Wastelander

My old instructor favored Tigear shin guards, and I've heard that Windy makes some excellent ones. I just use Shockwave shin/instep pads, which are just enough to take the edge off.

That's really more of an instructor preference than anything. I've heard of some schools drilling you on basics for months before starting a super-simplified kata, and then other schools throw you into kata from day one. And that's regardless of style! Your best course of action is just do your best at keeping up and learning the new material, and don't dwell too much on "how we did it in Uechi-Ryu."

Very important stuff--thanks for sharing!

I don't believe that push-ups are any harder on your body than planks, if you are doing them properly. That said, my Sensei actually hasn't written up any of the fitness/strength requirements, so we have no idea what is going to be asked of us when we test. It makes things interesting

Thanks for sharing this article!

We don't do any in-house events with our adults, but various parents and students will, occasionally, host parties at their homes. These tend to go over well with everyone--the kids come over and play until they are worn out, and the adults eat/drink/talk until the wee hours of the morning.

The Pinnacle is, essentially, the "bible" of Shuri-Ryu and its off-shoots. I don't have the book, myself, but I have copies of some of the sections, and I know several people who have it. As far as I know, you have to go through Roberta to get copies at a reasonable price, these days, but I don't know how much she charges. She is also notorious for being difficult to get in touch with, so you may have better luck asking someone who has a good relationship with her to call for you. Personally, my opinion of it is the same as ps1's. That said, if you practice Shuri/Shorei/Shorei-Goju-Ryu, it's pretty much required reading. The vast majority of schools in the Trias lineage follow that book to the letter (depending on the version they have). My old Shuri-Ryu instructor was actually so adamant that the style shouldn't be changed that any time someone asked him to get them a copy of the Pinnacle, he would order it and then go in and edit out the changes made after the last edition that Trias wrote.

Well, everyone manifests their art a bit differently. This is how my instructor teaches it, and how I try to implement it. Mechanics - Relaxation, speed, torque, and body weight. Strategy - Avoid/enter at angles, control the limbs, disrupt balance, strike vulnerable targets. Tactics - Distracting strikes (elbow to the body, kick to the leg, slap to the face, etc.), tuidi, power strikes (forearm to the neck, knee to the head, etc.), and takedowns (admittedly, I tend to put more emphasis on this aspect than my Sensei does).

Things vary, but our official requirements are: Time in grade (depends on the rank being tested for) Teaching hours (if testing for brown or black belt rank) Basics Self defense techniques Partner drills Kata Kumite You are also quizzed on karate history, orally, but we don't have to write papers. You have to know the Japanese terminology for pretty much everything, and have to be able to explain how certain things are done. The difficulty of all these questions varies depending on your rank, of course.

Thanks for the support, everyone! Part of the reason I'm so nervous is that I know it will be a very difficult and demanding test, and my health has been quite poor since November. I've been dealing with unexplained motion sickness and fatigue since then, and no doctors have been able to figure it out, so I haven't been able to train the way I feel I need to. Objectively, I know that I can only do the best I can do when the time comes, but I always put pressure on myself to do better. As far as what will be on the test, I know the curriculum items that will be included: 66 kihon waza 43 self defense techniques, demonstrated in the air and on an attacker 19 kata, and applications for them 7 yakosoku kumite drills, both attacking and defending roles There will also be questions on history, philosophy, details of movements and body mechanics, etc. My Sensei also knows that I know kata outside of the curriculum, and may ask me to demonstrate them, along with possibly asking me to demonstrate applications. I suspect he will ask me to do a kobudo kata, as well. I've never seen one of his shodan tests, before, so I really don't know what to expect--the only thing I have to go by is the one shodan test I was an attacker for at my old dojo. I expect to be nitpicked on form until it drives me crazy, made to do things over and over again for minute mistakes, and asked to do strange things (like backwards kata with push-ups every three moves, or something), all to try and make me give up. Then, of course, I have to spar everyone on my testing panel after everything else, when I'm completely exhausted.

ps1 is absolutely correct--if you're going to try to research this, you are going to have a hard time. In addition, different styles use slightly different body mechanics, so if you end up pulling information from people who do things differently, your instructor may tell you that your paper was wrong. And that's just for power generation! Snap is a totally different can of worms. You're going to have to define "snap," for one thing--there are different characteristics that martial artists might call "snap." One kind of snap might be good, and another might be bad, depending on who you ask. Your best bet is really going to be studying how your art does it, and explain that to the best of your ability. You said "in martial arts (specifically, karate)," but that is extremely vague when it comes to the topics you have to cover. If you feel you need more information on how your style does things, you could try reaching out to other people who practice it and ask them. We are happy to help people on this forum, but this is going to be a pretty tough one!

Welcome back to the forum, and karate! Which "Okinawan Shorei-Ryu" do you practice? There is Shorei-Ryu that is headquartered in Okinawa, that I am aware of, and there is the "Okinawan Shorei-Ryu" that came from Robert Trias, before he changed the name to "Shuri-Ryu."

I don't set aside time for it, but I do at least a little training every day, and it's usually scattered in bits and pieces throughout the day. A kata here, some bagwork there, things like that. I try to always work Naihanchi Shodan, at least, every day, and rotate through my other kata. I do, occasionally, do a longer 1-2 hour workout, but they aren't planned in advance.

First of all, welcome back to karate, and welcome to the forum! Gi manufacturers follow "standard" sizing for all of their production uniforms. Most people don't fit within those "standards," but they can usually get by with hemming or rolling up sleeves and pant legs. Unfortunately, overweight people don't usually have this option. I know some overweight karateka, and they almost always have to settle for a gi that isn't quite large enough, or a gi that is far too long for them. The best option is really going to be buying the largest gi that fits around you, and then having it shortened and have the legs and sleeves taken in, if necessary. The alterations can be done fairly cheaply, if you can find someone who does seamstress/tailor work out of their home--usually, asking around will find someone. It's also probably best for you to buy the pants and top separately (that's really best for most people) because the proportions aren't going to be right. I have yet to see any company provide a gi that is actually meant for overweight people. You would think someone would get on that.

Well, I guess it's really happening... My shodan shinsa (1st degree black belt test) is set to be held in just 10 days, unless it has to be postponed. One of my dojo-mates, who is also supposed to test, broke his foot at Nationals and is willing to test with a brace, but my instructor is considering either testing him separately in 6 weeks, or pushing everyone's test out 6 weeks. To be honest--and I feel selfish saying it--I would rather not wait. One month out from our test date, the reality of the upcoming test hit me, and I don't really want to feel that for 6 more weeks! The rank of shodan carries with it a very interesting paradox. On one hand, it is literally the "beginner level," and rank really means nothing, anyway. On the other hand, most people seem to believe that the standards for earning a black belt should be rather high, and the test for shodan should be the most difficult rank exam. If you believe the first, then you should not believe the second, and vice versa, and yet it seems that the vast majority are somehow able to believe both. It's both interesting and terrifying, to me, because I'm having a hard time reconciling both aspects of it. I'm very nervous about the test--I'm absolutely dreading it, really. That feeling of dread tells me that I care about doing well in the test and earning the rank of shodan. At the same time, my dread is compounded by the fact that I don't WANT to be driven by rank. It also doesn't escape my notice that the vast majority of people who say "rank doesn't matter" already hold black belt ranks, for whatever that's worth. Perhaps I'm having this inner conflict because I'm still supposed to care about rank? I'm really not sure. Sorry for the rambling, everyone--I ramble on when I'm nervous!

mal103 and cheesefrysamurai nailed it, in my opinion. If you were to ask the instructors at my dojo, or (I suspect) most traditional dojo, they would tell you that you are being tested every single day. The "official test" is really a pressure test. They already know that you know the material, and have the skill, experience, and personal qualities required for the rank you are testing for. What is being tested is your ability to demonstrate those things in a short period of time under a great deal of physical, mental, and emotional stress, without giving up. The character portion is something that can't really be tested in a short period of time, in any effective way that I can think of, and it should most definitely be evaluated way before you are allowed to test.

Welcome to the forum! Do you currently practice karate?

My Sensei starts asking for kata applications when you test for brown belt ranks. We don't do "kyogi" (we don't use that word for anything, actually) like you describe, but our applications don't have to strictly adhere to the kata, necessarily. Many of the applications of our kata are implied (cat stances can imply a kick, knee, or sweep, for example) so sometimes it won't be an exact match. Also, if your partner does something weird and you have to change what you're doing, that's fine--it's more important that you can make it work, and adapt if it fails. As far as I know, he doesn't have any set number of applications that he requires. Typically, I tell people to have two or three "go-to" applications for every kata. In my next test, I'm sure I will need quite a bit more than that, though.

I've made a few. The method of making them is pretty standard, but the diameter of the haft is up to you, and it's hard to judge how heavy it will be based on the size of the weight. Once you have your haft (should be about knee-height for a traditional chi-ishi), put nails or bolts through the end that will be in the cement. Line your mold with Vaseline. Place the haft into the mold and then pour in the cement. Wiggle the haft so it gets thoroughly embedded in the cement. Tap/vibrate the mold walls to get out air bubbles. Let it set long enough to be firm, but not dry, and then cover the top with water. Let the cement cure while covered with water for a week, or so, then remove it from the mold and place it in a bucket of water for another week. After that, it will be ready to dry and coat with whatever protective material you choose. Here are some little ones I made for single-arm exercises, weighing from 2.5lbs to 5.5lbs, that were molded in Clorox Wipe containers: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BQgvw3rnuqo/UTYkqYCBPdI/AAAAAAAAGQI/mcnGUL4P5wA/s1600/Homemade+Chi-Ishi+Set.jpg And here is one of my big ones that I made for double-arm and full-body exercises, which was molded in a 5lb protein powder container and weighs about 13lbs: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WOBvsAzOGO4/U5m_mN6tFJI/AAAAAAAALD4/HWSO4Rrncwg/s1600/heavy+chi-ishi+coated.jpg

A dozen of our competitors qualified to compete at the USA Karate (WKF) National Championships in Reno, NV, and today was the last day of competition. The last day is Kumite Day, and our youngest competitor, 5 year old Kaylee, took the Gold in this match. It was a tough, back-and-fourth match, but she stuck to her game plan (kick them in the head) and pulled out the win. We're very proud of her!

I'm in complete agreement with Zaine. If you throw 10,000 punches a day, you will be overtraining, which can lead to injury, as well as ingraining bad habits and poor form. 100 to 500 a day is plenty, depending on your skill/fitness level, and even then I don't think it's actually all that necessary to do it every day. ESPECIALLY if those punches are all in the air. You would get more benefit out of hitting a target, like a makiwara, punching bag, or focus mitt.

Our curriculum includes ukemi--not to the same degree as grappling arts, of course, but it is there. Since our system includes throwing techniques, you have to know how to fall in order to train. That said, ukemi is definitely the most useful thing you will learn in martial arts! I have not had to defend myself since I was in High School, but I can assure you that I have slipped and fallen more times than I can count!

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Of course, only so much can be shown in a video, so a lot of details and nuances will be missed. I'm glad it's helpful, though! guird - In our style, a lot of applications are implied, and the knees and kicks here are examples of this. Those applications are most definitely historical applications for nami-gaeshi, but the mechanics are slightly different than the movement in kata. For this reason, the movement in kata can actually be done differently depending on the application.

There is more to being a good/qualified instructor than winning fights and having students who win fights, and looking out for students' safety is part of it. Of course, as DWx said, we weren't there so we don't know how your instructor said it--it may very well have been a comment made in jest. Either way, though, I stand by my assertion that beginners shouldn't be sparring each other until they've learned to control themselves by sparring with more advanced students. You say you have a brown belt and your Sensei in class--spar with them.