Kusotare

I don't tend to spar with my students. I don't really have to. I teach them the stratagems of fighting and they fight amoungst themselves. My seniors teach the juniors under my direction. K.

When viewing things like this, one has to really try to keep in perspective what it is. These are very athletic individuals performing at a high degree of difficulty. I don't enjoy watching them really, either. The back flip, although cool, had no point, and neither did much of the weapon twirling.But, they are talented men and women, and I admire their talent and ability; I can't do that. I struggle to stand up straight sometimes I try not to view these individuals entire Martial knowledge by watching them do 2 minutes of twirling and back flipping. They probably have very good basics, and very good forms, and they may have a good understanding of self-defense, as well. I don't know them, so I shouldn't assume their entire MA knowledge and experience is centered around a random back flip. I'm not decrying their ability; they are good gymnasts who have added twirling things into their repertoire! Some would argue that gaining that level of agility and physicality is an important part of martial arts, but it isn’t if it is taken out of context. What they are doing has absolutely nothing to do with martial arts imo. What next: -Twirling katana whilst performing gymnsatics? ... Dohh!! K.

Correct, and that's rare. Good example. In Wado-ryu Kata, knife hand blocks are performed to Jodan (head), whereas Shotokan knife hands are lower at Chudan (middle). Check out Wado's Pinan Shodan, vs Shoto's Heian Nidan on You Tube (they are basically the same kata). And thats just the tip of the iceberg. K.

That was dreadful! There are some great martial artists in America, but it's things like this that lose the US credibility imo. K.

There is only a requirement to actually demonstrate bunkai in the team kata event, and then usually only in the finals. I think what this ruling means is that techniques should be performed in such a way it shows that the athlete has an understanding of correct bunkai. K.

There is nothing to stop a Wado practitioner from doing any Kata he wants, from any style. I think you are referring to "Shitei" (compulsory) Kata rounds? This is usually only the first round of events and what it means is that if you want to do Chinto or Seishan - you have to do it the Wado way. If you want to do say Kanku-dai or Jion it has to be done the Shoto way and so on and so forth. There is nothing however stopping a wado kuy doing Kanku-dai, but he has to do it the correct “Shotokan” way according to how the WKF prescribe. The remaining rounds tend to be "Tokui" or free kata rounds - ie you can do any kata you want from any style. The problem is it doesn’t really work imo. Fact is, if a wado guy does Seishan against a Shoto Jion– chances are that the judges will go for the Shoto Jion, because it looks nicer. What this has led to is athletes learning how to perform all of the flashy looking Kata from across the styles, and disgarding the more "basic" looking ones which kinda defeats the point. K.

Train as often and as hard as you can manage, up to the week before your grading. Then have a very light (training) week, and eat well. Brush up on your theory when you are not physically training. Relax and have fun. K.

That's the program I'm going to be going through. I'm excited. It's a good system, I think you will enjoy it. K.

I can see that martial arts training would come in useful for military personnel, and to some degree law enforcement officers. In the UK however, there are a number of systems utilised by Teachers, care workers and public sector personnel that, frankly, are far better suited. One of the most popular utilised by LEA's is a system called MAPA (Management of Actual or Potential Aggression). http://www.crisisprevention.com/en-uk/Specialties K.

I am a long time practitioner and instructor of Wado-ryu Karate and I have never heard anyone suggest "Bunkai is for Gangsters" lol. That said, strictly speaking Wado doesn't utilise the "process" of Bunkai in quite the same way as is done in Okinawan karate. Remember, Wado comes from Shindo Yoshin-ryu (a Japanese Jujutsu) and as such we utilise a plethora of paired kata and techniques to realise our Karate. These are practiced in tandem with our solo kata prety much from the word go. As a result, the term "Bunkai" isnt one that used very frequently in Wado dojo (or if it is, it refers to a slightly different thing). I have to go to work now and then I will be teaching in the evening, but I will expand upon this a little more later tonight. K.

I'm really not sure I have the energy lol. I've explained my understanding of studying a kata based art over several threads and each time the response it is met with is - that approach is way too slow and doesn't show signs of being useful in terms of self defence. Well kata is NOT self defence - it really isn’t full stop! (or period as you guys would say). Interesting really that the few guys on this board that share my views are senior karate / Japanese ma guys. Those that struggle are relative newbs (in terms of Japanese/Okinawan ma) or folk that don't train in a Japanese / Kata orientated art! And that’s what is good about this board – as it hopefully breaks down some stereotypes / misunderstandings. But the "microwave popcorn method" made me smile K.

Kata geiko has stages in terms of learning and development and of course, some kata are purely educational - whereas others are more directly combative. On the grand scheme of things, you have been training for 5 minutes really, so I wouldn't automatically assume that yourinstructor is trying to deceive you. At first (and when I mean at first I mean for the first 2-3 years perhaps) it is right that you only learn the "Omote" or external form of the kata. They exist to transmit core principles of movement (not techniques per-se). Later (and I mean way later), you have what is called the "Ura" kata. This is the deeper understanding or more complex variations designed to extract additional (sometimes obscure) principles. Then you have "Henka" waza, which are the variations in techniques and application. You can’t get to fully appreciate the Henka waza until you have internalised the "Omote" of the kata. Furthermore, you can't unlock the "Ura" of the kata until you have internalised the Henka waza, and then the Ura waza is only usually transmitted by word of mouth to the most senior and most trusted of students. So in summary: One step at a time and trust your instructor. K.

Excellent Ryu-ha, all of them. Shindo Muso Ryu has a very expansive curriculum. Koryu Uchinada is not a koryu you are correct. It was created by Patrick McCarthy in the eighties I believe, but reflects his research into the traditional ways of Okinawa. K.

These guys are very good... Trained with them many a time. They are a very serious but also relaxed and understanding group. http://www.guseikaicalgary.com/About_us.html K.

Thought I'd post this for any of the forum members who, perhaps, weren't too sure about what Koryu Bujutsu is. I'm sure this has been posted on here before (possibly even by myself), but I love what the Empty Mind guys produce so... If you want to see what I do (and love) watch this... Feel free to fire any questions to me after watching it. I can't be sure that I will be able to answer, but I will do my best. K.

Basic rule of thumb that I usewith regards to striking with your hands is to hit boney parts with fleshy bits and hit fleshy parts with boney bits. So, a strike to the face (which is after all a boney crash helmet) I typically use the heel of the palm. And equally, I would use seiken more typically to the body. K.

Typically, 1 hour travelling each way, however my instructor has just moved back to Japan, so now I will have a 12,000 mile round trip taking best part of 2 weeks. I envy folk who have good dojo within walking distance.

At the end of the day, both are challenging and rewarding for those who are prepared to stick at it. You only get out of life what you put into it as they say. Sadly many folk today simply don't have the time or aspiration to understand such benefits, and I guess everyone's goals are different. I thought it worth posting this thread however to encourage people that there is more than just kicking and punching involved in the "global" study of martial arts. K.

Most schools that have weapon work within their curiculem have several well practiced Kata that are usually used in embu. If the school has experience in teaching Bo vs Nunchaku drills then utilise one of these. If not, I wouldn't go making one up. What would be the point in that? K.

Is it wise to attempt a weapons demo on a subject you clearly have no experience in? Wouldn't it be best to stick to stuff you know, rather than risk looking silly or even worse, someone getting hurt? K.

The word "tradition" is the sticking point. To me, a tradition is something that is handed down from one generation to the next as opposed to rejuvenating a practice that has not been done for centuries. I'm probably splitting hairs here, but I hope you can see where I am coming from. K. I get where you're coming from. However, one only has to play the telephone game to realize that information is, inevitably, lost or changed (either purposely or not) when translated from one person to the next. Do that in a room with 100 people and you'll really see it. Over the course of several hundred years, it's probably worse. I realize that these people work very hard and diligently to avoid such degredation of information/knowledge, but it's quite likely that what is practiced today is very different from how it was practiced 400 years ago. This is especially true because it's no longer battle tested. Ryuha develop from one head master to another. After all ryu means stream so it kinda goes with the territory. Actually, most koryu have very detailed densho to back up the practical. The densho are as accurate as many of the medieval manuscripts. In fact the densho is the tradition and the koryu exist to transmit it. It's certainly going to be more authentic than restarting a tradition that hasn't been trained for centuries. There is simply no comparison. K.

Is this the name of the system of Karate you currently practice or are based in? BTW, Sekiguchi-ryu is not one of the nine Koryu around which Hatsumi and the Bujinkan have based their system. K.

The word "tradition" is the sticking point. To me, a tradition is something that is handed down from one generation to the next as opposed to rejuvenating a practice that has not been done for centuries. I'm probably splitting hairs here, but I hope you can see where I am coming from. K.

That is interesting... Sekiguchi-ryu is a sogo bujutsu dating from the mid 1600's. Could be something to do with the above. Do you have the kanji for it (that way I can tell exactly what it says)? It’s a compressive system of both Kenjutsu and Jujutsu (along with many other disciplines). Ten = Heaven Chi = Earth Jin = Man It's a core philosophy in koryu (and Wado-ryu actually) and is important when "realising" core strength and grounding (difficult to explain). Yes, There's no "fluffy" stuff in Wado. K.

Not really, The manuscripts were in the most part pictorial and the balance in a medieval text. The problem with pictures of "positions" when it comes to transmitting combative technique is that they are missing one important thing - what goes on in between! Actually, it sounds like I am bashing medieval combat I'm not I love it. One of my students is a professional medieval combat specialist here in the UK, and he has confirmed this on many an occasion. It’s unjust to try to equate the modern day medieval combat with the Koryu of Japan. K.