Spartacus Maximus

People quit karate and a lot of other things they might have been doing for years because life happens and other things become priorities at different points in their lives. It is no small fit to continue for years or a lifetime and only a very determined, stubborn and lucky few manage to balance their entire life around it. Jobs, love, mariage; careers opportunities. Take your pick. It really is really hard to do and takes a cast iron will with top notch self organizing skills.

As far as discussing training the only of any value was with family. A distant relative but still close enough to trust and his involvement with Chinese martial arts was quite similar to mine. Both of us began or got involved in martial arts around the same age. Him in Chuan fa, mostly Hung Gar; and I in Japanese and later Okinawan karate. Never met often, but whenever he was around, we talked about martial arts. If there is one thing I can take away from this is that those who don’t train don’t know and cannot ever understand. The ones who do may have something to share or worth listening to, but always, always let them mention the subject first. Everyone and anyone else will just be dumbfounded by what they cannot understand and respond with ignorance and stupidity or awkward silence. If you want to go through that, good luck. I’m not loooking for students and Life’s too short to try to convince anybody I haven’t gone completely in insane with what I love to do with any free time I can get.

Been there. Regraded in the same stile from zero and nothing up to second Dan so far. Different instructors, different standards and different organizations. Logically speaking re-grading for third dan should have been possible a while ago, but it’s the teacher’s judgement and up to him to say when. Also Covid-19 restrictions has caused a lot of plans in that perspective

That sounds really lonely. What experiences have lead you to that conclusion?It may seem lonely, but martial arts has always been something very personal Thant only those who train as seriously as I could possibly relate to. It didn’t take long that mentioning or discussing it with anyone else was just a waste of time and could even give people impressions that I do not need. I go as far as avoiding the subject, denying any involvement and even knowledge beyond what the average person thinks they know about martial arts. It isn’t too far from the truth that for the average person, the martial arts are either a children’s game or entertainment to show off and appear in cheap things shows or movies. At worst they’ll think you must be not right and ridiculed for it, or that you’re some kind of thug begging for the opportunity to beat someone up; worse still that your “fancy nancy” moves won’t work on them. I have no time to waste correcting that kind of idiotic thinking and not at all Interested in changing anyone’s mind or convincing them of the “good” it gives me. It’s none of their business, dagnamit!

Personal experience has taught me to avoid the subject of my training, keep to a strict minimum those who are aware of it and keep it completely secret from everyone and anyone else.

Pride always gets in the way, even when you make every effort to let it go. Somewhere in the back of our mind is that part of ourselves that’s keeps overestimating or overdoing what we do. Either to feel good about a skill we have convinced ourselves cannnot be further sharpened or to impress others who either are interested in others parts of our training or just aren’t impressed because they’ve seen better.

The reason I mentioned kobudo is that it is a separate system on its own, but has come to be taught entirely or most commonly in parts in most Okinawan styles. Although it might take some searching, it is possible to learn and grade in it separately from karate. There at at least two maybe three kobudo only dojo’s in Naha, Okinawa. And there are also a few others in the USA and Europe focusing on weapons. And yes they do actually spar weapon vs weapon empty hand vs weapon. Scary stuff when you know that if one misses by even a hair, it could cause a visit to the ER.

It is absolutely possible to train and teach without any belt system, but it would mean that everyone knows exactly what skill and knowledge they have; as well as everyone else’s who trains with them and their instructor. This just isn’t practical with larger groups and it was one of the many reasons the belts came to be in the first place. When pondering the pros and cons of this system, we ought to remember that styles that have it were never intended to be taught to very large groups. Quite often it was just the instructor and one student who usually was unaware if there were other students and how many. For a long time martial arts instructors had no need for marking a student’s progress. They would just see it at a glance each time they watched their students training. It stood out more because the student had all the attention focussed on them instead of having five or ten or twenty different students with different levels to check or make corrections with. My dojo has exactly four belts, including black. How long it takes to progress to shodan depends completely on how and how often the person trains as well as how much effort they put into it outside of dojo hours.

I was thinking about striking pads, mitts or shields. Things that could easily be carried every time they’re needed as nothing can be left/stored at the training area due to use by other groups for different purposes.

Assuming one had a couple of students and a place to train. What would be considered the minimum essential training equipment to have? Let’s also assume that the place is rented and nothing can be left there. Everything just be portable or easily removable after each session is done. What items would you get and why?

That sounds a lot like many Okinawan karate dojo where kobudo is also taught with its own curriculum. The two used to be taught separately but for economic/profit reasons many if not most Okinawan sensei will also teach some kobudo. So it is possible to have different ranks or the same rank in both if your dojo teaches a full kobudo curriculum besides karate and you started at the same time. In my case the dojo is strictly karate and my instructor does not teach weapons/kobudo although he is highly proficient in several weapons.

The example of Fumio Demura is a good one. Grades and ranks will come eventually, but it is important to continue training and practising while staying focused on improving in skills, rather than gaining the next rank. There are still quite a few people out there who are still training and/or teaching with many years since their last “recognized” formal rank/grade. And it absolutely does not make them any less skilled or any less of a teacher because of it.

Awesome. Someone tell me if I’m wrong but I reckon I read somewhere that the makers were trying to speed up production a bit compare to the waiting time between the last two seasons. The newest season may be available around October at the earliest. Can’t wait. If I had students of my own I would make them watch at least one episode.

Now, that’s creative advertising for sure! I’m sure it gets at least a few people to pop in the front doors. And that’s half of making the sale. People who see it are at least going to be familiar with the reference and be somewhat interested in the first place so the target audience is already determined. And a wide age group too since it includes those who saw and were influenced by the movies who now may likely have kids of their own, and those younger who just discovered the new series. This dojo definitely knows how to exploit a popular trend. I guess the cobra Kai series isn’t just good for karate nutters and hardcore fans, after all. Has anyone else’s dojo tried surfing that wave for getting people to sign up?

There are two styles called shidōkan that usually one up in searches online. One is Okinawan and is basically traced to Miyahira Katsuya and his successors. Miyahira had many students and never really designated a single one as sole inheritor of his teachings, which are basically exactly what he learned from Chibana who taught exactly what his only teacher, Matsumura Sôkon taught. The other is a type of Japanese knock-down fulll contact organization similar to and possibly related to kyokushin kai or one of the many out shoots that came up after Oyama´s passing in the mid 90’s.

All the karate styles known and practised outside of their area of origin can be traced back to Okinawans and Japanese teaching their styles abroad or their students teaching it after returning to their countries. Mostly American military men for the Okinawan styles. We must also consider that the available recorded information on older karate styles is quite lacking, and of what has been written down or recorded in some way has never been translated. The are, however two well known and recommendable authors for sources of history and research into the different styles. Look for any publications by Mark Bishop or Patrick McCarthy.

The tip of the toe kick and other such small , narrow surface striking techniques are nowadays thought of being specific to certain styles such as uechi ryu, but not very long ago it was widely practised by in all forms of karate and Okinawan martial arts. Uechi ryu is usually mentioned because it is the only Okinawan karate style that still actively and purposefully trains those techniques. With the othe styles, it depends on the lineage and instructor. My shorin ryu instructor is one of those exceptions and, just as uechi ryu students we are taught and expected to learn to kick with the big toe and do much of the same type of body hardening seen in uechi ryu. On asking if it was style specific, my Okinawan sensei replied that it used to be universal. So it isn’t just the uechi ryu guys, they just stuck to it longer.

Personally, teachers have always been more important than anything else. As a novice I belonged to, and that was it. After starting over in the same style, organizations don’t count for much at all. All that matters to me is that I found the instructor who can teach me what I had been missing. As far as I’m concerned, if one cannot benefit directly from training under the headmaster of a martial arts governing body on a regular basis, there is no reason for being part of said governing body. I would rather follow one instructor who knows me, than some sage somewhere far away who may or may not know what his representatives may be teaching in his name.

Hosting one’s seniors and instructor is one of the ways that might be possible to pursue training if opening a dojo/school.

Acceptable colours will always vary from one style or dojo to another. As far as Okinawan styles black is for kobudo, but it is sometimes worn by some of the head instructors in certain associations. Best is just following and opt for the common colour, white. White is acceptable in any dojo and showing up with a different colour might offend at worse and be very awkward at best. If you want to wear a different colour, always check if it’s acceptable. Of course if you are the headmaster, nobody can do or say anything if you want to wear neon pink with green trimmings. Or camouflage pattern gi or whatever other outrageous combinations you can imagine

Starting and continuing martial arts is always a matter of personal choice. The problem is that youths and children may not be aware that they must and ought to be able to decide for themselves by themselves. In many case where the child doesn’t come forward is because they might feel pressurer by their parents or sr worried that quitting will get them in trouble somehow or put them in an uncomfortable position. They might just be too shy to speak their own mind about it. The best way to approach this is to ask her directly and remind her that it’s ok if she doesn’t want to train and no one will blame her for it. After that meet with the parents and support the student and helping her explain to them that she doesn’t want to be there.

Not as long as it is possible to find someone who is technically superior from whom there would be something to learn or improve and whose evaluation can be trusted to accurately reflect my skill level. 8 years ago I found such an instructor and gave up a third dan to start over the weekend and exact same karate style from zero. So I have re-earned up to nidan and am on the cusp of earning sandan again. Giving up and forgetting previously earned dan grades was very easy once it became obvious how little I really knew. Especially kata applications, basic principles of the style and a whole lot more I wish I had learned earlier.

karate kept me away from negative and dangerous influences. It also provided an outlet for feelings and impulsive action that would have certainly had terrible consequences sooner or later. It also did and still does give me a place to belong with people who share much of the same reasons to put themselves through the same training.

Those titles do indeed sound like they would be most useful. Especially the one by Kane, because the Kane/Wilder book on how to approach kata applications was a gold mine. Even for people who don’t train in the same karate style as the authors. The others aren’t familiar, but still seem worthwhile to look for. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

The short answer for that is probably dead, seriously ill or in some kind of correctional facility.