renketsu

Name: Andy Wilkinson B.Sc (Hons) MNCF (Member of SportsCoach UK - formerly the National Coaching Foundation) Ranks/grades: Sandan - Shotokan karate 6th kyu Kobujitsu (retired) 7th kup WTF TKD (retired) Andy.

Going along with the general consensus here... Sensei in the dojo and first name out of the dojo (staying for a drink in the bar where we train or in the local shops etc). I dont see it as cowtowing (sp?) to people using "earned" titles... IMNSHO its like calling your school teacher "sir" or a football coach "coach" (US more than UK I would imagine from watching soooo many bad films! ). We dont use sempai or any of the fancier titles (renshi, kyoshi, hanshi etc) though and although my instructor is a 6th Dan (apparently "Master grade") we dont call him Master. Andy.

As per G95champ above... I think the two wedge blocks are better described as taken from Gojushiho Sho (not 'mr pointy fingers' version) rather than H4 as H4 pulls back to a feet together position before stepping out rather than crossing and stepping in one go. A few questions... 1.. Do you all do the kake wake uke (wedge blocks) towards the 45degrees angle or more towards the 90degrees angle from where you start (ahead being 0degrees)? 2.. Can any of you get back perfectly to the embusen? I cant... about a foot to the left usually 3.. The push (tate shuto) then double punch techniques, do you do the first as staying in sochin dachi and the other two as changes from sochin dachi to zenkutsu dachi (like we do)? Just seems a little strange so was wondering if it is a common idea or not. Andy.

I think there is a fundamental difference between what I described - A4 document compared to the manuals mentioned by other posters... The way the training is run is different :shock: I operate a class run from a School hall with no joining fee and minimal lesson fee paid per lesson not per month - as per most UK clubs from what I have seen. Many of the other posts seem to mention enrolling (paying to join) in schools (corporate dojo run for profit) which is definitely a US thing amonst others... If I was paid up front per month and had an enrolement fee I think I would be expected to provide a proper book with photos and the like... I am not saying either is right, but the economics are vastly different and therefore what the student should get is going to be different (otherwise I would be skint producing loads of nice booklets!! ) Andy.

I hand out a double sided A4 leaflet to new students with information about: Student expectations what they should expect and what we expect of them. Training - when, where and how much. Instructors - who we are and what qualification we have. Japanese words and customs - forwarning that we are wierdos pretending to be Japanese! Gradings - when, how and cost. Belt system - what colours are. Courses - why and what. Competitions - when and what they involve. Fees - continuing training (licencing costs and buying a Gi). Website - info about technical stuff on there (stances, blocks, punches, kicks, strikes, competition terms, terminology list etc). This should be able to answer anything that the student forgot to ask during the lesson... I deliberately dont give out a book full of techniques as the basic info is on my website and detailed info needs to be gained through training. Andy.

Ok... here we go back to the original topic... This is a little embarrasing but if you had seen my opponent you'd understand more! A week before my 2nd dan grading during a line up (one person defending a line of people attacking in succession) I ended up punching her in the eye - she moved forward and didnt block which made my normal control useless... end result a black eye and me feeling guilty. Next week, my grading and my 3rd opponent was the same girl... with a vendetta... and went in with a little less control and reserve than I have seen on anyone... there was a bl**dy great thud leaving me with a permanently (slightly) crooked nose! NEVER underestimate a woman - especially one who is an International Greek fighter (over here for a year) and hacked off at getting a black eye the week before! I find that in our clubs... most of the women are really hard punchers and take no cr*p from anyone! Oh and I learned that blocking is a great idea! Andy.

Yep... definitely agreed - but those are not in the poll options I dont think just one of the items will do it alone, I started off with natural flexibility (talent?) and coasted through the lower grades, but later came to realise that I had to try harder and harder (dedication and perseverance) to increase my skill levels... Now I have a wealth of experience (physical training and reading) which I am continuing to increase... IMO the Knowledge part of experience is the biggest part of karate once you reach blackbelt... the more you know the better you can do things (how and why of techniques etc) - again adding to your overall experience! Andy.

Experience, because through proper training (which experience should have given you) you will gain and improve: Speed, Relaxation, Strength and Stamina!! Natural talent is nice but makes a very shallow karateka in most cases from what I have seen... working for something makes someone more determined and a better student and instructor - they learn more and understand better having had to work through things themselves. Just my tuppence worth, Andy.

Cheers Sai... will try that later on at training. IMHO It seems that Hangetsu stance is not too important in Shotokan - as it doesnt appear in other kata and is just a long version of sanchin stance (which doesnt appear in many kata either). I always used to hate H3 when I was a kyu grade and not able to do the kata with any power or meaning - now I can appreciate that it contains some quality moves. Andy.

HAHAHA - class

Off to see Evanescence (supported by Seether) at the Birmingham NEC on Saturday (22nd) - should be excellent Going to need good eye-sight tho... the seats are right at the back

Ok... guys and gals... can anyone beat training above a pub? If not I suggest we all head over to Aefibird's dojo (with her instructor's approval!!) OK... I agree that as some of us are regular instructors it may be offputting to others, but dont let it stop you sharing your knowledge and giving a small demo or tutorial... I think the move varied the styles and ideas are, the better as it could be a bit boring if 8 people give Shotokan karate demos!! I for one would like to have a little go at aikido (the Channan book I bought mentions ikkyo, nikyo and other aikido moves I dont know) so dont put yourselves down!! Andy.

I absolutely hate Hangetsu - that stance kills my knees! There are a few moves in kata which are horrible as well to add to the above list... Keage/uraken empi landing in sochin stance in kata Sochin! The section of moves (where you strike behind you before you turn) between the two kiais in the gojushiho katas - I really have to think which one is in which kata Dont have much of a problem with the jumps - they probably aren't that good but I like doing them ... I certainly can't leap 4ft in the air like the books always show Andy.

As a fair few of us will be karateka - I will add that I have also done a bit of weapons training and can show tonfa and/or nunchaku kata with applications - may need some help with people bringing the weapons though - I only have about 3 sets of each Current list: Renketsu - Shotokan Karate / Kobu-jitsu (Weapons - Tonfa / nunchaku) Mart - Muay Thai

Just an idea - but what about some kind of non-contact (for insurance reasons) cross training? Work out what kind of MAs we cover and then see if any of us would do a small class for the others - no heirarchy though!

Best: Donnington Monsters of Rock festival 1995... Metallica, White Zombie and some others who I cant remember 'cos I was suffering from the worst hangover in history following some home made peach snaps!! Worst: A local concert from a band called Corner Shop (who later had a number 1 I think called 'Brim full of asher') - they were so bad they were booed off stage (and rightly so).

Does anyone have their own dojo/dojang/whatever-your-style-calls-it anywhere near to a good pub that we could use for the talking shop bit? Would have to be in an easy to get to location though - preferably on a motorway route - 'cos my ability to follow directions is not good!! Andy.

I always found it funny that we teach beginners to do a "proper" front stance with a straight back leg and front knee bent to the right degree and then later on teach them to do sochin - which is how they did the front stance to start with! Andy.

Well... that was my first thought and undoubtably the best I can manage Training together would be a problem as insurance etc would be dubious not to mention that we are all different arts/styles and the only common denominator is freestyle (but problems with no contact, semi-contact, full contact and whether to wear pads etc would arise)! So yeah - I stick with beer, beer and more beer (and perhaps some pool, darts and a curry ) Andy.

Could be swayed to join you if there is enough notice and I can work out how to get there Pity it isnt closer to us notherners - save some of us travelling 250ish miles? Only joking Depends on the plan of action - beer, beer and more beer?

Males outnumber females by some considerable margin (2/3x) in our karate classes (mine and my senior's classes). Also adults outnumber kids by about 5x in my classes and about 10x in my senior's classes. Andy.

I will agree that backwards doesnt have too many applications and is only there to see if students can work out the sequencing of the kata - making them think like this is a useful idea on occasion! Mirror kata is a good way of evening out the training on both sides of the body, try doing the crescent kick with roundhouse elbow with your left side rather than the right (as per H5 and BD) - this sequence is not done in any shotokan kata on the left side - so that must mean the idea is to reverse the kata to work the other side of your body. Oh and we dont walk through mirror kata... we do them full pace as per the non-mirror version Not all kata moves are done in basics (certainly not in our clubs) - how many students have ever the above sequence in basics? Try it - it isnt that easy or natural to do! Do any of you practise kata starting at wierd angles rather than facing the same wall every time? I find that a lot of students learn a kata by working out which wall they face for particular moves rather than thinking about which direction they turn (180 clockwise etc) and are stumped when doing kata in a different location!

We use it in basics in the same way it is used in kata wankan (and others), shifting from sochin to zenkutsu as it is a good way to empasise the use of the hips and straightening of the back leg when making a reverse punch. We don't have a completly straight back leg in zenkutsu dachi, it is slightly bent by releasing the tension in the leg but not forced to be bent like in sochin, so the same method works when making reverse punch as noted above. I know some groups dont have any bend in the back leg when in zenkutsu dachi so I guess for them, using sochin in kihon as above would be pretty much useless! Andy.

Yeah, we practise side edge of the foot kicking too on occasion (side kick and stamp kick) - useful to know as many ways of inflicting pain and damage as possible, just in case. There is a variant of this kick in bassai dai on the fumikomi (stamping kick) called fumikiri (slicing kick) using the side edge of the foot hacking down the shin and then crushing the top of the foot with a second stamp (atleast thats how we do it anyway ) Andy.

Do you have the option of using another instructor to split the kids class with you? You could try bargaining with the kids that you will let them do more freestyle with another instructor if they do some of the kihon/kata with you. I agree about asking the kids what they want to do... it may be that something like judo etc would be more fun for them and a BB is a BB as far as the parents are concerned Andy.