Wado Heretic

Thank you for the greetings; I hope my contributions prove useful.

I have been here a few weeks, and made a number of posts, so this is a bit late but thought I would take time to introduce myself. Even though it is rather belated. I am from the United Kingdom, near the border of Wales but just about English. I have been involved in martial arts since I was seven, so just under eighteen years this month. I have been involved in Karate and Kobujutsu for the last six and believe they have been the most productive years of my martial arts involvement. Nothing more to say about me really. Anyway; have enjoyed posting here so far and hope to keep enjoying it.

RyuKyu Kobujutsu; the Taira-Inoue Line. My main focuses are the Kon and Tsai, but I am expanding into Tonfa and Kama. HEMA with a specialisation in Armoured combat and long-sword fencing. Though my regular practice is erratic and reduced to study group meetings, and whenever my friends with interest in it want to make time to train. I have also participated in formal study the Tanto, Jo and Ken in the past and still train with them, but I have put formal study on hold in favour of focusing on RyuKyu Kobujutsu.

Congratulations on a good showing. I was supposed to go to that but it clashed with a seminar. Any footage available from it?

I assist in instructing some classes so my immediate social circle know I am involved in the martial arts. A few relative strangers know I am involved, such as people who have seen me teaching or training, or bring their children to a children's sessions. I do have a local reputation among people involved in fighting arts for knocking out a well known hard-man when I worked as a doorman. Plus I used to compete a lot in my teen years so people involved in competition during that time in local circles know me, or know my name. I would say I am more widely known for my martial arts involvement than I'd like because it makes me seem one dimensional, and directs a lot of people's first impression. Really; I generally do not tell people I am involved unless it becomes an inconvenience not to tell them or it is a subject we have in common.

I believe there are superior ways to train, depending on intended goals, and that certain styles through established traditions and/or mentality are more prone to incorporate or innovate the superior ways. However, that is just part of the puzzle. How an individual trains by themselves, outside the context of style and system, will define the final outcome with regards to their competency. There are a few "utlimates" in that respect; If one wishes to compete than one should embrace styles, and training methods which have proven effective in professional circles of MMA and other combat sports. If one wishes to defend themselves as a civilian, one should look into methods adapted to self defence. Methods adopted by the police or security personnel are a good place to start. If one is involved in the armed forces and may require these skills in actual life or deaf situation, than combatives or even looking at older systems for a source of inspiration and knowledge may be wise. My point being; "Ultimate" is relative to the outcome sought. You will come across the "Ultimate" for you perhaps several times through out your life. However, saying that, there are superior methods and inferior methods so you should always strive for superior. End of the day, you should strive to be the best you that you can be. Time will rob you of being the best eventually if you determine best by how many people you can hurt.

The one that hits! Seriously, is it a bad technique if it hits and does the job? Joking aside; speed and power are relative to one another when it comes to striking potency. Faster is usually more forceful, unless it ruins timing and the arm just ends up going out by itself without the body following. From a technical point of view; I think the better question would be does one strike from what position they find themselves in, or do they assume a proper position to strike with power from first. If it is a straight up fight, be it street or ring, than one will find the time to make such decisions. In self-defence, you will have to work with what the situation gives you. Most of my "fights" have been when I have worked as a doorman so I can't really go punching people despite karate being my chosen art. From empirical experience when I have thrown a strike my main concern has been to actually do something with it so I'd err on saying I'd opt for powerful. Somewhat like Musashi's comparison of the slash to the cut.

One of my best instructors in Kenpo during my childhood and teen years was self graded to 5th Dan because he devised his own system. Even now, after meeting many other martial artists he still survives into the top ten I have met in my life. Saying that though; I do think the grading systems should have quality control. I believe so because they are meant to help a teacher understand what a student needs to study, plus it should be representative of each individual awarded a belt. It is all about honest representation, self grading takes away from this. Really though; I do think that those among the high graded peers of the martial arts are as much to blame as those who self grade. There is only so much hoop jumping, and adherence to traditions without real explanation any ones ego can take. There is so much desire in many high grade circles to 'preserve' and have their own methods copied as a form of flattery that it alienates many of their most talented students. Those students who take ownership of their practice and want to evolve it, and pass on this evolution which might not always please or appeal to the higher ups. These students then see the need to break away, and because they were raised in a system dictating that high grade equals power they then lay claim to the higher grade to try and get power. It's symptomatic of problems in both the grading system we have imported from the Japanese, as well as how we approach and teach martial arts.

Yes, they do have oddly similar statistics. Personally, I think Machida can carry it if he keeps it as a stand up game and can set up one of his technical knockouts, or if he can trick Weidman into a mistake during a takedown attempt. However, I do not think he can go toe to toe in a punch off with Weidman, he would lose that on the basis of power. Plus, if it goes to the ground and he fails to recover Machida will be in trouble. In the game of MMA I root for no man, I just hope the better man wins and we see something interesting to learn from.

I used to attend 4 lessons a week but recently that got cut down to 2, and occasionally 3. When you are a beginner, and through out your kyu and junior dan grades, you should be looking to do an hour or two of just karate a day. Early in karate training, rote memory recall and the development of good habits are needed. As one gets older, more experienced, and beyond that point, I have found 3-4 intense 2 hour sessions a week with light training of 30 minutes a day consisting of stretches and conditioning. It really depends on where you are in your training. As you advance, less is more becomes the better rule as you need to learning more from feedback you generate yourself rather than feed back from your teacher. If you train hard yourself, you will get by with one lesson a week. It's far from ideal but it is not a barrier to your progress if you train hard.

I do not think Machida has the tools to slip Weidman up. Machida is also the older fighter and though he has proven exceptional in in his recent matches at his dropped weight, he never has been known for exceptional knockout power though the ones he has pulled off in his career have been earned and well set up. Machida is the more technically skilled striker but I do not believe he has it in him to stop Weidman. Machida is also the weaker in the take down range and I suspect if it goes to the ground, we'll be seeing Machida fighting from his back and though he has submission credentials he has shown a lack of submission awareness before. Weidman's strengths are Machida's weaknesses. However, I believe Machida has the potential to carry the fight. He is a former champion with excellent form and if he can keep it standing he might just uncover a weakness that Silva did not. My money is on Weidman but I would not count Machida out.

Congratulations

Shureido, Black, size 6, 100% cotton. Comfortable, durable and easy to wash. Fading a bit though and fraying at the edges.

Naihanchi, I just tend to take away the most from it.

I am glad to hear of the health check. Every other professional sport has required these for a long while, and even some amateur Martial Arts organisations have required doctors clearance before allowing people to compete. It is long over due, especially in a sport as potentially dangerous as MMA. The criminal back ground check? Just an employer doing their due diligence.

These are the Kata I know of and have at least some first hand experience with. I have tried to link them to their places of origin, so you will see some mentioned twice, as well as tried to provide any alternate names I know of. * references where the name has been used to name a series of kata with different origins. I have included only kata originating from Okinawa or influenced and developed using Okinawan methods. Shuri Naihanchi (Tekki) Pinan (Heian) Kūsankū (Kanku/Kushanku) Passai (Bassai) Jion Jitte Rohai (Meikyo) Chinto (Gankaku) Gojushiho Taikyoku (*Shotokan) Tomari Naihanchi Rōhai Passai Wanshū Seisan Naha Sanchin Saifā Seienchin Shisōchin Seipai Seisan Sanseiru Tensho Kururunfa Suparenpai Amalgamated Gekisai/Fyukyugata Nippon Taikyoku (*Goju Kai/Kyokushinkaikan) Sokugi Taikyoku Tai Sabaki Seiryu/ Aoyagi Juroku Yantsu Tsuki no Kata Garyu Unknown Go Pei Sho Dan Enn Shō

Conditioning, conditioning and conditioning. I do not do kata competition, I find I do not get much out of it, but I do like to improve my kata as often that improves ones karate. I always start with conditioning. Focus on these seven areas; the hip and knee dominant, your vertical and horizontal pulling/pushing, and your anti-rotation and anti-lateral for your core. You want to focus on maximum effort/minimum repetition for heavy weights to develop explosive power, and a lot of repetitions and light weights to access the trip muscles for speed. You will also need endurance training. I favour interval training but to be honest, a better approach is just do more karate. When it comes to kata you should train to near exhaustion with each performance. For a training regime, I favour at least 30 minutes a day with 3-4 intense 2 hour sessions a week. I find that allows me to maximise performance with out tiring myself out. You will also want to wind down your training about 2 weeks before the tournament. You do not want to be exhausted going in. For short time improvement. Focus on the dynamics of your timing, use sequences where you can maintain momentum and sharpness. If you can only manage 2-3 movements sharply, than use that. Focus on doing the best you can with what you already have.

Depends on the practitioner. What I have found in competing in Kyokushin style tournaments is that they tend to punch from the guard, and have a degree of a wind up and covering motion not dissimilar to boxing. They also tend to have more of a digging effect as though they are designed to punch through, rather than make contact and do percussive damage. This is dissimilar to many karate styles which tend to punch from the point of origin, and seek to deliver all the power on the point of contact. However, I suspect this is merely a result of Kyokushin punching evolving to work within the knockdown spectrum. An ergonomic evolution rather than an intended one as it were. Plus I fight in the heavy weight or open weight, so other weight classes may not have the same run into and batter each other approach that heavy weights can survive and dish out. I will say my own way of punching, based on Wado and Shorin methods of power generation does tend to confuse my opponents from a Kyokushin back ground in the early minutes of the bout. I tend to use my punches as stop hits, and attack the center line with an aim on the liver, floating ribs, above the kidney, or solar plexus. They do seem to expect a barrage of punches coming from outside rather than being kept at a distance and suffering low kicks. Well, I confuse people who have not watched the fights of Hajime Kazumi anyway Hopes this helps but I have never studied Kyokushin, merely been on the receiving end. I hope it provides a useful contract at least.

I mostly agree with them, though there are a few technical points I disagree. However, those are for very specific reasons originating from my own practice. Plus; he comes from a kata performance point of view, where as I come from a kata reference point of view. That in itself changes how one performs kata. Saying that though, I would encourage any one to try all 42 points, it is a learning experience. I have got to 30 since I first read the article.

All the styles I have the opportunity to steal from Currentely: Kobayashi Shorin-Ryu (Kodokan) Wado-Ryu (Kazoku Kai) RyuKyu Kobujutsu (RKAGB) I do some cross training in MMA grappling but that is just because Karate lessons do not often cover that kind of training in depth, and grappling ability is more about experience than rote recall. I also study Kyushojutsu using the material from Evan Pentazi, but mostly in an experimental way. If I find I can employ one of the suggested targets against a resisting partner during a partner drill, I keep it, practice its use, and suggest it to my students. If not, I do not.

That is sad that they are told to misrepresent themselves while training in Japan. That is appalling conduct on all sides; though, can see why they might be told to avoid using their actual name as the compound phrase of Go Kan pronounced incorrectly sounds like rape as mentioned before. Then again okosu and okasu can get you in trouble so it seems a weak reasoning to me. I have just heard that they have success in the NAS, actually make the effort to train in Japan, have produced competitors whom have engaged in full contact bouts, and though they use canvassing that they do not engage in the deceitful tactics they have used in the UK. Now I could be misinformed but none of the same can be said of the GKR in the UK so in comparison I have heard good things. Though, I am half way across the world so all my information has been second or third hand in regards to the GKR in Australia.

http://www.chokesports.com/karate/full-contact They have a good selection, and are not excessively priced. Getting a conventional sleeve and having it tailored is another option and the approach I favour. However, I usually use a Gi I have used for ages and is on it's way out when I compete. As your plan is for regular training, I would suggest buying one cut for purpose. They generally last longer and weather the training a bit better.

I generally consider a McDojo to be a place which has poor business ethics and practice, rather than necessarily poor martial practice. Looking at the article posted; I believe the writer comes from a MMA/Free Fighting point of view and looks primarily for efficacy that can be proven “on the mat”. Sadly, Kata and a number of traditional practices do not readily fall into that paradigm. Really, it is in the eye of the beholder and the imperative of the practitioner what constitutes a “real” fighting art. If you are a Karateka, prepare to be labelled a woo peddler. The Bunkai and Karate-Jutsu phenomenon is a direct reaction to this labelling. Kensei posted a list of qualities of a McDojo I agree with; but I do feel it covers poor commercial practice as I feel the term McDojo encompasses rather than poor martial practice which I suspect the OP is more interested in. My personal list is as follows: 1: Begin with their level of “Aliveness”. What kind of contact do they engage in, and is it relative to age or universal across age groups. That second part is important because no one expects 7 years olds to be trying to punch each other out on a regular basis. For children you should probably be expecting light-medium contact in a lot of safety gear, with compliant partner drills, and perhaps breaking with purpose made equipment. For adults, who are in their prime and beyond the beginner level, you should be expecting medium to hard contact on a relatively regular basis; with any drills being goal based, and related to kata and actual fighting. Breaking should also be a rare occurrence and designed to challenge the person attempting the effort. Done excessively with purpose made materials designed for safe breaking, it becomes meaningless. A lack of contact, even in safety gear, inside of anything but a Tai Chi for health session is your first tick on the poor practice list. 2: Instructor involvement and fitness. Again, let us take age into consideration; is the instructor looking around 65 and not quite their trim fighting shape anymore? Let us not go expecting them to be fighting everyone when sparring comes around. However, if they under their 40s and have a belly that might just get them lucky with a walrus let us think carefully. A good instructor, in my experience, will make the effort to do everything he or she asks of you and will actively participate in partner work. The following are some questions I suggest you ask about an instructor when looking at a class: Do they make the effort to work on an exercise at least once with every student to give direct feed back? Do they make a point of participating in sparring on a regular basis? Do they do the kata at least once alongside the class? Are they happy to play the Uke when there are odd numbers? If you can answer yes to most of these questions and it is not just a token effort, than I congratulate you. You have found a good instructor. However, if as stated, your instructor is not in their twilight years and does not make even a token effort you are dealing with either a case of A) Ego or B) Indolence. Either is a big tick box on the poor practice register. 3. Knowledge base. When asked; can the instructor offer a logical reasoning for something that can be related back to a combative meaning? If not they may be lacking in knowledge base. Furthermore, how willing are they to be asked and answer questions. Now, some teachers may have a rule of leaving your questions until the end, or may not have an immediate answer. This does not mark them as questionable; it is a refusal or inability to answer questions that marks them as such. Furthermore; look at the senior students. How readily can they assist you when you have a question or issue? Their ability to respond is a mark of their education, and that education comes from the instructor. Note; every student is an individual. Do not judge all students or the instructor on the basis of your encounter with one student. So our third tick box is this; do they refuse to answer questions, cannot provide answers, or provide nonsensical answers? If yes, than that is our third tick. 4. Technique Quality. Again, age comes into this. We should not be expecting an older man to have the speed and power of a 27 year old. However, age is no excuse for bad technique; do they flick the wrists instead of thrusting the arm out straight? Are their kicks barely chambered and are not brought back? Is their movement closer to stomping than gliding? Not all the hall marks of bad technique, but look for clumsiness; it is a large indicator even to the untrained eye. Furthermore, observe the students. Are the black belts and brown belts closer in movement to the instructor, or the white belt that joined just a few weeks ago? That is a huge indicator of the quality of instruction. Again, use a broad view and look for general quality. Do not allow yourself to have tunnel vision on one poor student, which it is very easy to do. Furthermore; it there are a lot of black and brown belt students with poor technique, this is indicative of both poor teaching and poor business practice. This, I consider the final check on the test of a poor school. There are many more things to check really, and best advice is to believe in your gut reaction. If something feels off it is best not to ignore. Also, I realise I sound really arrogant with such statements and frankly I am because I have learned absolutely nothing from my time practicing martial arts except how to punch people. That is the final check, do not listen to people who out of hand dismiss ethics as integral to martial practice. I used to think it was not that important as one pays for lessons and really, is it a karate teachers business to tell you have to live? It is not, but if they have no thoughts on how the martial arts should be used, this is often indicative of them not being all that involved in thinking about their chosen art. A lack of thinking indicates a lack of committal and a fall into routine and failure to own their karate. These traits are the traits of a bad teacher.

Not sure how I feel about this. I would be interested in who they used as his model to fully round him out to be viable for use in the game. I doubt they would have derived enough material from archive footage and the like. I would have to say I need to see how he is implemented before I consider this a terrible or a brilliant idea. If they can pull it off with Bruce Lee, imagine the other individuals who never fought in the UFC they could potentially include. This has a lot of promise but is a gamble to say the least.

If one stops practicing and cannot maintain what was needed to earn a black belt in an art, can they honestly call themselves of that art any more? I would say not in a lesson, no, it would not represent their skill level correctly to the teacher and students. Does that mean you are no longer a black belt? No, you can not have that achievement taken away from you, or pretend the time and effort spent to earn it was never spent. Really, it depends, on how and why you hold that status important. Is there any thing wrong with people stopping studying an art after they attain black belt? How is it any more or less wrong than someone stopping at blue or purple belt? I think the black belt distinction can become arbitrary when this comes into account. Plus, people move and circumstances change. Sometimes it is impossible to remain within a discipline for life because the circumstances of life do not allow you to do so. I do not think whether it is cross training or it is changing discipline that matters but how one views the rank they attained. If they see it as valuable and continue the effort to be worthy of the rank they achieved then moving on in their martial journey is not insincere. Now, if they fail to make the effort to remain representative of the rank they earned, yet still try to use it as a mark of honour. Then they are engaging in misrepresentation. That I would think, is the bottom line. The sincerity of the claim to that black belt.