tommarker

Man, it's just killing me that there is nothing going on in this area. So I guess I'll just post a vague sort of "what are you working on now" kind of question. Obviously, we're always working on a little bit of everything, but what is your specific focus lately? Lately, I've been working on two things. First off, trying to increase the flexibility in my right leg, mostly in spinning techniques. I tie a plastic ball to a string and hang it from the ceiling in the dojang before class and work on wheel kick, spinning crescent kick, spinning hook kick, etc. Every once in awhile, I change the height it hangs from. Once I get a feel for it, I like to hit it, and then kick it before it stops moving, so I'm constantly having to retarget the ball. The other thing I've been working on is Naihanchi Sam Dan, which then works downhill and affects the other Naihanchis, and eventually, the other forms. It's interesting to have all three pieces of the puzzle and work the techniques over and over. Since there are so many repeated sequences, I start to wonder if the philosophy behind them changes each time and therefore they should be done slightly different in each form, etc.

http://www.sca.org/

A not-so-uncommon place where assaults take place is in the garage. Sometimes people come in through the open door while you're working in the garage one afternoon, or they come in behind you while you are parking your car. Most of us keep shovels, rakes, axes, etc in the garage. The kitchen.. man, if you need help finding an improvised weapon there you may as well log off now Even the bathroom has some great stuff. Metsubishi concepts are everywhere, and you can always use a hairbrush tanto-jutsu style.

Unbalanced sai are a little funny to throw. Aside from that, it's like discerning between Dr. Pepper and Mr. Pibb.

Check out UIUC... There is a pretty sizable martial arts comunity. These folks apparently teach kendo and naginata, which may be just up your alley: http://www.geocities.com/illinikendo/

I'm expecting a copy of Hess' book in the mail. Ed Parker's Guide to the Nunchaku is a good one if you can find it.. A few decades out of print, though. abebooks.com usually has it in stock through one of it's vendors. I've kinda noticed that if you have one or two nunchaku books, you've almost got them all. They all pretty much have the same information in them, probably because they are following Ed Parker's formula or Demura's formula for the book My E dan essay is on the nunchaku, and is rapidly turning into a book! After I'm finished, I doubt it will ever go to press, but I'd be willing to share some of what I've learned... Once I put it altogether for myself, anyways

http://www.bujinkan.com/ http://www.bujinkanatl.com/ http://www.buyubooks.com/

I wouldn't worry too much about the legality. The ATF isn't going to kick down your door for a pair of nunchaku. In most places in the USA, you can legally own, buy, and sell nunchaku. Most laws refer to the carry of nunchaku, especially in a concealed manner. Fair or not, a lot of legislation was enacted in the 70s and 80s after the Bruce Lee movies made nunchaku popular and a few gang kids were caught with them. So they were viewed as "evil" weapons like the switchblade and butterfly knife. If you were carrying them in your bag, with a nicely folded karate uniform on your way to class, I doubt you'd have anything to worry about. You have a reasonable right against search and seizure unless you're suspected of committing a crime. Obviously if you're grain thresher is dripping blood and there is a dude with his head cracked like a melon 10 feet away... As for building them, check this place out: http://www.seishinkan.com/seishin/sskbuki/howto/nunstring01.htm The instructions are for how to string a pair on nunchaku, but they demonstrate with a pair of nunchaku that have been cut down the middle. This hollowed out view should give you a good idea as to how the holes should be drilled. With a drill and a router bit, you should be able to do it, no problema. Use some good 550 paracord (get it from a camping store) and it will last almost forever Good luck with the chucks... I'd love to see a picture when you're done! Tom

keep in mind that when you visit a person's site who hosts videos for free that they are probably paying a lot of money to do so. if you visit a site, pull the video out of your cache so you can view it repeatedly instead of reloading it from their site. The reason I bring this up is because one of my favorite sites for watching isshin-ryu kata went down for this reason. Good news: Kusanku Sai (about 15MB, MPEG) http://www.msoiaurora.org/kusanku_sai Sai Chatanyara No Sai (the only official sai kata I have learned) http://home.planet.nl/~poel0383/ChatanyaranoSai.html

not to call you a liar but... i couldn't find squat for sai kata online... where are the lots of things you found?

In the words of John Wayne: The Sky is blue The grass is green get off your butt.. and join the Marines.

the way she uses them is not how I would fight with the sai.

there used to be a site that had chatanyara no sai and kusanku no sai on it, but the movies are now password protected. oh well.

in an old black belt article, tak kubota tells a story of taking off his shoes before disarming a guy with a knife... semi related

Thanks... That's a bit more clear.

I know I already said the monitor cord (great for slashing) but phone cord would be even nastier, and would also be darn near indestructible due to the way it is constructed.

I think the http://www.aikiweb.com/ has a FAQ on their page somewher.... can't remember now for the life of me where I saw the guide.

Pyung Ahn Oh Dan...(godan) The second and fourth counts could be a armbar/hammerlock. Allow the reverse punch to enter and soften them a little. The low spear hand with the pull back I always thought of as going low, and grabbing the back of the leg. As you pull the leg back, the other hand pushes forward on the front of the leg. Practical? Not as much as blocking a strike and grabbing the ball and tackle.. Pyung Ahn Sa Dan (Yondan) has a great lapel choke (Nami-juji-jime?) pulling them into a front kick and a flurry of punches.

o goshi? is that what i'm describing? i learned the throw from a shuai jiou fellow.

after that sequence, for the next group of techniques: left center punch loosens up the fella, and grabs a hold on something... jacket, shirt, whatever. right foot slides up to get you nice and close to the attacker. a knee shot or stomp is a happy bonus on the way. As you turn 180, the right hand reaches behind the attacker, and turns the turn into a basic judo throw (don't know the terminology, just how to do the move) I'm sure the last move could be used for some sort of painful arm manipulation, but it's late and my roommate/uke has gone to bed for the evening... as i should.

some schools will be more similar than others, it depends on the outlook of the instructor and how they interpret their particular art.

You've got me... but instead of posting in this thread, it's all "why does karate suck so badly" or "if i think karate sucks so badly, why do i spend so much time on karateforums.com?" for everyone that says kata are the heart and soul of training, why can i count the individuals who've posted a bunkai in this thread on one hand?

i'm getting sick of this shit... do we have to have this "discussion" 3 times a week?

If you haven't any knowledge of either bo kata or individual cool moves, then perhaps you shouldn't be competing with it.

then don't spar him.