MatsuShinshii

This is somewhat similar to how we are set up. The hardest two tests that a student grades for is the Shodan and Sandan grading. The Shodan is long and hard to prove that you have achieved and surpassed the Mudansha level and to be certain that they are deserving of the grade. Unlike Mudansha grades it does not matter if the instructor knows that they have already passed. It's not as simple as that. You have to test at the Hombu and prove that you are deserving of the grade. Sandan is difficult because you are not only proving that you deserve the grade but that you are a competent instructor. We do not allow our students to teach until this grade and they are actually testing to achieve the title of Shinshii. Past that it is normal grading, albeit not easy, but normal all the same up to Nanadan which is the last grade you test for. Like you Hachidan and Kudan are given for years of service to the art and contributions to the art but you no longer test. I took Judo years ago and understand what you are saying concerning grades and the importance there of.

Congrats to your daughter. It's awesome to see our kids follow in our foot steps and do well at something we love. Way to inspire her. You should be very proud. I know the feeling and nothing can describe the pride felt. I'm happy for you and your daughter.

Spot on! Having a sparring block is psychology issue; or does this topic have a duel meaning or perhaps it has gone off topic?I think Sensei8 was referring to the other meaning and was intejecting his views on "blocking". A little off topic but it fits in terms of discussing the arts in general. I believe Sensei8 being of an old school back ground was pointing out that there is not such thing as a block in Karate. The term Uke means to receive not to block and is utilized/implemented as a strike, sweep, trap, deflection, redirection, or unbalancing technique. You of course are correct in your interpretation of the discussion being psychological. The mental block (good use of the word block within the real utilization of the word in Karate) inhibiting a student during sparring/Kumite.

I respect your comments but must respectfully disagree with you. I personally think the problem is the lack of requirements and respect for the grade. I know Shodan means first step and no one within my art or any other I have taken thinks that the grade means mastery. However when I was coming up the grade of Shodan was highly respected and even though this does not happen anymore, some Shodan's actually had there own schools and were respected by their students. The difference is back then, and depending on your art/teacher still today, a Shodan was not just another belt. It meant something and that something was that you could more than handle yourself. As a black belt (pick a grade) you are a direct reflection of the art, school and of your Shinshii/Sensei. I would not dream of promoting a student to Shodan knowing that they do not have the skill and knowledge to defend themselves. Back then it brought dishonor to the teacher and the school if some Joe off the streets was able to destroy one of your black belt students. No I think the problem is western culture tries to justify promoting students to higher levels because they are afraid that the fast food mentality of kids today will cost them students and thus a pay check. Don't get me wrong I like money too and I do not condemn those that make a living teaching but not due to a sacrifice of quality. Now days it's all about how fast can we get to the next belt and no one concerns themselves with whether they have really retained what was taught previously. I have said it on other discussions and will say it again, I miss the days when you had two belts because I think they produced better Karateka then because they were not concerned with the next belt. It was about how much knowledge you could obtain and perfecting what you had learned. Can anyone tell me that the average child today, with there instant gratification, actually perfects anything? I highly doubt it. They do enough to get by and their instructors have been conditioned to accept this. So what becomes of the Shodan level? It becomes just another belt instead of what it use to represent, something to be looked up to. If the grade of Shodan has been reduced then if you really think about it what does the grade of Sandan represent. If the standards are reduced at one level all subsequent levels are reduced. By this logic a Shodan back when I was coming up was the equivalent of a Sandan today. Does that make sense? I get that everything changes but it's a slippery slope. When I was a kid you did not see children wearing black belts and if you did you took them off of them because you knew without question they did not earn it. Enter the McDojo's/ belts for money and now it is perfectly acceptable to give out belts without substance. As long as you have "x" months/years and you have paid "x" you get the next grade. Now we can accept an 11 year old wearing the grade of Yondan? We can accept students calling her Shinshii/Sensei? NO WAY!!!! Not in my Dojo. Not ever. It is all justified by a reduction of requirements or giving the grade because of something other than the requirements like, "he has made an effort and everyone deserves a trophy" type of mentality. What ever happened to winners and losers? What happened to standards? Not every kid deserves a trophy and not every kid deserves to grade!!!! If you didn't win you lost. This was not a hard concept to understand when I was a kid. God forbid little Johnny gets upset because he didn't get a new belt. God forbid little Johnny has to be told that if you do not practice outside of the Dojo and pay attention when your in the Dojo, your not going to be able to test. If you didn't earn it you don't get it. If that means that little Johnny leaves then he leaves. As an instructor my time and what I have to pass on is valuable. Give belts away for requirements that have been reduced from what I had to do to earn said grades? Nope not ever. Hold your students to the same standards as you were. That is the only way to keep your art and it's grades/belts from meaning nothing. It's called paper tigers. It's what Sensei8 always says, proof is on the mat/floor. If you can not fight at the level of your grade your certificate is worth less than the ink on it and the belt you wear is worth as much as it cost. Its reduced to just a piece of fabric just like Shodan has been reduced to just another rank. Lets just call it a continuation of the Mudansha grades and do away with Yudansha until you reach say the grade of Hachidan. While your at it just get rid of Kodansah grades because they mean nothing since the requirements for grades before them have been reduced. Call me old fashioned for my ways and methods but I can guarantee that none of my Shodan's are going to be taken to town by some street thug. I doubt this girls Shinshii/Sensei can say that about theirs. I will never say anyone has mastered anything because I personally do not think the art can be mastered. Mastery to me means you have nothing left to learn. Having said that I would instead say that in order to achieve the grade of Shodan my students have to be "highly proficient" in the grades below them (Mudansha grades) and have proved that they have leaned and become "highly" skilled in the requirements of the Mudansha grades and more importantly have been able to translate that into the ability to fight and hold there own. I think somewhere down the line and through the years most have forgotten that the Mudansha grades were the basic's or the foundation. You can not in my mind start you journey (Shodan to Kudan/Judan) unless you have a foundation to walk your path. How can you claim to be a Yudansha if you haven't first concurred Mudansha first. And within this same statement, what does Shodan or any of the Yudansha grade mean if an 11 year old can achieve what most of us took many more years to achieve? Did you really EARN it or where you given it? I think that is the real problem. Given versus eared. Or should I say bought versus earned. It used to be you could not buy respect or a grade/belt, you had to earn them. So how do you respect someone that has been given something today? How do you call someone that you can wipe the floor with teacher? Can anyone tell me that an 11 year old can teach a class of adults and go one on one in a Kumite match with them and win their respect? Respect her grade? Again this may be because I'm old school but I can tell you right now if I walked into a school and saw a child at the head of the class I would walk out and write that art off completely. Not the teacher, the art itself. Somehow instructors have forgotten this ideal that they are responsible for preserving the name of their art by passing down what was taught to them and that their responsibility is to assuring that only worthy students are promoted and that every student is a reflection of them and of the art itself. If little Johnny, wearing his new shiny black belt is beaten to a pulp by a younger kid with no training why would anyone want to go to his teacher for instruction? I wouldn't. I'm sure I will get a little heat for my views and some of the "DO" guys will tell me that it's about more than being able to fight but to them I say, It's really not. Why did you really join a Dojo? Why did you start training? If you can't hold your own why would someone take lessons from you to learn how to defend themselves? Discipline, respect, and learning to be a humble and good person is important but if we are all honest we did not start training for these reasons. They were learned along the way but the real reason 99% of students join a Dojo is to learn how to defend themselves effectively. If not, why not just join a church group or play sports? How can anyone justify giving an 11 year old boy or girl the grade of Yondan and sleep at night is beyond me.

Agreed. Something is fishy. It's called belts for cash.

I agree 100%. I know I base most things on my experience and our organization has very stringent guide lines but even if I lower my organizations requirements and my own, I can not accept an 11 year old much less a 18 year old as a Yondan. I personally think this is a good indicator of a McDojo. If she where studying under me or any of our instructors she would not see Shodan until the age of 18. Again I know our guidelines are more strict than most but the minimum time in grade (Which only means that others have achieved said goal in this time frame is 5 years but typically it takes 6 or 7 to reach Shodan. If I take the minimum of 5 and add the minimum of 2 for Nidan, 3 for Sandan and 4 for Yondan she has not been alive long enough to reach that grade. And lets face it, from the age of 3 to 6 their attention span is as big as a flee. How do you absorb that much knowledge to be able to "earn" the grade of Yondan? CRAZY!

I had ACL replacement a few years back but it was not due to cumulative damage but a misjudgment on my part when sparring with one of my senior students. He swept, my foot was planted, the rest is history. I will say that I have a touch of arthritis in both knee's and hand but I don't know whether to contribute that to training of construction. Either way if you are using your legs in any sport you will at some point pay a price for it. But if you love what you do it is a small and acceptable price to pay. I certainly don't regret training when my knees ache in the winter or when it rains. It's just part of life and getting old. If you sit at a desk all your life you may save your knees but your circulation is bad. The point is no matter what you do age and problems inherent to the tasks that you do will catch up. A reason to not do them? Not to me.

I know this topic has been warn out and there are varied opinions on this topic. However I have to ask when enough is enough? Before I go into this and ask the question let me first clarify my post by saying this is not a JBB. I was talking to a customer today and happened to notice a picture on his shelves behind him. It was what appeared to be a 10 or maybe 12 year old girl wearing a black belt. I inquired about it and was told that it was his daughter. He said that she was 11 years old and she had just been awarded a Yondan grading. I asked if she was graded as a junior black belt and he said no. He went on further to claim that it was traditional Karate that his daughter took. He took the picture down and showed me the picture and on her belt in Kanji was the grade of Yondan. Since I can not read Japanese and was unfamiliar with the styles Kanji, I have no idea what style of Karate she took and did not bother to ask as I was already getting a little sarcastic and did not want to offend him. What is up with awarding real Dan grading's to kids? Does anyone here actually think an 11 year old can earn a Yondan much less a Shodan? Has the world turn inside out? Again I know this topic has been warn out but I could not believe my eyes or my ears today and had to ask the question. IMHO NO WAY!!!!! NO WAY!!!!!! I have to believe this is about money because it can not be about producing quality Karateka. CRAZY! The ONLY way this could ever happen in my mind is if one of the founders were reincarnated in this girl and she came out of the womb with 9 years of experience and was able to whip her teacher around like a rag doll on the first day. This is an absolute joke IMO. So I guess she'll be a Judan by the time she is in her late 20's and they'll have to create 10 more Dan grades just for her. CRAZY!!!!!! The real question is would you bow to her grade and do you think you could respect her grade enough to be her student? I can answer this with a big fat NO!

Spot on!

In Shindokan, we, more than otherwise, utilize the Nukite as more of a check than as a strike. Our Soke didn't see the Nukite as a striking implement but more of an otherwise means of utilization. We check receive within our brand of Tuite, and we never use the nukite as a strike to our opponent because we believe it's a weak tool. We'd not poke an eye, we'd rather smash the eye...we'd not poke soft tissue, we'd rather smash the soft tissue. It's our methodology!! However, as Wastelander momentarily mentioned the following... We do, utilize the thumb to soft tissue because it's our bread and butter within our brand of Kyusho Jitsu, and this, to us, is an acceptable poke/thrust, that can't usually be denied by our attacker. I can see where you would say that you do not see the Nukite as a striking weapon. Some do not implement this technique because they feel it is dangerous to the practitioner. So I can see your line of reasoning. If I may, let me interject one thing for thought. You say you do not poke but smash. I wonder if you are missing out on a treasure trove of techniques? I am sure you understand that many points are stimulated by different methods of striking, poking, grabbing, and squeezing and I'm sure you understand that certain points can not be struck with a smashing strike like a fist. Because there are students that read these posts I will refrain from talking about specific points, how you strike them, what force and what happens due to liability issues. However I would like to know if you have removed those targets due to your striking policy or if you make exceptions like the thumb. One point that can only be targeted with the tips of the fingers around the collar bone area comes to mind, etc. Obviously I am leaving this as vague as possible. The reason I ask is that you have mentioned many times that you are traditionally trained and utilize the old school methods. We utilize many "poke" methods, if you will, to attack nerve, air, blood, tendons and ligaments and would assume with your back ground you do target these areas as well. If you mainly use the fist, elbow, etc. (smashing weapons as you stated) and only the thumb for all other attacking means how do you target area's that do not have the same effect with a smash or can not even be struck with a smash and those targets that are not easily struck with the thumb due to the part of the body they are located in or the way the target must be struck (example; a down ward strike)?

Can't say I have ever heard of this but I rarely have time to do anything outside of my work, teaching, and family life. I'm not sure that pink belts sound that interesting but I assume it is a way to get ranks out of the equation and just train or it's a way to put everyone on the same level. Either way I can't see spending $800.00 unless I knew the quality of instruction that I would be getting and what the subject matter was before hand. I get that this is a popular event, even though I've never heard of it, and I'm sure many sign up if it sells out that quickly but I can't see spending that type of money without knowing what the content is before hand. If you go let us know about it. I'm interested to see if you think it was worth the money.

I think it's broke. I tried to join and it kept bringing me back to the home page. I hope this doesn't mean I missed out on learning the most complete style ever concocted from such a overly qualified instructor! Great joke.

Actually the Katana is only utilized by me. I do not teach my students Iaido or Kenjutsu. Funny thing but the Katana can be and is utilized for thrusting, albeit a supported thrust. I have taken both of these arts but am not qualified to pass this on to my students so I do not teach this. I teach them Kobudo which does have appropriate weapons for thrusting. Sai, Rokushaku, Techu, Rochin, Yari, Tonfua, Eku, and even the Kama can be use for thrusting. If you have examples of what you mean please do share them as I would appreciate another perspective. God knows I am not the end all to everything in weapons training. I'll take any advice I can get to improve and that will benefit my students training methods. Please share whatever advice you have. Thanks in advance. Sure. I appreciate your experience in these things. Point control drills are designed to fine tune control of the thrust so that you can strike a very small target with the point. In European martial arts this has 3 main purposes.1. To be able to find the gaps in armor so that plate or mail will not turn the point. 2. To be able to strike smaller targets such as the hand or even a single finger. 3. To be able to move the point around defenses in such movements as the simple disengage. Probably the most common point control drill that I teach is a partner drill. 1 partner will wield a blunt practice blade with a safe tip, or the equivalent. The other partner will be unarmed. Have the partners stand at such a distance that the armed partner can strike the outstretched hand of the unarmed partner with a thrust without footwork. Have them repeat this several times till they can consistently strike the outstretched palm. Then increase the distance to where footwork is required. Then start moving the target. Have the unarmed partner put the hand in a different place each time. Then, when they are getting pretty good at this, have the unarmed partner splay their hand and have the armed partner aim for particular fingers. Close the fingers once they are hit to make the target even smaller. We utilize three target drills for thrusting; 1. a 2" black dot on a piece of plywood. The student strikes at the target until they can hit it repeatedly. 2. A tennis ball on a string. 3. A small (1") washer hung from a string. We also do partner drills to get the student to target openings while the target is actively trying to parry or block his strike. All partner drills are done with wooden weapons with padding tapped to the striking surface.

I agree, I think I really need to know myself at this stage & lucky me I have a really good Sensei & senior grade students who are helping me & pointing out any issue on spot which for me is great way to learn. I know it takes lots of time & practice & I am happy to wait, will never rush anything out Sounds like you are already on your way and have good people to help you.

I am curious if you/your art utilizes this technique to attack vitals/cavities? If so do you only utilize Nukite to attack the neck or do you attck other soft targets?

Actually the Katana is only utilized by me. I do not teach my students Iaido or Kenjutsu. Funny thing but the Katana can be and is utilized for thrusting, albeit a supported thrust. I have taken both of these arts but am not qualified to pass this on to my students so I do not teach this. I teach them Kobudo which does have appropriate weapons for thrusting. Sai, Rokushaku, Techu, Rochin, Yari, Tonfua, Eku, and even the Kama can be use for thrusting. If you have examples of what you mean please do share them as I would appreciate another perspective. God knows I am not the end all to everything in weapons training. I'll take any advice I can get to improve and that will benefit my students training methods. Please share whatever advice you have. Thanks in advance.

Wow, That's a very good explanation & advice I really appreciate the time you spent to write this very informative reply I am currently working on plan one & my next goal is plan two Just remember that everything that happens within the Dojo is a learning experience. People are unpredictable and you will never know what someone might do. However you can develop a plan to meet their attack and if you fail this is a good thing. This is an opportunity to look at why you failed and you are able to work on those deficiencies and improve. Then try, try again. You will eventually start to pick up on subtle clues and before you know it you will succeed. Good luck and hang in there. It all come with time and practice, practice, practice.

My wife only says this after she's had more than a few drinks and doesn't know what she is saying. I have not had an issue with sparring either but I also looked at it from this perspective; I can loose a fight inside of the Dojo. I can only learn from my failures and progress from there. I never feared the larger, faster, more skilled opponent because I figured I could learn from the experience and could only improve from there. I pass this same thing on to my students. There is not win/loose in the Dojo. There are only experiences and an opportunity to get better.

Have you had any students interested in participating in MMA events to show how karate can be more than a sports based art, Yes. I have had a few younger students that have tried their hand at competing in MMA, or what ever the city level tournaments are called or are under, and have been successful but I don't have any students that have made a permanent switch to MMA if that is what your asking. And I have not lost any students to MMA. Since we teach traditional "old school" Todi (Karate) which includes a vast majority of the things that students would leave to go and learn else where, I guess the majority don't feel they need to. I do encourage them to study ground fighting (Jujutsu) outside of the Dojo. We have very basic Ne Waza techniques that teach them to escape and get back to their feet but they do not give them the tools to handle say a MMA or Jujutsu fighter on the ground. There main purpose is to get back to the feet and teach them how to strike from the ground, not to fight on the ground, so yes I have encouraged my students to learn outside for these purposes but again, the vast majority does not. In terms of competition or sport, that is up to each individual and I do not influence them either way. I can say that my school does not participate in the main stream tournaments mainly for a few reasons; one - I feel that "point sparring" is not conducive to learning to defend yourself in actual combat. It instills a false sense of security. Just because you are faster than your opponent and have a few tricks does not mean you beat your opponent, it only means you scored more points. It also instills bad habits which mainly are the instinct to pull your strikes before impact, jump around like a jack rabbit and to fight long distance. two - I think the advent of made up Kata's or making them flashy, defeats the meaning of the Kata and is one of the main reasons that most modern day schools only teach them for rank but do not pass on the meaning (Bunkai) and do not teach the student how to utilize them to fight. three - I can have all of the trophies in the world and still be beaten by the thug down the street. Its useless in a real fight. The first art of Karate that I took was really into competing and had a ton of trophies adorning their front window. I like most of the public thought this meant that they could teach me to defend myself and they must be tough. Well I have always been tall and very fast so I won many tournaments and had a ton of trophies adorning the shelves in my parents house. The problem... the first time I got into a real fight I was destroyed and went home confused as to how this could happen. The problem was they were not teaching me to fight, they were teaching me how to score points. Points mean absolutely nothing. They do not determine the actual victor. They only determine who had more points. Because of this and the fact that I later found a true old school art that actually taught me how to fight and defend myself, I leave the sport to those that it suits. For me this is not Todi (Karate) this is just merely a sport that somewhat resembles actual Karate. I am sure you are drawing a parallel between the sport aspect of MMA and Olympic Karate but MMA does not directly reflect on the way Karate is perceived by the public. Students flock to MMA because they do not feel that they can get true fighting skills by taking Karate mainly due to what I would call sport Karate and Modern Karate which places more emphasis on tournaments than teaching and passing on true combative skills. MMA does not in itself pose a threat to old school Karate. In fact if more instructors taught the art as it was intended you would see an influx of MMA fighters training in the art. Sport Karate however plays a major role in degrading the art in terms of effectiveness as a combative art. The way the public perceives it after taking or watching a sport Karate class is that it is not effective. Need proof? Just walk into a modern day Dojo and surely you will hear the following; "why do I have to learn Kata, it doesn't teach me how to fight". Need more proof? Walk into that same school and watch what is taught and then see what the students do during Kumite. The two never resemble each other. The students do not take what they have learned and utilize it to fight. That is because the emphasis on points is the over riding factor in how Kumite is taught. The techniques required for scoring points often times do not even come close to what would work on the streets. And thus you have the reason for the perception that Karate is less effective than MMA or Muay Thai or Krav Maga or pick a combat art. To me this is one of the main reasons that so many students leave and join MMA gyms or move to other arts like Muay Thai. The sad thing is most students, much less their instructors, know that Ti (Ti'gwa) was influenced by Muay Boran which is the predecessor of Muay Thai. More sad is the fact that most do not understand their Kata in terms of knowing that they contain more than just strikes, kicks, blocks (no such thing) and stances. Why? Because modern day instructors have moved away from these things thinking that the public wants something different. Funny thing is, now, they realize they are loosing students to other arts because they no longer offer the one thing most begin the art looking for. A way to effectively defend themselves. Is Olympic Karate a good thing? Only if you teach sport Karate. For those of us that teach old school it is just another mile down the rabbit hole of obscurity and becoming just another sport. The push of the "modern" instructor is to highlight the "Do" or peaceful way to reach outside of those that would join their school looking for combative methods and to learn how to end a confrontation with an attacker by turning it into a sport with rules. There are no rules on the street and there is definitely no referee's. So what benefit is there? We have enough after school sports. What? loosing that money? Ok change it into a sport and we'll capture more students. Are they interested in caring on the art as it was intended? No but thats ok as long as I fill my pockets. No respect for the art or those that passed it down to us! And we wonder why so many don't have the first clue of what their Bunkai is and why so many are making up phony Bunkai to cover their tracks. Just teach the art as it was passed down! These teachers don't understand the Kata because they or their teachers turned it into some flashy gobbly goop to win tournaments. Just teach the art or call what your teaching something else. This is not the only thing contributing to the degradation of Karate as a combative art. Lets not forget the business man that sells belts for money and incorporates other arts because they do not have the first clue of what is contained within their own art. Why would I take Karate to learn other arts and just to put trophies on my mantel when what I really want is an effective means to protect myself? I wouldn't. Between sport, modern day "Do's" and the ever rising presence of McDojo's it's a wonder how anyone would take the art if they were serious about learning to defend themselves and have a hope and a prayer of surviving an actual attack. Yep. I'm pretty opinionated on this subject and don't think about offending by expressing it. May not be popular but in my not so humble opinion about this subject, I can not stand the fact that it's in the Olympics. It has the direct opposite effect in that, instead of highlighting the art for what it is, it is instead highlighted as a sport. To me this is not a plus. The Pred, hopefully you understand that these are statements and not directed towards you or anyone else here on the forums. Just my 2 cents.

This is partly due to what Dani_001 eluded to but it goes a little further. As far as the ribs goes, your thought process would be right except the target is not the ribs. It is true that the fingers can be conditioned to an extent that you can penetrate deep into muscle tissue without a problem but breaking ribs or even penetrating between ribs is not what the Nukite is used for. Like any technique utilizing the fingers, the Nukite is primarily utilized in targeting cavity and vital points. In terms of the chest/rib cage area there are many that can be targeted using the Nukite and which does not require a full force strike to be effective. There is a vital just below the nipple that comes to mind but this is typically struck with a knuckle versus a finger but because it does not take much force to be effective it can be utilized for this. The overlooked meaning behind some techniques is that they are not what they seem but something completely different. It could be a sweep, throw, take down, deflection, etc. In terms of Pinan Shodan (Heian Nidan) this does not only represent a strike. As with most of the Kata each posture (move) represents one or a multitude of applications. One of our applications for this is a take down. trap the opponents hand and step in behind the opponents lead foot and execute a balance break/take down with the "Nukite" arm. Others have to do with targeting the vital points. The main thing to remember is people take things to literally when it comes to Kata. Just because the strike is at chest level does not mean that it can not or should not be executed to say the throat. Remember that open hand techniques, especially finger techniques, are typically used to target soft targets which mean vital and cavities (nerve, artery/vein and tendon/ligament) not hard (bone). Striking the ribs or targeting the space between the ribs with the very real chance of striking one of the ribs with full force makes no sense. If you damage one of your weapons in a real fight your chances of success are minimized exponentially. Why would you practice this? Ask your Sensei to teach you the Kata's Bunkai/Applications and it will become clear. If it makes no sense, it usually is something other than what you think it is. He will or should be able to shed light on the application and it will all make sense.

I have been utilizing your method for a few weeks now and have formed an opinion based on my experience and that of my students experiences utilizing this. I definitely find value in the practice. However I can not say that it will replace actual use but it most definitely will become a part of the learning process. I have been utilizing this method a little more than my students and have found that the utilization of tape is a valuable tool in conditioning yourself to strike with the sweet spot of the weapon much the same as Tameshigiri teaches us to strike with the sword. I do agree this is excellent for teaching distance on a moderate level but the one thing that I can not get around is the fact that it is stationary and as we all know the opponent is never stationary unless they are a beginner and even then they are moving to some extent. I do get what you were saying about moving in and out and striking from different ranges but IMHO it does not replace actual combat in my mind. I think the benefits learned with a partner far out way the stationary target. Having said this and again, I am making it apart of the learning process and it definitely gives a good foundational understanding of distance to the student. I appreciate the tips and advice. It has definitely panned out to be a value to our training.

Experience is the key factor. In the Dojo you have the benefit of knowing your opponents. You see their size and understand how they use it to their benefit and what techniques they utilize more than others. This is the simplest way of developing a strategy. By watching an opponent you get the feel for how they deal with different opponents and what they most likely would do in a given situation. This gives you the advantage if you use this to develop how you will attack and defend as you already know what they most likely will do. In the street against an unknown attacker this is not the case. This is where experience comes into play. Being able to read your opponent and to pick up on his attack methodology quickly enough to understand how to deal with it only comes with years and years of sparring (not tournament point sparring) with opponents of all sizes and skill ranges. The easiest thing for one to do is to identify what works for you whether standing or on the ground and perfect it. Find the techniques that work for you and perfect them and then add to what you already have. Practice your applications over and over until they become second nature and natural. Over time and years of practice your muscle memory will take over and you will react without thought. This forgoes a need for prior planning. Like Sensei8 said, knowing yourself (Strengths and weaknesses) is paramount and is the key to success. You can't always know your opponent, however you can know the type (size, attitude, the way they move, etc) and quickly assess their skill and what you will use to deal with the threat. This will greatly increase your odds of coming out on top. However you must first understand yourself. Can you strike well, have good reflexes, know how to handle yourself if it goes to the ground, etc. If you don't know your limitations and strengths it really doesn't matter if you know your opponent. Plan one get experience sparring/fighting a variety of opponents. Plan two identify what your good at and what your not good at. Plan three improve what your not good at and perfect what you are good at. Plan four practice, practice, practice. Plan five learn to analyze your opponent and have a plan. plan six practice practice, practice for years until things become automatic and then you don't need the plan.

I get where you are going with this but to me they are very different both in practice and application but based on your definition... Ok I'll agree. This is a very common situation within the arts and most have this same experience. We are taught to walk away from those we know do not present a danger to us, the "talkers", if attacked we are taught to only use the force that is necessary to end the situation with the smallest amount of damage to the opponent, if attacked by a more skilled or larger opponent you do what you have to to end the fight. I don't know of too many traditional arts that stress going over board. Not sure where this comes from? I do not teach nor have I been taught to be the aggressor. Having said that if some one attacks me they do so at their own peril. I will do what is necessary to end the conflict quickly and with as minimal damage to my attacker as possible. However if given the choice between life or death, I will do what it takes to live every time even if that means the loss of life of my attacker. I am not sure where this whole promoting peace bit comes from. No matter what art you study it has it's roots in combat. No sane human being wants conflict nor looks for it. However make no mistake, we train for combat/conflict so that if we are unfortunate enough to stumble into a conflict we can go home at the end of the day. I prepare my students for conflict and pray they never need to use what I have taught. But I don't think this can be translated into promoting peace. As a Marine I will skip answering to this as I have a different mind set on the topic. This could not be farther from the truth. I take it you never served? What makes it easy to kill your enemy is the fact that they are trying to kill you. It's called self preservation. No one ever told me that this enemy or that enemy was sub human. If they were trying to kill me then I was trying to kill them. It really is that simple. There is an argument for not entering into a war and there are arguments for going to war. What ever your stand is on this subject is for you and you alone and a whole other topic for discussion. I have experienced some that have this view point but they are such a small minority. 98% of my experiences in the arts were positive. On the other end of the spectrum... there are those that say it's soul purpose is meditation and a so called peaceful way. This is my opinion - the arts were not created to sit around the camp fire to sing kumbaya. They were created as a means to defend oneself in a combative situation. Yes they do teach us how to hurt, maim, submit, control and even kill if necessary our opponent if the situation warrants it. However, neither myself nor any other instructor I know or have studied under teaches you to be the aggressor. It's not about that. Yes there are those that would learn it to do just that but you can not blame this on the arts. The blame belongs on those that teach these students. What do I mean by that? Its really quite simple. It boils down to the love of money instead of the responsibility of passing on deadly methods to unstable students. In the days when I was first starting, there was a "grace period" or lets call it an interview period where the instructor observed a new student to see what their temperament and maturity level was. If the student did not meet the teachers requirements for a worthy student, they were shown the door. I still do this to this day and will not hesitate to show a student the door. Unfortunately some instructors will over look someones lack of character or their violent tendencies in favor of another paying student. You can not condemn an art due to the poor choices and decisions of an instructor. There is a valid argument for learning the curriculum of your style. However I have no problem with students from other styles/arts using the methods they have learned in said arts. Why would I? It's exposing myself and my students to attacks they/we may not know. This only makes us better. I absolutely disagree. Yes the larger person has an advantage but IMHO it boils down to mentality. "Its not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. One of my peers coming up in the art was 60 lbs heavier than I was and I would come out on top 90% of the time. You don't need an outside influence to tip the scales. You have to know yourself and know your opponents strengths and weaknesses. My strength was speed, maneuverability and technique against him. I also utilized takedowns and throws (Tegumi) to my favor. He was larger and it was easy to get low on him and use his own body weight to defeat him. With others it may be being able to get inside, over powering, etc, etc. The point is we all have our weaknesses and we all have our strengths. If you utilize your strengths against their weakness the balance tips very fast. I think it boils down to making the art fit you, what ever the art is. I am 6' 2" tall and 205. I am muscular but in no way an Adonis type. Before my knee was blown out I could kick with the best of them. Fast and powerful. My body type does not fit the kicking parameters you are mentioning but I could probably out kick most. I understand where you are going with this but you are discounting those that do not meet the "body type" but excel in the art. I can't agree with your logic even though I understand the principle. Body types, size, gender... these are not limitations. You are your only limitation. Absolutely agree! I also agree 100% with this statement. The art is only as good as the student. You can take an art for 20 years and still not be the best fighter. It depends on how much you put into it, how much you utilize the information that is taught to you and how you over come your weaknesses and maximize your strengths. Learning an art does not in itself guarantee success as a fighter. More than just learning the art goes into becoming a proficient MA'ist. Understanding yourself, understanding the mechanics and being able to apply the art to maximize your strengths and improve your weaknesses is key to becoming a proficient MA'ist. And mentality has a huge amount to do with it as well.

Our organization will not be effected since we do not subscribe to sport karate or tournaments based on point sparring/ flashy Kata. I personally think it's another mile deeper down the "sport not effective combat based art" rabbit hole for Karate and despise the very concept as I feel it has no merit with in the art. Having said this, to each their own, and I'm sure it will be very popular among the sport based styles and schools. IMHO it's just another step backwards and another reason students will look elsewhere for real combat based self defense.

When I was young I couldn't pick just one and would have said Kusanku, Chinto and Passai. Now that I am older I still love all of our Kata but of all of our Kata I would have to say Naihanchi due to the multitudes of applications.