JR 137

There's my thing about Michael Jai White... That video said he holds black belts in 7 different arts. I thought it was 8. What's his highest rank? Does he get a 1st or 2nd dan and then move on? My real question is what is the depth of his knowledge of any of them? It appears on the surface to be more collecting black belts than actually advancing further. I understand he's an actor and needs to move different ways for different roles. I get curiosity of different arts and ways they do things. I know he's quite talented, and I'm not trying to take that away by any means, but where's the depth? Wesley Snipes allegedly has a 5th dan in Shotokan karate. Does White have an advanced dan rank in any of those 7 arts? Maybe it's wrong, but I have more respect for a high rank in one art (so long as it's actually earned) than 1st or 2nd dan in 7 or 8 different arts.

Some schools will breathe loudly on every important strike, while others won't. There's pros and cons to both ways of thinking. The first tournament I competed in, there were a few schools who'd breathe loudly on every count of kata, not a kiai, but a loud forceful breath. My sensei at the time's explanation made a lot of sense to me... Breathing loudly like that helps with maximum power. Timing your breathing with your strikes, like a weight lifter exhaling on the lift. Loud breathing can be heard by your opponent. If he/she is good enough, he/she can time their strike at the end of your exhalation, basically knocking the wind out of you. Neither school I've attended breathed loudly (except ibuki breathing at appropriate times during various kata like Sanchin). To be honest, in a real fight, I'd probably breath loudly rather than try to conceal it. Real fighting isn't like dojo sparring/tournament fighting where someone has the time to pick up on it. The opponent could if they're very highly skilled, but if they're that much more skilled than I am where they could use my breathing against me, they're going to beat me up no matter what I do. All in my own opinion.

My CI and his wife co-own the dojo. I've found that to be a common thing. She hasn't taught since I've been there due to a few concurrent and long term injuries, such as a shoulder replacement surgery. By all accounts she's a very good teacher - she's meticulous in teaching and correcting technique, and she runs a very strenuous class. A few people joked that when they'd see her car in the lot, they'd contemplate not going in if they weren't ready to be pushed really hard. Hopefully she'll be back on the floor soon. She's the senior-most female karateka in Seido Juku, having started in 1976, and was one of the first group of women to be promoted to 6th dan. She started during the time Nakamura first started Seido, and it was still Kyokushin in all but name. According to everyone I know who was around during that era (not just Seido), women had it really tough. A lot of men thought they didn't belong and would try to prove it by going harder on females. Thankfully we've moved past that as a society. Nakamura formed a women's group in Seido Juku to address the lack of women in the organization. The group became obsolete and was dissolved about 8 years ago. Seido is nearly 50/50 men/women, so the group was after several years of consistency in that ratio. I've never trained under a female CI, but both dojos I've been a part of had female instructors. I haven't viewed them any differently than male instructors. Every teacher brings something different to the table, regardless of gender. There have been female instructors who are better and not as good as male counterparts; gender didn't have anything to do with it. I'd have no problem joining a dojo run by a female. My criteria for joining is quality of instruction, not gender.

July 1st... 220.2 lbs 1 hr karate class Manual labor around the house consisting of putting together some new furniture and rearranging everything but the bedrooms. Lots of going up and down the stairs to throw old stuff out, and moving furniture around. Especially when my wife says "let me see how it'll look over there instead" for the 5th time The biggest benefit of it all - making a semi defined space for my Total Gym which isn't hidden in a closet. Have you seen Chuck Norris?

Welcome aboard

Welcome aboard

I found this article interesting. At first I thought, well yeah, the group that worked out 4-6 times a week would obviously lose more fat than the group that worked out 3-4 times a week, but then I read they did the same VOLUME (amount) of exercise... http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/split-cardio-and-weights-to-reduce-belly-fat?utm_campaign=DailyDose&utm_source=menshealth.com&utm_medium=newsletter&smartcode=YN_0005353772_0001619692&sha1hashlower=9d5c24c999632a82082dab2fa0b64b5683e8bc8d&md5hash=99cc53709ab0de45e4fa41642cb3e56a Spoiler alert: the group that did weights one and day and cardio the next day lost significantly more fat than the group that did weights then cardio on the same day. Interesting.

Does that mean you're joining in on the fun? No pressure:)

Thanks for the post and encouragement, Patrick. And no, I didn't think "you don't need to lose weight" for a second. Ok maybe that sounds wrong, but I mean it in a good way. Everyone's got their own ideal weight. At 5'8, it would seem pretty ridiculous to say my ideal weight is around 190 lbs. During the months leading up to Kathryn's birth (she's 6), I looked and more importantly felt great at 195 lbs. I've always weighed a lot more than I looked. Everyone's different. You know where you should be better than anyone else.

I have not actually heard this before. The color of thread is controlled based on your grading? I thought that was what the color of the belt was for. I know, I quoted you twice for the same post, but they're different ideas... I also don't understand why in some organizations different ranks wear different color gis, have different color trim on their gis, different patches (especially black belt club, instructor, and master). Doesn't the belt itself pretty much say all that? I'm ok with it for the little kids if it motivates them and all, but adults? Should an adult get an "awesome kicks!" patch? Do school aged children need honor roll patches on their gis? I see them in catalogs, so I know they're out there. There's a local TKD school that allows students to buy gis (dobaks?) with trim on the lapel and stripes on the pants that matches their belt. That's not just for black belts either. Why? Are they fashion conscious and want their gis to make their belts "pop" or something? It's more likely a way to sell the students more stuff, but still. I'm a fan of everyone wearing an all white gi (or all black if that's the tradition). School kanji and logos either embroidered or on as patches, and that's pretty much it. No huge logos and school names on the back, no multi-colored gis or "demo team" special gis, etc. I guess I'm old school, being 41 and all

I have not actually heard this before. The color of thread is controlled based on your grading? I thought that was what the color of the belt was for. I thought so too. The organization I'm in uses amber/orange (I'm not good with colors nor their exact names) on all black belts, regardless of dan grade. Curiosity question if I may... How many people have to order/buy their own belt after being promoted to black belt? The organizations I'm familiar with issue them to the student rather than telling them to order their own belt. I've also never come across an organization that gives students the option of what their belt will look like - embroidery or not, embroidery colors, script/kanji and language, etc. Every organization I've been around did the school's name in kanji on one end, and the student's name on the other end, either in kanji or English with stripes where applicable. All embroidery is the same color for everyone. Maybe that's a Japanese thing where uniformity is a high priority. I'm not hating the individuality, but honestly, it's just not for me. If I had the option to do what I wanted with my black belt, I'd probably get it embroidered in black. The black on black would be pretty cool in a stealthy way. I'd do it just because I could and for no other reason really.

I'm going to try to wear my Fitbit in class tonight to see what my HR and other stats look like. It's a 1.5 hour class that's typically kata the first 45 minutes, followed by sparring drills, and then sparring for the last 20 minutes or so. I don't think the gentleman teaching it tonight will have any issues with it as long as it comes off for sparring. It'll be good to get a more accurate idea of work rate during training. I'm not too convinced that Fitbit's preloaded stats are too accurate.

I fell in love with Seiyu Oyata's RyuTe Renmei/RyuKyu Kempo when I trained with an affiliate dojo for a summer. The way they did Pinan kata wasn't like any of the mainstream ways I've seen them done. Seemed far more old-school like they weren't changed to look better for competition. Watching a class the first time I went in, all I could think was "they make so much more sense that way." If I can find a video I'll post a link. The bunkai was excellent as well. My favorite part of it was the bogu kumite - full contact sparring with kendo armor on. No one pulled any punches during that. That system and Uechi Ryu are two systems that I fell in love with but couldn't train in more than a short stint.

Anyone interested in losing weight with me? I'm tired of watching my stomach get bigger. I'm tired of my excuses. Being a school teacher and having a lot of time this summer, I don't have any excuses. I'm 5'8 and weight about 225 lbs. Or about 173 cm and 102 kg for my metric system friends (yes, your system's better). My goal is to weigh 200 lbs (90 kg) by September 1st. I'll officially weigh myself July 1st, and every Friday morning thereafter. My plan is simple on paper: Cut out soda completely - my overwhelming source of empty calories Smaller portion sizes - nothing too drastic 30 minutes minimum on my BOB XL or 3 rounds of 6 exercises on my Total Gym, 4 times per week. Drink 1 cup of chocolate milk after every workout Anyone interested in joining in? It's far easier if we do it together and hold each other accountable.

I bet she's a wonderful young lady. It's all in the birthday:)

Thank you. It's been just another day around here, except several more hugs and kisses from my little girls. Just the way I like it.

As LLLearner said, start with kata. If your school had any standardized stuff like 1 steps, 3 steps, etc. those would be good too. During kihon, our teacher repeats a lot of combinations often; if your school did that, it would also be good to do. Basically, replicate the solo parts of class. A bit of caution - don't start doing stuff you don't fully remember or didn't learn sufficiently to do on your own. If you were just taught a kata before the dojo clos d and you're trying to remember things like which foot was forward, how you were supposed to do a particular strike, etc., then don't practice it. You'll probably piece it together wrong and end up ingratiating mistakes. If you've got a punching bag or access to one at a gym, that's a great way to stay in "fighting shape." Are you looking for a new dojo?

I have just looked at a map of okinawa and japan and they are 1000 of miles apart! how can karate be influenced by okinawa or china? japan is closer to korea and russia. i would say tkd is more likely influence of karate. as for russia i don't know want they do. pink Karate originated in Okinawa. Okinawan people often traveled to China by boat, and Chinese people traveled to Okinawa also by boat. Okinawa was annexed by Japan. Prior to that and after that, Okinawans often traveled back and forth to Japan by boat. The founders of today's major karate systems - Shotokan, Goju Ryu, Uechi Ryu, etc. weren't peasants; they were wealthier than peasants but weren't wealthy like royalty. Many had nobility in their family, hence the means to be able to travel. Chojun Miyagi (founder of Goju Ryu) spent at least 3 several month long stints in China training in Chinese arts. Most other founders either went to China for long periods of time, were taught by Chinese people spending time in Okinawa, or there teachers learned from Chinese people. And a mix of all that as well. As far as TKD, it came from Shotokan karate. It was originally called Korean Karate by a lot of people. It's still referred to as such from time to time, though it has evolved more than enough to be called its own name. I'm not a karate historian by any means; I'm just repeating what I've read and heard. I'm sure many on here are capable of giving far more in depth explanations.

Welcome aboard

Welcome aboard

Welcome aboard

Wikipedia isn't the best source out there. That being said, karate's exact history is somewhat debated. The most accepted version is karate was developed in Okinawa through a combination of Chinese martial arts (Fujian white crane is a major one, but not the only Chinese art) and Okinawa's own art of Ti/Toudi. Karate was developed independently of Jujitsu, but I'd be surprised if there weren't any influences.

My kids bought me a belt display rack 2 Christmases ago. It's still in the box. I'd never hang it up, but my kids bought it (actually, they asked my wife several times to buy it, as they were 5 and 3), so I should. They got the idea from the show Kickin' It. When I get around to it, I'll hang it up upstairs where they can see it and no one else can to make them happy. My oldest daughter asked me a few weeks ago about it, and I honestly felt bad. My little girls have a way of making daddy feel guilty that's impossible for anyone else to pull off with all the sweetness and cuteness they have. Edit: Also, I won't have the problem of what to do with my shodan, nidan, etc. belt when I get promoted to the next rank because the organization I'm in adds a stripe to the belt rather than issue a new belt with every dan promotion.

I think I understand what you refer to as body flow, although perhaps not. I'm looking at it as one technique naturally flows into another with minimal stopping, shifting of weight, etc. Within that context, body flow is critical. It keeps the attack going, the counter as quick as possible, and so on. The transition between one technique to another, be it an attack combo, a defensive combo, or a defensive to attack combo, should be seemless. For example - (left foot forward) left jab, right cross, back foot right roundhouse kick. The jab turns your shoulders just enough to get a little more wind up in your cross. The momentum from the cross gives your roundhouse kick more power. And there's no stuttering, stopping, minimal shifting of weight, etc. Movement is efficient when techniques flow into each other smoothly. That's easily a make or break thing.

Congrats TJ-Jitsu!