Spartacus Maximus

It could and should be used if it can do two either of its two main intended purposes which are: disrupting an attack by interrupting it or deflecting it. Creating an opening to through which to counter. All the uke or so-called blocks in Okinawan karate were meant to be used this way along with the principle that offense/defense is done in the same movement. This is why it can be said that there are no « blocks ». « Uke » means exactly to “receive” in Japanese. In karate one should recieve an attack and exploit it to one’s advantage rather than attempt to “stop” it. There seems to be more sense in this than thinking in terms of “blocks” using power colliding with power to stop a strike.

Iaido is drawing and cutting in one fluid, quick movement. At some point in the history of Japanese sword arts, the skills of drawing and cutting became separated from the skills of fighting or duelling with the katana. Overall, the Iaido schools are much more recent than any of the ryuha teaching the use of katana.

If the Koreans can find a way to get along, at least for a while, through Taekwondo, than it is all well and good for them. Sports and martial arts in particular require a certain sense of honour and respect for one’s fellow players, trainers and that is what can bring people together despite being from “enemy” countries or political factions. If it was not for this, it is doubtful martial arts and some sports would have spread far beyond the boders of where they were conceived.

Many will agree that being able to control techniques is the essence of high skill. Being able to do any given technique correctly with any variation of speed or power. Most of the time this is an issue with “intermediate” level practitioners. These people understand the technique and the mechanics, but have trouble with control. How can one train this and how can it be taught effectively?

The speed of a baseball thrown by a professional athlete is much greater than the speed at which a skilled karate practitioner can move a limb. Bats made of hard woods such as maple or ash are also denser and harder to shatter unless they are defective. The one thing that is the same and shown in the video is that the bat was broken in exactly the same spot that is aimed for when bats are broken in karate. Usually with a roundhouse(mawashi) kick done with the instep near the ankle. The kick is aimed at the bat’s handle slightly higher than where a player holds the bat to hit a ball.

Setting a minimum age at which to accept students solves many issues. Initial screening and interviewing may be difficult to do for children, but it could be done with the cooperation of the guardians/parents. The main idea would be to see if the child/youth is there by personal interest instead of being pushed into it. Generally, youths of sixteen an older have at least some capacity to discuss and explain what they want and why when asked directly. Again this would not be the same sort of screening that might be done with adults. If there is some kind of screening, it would have to be tweaked and adapted. Perhaps it is more practical to rely on observation over a set probation period. Give everybody a chance and give the instructor the time to closely observe the new student. In the end if anything unpleasant or undesirable becomes clear any student can be disciplined or expelled at any time if the instructor deems it appropriate.

Judging by the pungent, yet not unpleasant smell, of freshly smashed boards and broken bats, they are all most likely of the pine family of woods. The bats also feel quite light, but there hasn’t been a chance to compare one with a regular baseball bat. Holding one of each could confirm this.

Also very similar dojo rules and customs here. Everybody sweats so everybody wipes the dojo floor with a hand rag. It isn’t just a Japanese martial arts thing. Japanese schools have no janitors or cleaning staff and a strictly taught form kindergarten to clean their own classrooms and hallways in the way we clean our dojos. If a 75 year old sensei or a 4 year old kid can do it, nobody has a excuse for skipping it. Cleaning the toilets is an honour reserved for the most junior person training on that day. The wooden name tags and their display boards are in every dojo. There is a divider tag to separate names in each dan or kyu. Names are in black, and ranks divider tags are written in bolder style. All are in order of rank and time they joined the dojo. It is great if this is one more thing that repulses undesirable characters or makes them think for long enough to reconsider their selfish entitlement mentality. The purpose of doing these things is to get potential martial arts students to realize that if they chose to train, there will always be times when they will not be immediately able to recognize the true value and meaning if that they ar being taught. It never ever ends unless one quits training or seeking some kind of improvement, new ability or deeper understanding in what system one has chosen.

It seemed to make sense that soft woods like pine would be more common and also cheaper because of the boards and bats are not meant last as regular bats used to play with or boards to used build durable structures. Using denser wooden items made of maple or ash does not sound like a common thing either and people who could do it or have done are probably not easy to find.

It’s the right thing to do, but it doesn’t have to take forever or be overly complicated. Screening can consist of just a short meeting with a potential student and asking a few questions about their reasons and goals for learning martial arts. An instructor with a good sense of character judgment can do this in a few minutes and get general idea of what the person is like. Now whether said students deserves to stay depends on further observation over time in training. Everything following that is up to the instructor’s moral/ethical compass

Has anyone else compared wooden materials used in breaking (shiwari)? Many martial arts supplies stores sell wood boards or baseball bats specifically for breaking. Are these boards and bats any different than those that can be bought at a hardware or sporting goods store? Are they made of different wood or have they been treated through any special process ?

This issue goes much deeper than “not hitting a woman”. It is just one of the manifestations of socialization blocks which must be overridden if one expects to train in a realistic way to face another person attacking with intent. Women and girls often have a similar obstacle because in many societies, it is not considered appropriate for a “good/nice” girl to hit. Both of these ideas are learned and ingrained from an early age, starting with the home environment. That is why they can take time to override. It should be considered like any other bad habit. With a little effort, it can be changed.

The original question of this thread is about ethics and morals. From that point of view a martial arts instructor must, in one way or another, make sure that the skills taught are not abused. The moral and ethical duty of the instructor is to explicitly and specifically explain why and when it is acceptable to use martial arts. Everyone certainly has free will to think, choose and act but it is morally and ethically wrong for an instructor to ignore a student abusing their skills and continue teaching that person with full knowledge that said student is using martial arts to willfully and intentionally harm, threaten or intimidate other people for personal gain or enjoyment. The law may or may not hold an instructor responsible for the behaviour of a student, but ethics certainly will. Knowingly accepting and continuing teaching a violent, or criminally inclined person techniques which will make that person more dangerous will certainly have social repercussions. These might follow the instructor as a reputation long after any incident dues down. The problem is that not everyone shares the same sense of morals and self-respect. An instructor with a minimum of that cannot accept or continue to teach someone knowing that there is a chance that this person will not or cannot control themselves or that said student will harm others.

Politicaly speaking, Goju-Kai is “Japanese” Goju-Ryu. All the governing bodies and schools directly linked to Yamaguchi or his students on the Japanese mainland. On Okinawa, Goju-Ryu traces its lineage to the founder, Miyagi and 3 or 4 of his students who never left Okinawa and founded their own organizations to teach the style there.

One technical aspect of karate, especially in their original Okinawan forms is the inclusion of techniques for unbalancing or throwing. These are simpler and varied than what one might find in grappling/throwing systems such as jujutsu and are considered secondary and complementary to striking. In kata and drills it is always implied that any throw, take down or lock is set-up, preceded by and immediately followed by a strike. One of the reasons throws or other grappling techniques were « forgotten » is the changes brought to karate since it was introduced outside of Okinawa. In the early days, even Funakoshi taught at least a dozen throws. There are photos showing this. Many modern day karate practitioners are not aware that okinawan martial arts also includes native forms of grappling systems. On a small island kingdom with a concentration of martial experts, it is more than likely that these native systems were incorporated into what became karate. Another thing to consider is the opportunity to apply these throws etc, are perfectly compatible with the close-in distance of karate’s strategy. Even more so for a system like Goju-ryu

Demotion is quite rare from personal experience. It is much less effective as a consequence for reprehensible behaviour than immediate and complete expulsion. There are, unfortunately certain people with serious moral, psychological or character flaws who should never ever be taught martial arts.

The less importance given to competition and comparison with others, the more insignificant ranks, grades or belts matter and the more one can concentrate on developing skills. The abilities and skills a practicionner’s has is directly proportional to the time spent training and the efforts made. Most important of all is for both the instructor and the student to be honest. Easier said than done, but if an instructor evaluates accurately and honestly a student should be aware of exactly what is or is not possible. Nothing else will count if said martial artist ever has to use said skills. In case of failure the result depends on the the situation. Anything from minor shame to death and evrything in between.

There are indeed more than a few instructors who have the habit of overexplaning things. The best and most ideal by far is to make time for explaining technical details and fine points AFtTer demonstration and practise, preferably at the end of the training session/day as a recapitulation of the lessons main point. This makes it more manageable and students can leave with an idea and a point to ponder until next time. 1: watch and demonstrate 2: learn why/how it’s done 3: drill 4: review, explain, analyse etc Or something similar to that sequence.

Goju-ryu is the Okinawan karate style founded by Chojun Miyagi. Goju Kai is Goju-ryu as taught by one of Miyagi’s inheritors. “Kai” in Japanese means something like “association”. In other words it is the name of a governing body. Goju-ryu practicionners may confirm or refute this but, the founder of Goju Kai might be Gogen Yamaguchi who was taught on the Japanese mainland by either Miyagi himself or a student of his.

Just learning to execute all the kata of a system can be done in a very short time. Doing this repeatedly is not only tedious but also meaningless if nothing else is done. Such a practice is what defeats the purpose of kata and reduces them to a kind of martial dance. The reason why even a very short kata with only a few moves can be studied for years is that it takes that long to analyze each and every principle it contains. Once these are understood, they must be trained until they become useable. That is what takes so much time and effort. It is also why only a very small number of kata are truly necessary if one’s only goal is self-defense rather than mastering a systems X number of kata.

There are quite a few people training in kobudo or other weapons systems who have or use two of each weapon. They have a standard version and training version which is heavier. The idea of using a heavier version of a weapon to practise is shared by many weapons practicionners since very early in history. The idea is that a heavier weapon trains and strengthens the wielder’s body so that handling the “standard” weapon becomes easier. Full speed and power with the standard weapon and slower technique concentration work with the heavy version.

In the anecdote about the Tyson-Holyfield fight it was not the biting itself that was despicable. What made the biting reprehensible and condemnable was the situation and context in which it happened: in this case it was a a ring, a sport with rules to which everyone involved was expected to accept and follow. That is why the biting was “dirty” and Tyson had to face consequences. Outside of the sports and competition context techniques are neither “clean” or “dirty”, legal or illegal. It is quite reasonable to concieve a situation in which a high-risk(to both parties) such as biting might an acceptable thing to do. It might be the only thing to do. The main point of it all is that responsibility is important. Rather than trying to say which technique is “dirty” or “ungentlemanly”, one should consider general context and behaviour. Intructors ought to know and teach the same. If you compete, you follow the rules, whatever they are. If you have to defend yourself, do whatever you must(not anything you want).

In a general universal explanation, basics are basics because they are essential principles and skills which must be understood and mastered in order to improve in overall skills. In mathematics, for example, one must first master additions an substracitions before attempting to do multiplications and divisions. One cannot expect to read a sentence without first learning which letter makes what sound and how they fit together. In grappling or throwing it is very difficult to learn locks and throws without a solid grasp of things like balance and leverage. These are but two of the “basics” which are used in every other technique in a grappling system.

The most baffling part of the hypothetical situation originally presented was that the « student » seemed to want to remain within the same group. It doesn’t make much sense to push for more influence or authority when one so profoundly disagrees with everything. Why not just part ways completely and start a new entity altogether?

Lineage is an important factor in determining the number of kata and which ones are included in an instructor’s curriculum. The only common content shared by all are the “core” kata. For example, every lineage of Shorin ryu will have the naihanchi series. Chibana(Itosu’s student) is the originator of the Kobayshi branch of Shorin ryu, which from personal recollection has, as of now no less than 6 “kan” or organizations on Okinawa. Each of these has a few kata which aren’t taught in the other lineages. All of the six belong to the same system.