Wastelander

I can't speak to Meijin, but my Sensei wears a size 5 Shureido and he is 5'10" and 160lbs, so a 6 would probably be appropriate for you. That said, I have a size 5 Ronin and at 6'1" and 180lbs it is actually too big for me! I've washed it in hot water and dried it on high heat 4 times and it's still pretty bulky, in general. The sleeves and pant legs are badly in need of hemming, as well, because they cover my hands and feet completely.

Those who teach others are always going to have an impact on the students who are open to learning from them. Even as a brown belt assisting with classes, I have had students tell me that I've made a huge impact on them. One of my former students was actually written about in a newspaper article covering academically excellent high schoolers, and in it he said that I was his role model. Holding that type of place in a person's life is a great honor, but you are absolutely right about it being a big responsibility. No one is perfect, but we can do our best to be a good example for our students and help them make good decisions in and out of the dojo.

Congratulations!

I've never really understood why some styles label the Naihanchi kata as "advanced" or "black belt level." Naihanchi is considered the foundation of Shorin-Ryu (our branch of it, at least) and all three levels are taught before the Pinan series. The basic pattern of movements is very simple to learn, and the applications of the kata are very effective and versatile. From a conceptual standpoint, the Naihanchi kata provide a training platform for power generation, fluidity, lateral movement, trapping, limb control, and close-range striking. As far as specific applications, I like starting out with the "grab something and hit it" approach--the salutation at the beginning (open hand in front of your face, closed fist placed in the palm, hands open and press down, foot steps across) works very well for this. There are also plenty of joint destruction techniques in Naihanchi, which I'm quite fond of. There are really too many applications for Naihanchi to write them all up, though. Of course, there are several variations of Naihanchi, as well, and that changes the applications. Did you have any particular movements in mind?

It would be foolish to assume that fighting is purely physical. Whether you are engaged in sporting combat or a self defense situation, you need to be fully aware of yourself, your opponent, and your surroundings. You also need to be cognizant of the consequences of your actions, which requires forethought. Aside from that, we have to deal with high levels of stress/anxiety, adrenal response, and psychological barriers to violence. Fighting is really very complex.

Welcome to the forums!

EPAK has a lot of neat stuff in it, and I think that even if you don't decide to stick with it you will benefit from it. A lot of the techniques you can learn from them will open your eyes to the applications of your kata.

A full write-up, with pictures, as well as the video my instructor's girlfriend recorded of my fight, is now on my blog! For those who just want to watch the fight, here is the link, and if you don't want to see me get beaten up you should skip to about 7:20 in the video

Congratulations!

Well, I was perfectly fine until the bell rang for the first round to start, and then I got tunnel vision. He seemed really far away, and then he threw a jab that I thought for sure I slipped, but then it hit me in the mouth and I tasted blood. That made me hesitate long enough for him to take me down, and he subsequently beat me up for the rest of the first round. In the second round, I didn't have any more hesitation and figured he was going to try and take me down again, right away. I threw a lead leg roundhouse kick to his shoulder, expecting him to duck in for a takedown. That's exactly what happened, and he dropped when the bony knob at the top of my instep connected with his jaw. That was exactly what I planned on, and I had actually planned on doing it in the first round (I knew from previous fights of his that he was open for it) but hesitated too much. The ref actually told me it was a lucky shot, and I had to explain to him that it was completely intentional . There was some confusion though, because I threw it karate style (with a chamber) and from each camera angle it looks different. From one, it looks like I hit him with me knee (illegal in amateur MMA), from another, it looks like I hit him in the body with the kick and knocked him out with a punch, and the other it looks like I hit him with my shin to his jaw. I had to tell four people that I hit him with my foot, and the ref backed me up, because they wanted to know if they were going to disqualify me or give me the Knockout of the Night. I was awarded Knockout of the Night! It was a learning experience and a tough challenge! There was video of it from several angles, so I'm hoping I can get some of that and share it with everyone. Here is me in the stands afterward--I'm a little marked up, and I managed to come down with a cold within an hour of the fight, but otherwise I'm fine: http://s12.postimg.org/r81mjh1j1/Post_Fight.jpg

Tomorrow night, sometime between 8pm and 10pm, I will be stepping into the cage to compete in my amateur MMA debut at Rage in the Cage 167. My opponent will be Nathaniel Abril, a wrestler with an MMA record of 3-0 (you can watch his last fight ), and we will be fighting at 175lbs with the Arizona Boxing and MMA Commission's amateur ruleset. Those rules are based on the Unified Rules of MMA, but the rounds will only be 3 minutes long, elbows are not allowed, knees are not allowed to the head or on the ground, and foot stomps are not allowed.The fights will be streamed live on the internet,, but they didn't make it free so I don't really expect anybody to watch it . If anybody IS interested in watching it live, I put some information on my blog. I am going to try to get the footage of my fight so I can upload it personally, so if nobody is able to watch it live I still hope to be able to share it in the coming weeks. Wish me luck!

Our organization doesn't have requirements for that sort of thing. My dojo, specifically, has a tier structure for private lessons, ranging from $15 to $70 depending on how long you want the lesson to be and who you want to train with. A private lesson with a senior brown belt or junior black belt will cost less than a private lesson with one of the black belts, and a lesson with our head instructor will cost more than that. Those of us who help teach are compensated by discounted or free training, which also includes some private instruction every now and then.

It is generally recommended that you avoid strenuous or highly engaging physical or mental activities for about 2 hours before going to sleep. Martial arts counts. You are really just training too late at night and you are full of endorphins and ideas when it's time to go to bed. You can try a hot bath, in addition to meditation and chamomile tea, but your best options are really to either stop training so late at night, or sleep in.

Welcome to the forum! It looks like you have an interesting mix of experiences when it comes to martial arts--I don't think we have any Koryu Uchinadi folks on here, at the moment, either! I'm looking forward to your contributions!

I would ask how formal you want this style to be? Is it truly a cohesive curriculum that is different from those that currently exist that needs to have its own name, or is it just a blend of arts? If it doesn't need its own name, I would pick whatever style makes up the largest percentage of the curriculum, and just call it that with the subtitle of [Your Name]'s Method. With regard to rank, I don't think that a founder of a style needs to claim any rank other than Founder of the Style, but you should certainly be up-front and clear about your experience and the ranks you have been given. They are automatically the highest ranking person in the system, so they can then grade people in their system to whatever rank they please. They can also forgo ranking entirely in their system. As far as I'm aware, karate masters of old did not have rank designations until groups of their students got together later and decided that their teacher should have X rank and title. For what it's worth, I know one person who has created his own style. It is a blend of Trias Shorei-Ryu (AKA Shuri-Ryu), American Kenpo, and a variety of Chinese systems, and the diversity of these experiences caused the founder to make such substantial changes to everything that it became a cohesive system that is quite different from the systems that make it up. This is quite an undertaking, and requires massive amounts of knowledge and experience to accomplish. He also only claims the highest rank he was tested for (7th-dan), and he has such strict standards for his black belts that it takes 15 years to earn shodan, so he hasn't had the opportunity to test people for higher grades.

With regard to karateka using a wooden dummy, I would like to point out that all karateka should be able to use a kakiya, at least to some degree, without requiring additional training to do so. A mook jong is more difficult to work with because the trapping techniques it was designed for are not very prevalent in karate, so I could see needing additional training for that. The kakiya has long been a valuable training tool in Okinawa, and plenty of kihon and kata applications work well on it. It is mentioned and diagrammed in several books on karate from the 1920's-30's, and you can see one in this old photograph from Miyagi Chojun's training yard: http://www.kowakan.com/archives/3704/karate-jutsu-hojo-undo-equipment I have never had the luxury of using a proper kakiya, although I have used a mook jong on a few occasions, but I have used tree limbs in a similar fashion. Deflections, limb control, and joint destruction techniques all work well on a moveable arm. If you check out Ryan Parker's YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/thecontemplative2) he has graciously shared a few kakiya drills that you can try out.

I would start a couple years earlier--around 15 or 16--and I would have explored cross-training and researching kata application sooner. When I think about this realistically, though, it makes me wonder if that really would have been better than what I did. What if I wasn't mature enough to enjoy training that young? What if it made me more closed minded about practicality? What if it caused me to never meet the great people I have met? What if it caused me to never transition into the style I currently practice? These "what ifs" worry me quite a bit when I think about this kind of question. I suppose I'm a bit off in the head, though

A Facebook group that I am a part of that researches and shares hojo undo information has actually been pretty busy with wooden dummy conversations as of late. I haven't made one yet, but I am definitely planning to! For my purposes, a kakiya or tou would be a better dummy than a mook jong, and I suspect that may be the case for you as well. I have found a local place that sells pieces of retired telephone poles--check Craigslist in your area--that my sensei and I are planning to check out sometime in the next couple weeks. My plan is to smooth and varnish the surface of a 6ft length of telephone pole and put a little padding on the striking areas. I will probably also drill out divots where the eyes should be so I can include strikes to the eyes in my practice. Then I will drill out a slot at about chest height, bevel the slot, and mount a removable wooden arm through it. The arm will be held at an upward angle toward the head by rubber bungee cords running from the back of the arm down the back of the dummy to provide resistance. I am also planning to bolt a length of 2" spa tubing to each side, which I can use for sticky hands and joint locks with resistance--if the wooden arm gets in the way, I'll just take it off. If I'm feeling really ambitious, I'm thinking of mounting the body of the dummy so that it can pivot, but I don't know how realistic that will be. For inspiration, you can search Google and YouTube for the following: kakiya kakete-biki ching jong one arm dummy Sensei Garry Lever's YouTube channel also has some hojo undo videos that include some of his practice with a tou that has the same type of rubber tubing arms that I mentioned I want to use on my dummy.

My instructor only has his most current (Yondan) certificate hanging at the dojo, but the rest are hanging at his home, including an honorary Godan rank that he was given by a martial artist that he respects greatly. He doesn't claim that Godan rank, though, or even really tell people about it, because he says he didn't test for it and earn it, so it doesn't count With regard to people asking to see all previous certificates, I actually know why they do that. While it is true you should not receive a rank without first earning the rank before it, that is not always the case. I personally know of one person that falsely claimed a yudansha ranking without having earned it, and was later graded two ranks higher without ever having proved that he earned the first yudansha ranking. Some people are not honest, and they are the reason that people sometimes want to see every certificate.

Congratulations, and thanks for your contributions!

I agree with you, of course--nothing and no one is perfect, but we can (and should) strive for perfection anyway.

This year I have added compound barbell lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press, barbell row, and overhead press) to my training, as well as some kettlebell and chi-ishi training. I also do bodyweight exercises like pull-ups, dips, push-ups, mountain climbers, etc., and I like to do weighted ab exercises.

Looks like he had fun--especially for his last fight in his test! Good for him!

I got to the dojo yesterday morning and spent the first class teaching some basics to a brand new student--she learned her first kata (Kihon Ippon), her first kata application (the first two moves of the kata), and her first self defense technique (Yakusoku Ending 1), in addition to learning how to throw a seiken-tsuki (fore-fist punch) and a mae-keagi-geri (front snap kick). After that, Sensei took the Specialty Class through several drills for covering distance, and then we went through lots of padwork. About 10 minutes into that class, I knew I shouldn't have been doing it, but I did it anyway . After that, I had half an hour to rehydrate, eat a protein bar, and mentally prepare for my belt test. The test took about 3.5 hours, since it was just two of us, but it was a pretty rough 3.5 hours. In the end, though, I didn't throw up (came close) or give up (wanted to) and I now hold the rank of Ikkyu (1st Degree Brown Belt) in Shorin-Ryu as a member of the Shorinkan, and Danny Bowley now holds the rank of Sandan (3rd Degree Black Belt) in Shorin-Ryu and Shodan (1st Degree Black Belt) in Kobudo. Thanks to Sensei Richard M. Poage, Yondan, and Shihan Jeff Allred, Rokudan, for administering our test! http://s21.postimg.org/q7f7gwhev/Test_25.jpg

That is awesome!