Bruisbe

The way things work in our dojo, is you have to gain 3 stripes on your belt before you earn your next belt. You do not actually get the new belt until graduation night, therefore you wear your current belt with the 3 stripes on it until graduation and that signals that you are actually the higher belt rank. A little over a month ago I posted that I was earned for my Orange Belt (9th Kyu) and that my son had earned his first stripe on his white belt. Last Friday night was graduation and I actually got my orange belt to wear instead of a white belt with three orange stripes. The next day, this past Saturday happened to be a review day for some individuals. Since I had been putting a ton of hours in at the dojo and been working hard as an Orange belt for a solid month, my Sensi decided to review what I had known. I was under the impression that it was just to see where I was and what else I needed to work on. Apparently I nailed it all because at the end of the class he called me up and put 3 gold stripes on my Orange belt which officially makes me a Gold Belt (8th Kyu). Then he called a few of the white belts up. Two of them were my son and a close friend of our's son. They both earned 2 additional orange stripes, thus officially making them Orange belts(9th Kyu). I couldnt be prouder of the hard work these kids are putting into the art. Here is a picture of us after the class was over. http://i.imgur.com/Z9CbiGV.png

I am not looking for online karate videos that are designed to be the sole way that you learn karate. I have a dojo that I am active in 3-4 days a week, however I am looking for some good online resources, both video and print that you all recommend for supplementing my learning. It can be theory bases, technique bases, what to do in XYZ situation based. Anything that you recommend for further knowledge and study. Thanks in Advance, Curtis

Just wanted to update everyone. I had my review last night and passed. He said the only thing that he suggested that I work on is doing blocks from the reverse side. For example if I am in a Right Zen (Front stance) typically the power block would be a right block, however he had me working in a right zen and doing left blocks which was awkward to me and my footing was a little off. He recommended that I work on those type of things to root myself better into the ground. He said that we all have things that can be improved on and if I expected absolute perfection, then no one would advance, so I am granting you the three stripes required for your Orange belt. While I still wear my white belt, the three stripes grants me the rank of orange belt and the new material that comes with it. I will officially get my real Orange belt on October 21st!!! Gold Belt (8th Kyu) here I come!!!

My Sensei does not stripe adults until Brown. So my 5 year old out ranked me for a bit. Thats pretty much how things go with our group. Since he doesn't actually give the belts out until the graduation that happens every other month, if he reviews you, then he will put the stripes on your belt so you can be recognized for that rank in graduation is still a month away or something. I have been hearing it everyday and its quite adorable. Last night I did the kids class with him to work on some blocks and stuff and he goes, no dad...Im on the right side of you now you dont have any stripes...He's living it up...lmao..

Thank you all for all of the encouragement and kind words... Unfortunately, our Head Sensi had an unexpected personal situation and was unable to be there last night, therefore belt reviews got put on hold till Monday. One of the other blackbelts took us through a great workout and since he knew that I was looking forward to a belt review last night, he had one of the other black belts walk me through step by step on everything to make sure I was comfortable with it all. This was a very good experience for me because I was able to address some of the smaller issues that I was having in a couple of my transitions and such. I feel as I am much better prepared now. Having said that, my son is getting a kick out of it because he has 1 stripe on his belt and I have 0 stripes (since they promote children at a slower pace to allow them to grasp everything better), he is technically a higher rank than I am...hahahahaha

This post is long and in two parts. First about my son and then about me... Thanks for reading. Last night my 5 year old son had his stripe review. He earned his first stripe. Sensi grouped up all the students that were being reviewed and without showing them first asked all the students on his count to perform a required move (ex. Tate-zuki etc.). Then would move on to the next required move. If any of the kids seemed to need more help, they were separated and went to work on the move with a specific black belt and then would come back for the Sensi to review. My son was never selected as one whom needed to refine the skill, in fact him and 2 others ended up being student examples for some of the others so they weren't just sitting around. At them end of the night only 2 of the 9 that were being reviewed did not receive their first stripe. My son received his first of three stripes needed for his Orange belt. He started on 8/1 and has 11 hours of training in. I couldn't be prouder of his accomplishment. He got in the car and made the comment "I just want to stare at my stripe all night." He's very proud the the reward he has received for his hard work. Since he does stripe reviews different than adult reviews for many obvious reasons, I am up for my Orange belt review. Tonight I will be tested on my Jodan, Chodan, Geda, Nagashi, and Haishu uki. My Mae Geri, Mawashi Geri, Ushior Geri, and Yoko Geri. My Tate Zuki, Seiken Zuki, Urazuken Zuki, Mawashi Zuki, and Kagi Zuki. My Zenkutsu Dachi, Kiba Dachi, Kokutsu Dachi, Kake Dachi, and Mitsurin Dachi. I think I am ready for it..I have a mini-review to prepare for it in my last class on Monday. I just need to remember to breath...lol

Once we feel that we have gotten a kata down perfectly, our Sensi will sometimes ask us to run the kata backwards from end to start. This forces us to "relearn" the techniques and have a deeper understanding of what/why the moves are used. Another fun and interesting drill that we use are with our Ippon/Taezu waza. We will spend some time running through each ippon/taezu that we know and then have a partner attack and we modify it to fit in how we would actually do it in a fight. For example: Ippon #1 in Shuri-Ryu is: Step back with right foot into a left Zen (Front stance) and perform a left high block. Right kick to the groin and step forward into a right Zen with a right knife hand to the opponents left clavical. Left punch to solarplex Right punch to solarplex Step back into a left Zen and perform a left low block. However in reality we would never fight like that, however the ippons allow up to build up power with the move. So we are now to interpret the ippon into something more comfortable with us. For Example, I did this one last night Left High block and wrapped my arm around his in sort of an arm bar Stepped in with a knee to the stomach Since the previous move would cause the opponent to bend over my knife hand would be delivered to the back of the neck The 2 punches would come from my right hand since I am still holding the opponent with my left arm and the punches would be delivered to the temple and eliminating the opponent. Step out to guard yourself. I used all of the same concepts of ippon #1, however modified them to fit my fighting style.

I know this is going to come off as a double post, however I found a great book written my O'Sensi Robert Bowels, whom is the current Chief Instructor and 10th Dan of Shuri-ryu. http://www.shuri-ryu.com/store/page3.html While at first glance the $86 price tag seemed to be quite a bit, however it was free shipping and when I got it, I was thoroughly impressed. Every single kata, block, punch, etc that one would need to learn and refine from 10th - 1st Kyu is covered in this book with pictures for reference. While this of course is not a replacement for actual training, it is a great device that I have found that allows at home training in-between classes to help remember and confirm what it was that you learned while in class.

Thank you for the reply. I will take a look at these for sure!!!

Especially when it is something other than baseball. I swear the kid is going to be in the MLB one day. He is just too good for his age not to be. I just hope the martial arts helps him stay calm and harness that desire to be a better person inside and out There is something about looking at a picture of someone you love doing something that surprises you. He is a talented kid, however as a parent sometimes you just are amazed when they can grasp something and do well it in. And you shouldn't be because they are not dumb. But I think some of it is just denial of them growing up. Either way it is a calming feeling all around. Sensi Johnston is a great instructor. When we were visiting local schools deciding which one to go to we watched one of the kids classes before our introductory class started and were just floored how patient each of them are with the young and old alike. But no so patient that he is not willing to call someone out when they aren't paying attention. A good balance of both styles makes a great leader, and in the time that we have put in there, it really makes me glad that we chose this school!!! Thank you for those kind words!! He has actually taught our 13 month old how to "kick". So now its "Brekkin show us your kick" and he responds by sticking his leg out and saying "AYEEEEE" (his Kiai)...Xander is a proud big brother and we are both proud parents!!! I will be sure to share more as we both progress.

At the start of Aug, my son and I started training in Shuri-ryu at the Acadamy of Okinawan karate. This was about a month before he turned 5 (He turned 5 on Sept 1st). I had taken Karate when I was younger and loved it and I was hoping he would take interest in it as a way for me to get back into it and have something besides baseball for him and I to bond over. (Of course there is the respect, self-discipline, etc. that he is getting a great deal of as well.) Unfortunately, I have not been able to watch his kids sessions as they are on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I am currently working on my MBA and taking night classes to get that completed. At any rate. The attached picture is from last Tuesday during his "kids class". I was sitting in my MBA course and my wife texted me this picture. He was selected for the first time to be the up front leader as they ran through the drills while Sensi went around to the other students to make sure they have the correct form. He has gotten really good with his form and understanding of the basic principles of Karate. He has even got several of the Japanese words down and refers to them as such instead of the English alternative. (ex. Tate-Zuki, Seikien -Zuki, Moroto Empi Ata etc. Sorry for some of the mispellings if there are any in there...lol) There was one day a couple weeks ago I heard him playing in his room all of a sudden I hear "Shomen ni rei" and "Sensi ni rei" and he was "showing his action figures" what he had learned. It is just so cool that just barely 5 years old, that he is learning such an ancient form of respect. This gives me soooo much hope for the next generation...lol http://i.imgur.com/TWiCtVM.png

Hello everyone!! I am 33 years old and my 5 year old son and I just recently started taking classes at a local dojo. The people there are wonderful and very patient with every student no matter their belt rank. They teach Shuri-ryu and alot of what I have learned so far is similar to what I was taking when I was 15-17 (I don't remember the exact style). At any rate, I have been looking for different books pertaining to the Shuri-ryu style, however none of the good books from Grandmaster Trias are available without paying a ridiculous price on Amazon or Ebay. I have found several articles pertaining to the styles history and lineage, however nothing that I would imagine compares to somethings such as The Pinnacle of Karate by Grandmaster Trias. I came across the subject line book, and while it is not specifically a Shuri-Ryu book, the reviews on it are excellent. From everything that I gathered, it is a great book on Okinawan heritage. My question is, Do you think getting this book is something that I should look into for a better understanding of Karate-Do in general or would there be other books that pertain to Shuri-Ryu that would be more fitting. Thanks in Advance for reading such a long first post. Cheers!