Wastelander

Welcome to the forum!

I had to put "other" because, in my mind, there is no true "correct" pace for a kata, and even if there were, we are so far removed from the creators of the kata that we have no way of knowing what that pace was. In addition, I don't perform my kata at the same pace every time. Ideally, I think you have to make the kata fit you, individually. Sometimes I do it at a metronomic pace, as I would if an instructor was counting. Other times, I let my body go through the kata naturally--whatever feels right, to me--which tends to be faster. Other times, I go slow and focus on flowing, or working with dynamic tension. Every now and then, I will even go through the kata as fast as I can without missing movements.

To answer your question, you simply go up to your pastor/minister/etc. and tell them that you've been training in martial arts for X number of years and would be interested in starting a program if they would be willing to host it. I've known several people to start programs at their church, and it works out just fine. Some people don't want martial arts in their church because they feel it promotes violence or worship of other religions, and at that point you can either talk to them about those issues or just let it be. All that said, I'm afraid I have to echo everyone else's sentiments regarding your rank. Holding yourself back on ranking for competition purposes is called "sandbagging," and is very frowned upon--people have been banned from competition for it, before. As far as triple-grading from Sankyu (since you say you're testing for that soon) to Shodan in just 6 months, that seems like a bad idea. If you didn't feel ready to test for Sankyu all this time, then you probably shouldn't feel ready to test for Shodan in 6 months. I know I wouldn't.

My favorite no-gi choke, and the choke I hit most often in both gi and no-gi grappling, would be Kata Gatame (arm triangle). In a gi, my favorite choke is Kataha Jime (shoulder wing choke), but it's much harder to get.

As long as "proper execution" makes the technique effective, then I am more a proponent of proper execution. On the other hand, if "proper execution" does not make a technique more effective, then I am more a proponent of making it effective despite "improper execution".

My Journey with the Grandmaster by Bill Hayes is an incredible read for any karateka, in my opinion.

With judo and BJJ being so different from karate, and you already being a Nikyu, I don't think you would have any trouble with it from a learning perspective. I am a huge advocate of cross-training, and I am sure you would benefit from it! That said, it sounds like you have a pretty full schedule as it is, and even if you can find the time to do it all, I don't think you should. Overtraining is unhealthy, and can be dangerous. You would need to drop a couple of your other activities, especially if you are planning to increase your attendance at your dojo.

It is very common to start kobudo training with the bo--it is what I started with, as well! Enjoy your training!

Thanks! I do quite a few other supplementary exercises, of course, but my list was getting pretty long and I didn't want to write a book, haha. I actually do Stronglifts, and mix in the other exercises between sets or after my lifting. Right now I'm nursing a mild quadriceps tear, though, so I can't squat or deadlift, and I'm having to go easy on most leg-intensive exercises in general. For a while I have to be a bit of a "captain upper-body" . I partially agree with this, and partially disagree. Barbells are balanced, yes, which means you have to do less stabilization, but you do still have to stabilize the bar with weight on it, so it isn't a complete loss in that regard. The biggest benefit that barbell lifts have is that you can simply move more weight, and moving more weight is going to make you stronger than moving less weight. No matter what you are doing, stronger muscles are stronger muscles. The biggest thing we gain from "functional" workouts is working ranges of motion and series of muscular engagement that more closely mimic what we do in martial arts. This makes us much more effective at applying our strength to our training. I actually agree with you on the fact that someone who only does barbell lifts, even doing them properly (many "gym rats" cheat to lift more weight than they actually can), will not be as effective at using their strength in martial arts as they could be if they ALSO did "functional" workouts. I also think that a person that only does "functional" workouts will not be as strong when they apply their strength in martial arts as they could be if they ALSO did heavy barbell lifts (properly). I'm a proponent of doing both! Adding heavy barbell lifts will only help, not hurt, your "functional" training, and vice versa.

I'm not sure why so many people seem to think exercises can only be "functional" if they don't involve a barbell . In any case, I assume you want to develop functional strength for karate, in particular. I don't do the same routine all the time, because that would be boring, but here are some of the things I do. 5x5 squats: I started with just the bar and added 5lbs each workout. Be sure that you hit parallel on each squat and maintain good form. This builds strength and explosiveness in the legs and stability in the core, both of which you need to power your strikes. 5x5 bench press: I started with just the bar and added 5lbs each workout. Make sure you get a full range of motion by touching the bar to your chest, but don't bounce it off of yourself, and don't grip the bar too wide. Works chest strength and arm extension for pushing and punching. 5x5 barbell rows: I started at 100lbs and added 5lbs each workout. Make sure you keep your back flat and don't shrug the bar up. This builds strength for pulling, which applies to your hikite and kuzushi. 3x5 deadlifts: I started at 135lbs and added 5lbs-10lbs each workout. Don't do straight-leg deadlifts, and make sure you keep your back straight. This builds strength for just about everything fighting related--gripping, pulling, lifting, and stabilizing your core. T-bar presses: Load weight on one end of a barbell, set the other end on the floor or a t-bar bracket, stand in your stance holding the end of the bar in front of your shoulder and punch to press the bar away from you. I started with a 35lb plate and added 2.5lbs-5lbs each workout. Very functional exercise for adding resistance to your punches throughout your entire biomechanical chain. Kettlebell swings: Two-handed, one-handed, or switching, it doesn't really matter. Develops hip drive and shoulder stability. Kettlebell woodchoppers: I call these "farmer tosses"--imagine picking up a bale of hay off the ground next to you and tossing it up into the bed of a truck. Obviously, I'm a country boy so this makes perfect sense to me . Works hip drive, shoulder stability, and core rotation. Rope battling: Excellent conditioning exercises, and works the shoulders, legs, and core. Rope grapplers: Get an underhand grip on the ends of the rope and swing them over your head to slam them onto the ground next to you, then repeat to the other side. Excellent conditioning for rotational power and shoulder strength. Heavy bag drags: Tie yourself to a heavy bag, get in your fighting stance, and press across the floor in your stance--punches optional. Builds explosiveness and endurance in the legs. Jumping lunges: Drop into a lunge, then explode and jump forward from the lung. Repeat, switching sides each time. Builds explosiveness and endurance in the legs. Sit-through planks: From a push-up position, kick one leg underneath you and across your body until that hip touches the floor, then return to your push-up position and repeat on the other side. I typically do these in sets of 15-20, and they are a good core workout for twisting movements--kicks, punches, and throws all come to mind. Weighted crunches and bridges: Simply hold a weight plate (I use a 45lb plate) and do crunches and bridges. You could also do this with a medicine ball. Burpees: I do the full squat-kickback-pushup-kickup-jump burpees. This can also be done with a medicine ball. Intense conditioning, works explosiveness and core stability. Bagwork: Blast the heaviest bag you can as hard as you can for as long as you can. Excellent sport-specific conditioning.

Good luck to you and your instructor, both!

Welcome to the forum!

On top of the great recommendations you have already been given, I would add slow motion kicking. It lets you work technique and form, but also forces you to work your balance.

Welcome to the forum!

I don't know where you live in the UK, but John Titchen teaches practical karate based on Shotokan in the Wycombe area. http://www.d-a-r-t.org.uk/dart-classes.html You might also see about schools that art affiliated with Iain Abernethy, Peter Consterdine, or Geoff Thompson. They are all well known for having practical approaches to karate, but I think they run private schools, so you may have to find schools run by their students.

Thanks, CredoTe! As I mentioned, I'm still tweaking the drill and will probably end up recording another video when I am more satisfied with it, but for now this works well enough.

I appreciate the details, CredoTe! Since I practice a different branch of Shorin-Ryu, I didn't want to delve too deeply into details that I wasn't sure of. Your explanation is great!

As someone who converted to Shorin-Ryu (Kobayashi) from a style heavily influenced by Japanese karate, and someone who currently trains with a Shotokan yudansha converting to Shorin-Ryu, I might be able to provide a little insight. The stances are not as low, and most of the places your kata have kokutsu-dachi, Shorin-Ryu uses neko-ashi-dachi, so that is a bit of a difficult transition to make. After stances, I would say power generation is the next biggest problem. Japanese styles tend to be very hard styles that put a lot of power into everything, but Shorin-Ryu is softer and has more emphasis on fluidity.

I classified myself as "leggy," by which I assume you mean kicking a lot? I throw a lot of leg kicks and body kicks of various types, and the occasional head kick. I don't really do any flashy ones, Van Damme style, though.

Thanks, guys! I ended up having some time after class last night to upload the video of the full renzoku bunkai drill. As I mentioned, I'm still tweaking it, so it's a bit rough and there are a couple things I would like to change. It does cover an application for every movement in the kata, and any individual application can be taken out and drilled separately. The drill is really just intended to be a flow drill that covers the entire kata, but it is also semi-live in that there are several sections where the uke can attack with either side or from odd angles, and they can resist or block as they see fit. It isn't a fully live drill, of course, since tori and uke are working specific techniques, but I think it's a decent introduction to the idea. Ideally, I see this drill as being an "entry level" partner drill that can become more and more live as you get more comfortable with the techniques. When I've done it with people who don't know the drill, they sometimes respond in unusual ways and I can just about always find an application from another section of the drill. Continuing from the first video, we have the attacker breaking free of the lock or withstanding the strikes to the head and firing back with a punch from their free hand. This is a section where I'm looking into changing the attack, but it will take some experimentation. Right now, I'm thinking that uke grabbing the punching arm to control it might fit better. Tori responds by blocking, then twisting the arm into hiji dori garami (elbow grip lock--that's what we call it, anyway) and striking kyusho targets in the cervical plexus or side of the neck/head. From there, should uke break free from the lock we transition into a hammerfist across the jaw, which also serves to jam any punch from uke's free hand (whether it's coming or not). I didn't do a very good job of showing that in the video--we've been beating up on Brent (my uke) a lot lately and I didn't want to keep knocking his head around, so I ended up leaving it out. From there, if there is contact with the uke's punching arm we roll it over into a cross-body armbar (shown in the video). If the uke didn't throw a punch, I do the same motion as a hammerfist to the side of the head/neck in conjunction with a sweep (not shown in the video). If uke escapes the lock and stands up, tori pulls them off balance and then grabs or strikes the neck/head to throw uke over tori's leg. The pull to disrupt balance is very judo/jujutsu/aikido-ish, and isn't absolutely necessary to making it work, but I wanted to include the concept. The pulling motion can also be used to deflect a punch or grab downward away from the face. The throw, itself, is really hard to match up precisely with the kata when you're being nice to your partner--the arms end up much lower. When I've done this full-speed it matches up perfectly, but the fall is pretty rough. The arm coming across the body the way it does also serves to jam any punch uke might throw.

"The karate that has been introduced to Tokyo is actually a single part of a larger whole. The fact that those who have learned karate in Tokyo think that it consists only of hand strikes and kicks, and that throws and joint locks are only a part of jujutsu or judo can only be attributed to their lack of awareness on this art. While it can be said that this is an unavoidable situation because only a small part of karate was introduced, this is very regretful from the point of view of the popularization of karate. Those people who are truly thinking of the future of karate should not keep a closed mind and limit themselves to learning only an empty shell, but should strive to study the complete art." - Mabuni Kenwa, founder of Shito-Ryu "Karate, as it is transmitted, changes every few years. This is a common phenomenon. It happens because a teacher must continue to learn and adds his personality to the teachings. There is an old Okinawan martial arts saying that states that Karate is much like a pond. In order for the pond to live, it must have infusions. It must have streams that feed the pond and replenish it. If this is not done then the pond becomes stagnant and dies." - Chibana Chosin, founder of Shorin-Ryu "There is no kamae in a Karate kata, except for the beginning and end of the kata. Everything else is transition and application." - Chibana Chosin, founder of Shorin-Ryu "Karate IS the first strike!" - Motobu Choki, karate master and street fighter “Just because something is traditional is no reason to do it, develop your own way by trial and error." - Motobu Choki, karate master and street fighter "Understand the old to learn the new." ("On Ko Chi Shin") - Okinawan proverb "Copy, adapt, transcend." ("Shu Ha Ri") - Okinawan proverb

Congratulations!

The "Library" thread is probably the best resource we have for books on martial arts that the members of our forum recommend. I will throw out there that, out of all the books I've read, Bill Hayes' book My Journey With The Grandmaster is probably the most energizing! It really gets you amped up to research and train! With a serious injury, you'll have to pour all that energy into the research

I've been addicted for over 7 years, with no intention of coming clean! I currently train in Shorin-Ryu karate with Sensei Richard Poage at Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts in Scottsdale, AZ.

Hello everyone, At the request of a friend of mine, I spent a little time last weekend recording my Naihanchi kata. Since it is a common kata that most of us likely share, and one that I feel is of great importance, I figured I would share the video here. I'm certainly no expert, and there are plenty of mistakes for me to work on--it's amazing how many problems you find when you watch yourself on video . Still, I think this is a fairly accurate representation of where I am with my karate. I had a couple minutes after class this Saturday before I had to head home to help my wife around the house, so I recorded a quick-and-dirty demo of a broken-down bunkai drill I like for the beginning of Naihanchi Shodan. I would have preferred better angles, close-ups of some parts, more detailed demonstrations, better lighting, etc., but I did what I could with the time I had. I really appreciate Brent, one of our intermediate teen students, for letting me beat up on him . As always, there are many applications that could work for any given movement, so these are not the only applications we use for Naihanchi and they certainly aren't the only ones out there! The scenario starts with someone grabbing you and threatening you. The first movements of the kata are used a pre-emptive strike in this drill, where you grab your attacker's head and strike it--in the demonstration, I simply punch the face, but you could backfist the nose or use small-surface strikes like ippon-ken on kyusho targets. From there, I lever the head down into a knee strike, and shovel kick the attacker's knee. The second part of the drill is when you have failed to pre-empt your attacker and they let go of you with one hand to start punching. You deflect and trap the punch beneath your arm and use that hand to slap the back of their head while elbowing them in the face. Just like the first technique, the strike (elbow, in this case) can be thrown as many times as necessary, although I only did it once in the demo. The third part of the drill is when you have done one of the first two (I only demonstrate this off of the second part of the drill in the video, though) and your attacker blocks and clinches with you to prevent you from hitting them more. From there, you grapple with your opponent (normally I like doing this randori-style, but didn't for the video) until they try to make space to start hitting you again, at which point you drag their pushing arm across your body into hiji osae gatame (elbow press lock). That lock can be used to control the attacker, dislocate the joint, or simply bring their head level down, and then you can follow up with hammerfists or punches to the head/neck. This drill can be worked into just about any self defense drill, because often when people start getting hit and don't like it, but also don't want to quit fighting, they will grab onto you and start wrestling with you. From that same situation, I have other drills from Naihanchi, but this was the only one I had time to record. I hope it is clear enough for you guys to see where I'm going with it, though! Eventually, I would like to record other applications that can be used for a variety of other scenarios.