JR 137

Excellent post, sensei8. I wholeheartedly agree. I’d have to add Ed Parker of American Kenpo. Am I wrong in thinking he was the start of a lot of the American karate (and Kenpo, but unrelated to his lineage/system) styles that broke away from the traditional Okinawan and Japanese styles?

My former organization used stripes on the belt. We’d get a stripe for our one-steps, and one for kata. At a certain interval, my teacher would focus more and more on the one-steps. Then we’d have our “stripe test” on a specific day. If you passed, you’d get a strip of electrical tape on your belt. The color was the color of the next belt. Then he’d focus more on kata, then have the kata stripe test. Same thing. You weren’t eligible to test for promotion without passing both stripe tests. This was for all colored belt ranks, not black belts. It served many purposes. It kept the students and teacher on track. It was a way to watch specific things individually and give feedback, it put pressure on the students (they demonstrated their stuff individually in front of the entire class), and it was an easy checklist so to speak for the teacher to know who was eligible to promote. The tests were free and during regular class time. We knew in advance. It gave more structure to the overall flow of things. My current organization doesn’t do this. Our dojo is pretty small so it’s not really necessary, but I think it would be beneficial if we did it to be honest.

Looks great to me.

Spartacus Maximus makes an interesting point though, Bob. Let’s say I’m your student for 5 years. The dojo is small and I attend your classes almost exclusively. Other than rite of passage, tradition, etc., why would you need to test me for shodan? Down the road when I’ve met the requirements and you feel I’m ready for subsequent ranks, why the need to test me? What are you going to see in a test that you haven’t seen me do in class consistently? I’m just trying to learn here, not question. I’d rather be put through a test. I like tests. But that’s a different thread.

IMO it really all depends on who's testing you. One could make the valid argument that if it's your day in and day out teacher, a test shouldn't even be necessary as they know what you are and aren't capable of. While my teacher is allowed to test and promote students to dan ranks, he chooses to have his teacher (our kaicho) test his students instead. We're less than 3 hours away, so why not? Add to that that me testing under my teacher's teacher is also a test for my teacher. Testing under someone who's never seen me before should and will take a while. Dan testing (actually, all of our ranks) is cumulative. When I test for shodan under Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura, I'll have to demonstrate the entire syllabus. Same for every other dan rank. Having 6 decades or so of experience, I'm quite sure Nakamura can quickly tell if a person should be testing or not. But promotion isn't solely based on if the student can throw a few punches and kicks correctly. If that were the case, anyone with any MA experience could walk in and walk out with a black belt. Demonstrating everything you've been taught takes time. My 1st kyu test was the most straight forward MA test I've taken. It was simply doing kihon as a warm-up, demonstrating every kata I've been taught one after another, and demonstrating every standardised drill we do with and without partners. Then we sparred the black belts who were in attendance. There were 6-8 of them, and we sparred each one of them twice. There was no filler, no repetition, very little waiting around for everyone else to finish things, etc. And it took approximately 90 minutes, including bowing in and out. That 90 minutes was straight forward, no deviation from the syllabus. Meaning there were no surprises such as doing things out of order, changing things deliberately to gauge the students' reaction and ability to adjust, taking the students out of their comfort zones, etc. Someone who hasn't seen me train before will take a lot longer to make sure I know everything. They'll put me in situations to see if I truly know what I'm doing or simply have it memorized and am just regurgitating it.

Congratulations on 18 years!

Congratulations!

Welcome aboard! And welcome back to training.

The organization I used to be in was the opposite. We’d have a stripe going through the belt to indicate a higher rank. The stripe wasn’t white though; it was the color of the next belt. So from yellow to green, it went solid yellow-yellow with green stripe, solid green. My current organization uses a patch we sew onto one end of the belt. We have 2 ranks at brown belt (and every other colored belt), 2nd kyu and 1st kyu. The second kyus wear a solid and plain brown belt. When I was promoted to 1st kyu, I was given a patch to sew onto my brown belt. It’s the school’s kanji, similar to what is embroidered on one end of the black belt.

Different organizations have different rules and rank structures. Most often, a belt with a white stripe through it is a “junior” or kids’ rank, while the solid belt is an adult rank. If one is considered higher, I think most places would consider the solid belt adult higher rank. Both would probably be the same whatever number kyu though. Different dojos have different rules, even within the same organization. For example... We don’t mix kids and adults in our classes, but there are sometimes kids who are transitioning to the adult class and are invited to adult classes. And we have a kata class where kids over a certain rank are allowed. When we line up, we line up by belt color and within the same color by who’s been at that rank longer. Kid or adult doesn’t matter. Senior rank on the right. Our headquarters dojo doesn’t do it this way. In the few kid and adult together classes they have, adults line up by rank, highest to lowest, then kids line up highest to lowest. So an adult white belt would hypothetically line up to the right of a junior brown belt.

I'd just like to add here, not every school advertises whatsoever, and this includes the internet, for whatever their reason(s) might be, even in today's modern world we all live in. Beat the street because the school you're searching for, isn't always located in that most obvious places one thinks to looks. Hopefully, you'll find a great school that'll meet what you're wanting in the MA. Great post. Seems like some people like being off the radar. There was a gentleman teaching Seiyu Oyata’s Ryute Renmei that I briefly trained with in Westchester county, NY. No mention of him anywhere, including Oyata’s and affiliated dojos’ websites. I saw a reference to him and his dojo on an unrelated website, so I visited. It was basically in a house/corner store that got converted into a dojo. No signage, no nothing. I don’t think he had a working phone in there. After introducing himself, he asked how I heard about him. He chuckled and went on with what they do and how they go about it. He was a legit teacher and member of the organization. There were a few pictures of him and his students with Oyata. There were group photos with Oyata inside that dojo running class. And a group of his students had recently been promoted by Oyata himself. Why that guy wanted to fly under the radar, I have no idea. And he’d been there for a while, so it wasn’t like he just started. He had a full time day job and what seemed like enough students to cover his expenses, so maybe that was it. To the OP - stuff like that happens at a lot of places. Contacting several places that are on the web might reveal a place or two that you could check out. On the other hand, Isshin Ryu isn’t the only type of karate out there. From what I know of it, it’s an excellent school/organization. I know there’s a sentimental attachment, but training something is definitely better than nothing. I’ve always felt the teacher and the students are far more important than any style. Find a school where you like the teacher and how he/she’s teaching and the students you’ll train alongside. There’s plenty of variation within an organization. I’m in the Seido Juku (karate) organization. I picked my school because the teacher and students, along with schedule, price, etc. There are some other Seido schools I’d like to train at, and some I wouldn’t. Once you’re on the floor doing your thing and you’ve grown to trust what you’re being taught is worthwhile, the signs, pictures and what’s written on the patch on your uniform become inconsequential. It’s what you’re learning and how well you’re doing with it that matters. The rest becomes an added bonus IMO. Just some food for thought.

I think there are a few different Isshin-Ryu organizations out there. The best bet is a google search and start emailing various places asking if they know of anyone wherever you’re interested. Here’s a link that contains a directory, but I know of a few that aren’t listed there: http://www.isshinryukarate.com/ Here’s another directory: http://oikka.com/schools/

Thanks for everything you’ve done and continue to do, Alex. You’re one of the biggest reasons why I started posting here. Congratulations!

YouTube Red no longer exists, in a sense. It has been renamed YouTube Premium. If subscription YouTube folds, no matter what it’s called, I’d be willing to bet the series gets sold to someone like Netflix. I’m pretty sure the series was pitched to several companies with some interest, but I don’t think they foresaw the viewership numbers it actually drew. I’m quite certain someone else would want it, and with a company like Netflix backing it, I’m sure the budget would be far bigger.

Congratulations!

I’m the same way, Danielle. One thing I like to do is see the stuff that’s been on the floor for a while and see how it’s holding up. Seeing the Versys in a few places, they’ve all got that lean to them which makes me think it’s a matter of time until there’s too much lean and it doesn’t stand up anymore. Seeing the Reactor bag fold like it does in several stores saved me some money. Seeing the BOB’s cover rip where it attaches to the screws rip in every store kept me away from that too. I’d have bought any one of those and might have that happen to mine. That saved me money and just as importantly aggravation. Looking at the Axis, I don’t see any red flags. It looks brand new on the floor, and I haven’t read any reviews. It seems safe enough to take a chance with it though. There doesn’t seem like there’s much to it to go wrong.

Happy birthday, Mo!

My daughter and I were in there again tonight for some basketball stuff for her. We both just had to hit the thing a bit. She approves I’m getting some extra money soon from some side work I’m finishing up. Might as well buy it with that. Between that and getting the basement cleaned up and organized, it’ll be a few weeks. I’ll do some video of it when I get it and email it to whoever’s interested. I don’t know YouTube and the like to post anything. Unless of course a good video pops up in the meantime.

It seems like it keeps you attacking and defending simultaneously. Every punch will lead to a punch coming back at you. A heavy bag doesn’t do that. I’ve been trying to draw up plans to make one, but I’m getting stuck at the bearing issue. After the bearing, I’d just need some PVC pipe, an L or T connector, and a floor coupling. All are readily available and cheap at Home Depot. I’ve got it pretty much figured out. Except the bearing. My father owns an auto repair shop. He’s keeping an eye out for something that’ll fit right. He’s got stuff like that all over the place, but it’s just a matter of coming across the right size and type.

It’s like science class: forms are the textbook and sparring is the lab. Nothing in the lab ever goes exactly as it does in the textbooks. Too many variables.

I was in Dick's Sporting Goods the other day, and as I always do, I went over to the Boxing/MA section to slap around a few bags. While there, I saw the (I'm assuming) new Everlast Axis bag. It's a floorstanding bag like the Century Versys Vs. bag, but with a twist: it stands back up on its own after you knock it down. I've been interested in the Versys Vs. bag and the Reactor bag. They swing quite a bit when you hit them, disrupting your timing and forcing you to hit a more moving target than a traditional heavy bag. Basically, somewhere between a heavy bag and a double ended bag. My problem with both Century bags is the implementation; they're a great idea on paper, but hitting them is an exercise in frustration to me as they're easily knocked over. Of course they're not made for developing power, but a few well timed and placed shots knock them over easier than they should IMO. The Everlast Axis bag addresses this quite well. Punch it and knock it down completely, and it pops right back up like the blow-up punching bags we had as kids. It's not a heavy bag, but it took a bit more force from a single blow to knock it over than the Century Versys Vs that was right next to it. And if you're quick enough you could jump on it before it gets back up for some ground and pound if that tickles your fancy. At $250 it's expensive but not outrageous IMO. It seemed better quality than the Versys Vs for the same price, and much better than the Reactor for $100. The Versys Vs develops a lean to it which makes me question how long it'll last, and the Reactors I've seen in the stores all permanently bent completely in half near the bottom, making them useless. This doesn't look like it'll have those issues. If you've got a store around you that carries this stuff, check it out. It was pretty fun to play with and seems like a great training tool. It won't replace a traditional heavy bag, but it's a great addition and/or tool to use for its intended purpose. Now that the downstairs tenants have cleared out most of their stuff from the basement, I think I'm going to get one in a few weeks. I'll report back when I do. Everlast Axis link: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/everlast-axis-freestanding-heavy-bag-18elsuxsfrstndnghhvy/18elsuxsfrstndnghhvy Edit: the current Century Reactor bag is now called the Arashi 110 Recoil bag. Edit 2: I wish there was a video of the Axis bag in action. While it's not the Axis bag, the bag in this video is essentially the same thing. The bag in this video seems leather and higher/more professional quality. And this bag is about 3 times more money. Just posting it to give you an idea of how the Axis bag works:

I always interpreted the “courtesy” Funakoshi spoke of here as respect instead of the way we commonly use courtesy. I’ve heard quite a few Japanese speakers say the language is highly based on context rather than definitive words that mean one thing. We have that in English too, although I think Japanese has far more of it. I somehow can’t find Funakoshi’s twenty precepts phonetically written in English, but I’m pretty sure the word used for courtesy in it is “rei.” Rei has a ton of meanings depending on context, but everything I see are synonyms for respect or respect. Even the command to bow in Japanese can be rei. Think about it - “Shomen in rei” in the dojo is commonly translated as “bow to the front (of the dojo). What’s typically at the front? Pictures of the founders and other significant people, the school’s kanji, etc. Shomen can be “those that came before you.” Or it can simply be “front” uraken shomen uchi - back fist strike to the front. Shomen ni rei can be “bow to the front” “respect the front” “respect those that came before you” etc. When you say “rei” it can mean bow, it can mean respect, or it can mean show respect. Or it can mean courtesy I interpret it as “karate starts with respect and karate ends with respect.” That could mean bow to your opponent before and after, bow on and off the floor, bow to your teacher before and after practice, etc. I don’t take it that literally. I look at it as always show respect. For yourself, your teacher, organization, dojo, etc. It’s no different that athletes - be a positive reflection of your team, coaches, self, etc.

Just finished watching the series. I honestly don’t know why I liked season 1 better. Maybe less storylines and more depth to things that could’ve been developed further? Kinda a more on less thing? Daniel was going too far in the Cobra Kai direction of teaching fighting and not enough moral lessons. He seemed more intent on beating and outdoing Cobra Kai than actually teaching his own students. Maybe that took some of the magic away from the season? And his problems with his wife weren’t dealt with in much depth. There was no big coming to an understanding between them. Maybe a few more episodes would’ve been the answer? I think a little more drama and comedy and slightly less fighting would’ve worked better. The best parts of season 1 IMO were the crazy things Johnny said and did to the students. Like when Hawk before his transformation said “I might be on the spectrum” and Johnny replies “I don’t know what that is, but you need to get off it pronto.” There weren’t enough of those IMO. If any of you watch Orange Is The New Black, the last episode of Cobra Kai reminded me of the OITNB season that ended with the riot and the girl holding a guard at gunpoint. But I really liked it. Despite all that, I was more drawn to the next episodes that I was with season 1. Already waiting for season 3 and googling reports for it.

I’ve watched the first 5 (I think episodes). Pretty good. So far I like season 1 better, but I feel more compelled to immediately watch the next episode after each one ends than I did in season 1. Season 1 was far more back-story, whereas season 2 is more here-and-now (although there’s enough flashbacks). Interesting how the storylines are progressing so far.

Happy birthday, Noah!