MatsuShinshii

To a point I agree and to a point I disagree. It is not meant to be a master grade, that we absolutely agree upon. However it's not just a signification that you have learned the Mudansha requirements and are ready to learn the advanced requirements. The grade signifies that you have not only learned but also have a very high proficiency. The problem with western society is it's about placating to the fast food generation. The thought that anything worth doing is worth doing right is superseded by speed to keep students motivated. My rule is simple... if you can't demonstrate a high understanding of the foundational techniques and applications within the Mudansha grades and are unable to use said skills to defend yourself proficiently then you are not ready to test. I understand your view point but I personally think it has gone way to far the other way. Practicing one hour, two times a week for one year? That's 104 hours of training. And the thought process is you have achieved a proficient enough understanding of the art to be graded to Shodan? Let me put it in terms of a trade since the school analogy has been used. A typical apprenticeship takes 4 to 5 years. This is both schooling (typically 2 to 3 hours, 2 to 3 times a week for 6 months a year on average) and working 40 hours a week. That's 2176 hours a year and 8704 for 4 years. Now take the school analogy... 12 years of schooling before even going to college. So it is logical in the minds of modern instructors that a student that only has 104 hours of hands on training is ready to grade to Shodan? Ok, let me play devils advocate and say that they train 5 days a week 2 hours a day for a total of 520 hours, is this enough? And let me go one step further and say that kids today are much different than kids in the 70's to the 90's. You can not tell me that on average a kid today (40 hours of texting, social media and online games) is going to train outside of class on their own for enough hours to have not only a deep understanding of the foundation grades (Mudansha) but can also utilize the applications and techniques in less time than it takes to understand a trade or a profession to be trusted to know enough to be left alone to do the job. No, the bar has been drastically dropped. You don't have to be at a master level to grade as a Shodan but you should surely have to be able to demonstrate a high understanding an be able to demonstrate the skills adequately enough to be able to defend yourself. Kids today as well as adults with no prior training can not meet this requirement. So why would a year be acceptable? Why would two years be acceptable? This has some truth to it but again I believe a different generation and a different mindset. Mnay of my first teachers and even my Shinshii was Military that trained in Okinawa. Typically they did learn for 1-1/2" to 3 years. However they did not take classes for one hour twice a week as stated. My Shinshii told me that he traveled to the dojo four nights a week and typical classes were 2 to 3 hours. The students were responsible for training on their own and most, but not all, returned multiple times to Okinawa for additional training. The mindset was a bit different then. And yes they were military so their ways did spill over into their training and in some cases it was brutal to say the least. However because the standards were higher the quality of Karateka was much higher. To say that it's just another stepping stone and that its just achieving passing the lower grades to get to learn the advanced stuff is an excuse IMHO. Its a reason for those that want to make it easier to do so to achieve the grade. It's each instructors/organizations right to set the time frame and requirements to Shodan so I will not say you or anyone else is wrong for doing so, but I will not say that we are returning to the way it was supposed to be because we are not. Those Shodan would wipe the floor with what passes today as Shodan. You can say it's ok to grade to Shodan after a year or two of training but I can guarantee that the standards have gone done hill since then, Waaaaaay down hill. It is fair. IMHO there is nothing wrong with enforcing requirements and not allowing students to progress before they know and can demonstrate them. 4 to 5 years is a heck of a lot better than most modern schools that grade after one, two or even three years. You'll think that our requirements are excessive and maybe they are but they work for us at 5 to 7 years. My point is we live in a time where, as Sensei8 pointed out, money is the overriding factor. Kids that are used to not working for and earning something (every kid gets a trophy and we don't keep score because it's not fair to the losers) lose interest fast if they do not advance and this translates to the loss of students and the loss of income. In the 70's and 90's most, not all, instructors taught for free or for a pittance. They did not have mega dojo's and the main intent was not to get rich but to pass on the art. This translated into students training hard to earn the instructors respect and to be found worth training and worthy of the instructors time. Today most, not all, instructors kowtow down to their students and reduce the time to grade and the requirements in order to appease the fast food, gotta have it now mentality of this generation. Absolutely a degradation of the art and absolutely a reduction in what is required to achieve the grade. And thus an overall degradation of the meaning of the grade. Was there a time where it was put on a pedestal and thought of as more than what it should have been? Sure, I'll agree. But is it even a glimmer of what it was now? Nope! Just my two cents.

Tradition weapons Kata and modern tournaments is an oxymoron. These things do not go hand and hand. As DWx said, what is typically seen has no relation to actual use of the weapons involved, at least in the traditional sense. If your spinning around Nunchaku like Bruce Lee or twirling your Rokushaku like your a helicopter preparing to take off, this is not traditional not practical for actual self defense much less traditional Kata. Maybe he was a soldier or Marine and was showing off his rifle CQC skills. If it truly was a traditional tournament then a gun would have no place in Kobudo (Muto) kata. However in staying with the traditions of the original founders, anything can be used as a weapon in the hands of a skilled martial artist. I was once at a tournament (Traditional) when I was younger that a participant was told that he could not demonstrate the Jiffa (Okinawan Hair Pins) which seemed very strange considering that Kusanku was often performed with Jiffa by the founders. What could be more traditional than that? The verdict was that it was not considered a weapon. It really depends on the tournament, definition of traditional and who is making the decisions. Most modern practitioners would only categorize the big five as traditional (Rokushaku Bo, Tuifa, Sai, Nichogama and Nunchaku), leaving out the other traditional weapons. Some of which are much older than the five classic weapons and some would say more traditional.

Parkerizing is an excellent suggestion. If you have the time/ money it a great option. Galvanizing and electro- plating are excellent choices as well. I would be concerned with any type of paint or pray on substances because it lays on the surface. If using the Sai against another weapon it's going to chip.

The above process is typically applied for students who want to join our Wado-ryu group from another Wado-ryu group. We have however also applied it to folk who have come from Shotokan groups, however I agree with you, it is not applicable for someone who has come from say a Judo background. The 6th month period is not really to teach folk a new 'system' but rather the nuances of our particular group. K. Thank you for the clarification. That makes good logical sense and I can understand and appreciate your process. If they are within the same art but from another school this would be very appropriate. Not sure I totally understand the Shotokan concession but I think I read somewhere that Wado is Shotokan and Goju. To be honest I've never studied it and have little knowledge of the art. If this is a correct assumption how well does this process work considering that they would need to learn the Goju kata. It's not like the two arts are similar. I would think this would weed out a lot of would be Yudansha based on the amount of material to learn.

Sensei8, This boils down to ignorance and arrogance. Ego over common sense. Only a fool would consider years of knowledge and training as something to be caste aside due to age. I have said this before in another post. My Shinshii is 85 yrs old and can definitely not keep up with 20 yr olds, but he doesn't have to. Knowledge and technique trumps strength and youth. Gracie proved this in the ring with guys twice his size and with opponents of all ages. To throw away decades of knowledge based on some notion that it the next generations time is ludicrous. In fact there is a name for those that have such arrogance and ignorance... Punks. Teach and train those that are worthy students that are less concerned with how fast they can climb the rank ladder and more concerned with learning the art. If they are concerned with learning the art they will see the value of learning from those that have the knowledge. Age is just apart of life. The journey is a life time pursuit. The youth are at the beginning but without those that have decades of training to teach them, their training will stop and thus their knowledge will be limited. The art is lost at this point and you will have failed those that entrusted the art to you. Your responsibility as an instructor is to pass on the art and honor those that entrusted the art to you. This point is best made by Hohan Soken's death poem. It talks about passing on the art and demonstrates what we as instructors should aspire to achieve. I say ignore the punks and teach the worthy. One worthy student is worth a million unworthy punks.

I didn't think so either till a blacksmith friend of mine got me to start doing it with my steel weapons, and by god it worked. I am not a smith, just a man who spends a lot of time with steel weapons in his hand. If something works, and is recommended by a blacksmith, I am gonna use it. The Vaseline acts as a barrier to moisture. It definitely will work but it's also very slick. If it gets on the handle it's difficult to remove. I don't know if I would feel safe wielding a steel weapon with the possibility of it sliding out of my hands. I use mineral oil. And put it on very thin with a rag. A very thin coal is all you really need since its a barrier between the steel and moisture. I'll try the Vaseline out. I guess if you've used it with success and have first hand knowledge it's worth trying. Have you had any issues getting it off when you use them? Does it make it slick. Just curious before I give it a try. Hate to end up looking like a unicorn if it slips out of my hand and ends up in my forehead.

I have steel Sai and I can definitely appreciate your choice. There is nothing wrong with owning/using them. Personally I love them but they do require upkeep. I blued mine and it saves me a bit of upkeep. You still should oil them but if you forget... No harm no foul. You may not like the look because depending on the type of bluing it's either black or brown. But if the original finish isn't important to you I would strongly suggest it as it will save you from all the elbow grease. However if you do decide to blue or patina them make sure to protect the handle wrap. It will stain. I put a clean nail polish were the leather/ cording meets the steel and taped the rest with painters tape. A little more effort but well worth it. Good luck.

Those are depressing stats no matter how you look at it. Depressing to say the least.

If it is carbon steel you need to wipe them down after you use them and use a thin coating of oil. You can wipe off the oil when you use them so your hands will not slip. High and Medium carbon steels will rust quickly due to the sweat from your hands or even the humidity in the air. Low carbon steels will rust as well as stainless steel. Just because it says stainless doesn't mean it will not rust. it will stain LESS. You have to care for the weapon but it doesn't really take than much to do so. As long as it's surface rust it will come right off with a little oil and a green scratch pad. Are you using these for actual Kumite? If not why would you go with Carbon steel? Chrome is your best bet for every day practice. It will not rust. One other option is to blue the steel or put a patina on it. Go to your local gun store and buy bluing. It works best if you warm the steel with a heat gun or at least a hair dryer. If you want to go the cheap route you can put a patina on it by coating it with mustard (regular yellow mustard). Leave this on for 24 hours and wipe the mustard clean with a rag. it will look gray. Do not take this off as this is the protective layer. The bluing looks better but both will protect the steel from rust. This is not a life time permanent solution and will need to be reapplied. Hope this helps.

As to the first paragraph. Agreed. Toudi (Karate) and Buki'gwa (Kobudo) were practiced hand in hand unlike today. I have no reason to believe that the Japanese fighting arts would be any different. As to the 2nd paragraph. I agree again. We know that he studied under many teachers. At least one of which was represented by the Satsuma clan in Japan. Agreed which is why I brought this for discussion. Logically Karate or more poignantly Muto (Tegumi) was influenced by one of the arts or both. In my mind I can see influences through similarities from possibly both minus the fact that we execute them a bit differently. Jiao Di was a militarized form of grappling but in that time I have to believe that Jujutsu was as well. I guess that would be the real indicator. I'll have to research Jujutsu quite a bit more. I appreciate your input on this and the information contained within the post but I was primarily speaking of original influence not after it was Japanized. I have no doubt that Judo and Modern Jujutsu played a huge role on influencing the Japanese. I should have stated this in the original post. I am mainly concerned with Toudi's influence not on Karate's influence. Pre-Funakoshi. But again I appreciate the information.

I have heard several times that Jujutsu was an influence of Karate. Where does this come from besides an educated guess of deductive reasoning? The is no documentation of this fact, so where does it come from? Well I have been told this as well due to deductive reasoning. Matsumura studied kenjutsu under the Satsuma and it would not be a stretch to assume that he would have also studied their empty hand arts during this time frame coupled with the fact that many of the muto (tegumi) techniques are very similar in both look and application when compared to Jujutsu. I have my own personal opinion based on recent research. Jiao Di or what is now called Shuai Jiao (Chinese wrestling) pre-dates both Jujutsu and Karate and in looking at its applications/ techniques one can see the same similarities. Knowing that Qin Na heavily influenced Tuidi (torite, tuite) it would not in my mind be a stretch to consider that Jiao Di was also passed on to the Okinawan founders as many arts incorporated not Qin Na and Jiao Di into there arts just as they are today. It is also very plausible that it was a mixture of Jujutsu and Jiao Di. But of course this is all speculation as I have yet to find definitive proof for either argument. It is however certain that the execution and intent of Muto vs Jujutsu is very different. Muto aims to cause major damage with the throws that are incorporated. The pushing hand drives the opponent down typically by the head or neck and it is doubled by the fact that vital points, weak targets and cavities are utilized to facilitate the opponent to move in the direction of the pushing hand and to cause maximum damage to boot. Your thoughts?

This is the most neglected area of our art. Like you we practice grappling on a regular basis but Newaza is a rarity. When we do train its more along the lines of ground fighting than submissions and escapes. It's kicking, striking and a bit of joint locks and reversals to get back to the feet. It's great you practice this regularly. I appreciate the video.

I just want to point out that the crime rate is the lowest it's been in decades. Most likely lower than when you were a kid. Kids playing in the woods are much more likely to get the cops called on them by an overly concerned good samaritan than get picked up by someone up to no good. It's not the crime rate that's stopping them from playing outside, it's people playing up the (lowest in decades) crime rate and fear mongering against kids playing outside. If this is true, and I'm not saying it isn't, then why has the number of abductions,rapes, and shootings/ murders seem to be an every night occurance. I will admit is better than what it was a few years ago? I stopped watching the news altogether because every night there was at least one shooting. Depressing to say the least. I'm no statistical expert but I can tell you I didn't see that every night when I was a kid. It was shocking to see that on the news. Now, it's just par for the course.

I think you just came up with the next evolution of Bacon. Bacon^2. Did you know that pigs do not make love, they make bacon!I guess thats why they call it porking.

Holy cow that was funny. Love the reversal. I will have to send this to my daughter.

Pinklady, I am not trying to be rude but after reading your styles I have no idea how someone that has not studied an art can make such an accusation about an art. What do Wrestling, Shinkicking and Jeet Kun Do have to do with Karate? And I guess I'm going to have to be even more blunt and ask, "what in your experience has provided you with such an in-depth knowledge of an art you have not studied to be able to make such a firm statement as there is no white crane in Karate ?" Does any of the arts you have in your profile claim to have knowledge of Karate or about this very subject? If so what makes them experts in this field and give them enough personal knowledge via lineage or years of study and research to make such a claim? Again I don't mean to come off as rude but I do not care for baseless claims from practitioners of other arts about an art they don't even study. That would be akin to saying that Bruce Lee had no influence over JKD. It's stirring the pot is what it is. If you can provide proof of your statements please do. If not please refrain from making statements about arts you don't even study. My personal experience, just so you know, is over 35 years of study in Okinawan Toudi (Karate). I am not an expert nor do I hold all the mysteries of the art and do not claim to be all knowing but I can at least speak to the art and it's history based on my years of study and my personal research and that of my Shinshii and his.

Ok. Let me ask you how you prove your point. How do you know that Bai He Quan is not present within Karate? Can you prove it? Better yet, let me step out of my own personal lineage line and bring up Gogenki. If you do not know this name he is a Chinese martial artist that came to Okinawa to teach Bai He Quan. One of his more famous students was Chojun Miyagi. Goju Ryu Kata have a plethora of Fujian White Crane techniques. Not only is there documentation of this but also pictures to boot. Hard to disprove that. Please feel free to read about this man and about Miyagi and others. I am sure you ran across one of the many that claim that Fujian White Crane was not passed down to the founders of Toudi (Karate) but historical evidence proves them wrong. Do a little reading and please tell me what historical evidence you base your statements on. I have researched the different crane quan and found evidence that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that our Kata's do contain these techniques. The proof most use is the fact that they do not have the flow of the original techniques. This however is not proof that it's not crane but rather proof that the Okinawans did as they have with most arts they picked up and made it fit their way of doing things. Looking at anything superficially is not proof. Take TKD or Tang Soo Do and compare it to Shotokan. The techniques are similar but do have differences. If this is the line of reasoning then TKD and TSD were not influenced by Karate and one could state contain no Karate techniques but history trumps this argument as it does with the White Crane argument. If this is the argument then you must say that NO chinese martial arts influenced Kata because on the surface very few techniques LOOK like the Quan Fa they came from. An even better example is the Okinawan Bubishi. I recommend this as a source of reading. You might find it enlightening. You could also read the statements of many of the founders of Toudi (Karate). I choose not to bring my own lineage into this so as not to be bias or to defend my personal style. Rather I would prove my point by utilizing other styles/arts histories to prove my point. Once you provide proof I would be more than happy to provide proof to the contrary. Please provide proof of your statement that White Crane did not influence Karate and that there are no White Crane techniques in Kata. Please also disprove the many Kata that contain Bai He Quan (White Crane) techniques and applications. Please also disprove the fact that the applications mirror the Quan Fa they came from. I am interested to hear your point of view and am interested from what, where and who you base your personal knowledge of this subject. Maybe my teachers and there teachers goingf back to the founder have been wrong all this time but you will have to provide proof of this. I look forward to your response.

Is this too absurd to ponder, if a vegetarian would eat a Venus Flytrap?As a carnivore, would you feed a pig bacon? I new a vegetarian that tried to make the pet cat vegetarian also, the cat died of of course from meow-nutrition. Love the meow-nutrition joke. You just added to my repertoire. Thanks. Just to be fair, my daughter is either a vegetarian or a vegan, not sure which and can't tell you the difference between them. I have no problem with her being which ever one she is but do like to joke with her about it. To each their own. Me personally... I could not imagine a life of eating nothing but veggies. And yes I would feed a pig bacon if I thought it would make it taste better. As for the Venus Flytrap goes, I think that would still be considered vegetarian because it's classified as a plant. But I get where you were going with it because it eats meat. I have been known to make a sandwich of fried bologna, ham, bacon, pulled pork and getta (a German food made from pin oats and pork, more or less a sausage). And no I did not put any lettuce or any other veggie on the sandwich. But did place a nice piece of cheese on there with a little mayo. Yum. I don't know what you would call that but I think that would be considered a Carnivore. Definitely not rabbit food.

It isn't just in the US, it is happening around the world where children are less "Fit" these days. Honestly I think it is partially because parents don't really encourage children to go out and have fun. But instead they are given iPads, Computers and Xboxes at a young age to keep them entertained instead. I think it is a product of the times we live in. For one we did not have all of these electronic devices and some of us didn't even have a TV and if we did it was black and white and only with a few stations. The other maybe less obvious reason would be that parents today have a lot more to worry about than when I grew up. We did not turn on the news and hear about god knows how many accounts of weirdo's and perverts causing harm to children ever single time we turned it on. We went pretty much where ever we wanted without worrying about some freak doing harm to us. I could walk a few miles to the woods that we played cowboys and Indians or US vs the Nazi's without fear of being picked up by some freak or pedophile. The other primary difference is most women were care givers and stayed home with the children. Now days it takes both working to make ends meet if you have a family in most cases. Parents were more engaged I personally think back then and the lessons of their parents were passed down to their kids as far as respect, work ethic and drive. Not sure I could say the same for most kids these days. Very few have respect and even fewer have work ethic and drive. The norms have changed. As far as your instructor loosing his zest for teaching, age tends to slow us all down. If he has been teaching for 40 or 50 years I would say it's not that he has lost his fervor for teaching but it may be a product of teaching this generations kids. Like Nidan Melbourne pointed out, kids today are more interested in laying around playing games on computers, texting and staying up with social media than going outside to play. It is probably aggravating to see the decline in athletic ability or the lack of drive. Or maybe age has taken the proverbial toll on him and he has slowed down or maybe he's just burned out. The thing to remember is he is a living encyclopedia after so many years and contains a wealth of knowledge. We all slow down and loose patience with age but this does not negate his worth as an instructor. I guess I would ask if he acts the same way with his senior students? If he does then maybe its that he's burned out. If he act differently then maybe he's burned out with the newer generation and their perceived laziness and lack of drive.

Oh here's another one. My food poops on your food.

Don't know about the whole vegetarian/ vegan debate but on a lighter note I have a joke that might not make those that practice this life style happy but I'm a hunter and a carnivore so I find it pretty funny. Vegetarian = an old Indian word to describe someone that can't hunt, fish or trap.

DWx, you bring up an issue I have with those that would call themselves traditional martial artists. I hope you do not mind me taking what you posted as a reference. This is not pointed at you. I guess it comes down to the definition of traditional. In my definition, traditional or "Old School", it means combative self defense, not a way to stay fit. Some may not like what Tempest has said because it slaps them square in the face with the reality that what they think is "traditional" is really modern/sport. If your into being spiritual or are looking to rack up the trophies then you should not be looking for a traditional art in the real sense of the term. Instead find a modern day art. The fact of the matter is, Tempest points out the obvious, in that if you can not handle yourself well enough to fight in the cage then your chances out on the street against multiple attackers is not even a pipe dream. Yes the cage/ring poses challenges to traditional arts in that they have rules against effective techniques that would be used in a life or death situation but the rules do not tie ones hands. What I would call old school teaches the student to FIGHT. It teaches tried and tested techniques that were and have been used in life and death situations. The premise that arts like Karate or Kung Fu are to maintain physical fitness or that they are some kind of spiritual journey or after school baby sitting service that teaches games and everything but the art itself is a modern westernization business model and not even a minimally close representation of what the true purpose of the arts are. I hate to burst the kumbaya bubble but the art was invented as a combative art. The whole notion that we should change it to represent some sort of fitness club is preposterous. Join a gym, pilates or yoga studio. If your looking for spiritual enlightenment join a church. I have studied a "traditional" or what I prefer to call old school art for 35+ years and never thought of it as anything other than what it is... a combative self defense art. The fitness and learning to be a better person (I will not call it spiritual enlightenment because my teacher was not a Buddhist monk and did not speak in brain tickling riddles nor was he a priest) aspect of the art is a by product of studying the art not the focus. If you want to know why so many so called traditional arts protest the testing of their skills in the ring and in the cage, it's because they have spent their entire time in the arts going to point sparring matches where proper distance and timing are valued over an actual outcome. Its were the better of the two ends up loosing. It's because the rules of modern Karate do not allow one to test themselves as they would be in arts like Boxing, Judo, BJJ, and MMA to name a few where the outcome can not be contested because the winner is standing and the loser is on his/her back. When the tournament system was started they removed any and all dangerous, not to mention deadly techniques. All grappling, joint locks and throws where removed and what you had left was who could score cleaner and faster. The reality is this does not translate to real life confrontations. If you want to claim that your art is traditional then you should be teaching students to fight. This means returning to the practices of old school arts rather than maintaining those of modern day sport arts. Ever wonder why techniques used in Kumite do not match what is taught in Kata? Why even teach the Kata if you do not extract and teach what the Kata contains? Are you going to bounce around and wait to score a point on the streets? Oh no there's no referee to call your opponent to their corner, what now? This is NOT traditional MA. It makes me laugh when I hear a so called traditionalist claim that it is not fair that they allow grappling, throws and submissions. The reason I laugh is because in stating this they also state that they are not traditional. Traditional arts teach students to grapple (its the oldest form of fighting, wrestling has been around longer than most forms of fighting, what happens when two non skilled fighters meet? They start to wrestle!), they teach joint manipulation and they teach them how to take down or throw an opponent. Granted it may not be at the level of a Judoka or a Jujutsuka but they are taught the basics. Ground fighting is a different subject altogether as the intent is different. The Karateka's intent is to return to their feet where the MMA, Judo or Jujutsu fighter is to stay on the ground. However this does not negate the fact that traditional arts have these components within their perspective arts and to say that the cards are stacked against traditional arts is ludicrous. Oh and another problem with the argument against fighting in a cage... Karateka and the like are active fighters in MMA. Look at Ice Man who is a Kempo fighter. They like other arts had to adapt to the multitude of arts. Some took other arts to compliment their art in the cage. Machida (can't remember his first name) is a Karateka who went far in the UFC. Didn't hear him making excuses for his art. My point is it's not the art that needs fixed it's the teachers and organizations that need to be fixed. You can't claim to be a traditional art when you teach modern/sport inside your Dojo and then make excuses why your art would not do well in ANY situation. It's not the art. The art was developed under battle field real life conditions in which one man walked away and another did not. All martial arts (or at least those developed out of the need to defend oneself or ones nation/country/village/etc) where developed with one purpose... to teach combative skills. It was developed by the noble/military class to defend against other forces/nations/etc. It was not developed to sit around and sing kumbaya around a campfire or to maintain your beach body. It all comes down to a persons definition of what traditional means. In my definition it most certainly does not mean teaching yoga, calisthenics or preaching a sermon in the dojo, it means learning the combative methods of self defense and it means that you can handle yourself inside and outside of the Dojo even when there are no referee's and judges. And lets just get this out there that there is no bad or worthless *old school art. Don't blame the art if you get your you know what handed to you. There is no one that is un-beatable. If there was it would make for a pretty predictable fight and there would be no reason for one person to get into the ring with another if there was no chance of victory. An art is only as good as the practitioner when applied in actual combat. We all have limitations and not everyone that studies an art is going to be a phenom. I can't stand the argument that because so and so studied this art and he lost, the conclusion is the art he studied is no good. There are a lot of considerations such as his/her skill level, natural ability, their teacher and their ability to pass on the art, etc, etc, etc. My point is don't bash on the art because someone you know or have seen lost. Oh and I forgot the most obvious point... those that claim to teach an traditional art that actually teach a modern/sport art. Imagine that! * Old School meaning an art that was developed over many centuries for the soul purpose of teaching combative skills and have been tried and tested in actual combat. This does not mean modern arts that were created as a means of sport that are called traditional.

I guess this is so they can be afforded the opportunity to train/learn as much as they can about the new art in hopes that they can maintain their current grading? The reason I ask this is, having the understanding that Japanese Karate translated to some Okinawan Karate (non-modernized) will have different movements, body mechanics, ways of striking, ways of receiving and ways of kicking not to mention the throws, joint locks, etc. etc. I wonder how many can, even knowing the same Kata (albeit with some differences), relate and adapt in 6 months not to mention learn all grades up to their present. I take it if they are graded as a Nidan in their other art you would put them with the Shodan, Nidan and Sandan students instead of starting them with the basics of the art? I can not see them maintaining present grade any other way. If they started from Hachikyu (or whatever Mudansha grade you start at) I think it impossible to progress this fast in 6 months unless they are taking private one on one lessons, as the other students will not be on a fast track and this would do nothing short of making things difficult for many to help one. How practical is this in making sure they understand the foundational techniques, movements and the like, learning differences in Kata, learning new Kata and the nuances of your art within a 6 month window? I get the general idea I just don't know how practical it is and how much slips through the cracks trying to maintain their present grading. Personally I see no reason to allow a student (not a visitor) to wear a belt they received in a different art unless the arts are very similar and study the exact same Kata with no differences or very little differences. The point is if you have never studied the art you should start as others do, a white belt. Learn the art and don't let a grading from another art and your ego cloud the learning process of the new art. Empty the cup so to speak. However I think this is probably the best explanation of how to afford a student wishing to maintain present grade the ability or at least a fair shake at the ability to maintain said grade I have heard of thus far. I guess it all still comes down to the instructor and where they feel they need to be, whether that is maintaining, degrading or advancement. I would think after a week the instructor would already know where they fit into the grading but I'm thinking the 6 months is affording every opportunity to the student. I find no fault in your methods but find major fault with the student that allows themselves to think that gradings transfer. Too much EGO.

Interesting line of reasoning.

No it did not dissuade me from watching the video. It was ok.