GojuRyu Bahrain

May I ask why you want to open a Shotokan club? What do you bring to the table that your current Shotokan Dojo does not? Personally, I think that (under normal circumstances) a ni-kyu in a Karate style does not allow for enough time, experience and knowledge to teach that style properly. You might not know most of the Kata, partner forms, even Kihon techniques, hence our teachings would be severely limited, if not crippled. In your profile you list a number of full contact styles, as well as Shotokan, so I am curious why you decided for Shotokan specifically? Related to your other styles, and my own background = 26 years in a number of other Karate and MA styles (plus ni-dan in Shotokan), I feel most Shotokan Dojos are a bit detached from reality. I am wondering if you want to bring more "realism" into the training, which is what I am currently doing for a mixed crowd in a small class setting. In my case I don't call it Shotokan despite the fact that most of my "students" are Shotokan-based or still actively train. We do Karate...

A quick search on wikipedia indicates the following as first naming dates (the first official naming of the styles): Goju Ryu 1929 Shorin Ryu 1933 Shotokan 1936 However, the question can probably not be conclusively solved because the records at the time when these styles started are scetchy at best, likely oral. Anyhow, the underlying question is what defines a style? Is it the teaching (which strongly depends on the teacher; and even the students), is it the name, or is it the grand master associated with that style?

Forgot to mention the thing indicated approx. 1000 calories burned.

Having done Karate for a long time, I have wondered for a while how much of a workout it actually is. It always felt intense, but who knows? Everybody around me does running to get fit.. Few days ago I finally bought a heart rate monitor and used it for a session.. Warmup, Kata, Bunkai, Drills, and Kumite. 1h 15min with average pulse 148, peaks at above 180, half the time in the peak zone, the other half in the cardio zone. Rapid full intensity bursts with quick cooldown, then go again! That's high intensity interval training (HIIT) from hell! I know, different sessions will be different, but we Karateka's should be fit like machines!

Maybe I am just too suspicious, but are you sure you are a college student interested in martial artist's motivation? The use of slick marketing terminology and the extreme interest in our MA equipment purchasing habits (4 out of 9 questions ), which is highly unrelated to your introductory text makes me think that (in the best case) you could aim for a high-flying career in marketing, or (in the worst case) you might already be in such a job and try here to get into the KarateForum participant's commercial habits. Again, maybe its just me being paranoid..

Excellent discovery! Distance is the most overlooked key to realistic Karate applications. Throws, chokes, strikes... I remember that our Karate (in my home-Dojo) improved dramatically at the time we discovered this truth. That was back around 1996ish... Since then the maxim has been: step in, close the distance, stay there: Muchimi! Stick to the opponent like glue.

Hello Sentoka, I understand your dilemma very well... teaching one style with modifications is a difficult, albeit natural thing: Historically every master created their own spin on things, didn't they? My main style is Goju Ryu, but I have cross trained in several other Karate and MA styles. The way I see it, Goju Ryu is quite complete, and there is some technical overlap with every other system. The focus, of course, might be very different from style to style; even from Dojo to Dojo. Anyhow, I never felt the need to add techniques to my training, just adopt other's training methods when they where better. [Honestly though, I don't know if the last statement is entirely truthful, as I sometimes practice ground fighting, which is probably not included in the mainstream of Goju Ryu Dojos. For me, ground fighting was always there (Seyunchin!) and wasn't added by me . And recently I spent quite a bit of time with Shuto Uke (NOT USEFUL AS UKE!) as a system for limb control in it's own right, despite the fact that it is not explicitly present in Goju Ryu Katas (maybe Kururun Fa at the beginning?) ]. So there is my dilemma: I am training for some years mostly with Shotokan people: Do I teach Goju Ryu, or Shotokan, or simply Karate with them? I try to stick to common techniques (present in Goju Ryu and Shotokan) and general martial principles, but it is not Shotokan, and it is certainly not Goju Ryu - I don't inlcude Goju Ryu Katas, for example. For the time being I call it the Karate Bunkai Club... More specific to your Wado Ryu case: if Iain Abernethy calls his style Wado Ryu, there is certainly a lot of room for "Okinawan" aspects, isn't it? Lastly, the name for your style is not as important as what you teach and how you teach it.

In my original federation (German Karate Federation, Goju Ryu) we have several levels of official coaching certifications, and are expected to visit regional or national workshops once in a while. However, a lot of the actual learning to be a teacher happens on-the-job for senior students. The highest Kyu ranked student usually leads the warm up, but the Karate part of the class is led by an instructor. It seems quite common that the higher Dan ranks have some kind of teaching schedule, i.e., Mon.+Sat. by CI, Wed. by Black Belt X, Fri. by Blackbelt Y and so on. Often one class per week is for senior members (brown and black, or black only) for calibration and alignment.

Great Video. I had just today forwarded it to my Karate buddies...

Never heard of such etiquette that you shouldn't hit a higher belt during sparring. Now, there are clubs that spar with "minimal-" or "no-contact" rules that may or may not be officially stated or mutually agreed upon. If you, as a MMA fighter, hit that black belt harder than their consensus allows they might tell you not to hit.. and from there on a misunderstanding could take its way. Also, they should have asked you about your previous experience when you joined so that there are no such surprises. For example, I am keen to have people with lots of mixed MA backgrounds (not only MMA, though). We can always learn from another! On the other hand, if a club tells you that cross training in other martial arts is not allowed/ not appropriate, this tastes a lot like McDojo to me. To clarify this statement: Informing your Sensei that you want to visit another Dojo / style / art should be a courtesy from your side. Your Sensei's reaction then will reveal a lot about him/her. Is your growth priority or his club? Is he secure in his skills or afraid that you might leave for good? I am quite happy that the Goju Ryu guys treat you better

Thanks for the nice feedback, but its not purely my idea...Iain Abernethy has some similar thoughts in his material.

If Kata is a cookbook then fighting (for self defense) is eating. The process of learning to cook is Bunkai. Some people read the content, learn about the ingredients and the process of preparing it all. Some people think that Bunkai is studying the book itself, the cover, paper, and the glue binding it together. Others spend time on studying the grammar of the recipes, the fonts, and the punctuation. Again, others like collecting cookbooks. However, only reading, understanding, and actually cooking according to the recipe results in the desired meal. Once a recipe is learned by heart it can be varied, applied with different ingredients etc.. Shu Ha Ri.

I do not subscribe to Bunkai for Sanchin Kata in the sense of practical self defense applications, but the Kata sets the foundation for Naha-lineage Karate in terms of posture, breathing, and basic movement. Furthermore, if performed with full power at slow speed, Sanchin Kata is an excellent addition to dynamic/isotonic strength training through the contained isometric exercises. As mentioned earlier in this thread, Chris Wilder's book "The Way of Sanchin Kata" is a very good resource on the subject with several excellent instructions on how to test the structural alignment taught in this form (Shime). I went through the book in a few iterations and highly recommend it to any sincere Goju student.

It is almost comedy to read from a hardcore JKA practitioner about what is traditional, i.e., BUDO Karate, and what is not. Not to say that Mr. Bertel isn't a fantastic athlete; from his youtube presence he is one of the most gifted people out there. He also demonstrated extreme ability in Kumite and Kata disciplines. His points about applicability and sincerity in training are largely valid. But keeping in mind that he comes from a non-Okinawan organization that was founded in 1949, represents only the Shuri-lineage, promotes only sports-karate, and removed all of the throws and wrestling elements integral to Okinawan Karate from its curriculum...in light of this background a claim regarding true karate seems a bit silly.

In my Goju Ryu the strategy for self defense based sparring (based on Kata) is: 1. Receive: Evade – block the arms – live hand 2. Bridge: Control – lead – destabilize to prevent any further attack 3. Finish: Punch – kick – throw – break – stomp For fun (i.e., sport) fights I add more focus on attacks, sen-o-sen and high-low-high combinations that wouldn't make as much sense in a self defense based scenario.

My personal story led me away from JKA (I have a 2nd Dan with them): 1- too much Politics (three clubs I trained in had constant fights and bickering among instructors, leading to the splitting of two clubs), 2- they teach pure sport Karate (that I consider 'fake' compared to more Okinawan self defense systems), 3- ineffective training (most of it seems to be filtering out talented people instead of building skills..leading to a lot of older JKA Karatekas quitting because of wrecked knees and damaged hips... I have trained Uechi Ryu (attained ni Kyu before I moved away) and loved it. But, as JR wrote a lot depends on who is teaching and what your goals are.

I don't think the Mind Palace is necessary for remembering a sequence, e.g., in a Kata. I'd rather, as Jack wrote, memorize the applications. Its not about the sequence, after all! Secondly, I found it easier to learn new Katas as I progressed in experience. I read somewhere that expert chess players are much faster at memorizing board situations, due to their experience they were able to connect the info with pre-existing knowledge quickly. In Karate, it seems to work as well. Basically, the applications become the "items" in that imagined house...

You are probably better now than a few months ago, you just don't see it that way..here is what our Hanshi tought regarding your situation: Knowledge and physical ability are two different things that develop at different rates as one progresses in Karate. For most people, initially the physical ability grows rapidly, faster than the understanding/ knowledge. Then, with time, one becomes aware of the finer details (knowledge). Now, one has more, and more difficult, details to master physically, which may be perceived as 'slower' progress. As you describe, this can lead to frustration. What you may consider now is that you are in a phase where your knowledge expands rapidly, surpassing you physical ability for a while; Relax, be patient with yourself. This is good:you lay the foundation for you further progress in mastering the art. You could compare your techniques on video (if you have recordings) against your previous self, or against others in your dojo. You should find you are better (more precise, powerful etc.) than you think. Anyway, keep practising, this feeling will pass.

Teaching for free alows me to not care about belts at all, just to share knowledge. It also allows me to make the class as hard/difficult as I feel it should be to advance my and my students capabilities. If I see the need for speed and stamina drills we do that until exhaustion (often enough until I am totally exhausted 😀). If I had any commercial interest I would use 9 Kyu ranks and be offering kids classes, for sure, with a junior black belt scheme where kids teach younger kids (i'd probably make teaching juniors a requirement for 3-1 kyu). I'd have special (mandatory) workshops for advanced belts and charge extra for that, too. I'm so happy that I'm free instead! PS. Typically, my classes are very small (I like to think of it as oldschool Okinawa size😉) as most people seem to vavour the very common expensive-but-easy martial arts.

Throws and joint locks are an official part of my organization's curriculum (German Goju Ryu Yushinkan), which have to be demonstrated during belt test starting somewhere around green belt. This is the case at least since the 1980s, likely since the founding in the late 1950s. In my home-club we extensively train Tegumi including ground fighting,if the situation arises... The focus is on stricking > kicking > throws > locks, in that order, and it should be like this for Karate training because only if all those elements are present, meaningful Bunkai may be developed, in my opinion. In Shotokan (JKA and Kase-Ha) I haven't encountered much throwing or locks, though. This may explain why the bunkais there are very basic and often unrealistic...

Goju Ryu Karate (Yuishinkan) since 1989...As a kid I played international karate plus (IK+) on my Atari 1024...I guess I wanted to do that in real life, too Now I got my Yondan recently...Tried a lot of other Karate styles and martial arts, notably Shotokan (since 2005, currenlty Nidan), Kendo, Aikido, Uechi Ryu, Kobudo, BJJ, Arnis Escrima, with various color belts etc.. but none of those fit me like Goju Ryu: It's core strategy of very close fighting suits me best and I like the grappling aspects that are part of our lineage.

I'd say Sanchin and Tensho are the foundation for Goju Ryu, but those Kata fall short of representing the style, i.e., no Bunkai (in the sense of practical applications), extremely limited footwork etc.. I'm not saying they are not important (I practice esp. Sanchin 2-3 times every Goju Ryu training).

Interesting discussion. Kata without study of its application is...letters (as in alphabet) not used to create words...IMHO Here is an article that summs up my view better than I could: http://goju-ryu.blogspot.de/2015/04/i-cant-believe-he-said-that.html I understand that there might be other benefits of Kata, as pointed out by others here, but those benefits are byproducts of the Katas prime function: preserve the core of a fighting system.

Interesting Topic! For me, Sesan contains a lot of the essentials of Goju Ryu. If I had to teach only one Kata, that would be Sesan. It would be a bit short, though, so I'm more than glad to have the other Katas as well....Second most important Kata might be Seynchin, but I am not as certain there... I am eager to see other people's views!

A fitting anecdote: I happened to be in Japan (training camp) on my 10th Karate anniversary exactly. I mentioned this to one of the senior instructors (50+ year experience) after he had taught me the last Kata in Goju Ryu (Suparimpai). He smiled and said: Good. Now you can start Karate. I am not making this up. Funny thing is, it was so true.