JR 137

Completely agreed. Everyone's got their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Holding someone back so the group can catch up is no better than rushing someone through so they can keep up.

Was it Funakoshi who allegedly stood in kiba dachi during a hurricane?

Between a rock and a hard place, huh? You've got to protect the integrity of your mentor(s). Without that, what do you have? Hopefully there's not too much fallout over it. Gotta weather the storm.

I love ya, JR, but I hate posts like this. The guy just wants to put in some research. He isn't looking to become a youtube-taught Martial Artist. Im sure he knows not ammount of video views can make up for real life masters.sjwoing you the rope. This is his first class, its a good idea for h8m to research what he learned, make sure he is getting high quality teacher. I can respect that. My point was don't get ahead of yourself and try to learn the next lesson before the teacher teaches it. Practice what you've learned. I hope this doesn't derail the topic... I hate it when I learn something new in the dojo and can't practice it at home. Too many times, I practiced what I thought I was taught, and come to find out I wasn't doing it right. Personally, if I practice something wrong 100 times, it'll take practicing it right at least 500 times to undo the mistake. Learning that lesson way too many times, I won't practice anything at home until I know I've got it completely memorized.

Forget the videos; let the teacher teach you. That's what she's there for. A video can't see your faults, correct them, nor clarify/simplify anything. It's just there. Also, what if you find a video, practice it, and get good at it, and then your teacher does it a different way? So much harder to undo techniques that to learn them from scratch in my experience. Videos are great to use as a reference for when you're stuck or to see different perspectives on things, but I don't think they're good for introducing new things unless absolutely necessary. Just my opinions.

I was an assistant instructor my first time around. I started by assisting my sensei while he taught, then he "assisted" me while I taught, then I taught my own classes. I started around the end of green belt (we went white - blue - yellow - green - brown - black). I taught alone at brown belt. He encouraged me and one other student to teach. He had more confidence in us than we did when we started teaching without him being present. I felt ready, then I didn't, then I did, then I didn't, and on and on. Just when I thought I was getting good at it, something I'd try wouldn't work out anything like I thought it would/should, and I'd put myself under a microscope all over again. The most nerve wracking day in the dojo was the first time my sensei took my class. Being a shodan for all of two months, and my sensei lines up as the senior student. I went to take my place in line and defer to him (it was his dojo after all), and he says "how are you going to teach from over there?" I currently teach middle school science. I've also taught physical education. I constantly question if I'm good enough. It's been a few years now, and I don't see myself not asking this question. I guess if you get too comfortable, you stop improving. If you don't take any risks, you can't reap any rewards. Some people are perfectly fine with the status quo. Sometimes I wish I was too. Nervousness and self doubt (within reason) are healthy and keep you on your toes. If you're going to teach, do it for the right reasons. Don't do it to appease anyone. Don't do it out of guilt or some perceived obligation. Read the poem "The Guy in the Glass" by Dale Wimbrow. Puts everything I do and why I do it into perspective.

I thought I read the reason why foot guards weren't used in the early days of the UFC was that it was too difficult to perform feet/ankle locks on people wearing them. I also remember one of the Shamrocks wearing wrestling sneakers in a match and was told by Big John McCarthy that he wasn't allowed to kick while wearing them after he threw a roundhouse at his opponent's thigh. It's all about money, at the end of the day. I haven't seen the official UFC gloves, but I don't think they offer much protection to the wearer or the opponent. I think they're there to appease people who think MMA is too violent. I don't recall Royce Gracie wearing them, but maybe I'm wrong.

I've seen this quite often, that which your Sensei does for transfers. Seems that it's a good model, and can benefit all concerned in the long run. It shows that this student, while not being trained in said style before, does have experience on the floor. In time, that students knowledge before will meet up with the new knowledge, and allow more growth to surface both on and off the floor. I like our model, and I like your Sensei's model; neither are incorrect, all have the students best interest at hand!! I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but... If one has any experience, it's immediately evident once they're on the floor. Pretty much everyone at my current dojo asked me where I previously trained when I first started. That was without me saying anything. A 4th dan swept me the other day during sparring. When we were in the locker room after class, he told me he swept me because "I don't spar with you like I'd spar with any other yellow belt." I don't need to wear a belt to prove anything. "The proof is on the floor." In my dojo, I'm not worthy of wearing my old rank. I'll earn a new black belt when it's time, and I'll surpass it afterward. I don't hold a grudge against people who insist on wearing a belt issued by a different organization, but I don't really understand why people get hung up on it. To each their own.

ROFLMBO... Now...that's funny; you're killing me...Who is this Bruce Lee?? Just got to love it, and I do!! I thought you were going to laugh more about my stupid water reference.

Hhhmmmm... I've always wondered...why? Why accept a grade/rank transfer?? Unless one's already established in that grade/rank in that same style...JKA to JKA, for example. If not already established, then shhhhhhhh...please put on the white belt and let's train hard!! Come to Shindokan and you're rank is established with the JKA, for example, then you're going to start at white belt and line up in the far back line, and with a big smile on your face. Exactly. When I started Seido about 6 months ago, I put on a white belt and wore it with pride. I earned a shodan in a system based closely on it and knew about 90% of the curriculum for shodan. A big reason why it doesn't bother me, apart from the fact that I don't care much about rank (been there, done that) is that I'm perfecting my basics/fundamentals systematically (not that I'll ever truly perfect them, but that's another thread). One rank/level at a time. At my former dojo, a guy who was a Nidan in judo thought he should be able to wear that belt in our school. Why should his judo belt carry over into karate? He couldn't handle being told all students that are new to the dojo wear a white belt, so he didn't come back. If he couldn't handle that very basic concept, I wonder how he'd handle other things he didn't agree with. I get the argument of how our dojo could have lost a potentially great student over one perhaps minor issue, but I think that issue speaks about character.

Society wants a quick-fix pill. There's no substitute for hard work, and once that reality slaps them in the face, they're out. It's like the quote Mike Tyson said (can't remember the exact origin or eord for word): "Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face."

If you don't mind me asking if your dojo was 6 miles away from the Hombu, wouldn't people just go to that one instead. I mean since it's so close. I mean no disrespect My former organization was all local (except 2 dojos), and pretty much every dojo was within 20 minutes drive. Why didn't I train at the honbu instead of where I chose? Different teachers, different students. The one I chose fit me better than the honbu. I really liked the curriculum (it was the same at every dojo), but I wasn't too keen on the teaching style of the honbu. I attended class their several times (more than the minimum commitment to test for shodan), and it never felt like home. Seido has many dojos in NYC that are quite close to the honbu. Seido's honbu is huge with several hundred students. I'd imagine class size and price make a difference in prospective students' minds.

Absolutely. Any good strength & conditioning coach will tell you for every pushing exercise you do (ie push-ups), you should also do a pulling exercise (ie pull-ups, rowing).

I think it's a little bit of everything. Doesn't mean you can't cross-train though. My previous teacher left the organization we were in about 1 week before another student and I were to test for our 1st dan at our (then) honbu under the head of the organization. For many reasons, he felt it was the right time to leave. He told us he'd have no hard feelings if we went to test at the honbu or left permanently. He said he'd definitely miss us, but he'd understand. The first thing I thought and said was "You're my teacher. I came here because of you, and I stayed here because of you." He tested us both for shodan on the date we were scheduled to test at the honbu. Not a single student left. I didn't leave until I went away to graduate school. I stayed when I went away to college, which was an hour and a half drive each way, 3 nights a week. I guess that's what loyalty to your instructor looks like. Had he not closed the dojo near me (his other dojo is about an hour away, and I can't consistantly make classes at his times), I'd have gone back. If my current CI decides to leave, I'll stay with him. I don't foresee it happening (he's been with Tadashi Nakamura before Nakamura left Kyokushin and started Seido in '76), but stranger things have happened.

I wonder how teachers who aren't in the same country as their teachers do this. Seido has dojos in I believe 17 different countries. I know Kaicho Nakamura and his son travel a bit and the branch chiefs come to NYC regularly. I'd imagine there's video conferencing and other stuff going on in between to update changes to curriculum as well. I wonder how they did it before this whole internet fad occurred. How did Funakoshi keep his students updated when they traveled abroad to spread Shotokan? What about Oyama's students? I guess you have to have a lot of trust in yourself and your branch chiefs. My CI and our senior students go to the honbu regularly. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive, so not impossible. The dojo is open 5 days a week, but he doesn't teach every class. Plus, operating the dojo was never his full time job. He's recently retired from his day job, so that also makes it much easier.

There's a few guys that use these in our dojo, but they have to be reminded to wash the bloody things, they get pretty rank, pretty quick if they do not. Good point. I've sent students home for not keeping themselves or their equipment or their gi clean!! Ever sent them home for not washing their belt? 😉

I'm 39, have a bachelor's in biology/sports medicine, have 2 master's degrees (school counseling and physical education), teach middle school science, married for 9 years (together for 14), have worked since I was 15 years old, earned a shodan in karate, and now am a yellow belt (6th kyu) in another system that's very similar in curriculum to the one I earned my shodan in. I'm not anywhere near being ready to be a CI. Way too much to learn. Maybe at the sandan level I'd be ready. Just throwing that out there.

I've never worn shin/instep guards, but if I did, I'd never wear them over the pants. Seems like there'd be too much material to get all bunched up and do too many things like restrict movement, cause blisters (like a wrinkled sock in a shoe), etc. ive only seen those type of guards worn either with shorts or under the pants. Everyone I've trained with that wore guards wore the cloth ones under the pants. I could be living in a bubble though.

I think the idea to wear stuff outside the dojo was about comfort and mobility, not about advertising. Something I haven't seen, though I'm sure has to exist somewhere is a gi top t-shirt, kind of like the tuxedo t-shirt. I'd buy a Cobra Kai looking one, just because it's Cobra Kai. Speaking of Cohra Kai t-shirts, 80sTs.com has some really cool Karate Kid t-shirts, and other things. No affiliation whatsoever, and I haven't bought anything from them.

Who is this Bruce Lee you speak of? I can't find any information on him anywhere. I'll be right back... Gotta get some water...

Due to availability, pricing, etc. I bought a Ronin heavyweight (12 oz.) gi. Tried a Ronin Blue label gi, but the fit was pretty awkward. I guess I'm not built for tournament cut gis, which the Tokon Spirit is. The Ronin is cut very, very similar to how I remember my old Shureido K-10 fitting me. It's jacket is just a bit longer, in a good way. The jacket ties are all in the right place, and they're different than the ones I'm used to. Every gi I had used what seems like the same material the gi is made out of for the ties. Jacket ties always come undone on me during warmups, and pants ties seem to loosen up during the course of training. These seem like they'll stay tied indefinitely. It's no Shureido K-10, regardless of what they'll tell you though. The material is softer (not as soft as brushed cotton, nor as rough as the old Century heavyweights) and has a good balance of softness and weight. The material seems to be not as sturdy as I remember my K-10 to be, and it doesn't have that initial light blue tint to it. Stitching looks great, but visual appearance is doesn't mean much when it comes to it. That light blue tint on Shureidos (I think all the high end Japanese gis have it, but I'm not sure) fades after a few washes, and the gi stays bright white for a very long time, unlike my KI heavyweight that seems to be turning gray after about 6 months. My tailor said its 'unltrviolet brightener' or something like that. He said that's how the gi keeps its white appearance for a long time instead of turning gray and/or yellow after a while. Only time will tell how long it'll last. It's cut perfectly for me, except I'll have to take about 2 cuff lengths off the pants. Now to get it hemmed, patches seen on, and train in it. I'll report back if anyone's interested. If it's half as durable as my Shureido was, I'll be pretty happy. I trained in that gi 4-5 days a week, many times taking 2 or more classes a day. I bleached and machine dried it every time I washed it, and it still looked brand new after about 4 years, minus a couple of minor blood spots.

I'd imagine he's traveling to train with his mentors periodically/regularly, and not taking students above his rank.

One that I've been meaning to buy is Joko Ninomiya's "Sabaki Method: Karate in the Inner Circle." I haven't read it, but I've heard so many good things about it that I have to give it a try. Ninomiya was one of the Kyokushin legends before leaving with Ashihara, then leaving Ashihara to start Enshin karate. I think up to date Kyokushin books are scarce due to the mass splintering and inside politics/in-fighting of Kyokushin since Mas Oyama's death. Bobby Lowe is another name that gets a lot of respect in the book world and karate world. I haven't seen anything recent from him, nor read any of his books, so take that as you will.

Ouch!! I think that library should've made Oyama's book a reference book only, and if for no other reason, the book isn't inexpensive, by any stretch of the imagination. A reference book, can't be checked out, and never returned!! Costly mistake for that poor library!! Probably didn't realize what they had. I can't imagine it's easy to track the street value and availability of every book on their shelves. And I can't really see the librarians being karate buffs and holding an Oyama book sacred. If it was a Shakespeare book of equal value, that would be a completely different story.

I'm not familiar with too many Kyokushin books, however Tadashi Nakamura's "Karate: Technique and Spirit" is a very good book. Nakamura was Oyama's top student before he left Kyokushin, and I believe he wrote the book while Seido was still full contact. There's a newer version with a white paperback cover with only part of Nakamura's face visable. I haven't read that one, I've only read the old hardcover green version. I doubt there's much difference, but you never know. I can't find my copy of it, but if I remember correctly it had a good amount of technique stuff in it, along with a lot of Nakamura's philosophy on MA and life in general. Easily one of the best books I've read, and I bought it way before I was in Seido, so the bias wasn't there when I bought it. Not sure what you're looking to spend, but I believe it's about $30 or so here in the U.S.