Wastelander

I'm familiar with the style, but I couldn't tell you anything about its modern practice. Konishi Yasuhiro, the founder of Shindo-Jinen-Ryu, did a lot of cross-training, and probably knew a great deal. That said, I think he also filtered it through his Shotokan training. For an interesting look at the style, back when Konishi was in his prime, you can download his Karate Nyumon from the University of Hawaii: http://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10524/1076 It's in Japanese, but there are lots of pictures. He also included photos from Mabuni Kenwa's book on Seipai, and Motobu Choki's books.

I will sometimes grapple or spar one-handed, but that's not what the chambered position is for. As has been mentioned a few times, you don't have to worry about being knocked out when your hand is on your hip, because it should only be there when it has part of your opponent in its grip, which should stop them from being able to hit you on that side.

I find it very difficult to pick a single favorite of ANYTHING, let alone karate books . If I had to pick, I would say that "My Journey with the Grandmaster" by Bill Hayes is probably my favorite martial arts book, for entertainment and philosophy purposes.

Taekwondo is largely based on Shotokan, so there is a great deal of overlap. Normally, the body mechanics are different in TKD than in Shotokan, though, and training both will get you confused and hold you back. It is possible that the TKD instructor at your dojo has changed the way they do things to match Shotokan, though. In that case, it may not be much of an issue.

As it turns out, we already have an extensive list of recommended reading over in the General Martial Arts section. You can find it here: http://www.karateforums.com/martial-arts-research-library-vt8082.html Goodin Sensei is very knowledgeable, and passionate about karate history. I'm glad we have him in the world! With regards to the books you mention, I own McCarthy Sensei's Bubishi, and Itoman's book, as well as having a digital copy of the original Japanese edition of Mabuni's book. They are all excellent resources (I'm sure the English version of Mabuni's book is more helpful, of course), and great to have in your collection. One thing I will say about Itoman's book, is that it doesn't make nearly as much sense if you haven't been exposed to old-school Ti/Te methods. From a modern karate perspective, some of what he shows seems quite strange. The photos also show more space between him and his uke than would actually be there, so you can see what he is doing. Unfortunately, those photos are also VERY small, so it's still kind of hard to see some of the details. It's still a great reference, though, and explains some Ti/Te concepts that aren't all that well-known to the karate world, anymore.

First of all, welcome to the forum! For a while, it would be best to just do what your Sensei tells you. That's because you need to develop a strong base in Shotokan before you start branching out and pulling information from other sources. If you start trying to implement things from your own research, now, you may do it incorrectly. Definitely stock up on the books and other research material, though! It will be very helpful to you later on!

Congratulations! I remember failing my test for Sankyu, the first time I took it

This is the website that James set up for the event. You can register your dojo as a participating location on the "Events" page: http://challengeokinawa.com/

On October 25th, 2005, the Okinawan government, in partnership with several Okinawan karate masters, held the first Karate no Hi (Karate Day) celebration in Naha, Okinawa. Since then, every year there are demonstrations and seminars on the 25th of October to support and spread awareness of Okinawan karate. This year, the DOJO Bar has gotten together with some other sponsors to try to start a new Karate Day tradition--the 100 Kata Challenge. The idea behind this challenge is to bring karateka from all over the world together--in person, and in spirit--to train hard and pay homage to our roots. The main get-together is on Okinawa, of course, but they are hoping that people in other countries will participate in their own dojo, parks, or back yards. Since the US is about a day behind Okinawa, we will be doing it at 4pm on October 24th. Will anybody here be participating in the challenge?

I haven't had the pleasure of visiting Okinawa/Japan, as of yet. I do plan to go there, someday, but I'm not sure when. My dojo is actually planning a trip there next Spring, but I don't think I can afford to go. Unlike sensei8, I'm dreading the food! I'm a very picky eater (I wish I wasn't, trust me!) and I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to find food I will eat. Especially since I'm probably going to be with other people from my dojo, and they are all going to want nothing but authentic Okinawan food the entire time.

I voted "Yes." As a matter of fact, I just saw one a few weeks ago. His family just moved here from another state, where they practiced another style of karate. He was 11, and had been a black belt for at least a year. I've also seen a few walking out of other martial arts schools in the area, although I haven't personally met them.

Some may disagree with me, but I believe that you should NEVER pull your hand to a chambered position, UNLESS that pulling hand is pulling/controlling your opponent in some way. You are absolutely correct that pulling your hand to chamber will get you hit, but that is no longer the case if you are actually using it for something. For example, let's say you are sparring someone, and you grab their left hand with your right, then pull it to your hip/side while punching them with your left hand. What opening do they have to strike you on your right side, where your hand is in chamber? The answer is; none! You are controlling the limb they would be hitting you with. Kata is a memorization and visualization tool. If you aren't envisioning using that chambered hand for anything, then you will be more likely to use the position incorrectly, or not at all.

I believe there is a group in Fort Lauderdale, but their instructor passed away. They may still do private training sessions, but you would have to get in touch with them to be sure. I don't have their contact information, but you can email the RyuTe Renmei at admin@ryute.com to see if they can help you. Best of luck!

Congratulations!

Being able to beat someone in a fight is being a better fighter than they are but, as has been mentioned a few times in this thread, there is more to martial arts than fighting. Someone might have greater knowledge of fighting than you, even if they can't apply it for one reason or another. Someone might have more efficient body mechanics due to their study of motion. Etc. There are also vastly different TYPES of "fighting" that a martial artist may be good at. For example; a champion karate fighter could lose to a champion Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor, and that wouldn't necessarily make the BJJ competitor a better martial artist. The same would be true in reverse. In addition, someone might be very good at self defense--dealing with aggressive, but untrained, attackers--but get beat in combat sport competition regularly.

Congratulations, and welcome to the forum!

We aren't required to do it, but we do try to greet students, at some point, before classes start. Sometimes, we are busy doing other things, or training, ourselves, but usually one of the instructors, at least, still greets them.

I won't be able to train it with any regularity, but I do hope to make it down every now and then to work with them. Italian longsword has a LOT in common with karate, I found! The instructor and I actually joked about the body only moving so many ways, Zaine. Did you happen to see the same Naihanchi stuff that I did from the bind?

Welcome to the forum!

I will admit that I grew up with an obsession with knights and dragons, so I've always had a soft spot for medieval European arms and armor. That may be why I have downloaded so many medieval fighting treatises to compare with karate--there is a LOT of overlap, by the way! Well, this weekend, I took a trip down to our local HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) club, and took an introductory lesson on Fiore dei Liberi's system of longsword fighting. Very interesting stuff, and the sparring looked like a ton of fun, although I didn't get the chance to try it. Anyone here have HEMA experience?

Sometimes I can tell, and sometimes I can't. I honestly can't say how I identify it, either. If someone comes to class, for the first time, it's really easy to see if they have previous training or not, just by the way they move.

I'm in agreement with Rateh. While you may have been in the right, and the parent may have been rude, I think you could have handled it better. The phrase "don't you know who I am?" is a pretty universal set of "fighting words."

So, every now and then, I like to search YouTube using kanji/kana instead of English, just to see what I might otherwise be missing out on. Since I don't speak/read Japanese, except for a few words/phrases, I'm pretty limited when it comes to making use of Japanese material, but Google Translate does help. Over the weekend, I searched for ナイハンチ, which is the katakana for Naihanchi, and I came across this hidden gem: The man demonstrating in this video is Ikeda Hideyuki, and he is primarily a Taiji (Tai Chi Chuan) instructor. Honestly, I could have figured out he was a CMA practitioner just from watching his kata, even without him wearing the Chinese-style shirt. Clearly, he has some training in Okinawan karate, as well--he runs Naihanchi in this video, and Seiunchin in another, and has a black belt rank in Uechi-Ryu, according to his website. Still, it seems that Taiji is the lens through which he views things, and it definitely comes through in this video. Interestingly, the applications he shows are quite similar to ones I've learned in Shorin-Ryu and KishimotoDi.

I don't train in boxing, but I have actually discussed this with some people who do, including a couple boxing coaches, and it's not so different from the way judo or karate do things. The foot pivot you're talking about teaches you an exaggerated version of the body mechanics necessary to throw the strike effectively. As you get better at applying those mechanics, the motion gets smaller and smaller. Along the same lines, movements become constricted under stress, so in competition, they get even smaller. If you started off with the small motion, it would be more difficult for you to develop the mechanics necessary to be effective, and under stress, you wouldn't do enough and would be left with a weak strike.

You will get better at sleeping, over time. I can't promise that you won't dream about it, though! Your punches can make noise without a gi, but it's usually from your skin slapping together--even if you don't think it is, a high-speed camera will show that it is happening. That's perfectly normal. If there is any sort of grinding from your joints, then you should have a doctor check those joints to make sure they are in good condition.