renketsu

Just had a quick 'taster' of kendo at my kobujutsu class the other week, in full armour... great fun Tends to get very hot and sweaty under those thick peices of armour and the shinai tends to hurt when it hits bits of you that are unprotected If you get a chance to have a go - I suggest you try it, it gives you a whole new side to training (I am from karate so dont tend to whack people with weapons very often ). Andy.

I think your club insurance will insist on you holding coaching and first aid quals as you will be a public health risk otherwise... Lets be honest, you would have be stupid not to have done a coaching qualification (like the EKGB one) to run a class if it voids your insurance! I dont know if it has to be a NVQ one, just one that is recognised by the governing body (i could be wrong too! ) First aid is an absolute must even if it's not defined on your insurance policy - it is important to know what to do in case! I insist on all new students filling out "medical declaration" form before training, with emergency contact details and medical conditions / medication taken. I keep all of these current (updated each year when students re-licence) and with me when teaching. Andy.

Assuming that you are planning to start your own class under your instructors club / still in the same association. I would recommend that you are atleast a 1st dan and preferably a 2nd dan before you start to run your own class - no offence to anyone but nobody wants to be taught by a coloured belt! For safety you definitely need to take a coaching course and a first aid course so that you are confident and safe in what you are doing. When you first start out, I would be particularly careful to follow the guidance of the senior instructors... changing the dress code / content of the lessons etc is going to cause a few "who the hell does he/she think he/she is?" comments Make sure that you have the support of fellow instructors as you will need assistance once the class gets to a reasonable size for sub-teaching and not to mention those weeks when you cannot make it for one reason or another. I dont know how old you are but I guess late teens (occupation: student) - this may cause you some problems in itself as you will not look knowledgeble... I was 21 when I took over my class so I am not having a go! Advertising in local shops and papers etc is the best way to get a club noticed in my book. Andy.

I have found that the club usually follows the lead of the instructors as it is them who show the students how to tie the belt (except those who have trained before with someone else). I go for the "not crossed at the back" approach... where the back of the belt is flat and single thickness as that is how I was shown and I also think it looks better (if that counts for anything!). I did attempt to describe how I tie my belt - but gave up as it was getting too complicated to read! Andy.

Fairly typical Shotokan I guess: Kihon (Taikyoko shodan) Heian 1-5 Tekki 1-3 Bassai Dai/Sho Kanku Dai/Sho Jion Jitte Jiin Sochin Chinte Gankaku Nijushiho Unsu Enpi Hangetsu Gojushiho Dai/Sho Meikyo Wankan To shodan: Kihon Heian 1-5 Tekki 1 Bassai Dai Andy.

Shukokai (a derivitive of Shito Ryu I believe)? Does issnshi-ryu mean the same as isshin ryu? I have been trying to work out from webpages the linkage/lineage between various styles and have got this far http://www.renketsu.org.uk/aboutshotokan_styles.php#familytree, the text is only a start and has not been proof read (just incase it reads badly or wrong!). If any of this is wrong (I know Egami did not start Shotokai but he did continue it after Funakoshi reverted back to Shotokan) or there is more you can volunteer, please let me know as it is quite interesting and I am not above criticism . Andy.

I have just started Kobujitsu (Japanese weapons training) and have learned three different katas (tonfa, chuks and bokken/katana) which contain no kiais . I keep finding myself wanting to kiai I just cant help it!

I think that as some people learn more quickly than others and some are more physically adept than others, picking up the basics far more quickly than others, they should be allowed to try to double grade. I have recommended to our grading panel that a couple of my own students are allowed to try double grading over the years - but only when I consider their progress sufficient for them to grade well and more importantly they are then able to continue at that grade with no problems or set backs. Personally speaking, I went from 10th - 8th kyu in Shotokan Karate and from 9th kyu to 7th kup in WTF TKD, so I guess I am biased! Andy.

Hi, Just wondering if anyone can give me personal experiences of breaking proper wooden boards / tiles etc against breaking the re-breakable boards and any info that would be useful for testing students of various grades. I personally have never broken before so am looking for your honest opinions! Thanks, Andy.

And then when you do get your shodan, you have to re-learn and re-think everything... I think being a brown belt puts immense pressure on you to perform as you have not proved yourself yet (getting a blackbelt for what that is worth) and are being watched intensely by the rest of the club as you are the ones to keep up with; and of course by the seniors - who want you to be the best you can be to test for shodan. Andy.

Probably Raphael with the Sai's - quality weapon Over here in the UK, the powers that be decided having a childrens program with "ninja" in was bad - so we got the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles - sad init? Andy.

Get in close and use your hands! I am a similar long-legged kicker type and get the same done to me (usually following Sensei's suggestions to my opponents!)... if people close you down it is more difficult to score with kicks (unless you can kick like Sensei Kagawa - split kicks etc) In real life (cos I know you cant sweep in TKD as I've trained in it) I would be tempted to sweep the standing leg or take a good roundhouse/stamp kick at their knee / thigh

My avatar is a nicely "borrowed" M$ Office clip art picture I was going to use my club picture or the kanji from my club name but the previous attempts looked awful Going to try a new one soon UPDATE: changed my avatar for a kanji one... better? was: http://www.renketsu.org.uk/avatar.gif I am a nice well balanced white dragon... which seems quite boring really Andy

Cheers, I think I can picture it... I guess I may need to attend a few jujutsu classes to see how the throws are done! When you mention low stance, I assume you are modifying the 'look' of the move, as we do the hands-on-hips move in heisoku dachi (feet together / attention stance)?! Can you describe the "tai otoshi" throw please so I can see where in the kata it appears. I now need to consider tae-sabaki having a more advanced meaning than the simplistic "body-evasion" for evading punches etc and let the ideas flow Andy.

I agree with the comments from Tom above about the judo throw (nage waza means throwing techniques I seem to remember - could be wrong tho), in my mind this seems to follow for any spinning technique in kata assuming you can get a grip of the attacker. This can be modified to a strangle-takedown rather than a hip throw... I've demo'd this against an attacker in Heian Nidan - done after the nukite and kiai. Something that most new starters seem to miss, is the fact that most kata moves done forwards in the kata really work better when done backwards in bunkai/oyo. There are a whole set of WSKI (Shurai / Kase) katas based on the Shotokan set, where you spin away with the blocks and then step in to attack which make the ideas flow better with a view to working out bunkai. A good book on the Tekki kata is by Elmar Schmeisser (author of Advanced Karate-do which is another good but unbelievably complicated read) I would be interested to see someone provide a viable use for the spin in Heian / Pinnan Sandan after the first kiai (before the three elbow strikes mentioned above). I am not sure that this could be used to throw (even if done at full speed) or if it is effective to use to lock an arm... any ideas people? Andy.

http://www.mugenkyo.com/ I have seen these twice in North-West England, a powerful experience that you have to experience to understand. I have a CD of their music in the car but it doesnt do it justice. major_motoko: I would recommend going to see them play next time they are in your area

I have done both (whilst being a Shotokan Karate 2nd dan): Started as a white belt when doing WTF TKD (and graded to 7th kup). I am also currently training in Kobujutsu wearing my blackbelt. I have trained in Wado Ryu Karate wearing my blackbelt Pride is a big problem for some people, just because you are a blackbelt in one art doesnt mean you should expect to have it recognised by another art. The only reason I wear my blackbelt at the kobujutsu class is that the instructor suggested that we all wear the belts earned from other styles (i first turned up to train with a whitebelt!). We will grade in weapons and wear a coloured tab on the black belts to show the other grades we have. I have always told instructors of classes (no matter what style) what I currently train in and what grade I hold (as I would expect from any MA practitioner), I will then leave it to them to tell me if they would like me to train as a blackbelt or whitebelt - it doesnt bother me which! Any students who train with me who have done Karate before, will be given a choice: Train as a whitebelt and start again OR Train as their current grade and then only start to grade again once they have returned to the required level of expertise for that grade. Students from other arts can train with their current belt until they have decided that they want to take up karate... it would then be discussed and depending on the differences between the arts and if they want to grade, the above choice would be made! Andy.

Sai: I would be interested in seeing a video (if you have one) or a description of how you do the kata with a Bo. How close can you stick (no pun intended ) to the original kata? Also how usable are the techniques that you have found? Has anyone else done this to Shotokan katas with weapons, if so I would be interested in hearing about it (just started Kobu-Jutsu where I am aiming to see how Karate can use weapons as well as having fun with sticks and stuff ). Andy.

Hi, I dont think that holding a particular dan makes you better than you would be by training just as hard but not holding that dan. I have seen green belts (6th kyu) who have trained for 4+ years in Shotokan but never graded beat brown and black belts in kumite competitions. The training you have and the level of knowledge and skill you show should be the thing that people judge you by, the grade you hold is mostly irrelevant in my book. The only thing that higher dans work for is advertising - if a prospective student sees two posters, one with a 2nd dan running the class and the other with a 5th dan running the class - I think I know who the student will train with... Joe Public dont know who will be the better instructor or if the instructors are worthy to hold that grade - they just see a higher number! Just my opinion. Andy.

Ok... I couldn't resist playing Devil's advocate here How does the 'to' bit work with 'kakato' for the heel? - that is not a cutting edge and works more like a sledgehammer than a knife As in mae geri kakato (kata enpi), yoko geri kekomi (side thrust kick) and kakato utoshi (axe kick). Let the arguments begin! Andy.

Using a little latteral thinking, I think the kata are as follows (Shotokan names in Bold). Please note: The names in italic are the Wado Ryu names and these may more closely resemble the katas from ITF - as these are thought to be more like the original Shotokan katas before 'Japanification' by Master funakoshi (founder of Shotokan). Master Ohtsuka, the founder of Wado Ryu, trained under Master Funakoshi and took the original kata of Shotokan with him when founding Wado Ryu. Hei-an I, II, III, IV and V -> Heian / pinnan Bat-sai -> Bassai Dai En-bi -> Enpi / wanshu Ro-hai -> Meikyo / rohai Kouh-shang-kouh -> Kanku Dai / Kushanku Tet-ki I, II and III -> Tekki / naifanch Jit-te -> Jitte/Jutte Han-Getsu -> Hangetsu / Seishan Ji-on -> Jion There are now more Shotokan kata (total of 26) but these are the base kata of shotokan that are used in their original form in Wado Ryu. With exception of Tekki II and III, they were added after Wado was formed. Also Gankaku/chinto and Nijushiho/Niseishi are part of the original set (and Wado Kata) which are not on your list but may turn up on further digging. If I am wrong on any part of this I would appreciate your comments as this is the situation as I understand it! Andy.

I personally prefer the look of a black belt not a tattered grey one. When I bought a personalised belt I purposely chose a cotton belt (rather than silk) so that it wouldn't fade and turn grey. I intend to replace the belt when I next grade (to include dan stripes) but in the mean time, it if fades I will replace it. Andy.

10 years (starting at 17 yo), second dan and looking to take my 3rd dan grading this year

The usual pub sports (darts, snooker, pool) I am also the Cub leader (Akela) of my local scout group and am about to open a specialist karate class just for the cubs in our area to get the new martial arts badge... not sure if I am letting myself in for a difficult 3 months (25 kids between 8 and 11 years old - could be a nightmare!). If it works then it will hopefully become a regular thing 3 or 4 times per year to give them all a chance to earn the badge not to mention try subtly recruiting for my normal classes Oh yeah, finally being a sad computer engineer when at work, I write my own club website

To train with one of my seniors I pay because it's a smaller class and the sensei needs it to pay for the hall hire. To train with the other senior, I teach for him when asked and as his class is big enough to pay for itself I do not have to pay. At my own classes, I used to pay as a student to make sure that the club had enough money to pay for the hall hire and now that the class is big enough consistently to pay for itself any blackbelt who trains with me can do so for free as long as they will assist with teaching if/when asked (if an instructor). I think it is a good idea to be able to "thank" your senior students/assistant instructors by letting them train for free if you are planning on having them help you to teach part or all of a lesson.