mushybees

Karate's awesome. My 3 young kids also train and it's great.

I was very disappointed with the Seishin. It's a so so dogi with very good marketing. I'd go for the Tokaido.

I find if I wear antiperspirant deodrant it causes my head to leak. Regular deodorant allows me to sweat properly and cool properly plus it's better for the gi fabric. Antiperspirant is the cause of yellowing armpits on even the most frequent and best laundered dogi.

In Wado Ryu and japanese kenjutsu this jarring stop and start of movements is an aspect of itsuki. Itsuki is rendering yourself immobile. Wado shares many principles with koryu jujutsu and kenjutsu where an opening for your sword wielding opponent is often catastrophic.

If I was facing a grappler I wouldn't know until we were grappling and then I wouldn't throw a kick or punch. At least not in isolation.

When I started training in karate my instructor at the time had a very poor opinion of weight training. I only have experience of japanese martial arts but it's an attitude I've witnessed quite often. In my case I developed a lot of muscle imbalances, especially in the legs and shoulders which manifested in tennis elbow and the paletta not tracking correctly. All fixed in six months of compound weight exercises. I weight train now at least twice a week for 40 minutes. Not for hypertrophy but for strong and balanced muscles. We don't practise any hojo undo and I'm quite ignorant on the matter but if I was told it was incorporated to prevent against the problems I faced I wouldn't be surprised.

To clarify, I don't personally run a dojo. I'm just a student and answering from a student's perpective. When a disruptive influence joins a dojo discord can spread like wildfire. I've seen it happen and it puts instructors in a very difficult situation. Desiring to help people overcome their character flaws is commendable but some people's problems run too deep and are sometimes potentially dangerous. I would prefer an instructor acts in the interests of his/her student body and their wellbeing rather than trying to save every lost soul. Also I know of incidences where a student has shown worrying behaviour and the instructor has dealt with it very discreetly. You may not necessarily know what has been said or why.

I've seen people progress within the dojo who have demonstrated real character flaws. Arrogance, a propensity to show off, a disregard for other people's boundaries being just a few. I've never seen a change in their character. I've seen them obscure their nature but it's always still been there and has always ended in acrimony. Some people shouldn't train in the martial arts and people shouldn't feel obligated to teach someone they don't like or aren't comfortable teaching. With regards to the situation in question I wouldn't presume to know what your instructors know or what motivates their decision making. The culture of a dojo can very easily be derailed and it's the prerogative of the chief instructor to protect what they've created.

Bowing as I stepped over the threshold in to my boss' office. He was mercifully preoccupied at the time and didn't see it.

Thank you gents. As tempting as it is to try and reuse it I'll admit defeat. In fact, if I ever decide to start my own school I'll resolve to forego badges and school logos from dogi.

Has anyone ever unstitched an embroidered logo (like a school logo) and removed it from their dogi? I have a 12oz dogi and I'd like to remove a school logo and have a different one embroidered in it's place. It's a nice Hirota gi so I'd hate to spoil it by sewing an ugly patch over the old logo.

That's incredible. People are losing the ability to empathise with others and refuse to even consider viewpoints that they've decided is unpalatable. It makes for some very one dimensional and fragile characters. I try and expose myself to left and right leaning political views and everything in between. I have views of my own but they're informed and considered views and I try and understand why someone might hold and opposing position. If I found my teacher had political views I didn't agree with I'd be able to compartmentalise it quite easily. If they respect me enough that they don't abuse their influence to try and sway my political views then regardless of what they believe it can't be too bad. As for the students in question I would expect a sincere apology and they'd be receiving a stern warning. Disgraceful behaviour, regardless of their reasons.

I hear this one all the time citing kubudo weaponry and their apparent dual use as agricultural tools. I hear it from otherwise clued up, pragmatic martial artists. It's quite a pervasive myth.

I forgot about this thread. A couple of weeks after seeing this I had a tumble down garden steps whilst carrying my 3 year old son. I fell forward and would have landed on him if I hadn't flipped over. No injury to either of us except for a small bruise on my leg. It's possible my instinct to not squish my own spawn would have resulted in the same actions. I thank ukemi anyway.

Hikite