Spartacus Maximus

Yes, it is really hard to install mats in a space that is public or shared by several different training groups. The most a student can do is suggest the idea to the instructor. As an instructor and for personal use one must make due with whatever type of floor one can find or build. As a student one must train on whatever floor the instructor has.

Okinawan shorin ryu has been my chosen martial art since I was a youth but my interest in the subject has led me to try and visit many different places where other systems were taught. I have done this for comparison and personal research and in doing this I have met many kinds of instructors with different attitudes and personalities. In my experience, the instructors attitude and personality is the most important trait because it is what new students notice first when they step into the dojo. It is also of capital significance to effectively teach. It is much easier and agreeable to learn from an instructor who welcomes you in a friendly manner and teaches patiently and tirelessly. Hardly anyone can suffer trying to learn from an instructor who is unapproachable, gruff or and unsociable. Only the worst and the best stuck in my mind as which model I will one day hope to emulate. The best example is my present sensei who is the toughest I have ever met. Despite his fearsome skills and strength, and strict teaching style he is always in a friendly and pleasant mood. He never has to shout or order anyone about. He is always approachable to explain anything or demonstrate for any of us. Off the floor he enjoys relaxing with students and shows true concern for each student's progress, growth and general well being. To many of us younger students he is like a wise grandfather figure. In stark contrast to this, the very worst I can still remember is a Japanese JKA Shotokan instructor. This man was the instructor at a small city dojo I visited many years ago. He was certainly very skilled at what he did as he was in the top 10-20 instructors in the country. A retired undefeated champion in his weight class. Despite this he treated his students very roughly and hardly said a word to them except when he barked or shouted orders at them. Students were absolutely terrified to approach him for anything at alll! He even shouted at me for breaking some protocol detail I had no way of knowing as both a guest quietly observing and a foreigner. Needless to say I did not stand this treatment very long. I left as soon as I could.

This is the year I realized how much progress I made and how much more I have to learn and improve just in the year to come.

I would suggest to keep in mind that zero risk is impossible when engaging in any contact activity. Judo is a martial art at its core and in martial arts the training involves learning and practising various types of power. It is normal and expected to experience soreness or aching after training, but it is also unavoidable in the process of skill improvement. The best advice I have heard is common knowledge to any instructor or sport coach: beware of overtraining, know yourself and then challenge yourself but do it gradually. Injuries come from lack of concentration and thinking too much instead of doing.

Truly nothing beats the feel of hardwood flooring. The older the better in my opinion. The very best floors I have had the pleasure to train on where very old buildings and laid down almost a hundred years before. One was a small training room used to train combatives at a military school dating back to the late 1800s. They sure made things to last a lifetime back then! Other great floors were not quite as old but the wood itself was quite old and treated with a kind of hardening polish. Beautiful and comfortable with good traction to prevent slipping or having to mop the floor constantly.

Laminate floors are the worst to repair when they come unstuck. They require a special type of heavy duty industrial adhesive which is very unpleasant to work with. The good thing about them is that they are easily covered with the puzzle mats. In fact, I would use said mats on any floor that is not hardwood because they can be set down quickly by few people and are reasonably portable if they should be removed afterwards.

Hardwood floors are the best for conditioning the feet and toes but thin foam mats also work very well as a training surface. My dojo is on the third floor of a large building and we have the original floor covered with a half-inch thick play mats that fit together like puzzle pieces. The original flooring is thin office type carpeting. I used the same type of mats in my living room to convert it into my personal dojo.

For me the ideal training ground/floor is nothing but hardwood boards. Thin carpet is not too bad but it is difficult to clean. Any type of surface that would become slippery with humidity and sweat would be something I would avoid if possible.

Well, modern karateka may never know how or where the three naihanchi fit together or whether they are just a collection of chosen techniques from an older "extinct" form. However they can be practised as a single kata by joining the three together where each stops, flowing into the next. I do it that way but it remains awkward because the transitions have been lost to time. It just ends up like a chain instead of looking like a single kata. Either way I believe naihanchi is the essence of Okinawan shorin ryu and each has valuable content.

Probably naihanchi but I can't make up my mind as to which of the three. This series of three very short kata is often emphasized as the core of Shorin ryu styles. Each one is deceptively short and simple but mastering all the priciples and techniques requires an in depth study that can easily take years. None of the other kata can be fully understood without them.

Quite true, there ought to be more options to make a more accurate poll of the types of martial arts enjoyed by the members of this board. Martial arts is a very broad topic and even if one limits the discussion to systems of empty-handed defense/fighting, there are several examples originating from every corner of the world.

Solid post!! Finding such a person is up to the prospective student to do by research. Nobody here can do that in his place.

Okinawan Karate, Shorin ryu for me.

From someone who knows karate and how to teach it.

A word of caution for those considering any symbols or writing from a foreign culture: make sure you get it right by consulting a native of said culture whom you trust to give you accurate information! Preferably one who also is involved in the martial art you practise. This is the only way to prevent possible future embarrassment. As a person with a good knowledge of East Asian culture and language I have read quite a few cool looking tattoos that have quite embarrassing meanings and could not help but laugh. Many times I did not have the heart to explain it to the poor chap sporting them.

I also agree that children and youths should have a seperate promotion system. The average child or youth 5-13 years old has a shorter attention span and concentration level. They need and depend on some kind of tangible reward and sign of progress more than adults in order to continue making an effort and stay motivated. The best way to organize it is to devide the regular adult levels into smaller milestones. A three or four level(up to shodan) system is fine for adults but children and youth might easily loose motivation if they stay at the same level for six to twelve months. For example if the adult levels are 4, devide each into 3 for children and youth. Once they reach the right age just transfer to the equivalent regular level. My actual school has only: white, green, blue, brown and black. Earning the first level(green) takes between 6 and 8 months of training The second(blue) takes 8 to 10 months, same for the third(brown) Shodan takes a minimum of 1 year.

Unless you have time and resources to spend on arguing with GKR, there is nothing you can do to make them change their policy and their methods. That your experience as a lesson on what to lookout for when you go looking for a decent school to learn quality martial arts. Surely a large city such as Canberra has at least a few schools or instructors who will teach fairly and honestly. It is of no use wasting any more time and energy getting aggro with a school whose main goal is clearly not the teaching of quality martial arts.

Here is another analogy I once heard from a well known but very modest sensei in Okinawa: "Einstein was a brilliant scientist who stated E=mc'2. That formula is so famous that even grade school children know it and can repeat it. However, how many ordinary people know exactly what it means and how to apply it in a practical way to a specific task? Kata is the same in that performing all the moves is easy and quickly memorized. Understanding how to use each part and being able to do so spontaneously takes much effort, practise and training" Too many karateka are just reading the textbook over and over and over again memorizing all the formulas by heart without ever doing a single page of applied practise.

From all that I can gather in what I have read on the history and development of karate a single point stands out. This is the fact that, except for a few parts it is almost impossible to be certain exactly what Chinese source karate comes from. The main reason for this is that karate is a mixed martial art. At the time Chinese martial arts were introduced to Okinawa, schools were not as exclusive as they are today. The okinawans as well as their Chinese counterparts often trained and exchanged techniques. There were three loose categories which were a group of styles practised in a restricted area such as: Sui di: styles practised and taught in the royal capital mostly by high ranking government people and the ruling class Nafa di: styles of the main trade port practised by upper class merchants and wealthy tradesmen. Tumai di: styles from around the main fishing port Each of those categories included several Chinese Chuan fa(boxing) styles brought by the Chinese who settled there. Exactly what styles is not known and to further muddy the water, okinawans had their own native styles called Uchinaa ti which they incorporated into and mixed with the techniques from whatever Chinese styles they learned. This blending has gon on for so long that the best clues are only similarities in a few techniques and priciples found in some Chinese styles. A single kata can have techniques from two or three Chinese styles as well as some purely Okinawan ones. This type of synthesis form also exist in the Chinese styles then and now. Kata or techniques that were passed on from china directly and can be identified as style XYZ are rare exceptions. Sometimes the Chinese parent style is lost, rare or unknown outside china; or no longer exists.That is why there is a few possible parent styles for each Okinawan style instead of a single one that can be identified without a doubt. Karate is a bastard of unknown, or at best uncertain Chinese and Okinawan origin. It's like knowing where a person's parents are from without knowing their names or anything else about them.

Only one in black ink and not visible with a shirt on. It was a stupid idea that I got as a teenager not thinking what consequences it might have in the future. I now since have started to regret having it done. The design is the crest symbol of Okinawan karate and it also represents the old Ryu Kyu kingdom. It is used in the logos of many Okinawan karate schools and styles and looks like three sickle blades in a circle. Although it is possible to remove tattoos, the process is long and usually more expensive than having one put in. They should be considered life long marks so the decision to get one deserves some serious thinking. Personally, now that I have one I no longer think marking oneself permanently is a good idea. Especially with anything related to martial arts. Especially if the area is easily visible. Unwanted negative attention and an inaccurate impression from other people become inevitable.

In the first dojo I trained in each Dan grade required the student to submit an essay on a subject related to theory, martial philosophy or history of karate. This was very academic assignment with the same structure and referencing required for a research paper at the undergraduate level. The student was expected to read books for referencing and supporting his statements. The work was even graded with a percent on how well the subject was understood, clarity and other criteria. First dan required 15 pages typed, second was 20 pages and third dan was 25pages. The essay had to be submitted no later than 2 weeks before the grading test. Looking back I think this type of academic requirement is extreme. Not everyone is so academically inclined and martial arts are for physical training more than intellectual discussion. However, I believe that an advanced student of martial arts should have at least a minimum of knowledge about the origin and history of his chosen discipline. In my humble opinion answering these questions is a good start: What is the name of your system? Where does XYZ originate? Who was your teacher's teacher and who is the earliest known expert instructor of XYZ Approximately how old is XYZ Any other information is good to know personally but not really necessary. If someone wants to know, with a good basic knowledge it is possible to point them In the right direction and encourage them to research it themselves. If forum members can answer the basic questions about their style, it's all they really need. Here are mine: Martial art style: Shorin Ryu Origin: Ryukyu island kingdom, Shuri present day Okinawa Teacher's teacher and earliest expert known:teacher's teacher is Miyahira K(1916-2010). Earliest expert is Matsumura Sokon(1806-1896) Style age:Less than 120 years old counted from the death of earliest expert but history could be up to 250 years. That's it.

Have you read Patrick McCarthy's English translation of the Bubishi? Other works by this author on karate history would also certainly contain Kata or forms are like the textbooks of martial arts. The moves they contain are like formulas and bunkai is like drills or problems. One supplements and reinforces the other. Each move is a memory tool to use for visualizing the techniques but visualizing alone is not enough. In order to practise kata efficiently it is vital to understand and feel how each technique is used in action. Knowing what one should be visualizing when practising a form is an essential step towards the development of practical skills. This can only be done by training applications and forms together. information to put you on the right track. Also a good book by Mark Bishop is a good start.From my readings I can give you some leads as such: Heian series is called Pinan in Okinawan styles. This series is of Okinawan origin but it is based on the Kusanku(sho and dai) of Chinese origin. This is often true of the older original kata. If you want to try to look for probable sources and influences on the development of karate, research these Chinese styles: Arhat boxing, Lohan Chuan and Shaolin Long Fist. To my knowledge these are very similar to Shuri-te type karate which includes all the Shorin-ryu styles and their derivatives such as Shotokan. Exchanging and comparing with a skilled practitioner of the styles I mentioned might be very interesting. Good luck

Kata or forms are like the textbooks of martial arts. The moves they contain are like formulas and bunkai is like drills or problems. One supplements and reinforces the other. Each move is a memory tool to use for visualizing the techniques but visualizing alone is not enough. In order to practise kata efficiently it is vital to understand and feel how each technique is used in action. Knowing what one should be visualizing when practising a form is an essential step towards the development of practical skills. This can only be done by training applications and forms together.

Dojo where bunkai is taught together with kata are unfortunately not the norm because there are more instructors who lack the knowledge to teach it than those who do. In most cases if bunkai is taught at all it is treated as "advanced knowledge" reserved for dan grades and even then it is not trained regularly. Very little if anything at all can be learned from a brief session, seminar or camp once in a while. Practising and drilling each part of each kata ought to be done every day of training.

At present I have nothing to complain about for my dojo. Compared to most dojo our numbers are few. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed with equal time for group and individual practise. Everyone trains seriously and each session is slightly different in content and focus. Students are encouraged and welcome to ask about any details in kata or techniques at almost anytime. In previously attended dojo the most annoying and disruptive people were often those who would be watching. Nothing is worse than guests who cannot or will not follow basic rules. As for students, the worst annoyance were the following types in no specific order: 1. Students who spend dojo time socializing 2. Students who expect results for efforts they did not make 3. Students who ask or insist to be graded 4. Students who show up but make no effort to train 5. Students who do nothing until the instructor is looking and stop trying when he is elsewhere. 6. Students who see grade or rank as an excuse for inappropriate actions or unfair treatment.