Wastelander

Hello everyone, This weekend, I recorded a few kata application videos. The first one is an application for the last few movements in our Passai Sho kata, also called Itosu Passai. In the kata, you perform a yama-tsuki (mountain thrust), followed by a turn and a sukui-uke (scooping receiver). This movement almost perfectly matches a variation of tai otoshi (body drop throw) that I was taught by my second judo instructor as a way to compensate for my bad shoulder. You can enter into the throw the same way you would enter into a standard tai otoshi, but instead of maintaining your grip on the lapel, you brace your forearm against the inside of your opponent's elbow and "draw a circle in the air" with it. I did the throw slowly in the video so it is easier to see what I'm doing, but it makes it look a bit clunky. The second application I recorded was for the opening movements of Naihanchi Nidan, where you step into kosa-dachi (cross stance) and lift the hands, projecting the elbows outward, and then step into Naihanchi-dachi and execute a simultaneous forearm/hammerfist strike and punch. In application, the step into kosa-dachi becomes a twist into kosa-dachi, with the lifting hands trapping the attacker's punching arm. From there, you step into the strikes, bracing your lead knee against the inside of your attacker's knee to disrupt his balance. In the video, I show both the forearm/hammerfist strike and the punch being used, but instead of punching, you can simply maintain control of your attacker's punching arm with that hand, and the movement is the same. You can also do this while moving to the outside of the punch, and the strikes are still available, or you can place the elbow of the lead arm against the opponent's shoulder and drop them backward wit hit. I didn't record that variation, but I might record it sometime in the future. The third application I recorded was for the opening movements of Naihanchi Sandan, where you step out to naname-zenkutsu-dachi (diagonal front stance) and execute a chudan-ude-uke (middle forearm receiver), then shift back to Naihanchi-dachi and execute a morote-uke (double receiver--middle and low, in this case), then move the hands into meotode-gamae (married hands posture), which then moves across the body, then back, and then strikes out. This is a long sequence of movements, and so I actually throw three applications strung together, following a "if that fails, do this" formula. The first movement is used to avoid/control the attack, and then the morote-uke can be used to dislocate the elbow. If the dislocation fails, you can roll the arm over into an armbar, and if that fails, you can defend against a strike and strike back. I also show the same movements used from inside a punch, instead of from the outside. The initial technique is the same--avoid/control the attack, and then use morote-uke to dislocate the elbow. If that fails, you can transition to hiji-dori (elbow press) and strike.

Great job, Fang! And good luck on your test!

Most of the time, when Sanchin-dachi bothers the knees, it's because the person is allowing their knees to collapse inward. In any stance where your knees bend, your knees should track over your toes. Allowing them to collapse inward or outward from that track puts too much strain on your knees. Record video of yourself running Sanchin and see if this is what you are doing.

My pleasure! We practice Kobayashi-Ryu, through the Shorinkan.

I can't speak to Uechi-Ryu, specifically, but Shorin-Ryu uses the same/similar techniques. This is a good write-up on several of them, courtesy of Ryan Parker Sensei: http://ryukyuma.blogspot.com/2013/04/small-surface-strikes-structurally.html

Most often, we are deflecting, but sometimes we do actually "block" an attack. Deflecting is the preference, though, as it is more practical, because it doesn't tell your attacker that their strike is finished, which would signal for them to throw another strike. It's also quicker and requires less effort!

I completely agree with GojuRyu Bahrain, but only if we're talking about someone who knows that they are going to be a long-term karateka! Beginners typically don't know that, for sure, so it doesn't make sense for them to invest in a good gi. Since karatefreak91 is asking about a gi for a beginner, I would recommend something cheap, but workable. 6oz is probably a bit too thin, but 8oz will do just fine, and isn't too costly for someone just starting their training. Once you've been training for a year, or so, you should have a better idea of whether you want to stick with it long-term or not. If you do, then definitely shell out the money for a good, heavyweight gi.

Welcome to the forum!

Honestly, the vast majority of people that I've met who say "I used to train..." stopped at the lower ranks. That said, I have definitely met some who stopped at brown belt, and usually they say that they couldn't make it work with their schedule anymore. That may be true, or it may be that the fear of testing for black belt drove them to overtrain and burn out, and they started to find excuses not to train. It's hard to say, really. I've been a brown belt for about 6 years, and it's impossible to imagine stopping.

A couple of years ago, I was told that I was mentioned in the local newspaper back home. It turns out that a young karate student from my old dojo had been interviewed because he was a very promising student and active member of the community. They asked him who his role model was, and he said that it was me! I trained with him for a little over a year and, as one of the senior students at the dojo, I taught many of his classes and helped him through techniques and kata on many occasions. I never expected that I would have made such a big impact on him that, several years later, he would say that I was still his role model! I admit that it still gets me a little choked up, but I'm kind of a sap . I have to say, I'm VERY proud of him! He's a great young man, and destined for great things! ETA: I found the article, here (http://www.pjstar.com/x459327375/Tyler-Peifer)

I was a bit of a nerd, and very interested in Japanese culture. I actually wanted to learn kendo, but it wasn't available in my area, and was very expensive if I wanted to drive the hour it took to get to the nearest dojo. Karate was available, though, and that's how I started. My reasons for training have certainly changed, and I've matured as a martial artist since then, but I still have a long way to go.

Congratulations!

I agree that training should be directly related to MMA competition if you are going to call what you do "MMA." For that reason, even though we cover a lot of the same material, our dojo doesn't call what we do "MMA." As I said, even though the literal term "mixed martial arts" may be accurate, that isn't what people think of when they read MMA--now, they think of cage fighting.

We certainly utilize and emphasize the use of torque, in addition to sinking or rising body weight, for power generation and force transfer. I recently got the chance to train in old-style Okinawan Shuri-Te, and that system also uses body rotation, sinking, and rising, but differently than more "modern" systems of karate. The body can only be used so many ways, so it isn't surprising, in my opinion, that we would see the same or similar methods of power generation.

In truth, the vast majority of what we call "traditional martial arts" are, or were at one time, mixed martial arts. Karate, for example, is a blend of Okinawan, Indochinese, Chinese, and Japanese martial arts. Judo is a blend of a couple different traditional Japanese jujutsu styles and Western wrestling. The trouble is that the term "mixed martial arts" is now associated with a specific type of competition, rather than being a description of what you do in your training. When people talk about MMA, these days, everyone assumes they are talking about this competitive format. Because of that, even though plenty of "traditional martial arts" really are "mixed," they should probably stop using that term to avoid confusion and misrepresentation. All that said, it is certainly possible to teach "traditional martial arts" that do fit the MMA mold. At my dojo, for example, we teach both striking and grappling arts, and we spar and roll in a manner that can be transferred into MMA competition if you so choose. If you think about it, the vast majority of MMA fighters actually trained in a variety of traditional arts, to begin with, so it makes sense that this is still acceptable.

Hello everyone, A little over a month ago, we had a KishimotoDi practitioner spend 10 days teaching us a little of his system. It's a rare style of old-school karate (Shuri-Te, specifically) that most people haven't even heard of, so we were thrilled to get the opportunity! There is a lot that is familiar, but because it's a style of Te, rather than modern karate, it has some strange aspects to it, as well. I thought some people here might be interested to see the differences and do a bit of comparison. Here is the version of Naihanchi Shodan we practice at my dojo, which is the most popular version of this kata: Here is the KishimotoDi version of Naihanchi (they only have one Naihanchi kata), which looks familiar, and yet strange at the same time: And to see a little bit of Tachimura no Naihanchi (what they call their version) in action, here is a snippet of a drill we did during his seminar:

Well, I don't know how helpful we can be when it comes to setting up seminars, but if you come through Phoenix, Arizona, you'd be welcome to stop by our dojo!

Welcome to the forums!

Congratulations!

Not if one is punching properly, as you've mentioned. The MMA gloves look like a shorter version of what Bruce wore in Enter The Dragon. After the movie aired, one could buy a glove just like that. I did. What I didn't like was that the glove was thick all over. However, I couldn't fully close either fist completely, and I didn't like that at all. I'd be aware of that as well with the MMA gloves. Hopefully, modern technology has fixed that. It isn't so much the punching you have to worry about with the fingers, as it is the blocking. Many styles, and many people, in general, do a lot of open-handed blocking. That is what leaves the fingers vulnerable to injury while wearing open-handed gloves. I've seen the Bruce Lee gloves, and thought they were very interesting, but seemed like you probably couldn't make a proper fist. Modern MMA gloves don't have that problem, if they fit properly and are made properly.

Thanks, everyone! Somehow, I managed to totally miss this thread! I appreciate all the well-wishes!

I actually prefer to do the vast majority of my bagwork without gloves or wraps, at all--it's better for preparing your hands for impact to ensure that you don't get injured later. That said, MMA gloves definitely aren't bad for your hands, as long as you punch properly. I will say that the fact that the fingers are exposed means that it is easier for them to get caught on things, and injured that way.

There are no universal requirements, but some organizations may require you to be of a certain rank before you can run a school that is officially affiliated with the organization. Typically, this seems be somewhere between 2nd and 4th dan when I have seen it. I've definitely seen Shodans running their own schools, and 6th dans that just want to be students.

I don't know the original intention behind those being the only allowable strikes--I'm not a Shotokan practitioner, and so I'm not familiar with the details of its history. What I can say is that those strikes are much harder to land than, say, a jab. More difficult to land = safer competition.

The majority of hojo undo practices found in karate originally came from China and India, and were given an Okinawan flavor over time, as far as I can tell. These methods are present in all Okinawan karate styles, to some degree, but Naha-Te systems (Goju-Ryu and Uechi-Ryu, primarily) make the most use of it, generally. It's really up to the instructor whether or not he/she wants to make use of traditional hojo undo methods.