Wastelander

All of these are good ideas. I have also seen some schools do "Break-athons" for charity at public events where they will find someone to pay a certain amount for every board broken, so you're killing two birds with one stone--you're doing something cool and you're making money for charity

I can see value in a student developing their own patterns and running them to the rhythm of music--they are still practicing what they have learned and they are running it at a pace that is not necessarily their normal pace. That said, I have seen empty-hand and weapons "Musical Kata" divisions that consist of nothing more than acrobatics and High School Color Guard demonstrations. That isn't to say that those things are bad, but for the most part they have little to no martial value beyond sheer athleticism.

It seems as though you are thinking of "essays" in the College sense of the word in that they are to be strictly structured and meeting certain guidelines for quality, but I don't think that is what is intended. To me, writing is easy and I enjoy it, but other people do not find that to be the case for them and they are still able to write their "essays". I think that the point is not to have someone explain something exactly the way it was taught, but explain how they interpret it and what their take on it is--that, to me, is proof of knowledge. As I mentioned previously, this can all be done verbally by asking someone in class to explain something. For instance, if you were to ask someone in class what all of the applications of a middle block in a given kata might be they might give an answer of "blocking a punch to the midsection", if they sit down and think about it and write about it they might come up with "blocking a punch to the midsection, or blocking and breaking the attacker's arm, or deflecting a grab and applying a wrist lock, etc.". To me, the writing itself is not to be judged, but the thought process behind it because writing is a tool to provoke thought in both the person reading it AND the person writing it. Just my thoughts on the subject.

As I have been made to understand it, yes, the Samurai learned various styles of Aikijutsu and Jujutsu. The Peichin were the Okinawan version of Samurai--the two cultures were vehemently separate while these martial arts were developing--and learned various styles of Te or Chinese martial arts. I could be wrong, but that is what I've learned about it. Sensei Kruczek: As far as me being ahead of the game, I don't know about that--I practiced Shuri-Ryu for 2.5 years to earn 3rd kyu and was studying the style throughout the entirety of that time, but when I moved to Arizona I had to switch to Judo for practical/economic reasons, so by the time I started Shorin-Ryu a few months ago I had already been in martial arts for over 4 years, so the concept of studying it isn't all that foreign to me

Seeing as I have not reached Shodan yet, I don't suppose I really have much of a say in this, but I don't think there is anything wrong with writing a paper or taking a written test. What was once done verbally over the course of years to test for Yudansha ranks has simply been put onto paper so that it can be documented. We no longer live in a world where one person's say-so about your credentials is always enough, and so there is often need for proof that you know what you should know. That's how I see it, anyway

A few years ago I had an Ipe hakakubo (octagonal bo staff) made by Kyoshi Roger Pratt, whose website was under construction at the time at fightingweaponry.com, and I was thinking about getting another but he seems to have disappeared! The staff is fantastic, and so are the cocabola tekko he made for my fiancee and her coworkers, so I was hoping he was still making weapons. Has anyone bought anything from him, or even been in contact with him, since 2008? Is he alright?

School Name: Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts Style: Shorin-Ryu (Shorinkan) Sensei: Richard Poage, Yondan Location: Chaparal Christian Church, Phoenix, AZ My previous karate dojo: School Name: Academy of Okinawan Karate Style: Shuri-Ryu Instructor(s): Sensei Joey Johnston, Sandan and Shihan Joseph Walker, Hachidan Location: Morton, IL and Peoria, IL

Any gi you buy that isn't custom sized will not fit properly everywhere unless you happen to be the exact shape of the model it was designed for. A size 4 Tokaido gi fit me perfectly in the pants and jacket length, but the sleeves were too long. I believe the size 4 is supposed to be for people who weigh something like 160lbs and are 5ft 8in tall, and I was 170lbs and 6ft 1in tall. As mentioned above, it will shrink when you wash it. If the sleeves are still too long just hem them to where you want them and leave the length of the jacket where it is--it enhances the look of low stances so if you want to compete in kata divisions it can be a good thing.

I've never washed any of my belts, but my last one did take a dunk in the Pacific Ocean for an hour or so before I was promoted to brown belt, and the dye didn't bleed on that one. I do check my belts for stink periodically but none of them have ever gotten stinky so I've never washed them except scrubbing individual spots that got blood or something else nasty on them. I have Febreezed them before, though, just in case . The main reason that we were told not to wash our belts in my dojo (at least, to be very careful if we washed them) was because so many people had their belts shrink to useless sizes after washing, even with the washer set on Cold.

I am currently learning the use of the nunti (nunte bo). My sensei is teaching me Takemyoshi no Nunte-bo Dai Ichi

Congratulations! I remember that I felt the same way when my sensei asked me to teach a few new students their first class--you learn a LOT by teaching, and you will be surprised at some of the questions you get asked and some of the odd things kids manage to do instead of what they should be doing . The two biggest keys to teaching martial arts to kids, at least for me, are keeping their attention and remaining patient. They can't focus on one thing for too long, but if you try to teach them too much they will become overloaded and won't retain any of what you taught, so it can be a very fine line, but very enjoyable and rewarding

Hello everyone, I started training in Shuri-Ryu under Shihan Joseph Walker and Sensei Joey Johnston in central Illinois in 2006, earning the rank of San-kyu, and half-way through 2008 I moved to Phoenix, AZ (which put a hold on my training, unfortunately) and eventually picked up Judo for a while, but it wasn't my thing. A couple months ago I started training Shorin-Ryu under Sensei Richard Poage and I am LOVING being back in a karate dojo. I remember the basics techniques (although some of the names are slightly different), but the set of kata is completely different except for Naihanchi Shodan (although that still isn't exactly identical). Hopefully it won't take me too terribly long to get up to speed and feel like a real karateka again! Aside from my training, I work on an IT help desk and do leatherwork on the side. I write a bit (just completed a young-adult zombie-horror novel and submitted it to publishers), read, play video games, and I do a little bladesmithing on occasion (I live in an apartment so I can only do it when someone with a forge invites me over, but I do enjoy it).