Wastelander

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.

My karate instructor also teaches a family style of Japanese jujutsu, which he has blended a bit with his other grappling experiences. I help teach the grappling classes--there is a lot of carry-over from my judo, as well as the tuidi of our karate style--but I have no serious interest in testing for rank in Japanese jujutsu. He also teaches kobudo, and I'm not interested in testing for rank in that, either. Training is good, though!

Welcome to the forum! I'm afraid you are experiencing the symptoms of EKS--Enthusiastic Karateka Syndrome. This disease is fairly common amongst new karateka, and most people with this affliction will go on to live healthy, productive lives.

Datsusara has some pretty sweet gear, and since they make it out of hemp fabric, it's tougher than cotton, naturally antimicrobial, and UV resistant. If you have the money to spend, I would highly recommend them. They're good people, too.

I think I'm going to have to retire this gi, pretty soon--at least the top. As you can see from this video, it's kind of falling apart, now. I'm pretty hard on dogi. http://youtu.be/ZkmSg95TEsI

First of all, welcome to the forum! I don't practice Kyokushin, and I'm not an expert, but I would like to think I know a thing or two about mawashi-geri. There isn't any real shortcut to opening/turning-over the hips--you have to spend a lot of time practicing kicking properly. A big thing to keep in mind is that the foot of your supporting leg is going to have to turn as far to the side as you can get it, or your hips will be locked up. Something that helped me was actually practicing turning my kick over so that it makes contact at a downward angle. In order to do that, you HAVE to turn your hips over, so it forces you to do it.

They've been working on that for quite a while, and they've made some good progress this year. That said, all the demonstrations I've seen of someone being struck while wearing it has been done with a very flexible waxwood bo, not a hardwood bo. If it can stand up to use with hardwood weapons, then I definitely see it as useful for weapons training.

Hi everyone, This tournament has been going on all week, and ends on the 28th. If you're interested in checking out high-level sumo, I definitely recommend watching some of this tournament. This YouTube channel posts daily updates with highlights of the tournament: https://www.youtube.com/user/kintamayama A lot of people just think of sumo as two fat men trying to push each other out of a ring, but it really has a lot more nuance and technique to it than that. There have been some very interesting matches, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the tournament, even though I'm only a very casual fan. It's great to see the display of strength, kinaesthetic awareness, technique, and determination.

My Sensei pays the other instructors at the dojo for their teaching time. That said, he can't afford to pay a lot because the dojo doesn't make a huge income. We do it because we love it, though, so nobody has been offended, as far as I know. My pay was equal to my dues, so I just opted to barter for classes instead of cashing a check and then writing a check. If I had taught more classes, or taken fewer, then the equation would have been different, but I like the balance I have. I do still get paid in cash for any private lessons I teach, though, since those are extra.

Aikido, judo, hapkido, Japanese jujutsu, BJJ, or the tuidi of karate would all be reasonable sources to work from for teaching people how to deal with aggression in that environment. One of my former training partners used to work in precisely the environment that you describe, and she used her judo training on more than one occasion to avoid injury to herself and her clients, and control them until help could arrive. The key thing is to be sure that anything that is taught, is taught and trained properly and appropriately for the environment.

As sensei8 points out, aggression certainly gives you a serious leg-up in self defense. A large part of your response to aggression is going to depend on what the attacker is doing. A tackle, as you describe, is best dealt with by either getting out of the way, sprawling, or counter-throwing--in that order. This kind of attack is actually very easy to deal with, as long as you see it coming.

Very thoughtful--thank you for sharing!

Hand conditioning is a pretty vast topic--it's been the topic of countless books and videos, nevermind all the arts that teach it. There are lots of ways to go about it, but how you do it is dependent on how you are planning to strike; punches, small-surface strikes, palm strikes, slaps, etc. Since this thread is pretty much about punching, I'll assume you're wanting to condition your hands for punching. The first step is typically knuckle planks or push-ups. The key to these is to focus on making your striking knuckles bear your weight, since most people will let their fists collapse flat onto the ground. Hitting the heavy bag without gloves or wraps is also a good starting point, but you have to work up to hitting hard. Hitting too hard, too soon, will result in injury and will set back your conditioning, rather than accelerating it. You can also use a maize bag (a head-sized bag filled with corn, beans rice, sand, or some combination of those things), since it will have more give than the heavy bag. Karateka tend to jump straight for the makiwara when discussing hand conditioning, but I want to stress that the makiwara is NOT meant for hand conditioning! It does toughen the skin and bones through impact, but that is a side-effect. Its real purpose is strengthening the entire structure/power chain of your strike, and giving you feedback as to where weaknesses are in that structure/chain. Be careful with the makiwara, and be sure to start out slow--I usually have people start by just putting their knuckles in the pad and pushing the board back. Once they are comfortable with this, they can start striking it lightly, and work their way up over time. Too much power, or too many repetitions, will lead to injuries and setbacks.

Yep, that's why I do bare-knuckle (well, recently I've taken to wearing hand wraps, I consider it impolite to bleed on punching bags that don't belong to me) heavy bag work at the sports centre nearby once or twice a week. I'm still trying to think of more ways to harden my knuckles themselves (heavy bag only helps to get technique right). The knuckles will harden some with the heavy bag work. You could look into some makiwara training, or some smaller hanging sand bags to build them up, as well.Am curious to listen more Are you wanting to learn more about hand conditioning, in general, or the use of makiwara or maize/sand bags, in particular?

Since we cannot train with 100% realism, it stands to reason that we also cannot compete with 100% realism. Anything that is not 100% realistic is going to develop expectations based on theory or experience that may not be accurate. This is something we have to keep in mind when we train or compete, lest we become complacent. When you're great at hitting pads, or have great success in competition, you might feel that you are fully prepared for self defense, even though you are not. Of course, if you only ever practice with a compliant partner, and never hit pads, you'll be even worse off. Personally, I'm not fond of competition--winning doesn't give me any sense of accomplishment, losing makes me feel terrible, and I'm very non-confrontational. I will say that competition certainly has benefits, though! Dealing with someone who is fighting back and resisting you, developing a sense of distance and timing, being forced to perform under pressure, etc. I really do think that the key to avoiding complacency is maintaining an understanding of the limitations of your training and competition. Unfortunately, many instructors don't seem to foster this understanding in their students.

Oh, man--we must not do Shorin-Ryu, either, then! All the instructors at the dojo have brought their own past training and experiences with them, and it's become a very blended system. The core is Shorin-Ryu and, while many things have come from other arts, it all connects back to Shorin-Ryu. I'm not fond of the creation of styles and sub-styles. Often, this is completely redundant and done primarily for political reasons. There are thousands of styles and sub-styles out there, right now, and a lot of them teach almost the same material as the other sub-styles in their branch of martial arts. To me, a new style would have to be fairly significantly different from not only the core art of the creator, but significantly different from similar existing styles. That's a pretty tough bar to reach.

I'm afraid I don't know of any, personally. You would probably have better luck asking a senior instructor of your style, like Bruce Heilman Sensei. They would know a good number of people in your lineage, and where they live.

Welcome back!

Much appreciated! According to pictures, I got an 8.75, an 8.91, and an 8.79 on the scorecards.

I was a yonkyu (4th kyu) in Shuri-Ryu, at the time, but I started learning kobudo around rokkyu (6th kyu)--they encouraged everyone to learn kobudo. A bo kata was required to earn sankyu (3rd kyu), and you had to pass proficiency tests with bo and sai to test for shodan. I had already passed my proficiency test with the bo, and narrowly failed my sai test, by the time I competed in this tournament.

I am always highly skeptical of "secret" or "inner circle" material, particularly when it includes kata that are claimed to be incredibly old. Hakutsuru and Channan are their own cans of worms, and while I'm not terribly familiar with Wanduan (I've seen it in one of McCarthy's books, and it's been discussed a bit in some other forums), it's looking like a similar situation. There tends to be a lot of political strife mixed in with these, as well, and I try to stay out of that when I can. I will say this--if it really is that old, and really does come from Five Ancestor Fist, then you should be able to send a video of it to an experienced instructor of Five Ancestor Fist and they should be able to recognize the material. Not necessarily the exact form, but the way of moving, the postures, and the possible applications. If they don't, then it's likely either a modern creation, or it's been changed so much over time that there is little of the original material left.

Thanks! That's actually a purple belt, and this was back when I did Shuri-Ryu. In that style, purple belt is the yonkyu (4th kyu) rank. I definitely didn't have much room, and you can see me adjust my stepping during that sequence so that I wouldn't run into the judges. I didn't think I got too close, but obviously the judge who put his mouthpiece in thought I did