Spartacus Maximus

Those numbers are a great start for a single year. A dojo that manages to maintain between 20 and 30 regular members is usually on the right path to success from a service business point of view.

Usually when stances or kicks are weak it is because the legs themselves are also weak. To improve this requires increasing leg strength and endurance by doing lower body exercises such as squats. These can be done without weights or with a barbell or dumbells. There are many other possibilities but any exercise targeting the legs will help. For endurance, holding the stance for a few minutes works well. Before and above everything else, get a qualified instructor to make sure the shikodachi is sound, balanced and well aligned. Bad alignment will damage the knees over time. Once that is good, practise going up and down from a neutral position to a full shikodachi slowly holding each stage for a minute or so.

The intent here is for intermediate level student and lower dan level students to fine tune the basic techniques so that correct body mechanics are ingrained. This must be done at this level before the same techniques can be practised in other drills and with partners later on. The higher dan students probably train in that fashion. A technique must be correct before it can be made applicable and effective. One more reason why I believe the instructor has asked me to do this is that there might be an official evaluation in store in a few months.

Priorities are certainly the key, but sometimes people are genuinely worried about training. Parents are a special case and they are probably more difficult to deal with than others. A child is always a child in their eyes and just thinking that they might somehow get hurt while training or because of it stirs up worries. Even long after the child has turned into an adult and left home to live their own lives. There is not much else to do except reassure them and change the subject but after a while one is at a loss for words to do that. Especially if they ask about it often. Unfortunately they cannot be blown off casually like workmates or others who are not so close.

All of this sounds familiar and there is much similarity to the rules in effect in the governing body I once belonged to. The rules were different for domestic and foreign dojo. In Okinawa and Japan, anyone below 5dan could not run a dojo. A 5th Dan also required approval from hombu and their own sensei to start one. For foreign dojos, the minimum grade was 3dan but one needed to have approval and support from the senior representative, one's sensei, as well as supervision from at least a 5th dan. Personally I believe 5dan is more ideal for starting a dojo. When I had reached my former 3dan I thought I was ready to run a dojo and had everything planned and written down to the last detail. A year into re-starting and relearning the exact same Shorin ryu showed that I was far from ready then. Another year and a half proved that starting over was a good decision.

Remaining civil regardless of petty squabbles and competition no matter what is the best way to handle things. Never forget that in the end, nobody can decide which dojo students will chose. As an instructor one can do one's damnedest to attract and keep students but not much else. It is best to just let the other dojo do what it does and focus on teaching. Students will come and stay with an instructor who enjoys sharing knowledge and skills with dedication. It matters not who is next door or what they do. There is no reason that two dojo of similar or identical systems cannot coexist on the same street or even in the same building for that matter. The similarity is often only superficial. No two instructors teach exactly alike, nor with the same goal even if both teach the same style.

Thank you for the support. The idea was entirely from my instructor but it is nothing new. At a certain point in training it becomes necessary to work on detail and improving specific areas. Basics are often neglected but they are actually the most difficult to do correctly and they are the foundation of the system. It makes perfect sense to spend more time training these than anything else. Especially at the intermediate kyu and lower dan levels. General practise of everything is good but learning to pick one thing and focus on improving it is vital to increasing skill. Karate training truly advances as an aged tortoise with arthritis in the legs....

Some people are probably easier to talk to and rationalize with than others. Those who are most likely to be worried or concerned are usually very close such as parents or spouses. It can be very difficult to explain things precisely because these people are so dear and certainly have a very different idea of what is too much. To them, training for an hour or more each day might be too much. Like the public at large they probably think of martial arts as a hobby or leisure activity.

One more important thing that must not be forgotten is to remember that sparring is NOT a fight for one's life nor is it self defense. It may be serious but it remains a training exercise. The other person is not an enemy and the goal is to learn not kill or maim one another. As in any stressful and risky situation maintain self control. Do not let fear or anger and adrenaline to take over and overwhelm the senses as this is a sure way to lose to someone who can control them. It is easier said than done, but as everything else in martial arts practise will make it possible.

Avoid bouncing and stay well rooted to the ground when striking. Keep the knees bent stay low, but be mobile. Never use any technique in isolation and be sure to combine attack with defense because they are one. Make use of angles for offense and defense they are an effective advantage. Finally, when an opening presents itself go for it without hesitation. Seizing opportunities can determine the outcome of the bout. Lastly do not ever retreat by stepping backwards in a straight line.

How should one deal with close friends or family and relatives who are concerned or worried about how much time one spends training and practising martial arts? What does one answer when friends and especially family worry that training every day might be dangerous or take away from important everyday life activities?

Water, water and more water. That and mid to high intensity training as many days of the week as manageable. Avoid over restricting diet and just eat sensibly in proportion with daily activity. The only thing to adjust within reason of course is the size of meal portions. Just that is more than sufficient to lose excess fat weight. Speaking from experience of going from nearly 200lbs to 165 in about two years. It might seem slow but trying to do it quickly will have nasty effects on the body as well as rebounding back to a worse case.

After nearly one year since my evaluation for 1st kyu, I have decided to change my personal practise sessions following the recommendations of my instructor. For the last two weeks at the dojo the entire two hours has been spent on front kicks, mostly with the left leg. Step by step holding(raise, kick, retract, foot down) each step held. Slow, quick and full power. Once in a while the same sort of thing is done with punching or blocking. Everything else has been set aside except for kihon kata, which was only one day in each week for about a half hour out of the two hours. Dojo sessions will continue in this fashion until perhaps February. Kicking is unnatural for most people and a common weakness as opposed to upper body techniques. Therefore, following my instructor's method, I decided that for daily home training I would do the same thing instead of doing the usual kihon, kata and oyo kumite solo drills. There is some uncertainty about any improvements, but I have been getting positive comments so I must be on the right track. Has anyone else ever done this? Input from intermediate or shodan and above level martial artists would be very much appreciated.

Sometimes it is described as "wide focus". The best way it has ever been explained to me is by comparing it to driving a car. When driving, one must be focused yet avoid concentrating on a single point. To remain in control of the car and avoid accidents, it is necessary to be aware of many things at once as well as one's position and direction. A skilled and experienced driver will know where everything is without having to divert attention and will be able to do two or three things at a time without actively thinking or looking. That is the essence of "moving zen".

The idea of attack and defense being one is a main theme of Okinawan karate as well as several other systems of Chinese origin. "Blocks" are supposed to be used in that way and the purpose is not merely to stop an attacking limb but to attack it and render in useless to continue. This is why there is so much emphasis on limb conditioning. Styles such as Uechi ryu and Goju ryu are the most reknowned for this feature and Shorin ryu to a lesser extent. In the era before and shortly after the Second World War, this feature(hardening of training was part all Okinawan systems.

Anything low, fast and sneaky. Nothing higher than the liver, but the best and most effective are kicks to the outer and inner shins just above the ankle or in the "Charley Horse".

Strategy and tactics is part of every system and as far as East Asian one's such as Kung fu or Karate, this can be found in the forms(kata). Tactics includes all the obvious and subtle techniques and strategy is the way they work together such as a strike setting up a throw, for example. The two depend on one another. To be effective, a technique must fit the strategy. The best way to determine a system or style's strategy is to find which techniques are the most frequent in the core kata.

It would be very wise to abide by the principle of caution. When considering such things as liability in case of incidents, there is no such thing as being over-covered. A community centre, church basement etc may have its own policy but it is better to have a separate, personal one specific to the activity of martial arts. Theirs may not cover you at all and probably only concerns material losses in very limited cases. Insurance: have as much as possible, bonus if the place provides it in addition to yours. Public places such as those mentioned are the best places to start quickly because of the savings compared to renting purpose-made space. The only restrictions might be having to work with the schedule that is available. There is also much less risk in case of failure. Rent will generally be much cheaper and utilities and maintenance costs will be very little. Good luck.

In larger governing bodies, schools run by shodan level instructors do exist. Usually though, they are not fully in charge as a higher level person might be. They almost always have support from the nearest senior instructor in the area and are closely advised while they continue their own advancement in training. it really depends on the rules of the governing body, but in some special cases it is possible.

No substitute for hard work and hard work is a great substitute for talent. Perhaps it is because those with natural talent are often prone to letting themselves think that talent does not need to be kept up or improved. Natural talent may only carry one so far, after that hard work is all that is left to make a difference. More often than not those who work hard are still working hard long after most naturals have given in to boredom and quit or stagnate at the same level thinking further improvement is not possible.

One of the key strategy points of Shorin ryu is continuity of strikes. Punches and kicks are delivered in rapid succession to overwhelm and wear down the attacker with more than one aimed at the same target. The analogy used to explain this is that of the waterfall with the water falling onto rocks below and eventually piercing through. There are others, but that is the one my instructor repeats the most often.

The cane is what I would choose if I were my instructor's age. It is a very elegant accessory as well as a versatile tool and defensive weapon. The only thing that could be said against it is that it must be in hand to be useful. Like anything that cannot be attached to one's person or in a pocket, there is the risk of forgetting to take it along or simply leaving it somewhere in a moments distraction. If not a cane, what else is suitable?

It is highly likely that rules about grading are the product of martial arts governing bodies or "style" associations. It seems that the bigger the governing body is, the stricter or more defined the promotion rule. An independent instructor teaching privately or in a school not affiliated with any association is probably free to evaluate in whatever way works best. In such a case, many seek the opinion of peers skilled in the same system if only for the sake of having an objective view.

How are things done in your organization? In mine, I train at the main dojo under the chief instructor who is a 9th Dan. He has graded some of his students up to 8th Dan. A dan evaluation is usually conducted by him and at least two of the highest grades available to attend at the time plus anyone who has had said grade for more than one year. The input of all the observers and panel members is considered, but the final decision is his.

There are more than a few opinions on how much training is over training. Constantly aiming for improvement by doing just a little more for a little longer is good, but what exactly is too much? What is your defenition?