Spartacus Maximus

It is usually a good idea to train regularly wearing the kind of footwear one wears most often. The reason is perfectly logical: if by misfortune a situation arises where self defense is necessary and inevitable, one will likely be wearing that type of footwear and said footwear must not be a handicap. Except for rare cases, people usually wear some sort of shoes. Being able to move comfortably and quickly in them is important. Training barefoot is also important but for different reasons. Mostly because training the foot and strengthening the ankle to use as a striking weapon is more effective. Modern society has made it a custom and rule to wear shoes and most people rarely if ever walk about barefoot. Weather and social situation permitting, going barefoot is a habit. I try to go barefoot as often as possible, which means anytime outside work. This has made my feet calloused enough that blisters are no longer painful, just a bit gnarly.

Age is much less important than personality, character and skills( especially teaching skills). There is no specific age to be credible and acceptable as a karate teacher, other than being a fully responsible and mature adult.

As simple as can be. This means that the person being evaluated must be able to do what is expected and not make any major technical mistakes for the level in question. Either one has the skills or does not. Failing matters very little if one has the will and determination to keep improving. How long it takes is never the same.

Any self-defense course or class that spends more time or physical techniques than ways to avoid violence or potential threats is nonsense at worst and wishful thinking at best. Self defense is 90% avoidance and threat management. Physical techniques are of no use if one is unable to read the signs of a potentially dangerous situation before needing to physically defend oneself. The ideal self defense course should teach people to read and understand signs of potential danger and a few very simple counters to the most common attacks in social and criminal violence. It should also cover the difference between the two.

I meant drinking water. All other liquids are for enjoyment because they taste good but plain natural clean water is the only drink that truly quenches thirst. It is also he only one to replace essentials the body loses from sweating.

Peacefulness is meaningless if it is not a matter of choice supported by strength physical and moral. Both of these qualities can be forged through training and both are of great importance in making one useful and dependable to one's house, community and nation. There is a saying in Okinawan karate. It says to first train to defend yourself. When you get better train to defend your family; then your community and when you get better still, you must do it for your country. This means that the more one improves the more one's skills ought to benefit others.

"Jack of all trades, master of none" is the adage many traditional instructors follow. Although it is useful for an instructor to have some knowledge or experience in more than one system, it is by far preferable for said instructor to be devoted and dedicated to the practice of a single system. The ideal instructor is someone who is an expert in one system. Mastering more than one system is very difficult and much rarer than being merely proficient in several.

The key is maintaining a personal balance of activity and recovery time. Personal means the training must be specific to one's physical capacities and goals. The other essential point is that training must be consistent and at regular intervals. Too much too soon is overtraining. So is training to collapse or failure without require recovery. The same can be said of doing anything before one is ready.

Humans are meant to move, so move. Do it as much as possible as often as possible. Also, drink as a daily habit, thirsty or not. Water is health and life. A lot of people are simply unaware of how important water is and how many good things it can do for a person's health provided that enough of it goes into the body. In fact, the majority of people don't drink enough. This should be no surprise as a human is practically made of water. For an adult it is something like 70percent.

The single advantage tetsugeta have over modern tools such as ankle weights is the the weight is on the foot and when used correctly it makes the entire foot and ankle much stronger. It works the muscles of the ankle and foot that are required for kicking precisely as well as making the tendons and joints strong enough to withstand the impact of hitting something. Ankle weights are only effective on the leg muscles above the ankle an up. As toe-kicking is no longer the norm, it is easy to understand that the tetsugeta is not as common as it once was because one of its primary purposes besides working the legs is to work the toes by forcing the karateka to squeeze their toes together to keep the geta from flying off the feet. Just like the regular footwear type, the only thing holding them on are straps passing between the big toe and other toes. They seem quite common still in Okinawan dojos, but maybe there are not so well known in dojo outside of Okinawa or Japan. That was the reason for the question. Also would be interesting to know if something similar is used in other martial arts of other origins.

Maybe this is a difficult question and impossible to answer from a strictly style point of view. No matter what one has chosen to train in, the greatest benefits and lessons are not specific to any single style. Any style taught by an instructor who has both the skills and the talent to effectively teach others will be highly appreciated. Everything one learns about one's style depends on the instructor and teaching methods.

The kiai is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts in martial arts. It has been made into something more complicated and difficult than it really is because those who aren't familiar with Japanese culture and language define it completely differently. The word itself is ki(breath or energy)+ai(from the verb "to join"). Simply put it means "a concentrated effort". In Japanese the expression is not limited to martial arts. A kiai is not some kind of war cry and articulating any word is wasted effort. The sound that is made is not the kiai itself. The sound comes from releasing all ones strength and energy into whatever action one is doing. Just yelling, screeching like a banshee with a torch stuck where the sun don't shine or making weird noises is not kiai. A real kiai is something natural that everyone does. If you have ever exhaled with a burst or grunted unconsciously while moving or lifting a heavy object, that is a kiai. Tennis players and other athletes are a great example of using kiai. Kiai is just the Japanese word for "a burst of concentrated/focusssed effort".

Tetsugeta are an iron version of the style of sandal that was the common type of footwear in Japan and Okinawa a century or so ago. Most people training in Okinawan karate and some Japanese styles have at least seen a pair somewhere Tetsugeta were developed for strengthening legs and training balance for kicking techniques. One unique feature of the tetsugeta is that it forces one to keep the toes together tight by squeezing the gap between the big toe and the other toes. This helps train for toe kicks but it is also necessary to keep the sandals from flying off. Here is the question: have you ever used or do you use tetsugeta regularly? What could be used as an effective substitute to tetsugeta? Ankle weights come to mind but these only seem to work the legs above the feet.

Profanity is part of every language and has been around since times immemorial. The basic purpose of profanity is to shock and express sudden outbursts of emotion. Martial arts training requires concentration and self-control. Profanity does have its place, but it is not in the training area.

It is of significant importance for martial arts history researchers to understand that there are several "crane styles". Most of these are or southern Chinese origin. There has been many comparative studies of these with certain Okinawan karate schools. Notably styles of the Naha-te lineage. The founders of these, like their teachers before them were taught or influenced by Chinese experts. This is well documented and some of the most conclusive research on the subject in English is to be found in the books by Mark Bishop and Patrick McCarthy. YouTube and other video media sites also have interesting demonstration of the obvious similarities between crane styles and Okinawan karate. As for specific kata or techniques influenced by or directly transmitted from Chinese crane styles; sanchin of goju ryu and Uechi ryu/ Pan gai noon and hakutsuru (literally: white crane) of Shorin ryu come to mind.

A novice might ask "which martial art should I start". The best answer and advice an experienced martial artist can offer is to first help the interested person identify the main reason for wanting to train. Several aspects of martial arts can exist within a single "style". For this reason the initial question is quite personal and cannot be answered by anyone except the prospective student.

One likely theory to explain the tools becoming weapons is that it was the result of creative training by ex-warrior class martial artist. What probably happened was that when the Ryukyu Kingdom was completely abolished and taken over by the Japanese, Okinawan warrior classes were forced to earn a living by taking up activities like farming or fishing. They continued to train in secret and likely made use of whatever was available to them as makeshift weapons or training tools. Common everyday objects that would not arouse the attention of enemies. Devising an effective way to use a common object as a weapon can only be done by someone with prior martial art knowledge, skills and experience.

The whole of karate is uniquely Okinawan so cannot be called anything else. What has been done by those who have studied and analyzed the content is a classification of the kata and techniques by their most likely origin. This theory is explained in translations of the BuBishi as well as in Mark Bishop's book on Okinawan martial arts. One general rule used to classify karate techniques is that closed hands(fists or knuckles) are Okinawan and open hands are Chinese. Another one is that the older a kata is the more Chinese influences it has. Examples from the Shorin styles include: kusanku, Chinto and Gojushiho. This of course is a rather simplified classification because there are many technical aspects and principles of unclear origin in karate that cannot be clearly identified as Okinawan, Chinese or anything else.

The example of the samurai's hair must be taken in context of history and culture. Long hair tied in top knots were a status symbol and as much part of the samuraï as bearing swords. People of lesser status simply were forbidden to have long hair and have certain hair styles. A similar phenomenon was present in China where men had long braids until the mid 1900's. This style was the norm for the time, but there were also shorter styles. Shorn or shaved heads were for monks. Throughout history long hair styles identified the wearer as a having either a special status or a specific influential role. Warriors, scholars, officials and many others. Nowadays there is no longer a need to display status or identify with hairstyles and whatever one wears is a matter or preference. It can be a potential disadvantage to have long hair or anything providing a hold to an attacker. Then again so is a wearing a necktie. Personally, the same principle applies with hair and clothing: comfort, freedom of movement and practicality above all.

It is indeed a myth and easily disproved with a little basic knowledge of social history. Ryukyuan society was class-based, and up until the Ryukyu Kingdom was annexed and abolished by the Imperial Japanese authorities, the only people with the time and use to train in martial arts were the upper classes and nobles. When the Ryukyu Kingdom was abolished, many of the upper class lost their socioeconomic status and were forced to become farmers, merchants or tradesmen. Despite this they found ways to secretly continue training and practising martial arts whenever they could and with whatever means they had available. This becomes obvious by looking into the background of every single founder of the Okinawan karate styles. All of them are of noble warrior class and some are even of Royal blood. None of them descend from commoners or peasants.

The first thing a prospective student of martial arts must understand is that training methods and purpose are more important than any given system or style.

It is indeed a good idea to take advantage of every opportunity to learn something. Even more so when said opportunity has conditions like being invited. Opportunity rarely presents itself more than once, so go for it if you have the time for it.

Definitely agree. In many traditional schools, visitors are not allowed to train and are expected to only observe. If a visitor is allowed to join in, it must be as a novice ready to learn from the beginning. This can be done only if the visitor is able and willing to let go of superficial arbitrary things such as rank.

There can even be variations within the same dojo. This is the case with mine because we only have guidelines and no specific kata order. One is expected to know all the kata that are required for Shodan, but everyone may learn them in a different order. For example, one might be taught kihon kata 3 before kihon kata 1. Designated kata for oyo kumite and bunkai demonstrated at testing time are chosen at random by the instructor and the student must be ready by knowing all that is required. What each dan rank does have is a specific "demo" kata which must be as flawless as possible.

The only thing that is absolutely clear about Okinawan karate and many other cultural aspects is that there is an obvious and strong Chinese influence. What is much more difficult to do is identify the sources precisely as specific styles. What is known and likely by logical thinking is that a large portion of the Chinese martial arts influence must have come from Fujian province in southeastern China. The coast there had(and still does) many important trading ports, which were regularly visited by Okinawan ships. There is also a rich history of martial arts devolving there and Okinawans are known to have gone there to study and even immigrate. It is highly plausible then, that the most likely source of influence on Okinawan karate were "southern" styles. Further influences likely came from cultural and diplomatic exchanges between the Chinese and Ryukyu. From at least the 14th century it was a custom for high-ranking families to send their sons to China to study. The martial arts were an important part of the classical education for the nobles/warrior classes. There were also many officials and agents from China appointed to the Ryukyuan court who were also experts in different martial arts and probably shared skills and techniques with their Ryukyuan counterparts.