Alaskandude

On this day (yesterday for most of you) 19 years ago in 1993, we lost actor Brandon Lee to what I believe to be a tragic accident on the set of his last film, "The Crow". Brandon Lee, as most if not all of you know, was the son of the man... the myth... the martial arts legend, Bruce Lee. Needless to say, Brandon was a spectacular martial artist himself. Brandon Lee was best known for his roles in Kung Fu The Movie (1986), Showdown In Little Tokyo (1991), Rapid Fire (1992), and his final film, and my personal favorite, The Crow (1994). The Crow was, and still is one of my most favorite movies of all time. I was pretty disappointed in the the 3 or 4 sequals that followed, and the TV series was not the greatest either. They just never captured that whatever it was that made the original film so awsome. Perhaps they were simply missing the man that made the original movie as great as it was... Brandon Lee I remember this quote from the last interview with Brandon Lee that was done during the filming of The Crow. It is said that this was passage that Brandon took from a book by Paul Bowles called "The Sheltering Sky". It can also be found engraved on Brandon's memorial where he is buried next to his father in Seattle, though it is not attributed to Bowles. "Because we do not know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet, everything happens a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you cannot even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty, and yet it all seems limitless." -Brandon Lee/Paul Bowles...whatever. I was 17 when I watched that movie for the first time. I'm 32 now, and I still think about those words all the time. They remind me that my time here is limited, and that I should live each day as if it were my last, because you just never know. Aside from being a great martial artist, Brandon Lee was a also a fabulous actor, dare I say even better than his father. (Nothin but love for Bruce.) I miss then both! Much love and respect to the entire family.

It has since been brought to my attention that I may be receiving bunkai training by a different name "self defence applications" and/or bunkai training may not come until I have advanced byond orange belt. So, I'll keep at it, and we'll see.

Good point. we do a lot of self defense, and combinations, which use the blocking and striking techniques in kata, so I see how that could be considered bunkai, even if they dont call it that. I was just curious about it, like I said, I hear the word all the time when I'm reading books, forums, and so on, I just had not heard the word mentioned in class yet. I'm still way new to all of this, and I always have a ton of questions, but I'm a little apprehensive about approaching my Sensei with some kind of cross examination regarding his methods of teaching, and the curriculum. Mostly because I dont want to be bugging him all the time with "20 questions", which is why I ask a lot of them here. Thanks for all the help everybody!

Thanks for the input Wastelander. I was also suspecting maybe its something that you dont learn until you are more advanced, I guess we'll see. The dojo I train at seems to emphasize competition training. However I am less interested in medals and trophies, and more interested in learning the art itself, and getting in shape. So to answer you question, that is why I train, and thats why I was curious about bunkai, because every time I hear the word Karate... the words kata, and bunkai are usually not far behind. I was just wondering why I'd never heard of it in class.

Ok... so, I have been doing a little reading about Karate, and I often hear the word "Bunkai" come up. Apparently, it is a breakdown, and explanation of the application of the movements performed in Kata? Now what we are being taught in class is a combination of Taekwondo kicking techniques and Jinen-Ryu Karate, which I am guessing is short for Shindo Jinen-Ryu. It is my understanding that it is something akin to, or an off branch of Shotokan Karate, as it uses much of the same kata, and pretty much the same ranking system, though I'm not exactly sure. I have heard a little tiny bit about Shindo Jinen-Ryu, but its obviously either not real popular in the U.S., or its been renamed, because there isnt much to be read on this particular flavor of Karate. Now, back to my original point of discussion... Bunkai, (or the lack thereof) I've been to 6 classes at this dojo, and have never heard the word Bunkai even mentioned in class, much less performed, which led me to believe they dont teach it. This was confirmed today when I asked an orange belt in our class who had never heard the term either... Your thoughts?

Awsome thread topic, KarateCroft! I have also been looking for some documentaries on the history of Karate, as I'm a new student, and would like to learn more about the history of Karate-Do. Sure, there is a ton to be read on the subject, but I am a big fan of documentaries also. I have watched an episode or two of Fight Quest, and Human Weapon, but I never really paid much attention to it back then. Now that I am a student, I would probably take a little more interest in it.

I just recently started training a couple weeks ago. But if I had not, aside from working and the daily grind, I'd still be sitting on my butt, getting fat, and wishing I would have done this years ago.

Oh yeah, and thanks for all the advice everyone! Much appreciated, and I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Well class was a blast. We went pretty hard on the warm up today, but I made it through it. I definatly noticed a BIG difference by drinking lots of water before class. I was still pretty winded afterwards, but I never got that feeling like I wasnt gonna be able to keep up. Did some kicking, some falls, and we learned a few other new techniques, so that was fun. Been eating less and started exercising a little bit every time I think about smoking. Its helping, but I have not officialy quit smoking yet. I will get there though.

Thanks for the warm welcome, and the advice. tallgeese! I am glad to be among you all, and I look forward to talking with you in the forums.

Not sure why but it tried to post my last comment twice, and wouldnt let me delete it so......Class was awsome tonight, I'm trying to learn the first portion of Taikyoku Shodan kata and I stink at it, but Its only my second time trying to do it.

\ Thanks JusticeZero, you seem to have a pretty good idea where I'm at, here. I will try out the methods you suggested for the exercise, and food portion control, (dont think my roomate is gonna let me throw out all her large plates) but I get the idea and I'll try just using the smaller ones. I'm definately going to give the idea you had about the cigarettes a shot. Its something new and definately interesting! I've never heard of it before and Ive tried a LOT of quit smoking stuff. I think it really all comes down to willpower, and a proper environment, but sometimes, you dont have that luxury, requiring even more willpower. I'll let you know how it turn out, and thanks again!

Hello everyone! This being my first post, a little about me: My name is Travis, I'm 31 years old, I'm from Anchorage, Alaska, and I just started my Karate training. I have always wanted to learn Karate. It's something I have dreamed of doing all my life, but just never got around to. I have recently signed up at one of our local Karate dojo's, and will be attending my 4th class tonight. I am nearing 32 years of age and getting a bit of a late start in martial arts. Every time I go to class it is brought sharply into focus for me that the last 16 years of trashing and neglecting my body has taken its toll, and that it is high time for me to lose about 40 lbs and stop smoking cigarettes. I am barely making it through the warm ups, and after all the running, push ups, crunches, etc. my heart is pounding, I am out of breath, and I am about ready to keel over and die... Then we still have to stretch, and do the class. I always feel amazing after class, which is probably part of what keeps me going there. But I do feel out of place in a Karate Gi, and the class, especially in this physical condition, and I know I need to step it up, get in shape and quit smoking if I am going to continue to do this. Does anyone have any tips on what I should be doing outside of class on a daily basis with regard to exercise and conditioning, so that I can be better prepared for the warm ups, and so I dont feel like I'm holding the class back? Fire Away!