fireka

ryu, i AM teaching myself shotokan karate. i suggest buying the book 'Complete Shotokan Karate by Robin...something something, cant remeber the last name. also try this website: https://www.shotokanforeveryone.com it has lots of technique instruction and free videos of all the required kata. keep in touch with me! we obviously have a lot in common.

thanks, do you guys/girls have any tips on proper traditional testing etiqutte

i know how that goes, im the kick of smart ass but id better stop before the sensai says im in trouble for going so far of topic

okay, i just have one more technique question and ill be ready for my test on tuesday. when performing the kata Heian Shodan, is there any real visible diffrence between the knife hand blocks and the knife hand strikes? all four of those last moves looked exactly the same to me, but it says block, strike, block, strike.

of course not, that would defeat the purpose of 'empty hands' but a weapon art is an art in itself, whoever said i couldnt practice more than one art?

i recently oredered my first gi, its black to, is that wrong? okay actually i know its wrong, but i really dont see a need for the color strictness on the gi, i mean im a traditional student and everything but, well *mumbles* the black just looks cooler.

thanx

i think this argument is more about traditional versus non traditional styles. i personally prefer traditional because a major reason for my study of karate is love of the japanese culture. kanji is fine! and green tea aint bad if you sweetenen it right and get used to it.

okay, this might seem like a stupid question to some, and im sure im gonna lose kudos here for it, but what is the diffrence between the front snap kick and the groin kick? i think its the way you pivot your ankle in the kick and of course, how high it goes, but im still not sure.

very well, i enjoy having my faith in my art tested. in my opinion (is this better?) shotokan is a superior karate form because of the over used phrase ' the best offense is a good defense' and vis versa, but reguarding the latter, shotokans stress on low fighting stances and well executed blocks is subereb when compared to some other forms, espicially this new 'american style'. as well, the katas singular to shotokan to me seem to teach technique rather than flash, and sence theres not a lot of show (not to say shotokan doesnt 'look cool') the art is pure, there are no unnecasiary movements in shotokan IN MY OPINION. (btw, everyones laughing at me, thats good, because i was mostly jk, i should have put a humor smiley in i suppose)

i honestly am kinda stroke two ways on this issue, i guess becuase i have yet to, and hopefully never will, had to use my karate on the streets. I practice for sport reasons though to, but i have to say, why cut out the kata? in my opinion its alot of fun, it keeps you in shape, and helps smooth the edges in your techniques. BTW, ever noticed how immpossible it is to understand the techniques your performing when there done in kiba dachi?

i extensively researched every art i could find from multible liniagies, i simply find shotokan to be superior because its MY art. it would be stupid for me to practice it if i thought, say wu-shu, was superior. besides, information is a poor teacher, ill test my words on a sparring pad thank you very much.

does anyone know a good place to buy japanese style sai's? what about a boken? id like to get a wooden one first.

i dont know how to qoute on here, but somebody said that in the dojo kun it said master high stances first then low. i may be mistaken, but this is the dojo kun one. seek perfection of character one. defend the path of truth one. strive to excell one. be courteous one. refrain from violence

WHAT???? what the heck is that? im going to be honest, im not a dojo-based karateka, but i study shotokan as well (isnt it the best?) and have never heard of such a thing.

okay, get this in your head, all of you. Shotokan karate is the best martial art ever created now, and always will be. nothing surpasses it and its complete in every way, including patitual lethality.

how about no!

thanks, and your right, i dont HAVE to be a star, but i will be. not even so much cause i want to be, its just, i dont know, in me. shes an american style fighter, so every technique and kata wont be possible, also she works at a dojo she dosent have time to train me all the time. but ill take advantage of her whenever i can.

okay, i havent read all the post and perhaps this topic was long since abandoned, but i think it does have to do with self estem and such, however i also became more responsible for my self and others when i began training. not to sure why, maybe some of you could help with that.

ninjamaster, i couldnt agree more. belts are somewhat important to me though, i like this color system, perhaps because of my other obsesion with the coast guard and the whole military rank thing, it feels good to have physical evidence of your advancement. but i plan is, once ive gone to black to do some other kinds of training. part of this is the meditation i already to. also as i said im an advocate of the 'martial arts are meant to be arts'. my theory (like Bruce Lee) is that martial arts techniques are all just the basics, the idea is to creat your own techniques and even kata (that would be so much fun!) that work for you and your needs. Ill use the belts to learn the basics, but a true master takes the CONCEPTS of his/her art and then flows with them.

thank you everyone. i would like that very much ninjamaster. im about four days away from the yellow belt test, and am getting just a little nervous. shell probably just let me take it again if i fail, but i really want to get it right the first time. Now remeber, she isnt actually giving me lessons, just correcting my wrongs. my art is a little bit (but not much) diffrent than hers so sometimes shell have to research a technique or kata to make sure i do it correctly. here though is my plan of attack for your approval: 1. in four days, i take my yellow belt test. almost ALL of the knoladge needed for this test was learned online, with the exception of one tape i rented once from the liabary. I downloaded a video of the kata and had some non-expert family memebers compare the video to my motions. im doing allright, few things wrong. Thell be fixed probably today as soon as i leave this computer desk. 2. i begin studying during the 3-4 month diration before i can take my next test and move on to the 7th kyu (in shotokan its an orange belt) here things get a bit more complicated so i should start building a liabary if i can. theres a couple of books im looking into, but id still like suggestions. also im thinking of purchasing a tape called "All Kata of Karate" its what i downloaded Heian Shodan from and it looks really helpful. 3. Green belt training for the 6th kyu begins immediatily after i test for orange. i am a senior in high school now, the time with my sensai is short, as i will be joining the reserves and soon will have moved out. i must make use of it, i extend my liabary, study deeper into Japanese language 9which i already no some of) and philosophy of shokan. 4. Blue belt training, 5th and fourth kyu. by the time i get out of this, i should have just graduated. but im still in VA my liabary extends and i will make one last visit to my current sensai after about three months from my return from boot camp and A-school, i will reciev my Brown belt. 5. from here my training must become extremely serious and i will find as many people to spar with and learn from as possible from all the arts. (please note that this is all if i havent fond a dojo by now) in about a year to two years i take my final plundge out of the graded belts. in order to get my Black Belt, i elect to request that a dojo sensai test me in his own facility for a large (im asumeing) fee. this will mean that, if i get a good one, it can NOT be denied that ive earned my rank. Now if things work completely my way, i hope to soon from here study in japan, and who knows were my training will take me from there, but i do know this, it will never stop.

Im going to respond to all these post the best that i can. First off, i chose shotokan not because i think the other arts are not worthy, they are. i love all martial arts (though i do have something personal against the korean arts) its simply that after much research on all the arts i found Shotokan karate to be the one that fits me the best. there is a shotokan club near by, it is at the university of virginia wich is still a ways a way. ive not bothered to look to deeply into prices because my parents simply do not belive i have time to pursue this dream of mine. i will prove that wrong immediatly, and if it means self training, thats fine. i relize the risk i run, but its not as though im going completely unmonitered, i do have at least a part time sensai now, she will regonize if im doing something wrong. Next week the international shotokan karate association will regonize me as a yellow belt once ive passed my test for the 8th kyu. when that happens i hope you will all regonize me as a fellow martial artist as well, after all, i think ive earned it despite my bizaree method of training. The founder of shotokan said in his ten precepts 'Karate is not just practiced in the dojo' many of you seem to have forgotten that. Belive me, id love to train in a dojo...more than anything, but like nijamaster so pleasantly put it, i must face reality, and then make the best of it. i will be a martial artist, a great martial artist, and one who masters accuracy, speed, power, and balance. my real name is Richard Cox, remeber it, youll see it again some day i promise you. someday i will train in a dojo, but if im being monatored, and i can count on the support of my fellow martial artist like you guys, i can still begin my carrear now. I know were your opinions come from, but if you say the artist must have an open mind, why not have an open mind reguarding my style of training? you can not guarantee i wont succed, and even if its a 1% chance, that 1% will be me. I appriciate the help advice and even the critisim im getting, its good for me, and it will make me stronger.

thats very true, but like you said, even ppl with instructors have trouble learning that, they still do okay, ill survive. but thats also one of the reasons im here, to grow off the knoladge you dojo trained fighters already have

thanks for everyones input thus far, i need much more though. yea, ive heard the whole make a deal thing before though to, i just honestly dont see that sticking, remeber i have a job, one that takes up probably to much of my time so staying after to clean the dojo probably isnt an option. Also SMR thanks for your help, thats easy but theres a problem, i dont know what the diffrence is between what you just said, and a middle level thrust punch.

didnt see that second reply! thank you for understanding me! oh and thanks for the spelling correction, i thought it was wrong. yes, he didnt invent karate, but us Shotokan fighters pretty much worship him as a god also, thats a great idea! i need to get a video camera, or borrow one. and i will get some sparring practice, but mostly on test days. Does it count to compete against someone who is untrained at the martial arts? i mean, if its like a pre aranged five step.