Spartacus Maximus

The time spent doing things that are unrelated and not specific to martial arts varies wildly from one instructor/dojo to another. It also depends on how much time there is for one session. Currently the sessions are 2 1/2hours to 3hrs on 4 evenings per week. Quite common for a dojo in Okinawa/Japan, but this is much longer than the average dojo elsewhere apparently. Moat of that time is spent doing karate things. Only about 20-30min is used for general training involving traditional weights and the usual body weight exercises(push-ups, etc…). Correct technique and how to do these is explicitly taught, but it is something emphasized as “out of dojo training”. It is expected that everyone practices this and kihon as much as possible, like “homework”

It takes a certain kind of dedication, commitment and perhaps obsession to maintain serious investment and interest in an activity that is not essential to a comfortable, happy living. Life always seems to find a way to frustrate most endeavours and priorities can change very quickly. It is all the more admirable when one can manage it because of the incredible self-discipline it takes to find and keep the balance between training martial arts(or whatever else) and everything essential to living comfortably such as a home, an income, good food and a stable safe place to live. With very few exceptions, most people have trouble with at least one of these things at some point during their lives.

@sensei8 Is the posture/stance explicitly taught as part of kata like the Uechiryu “woah, chill dude” one seen in so many of their kata? Or is it something more of a kumite/application thing taught separately? It is interesting that this does not seem to be the case with the other heavily Shuri-te influenced ryuha, mine included

@sensei8Does yours have the hands out in the same way as in Uechiryu? What about it is similar and what is different? The hypothesis of the OP is that the posture might have been something common to Okinawan martial arts, perhaps originating in the Chinese martial arts from the time long before the styles known as karate were named and “seperated” into the ryuha known post-WW2. Probably going as far back as Matsumura or earlier. It is interesting and maybe telling that the stance doesn’t seem to be known/used outside of Uechiryu, yet you are the second person from a Shorin/shurite style to say it exists. Having trained only in kobayashi shorin ryu(2 different lineages), this posture never was taught, demonstrated or practiced in any dojo.

It would be immensely helpful to illustrate if pictures could be found to compare what you describe from Matsumura seito with what is familiar from uechi ryu. In the M.S posture are the open hands held in exactly the same way or are there minor differences between that and what is seen in uechi ryu?

The open handed hands in front starting or ready position used in Okinawa uechi ryu karate makes a lot of sense for practical defensive use. Does anyone have an idea of where or how it came to be? Perhaps it is another feature of this style’s Chinese roots. None of the other Okinawan or Japanese martial arts have anything similar. Are there other martial arts in the world with something similar?

There was one Okinawan teacher who got rid of yakuza types who attempted to intimidate him thinking he was an easily scared old man. They would not so subtly remind everyone that the building where the dojo was and many other parts of the neighborhood was their turf, and therefore owed them something. They often showed up acting arrogant, threatening and belligerent demanding recognition and « respect ». Instead of cowering in fear, the 9th dan 70 something sensei invited the yakuza in and showed them his personal makiwara, which was basically a piece of iron/steel sheet. After striking it a few dozen times with his hands and then with his toes(similar to sokusen kick in uechiryu), he asked if any of the yakuza characters wanted to have a go. One tried to look tough not to loose face, but visibly winced and very obviously could not continue beyond a couple of halfhearted punches. The sensei asked if anyone else wanted to try, but they all looked at each other, gave a sheepish bow and left. They never bothered him afterwards, even ignoring him if they saw him.

without going into details(some of you out there may already have an idea why), articulating a specific word/sound as a kiai makes it less effective because it is no longer the burst of physical effort/exertion it should be. A long, drawn out shout also would be ineffective because it involves exhaling for longer than normal. is just a really simple concept that seems to have been lost in translation when East Asian martial arts spread out of their native territory. For some reason, like many things uninitiated Westerners seem to have construed it into some sort of mysterious esoteric, cultish thing. This all seems very strange and quite bizarre to anyone with the least bit of familiarity with how a human body works.

Chuck Norris used to be the face of Century MartyArts catalogue in the late 80´s and the 90´s. That catalogue was quite popular in many schools and they would hand it out to the students. As a 90´s student/fan, his movie career already passed, and was only discovered much later; after the television series he was known for later.

That’s awesome. Like so many martial arts fans, it’s inspiring to see an icon such as Chuck Norris still alive and well at an advanced age, even more so if the man in question is still training and maintains a high level of skill. Many martial artists can only hope and dream to reach that age and still be strong.

For the longest time mokuso was something that was done with only very limited or no explicit explanation as to its purpose. Nor did previous instructors ever really tell anyone what we were supposed to be doing for that 2-5 minutes before or after the training session. We were just meant to breathe and concentrate…and everyone did because that is what one is expected to do when training in a Japanese/Okinawan dojo. Finally and luckily an excellent Okinawan instructor explained that, mokuso, in his view had a more practical purpose rather than just spiritual or intellectual theory. The martial/training purpose is to practise natural abdominal breathing(diaphragm), focus the mind and train ourselves to become more aware and conscious of our environment. All very useful for anticipating an attack and avoiding or countering without having to think about it. This, he explained, was essential to developing instinctive techniques and when mastered to a high degree can appear like a « sixth sense »

only a few known by reputation, and one noteworthy known personally as a private instructor. Cannot give his name, but its fine to talk about some of his eccentricities.

Has anyone ever stopped to think about how self defense and use of force are most commonly taught in the martial arts? Perhaps it is more prevalent in classical martial arts. In personal experience, most of what is taught for self defense is too extreme for dealing with what people are likely to face. Here are some overlooked points in most situations in no specific order of importance: 1. It is incredibly easy to cause more damage than intended. Falling the wrong way from being struck or thrown can easily result in death and /or permanent injury regardless of any training. 2. Most of the violence one is likely to face will not be of predatory/criminal intent. 3. Treating every aggressive or violent encounter as if it were trench combat is neither smart nor sane. 4. The legal system, no matter where in the world will always assume everyone involved is at least partly at fault. Whatever the outcome, dealing with the law and trials are never a cheap or pleasant experience.

Perhaps the disappointment might be less important when there are less students. The matter of fact is that it is a normal thing to occur, even just for a fleeting moment. It does no good to dwell on it, especially when students and prospective students are abundant. That could hardly be considered coldness. It’s just how teaching works and, a wise instructor knows from the beginning that most students will probably quit well before the 4-5 years(average) required to even get to shodan(or equivalent). Never mind beyond that.

It is natural to feel great disappointment when one has spent the time, energy and dedication teaching someone a skill; seeing potential in them only for them to quit at the very time when their efforts begin to show results.