renketsu

Erm... dunno - but I should be able to tell you when the book arrives I am not sure it was really lost... just not in the mainstream hence it being 'lost' not lost Andy.

Excellent - well done to your club Was gutted that I couldnt go - was it busy and did spectators get enough space to wander round or was it squashed in to a small building? We compete under WAKO rules so it would be easier for my lot Any major injuries or was it refereed well? I have to ask... what kind of accident... inebriated type of accident? Andy.

Fun Good for the memory too Mirror katas are designed to help you work on techniques on the other side of your body... moot point on Taikyoku Shodan as it is already identical on both sides but it does allow you to try the spins the other way which has to be beneficial to balance etc Backwards katas are really there for testing your knowledge of the moves... it's not as easy as it sounds Backwards mirror is a combination of the above two. Turning away is something that I believe is attributable to Kase Sensei and the WSKI (could be wrong tho). The spins are different... I dont think anyone would advocate spinning the way we do after the kiai in Taikyoku Shodan - going into an attack backwards then turning! In the other version you spin the other way (cant really explain this well) pivoting on the left leg and turning forwards not backwards (facing the way you turn rather than away from the way you turn). All in all - its the same idea as having so many kata... different ways of training the same moves help to show different uses for them. Andy.

It's only just been published. Because its only a small outfit publishing the book, they only print the book once you have ordered it - quite cool getting a book made especially for you Andy.

Hmm... interesting, I think I have made these up already without knowing they existed I have made students do kihon (Taikyoku Shodan) with mae geri before the oi tsuki and different level punches and even using shuto then nukite rather than gedan barai then oi tsuki... We do some funky variations too... mirror, backwards, backwards mirror, stepping away (spinning the other way on all turns) - great fun Andy.

Wankan can be impressive to watch but only by someone who can do it properly 'cos it is really hard to do well IMO. I guess it is unpopular in comps because you can make it look really bad with a poor stance (5 different stances in such a short kata!!) or two and there is no chance to recover points with a flashy kick or jump... I also tend to have problems getting back to the embusen without cheating and making the kake-wake uke blocks move sidewards than diagonal Andy.

Not seen Maiden live (unless the Maiden England video counts ) but I have seen Metallica at Donnington Monsters of Rock - what a class weekend (and mega-hangover) Is the old Maiden stuff played much at the gigs now-a-days? I'm taking stuff pre-Blaze here as I have to say he didnt do much for me and the new stuff with Bruce back isnt too great either Andy.

http://www.trafford.com/4dcgi/view-item?item=4407 The third (and by far the best quality according to reviews) book by Dr Elmar Schmeisser about the 'lost' Channan katas which are supposedly where the Heians were created from (and possibly Kushanku/Kanku Dai). Anyone read the other two books he has done? Advanced Karate-do destroyed my mind but is full of invaluable info . Bunkai: Secrets of karate kata (Tekki series) is very infomative and opened my eyes to different ways of using the moves in the Tekki's... I like the 'Istanbul twist' move I have ordered the new book and from what I have heard it is excellent... Dr Schmeisser is a genious with bunkai and with these clear photos it should be easy to follow. Andy.

You beat me to it Thats exactly what I was going to say. I believe the phrase is 'Horses for courses'... ie it depends on what you are trying to do as to how you do it We practise the sokuto (side edge of the foot) version occasionaly so we can do it easily, but most of the time we stick with the kakato (heel) version. I've never heard of using the ball of the foot though - I would have thought this would cause damage to the ankle! As far as I was aware the sokuto version is not a Shotokan kick as such... I've seen it in Wado Ryu though instead of the kakato version. Andy.

In my lessons: About one week in every 5/6 weeks In my senior's lessons: Never Pad work is something I think is very important for developing useful techniques... I think everybody falls backwards or 'bounces off' when hitting a pad or bag for the first time... I know I did We use a thick pad for power (adults only - dont want damaged joints etc for the kids!) and focus mits for accuracy (all students). Andy.

Wow... Empi for beginners! I would have thought that Empi was a bad kata to teach to new students as the 'signature move' uses age tsuki (rising punch) and this is a big no-no at any other time... must be confusing to be asked to punch one way for basics and then another way for the kata you are learning! Not to mention the jumping spinning shuto... thats going to be fun for a beginner I would say that kanku dai is a good kata to use if you are going to start with a 'higher' kata for white belts... good strong basics and would then make learning the Heians and others easier as the moves are already known. We do Taikyoku Shodan (AKA Kihon kata) which I think is easier to teach than H1 to kids as its only two moves (block and punch) to cope with whilst trying those nightmarish spins! Never seen the other Taikyoku katas - cant imagine there is much to them as they were dropped by many Shotokan clubs Aefibird - that Trad magazine the May one? or did I miss something from the April one? Andy.

Unfortunately not Couldnt get another instructor to cover my class as they were all busy! Would have been a really bad idea to cancel my class so I can go and watch a comp - dont think the other students would have been too impressed! Will have to wait until the next one, I assume they are going to host more - atleast I hope so Did you manage to get there Aefibird - or anyone else for that matter? Ooh... just noticed I am now an Orange belt woohoo Andy.

Nope - no non-standard katas... atleast not anymore - one was created around the time I started and although I did learn it many years ago I cant remember it now (no one seems to be able to!). Are the Kan Sho / Ni katas anything along the lines of the Kanku katas? Or just a similar name? Andy.

Yeah... he has been for a while. I know he passed his First Officer's exam for commercial aircraft a while back as it was in the papers. He is a top class fencer too - multitalented bloke! Andy.

I also agree with Fenris-wolf. Karate can be learned at different levels - kids are starting a long path and are able to understand some of the ideals of karate... especially about how and when to use what they have learned (ie: not in the playground etc)... and when not to. I have kids training with me from 7 upwards provided that they can do what I ask and try as hard as they can. I make it clear that I will not allow bully type behaviour in my classes and that improvement is relative to the student not to a hard-and-fast set of rules... I have had children with learning difficulties train with me that have gained a better sense of coordination, concentration, fitness etc - that is worthwhile in my book. I would have liked to start younger (started at 17) as I think it would have been good for self confidence and therefore would have made my life easier through highschool (and I am not saying I would have been beating people up either). Many of you (I think) are looking at McDojo type clubs and grouping all clubs together... If the club is doing things right then I see no problem with children training. Having said that - 3rd dan 11 year olds is something I find unacceptable. I see no problem with shodans over 11 (if they are worthy of the grade)... but they must wait until they are atleast 16 to progress to nidan (probably better over 18 though). Let the flaming begin!! Andy.

Cha-ching I've just found out a much better way to get there using the M6, A50 then M1 - only 2hr 12min according to AA - I am pretty sure I can beat that time tho I am slightly surprised at the lack of interest from the UK members... looks like a quality day out (even as a spectator!). Even managed (so far) to rope in some of my senior adult students to come with me to watch - helps make the journey less boring too So barring not being able to get another instructor to run my Sunday class I will be there Andy.

Yep... but only the older stuff (7th son, Number of the Beast, Killers & Piece of mind are my fave albums)... the new albums are no good in my opinion I actually met Bruce Dickinson (the day after my shodan grading) in 1996 and have his autograph on my old patched denim jacket I have to say that my musical tastes have changed somewhat and I now prefer stuff like Machine Head, Fear Factory, Cradle of Filth, Disturbed, NIN, Static X, Spineshank etc Andy.

For our shodan gradings, the students should know: Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Jion and possibly Wankan They would be asked to perform Bassai Dai and then one or two of their choice (list above). Oh and the learning from video bit is a very bad idea unless your own instructor created the video - Most clubs do kata slightly differently (Kanazawa's and Enoeda's videos/books show different versions!) and picking up bad habits is very difficult to correct! Andy.

ramymensa: I'm going to plead stupidity We northern English people have a broad accent and it sounds like 'berai' when we say it... It's also been a while since I've seen it written and just spelt it as it sounds Andy.

Kanku Dai is the obvious choice Although I do have to say I much prefer the Sho version now-a-days Andy.

I guess we all have different names for the same techniques! I would agree that gedan berai ('downwards sweep' I think it means) is the arm movement not the stance. Zenkutsu dachi can be done in three ways in my book: Hanmi - Half hips (as per normal blocks) - Turned away from target Shomen - Fully facing hips (as per basic punches) - Square on to target Gyaku hanmi - Reverse half hips (as per uchi ude uke in Heian Nidan) So my guess at this gyakudachi would be 'gyaku hanmi zenkutsu dachi' (as above from Heian Nidan) with the name shortened Andy.

Hehe - this sandan is getting on a bit which doesnt help (28 - arghhh) I only started training at 17 too which means I wasnt too supple when I started! Used to be able to do front splits but could never hold kicks high... now that I cant do the splits (following a hamstring pull and not stretching for a good while to recover) I can hold kicks higher (at chest level mostly or shoulder level on a good day!). Makes me so jealous seeing pics of people holding head height (and higher) kicks... one day I will manage it I kind of prove that kicking high (and being modest - rather well) is not directly related to static flexibility (splits and holding kicks) as commented by Kurz in his "Stretching Scientifically" book Pics of me posing with the highest kicks I could hold on that day are here - gotta get better flexibility for the glamour pics Andy.

Gradings in our association are £5 for kyu grades and £20 for dan grades. Each club grades in their own dojos and the senior instructor (6th dan) comes down and takes the kyu gradings, the dan gradings are done at the main dojo though. Belts are a further £3 if the student is successful but some grades do not require new belts (4th kyu, 2nd kyu and 1st kyu as these are white tabs added to the purple or brown belt). For my own club's gradings, the £5 testing fee goes to my instructor who takes the grading and the £3 belt fees are paid towards the hall hire as - students dont pay the normal £2 to train when grading. Andy.

Sorry guys - there's a bit of a mis-understanding here... Gangaku-sho is based on Chinto not Chinte - The original form of Gankaku was taken from kata Chinto by Funakoshi and Shotokanised (hence the rename) into the form we have today (which I must admit is my favourite kata by some margin ). Kanazawa saw the current version of Chinto (from Shito Ryu if I remember correctly) and made it into Gankaku-Sho for his association as he saw a use for it. I have a video from Matsubayashi Ryu (which Incidentally I had never heard of before) which I picked up off the web a while back but was wondering how the Kanazawa version compares to this one - which looks only vaguely similar to the Shotokan Gankaku version. Any other videos of Chinto out there? Cheers, Andy.

Afternoon all, Does any one have a video (or walk through instructions) of Gankaku-Sho - the Shotokanised version of the Chinto kata (and no I dont mean Shotokan's normal Gangaku ) This was mentioned on 24FC and is a non-Shotokan kata which has been introduced (and I assume Shotokanised) by Kanazawa to his Shotokan sylabus in the SKIF. Cheers, Andy.