Wastelander

Different groups will teach you different kata at different times, but you will probably either learn Fukyugata (Fukyu no kata), which some groups have just one of and some have multiples. If you don't get taught that next it's probably going to either be Pinan Shodan or Naihanchi Shodan.

Different Shorin-Ryu organizations do the belt ranks differently and then some dojos will add belt ranks in between either to keep younger students engaged (as is the case with my dojo--the adults only have the standard Shorinkan ranks) or to make more money. I don't agree with your assessment of Shorin-Ryu being "heavyweight karate" simply because it does not strike me as being a style that is reliant on power, weight or reach. Shorin-Ryu is all about speed and movement, at least how my instructor teaches it, which is something that can be developed by just about any body type. I happen to be tall and have a long reach, but my instructor is quite a bit shorter than me and we have quite a few "average-sized" people in the dojo who are quite good. In addition, Chibana Sensei (founder of Shorin-Ryu) was quite small, as I've been made to understand it. I do agree, however, that it is a well rounded, practical art that teaches good self defense. If you want your classes to be more intense or include more sparring then you should talk to your instructor--my dojo has a separate sparring class, but the regular classes are plenty intense.

The chaos outside is NOT a problem I would be dealing with--I would be staying in my home with my family and guns. Going anywhere is always dangerous and I carry a knife, and sometimes my handgun (perfectly legal here) but if there was an event of civil unrest I would not be going anywhere at all.

This is an interesting breakdown. You make some good, valid points here. A few things to keep in mind when looking at the history of karate and how it has influenced the grappling found in karate. Firstly, despite how karate was once told to be the art of farmers training in secret to resist the Japanese, that's not really the story. Research and accounts of the people who trained with the earliest master put it as a fighting art of body guards to a king, who often served as local constabulary. If you are seeking to protect one individual, or possibly facing more than one, you cannot afford to be tangled up with a single assailant. Early Okinawan martial influences tended to come from China, not Japan. As such, when an upper class Okinawan with good martial talent was finishing his training, he often traveled to China to broaden his horizons as it were. It was seen as a sort of finishing school for Okinawan martial artists. The cultural exchange among the Okinawan elites would have a large number of Chinese diplomats in court as well and they often brought martial training with them. With that Chinese influence, you will see their grappling styles as well. It tended to be more about standing and manipulating than getting on the ground and being tied up. Chinese thought on ground grappling seems, from what research I've seen, and what I've seen of grappling styles out of China focuses on staying standing and putting the other person on the ground or manipulating their body into a better position to strike. Very much what is seen in karate grappling. Lastly, the Okinawan people had a completely separate native grappling art. Much like the difference in western Boxing and Wrestling. With that grappling system in place, karate practitioners had, or at least saw, little need to emphasize the grappling in their systems. Especially putting people on the ground and following them down. Not saying what you've stated is completely wrong. Just that there are historical and cultural differences that are different based on the place and time from which an art originates. The frame work we have now may not really fit with one from 300 years ago and half way around the world. It wouldn't even fit that well for 300 years ago and just down the street. That though, may just be the history geek in me. While I agree with your overall explanation, I have to say that modern police and military forces certainly train groundwork (a great example being MCMAP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0SB5xlxJIU) and that is generally because as a police officer or soldier you will quite likely have backup. I would expect this to also be the case in Okinawa and so while they may have trained tegumi and te/karate separately I have a hard time believing that they kept them completely separate.

Wrestling shoes are a good option--as long as you only wear them in the dojo they won't tear up the mats and they are a full-coverage shoe with good flexibility.

Well, I haven't opened my own dojo but I've been involved in discussions about it with the head instructor at my old dojo, so my thoughts on it may not apply. As long as you notify your organization of your plans and your rank is legitimate I don't think you have anything to worry about from that point of view. I am not a lawyer, but there are some legal things you need to cover. You will need liability insurance and waivers to protect yourself from lawsuits by people if they get injured. You will need to be compliant with all local and federal laws in regards to what is required to run a gym/sports center/recreation center/athletic service because they will likely classify a dojo as something like that--I know that some places REQUIRE places in those types of categories to have contracts and there may be special taxes involved. As for the dojo itself, you will need a building, obviously, and you will want to make it look inviting and professional without looking gaudy. A sign that specifically says the name of your dojo and not something generic is always a plus. For purposes of marketing it is a good idea to start the name of your school with the first letter of the alphabet so that it comes up first in the phone book and alphabetically-ordered searches online. Getting a commercial spot on the radio isn't a bad idea, especially if you can't afford a television spot. Word of mouth will obviously be a big generator of students so you will want to be sure you teach the material well and have a good report with your students. It also wouldn't hurt to have a referral program. Just my thoughts on the matter

I must be weird--I just a jock strap AND compression shorts. My compression shorts don't have a pocket for the cup, so I don't trust them to keep it exactly where I need it on their own, but I also can't trust the jock strap on it's own. Together they keep it right were I need it and keep it tight--I have yet to have a half-in-half-out injury with this setup. I've wondered about the combo shorts like this, though, so hopefully they work out well for you and maybe I'll make the switch one of these days

Wow, thanks everybody! I didn't think I would ever be Member of the Month on any forum, so I'm very honored. Thank you!

Talk to some fellow students in the area and form a club, at least for the time being. You can meet up at a park or your school's gym and work out and practice material you already know. You may even get your instructor to come in and work out with you as well.

By lifting your leg to kick higher you are increasing the tension in your leg, so of course it will be more difficult to reach full extension because the amount of flex in your legs is being limited. I'm not sure what art you study but working in a deep shiko-dachi will help stretch for those kicks.

Practice kata more and spar more. Also, try sparring people from other styles every now and then, as not everyone spars the same way that Kyokushin fighters do. It's all a learning experience, especially losing. Ask the people who beat you what you did wrong and HOW they beat you.

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.