cyriades

I was going to recommend that Jack Dempsey book, but I was beaten to the punch - pun intended But I can contribute an article I use to help out my students - http://www.johnstonkarate.com/2011/03/boxing-counts-and-combinations.html Also a playlist I've put together that has plenty of boxing stuff on it - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL91267768AE6AF632

Wado ryu has more of an emphasis on lighter stances and body shifting. Sadly on the tournament scene, Wado ryu and Shotokan look about the same - traditionally both styles have a very unique flavor. Shotokan emphasizes deeper stances to develop the legs and powerful movement. Here is a good debate on the technical differences - http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=7243428139&topic=3530 The techniques and kata also tend to have a lot of differences in the way body mechanics are used. Here's a video example of Jion - Wado ryu style Jion - Shotokan style Jion -

Rank is an artificial concept that may or may not say where you stand Let the Makiwara tell you what rank you are and just be the best karateka you can possibly be. This ^. But, imo...Training a few hours a day, and few days a week, under a solid instructor really shouldn't take less than 2 years. But there are even exceptions to that. However, it usually takes 4 or 5 years to attain shodan.