Chunmonchek

If you can find them... Budo The Warrior Within The BBC Series on Fighting Arts. There is an accompanying book by the same name written by Reid and Croucher IIRC. Chris

Started in Karate, never really switched, but dabbled and played hands a bit... ...funny thing is that I've been accused of training/teaching Gung Fu by other Karate-ka... Chris

Hey lowereastside, Just curious, what Gung Fu and Karate system(s) do/did you train? PM me if you don't feel like posting here. All the best, Chris

Regarding Okinawan Goju Ryu, my best guess is that it depended on the lineage and each individual Sensei. I believe that the Jundokan/Miyazato/Higaonna lineage placed more emphasis on Hojo Undo, than Meibukan/Yagi and Shoreikan/Toguchi. We utilize Hoju Undo as supplementary training. I tend to use Hoju Undo to help correct a specific deficiiency or weakness, rather than as a primary training element. IMHO, too much focus on Hoju Undo is counterproductive to the Goju attributes, techniques, and principles that we are trying to cultivate. I realize that I may somewhat of an odd-man out amongst my Goju Brethren.

Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate-do, but I've trained a few more in the past.

I trained Pekiti Tersia in the late 80's early 90's.

Either strength or technique can carry the day. Having both is obviously better... ...and if you train long and hard enough, IMO, the two become more and more indistinguishable...strong technique. There is a difference than just having both. That said, mindset and conditioning may be more important factors...but that may be the subject for a different thread. Here's one for T3...

My classes are 1.5-2 hours long. Back in the eighties and nineties, my teacher's classes were 3 hours long. Most ran overtime, sometimes going 5 hours on Fridays.

Check your yellow pages for martial arts supply stores in your area. Then visit the stores and ask them. Many fine dojos and instructors are below the radar.

This...but hamon is a whole other thing.

For disclosing these ancient secrets you will be getting a visit from my organization's super secret Five Star Ninjer Team!!!

Brilliant! Did the instructor also have a stripy Gi? K. How did you know that??? Was that you at my grading/promotion last Saturday? After weeks of diligent practice (and payment of my exam fee, and signing up for another 13 years) I finally made it to white belt!

I thought I was in a McDojo, but I was assured by one of my Sempai that all senior ranking Sensei in our organization wear Geta (big red shoes), practice the secrets of Kabuki (which requires them to cover their faces with white makeup), and have trained so long and hard their hair turned red. I can now sleep with no worries...

This. I'm ok with Sport Martial Arts, as long as there is full disclosure of what it is...sport... a competition based derivitive of the foundation martial art. Obviously, it has its place, based on its popularity. For me, I'm long past the time of my "sporting days". I remember when I first started in 72/73. Kata was taught to us for promotion purposes... but other than that, it was all about free-fighting...but that was the focus of Nisei Goju back then. Chris

Laurentina, Is the pain caused by the draw-string or the bunching of excess material when you tighten the gi pants? If its the excess material, you may want to try evening out the material to reduce bunching. If your pain is caused by the string, I have 2 suggestions: 1. Replace the string with a lighter flat (not round) string, and/or 2. Roll the top of your pants over after you've tied the string. This would give you an extra layer of material between the offending string and your skin. Best of luck, Chris

Welcome to the Forum! What style Gung Fu, Kali, etc? Chris

Welcome! What is your lineage in Okinawan Goju? I trace mine through Toguchi/Higa. Chris

Ascalon, If I were you, I would spend time visiting as many dojo in your area as possible. As you are not wed by your past training to any particular style or ryuha, I would more weight on the ability, teaching style and character of each teacher, as well as the senior students. I would want to make sure that the teacher is able to effectively and efficiently pass the art down, and is willing to do so. In the end, if you're in it for the long haul, student teacher relationship, and teaching effectiveness is more important than the name of the art or dojo.

Sorry it took me so long to reply. I've been away from KF for a while. We were playing musical computers at work, so I was busy reconfiguring systems and shifting data around. Then, I got preoccupied getting ready for our upcoming trip to Japan! Woot! We leave Saturday for two weeks. Anyway, the Tokon America and Europa are both pretty full cuts and tend to run large. I haven't seen a Shureido up close in a long time, and I don't think I've ever handled an Emerald. Shureido tends to fit a little looser than many gi, but I don't remember how they compare to Tokon. I'm pretty sure that Shureido didn't run bigger. If anything, it might be a little smaller. But again, I'm going off really old info. Sorry, I can't be more specific. Thanks John. I'll be giving you a call in the near future to give a Tokon a try. Chris Nine Dragons Martial Arts

I like that view. And I think that is an advantage that your art possesses; you thrive in the realm of continual, nearly perpetual, I'd venture to say, motion. You probably teach the style in that same way, too. But correct me if I'm wrong.But, in the Eastern based styles, we don't learn it that way. Everything has been basically taught early on in a more stationary manner, and then as you progress, you work into more movement and transition. That's what I was trying to get at with my above posts...

I believe that the problem with many arts is not how they train, but how they bridge the gap between devlopmental training and real-time use. I know that we spend much time and effort on many things that in a real confrontation takes a second or less to execute. The key is to bridging the gap is to also focus on the difference between developmental work and real application. For instance, like most, we train most of our punching and blocking from "chamber"...its developmental. To bridge the gap, we also train two-man drills with no "chamber" for strikes or blocks, but still using the form and development cultivated from kihon.

Yes, all kata are important, some more so at certain levels of development. Kata are generally taught in progression, like math...but like math, some may skip ahead, and some must stay on a subject longer than most. Also, kata may be taught out of sequence to address certain specific needs. Everyone, if they train long enough, learn the same kata...to their level of understanding and ability. After learning a kata, it's the individual's responsibility to train, analyze, break-down and cultivate from such kata. In order to understand training Okinawan Goju Kata, like some southern Chinese martial arts, kata is the center and essence of the art. By training Okinawan Goju kata correctly you learn more than sequence and general application. Each kata teaches and cultivates certain principals and strategies, martial movements, internal and external body mechanics, physical, mental and emotional attributes. And although each kata is an individual form on its own, training other kata enhance the performance and understanding of each. Some kata contain the counters to other kata. Some kata are meant to be trained with others. I don't know if I'm getting the gist accross, as this is an area that words may fail to convey the story.

While we teach and train stance extensively, in any kind of 2-man, "stance" occurs only momentarily when, and for so long as, contact is made, whether offensive, defensive or grappling...all else is transition.

But, did you still have certain kata you only learned at certain ranks, or where they introduced on a per-student basis? No. There is a set progression of kata taught, but rank had no bearing on what was taught. When my Sensei felt you were ready, he taught it. And, notwithstanding the foregoing, in certain circumstances, certain kata were not taught in the set progression. I teach the same way. Rank for us, is generally an external indicator of how far you have progressed as well as the minimum level of the curriculum you are required to know and perform...it does not serve as a limit as to what you can learn. Each karate-ka learns and develops at different rates, often accelerating in certain areas, and lagging behind in others. My teacher has always held the belief that the Martial Arts should not be taught "off the rack".

I agree regarding the standardization of kata for rank purposes. I saw this in a short stint training Shotokan and a shorter stint training Tae Kwon Do, and during a longer period (over 4 years) training non-Okinawan Goju. However, in my experience training Okinawan Goju (over 28 years with the same Sensei), kata training was not for rank promotion purposes, but for the learning, analysis and transmission of applications, break-downs and principals. That said, I understand that's not always so in some/many Okinawa Goju dojos in Okinawa and abroad.