Anne Onimous

I think you misread. I didn't say that kata was a superficial achievement - 'superficial achievement' (such as belt colour advancements) was just one thing on my list that budo karate may include. It's good as a motivator, and I'm not putting it down - it just is what it is. I respect kata very much, and it's definitely not superficial. I noticed your edit. Sometimes I feel like I float into alternate universes.

The false sense of security is a bit of a problem, but it's important to remember that Karate-do isn't just about fighting - for many people, it's a way of life. A part of the "way of life" thinking may be that one places more emphasis on kata and, perhaps, superficial achievement, but they have the right to practice Karate-do that way. Personally, if I were interested only in self-defence, I would be taking self-defence courses. They would, at least, deal with guns, knives, and clubs, and may cover the "dirty fighting" moves more extensively. Knowing how to use and protect yourself against weapons is invaluable, as is knowing how to take advantage of a no-rules confrontation.

Thankfully. I will note, though, that it's not the worst thing in the world that schools give out ranks more easily than they used to. Having readily-accomplishable goals is helpful in motivation, and the more 'hardcore' students who feel that they should really earn their ranks through excellence always have the option of holding themselves back until they've felt they deserve the next title. Those kinds of students are generally mature enough to make holding themselves back a non-issue.

I think the error is that it doesn't anymore. Well, I don't know how strict the gradings used to be, but things definitely have gone downhill in terms of quality control, for sure.

I really like this perspective. The 'black belt' is such a standard goal, and while it has good reason to be so, I find that people tend to set goals to reach certain ranks rather than to set goals to reach certain levels of proficiency. The error is in thinking that the rank corresponds to a specific level of expertise, when the reality is that the rank is just an aid used in pre-assessing an individual's knowledge. It is not always precise. I'm not sure if my financial situation will allow me to promote as often as I would normally want, but I can take comfort in the fact that my progression is not contingent upon rank advancement.

I was feeling more than a bit negative that day. Sorry. I withdraw that inflicting pain on others is a significant reason for a person looking for contact fighting or training. It may be that this happens, but it isn't commonplace. And yes, contact is very important in self-defence training. If self-defence isn't important to someone, then it's unnecessary... but I'd say it's a valuable experience anyhow. Even practising contact just every now and then would be a great benefit.

I'm not about testing my 'masculinity', personally. I prefer contact because of the self-defence benefits - that is, it is difficult to learn how to handle yourself in a confrontation if you don't train realistically. Without contact, you can only theoretically know how to force an attacker to disengage. When a dangerous situation presents itself for real, things may not go according to theory. While I realize your use of "everyone" was not intended to be literal, it would be advisable for you to pay attention to your use of absolutes and generalizations. This applies doubly when communicating with strangers. I've met too many people who don't see these things as the hyperboles they are typically intended to be. I would be foolish to deny that there are many people who want to test their mettle in a full-contact setting. Some people don't mind receiving pain, while others go so far as to enjoy it. However I imagine that full-contact's greatest appeal is the possibility of being able to inflict that pain on others. In any case, there are many diverse reasons, just as there are many diverse people.

In my opinion, there is only one scenario in which Seppuku would be a good option: When a Japanese prisoner is sentenced for capital punishment. Instead of lethal injection or other such modern methods, a Japanese person should be allowed to commit Seppuku to honour the tradition of his lineage. If one is faced with inevitable and impending death, it is gracious to allow them to choose the manner of death. In most other cases, though, I don't believe that suicide by any means is the correct solution. There are some terrible diseases that may warrant it, but the circumstances in which suicide is a viable way out are very few. A lot of the time, it's how a person tries to fix depression, or atone for some unforgivable crime, but I disagree with this logic because depression is temporary in this day and age, and there are no unforgivable sins. If you want to get better, or atone for your wrongdoings, helping someone or something is the better solution. Suicide is a selfish act. If one feels that he should die, then one should donate his life to a good cause instead of dying - i.e. to live out the rest of his life doing charity work. If one feels that he is too dangerous to assimilate into society, then he should seek out treatment before following through on that commitment. Suicide without an extraordinary reason is a waste of years. Those years could be spent doing something more valuable than lying in the ground.

After some humming and hawing, I've decided to go with Shotokan. It's pretty inexpensive, it's an art I can practice proficiently into my old age (unlike kyokushin, which requires one to take hits in competition and training), the sensei isn't too serious or light-hearted, and his teaching is certified by an international federation. Compared to the other schools in my area, his teaching looks ideal. The drawback is a lack of exposure to full-contact kumite, officially. While I may be able to have some off the record, it's not quite the same. However, I should be aware of the low amount of violence in my area of the world. Gun control is helpful, and the crime rate is very low, so self-defence in the form of a martial art will likely not be very necessary for me. I have been in one fight in my life, and that was when I was very young - one punch was all it took. I never got into a conflict again, and I don't plan on getting into one in the future. If I really need self-defence, then I would likely be better-off taking a course in knife defence. That is, training how to use one, and how to deal with facing an enemy with one. One of the assistant instructors at this dojo is a police officer, so I can get supplemental knowledge about street-wise self-defence from him about that. If Shotokan helps me in a real confrontation, then that is a bonus. I am looking into it more for the lifestyle and fitness benefits than I am for the ability to fight or compete. I don't mind the idea of competing, because it's a great way to compare skills and exchange techniques, but it's not my focus. My goal is to make Karate a part of who I am. Thanks for listening. ~ And thanks for your thoughts.

Well, I ended up having to do something today, so I won't be making it down to that particular dojo until Saturday. In other news, I found a Chito-Ryu dojo. They have literally no advertisement, as all I found was an address and a phone number on some association's website. Nothing in the yellow pages, or on the Internet. I'm excited to find out more about them. I also found a Kyokushin place, but their prices are a little out of my budget.

I had noticed that. I'm feeling a bit less uptight about these sorts of things, but it is my nature for my mind to rush ahead and try to figure out the future before I know much about the present. Tomorrow cannot come soon enough.

Well, I received a response to my email to the Shotokan group. It felt like a copy-paste response, but it did answer my questions. There was a snippet of info that, I imagine, was unintentionally added to their response... which stated an assumption that I was observing the testing because I had a child in their karate program already. I'm not even old enough to have a child in karate . They have a one class per week beginner program before a person joins the regular class, at $30/mo. I'm not too thrilled about starting off so slowly, to be honest. Contact is described as 'light' and head contact is not permitted. Not my preference, but nothing wrong with that. I'll probably try a few classes out with them, but I'm not really happy with the tone of the response. The written word is not always able to convey the right emotions and tone, however, so perhaps I should assume that their reply was intended to me more respectful than it sounded. It just seemed... too impersonal. Hm, well, there's a bit of a time crunch with the dojos closing for winter break in about a week. And, they have very similar time schedules, so I can't visit both in one day. I'm leaning away from the Shotokan place with the latest information I've got, but it's still anyone's game if the Goju-Ryu place doesn't offer any disappointments. ... And, of course, thank you for your hospitality.

Thank you . I will certainly be investigating these two schools as closely and as fairly as I can. I'll be going to the Goju dojo tomorrow before I make up my mind. Well, that's true. I certainly have to consider that the Goju instructor will have at least eleven years of experience by the time I have mastered the basics with him. I plan to! Thanks for the input. I hadn't really thought of that. There actually is one place in my town that offers this sort of thing, so I guess I'm obliged to see into it, at least. I'm interested in budo more-so than I am in general street defence, but refusing knowledge is no fun at all. The grading was done from white to brown, or specifically, 9th kyu to 2nd kyu. I did notice that the 2nd kyu students were asked to wear cups, mouth guards, and gloves for their grading kumite, but I don't believe contact was made - I expect it was just 'in case'. It's likely that kumite is done with some contact, and that grading is just different. That's true. I suppose I'm really getting ahead of myself when I try to weigh the two dojos in my mind without having set foot in one of the two! Thank you. I've considered that the experience stated on his site is only a part of the truth. A sandan in eight years is slightly fast, though it's not unrealistic. Thanks for your input. What does concern me a little is that I can't find any reference to the Goju dojo belonging to a national or international federation... I would like any achievements I make to be 'official', but I realize that knowledge infinitely more valuable than paper. My primary considerations will be how much each dojo charges, how much contact is used in kumite, and how much I like the sensei's style of teaching. Thank you all for your time. I will continue to spill my brain as I get more knowledge.

I ran into this website about a week ago on my search for information on the Martial Arts. After I found out that practising Kendo would not be in my budget, I turned to the empty-handed arts, and in my research on them... KarateForums was played a significant role. So, I thank you. Now that I've looked into things enough, I'm going to be joining a dojo soon, in the beginning of January. I've sent a couples of inquiries, and when the senseis reply to my, I'll decide on whether I'll be training in Goju-Ryu, or Shotokan. My instinct is leading me to the Shotokan dojo. While they don't have a set location, because they use a school gym, a Japanese cultural centre, and a fitness centre (three locations, and all of them a healthy walk away!), the teacher has the most experience out of all the other senseis in this small town - a good twenty-five years, and a Godan rank to go with them. I spectated a belt testing class today, and was mostly relieved with what I saw. The sensei had a good sense of humour, but was not too silly - he was also quite serious when necessary. I saw in their training a focus on self-defence application, though they do tournaments as well. However, in the kumite for belt testing, I did notice a lack of contact - a little disappointing, but I sent an email asking if contact is normally done, hoping testing is a different story. I was rather hoping to acquire a few bruises, after all! I may very well end up in the Goju-Ryu class, if they offer decent contact and aren't too pricey. I will say, though, that ... while I haven't gone to watch them practice (I will be doing that in a couple of days), I know this sensei is a bit less experienced than the Shotokan sensei. While his website is a bit less clear, especially on the number of years of practice, I can tell that he has at least eight years of training and is ranked at Sandan. Now, Sandan is still quite good, but seventeen less years of training is quite the gap! I also don't know his prices yet, but if they're noticeably more expensive... then that will be a problem, as my budget is very limited. When it comes down to decisions, I prefer more contact, and Goju-Ryu looks like it would be more interesting than Shotokan. However, even assuming pricing is similar, I am not entirely sure about which class I would want to join simply because of how much more experience the Shotokan sensei has. Karate style, I imagine, matters relatively little in how well a person can spar or fight when compared to how skilled a sensei is, and how well he can pass on his knowledge. I wonder if I would be right to assume that a good teacher in a style less preferred would probably serve a student better than a somewhat worse teacher in a preferred style? Would the "worse" sensei produce a better student due to the advantage of using contact in sparring as opposed to not? They're complex questions, especially considering that you have to factor in a student's faith in their sensei. Subjective things are the bane of knowledge. I'm, of course, using their experience to compare them as I can't directly compare their teaching abilities in a quantitative way. What are your guys' thoughts on the situation? I have their websites below, in case one of you is feeling especially curious about this situation. ... I really needed to spill my brain, tonight, so I'm sorry if my post was too lengthy! Lol. http://www.cmaakarate.com/vernon/events.html http://www.vernonshotokan.ca/