aurik

We don't have dedicated 'flow drills' per se, but we do have a number of drills that can be performed as flow drills. We do have a few kotekitae drills that double as flow drills. Our dan kumite, when performed as intended (renzoku style) also doubles as a flow drill, since each sequance is supposed to flow into the next. Here is an example of our

I'd love to see the results as well!

So i returned to the advanced adult class last night, and boy was it a struggle. I've been using my right side to compensate to a certain degree, and my right hip was REALLY sore yesterday because of it. It slowed me down quite a bit, but as class went on things loosened up quite a bit. I found myself way short of breath (due to the lack of stamina again), but the class was pretty fun as a whole. We started out with junbi undo, and instead of the normal hojo undo, we did a variation of our "across the floor" hojo undo. Normally we pair up with a partner, and each partner steps and strikes. We then step back and perform a counter prescribed by the hojo undo technique. In this case, the attacker would throw two punches, to which we would perform two blocks and then counter. It was a substantially different experience than we normally have. Our CI then talked about WHY we did it that way today. Our training usually is of the "one block, one counter, one down opponent" a la the budo mindset. Well, in a real conflict, you would have to defend against multiple attacks before your opponent presented an opening to take him out. At that point you do your counter and take him out. He mentioned how this is even more important when dealing with an opponent with a weapon, such as a knife or baseball bat. We train defenses against those, but it's usually a single committed strike -- which rarely happens in real life. We then performed sanchin, both as a group and individually. Afterwards, Kyoshi gave me some very profound feedback as to the "half hard/half soft" nature of Uechi-Ryu. He said that I don't have to be tense for the entire Sanchin kata. I can give a little if I'm pushed or pulled. However, be prepared to tense the muscles as needed to prevent getting out of position. In my particular case, he was pushing and pulling on my wrists in such a way that pulled my weight forward and up. I was more focused on not letting my arms move, so that I found myself getting unbalanced. I realized afterwards that I needed to focus on "sinking in" and rooting myself into my stance. Next we did our two-person drills for awhile and then did an extended session of kata. We did group kata, and then we all took a break and did individual kata in front of the instructors, both Seisan and Seiryu (for me, at least). I was finding myself really gassed during the group kata, but once I had a chance to catch my breath, I found that each of my kata felt REALLY good. Kyoshi told me both of the kata looked really solid, and gave me a few places where I needed to think about making changes. For example, in Seisan, there is a point where you slam your opponent's head into your knee, step back into Sanchin, and then perform 3 one-knuckle strikes to the back of the head. Apparently I'm not taking enough time to set in my stance on this and I end up bending over too much (and getting unbalanced). Also I was told in Seiryu I should look at my foot placement such that I can pivot from a good Sanchin stance to a good Sanchin stance (without stepping). Mind you, he has seen grandmasters perform the kata the way I do (at least in this section), but his preference would be that I not have to step. Overall it was a VERY good class. I had a good amount of exhaustion going on afterwards, but time and exercise will take care of that.

Gretzky is, imo, the best ever, though some do argue for Gordie Howe. Sadly, Gretsky's goal record will likely be broken in the 24-25 season. I say sadly because Gretzky was the reason I became a hockey fan. Favorite player right now though is Morgan Barron. In a game last week, the dude took a skate to the face. Went into the locker room, needed 75 stitches, then returned to the game. I was at the game when it happened. Legendary toughness. I won't say it's sad that Gretzky's record is likely to be broken. It's the nature of things that eventually someone better, stronger, faster will come around. I'm not a huge Caps fan, but I've been following Ovi's march towards Gordie's (and soon to be Gretzky's) goal records. The fact that he has put up THIRTEEN 40+ goal seasons is amazing in today's hockey environment. Hockey players always amaze me with their toughness and resilience. Morgan Barron is just the most recent to do so. I remember a number of years ago where Chris Pronger took a puck to the chest in a playoff game against the Red Wings. He stood back up, took two strides and collapsed on the ice -- the puck had interrupted his cardiac rythm. His heart started back up on its own (VERY fortunate for him). He spent the night in the hospital for observation, and was back on the ice two nights later. I remember watching Pierre Turgeon take a puck to the face and lose several teeth. He missed less than a period where he got stitched up (declining anaesthetic!), and came back to score the game winning goal in overtime. After a team gets eliminated in the playoffs each year, you'll hear the injury reports. So-and-so was playiing with a broken finger. So-and-so dislocated his shoulder in round 1. Player X played with a hairline fracture on his ankle. Hockey players are a different breed to be sure.

I study Uechi-Ryu, which originated from Pangai-Noon Kung Fu. Our eight kata are: Sanchin (三戦): Three conflicts, Three battles. Usually interpreted as bringing harmony to the body, mind, and spirit Seisan (十三): Literally, 13. This can be interpreted as "13 hands, 13 ways of attack or defense". Sanseiryu (三十六) Literally 36. Generally interpreted as "36 modes of attack and defense" This is also a reference to Kanbun Uechi's teacher Shu Shiwa, who was known as the 36th room priest. Sanchin, Seisan, and Sanseiryu were the original 3 kata taught to Kanbun Uechi. The following kata were added later as "bridging kata" to help students transition between the main 3 kata. These were created by Kanei Uechi and his senior students in the 1950's and 1960's. Kanshiwa (完子和) is a conbination of the kanji for KANbun (Uechi) and shu SHIWA. This was oriignally known as Kanshabu Kanshu (完周) likewise is a combination of the kanji from KANbun and SHU shiwa. This was originally known as Daini Seisan (第二十三), or "half seisan" or "secondary seisan". Daini Seisan isn't taught much these days, but there are a few instructors who still teach it. Seichin (十戦) "10 conflicts" or "10 battles". This is a portmanteau of Seisan and Sanchin Seiryu (十六) literally, "16". Kanchin (完戦), a combination of KANei (uechi) and sanCHIN.

I understand your frustration, Swede. As you move up in the ranks, you get new things thrown at you, and sometimes you don't even know to expect those things until they smack you full on in the face. Fortunately our CI is really good at explaining what the valid targets are for students of different ranks. For example, the head is not considered a valid target until a student is at least at the green belt level. Likewise, kicks to the leg are not permitted for students under a certain age (mainly because they tend to kick the knee, and not the leg). Personally I am a big fan of kicking the outer thigh and foot/leg sweeps. Kicking the thigh can be devastating to someone who hasn't conditioned for it, and that distraction can set you up for other techniques. Likewise, a well-timed sweep to the foot or leg can at the minimum unbalance your opponent and give you the opportunity to get a few strikes in while they catch their balance (I've even caught my CI with a foot sweep before. Caught him right as he was about to put weight on that foot, and while he caught his balance I stepped in and caught him with a few strikes to the head and midsection. It only happened once though). Keep in mind these lessons on the sparring floor may be a little painful, both mental and physical, but take them for what they are. Now you know that technique is considered legal, so learn how to defend against it, and (better yet) learn how to use it effectively on your opponent.

The kanji for Seisan is 十三, literally "13". It is generally understood to mean "13 ways of attack and defense". In Uechi-Ryu it has another meaning, because Shu Shiwa (Kanbun Uechi's teacher) was also known as the "13th room priest".

Our CI has very lenient training time requirements for rank advancement. Generally you're expected to attend two classes per week each week. As you get up into the brown belt ranks, he gets pretty strict about those, but honestly if you can't commit to two training sessions per week, it's REALLY hard to progress. For those who intend to test for black belt ranks, there is a 3 month "test prep" cycle, where you have an additional required class each week that focuses on the test material. Fortunately he will poll the students and pick one or two days/times in the week that work for all of the students. But if you're planning on a dan grading, he does expect a certain degree of commitment from you. On the flip side, he does also trust dan-graded students to train on their own. For example, we have several (black belt) students who live a fair distance away that makes it infeasible to train multiple times per week. As long as they check in with him and show that they are progressing (ie, show that they have been training at home), he'll let them grade at the usual pace.

And now for our regularly scheduled update.. So Zach did successfully test for his ikkyu (you can see the update here. He is now back to regular training and getting up to speed on what he needs for his test for shodan-sho (hopefully at the end of this year). He was the only advanced brown belt in his testing cycle, which meant he had to demonstrate a lot of his techniques all by himself, or with our CI as his partner. While it was a bit rough on him at the time, it's good practice for when he will test for black belt later on. I've started back in regular classes. The back and leg are still improving, not quite 100%, but good enough to do classes as long I don't do certain things. My endurance and stamina are WAY down, so that's hurting quite a bit. Last night I found myself winded while leading warmups... mainly because trying to count AND do the exercises is considerably harder than when you can breathe when you need to. But that's something I need to work towards. We have a whole new batch of students in the youth advanced class, and we had a number of students that moved up to the adult class. So Zach and his friend Blake are now pretty much the senior students. I hope that will give Zach motivation to be a good example to the other students. But we shall see. I know he's going to be goofy from time to time, but I hope he can keep it in check to a degree. Other than that there's not much to tell. Mainly I'm just trying to regain my stamina and form after 2 months off. But the fact that I'm back to training is a VERY good thing.

I'm kind of curious as to how this would work for Naha-te. Uechi-ryu is classified as Naha-te, but my understanding is that Kanbun Uechi learned everything he knew in China, and not from any Naha-te masters in Okinawa. So I'm curious as to whether or not they even have the same katas. Uechi-Ryu has Sanchin and Seisan, which are two very common kata among Okinawan styles. Those 2 kata, along with Sanseiryu, are the core kata of Uechi-Ryu. In fact, tests for rokudan and above ONLY include those 3 kata (and not the other kata in the system).

I'd qualify that with "MOST" Okinawan and Japanese styles of karate. Uechi-Ryu does not practice either of those katas. If you're talking about Uechi-Ryu, the 3 kata that could be considered "kihon katas" would be Sanchin, Seisan, and sanseiryu, because those are the 3 original kata that Kanbun Uechi learned in China, and form the foundation of the style. All of the other kata were developed as "bridging kata" to help students learn the main 3.

I think that as long as the relationship is consensual on both sides and is handled well it can work. For example, my CI married a student last year. Of course, they had been dating for a number of years and I suspect that their relationship predated her joining as a student. I imagine things get a bit tricky when promotions are involved though, being her instructor of record. However, that is also tempered by the fact that all dan-level gradings at our school are evaluated by a board of certified instructors of the student's grade or higher. It also helps that she regularly (once or twice a year) trains with the head of our organization, so he can and does evaluate her performance then (keep in mind he has final say over any dan level grading). In the end, as long as the participants are both of age and consent, and they keep things discreet in class, I see no problem with it. However, I would also suggest that instructors be somewhat cautious about this for the same reason that dating a coworker could be tricky. If the relationship goes south, then it could cause friction in the dojo. Just my .02 worth.

I know so little about baseball these days that my fantasy picks would be an utter joke. I just catch the headlines from time to time but don't really go much deeper than that. If the Cardinals happen to make the playoffs I might follow them then (I was a pretty big Cards fan when I was a kid). I may go to a game or two from time to time, but I don't have enough interest to join a fantasy league. Sorry

The last few months have been pretty challenging for both Zach and me. I've been fighting issues with my back and a herniated disc. Zach has been having motivation issues and trying to balance school, Boy Scouts (which he just graduated into last month), Karate, and his other interests. Fortunately we both were able to get all of our ducks in a row, and get Zach caught back up on classes so he was able to test last Friday. This month's testing cycle was so large that they had to split the candidates into two groups and use both dojos (upstairs and downstairs). Zach was in the downstairs group, which was primarily white and yellow belts, along with himself and one candidate for sankyu. As the only advanced brown belt (aka nikyu/ikkyu), there were segments of the test he had to perform alone, such as hojo undo (randomly, in Japanese), Sanchin (including shime testing), sparring (he got to spar our CI), and the bunkai for his rank kata. Our CI had reached out to me wondering if he might want to wait a month when there would be other candidates for his rank testing, but Zach had put in all the effort to get ready for THIS test, and honestly I thought that being the only candidate up there would be a good preparation for when he tests for Shodan-sho -- in that test you are the only candidate performing at any one time. Since the test took place just after his Friday class (that I was helping teach), I was still in my gi and sitting on the side like a proud papa. He stumbled on one of the hojo undo techniques (the techniques were fine, but he had the vocabulary messed up on one of them). He looked REALLY strong in the kotekitae section and the sanchin testing -- I could tell by the redness on his forearms and the way he was reacting that our CI was not being overly gentle with him. And he handled it like a champ. At the end of the test they announced all of the promotions for the candidates, and the very final promotion they announced was Zach getting ikkyu! I was so proud of him, and I was able to put the tip on his belt again. And for the obligatory pictures: And here is Zach doing his Sanchin testing.

I'd say you're pretty close. We don't perform bunkai for Sanchin -- the understanding of Sanchin is evaluated very differently. From time to time the instructor will test the student's understanding of Sanchin by trying to unbalance the student. This usually starts with looking at the student and offering critique on their stance and their form. At higher ranks, an instructor may push or pull on the student to try to unbalance them. At brown belt ranks and above, the instructor will strike the student in different locations to evaluate how well they are resisting change and using tension to protect themselves. In the advanced/black belt classes, we usually perform sanchin individually or in pairs with an instructor watching and evaluating.

I think of the relationship between Sanchin and (other) kata similar to the relationship between your kihons and yakisoku kimite or sparring. Sanchin teaches us the fundamentals and forces us to work on those fundamentals. In our Sanchin, we practice the shallow, circular breathing you'd want to use in an actual sparring session or fight, which keeps you from getting the wind knocked out of you. By practicing our strikes, stepping, posture, and balance deliberately in Sanchin, those motions become second nature when we practice other kata, kumite drills, or sparring. In Uechi-Ryu, all of our stances, kimae, and even sparring postures are derived from Sanchin. For example, our neko-dachi is formed by starting in Sanchin, bending the rear foot and lifting the front (maintaining the "tilt"). When we spar, we are taught to keep the hands in a position that roughly approximates Sanchin. This is why we practice Sanchin separate from our other kata.

When I see statements like this, I almost immediately take issue with it. There are a few points I have problems with here. First off, is the use of the term "bodybuilding." Bodybuilding became a term to describe anyone that chose to pursue the increase of strength through lifting weights; it became a catchall term for many who didn't understand the concept of what they were describing. Secondly, this feeds into the idea that being strong is detrimental to the Martial Artists in general, and Karatekas specifically. I think it is irresponsible and dangerous advise to give anyone to avoid seeking out strength training as a way for people to improve their interaction with the physical world...because it is a physical world. Based on what I've seen as an instructor and martial artist in general, there is no indication that being strong is detrimental to martial arts performance; in fact, like any other physical activity, being strong is beneficial. A very strong man can learn to perform with the same mechanical efficiency as a weak man. The third issue I have is with the idea that there is no historical information that indicates that samurai lifted any kinds of weights. So what? I'll bet they didn't drive cars either....because they weren't there. This statement is not an indication that strength training would not have been beneficial to the samurai. I have a number of (different) issues with this as well. First of all, Sanchin was not introduced to Japan until well after the Meiji Restoration (aka the end of the samurai class). Kanbun Uechi first opened a dojo in Wakayama province in 1924, and shortly thereafter Gichi Funakoshi opened the dojo that would be known as Shotokan in 1930. Comparing the studies of Sanchin to the Samurai has no bearing here. Second of all, traditional Okinawan masters DID use weight training to get stronger. They frequently used Nigiri Game (clay jars which could be filled with sand or water) to increase forearm, grip, and upper body strength in Sanchin. Likewise they used chi ishi (stone mallets) to provide weight training as well. Look at some of the master instructors like Shinyu Gushi that would train sanchin with clay jars. Lastly, strength training and bodybuilding do not necessarily reduce flexibility or speed. Intelligent strength training can in fact enhance both of those. Selecting the right weight for the right number of reps, and focusing on an explosive eccentric motion can certainly help develop speed and power. The reason that you hear about bodybuilders losing flexibility is because too many will focus on, say, the chest, (front) shoulders, and biceps and ignore the lats, rear shoulders, and triceps. When I was powerlifting, I followed the mantra of "every push should have an equal and matching pull". If I did X sets of heavy bench presses, I'd do X sets of heavy rows to keep the muscle groups balanced. Likewise, I was sure to warmup before every session and stretch as a part of my cooldown afterwards.

Well, it's been awhile since I posted in here, but the updates are pretty good. I decided to get a steroid injection at L2/L3 and L3/L4 -- this provided quite a bit of immediate relief, and I have been doing physical therapy twice a week since the injection. The first day of physical therapy I could barely bend over at the waist, and my waist was very limited in the movements I could do. Each session I've been trying to push myself a little further than the previous time. If she had me do a set of an exercise with 30 pounds, I'll ask her to bump it up to 35. She has had me working mainly core strength and mobility. Some of the exercises have gone really well, some of them I tried once and just said "nuh-uh". Not because I didn't like them, but because my back/leg told me it was a PATENTLY horrible idea. And she'd see the look on my face and say, "Yeah, let's not do that one". But the good news is that at my last evaluation 2 weeks ago, I've regained almost full range of motion on the back, and the leg, while still a bit weak, is getting better week by week. I've improved enough that I decided to try out the saturday all-ages class last week. I knew that I'd need to take things easy (and I did), but the important thing was that I was able to get through the entire class and other than being tired (from not trainign much for 2 months), I felt pretty good afterwards. So this week I'll be trying more than just the one class. I'll play things by ear of course, but I definitely want to get back into the swing of things. Other good news -- Zach got the news that this coming Friday he will be testing for ikkyu. I'm really excited for him. He did last Thursday/Friday/Saturday classes and has been putting forth the effort he needs to, so I'm hoping he'll pass with flying colors.

This is the interpretation that my CI (and I to a degree) ascribe to. As students rise through the colored belt ranks, they are given "training wheels" for performing techniques. For example, at a white belt level, they are expected to perform techniques by rote memory, mechanically, getting the fundamental movements down. As students rise through the yellow and green belt ranks, they are expected to perform the same set of techniques (and new techniques) with more speed, power, and fluidity. By the time students are at the brown belt ranks, they are expected to be performing genuine attacks at their opponents, so their partner can properly practice their defenses. However, even at nikyu and ikkyu ranks, students are expected to use "training wheels" in many cases. Blocks are still expected to be one-handed, and there are a number of concepts, such as "flow" and energy transfer they aren't taught. Once our students reach shodan, they get a whole bunch of new concepts dropped on their plate. We get introduced to the concept of maintaining energy through a kata as we perform it, and how we can choose to do a kata focused on speed/pwoer, or focused on flow, or somewhere in between. We are also now expected to use both hands when blocking in hojo undo and katas -- one hand guides the attack in, and the other hand performs the circle block and grab. From my perspective, I haven't really experienced any of the politicking when different dan grades are discussed/compared. I have never felt the need to give someone more or less respect simply because their grade is higher than mine. There are a number of students far more experienced than I am and I will frequently ask them for advice or suggestions if I'm struggling. Likewise, I'm free in my suggestions when I see other students struggling, even if they may be of a higher or same grade as I am. Also I guess it probably helps that in our school we don't have any adorrments on our belts to (directly) indicate dan gradings. We are encouraged (but not required) to have our belts embroidered with our name and/or style. However, the only rank-dependent adornments are for shogo titles (pne stripe for renshi, two for kyoshi, three for hanshi). So unless you know the individual, you don't immediately know what grade they are. So, if you interpret the black belt as just another step on the journey, I think there is still a lot of value in gradings beyond shodan, presuming they are used and not abused for political or other reasons.

I was living in Atlanta when Mario had his comeback (early 2000's). I made a point of going to a Thrashers/Pens game to see Mario at the end of his career. The thing I remember most about that particular game was that there was a period of time when the Pens' penalty box was full (4 guys, maybe), and on the jumbotron they put up a photo of them captioned with "More penguins than at the north pole". It was pretty danged funny. Fun game to watch though. Mario was a LOT of fun to watch. Now of course the players I find most fun to watch include Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid. There are just some times they will embarrass 2, 3, or 4 opposing players and just single-handedly defeat the entire other team. It's amazing to watch.

Congratulations, Fractured. If the testing pushed you to your limit, it was a good testing, indeed! Going forward I hope you can now push past your (old) limits and keep improving. Well-done.

I'm sure you've trained hard and well for this test. Go out there, do your best and let the results speak for themselves. Good luck!

Welcome to the Forums, Fractured!

At our dojo, when (adult) students spar, we generally only wear handpads and mouth guards. We are expected to practice good control and not injure our opponent. Our sparring rules are set up with those things in mind. For example, the head is not considered a valid target unless your partner is a brown belt or higher. Leg strikes/sweeps aren't permitted unless your opponent is over 18, and if you ever take your opponent down to the ground, you're expected to help them control their fall. We generally don't do "point sparring", except if we are actively preparing for a specific tournament. We more do a 'freestyle' sparring where you are expected to combine sequences of attacks and defenses. The goal isn't to hurt or injure your partner, but to practice your techniques in a more fluid environment. I, for one, wear MMA style gloves, because my usual technique is to let the opponent strike, then grab his/her weapon on the way back out and use that against him. For younger students, they are expected to also wear headgear and foot protectors. Some also wear shin pads as well, however I find shin pads to be more of a distraction, since we should have already conditioned our shins to a certain degree. The key though is we are expected to spar in such a way as to respect our partner. One thing our CI frequently says is "you're more likely to get hurt sparring against a white belt than a black belt". There have been a handful of incidents over the years where one student injured another, but those have been pretty rare (and usually ended up happening on belt tests when emotions are running a bit hotter).

I sent you a PM with some contact information. It may be out of date, but it is at least worth looking into. Welcome to the forum, and good luck on your search!