Kanku65

Can’t say I’m a fan, although the athleticism and stuntmanship of “pro wrestlers” is absolutely incredible.

Bushido_man96 no, Ali came back as a cameo and had her impact. But Daniel’s still yet to see the reveal that Miyagi had a 2nd America Student. Julie (Hilary Swank, the Next Karate Kid). Daniel will eventually learn this, meet Julie, and have an instant connection.

I binge watched seasons 1 and 2 over the period of maybe 3 days. Waited about 4 months until season 3 released, binge watched in 2 days. Now I’ve gone back and watched Karate Kid, Karate Kid 2, Karate Kid 3, (which I had never seen before) and New Karate Kid! The creators claim they have seasons upon seasons of ideas for this show and I’m just absolutely so excited for the future of this show. Prediction: and semi season 3 spoilers ahead, but I’ll attempt to be vague. Summary: -Kumiko: an old love interest becomes a very helpful friend. -Ali (with an i): settles two old scruples and brings peace to both Daniel and Johnny. Prediction: Now, aside from the Terry Silver hype, the show brings back Hilary Swank from Next Karate Kid. Daniel and her have an instant connection because of Miyagi sensei. This drives a stake through Daniel and Amanda as the bond between Daniel aNd Julie becomes more and more strong. I haven’t got much further than that. Considering they use real car set pulling vs green screen, they obviously have enough $$ to bring Hilary Swank on board and I think this would be an incredible plot changer. Anyways. Now I am listening to a podcast that just recaps cobra Kai episodes called, Cobra Kai Kickback.

Thank you all for you replies! WOW. A whole lot has gone on in the world since I made the OP in this thread. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the dojo (and basically everything else where I live besides grocery stores) will be closed all March and likely into April and May as well. Nobody can know for sure at this point. In the meantime I plan to self train at home. Mostly stretching, stances, and kata. (I’m gonna have a lot of spare time) So, if anybody has any karate self training tips, that would be greatly appreciated, thanks. Best of circumstances, luck, and health to all.

Hello KF! It has been a long time. I’ve missed you all and am so happy to return. So, in 2015, after 13 years total training I achieved the rank of shodan in Shotokan Karate. Sometime in 2016, I left the dojo because I had to put all my time and effort into my career and university degree. Now I am 3/4 done my degree and things have slowed down and I want to return to the dojo I trained at. But, looking through Facebook/Instagram posts I see that so many of the junior students (when I left) are now 1st kyu/shodan. I really cannot express how proud of them I am. My technique is terrible though, but I remember all 14 of the katas I had trained in. My question is: Is it appropriate for me to turn up at my dojo unannounced wearing black belt, or should I contact the dojo’s CI prior to training and ask if I can return with my achieved rank? Thanks in advance.

Spartacus, can you provide us with a relative timeframe? Like, is this modern or in the past?

Haha! I went to Japan with my wife. She's white and short; I'm Japanese-American and short. She thought we'd get there and she'd be tall! She was sadly disappointed. There were plenty of short people around, but lots of taller ones, too. Oh, well, she still towers over my mom and grandmother, but they're both under 4'10" and shrinking. It is very linear. It's been very hard for me recently to learn how to pivot on angles correctly. Actually I believe this is due to the longer stances used in Shotokan. Many other styles use shortened more natural feeling stances for training. Much more practical. We use the long, deep stances for muscle development, and most qualified Shotokan sensei's will make this known to their students. If, a technique is executed correctly in a long, deep stance, it will indeed be very effective with the correct training. It is however an impractical way to defend yourself or fight in as your range of motion is greatly limited. This goes for both beefy body styles and, I dunno, unbeefy? Chickeny? Remember, this style was not developed BY people with beefy body types, however, there is no contesting the fact that it has been ADAPTED by those with said body.

Interesting. I've only ever trained in Shotokan karate. I've seen lots of "beefy men", but in no way would I describe our community as being dominated by people with such a body style, or gender for that matter. We have hundreds of people turn up for Canadian national tournaments, and I have never in my memory witnessed a "beefy man" compete. My first sensei however was a beefy man. He trained and received shodan in Kyokushin under Sensei Mas Oyama (apparently) before switching to Shotokan and training with Sensei Masatoshi Nakayama. He was in impeccable physical shape and condition, but had a massive belly. He actually claimed that this helped him with generating power. And for him, it worked. I've never seen anyone demonstrate bassai-dai with the same explosive power as he did.

1.) I first became interested in karate after seeing my uncle's massive collection of karate/kickboxing tournament trophies and medals. I watched countless hours of Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Bruce Lee, and Jackie Chan with my cousins (my uncle's kids) and this also played a large role. 2.) At age 7 my parents started me in Shotokan Karate. 3.) My parents chose Shotokan because it was the style that my uncle (and at this point my dad as well) trained in. The dojo was run by a reputable family in the karate community, and who my uncle had actually begun his training with. 4.) In July 2015, at the age of 24 I attained the rank of Shodan under Sensei Yutaka Yaguchi. This was one of the most stressful and physically demanding moments of my life. The grading took place in a building where the outside temperature at the time was 38 degrees Celsius. It was hotter inside. 5.) I've been a retail butcher for 6 years. Until a year ago, this took up much of my time. However, at the age of 24 I decided to start University. I began in criminology. HATED my first semester in it, and transferred into a sociology program. So, to pass time, I study social theory, as a lot of first/second year sociology courses do not include enough theory in my opinion. I also have a girlfriend and a few close friends and family I spend lots of time with going on hikes and whatever else. My community has tons of wilderness and I try to take advantage of being in the environment as much as possible, as development in the area is hastening. I've done Tough Mudder 2 years in a row and am planning on doing it again this year. And, video games. I reserve video games for the early AM. Normally between 11pm and 3am. Yeah. Go lifestyle. 6.) Mikado, Tokaido, Tapout 7.) I choose gear based on what's available, and what fits me best. I wear Mikado gi's because they fit my body so well and are pretty well made. I have one Tokaido gi I keep for special occasions like gradings and ceremonies. Gloves I choose based on organizational regulations. 8.) I buy a new gi about every 5 years. I've never bought new gloves. 9.) I buy my gear from Mikado Enterprises. Family owned and operated. They'll never send you home disappointed.

Trick solved - Kanazawa Sensei. Although Kanazawa Sensei is indeed pure magic in the realm of karate, kata in particular. I do not have the opportunity to train with him.

I think this was posted some time ago because I do remember answering this question on here in the past. It matters not though. Good exercise for the brain remembering all kata names. ISKF Shotokan Karate Heian Shodan Heian Nidan Heian Sandan Heian Yondan Heian Godan Tekki Shodan Tekki Nidan Tekki Sandan Bassai Dai Bassai Sho Kanku Dai Kanku Sho Gojushiho Dai Gojushiho Sho Jion Jiin Jitte Hangetsu Gankaku Empi Sochin Nijushiho Meikyo Wankan Chinte Unsu Yeah. There's a lot of them. My sensei having trained for over 40 years, does not know them all. It's nice having a long list of options to choose what you want to specialize in, but the trick is finding somebody who can teach you everything there is to know in any one kata you choose.

Matt Heafy of the band Trivium has a blue belt in BJJ. Maynard James Keenan of the band Tool has a purple belt in BJJ. Keanu Reeves has a background in MA.

As I've heard said in the past... A young child asks his teacher "How long does it take to be a black belt?" The teacher replies "Perhaps in 5 years, you will receive your black belt." The child asks "what if I train really, really hard?" And the teacher replies "Then perhaps in 10 years you will receive your black belt." I've seen some people who train 3 hours a week become perceivably elite in their art. I've also seen some who train for 3 hours become nothing more than bipeds with excellent choreographical memory. I've never however seen somebody who trains countless hours at their art become anything less than great in technical refinement. However this can often (not always) lead to egotistical problems such as "I train more, therefore I'm better than you." No, if you train more, for the soul purpose of becoming better than anybody else except for your own self, then you are not in my personal opinion progressing properly as a martial artist. MA is largely about the journey, and the time it takes to beat YOURSELF. I know this is a long post, but it's been a long time since I've posted... Imagine yourself walking down a long road. Now imagine somebody 10 paces behind you. Who sees more of the road? Without you standing in their way, they do. They may take all the time they'd like while the person in front of them advances at a quicker pace, but the journey is the same.

Have you trained in weapons? My suggestion would be southeast Asian martial arts like pencak silat or kali, as these are forms which I would like to learn myself. Systems that are completely unrelated to karate. I love the beauty in these arts as well as the raw grittiness. I'm sorry I don't have an answer about the private/group lesson question, Ive never trained in these arts, I only suggest them as they're so unrelated.

That sounds like a wonderful system

True about the gut feeling. It's always important to listen to yourself, but research is also crucial! Although research may be very difficult especially if the dojo has no direct lineage.

I agree with Lex in the sense that there must be a good instructor for a practitioner to make their martial art effective. If there is poor instruction, how can a practitioner be expected to learn effectiveness?? In terms of building an impenetrable fortress, the martial art is the material, the instructor the foundation, and the student the walls. It's about instructors, not students in my opinion. Instructors must be able to teach effective martial arts, as well as influence their students to make their martial arts effective. If an instructor has brilliant talent in martial arts, but fails at training any effective students at all, then it's on him/her, and not the students.

Or when one end of the belt is about 3 inches long and the other hangs to their ankle. Really? And I've seen this in both children and adults. Disrespect from teenagers drives me insane. I've never been disrespected by an adult, and children I'll typically pass off depending on their age/maturity level. But age 10 and up who demonstrate bad manners and attitude cause me to fear for their future. Especially if they aren't new to training. Like a rude kid on his first day, ok. He will learn. But a rude kid whose been training and whose behaviour has been corrected nightly for the past 4 years surely doesn't intend to improve. Also, senpais at seminars. I understand the beneficial intention behind having 10 instructors walking around correcting a group of 60 people's techniques, but in many personal cases ive found it to be NOTHING but detrimental. For example, I once in about a 2 minute span had at least 4 different instructors walk over and grab my retraction arm and put it into a different position. It was frustrating! One instructor would change the position and then 30 seconds later while I was still in position, another would grab it and move it. Another example was when sensei Yaguchi was teaching a seminar. we were going from geidan barrai in front stance switching to yoko empi in kibadachi. Sensei Yaguchi himself had put IMMENSE emphasis on coming to center first before shifting out to the side. It's just what we were practicing. So, one senpai walks over to me and says "why are you doing that?" and I said "it's what sensei instructed" and he said "thats just for juniors. at your level you should be going direct." WHAT!? You're going to contradict sensei Yaguchi in the middle of his class!? You nut! So, I abided by senpai. Sensei Yaguchi stopped the class again because some of us still werent getting it.(most likely because said senpai was not allowing us to.) Again Sensei Yaguchi explained the importance of coming to center and not going direct. So I continued my training with his instruction.

Cool video! I love pencak Silat. Probably 90% of the videos I've watched on YouTube are pencak Silat related. Unfortunately in BC there are only 2 places which teach a pencak Silat style. One of which is on Vancouver Island, the other is about an hour and a half from my town and trains on the same days and time as my karate dojo. Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for your recognition KF! This is a wonderfully run forum! The posters both frequent and infrequent with their clean, yet critical thinking keep this community not only active, but thriving. Thank you for providing us all with a safe place to vent, ask, and share about our martial arts experiences. Keep up the good work!

I'm all for it! I waited until I was brown belt before I began trying new arts. Tried bjj and it just wasn't for me. Now as shodan, I recently tried aikido and loved it! I plan on beginning some serious training as soon as I get my ducks in a row. I've currently reached my absolute maximum of what can be fit into a single week, so I'll have to wait until next college semester, but I think about it a lot. Anyways, yes! In my opinion there are only gains to training in multiple styles! Whether it be 2 striking styles or 2 grappling styles which contrast one another to create harmony, or an assortment of styles such as one grappling and one striking to balance one another harmoniously. Never stop learning. Of course I believe it important for one to gain a firm foundation in one style before beginning in another, especially when it involves 2 striking or 2 grappling arts. Purple belt is definitely a solid foundation. Green/blue even. Without sensei's permission, avoid use of your new style in your old dojo, or old style in your new dojo! Especially in sparring/rolling scenarios where a technique may be completely foreign and unexpected! Metaphorically this could be compared to religious blasphemy or less extremely, walking into a Starbucks, and sitting down with a cup of Tim Hortons coffee in your hand.

We currently have 26 kata in our ISKF curriculum. I intend to focus on those for the time being. Perhaps in the future I will go through some kata from other styles, but for the time being, I don't view it as necessary, so long as I'm able to maintain good creativity in my applications. Not to mention, all Kata in our curriculum were taken/remodelled after pre existing kata.

That's a heck of a dedicated fitness schedule you have there. Jealous. Is it yokogeri kekomi (thrust) or keage (snap)? I only stretch before and after training. This may hinder me at some point in my training but I just don't have the deication to stretch every day. Something I've been trying to fix for years is that, I can do wonderful yokogeri kekomi with my right leg but not left. And, wonderful yokogeri keage with my left, but not my right... For side thrust make sure you pivot your supporting leg outward as you throw the kick. During a side snap kick make sure you keep your supporting leg pointed straight forward. I've seen in the past people forgetting to pivot their supporting legs during both side thrusts and roundhouse kicks and I just have these visions of their knees popping out and oh, it just wouldn't be good.

About 95% of the time we train continuous sparring. Maybe 5% point sparring in preparation for gradings and tournaments. This is very light contact. Generally we go 2 minutes per partner then switch, going through roughly 5 partners a session. That's like a short 5-10 second break between partners so it's technically not continuous, but continuous enough. Sparring outside of the dojo my partners and I tend to implement solid contact, but never full contact. I remember this one time my father and previous sensei went full contact with full taekwondo gear on, including body padding(not sure of the proper term) and my father later had bruises around his entire torso. The only thing he gained from full contact sparring was the knowledge that it does in fact hurt lots when you allow a trained martial artist to hit you. He didn't complain during it, but I don't believe he preached the session as "worth it".

Tonight I caught word that this November, Sony Pictures is releasing a biography film of the life of Hank Williams Sr. titled "I Saw the Light". I'm aware that Hank I is not the finest role model in all the world (neither are his son and grandson), but I grew up with a father who was an avid fan so I know and love the entirety of his music. The film appears to be the same style of drama that Walk the Line was. Does KF have any other Hank Williams Sr. fans?