shinobitribe

Miyagi and me , the blue eyed samurai are great books too

Havent done 30 man kumite. But if you want to watch, watch videos of old Mas Oyama sensei's students doing the 100 man kumite. There are a few of those on youtube. PS: I really enjoyed reading 'Waking Dragons'.

Sorry might repeat what has been mentioned already. But here is my 2 cents worth What part of the hand used will depend on where you want to hit Assuming everything else is constant (distance, positioning and you are aiming for the face etc) and you want to choose between a tsuki and taisho, in a street situation - I would prefer to use the palm. Depending on how the palm is positioned ie assuming you don't drive the person;'s nose into his brain, if the thing goes to court - I would presume (dont quote me on this) that an open hand 'slap' like technique is looked more favorably than a closed fist strike. Also, you never know what diseases the other person might be having and bodily fluid contact is never a good idea. We had a police officer training in our dojo and while attending to a medical emergency , while the officer was helping the victim (I think the guy was mentally unstable), he lunged at officer with a knife. Having no time to draw the gun, he reverse punched the guy and knocked him out. However, he scraped his hand when it made contact with his mouth. As it turns out the person had Hep or HIV cant remember. The police officer was quarantined and I imagine it wouldn't have been a pleasant feeling while waiting to find the test results. Thankful they were negative but you never know on the street. Lastly, again assuming you are punching to the face, the conditioning of your hand matters as well. I know people who have broken bones in their hand after punching people on the jaw or the forehead. If you break your hand with the first punch thrown, how will you finish the fight or what will you do if there are multiple opponents? Also would depend on whether it is a life or death situation

I agree with others.. for Goju Ryu... I think Sanchin and Tensho are the core one's...

Also dont be hesitant to come back. In the last 2 years, we have had a lot of former students who used to train 20-30 years ago at the Roseville, Hornsby, North Sydney dojos come back for training. You might meet some of former dojo mates

Hi Thaga I still train with Paul Shihan and his senior most student is my Sensei. I have sent you the details in a private message. In the mean time, here is the website. We dont train at MAcquarie Uni anymore. We train at the Marsfield dojo only. http://www.gojukai.com.au/ Hope to see you at training. Good luck

Geksai from Goju. It has almost all possible hand techniques, a kick, foot sweep and takedown.

The protocol in our Goju Kai dojo is below. Please note, this varies slightly across dojos. Students and teacher stand facing the front of the dojo. 1. With the command of seiza, everyone kneels. The black belts are at 90 deg. to the Sensei and students, on the right hand side of the dojo 2. Sensei uses the command Moku so – everyone closes their eyes and focuses on the training ahead or at the end of the class, reflect on what was taught. It is a meditation tool for emptying the mind and focusing on the training ahead or training that took place. 3. Sensei uses the command Moku so Yamae – everyone opens their eyes 4. First bow is to the dojo – (Shomai Ni Rei ) 5. Second Bow is to Saiko Shihan Goshi Yamaguchi – ( Saiko Shihan Ni Taishte Rei) 6. Third Bow is to the Sensei (the senior most students calls this out and the instructor turns to face the students – (Sensei Ni Taishte Rei) 7. Fourth Bow is to the black belts – Sempai Ni Taishte Rei 8. Fifth Bow is to each other – Otoga Ni Rei 9. After this everyone stands up, with the highest grade standing up first followed by the others. 10. There is one final bow and class begins or ends.

In our dojo we do katas in the following ways 1: Go Ju Ho. This is the normal tempo where hard techniques are executed with power and kimae. The circular movements or some blocks are executed with more Ju (softness) 2: Go Ho - This is combat speed where all techniques and movements are done really fast and hard, without focusing too much on form. This is improve the speed and stamina. 3: Ju Ho - using ikibuki breathing ( breathe in though nose - out through mouth and breathing from your hara or centre ) similar to Sanchin kata. All movements are done slowly focusing on form and posture 4: Seida Ho- This is done with a Tai Chi like feeling where the movements are flowing and you move from one technique to the other continuously with soft breathing. 5: Visualisation - Standing in Heika Dachi visualise the whole kata using correct breathing, timing and Kia's. 6: Heiko Dachi - Stand in Heiko dachi and do the kata without the footwork -stationery. In a nutshell, performing kata's fast is not the ultimate goal. The above mentioned tempos or ways of performing the kata serve different purposes for training. Our Shihan, who is over 70, does the kata slowly but they are still entralling to watch because of perfect technique, correct breathing and most importantly zanchin or intent.

$150 does sound reasonable.

Is there any way I can practice karate at home without equipment? I only have the gloves, I have nothing to punch to other than a pillow. I usually practice kata at home, but it would be convenient to spare with something a little harder than a pillow, I just dont have the money to afford it. Some tips 1: You can hang up a t shirt or newspaper and try using snap punches or kicks with hikate(pulling back) and bring your hands back to guard. A lot of times (myself included) we tend to leave our hands or kicks out after an attack, leaving ourself open. Punching bags are good to train for power but using a soft target where you just make light contact with improve you kimae or focus. 2: Some of the pre arranged (yakusoku) kumite have tae sabaki built into the techniques. We practice some pre arranged kumite where moving off the line is the first defense and then you use your hands or legs. you can practice that at home. 3: Also get a friend to attack with a single technique or hang a tennis ball and you move in 8 directions: back(south), front into the attacker(north), east(right) and west (left)/ Also practice 45 degree movements: north east, north west, south east and south west. There are a few videos on youtube. 4: condition your body. I use a cricket bat to condition my knuckles, forearms, thighs etc. When i mean condition, I dont mean bashing the crap out of your body. I hit my body moderate power and have been building up the power gradually over time I do this probably do this once every forthnight to give my body time to recover and for bones to thicken and repair themselves. be very careful as this can damage your body in the long run. Go easy on yourself and over time you can build it up. 5: I dont have a makiwara at home, so i have taped a street directory and I use it for conditioning my fist. Again, I go very easy on the punches.

I think its a hard style and people practicing Kyokushin are some of the toughest guys out there, owing to their physical conditioning. There are very few styles or clubs that have such an approach to Karate. Mike Tyson had said" everybody has a plan till they get hit". Kyokushin training or tournaments for me personally, are more for conditioning and building up your own mind and body to take punishment than to inflict punishment on your opponent or to knock them out. Having said that, the dynamics of the fights would be completely different if strikes to the head were allowed, kin-geri's to the groin, mae giri's to the bladder/lower abdomen, kansetsu geri to the knees, haito's and shuto's to the throat etc were allowed. The distance of fighting would change and then I wonder how effective these kicks would be? (maybe some of the more experienced people can shed some light) No one can condition themselves to withstand kicks to the groin (Shaolin monks and some individuals are an exception). From a self defence perspective, Kyokushin is good cause the people are conditioned but how effective would the high kicks be on a rainy day on the street, wearing jeans or heels and having alochol in your system would depend on the person fighting. For information sake, the video between 1:15 - 1:58 shows Gogen Yamaguchi's 3'rd son Goshi Yamaguchi and the current head of the International Karate-Do Goju Kai Association. The first clip is from a tournament's opening ceremony where he is doing a bunkai for one of the higher katas ( I am sorry, I dont know these kata's. They are above my grade level but you can see the characteristic influence of Gojy-Ryu, the circular Kake Uke blocks) with one of Gogen Yamaguchi's senior most students (the bald guy with the beard). He is one of the senior members of the Japanese chapter. He was rumored to be one of the toughest fighters when jiyu kumite was prevalent in the olden days. The other clips of Goshi Yamaguchi are from his instructional video with his son (Gohei yamaguchi). Bits and pieces are from some Yakusoku Kumite drills. All the demonstrations are pre arranged and you need to attain an high level of proficiency to be able to use some of the techniques effectively. The value in the Shihan level katas is more spiritual and mental than fighting. The higher katas are only performed by people that have mastered every aspect of karate (kihon, kata,kumite). So they dont serve a purpose of preparing some one for a fight. For info sake, if you want to see some "master level" katas, then look at the higher katas namely "Genkaku" performed by Goshi Yamaguchi or Ingo De Jong on youtube. Goshi Yamaguchi developed it as it was one of Gogen Yamaguchi's wishes to see katas being developed using the Chinese white crane influence and thats why you will see the strikes are performed using "keko" the top part of your fist (shaped like a beak in the clips). I personally dont see these techniques being as effective as basic punches such as front punch (kizami), reverse punch, upright punches, elbows, head butts, palm heel strike, low kicks to the groin and bladder area. As a matter of fact, we are encouraged to use low kicks in sparring

Chojun Miyagi, Funakoshi,Gogen Yamaguchi, Mas Oyama, Ali, Kanazawa, Kenji Midori.

Just finished reading " Waking Dragons". Fantastic book. I really enjoyed it. Thanks Muttley!!!

Found one... Tales of Okinawas Great Masters, Nagamine Shoshin Grand Master Shoshin Nagamine's Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters was published in Japanese a few years ago. The English translation, by Patrick McCarthy, recounts the lives and histories of ten of Okinawa's greatest masters. Nagamine Sensei spent a lifetime researching these masters and either training with them or interviewing their families and students. Tode Sakugawa, Sokon Matsumura, Kosaku Matsumora, Anko Itosu, Gichin Funakoshi, Chotoku Kyan, Choki Motobu, Kanryo Higaonna and Ankichi Arakaki, are just a few of the luminaries profiled in the book