Ueshirokarate

Matsubayashi will certainly survive, it is just too popular world wide to fade any time soon. However, unless there was a per-determined succession plan, there must be some heavy politicking going on behind the scenes at the Nagamine organization right now.

Lulz... Thought there may be some standard measure, since competition seems to be the rule more than the exception.

Lifting is only half the picture. To grow muscle, you need to eat enough in the right macro-nutrient proportions for your muscles to grow. You also need to lift progressively. Lastly, guys with longer arms have a harder time putting up more weight. I have always had much more trouble with my bench than with squats, but I have short legs and long arms/torso.

You know, you're right. I hadn't thought about it in that sense. Probably one of the reasons I enjoy it so much right now. There is no pressure to perform up to your rank, no thinking of helping or correcting others, etc. It is just shut up and train. I must say my teacher is really amazing. He's been training for 20+ years and it shows. He was rolling with one guy today telling him what to do in one breath and telling another guy rolling with someone else what to do in the next breath.

So I was taken completely by surprise today when my instructor put a stripe on my belt. I have only been training a few weeks and I am totally ignorant of BJJ ranks, other than I know the guys with blue belts or above can usually eat me for breakfast when we roll. At this point, rank is completely an after-thought to me in this art as I am really just studying it to learn it. Perhaps if I start to compete, rank will be of more importance to me. That said, it was very gratifying to receive the stripe today. I guess my skill has improved a bit, though I can't really judge it myself. It is very humbling to be a low rank again (in a good way) and learning an art new for the first time. Is there a specific criteria for rank? Is it school by school?

I have very mixed feelings about sparring. Most sparring I have seen is nothing more than kickboxing and has little to do with Karate as I know and understand it. The founder of Matsubayashi though sparring did more harm than good and I can understand his point. That said, I also see value in sparring on different levels. However, I can't see why anyone would be asked to spar after training for a month, that seems ridiculous. I don't think one should spar before san kyu level.

I pray that the WMKA won't fragment, it's not a pretty thing to be part of and to see, I've seen it first hand and it's quite sad. It already has several times long before this. I think it is human nature and inevitable. Martial arts and religions seem to be similar in this regard. It will all depend on who takes over and how much those under that person like and respect that person. However and unfortunately, disagreements and politics are inseparable with any human institution.

Carpe diem, 67 is pretty young these days. I do wonder what happened and what will now happen with the WMKA. I suspect it will further fragment, which is a shame.

"It is with deep regret and sadness that we announce the passing away of Soke Takayoshi Nagamine, 10 th Dan Hanshisei on April 26,2012" http://www.matsubayashi-ryu.com/content/wmka-news

For those of you who don't know, Dobbersky is correct. While the founder of Shotokan was Okinawan, he really adapted Okinawan karate for the Japanese market. I also consider Shotokan a "Japanese" style.

That depends on why you are doing the large numbers. I had my students recently do a couple hundred mea lua de compasso without stopping; I wanted to exhaust them on the specific motions of the kick so that the exhaustion would correct their form. There are a lot of corrections and adjustments and driving movements and the like that people do that are all wrong. The technique, when done by numbly falling and limply flopping the leg through the movement on gravity and inertia alone, balancing carefully just to avoid collapsing on strengthless shaking arms when barely able to stand up, is mechanically and structurally correct. This is the way the whole technique should work for maximum power, balance, and effectiveness. My current issue is with nightshades like tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and potatoes. Too many and I get joint inflammation, like many people. But it's just so hard to imagine cooking without using tomatoes.. There are exceptions to everything. However, I would never make students do high volume stuff, say over 100 of anything: The risk of injury is too high. There is just no training benefit from my point of view. You reach a point where you cross the line and your training is more appropriate for a marathon runner rather than a fighter and we all know what marathon runners look like. Point is, if you need to strike or kick someone 100+ times, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

Shotokan, Shorin Ryu, Shito Ryu all trace their lineages back to Anko Itosu. Of these three, only Shotokan has changed due modern mainland Japanese influence.

Can't agree more!!!!!!! Traditional squats are just excellent for you. Machines like the leg-press, hack squat machine, leg-curls, etc all put more stress on the knee joint than a good old fashioned barbell squat. By the way, I have heard stories about some schools and the sheer number of kicks one does in a class, I think it is crazy. I suppose if you are doing Tae Kwon Do you need to do a lot of kicking. However, I believe some instructors just think more is better, which it is not. There is a law of diminishing returns to any exercise technique.

Thinking about entering a contest.

I laugh when I see these adds implying that you can have a super body in 30-60-90 days. It is impossible and ridiculous. This stuff takes a long time and very few people have the discipline and patients to make it happen. I am sure you will.

In the past, I have used supersets many times, but usually for opposing muscle groups and when I was more into "bodybuilding". As a martial artist, the only reason I would ever do isolation exercises would be if there is a lagging body part. Also, you don't want to fry your muscles by doing too much volume.

If you are going to lift to gain muscle mass and strength, that is only half the equation. The other half is diet. You will need to eat to gain weight, or you will be spinning your wheels with the lifting, once you get past your nervous 's adaptation: You will need to feed your muscles or they won't grow. As for lifting programs, either is good. I think you know how I feel about Olympic lifting. To me it is the best training for a martial artist for both strength and explosiveness. It really trains the body to move in the proper way. In fact, there is nothing that teaches proper "koshi" more effectively than this style of lifting. That said, you can't go wrong with either a 5 x 5 program or Wendler, as long as you actually stick to it to the letter and progress as recommended. Here is a helpful calculator for 5/3/1: http://www.strstd.com/ I wouldn't worry about plyos or other methods of training. Keep it simple and focus upon your basic lifting routine and your martial arts training. There are literally thousands of training methods and techniques. This makes it easy for people to feel that they are doing things wrong or missing out on something. This is wrong thinking. Pick a program and stick with it until you no longer get results from it. A periodization program is best, but must be done carefully. Most important thing is to always progress with the volume of training as your body adapts to it. You are young and blessed with a hormonal boost over the next few years. Train and eat smart and push yourself with the iron. It wouldn't hurt for you to seek a professional regarding diet. If you are lifting and doing martial arts, you will need quite a lot of calories, especially since you are still growing. Here is a basic caloric calculator: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm It is a rough estimate. You should shoot for around 500-1,000 calories above your maintenance level, making sure your macros are dialed in and that you are getting enough good fats and protein in the diet.

My suggestion would be to go to a qualified Olympic lifting coach. Learn some technique on lifts like the clean and jerk and snatch. These are whole body lifts that will greatly enhance your explosiveness. I don't know how far you are from this place. However, reach out to them and see if there is a place closer to where you live: http://www.lostbattalionhallweightlifting.org/

They say, the most dangerous person on the deck is a white belt.

UeshiroKarate-san My appologies my friend for not making it clearer, consider this when sparring/competing when you give or receive techniques to/from you partner/opponent do you consider it as: Full Contact is from 70% to 100% power on impact Semi Contact is From 40% to 70% power on impact Non/Light Contact is 40% and below power on impact if any It might as many of us move between the varing levels depending on the partner/opponent or the level of the grade, age etc, I wouldn't expect an Adult to fight Full Contact with a 14 year old boy etc OSU!!! We would then be Non/light for the most part. Most of our style's sparring is Yakusoku and in some hits/situations it would be full.

I don't really understand the differences between all these.

I have a Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu background and it is my primary art. I have also taken both Judo and BJJ. Judo is a great tie-in for Shorin Ryu, but so is BJJ. Both BJJ and Judo have the same roots and are very close. My question to you is, what are you looking for? What is the goal here?

Don't forget, the UFC is entertainment. Audiences tire of seeing guys just grappling on the ground. Don't for a minute think that the UFC or other MMA events are purely just fighter to fighter contests. That may be, but for the most part, fighters want to win. And Pulver was a good boxer fighting someone who was a better grappler. He didn't want to grapple the guy. What I am saying, is that you are going to see more stand up game in the near future, before if/they go to the ground. The show must change to keep the audience and it will, no matter the background of the fighters. At the end of the day, these guys are employees.

Don't forget, the UFC is entertainment. Audiences tire of seeing guys just grappling on the ground. Don't for a minute think that the UFC or other MMA events are purely just fighter to fighter contests.

All I can say, is that I blame the Gracies for this art is better than that art mentality. That is how they sold their style. I have seen the clips on Youtube of the supposed "karate" practitioners fighting a Gracie. They don't do anything I recognize from karate. That said, I would not want to fight a top level practitioner of any martial art whether it is capoeira, kalaripayattu, BJJ or whatever. I really enjoy BJJ, but it is a lot of physical work to wrestle someone to the ground and then pin them. Perhaps this gets a lot easier when your skill level goes up, but if I were fighting for my life I would much rather whack the guy in the neck or solar plexus and be done with it. The thought of having to wrestle or throw someone down to the ground and then role on concrete or whatever, all the time worrying about my fingers being twisted or being bitten at anytime and knowing what it takes to submit a guy does make me pretty happy to have a solid karate background too.