--Hanshi, Judan, and the current head of the Shorinkan--performing Gojushiho: Eddie Bethea Sensei--my Sensei's instructor, and Kyoshi, Hachidan in the Shorinkan--performing Kusanku Sho and demonstrating a lock-flow drill and kata application on my Sensei: Richard Poage Sensei--my instructor--performing Kusanku Dai, and demonstrating some techniques on me that are based on the kata: I also got the chance to grab a photo with Nakazato Minoru Sensei, although the lighting was terrible so it turned out pretty bad: http://s14.postimg.org/cmnyajiox/20151108_110041_1.jpg

Good luck to everyone, and thank you very much for the nominations!

We generally follow the "two ranks below your own" rule, as well. That said, black belt tests require a panel of 2 or more black belts. My Sensei is currently a Godan, so he can grade someone to Sandan if he is the highest rank on the panel, but we also have two Rokudans that train at our dojo, so if they are sitting on the panel, we could potentially have people test up to Yondan.

Congratulations!

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum!

I recorded this video, so I can speak to your comments, a bit. Merriman Sensei did say that we have kihon bunkai to get people started, which I suppose it what you may be thinking of with "correct bunkai?" After that, though, he insisted that everyone should explore the kata and test it to find what works for them, even if that makes it different from what others are doing.

Most Shorin-Ryu systems do not practice Sanchin, with the exception of systems influenced by Motobu-Ryu, which practices what they call "Shuri Sanchin." My Sensei and I practice Sanchin, but we learned it outside of Shorin-Ryu, and while we occasionally teach it, we don't require our students to learn it. From our perspective, Naihanchi is the root of our system, rather than Sanchin. Conversely, Sanchin is the root of Naha-Te systems.

Sanchin definitely has structural and movement concepts that help you in everything, so it is definitely important--how important is up to you, as sensei8 says. I do think that, if you are going to practice a kata, then you should find value in it. I certainly don't think you should leave your dojo because one kata doesn't feel right, but I do think you should discuss it with your instructor, and if your instructor can't help with it, maybe get a little extra help from someone else.

Well, you can pretty easily find Yamane-Ryu material online, although it can come with many names; Yamane-Ryu, Yamanni-Ryu, Yamani Chinen-Ryu, etc. As Gutierrez Sensei explained during our Gasshuku, there are many branches of Yamane-Ryu, because there are many ways to use it, depending on your body and preferences. Here is a video that Gutierrez Sensei made of some bo exercises for Yamane-Ryu, though, if that helps? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvUZQxxTtMo

In Naha-te systems, Sanchin is the most important kata. In Shuri-te systems, Naihanchi is the most important kata. That said, some people do both. Miyagi Chojun Sensei, of Goju-Ryu, famously said that karateka should practice both. In any event, for anything to truly be "important," it must be properly understood. While you may be doing Sanchin correctly for the way your system does it, what you may be feeling is a disconnect between the system's approach and your body. What you're looking at is Sanchin shime, which is something that is also done in Shorin-Ryu with the Naihanchi kata, from time to time. The word "shime," in this case, is generally translated as "testing," but really means "to tighten, or economize." As you noted, the people being hit with shinai are receiving body conditioning, and to a degree there is an aspect of mental focus being developed, as well, but that is all. What you are seeing in Gushi Shinyu Sensei's video, on the other hand, is proper shime. Often, people will see shime and assume that it's entire purpose is body conditioning, because all they pay attention to is the striking. In reality, shime can be done with simple pushing, rather than striking, until the person being tested becomes so strong that you can't move them without hitting them. This process helps the student feel and refine their structure, and personally, I feel it is often overlooked because it is so often misunderstood. It may be difficult to find someone who can really help you with shime. My suggestion would be to seek out Goju-Ryu or Uechi-Ryu practitioners who have been to Okinawa, or learned from people who have. Ask them about shime, and if they know what it's actually for, then ask them to help you with it.

I'm afraid not. Chito-Ryu is a somewhat uncommon style, and I haven't seen much instructional material for their kata, although you can find a few videos of various people forming them. This kata looks very simple to me, but then again, from my perspective it's just a bunch of pieces from Enpi, Gojushiho, and Kusanku, which are kata I already know. You will always be better off finding someone who does that style and asking them to teach you the kata. Failing that, you may be able to pick up the gist of things from videos, but there are going to be details that you miss, no matter what.

This is just a short clip from Chuck Merriman Sensei's lecture on kata bunkai during our Ryukyu Martial Arts Friendship Gasshuku, which I thought some folks might find interesting

Well, my initial thought for you would be Kali/Escrima, but I always start these things off by asking; "what is available in your area?" I could suggest all kinds of arts, but if no one is teaching them around it, it doesn't do you much good

I'm not really a kobudo guy, but there was a time when I was tested and certified for proficiency with the bo. As it stands, I can only mostly remember 1 of the 3 bo kata I used to know, and the other two are forgotten. The Shuji no Kon that I learned over the weekend is somewhat close to the Shuji no Kon I used to practice, so the pattern was pretty easy to pick up, although the body mechanics are distinctly different. My Sensei practices the Kokusai Rengokai system of kobudo, which is Nakazato Shugoro's curriculum, and that Shuji no Kon actually comes from Yamane-Ryu, but Nakazato Sensei tweaked it to be more like his karate. Still, it was close enough that my Sensei picked up the pure Yamane-Ryu version pretty easily.

Having just participated in a seminar on Yamane-Ryu's version of Shuji no Kon, I was curious if anyone here practices Yamane-Ryu? It is a fairly distinctive style, and I found it's body mechanics to be very interesting.

I figured it was at his dojo in Phoenix or the surrounding area. To add to Sensei's post, where were the presenters from? How many presenters? How many non-presenting students? Cost? Yes, we held it at our dojo in Scottsdale, AZ. We had presenters from Minnesota, California, and Arizona, with a total of 6 instructors. The number of students fluctuated from day to day, as not everyone could attend the entire event. We had some people have to cancel at the last minute, which was unfortunate, but I think next year will be bigger. Well, plan ahead for next year! I think we'll do it in November or December instead of October, though, to avoid some of the other martial arts events going on at that time. It would be great to meet up with you in person!

Jewelry on the mat. I'm CONSTANTLY telling people not to wear rings, earrings, watches, bracelets, FitBits, necklaces, etc., when they are in class. It drives me nuts.

I'm happy to share! It would have been great if you could come, but you have nothing to apologize for--things happen. Hopefully you can make it next time!

This weekend was our Ryukyu Martial Arts Friendship Gasshuku, which was an event I put together with the intent of getting martial artists together to learn and train in a variety of martial arts from the Ryukyu islands. I have never put anything like this together, before, but I think it went pretty well! Everyone said they enjoyed it, and found value in the material presented, and are looking forward to the next one. We started on Friday night, when I taught a three hour session on KishimotoDi, which is a small, rare style of Shuri-te that is in danger of dying out if it isn't spread. Here are some photos from that session--the link goes to Facebook, but you shouldn't need an account to see them. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1014485815263485.1073741844.121994281179314&type=1&l=cd6e1fd233 On Saturday, we got started with a session on Pinan Godan bunkai with Ryan Parker Sensei, who has been working hard to spread old Okinawan karate through various internet mediums for years, now. After that, we had a session with Chuck Merriman Sensei, who is a Judan (10th-dan) in Goju-Ryu, and he gave a lecture on the principles and history of Goju-Ryu, followed by some partner drills and kakie. Finally, we had an open exchange session, where people were free to train together in any fashion they wanted, and we also took turns teaching techniques to the group. After training, several of us went out to Hiro Sushi, which is a local restaurant run by an Okinawan family who love karateka and serve excellent food. Here are photos from that day: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1014845155227551.1073741845.121994281179314&type=1&l=4bb7bdab55 My favorite picture from Saturday is probably this one, taken at Hiro Sushi. Left to right: me, Don Bratton, Ryan Parker, Richard Poage, Matt Sheridan, Ed Dinardo, and Chuck Merriman. http://s3.postimg.org/x19lbbnab/hiro_sushi.jpg On Sunday, we kicked the morning off with Raphael Gutierrez Sensei teaching Yamane-Ryu kobudo--specifically, he taught Shuji no Kon, and some associated drills. After that, Ed Sumner Sensei taught Goju-Ryu kata bunkai for Sanchin and Seiyunchin, and then went into some footwork and kumite drills. Finally, my Sensei--Richard Poage--taught a session that started off with some hand-speed drills based on kata movements, and then continued on into a variety of kata applications. Here are photos from that day: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1015198211858912.1073741846.121994281179314&type=1&l=51ad858ff3 I know I had a great time, and I am sore all over! Hopefully next year the event is even better!

Interesting stats! Thanks for sharing!

Glad you liked it! I've used Wing Chun dummies, as well as a couple different types of kakiya/kakete-biki. I actually love the idea of this dummy--I just can't get past the sharp corners on the elbows!