Kusotare

So, if you had to describe a cadence to your technique would it be: 1 Or 1,2 ? K.

And yes Tsuki - or thrust - direct from the centre does tend to be rather common in Japanese ma. K.

Most sword schools will teach you to move through the front knee (Hissa no nuki) The weight is dropped rather than than pushed. It's complex but involves a good ability to centre oneself. K.

It's a funny thing, but there seems to be a huge amount of hyperbole behind the insistence that MA = Self defence - or in order to qualify as a decent MA it should turn out folk that have a good ability to fight or indeed defend themselves should the situation arise. Frankly, that opinion is both out dated, narrow minded and dangerous. You don't need to have burning desire to be a good fighter or defend yourself to be classified as a good martial artist, nor does an art need to deliver good fighters / people that know how to defend themselves - in order to be qualify as a "decent" martial art. That’s just nonsense imo. K.

Nice article. I'm not convinced about the whole sine wave thing. I understand the reason behind it, but from a combative perspective it doesn't make sense imo. But this is the bit that interests me the more… As a practitioner of classical Japanese bujutsu (Sword and Jujutsu) I'd have to say our aim is to get better at the exact opposite! We try to avoid pushing off the back foot for example, as it sends your weight backward - prior to moving forward. In a scenario where fights are won and lost in a matter of one or two seconds - getting the jump on your opponent is key, so sending energy backward before travelling forward may well create additional energy, but they'd be little use for it - if you were already dead at the point the technique landed. As a say interesting to get a different perspective on things. K.

As others have mentioned, in our dojo, the general nomenclature is Japanese, however details are taught in English. It doesn't make sense to try to teach something to others in anything but the most direct language they understand imo. That said, I train with instructors that are either Japanese or speak fluent Japanese and it does help add depth to explanations if you are given (and then explained the relevance behind) certain Japanese expressions. K.

Kano was the founder of the Kodokan Judo system, but actually at first the school was seen as no more than another jujutsu school. The word Judo wasn't coined by him though, as it was used in Jikishin-Ryu 150 years prior to kano using the term. His main reason for creating the Kodokan however was "Seishin Tanren" or spiritual forging. Not that this aspect wasn't achieved via the traing of some of the clasical systems - but Kano saw the creation of Kodokan Judo as a modern version of the same vehicle. Sadly the Judo you see today in the olympics is considerably different to Kano's ideal. K.

And if we are going for cheesy soundbites here... "There are many paths up the same mountain..?" K.

There is of course a fine line between what we study as martial artists and pure violence. The best predatory fighters and aggressors in this world are violent offenders who are missing something in their heads - we all know that. Thankfully, most of us have that "switch" in our head that says NO, but equally men (and women), have always sought the surety of knowing that if push comes to shove... they could do their very best to keep themselves alive. But I'm not sure that is the totality of what martial arts means. In my earlier years – all I was interested in was fighting… Full stop! But, even after not being subject to anything other than the odd drunken mishap, I’ve managed to survive thus far without having been attacked. So why bother then? K.

I could be wrong, but I don't think it's Kyukoshin in this case. As explained, "Kamishin" as a very popular name in Japanese Budo, but I’m not aware of many Kyukoshin groups here in the UK that operate with that name. Happy to stand corrected of course. K

There is another very good reason to train in "traditional" ma of course. The feeling that you are actively part of transmitting a tradition or process that has been passed down from Sensei to student - so that other generations can learn and add to it. “Ryu-ha” in its literal sense... K.

Playing Devil’s advocate here - whilst I would agree that there are added benefits to learning a traditional art - most of these you can get elsewhere - outside of Martial Arts. In addition to respecting rank and learning self control, you can gain camaraderie, self esteem, self confidence and the sense of achievement from many other hobbies, pastimes and sports. I’d also argue that those virtues are not exclusive to the softer “do” arts like Aikido and Tai chi etc. (or indeed traditional martial arts as a whole),as I think you can get them just as easily from a club that teaches full contact Thai boxing for example. The difference is maybe that it is not always at the top of their agenda to do so or immediately apparent. K.

The word “Kamishin” is used quite frequently in gendai arts and their names. Kami = God or Spirit Shin = Heart or truth So in most cases Kamishin-ryu – means something along the lines of “school of the divine truth” These guys seem to have quite a large group here in the UK and seem to be more Karate orientated: http://www.kamishinryu.com/ K.

I know a lot of Shoto folk that augment their karate training with Aikido. Probably not a bad thing, however Aikido doesn't really contain a lot of "ne-waza" - or ground techniques - so if thats what you feel is missing - I'd find yourself a good Judo or BJJ school. K.

Actually, I don't disagree with anything you have said. However, I think that although we may all look at things through the same prism of “martial art” – sometimes, particularly as we get older, what we see through it changes. Naturally, things like your age and your career for example, are going to influence what is important to you. As you correctly said, SD is only one perspective, and on the grand scheme of things tends to become less of a burning "itch" to scratch as you travel through life. The same goes for your endeavours on the Shiai Tatami!! But, to each their own of course and the main thing that I always tell my students is to be aware of what is going on in the wider world of MA. In the Dojo however - we focus intently on the tradition we are trying to learn and that in itself will almost certainly wield more benefits in the long term imo. Of course, this is just my opinion. K.

When you say you are at that "stage" - can I ask, how long have you been training for? I'm an advocate of reviewing other systems in order to gain a good perspective of you own, however I studied Karate up to 3rd Dan before I started to train in other systems. I still train and teach in Karate and I don't merge the two systems together. They work as they are designed to quite well on their own when done correctly. I'm not putting you in this category, but eventually the mental weightlifting behind training an art like Shotokan has to be done by yourself. All to often I see people take what they think is best the answer - and move to another system. Somtimes the grass is greener on the other side, however if you don't invest suiatble time into your own lawn - you are never going to reap the benefits. K.

Hello and welcome. My work takes me to Sofia regularly, so I am no stranger to your country. k.

Groin strikes aside, what from the above list would not be beneficial in the octagon or ring? K.

At 1:34 in this vid, there is a display of some of the Jujutsu elements within Wado-ryu that originated in older traditions... There are more, but this is a decent cross section. K.

Ime, there aren't that many locks and pins in Wado-ryu. If you practice Idori and Tanto-dori there are a handful more, however these are really used for teaching principles and oportunities rather than what I would consider effective for self defence. Remembering of course that the Kihon Kumite, Idori and Tanto-dori within Wado comes from Shindo-yoshin ryu (in fact most of the idori is straight out of Tenjin Shinyo-ryu), so it wasn't really designed for todays streets. Not saying it won't work, but there are probably more effecient / easier methods to employ. K.

Out of interest, what particular grappling technique from Wado-ryu? K.

Hi Barry, Welcome to the forum, you sure have been a busy boy today with your posts lol! Are you able to tell us a little more about yourself in some more detail - (there is an introduction board on here also)? When did you start training, and with whom? What styles and systems have you trained under and for how long? Do you have any competition history - or have experience / education in the classical traditions etc. etc. Look forward to hearing a little more. K.

When I teach at courses and seminars, I usually have the students change partners after they have done a decent amount of reps. That way, you get to work with different body types as well as attitudes and abilities. Obviously there are limitations to what you can do, but at the end of the day, I like to think that people that attend the courses that I teach at - have a fully rounded experience. K.

If I remember correctly, prior to developing his Karate style, Uechi Kanbun travelled to the Fujian province of China where he studied in a number of schools of Chinese Boxing. The boxing techniques of Uechi-ryu are described as "Dragon-tiger-crane boxing" I believe. With an emphasis on Chinese boxing apparent - maybe this is why there are not that many take downs and grappling techniques within its syllabus. He returned to Okinawa with just three Kata I believe - Sanchin, Sesan and Sanseryu - again no wonder why Sanchin is such an important kata then. K.

Good lass, well done. K.