Wastelander

Ronin makes a decent heavyweight gi for people with a low budget--I picked one up a few years ago and it works fine, but it's bulkier than my Arashi

It sounds to me like his credentials are inflated by things like this--there are probably political motivations involved. You could certainly approach him with your concerns but I suspect that will not do you much good beyond earning his scorn since he probably thinks you would be honored to be graded higher. You could go to his organization but if politics are involved that may not help, either. The Kyokushin folks I have worked with have all been very down-to-earth and more concerned with their art than with their rank, so this seems a bit out of place to me.

"Pro" simply means that they are being paid to fight, nothing more, nothing less. If your parents are "sponsoring" your fight, you are a "professional" fighter at that point. These sorts of fighting events are put on mostly for crowd entertainment and less for true competition. The true competition comes after the good fighters have been sifted out of the mess of horrible fighters in these sorts of events. I have watched some pretty pathetic local fights before back in Illinois, but what can you really expect when you're surrounded by cornfields and binge drinking in the middle of them is the average idea of a Junior High Homecoming Party? I actually heard the announcement of "self-trained fighter" and couldn't believe my eyes when into the ring steps this kid with a farmers' tan who put his hands up like the Notre Dame Irishman (I'm not even exaggerating) to fight someone from the only good MMA gym in the state. He stepped in, threw a huge haymaker, got taken down and squirmed around for a while before tapping to a rear naked choke.

A self defense course might teach you some basics of self defense more quickly than traditional arts but you aren't getting the repetition. A couple hours on a Saturday afternoon is not going to build any muscle memory and if your brain forgets how to do the techniques you won't have anything to fall back on. I am a proponent of self defense courses but they must be an actual "course" and not a "seminar" which is usually the case. The techniques must be repeatedly drilled or you will not remember them when you need them.

Eyes, ears, throat, groin, and joints are all viable targets in self defense, especially when there is such a disparity of force. Eyes are squishy, eardrums can burst and mess up the equilibrium with just a good slap, the throat can be crushed pretty easily, the groin is a very sensitive target but some men just get mad or feel pleasure from being hit there so it isn't the end-all-be-all of self defense, and joints that aren't being protected (fingers and knees are good options) can be seriously damaged by pushing them the wrong way. I highly recommend grappling for womens' self defense because in a rape situation you are more likely to be dragged or pushed to the ground then in a typical fight.

Basically breaking with spacers is applying the force to break one board across the distance of the top of the top board to the bottom of the bottom board, while breaking without spacers is applying the force to break one board approximately multiplied by however many boards there are across the distance of the top of the top board to the bottom of the bottom board. Clear as mud?

Currently I know the following empty-hand kata. Shuri-Ryu: Taikyoku Ichi Taikyoku Ni Taikyoku San Wansu Anaku Naihanchi Sho Empi Sho Sanchin Seiunchin Shorin-Ryu (Shorinkan): Kihon Kata Dai Ichi Kihon Kata Dai Ni Kihon Kata Dai San Fukyu no Kata Naihanchi Shodan Naihanchi Nidan Naihanchi Sandan Pinan Shodan Pinan Nidan Pinan Sandan Pinan Yondan I am currently learning Chinto (I have learned about half of it so far)

Kangeiko as in "winter training"? Were you hanging your sweaty gi outside to freeze after every class and doing your training outside? That's what I've heard of from people who have don kangeiko in Japan. Kangeiko here is awesome because it's 70 degrees right now

God help you is your trying to stop that guy with an inside crescent kick! Agreed, but what if you use that inside crescent kick from the ground against a meth-head who is leaning over you? Suddenly that kick becomes valid. Certainly there are other things you can do that could be more effective, but it's a viable option at that point.

You will need to add weight to it to make it a somewhat realistic training tool. Somewhere around 90 pounds would be good. I hope your stitching is good if you decide to throw it--I used to train Judo with a guy who ripped a throwing dummy completely in half with an uchi-mata.

We work trapping, joint locking, choking, sweeping, and throwing at my dojo. To be fair, however, my instructor also teaches Jujutsu (not BJJ) and I have Judo experience so these sorts of things may be more heavily practiced in our karate classes than it would be at another Shorinkan dojo. As a matter of fact my Sensei and I grappled for about half an hour after class the other day and had a great time of it--I submitted him with a sankaku-jime (triangle choke) in our first match and he submitted me by pulling my lapel across my chin long enough for me to give up (he was going to be able to slip it down to my neck soon and I didn't have any strength left to escape or even continue blocking his attempts, so I just tapped )

I don't know that I would classify my response to a roundhouse punch as being part of the style I practice--the style is a collection of concepts, but how you utilize those concepts is what makes it an art. I, personally, would step in with my left foot (assuming they threw a right punch) blocking the inside of their bicep with my left arm and popping them in the jaw with my right elbow, then throw them with osoto gari. That's what I say, now, and that's what I practice for roundhouse punches, but something completely different could happen if someone were to really throw one at me. For instance if someone throws a roundhouse in class when I am expecting a straight punch I usually duck and redirect the swing over my head, then jam the elbow to keep them from throwing another swing.

The fun of it

I think that would be a very personal choice--I have a friend I used to train with (she still trains back in Illinois) who is a very talented seamstress and is making herself a gear bag and wanted to use a black belt for the handle, but couldn't bring herself to buy a belt she doesn't have the right to wear and then cut it up. I told her I thought it a bit silly and she just said "Yeah, but you know me" . My motivation is not the belt, so I would never buy one and put it on the wall as motivation. My real motivation is my instructor--he knows so much that I don't know and I want to know all of it and more.

I agree in the fact that I like being able to look at someone's belt and know what they should know, and spreading it out as far as white-brown-black would make that rather difficult. I have even known people who wanted to go back to white and black, only, which would make it even more difficult. When it was one person teaching just a handful of people that would be fine, but when you are teaching 30 to 50 different people a week it could become a problem.

They do it in boxing as well. I was always told that it was to reduce friction from gloves sliding on the face, making it less likely for someone to get cut.

Having stopped actively training in Shuri-Ryu when I moved, before having learned Bassai Dai (Shuri-Ryu and Shito-Ryu kata are very much alike) I can't tell you from that specific experience. That said, there are different depths to bunkai. What you are seeing in videos as blocking a kick is more of a basic level interpretation of the kata, and an arm break instead is certainly a possibility for a more advanced level of interpretation. Remember that your kata can have multiple uses for most of the techniques, so it can be looked at several different ways. I think it would probably be best to ask your instructor because he is the only one who will know what specific interpretation you should be practicing at your level.

I'm in a similar situation, but not quite the same. One of my goals for this year is to earn rank in Shorin-Ryu because I have just been wearing my brown belt from Shuri-Ryu (I don't own a white one anymore and my Sensei didn't have any for me to borrow and said it was fine for me to wear my brown belt). Well, I asked him on Monday, since I am spending a little Christmas money on sparring gear online anyway, if he would like me to order a white belt since I don't have any rank in Shorin-Ryu. He quietly said no, and gave me the "end of discussion" look. The reason my situation is different from yours is that all of the basic techniques are the same, with only very slight changes (blocks are held a little higher, rear foot points to the 45 in zenkutsu-dachi, etc) so I am really only adapting my basics slightly and learning new kata. It is a different style with different methodology, and I expected to start at white belt but my skill level is technically higher than that, so I am in the same sort of situation you were in at your Isshin-ryu school. I will be wearing my Shuri-Ryu brown belt until I deserve a Shorin-Ryu one, and I always tell people that my rank is in Shuri-Ryu so I am not hiding it. I feel kind of guilty, though.

If the bruises spread beyond the areas of impact or last longer than a couple of days without starting to fade then you should see a doctor. Other than that you're fine and over time your body will become more accustomed to the body conditioning you are receiving. I can't remember exactly how long it took for my arms and legs to stop bruising when I first started training, but I know that by the time I tested for brown belt in Shuri-Ryu I was thrilled to actually get a bruise or two because even though the intensity of my training increased my body was just becoming more durable. A 2 year break in karate that was filled with Judo made me more accustomed to hitting the ground instead, and now that I'm back in karate I get bruises again, so I'm working on it, too

I would like to earn rank in Shorin-Ryu, spar more (I'm not really all that fond of sparring because I'm not very competitive, but I'm trying to get more into it), and just keep training, learning, developing and getting better. Lol

Earn some kind of rank in Shorin-Ryu (my Sensei lets me wear my brown belt from Shuri-Ryu since I don't have any other belts but he hasn't actually tested me for any rank in Shorin-Ryu) and start going to sparring classes more often. I'm really not all that big on sparring, usually, but it's important and I know I need to do it more than I currently do. Other than those two things my goal is just to keep training, learning, developing and getting better

Don't worry--about 4 years later I still suck at Judo . As far as the assistant instructor goes, just talk to the head instructor about your concerns. For practicing at home, set out two pairs of shoes spaced out like someone's feet and practice stepping in for your throws. Your footwork will become fast and natural after doing this a few thousand times. You can also work your throws in the air or, if you have access to a pool, underwater. The underwater throws are good for mild resistance training and since it slows you down you get to feel where you need to make adjustments to your throws.

I agree with the above posts--start training kali. The two arts are likely going to be quite similar as far as the basic techniques and methods go, it will probably be more advanced concepts that differ. Get a good grounding in kali and then study up on the Irish stickfighting as much as you can and see if anything you read/watch can be incorporated into what you already know from kali. I could be wrong but I believe that Bataireacht is a reconstructed art that was mostly lost to time, anyway, so much of what a class in it would teach is probably largely pulled from kali anyway.

Agreed, and I wear my seatbelt every time I get in the car and make everyone who rides in my car wear theirs.

I understand your concerns with the grappling, but I really think that this is a very individualized decision and should take the opinion of both potential training partners. For example, I have seen girls who refuse to work with boys and vice versa, but I have also seen girls refuse to work with girls and vice versa. If you don't take into account the individuals involved then you may have more problems than if you simply don't let them interact. I regularly stay after classes and work on my kata or basic techniques on the bag, but I also like to work on my judo groundwork if anyone else feels like working it after class. One night after class about 4 years ago one of our female students stayed after and worked groundwork with me for 25 minutes straight (she was 17 and I was 18 ). Basically we rolled around on the mat with each other for half an hour, but during that entire time we were both focused on the techniques we were working--there wasn't a single second of that 25 minutes where I had an inappropriate thought and I don't suspect she did, either. Later it occurred to me that if it had been anyone but the two of us (both very serious about our training) that situation could have become inappropriate and I wondered if our instructor (who was still there, but in his office most of the time) had any concern about it. When I thought about it a bit more, though, I feel as though he trusted both of us because he is the kind of person who will not let two people work together if he does not believe one or both of them can be trusted to do so. I will also add that I was learned more during that 25 minutes of newaza randori than spending twice that much time working with guys my size and bigger because, while she was certainly strong, she was very technical and used good technique instead of strength like those guys. She also mentioned that she liked working with me because I was stronger than her but fought technique with technique.