JR 137

I just quickly read through the entire Covid thread in the Health & Fitness section again. It’s just so depressing seeing it all unfold in hindsight. I haven’t worked out since around February. I’ve been putting in a ton of overtime at work (willfully). I make a famous (or infamous, depending on your politics lol) biotech drug that’s nearing FDA approval for Covid treatment (not vaccine). A ton of OT to be had and I’m taking as much as possible. Aside from that, I honestly have little desire to go back under our state’s stipulations. I agree with them, but I don’t like them. Due to our dojo’s floor size, we’re limited to 5 people per class. You’ve got to email your availability, and they’ll fit you in as they can. No contact with each other nor equipment. Masks required. We’re a small club, so there’s not a lot of classes available outside of this; pretty much one a night for kyus, and 2 a night one night a week for black belts (one is black belt only class). I feel awful about it, but I can’t do non contact, what basically becomes cardio karate without bags and striking pads, with a mask on. I physically could, but mentally, I’m not into that. They tried running classes and having people who couldn’t get in link up through Zoom, but that became a disaster somehow. If I sucked it up and went through with it, I would’ve tested for shodan. In our dojo, but linked up to honbu through Zoom. No contact. Again, I hate to say it, but I’m not into that. No disrespect in any way to people who have done it that way (including a few at our dojo who tested for dan ranks), but I don’t want to test that way. It wouldn’t mean much, if anything, to me. I want to be pushed mentally and physically through kumite, not just kata and kihon. Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s just how I feel and I can’t change that. I could and definitely should work out by going over my material and hitting my bag, but I don’t have the motivation right now. Working 50 hours a week on my feet all day, wife and 10 and 7 year old children, new puppy lol, doing home improvement and woodworking stuff; training has taken a hiatus for the time being. And it kills me to say it, but it’s how I feel. I’ve stopped by a few times to say hi and see how things are going before classes start. And I feel guilty I’m not training. I understand the current mandates and agree with them. There’s no point in exposing people to this. My CI is 70. His wife is probably 5 years younger or so. There’s some people with heightened risks. I just want all of this to end so we can all get back to our normal lives. Rant over.

I’m pretty sure we technically have 10. Kaicho has reportedly stated he’ll never accept a 10th dan because he’ll never stop learning. He’s allegedly been offered it a few times by various budo organizations. I’d imagine he’ll be promoted to 10th dan posthumously when the time comes (I hate saying that).

What do you mean by "curriculum black belt" and "instructor black belt?" I’m assuming he means black belt student that isn’t an instructor, and black belt instructor. I’ve heard of a few schools that do 3 dan levels - student, teacher, and teachers’ teacher (one who can grant teacher rank).

Kyokushin has promoted people to 10th dan. Off the top of my head, Hanshi Steve Arneill holds the 10th rank. Soshu Shigeru Oyama was also honored with a 10th dan by IKO1 shortly before his death. What made that one very interesting was he left kyokushin around 1981. I can’t find a webpage nor the video of it; links and video were posted on the now defunct Kyokushin4Life forum. Matsui presented him the belt, along with others in kyokushin receiving higher dan ranks.

Indeed it does! There's a running joke in our dojo. By itself, "Keri" means kick. When used with an adjective, it becomes "Mae-Geri", "Sokusen Geri", "Mawashi-Geri", etc. "Geri" by itself means "diarrhea", and the Okinawan masters will laugh at you if you try to use it (by itself) to say kick. You beat me to that one. It was all I could think of when I originally read it Edit: while we’re at it, Kancho also means enema, in addition to the MA meaning.

Congratulations!

Welcome aboard. There’s a legendary dojo in Albuquerque called Ameri-Do-Te. Might want to check that out

Welcome aboard!

It's designed that way, to keep you engaged, don't expect them to be best buddies anytime soon I imagine..........And if they do because best buddies, don’t expect it to last any length of time.

The original name of the kata is Kusanku or Kushanku depending on pronunciation. Named after the originator of the kata, I believe. Funakoshi renamed it to japan-ize it like he did with many kata such as Naihanchi became Tekki. Drawing conclusions based on the name would be incorrect because it has been renamed. As Bulltahr was saying, prayer is all about intent; there is no accidental worship nor showing respect for a deity IMO. If you feel that the intent of the movement goes against your beliefs, that’s something you should take up with your instructor if you have one. If you don’t have one, you can change/eliminate it without having to answer to anyone. You shouldn’t be forced to do anything that goes against your beliefs. Any symbolism is what we make of it. People say bowing to shinzen and the like are religious things. Perhaps it comes from there, but I view it simply as a show of respect; no different than any other acknowledgement of someone or something. But that’s my opinion and I don’t believe I’m unintentionally worshiping anyone nor anything. Everyone is entitled to agree and disagree with my belief at their own discretion.

Another advantage of buying from a bike shop is them fitting the bike to you. Not just the frame size, but all the small stuff that truly makes all the difference - seat height and back and forth distance, handlebar height and angle; stuff like that. A few millimeters and/or degrees may seem trivial, but they’ll make a huge difference when you’re logging mileage every day. Proper fit is probably the most important long-term thing to keep you going.

Respectfully, I think that you may be missing something here, higher ranks than you should never be considered "Superior" but rather, your senior. And addressing dan grades by their rank title as it were, is part of the culture of "Traditional karate" which acknowledges your time and dedication to the art. Just like many other formal institutions, military, government, academia, etc. Now, how that person acts and treats you is a completely different deal. If you prefer the more casual environment of a MMA gym then that's fine, but understand that a tradition dojo and a MMA gym are offering completely different experiences. Just check out some of the MMA forums and you will soon pick up the vibe that they have compared with a karate one like KF forums. Best post I’ve read in quite a while.

Congratulations!

Hopefully what you’ve been told by the experts is significantly better than what you were anticipating. We’re all here for you, Bob. Keep up the fight, the treatments, and stay positive. As I’m sure you know very well, staying positive makes all the difference.

Thank you for everything you’ve done for us here as a community. I’d love to be able to add to what’s been said, but everyone said what I feel better than I can say it. I look forward to continuing to see you here

Sensei8 hit the nail on the head, as he always does. I would like to add that what goes on and how things are truly approached will come down to the CI’s philosophy and emphasis more than anything else. We’re stereotyping the styles here; individual teachers vary greatly. As a point of reference, my teacher attends dan testing quite often at our honbu. There are students from all over the country and internationally testing. My teacher says he can easily tell which students came from which dojo by watching their performance. Not from a quality of performance standpoint, but from their technique and strategy. I guess after you’ve been around for 40+ years and have seen their students enough times, the differences become blatantly obvious. There are a few Goju Ryu schools near me. They vary enough for me to easily see the difference, and I don’t have much experience training in Goju.

Welcome aboard

I haven’t seen a Hirota gi, so I have my insight may be off... Hirota is a Japan made gi. They use the Japanese cotton that Shureido and Tokaido use. The cotton used by these brands is different than what Kamikaze and others use. Different weave, different breathability, different feel. Shureido doesn’t use weight designations, they use numbers, such as #10 canvas, #11, etc. While not good from a marketing standpoint, it’s a better system if you understand their material. Their material isn’t like standard non-Japanese material. It breathes significantly better, it’s softer, it keeps its shape better, stays whiter for far longer, and is far more durable. Tokaido used to use the same number designation, but I think they’ve gotten away from it. A dojomate of mine wears a Kamikaze America. It’s a nice gi. Better than the standard non-Japanese gis. The material is very similar to my Ronin heavyweight, but seems a bit heavier. It’s thick and stiff. It seems like body armor in a sense. I wear a Shureido K-11. Significantly lighter, softer, and far more breathable. My K-11 isn’t a lightweight gi. But it feels like one in a good way. I sweat a lot, and it helps me stay cooler than anything else I’ve worn. And I’ve worn quite a few. The Japanese gis are expensive, but they’re worth every penny if you’re after a gi that’s comfortable, durable, holds its shape and look, and keeps you from overheating. No other material comes close. The difference becomes apparent after you’ve worn it a few times. Opening it up from the package and putting it on the first time wearing it around the house to see if it fits right doesn’t do it justice. Poke around the net and see if you can figure out which number canvas the particular gi you’re looking at is. The numbering is a bit confusing. #10 is heavyweight, #11 is middleweight, #9 is light. #9 is a twill material rather than the canvas, but it’s a quality material. Definitely not the see-through and free gi ith sign up material. I wear a Shureido K-11 gi, which is their middleweight gi. The K-10 is their heavyweight. I owned a K-10 for several years and loved it. When I replaced it, I bought a K-11 because I wanted something a little lighter. My current dojo doesn’t have air conditioning; combine that with my sweating more than the average person, and it’s understandable why I’d want something lighter yet retaining the quality. The K-11 is perfect for me. I bought a K-9 as a second gi but returned it without wearing it to class. The quality was definitely there, but I wanted a K-11. I have no personal experience with Hirota, but everything I’ve read says they use the Japanese cotton. If this is a blended gi (cotton and polyester), then all bets are off. The Japanese companies make those too, but descriptions state the material type. I haven’t worn a blended gi to give any insight. Edit: I believe Spartacus Maximus wears a Shureido gi and has worn others. He can most likely give insight on the Japanese cotton vs others as well. Edit 2: To the best of my knowledge, the Japanese gis use the same cotton. I’ve worn a dojomate’s Tokaido gi, and the material felt exactly the same. Different cut, same material. I’m assuming Hirota is equivalent.

Possibly the best start to the conversation. What the goals are and why the comeback is most important IMO. Is the person there for physical health? Mental health? Improvement in the art itself? Socializing? Different ends require different means. That being said, there’s rarely a single reason; it’s typically multiple reasons. But there’s usually one or two main reasons and the rest are additional.

Welcome aboard

From a physics standpoint, the line of resistance should be behind you and opposing your motion in the same plane as the punch. With it clipped at your waist, it has a downward component to the force. At my previous school, we used to tie a few bicycle inner tubes together and make a long loop. We’d attach one end to a carabiner and the other end would either be in our hand or around an ankle. He had several carabiners at different heights to get as straight a line as possible. We’d also put them around our waist and a partner would hold us back while we advanced forward while punching or kicking. The product you linked to has a specific advantage over what I’ve used - you can move around freer. We couldn’t do much movement beyond a step or very short shuffle forward.

The KI Mugen gis are popular at my dojo. They seem to hold up well and people say they’re comfortable. I’ve worn the heavyweight KI gi. It is a good gi for the money. Heavy and didn’t fit me right. For the money, I much preferred Ronin. Seems better made, more comfortable, and it fit me right. I’ve moved on to Shureido K-11 and won’t ever go back. Way over the $100 price though.

Welcome aboard

Very saddened to hear this, Sensei. I wish you all the best of luck, and my prayers are with you. I have no doubt whatsoever that you’re a fighter and will fight this with more will and determination than anything you’ve fought before. I also have no doubt that you’ll win this fight by living your life on your terms and not on the illness’s terms. Again, prayers sent your and your loved ones’ way. There’s no doubt in my mind you’ll win this battle, regardless of the ultimate outcome. It doesn’t need to be said, but I still feel like I have to for some reason - we’re all here for you to lean on, laugh with, cry with, vent to, complain to, celebrate victories to, and everything else like that. Publicly and privately.

Congratulations!