Spartacus Maximus

The choice depends on whether or not one wishes to remain involved with the "official" shitoryu school. If this is not important, the choice of dojo should be made based on the qualities of the instructor. Even within the same style no two sensei teach exactly the same. There are also different approaches within the same organization.

There is no specific way to get ready for a first martial arts lesson. If the required training clothes are not yet available, it is a good idea to put on clothes that allow free movement. One can reasonably expected high intensity activity for an hour at least. For this reason one should be in good, normal condition. It is very unadvisable to go train with an injury, a sickness or a hangover. The dojo may or may not provide a source of drinking water so bringing a large bottle or two is a good idea. Also packing a towel is a good idea. For more specific advice, call the instructor and ask what to bring. As a last recommendation from experience, avoid going in with an average empty stomach or too full. Have at least a small high energy snack a couple hours before.

First thing to consider is what type of injuries the accident caused and how serious. Different injuries take different time to heal and some of the more seious ones require rehabilitation therapy. Besides that, karate like other martial arts cannot be learned quickly. Time in grade is just a guideline and not a guarantee. If a student is distracted by the pursuit of grades and keeps looking at others, there will be less attention to be spent on personal training. Quality is more important than moving onto the next thing. Quality takes time to develop and students should not rush to learn a great number of techniques. It is always best to polish and improve the tools one has rather than acquiring a new set without knowing how to use them. There is nothing shameful in taking more time to learn something.

There is in fact no official rule for the minimum rank required to open a school. What does exist is a set of conventions that vary from one association to the other and one system to another. Some countries have federations with their own rules but only federation certified members are concerned by the decisions. It is best to research how things are done where one resides. As far as Okinawan karate is concerned, most associations require no less than a fifth Dan AND permission from one's s sensei to teach as a branch dojo instructor. This is sometimes modified for those teaching outside Okinawa/Japan. The most important is the sensei's permission to teach, more than the Dan grade.

Any skilled professional tailor would also be able to reinforce the stitching in areas prone to tearing. I have had my sleeves done as well as an extra strip for the trim of the jacket that forms the collar. For the pants I aksed to redo th crotch.

Kempo is sometimes included with karate because it shares some similarities with it and some styles of kempo have karate influence. It all depends on what system. American Kempo for example is sometimes called "kempo karate". Shorin ji (shaloin temple in Japanese) is definitely derived from Chinese systems and has very little in common with Karate. There really is no simple answer, but I would consider kempo a stand alone group of systems because the term has a very broad definition.

The fact that the belt is mostly worn/used outside of Okinawa was presented to a student in Okinawa by a native sensei is most likely due to back influence from mainland Japan and abroad. Even the most conservative sensei on Okinawa have some influence from outside Okinawa as far as certain administration and grading are concerned. This has been going on since karate was introduced to Japan but has become more and more obvious in the last decade or so.

Have you gone to visit the dojo or spoken to the instructor? What is it exactly that you are seeking? What is "legit" for you and what do you expect? When looking for a dojo one should keep in mind that no lineage, style or organization is any guarantee of quality. A dojo is only as good and honest as the instructor makes it.

From my experience in Okinawan karate circles it seems common for higher Dan grades operating a dojo to have a separate in-house policy about what belt to wear. Most will wear whatever their instructor has given them because that belt has a symbolic value as the sign that the instructor formally awknowledges the students skill level and ability to teach as they have been taught.

Perhaps a more effective course of action would be to visit the dojo and see if the instructor will spare sone time to speak with a prospective student. Besides the odd chance that a forum member might be familiar with the dojo concerned, the best information can only be gotten from personal inquiry. The most that may be found here are general opinions from experiences that are each different from the other, even between several people practising the same system.

In my original post I considered the topic as a whole. In "late starters" I would include anyone who started for the first time and those like myself who have had gaps in training or started with some background. In my experience it is twice as difficult to start with a background as it is with no prior training of any kind. With a few gaps I had trained since 13 and was at 3dan. Starting over meant forgetting everything and giving up my 3dan. All this within the exact same style. The more I trained, the more I realized how much I was missing. Having a clean slate when starting is probably more important than when one starts. Fresh beginniners are not caught up in all sorts of habits and are not confused easily.

If several karateka of Dan rank 6th and above had no belts or all the same belt it would be impossible to pick them out. Only seeing how they moved and how they carry themselves just might give an idea. If they were just standing or in any casual position, then no way.

I use a Shureido brand heavy or medium weight, but I requested that the areas prone to tearing be reinforced. This very easy to do for the ties. I had them resewn with heavy nylon thread in tight stitches, then covered with another strip across sewn to the jacket. If the gi provider is unable to do it, any tailor should be able to reinforce at least the ties. This is cheaper to do and there really is no need to buy a whole new dogi.

The way I understand a core kata is one that is an identifying feature which can be used to demonstrate the roots of a system as well as its most recognizable features. As far as karate is concerned, all systems in existence today are developments from three original currents from Okinawa. These are Naha, the old merchant port, Shuri, the royal capital and Tomari the fishing port. Naihanchi kata(tekki in Shotokan) is found in every system developed or heavily influenced by Shorin ryu, which in turn developed from martial arts taught in and around Shuri. In all these styles this kata is emphasized often. Shotokan's founder records spending some ten years on these before learning anything else. This is why Naihanchi is the first choice to come to mind for representing the Shorin styles. Some systems such as kyokushin are more complicated because they include Shuri kata like the Pinan series as well as Naha kata like Sanchin. This is usually because the founder had influential teachers from different schools. This used to be quite common as the notion of style was not as clear cut as imagined by today's conception. Masters and students of different styles often shared and exchanged techniques.

With a few exceptions I usually prefer originals to remakes. The second Scarface movie is quite good when I consider it on its own. When it was a new feature very few people who saw it were old enough to remember the original. I prefer that one because I am a fan of mobster movies.

Tells always seem to get worse when I think about them and when I am near exhaustion. Being aware of them is a good first step, but I still struggle with one in particular which is a slight blink when doing anything with power, especially kick techniques

Another general guideline that I follow is to avoid processed or transformed foods as much as possible. The idea of "staying hungry" is good advice and really does work.

Water is something that is never mentioned enough. Everyone is expected to have at least a litre throughout the two hour training session.

Nobody is ever taught without asking to learn. In martial arts students choose their instructor and by doing so students must have respect and trust for this agreement. It is much, much more than a simple service transaction. In exchange for the instructor sharing knowledge, the student must follow the instructions. There is no reason to train under an instructor if one is constantly doing things differently than what is being taught. Students must follow their instructor or else find another one. Research for personal interest or comparison should be encouraged, but students must avoid getting distracted and confused by information different from what is taught by their chosen instructor in their chosen system.

I wonder what the new movie will be like. A remake of a remake is quite challenging if it is to get any significant appreciation. The original scarface was about an Italian American mobster, probably based on Al Capone. Whose nickname was scarface. The one about a Cuban drug lord made in the 90s is a remake of that.

I used to live in the same area where not one, but three legendary karateka were born and taught including the originator of the style I train in. Unfortunately I am not aware of any notable fact about my present location.

With the way children are desensitized towards violence in general, it is foolishly irresponsible to allow a child to handle a weapon. The child in the video may show a high level of dexterity, but it is highly doubtful that her understanding is any deeper than mere performance to impress an audience with pretty choreography and acrobatic dance.

A "tell" is something that is done unconsciously immediately before a technique. A commonly observed one is a slight blink or squint when attempting to do a technique with power, especially strikes. How can such a tell be effectively corrected? What kinds of tells are the most common? Are some easier to correct than others?

At this time my dojo and the organization I belong to only use different coloured belts for 7-10th Dan. Anyone below that level wears a plain cloth black belt. No satin covered shiny belts or other foo-foo silly fancy belts. On Okinawa it is rare to see anyone wearing a different colour other than 7th to 10th dans. One exception is at seminars or other gatherings involving a larger number of karateka of different styles and organizations. Outside Japan and Okinawa, it seems more common for "renshi belts" to be worn regularly. Things may have changed in the last 15 years.

The most basic and simplistic idea of kata application appears to be prescriptive. To begin to understand the purpose of a given kata, it is important to realize that it is not just a collection of techniques where a specific attack must be countered by a specific defense. The chaotic and unpredictable nature of physical assault situation makes it impossible to know and spontaneously apply specific moves. Instead, kata must be considered as a synthesis of principles. Each kata has a core set of principles of how to move. Specific techniques are but example of how these principles can be used and are not the only possible application. Once understood and internalized, a principle can be spontaneously applied to a specific situation. If a movement principle is applied correctly the technique will be viable and effective. In this sense, bunkai or analysis is learning how to move. The first step to deciphering a kata is finding the core idea and recurring movements. There is a very good book on that topic called The Way Of Kata. I believe the author is Lawrence Kane. The examples are from Goju ryu but the ideas are applicable to any system with Kata