Wastelander

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!

It's not strictly necessary for a karateka to practice other arts, or even be familiar with them, but it's certainly beneficial! I know that I've really gained a great deal from training in other styles, and familiarizing myself with even more. Every new experience can unlock aspects of your own art you never realized were there, and can add to your personal approach to your karate.

A friend of mine showed me this video of Guru Maul Mornie, who is a well-known silat instructor that I follow, using the Wall Dome training dummy. I love training dummies, but I honestly am not that fond of this design. Regardless, Guru Mornie shows a lot of great limb control techniques in this video--many of which can also be found in karate--so I thought I would share it here.

To each their own of course (I suppose if it gets you training its not a bad thing). Personally, I don't think it would be making the best of my time. I see you challenged Mr Abernethy... I wouldn't mind seeing his kata. K. This type of thing may seem silly, but it's a bit of fun that helps get people to do a little extra training, and doesn't hurt anything. It could be seen as a waste of time, but it doesn't really need to take much--certainly, nobody has to make a video as involved as the Karate Culture one, or mine. Regardless, it's not something people have to do if they don't want to Unfortunately, Iain had to decline, as his schedule is currently jam-packed with traveling to seminars. I kind of figured that would be the case, but I was interested to see him perform a kata, as well. The most I've seen is a few moves here or there, rather than an entire kata.

As someone with some experience with knifemaking, I'm familiar with the ulu as a tool, but not it's use as a weapon. This is very interesting, and I thank you for sharing it! Out of curiosity, did your teacher use "true time" with her techniques, in the same way European martial arts emphasize with their weapons?

Congratulations!

I do like that idea--we could use this thread, since it's already here, if anyone wants to kick things off?

You could challenge someone on KF, or you could challenge people in other places. Since I uploaded my video to YouTube, anybody can view it, and I just sent the link to the people I called out. I just figured that people here might be interested in doing it, as well, so I wanted to share it As far as pulling videos off your camera, if you send me a PM with the model of camcorder you have, I can see if I can help you out!

In celebration of Karate no Hi (Karate Day), which is on October 25th, I was challenged to a Kata-Off. While I'm passing it on to three people, I also think everyone should participate and spread the love around! Just record a video of yourself running kata, and challenge someone else to do the same!

I'm glad things are looking up! I've had trouble putting things on Wikipedia, in the past, and have pretty much given up on it. Shorin-Ryu Shorinkan is a pretty large system, as far as the number of practitioners worldwide. Our style originates from Chibana Chosin, but the Shorinkan, itself, was founded by Nakazato Shugoro, one of Chibana's senior students. We practice all of the kata that Chibana learned from Itosu Anko, except for Itosu's Passai Sho. Chibana learned the Passai that was passed down from Matsumura Sokon through the Tawada family, and Itosu told him to pass it on to his students, instead. We also practice the three Kihon Kata that Chibana created, the Fukyu no Kata and Gorin no Kata that Nakazato created, and Gojushiho, which Nakazato learned from his first teacher, before he became a student of Chibana.

Welcome to the forum!

Aside from our system's kata, we occasionally teach other kata. My Sensei and I both know several kata from other systems. We've taught Sanchin, Tensho, Seiyunchin, Wansu, Enpi, Rohai, Seisan, Rokkishu, and Hakutsuru. There may even be others that I can't think of right now. These aren't kata that we regularly teach, though--just when they would fit someone in particular.

Welcome to the forum!