Wastelander

I wouldn't be hurt or offended if my Sensei told me, today, that we were doing away with the dogi and obi entirely, and to never wear my black belt again. It wouldn't erase what I've learned. That said, I love teaching, and people generally only want to learn karate from black belts, so that would be a bit of a problem. I know what you mean! On a few occasions, I have had 5th and 6th dan instructors with 40+ years of experience attend classes I am teaching. That's pretty awkward for me, to say the least! Thankfully, they have always been great

I've received lots of certificates for completing courses and seminars in my professional life, but never for martial arts courses or seminars. The ideas and relationships I get through those events are much more important than a piece of paper that tells people I was there.

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

Our system has a lot of standing joint locks, chokes, sweeps, and throws. We also teach breakfalls and various methods of escaping from ground situations and standing back up. Outside of that, we have a grappling class for a more in-depth exploration of grappling, but it's usually pretty small. I do a lot of kata-based randori, though, so I get to work in a lot of our locks, chokes, sweeps, and throws against a resisting opponent, although we're careful about it.

Yes, I also heard it in Iain's podcast, and I had read it on a forum somewhere before that--it's not a huge secret, although it isn't exactly common knowledge among karateka. Still, Jesse always does a good job of spicing things up for wider consumption. Personally, I don't get too wrapped up in the names of kata. It's important to remember that Uchinaguchi (the native Okinawan language) is written with kana, and not kanji. That is to say that it is written phonetically, rather than with symbols that carry specific meanings. The Pinan kata are an exception, because Itosu wanted to get the Japanese on board with his plans. Naha-te systems that got their kata directly from China are also exceptions, because those names were generally written in hanzi (the Chinese equivalent of kanji). Of course, most people still translate those symbols the way the Japanese would, which isn't necessarily how the Chinese would use them, as we have seen with the Pinan example. Outside of those kata, though, the names of most Shuri-te/Tomari-te kata are written phonetically, so we have no way of knowing their originally intended meanings. People like to say that Naihanchi means "inner conflict," or that Passai means "breaching the enemy fortress," but these are meanings that were tacked on in the 20th century. The names are so old that, unless someone discovers some old written documentation, we will probably never know what the names originally meant.

Congratulations!

Yes, I noticed that, as well, when I was editing the video--it's one of those things you can't see when you're doing it, but the video doesn't lie. It may have been a subconscious adjustment due to my height, or to avoid bending my bad knee, but I'll be looking out for it now!

Hello everyone, This is the latest video my Sensei and I made for the dojo, and it looks at a flow drill for escaping kote-gaeshi (wrist reversal), and countering with waki-gatame (armpit hold), before transitioning to kote-gaeshi to continue the drill. As with most flow drills, this drill can be used as a platform drill, from which to launch into other techniques.

I was never interested in sumo until I watched a match early last year, and I've been hooked ever since. I only watch the six major basho in Japan, though. Hakuho and Terunofuji just had a great match, today!

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for sharing!

My first dojo encouraged everyone to set a goal for when they wanted to earn their black belt, as a motivational tool, so when I started training, that's what I did. The belts, themselves, were never really my motivation, though--I wanted to learn the stuff you weren't allowed to learn until that next belt rank, so it was really about the knowledge. When I moved out of state, as a brown belt, I had to train and research karate on my own for about 2 years, so that really emphasized how unimportant rank was. That said, finally testing for my black belt, 8 years after I started training, was still a big deal. Even though I know that rank is subjective, and doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, it was still a major milestone. Now that I've reached it, I'm back to my brown belt mentality, I think. I'm not really stressed out about the possibility of testing for Nidan next year, like I was stressed out about testing for Shodan. I love teaching, and I would love to do it for a living, but I don't feel like I need to chase higher levels of black belt to do that. What I need for that is more knowledge, more experience, and the resources to get things started, not a higher number after my name.

My Sensei ran into Ed Sumner Sensei (who organized the event) at a tournament a while back, and after some talking, my Sensei was invited to attend. Unfortunately for him, we have a summer camp program at the dojo that he has to supervise all day, so he couldn't go. He passed along the information to me, and Sumner Sensei said I was welcome to join them. I was the youngest person in attendance, and the only one without some kind of military or law enforcement background, though

8 out of every 10 students were failed?! That certainly seems like sabotage, to me! I hope you are able to work this out--you are definitely in a tough situation. As for your questions, I think that I would still be learning from my Sensei, and developing as a martial artist, without our organization. The style, as a whole, would fragment and there would be a loss of consistency in curriculum, but people would still be teaching what they have learned. To me, an organization provides a sense of normalcy across a large group of people, to make sure they are doing the same stuff. If you dissolve that organization, all of those people are still doing the same stuff they learned, but over time, it will change. Whether those changes are good or bad remains to be seen.

They cover about the same amount of the hand, although the WKF mitts stick out further to the front and less around the edges. The biggest differences are the lack of thumb protection on the WKF mitts, and the fact that the WKF mitts force your hand into a more curled position, making some grappling difficult, but making accidental eye pokes less common.

Hello everyone, I just wanted to give a quick overview of an event I attended this week, in case anyone here has the chance to go to it in the future, as it is an annual event. Next year, it will be in San Antonio, Tx. http://s18.postimg.org/sqc6odhdl/11701146_1096007190428421_9180602343132633449_n.jpg The Brotherhood of Veteran Warriors is a martial arts organization that is entirely based on the sharing of knowledge--they don't do any ranking or curriculum--and it was founded by a group of American military veterans. This event saw me as the youngest karateka in attendance, and the only one without military or law enforcement experience. I was honored to be invited, and I had a great time! We covered standing chokes, gun defense, tuidi, self defense, knife defense, handgun retention, and Krav Maga escapes from ground situations. http://s1.postimg.org/n4kdkwn0f/Noah_and_Chuck_Merriman.jpg The guest of honor was Chuck Merriman Sensei, who is a 9th-dan with the Jundokan, and was recently given an honorary 10th-dan by a panel of senior karateka from several styles. I had the honor of being his demonstration partner for a few moments, and I got to speak with him quite a bit over the two days of the Gasshuku. If you ever get a chance to learn from him, you should absolutely do so! He is a great man, and a wealth of knowledge!

They are generally MMA sparring gloves--most MMA fighters don't actually spar with the 4oz gloves they fight with, but with gloves like these. My Sensei and I use Combat Sports Intl, actually, which is the same brand you have pictured. They are great, and durable! My Sensei has a lace-up pair that are over 10 years old, and still going strong.

My Sensei and I use those, and they work great! Enough padding to take the edge off, not so much that it gets in the way, and you can still grapple fairly well. I highly recommend them over any other gloves I've used

At my first dojo, I was told the myth about your experience and hard work being washed out of the belt. At my current dojo, I was told that it was a matter of respect for what the belt represents. In judo, though, I was told that it should be washed with my dogi to prevent the spread of skin infections. With as much grappling and close-in fighting as we do, I always tell people to wash their belts--I even made a YouTube video about it

Welcome to the forum!

A few people at our dojo sneak it in, but they picked it up from Japanese styles--it just isn't said on Okinawa. I've shared Jesse's article on the topic a few times . I always thought it was weird that BJJ somehow picked up the word, too

Congratulations!

I started training because I had an interest in weapons and Japanese culture, and wanted to learn Japanese sword, but it wasn't available, so I joined a karate dojo that also taught weapons. Secondarily, I also hoped it would get me in better shape. Now, I train for the love of it, and for developing self defense skills, and for teaching.

Thanks, everyone! Of course!

Congratulations! That is quite an accomplishment!

Thanks! The initial armbar, and the shoulder lock, are both from Naihanchi. The straight-arm lock and throw are from Pinan Yondan. That said, with some slight modifications, you could use entirely techniques from Naihanchi.