Sailor Sindbad

Not gonna lie; I'd feel like a total goofball wearing a gi that had shorts instead of trousers.

I'm shocked to see Shorin-ryu as #1. I expected it to be no higher than 5th place (after Shotokan, Goju-ryu, Wado-ryu, and Shito-ryu). Or even lower, if you counted Tang Soo Do.

Technical Sergeant (Retired Air Force Reserve) 6th Kyu Karate

Beneficial for what? Fighting/self-defense? If two karateka were to engage in a Karate Combat style match, and I were to make predictions... none of it would be based on who has the better looking kata.

This actually leads to an interesting point: we can say that karate is less than 100 years old, but that's because of a technicality: Shotokan was first codified in 1928. Kobayashi Shorin-ryu wasn't codified until 1929, yet Shotokan is still considered a descendant style. While the debate on whether or not tang soo do is karate is as old as tang soo do itself, the consensus is that taekwondo is not karate, despite being derived from tang soo do - and, by extension - Japanese karate itself. And taekwondo was codified less than 30 years after Shotokan was. So far, we know two things: 1. In the evolution of a particular martial art that may have origins in karate, there eventually comes a point where it ceases to be karate. And, 2. It doesn't take a century for this happen.

THIS is China hand: 唐手 THIS is empty hand: 空手 Karate is the latter, meaning that "tang soo do," is not a translation of the word "karate." If you were to argue that, and if I were to concede, here's something we have to look at: the deal with perception being reality. Here's a good example that can equate to this: the Italian word for ice cream is "gelato." So whether you're eating Breyers or Talenti in Italy, they're both "gelato" there. However, outside of Italy, gelato is considered to be a totally separate thing from ice cream. You refer to Talenti as "ice cream" outside of Italy, and everyone will look at you like you lack any social grace. So even if "tang soo do" and "karate" meant the same thing, the question is whether or not that's the general perception.

I'm a new guy here, so I don't mean to ruffle feathers, but what's the consensus here on whether or not Tang Soo Do, Soo Bahk Do, etc is karate? I don't think it's completely accurate to say that karate has become bigger than Japan. We have an example of a martial art that has become bigger than its national origin - modern Western boxing is British. But other countries outside the UK - namely the US, Mexico, Russia, etc - completely taking over and dominating the sport has made it bigger than the UK. That hasn't happened with karate.

If the Ryukyu Kingdom had never been annexed by Japan, and karate had spread around the world directly from Okinawa without passing through Japan first, would karate be the same as what we have now - even in Okinawan styles? The word "karate" itself is Japanese, not Uchinaaguchi. While I will always say that karate is Okinawan, I don't consider anyone to be wrong if they say it's Japanese.

I'm 42 years old, and only started karate in late 2019. I can't speak for everyone, but my take is this: when the UFC initially started in the early mid-1990's, there were more traditional martial artists, so I finally got to see it in real live action. Prior to that, the only "karate" I saw was the choreographed stuff in the movies. Were it not for MMA, I would still think that karate looked like the scenes from Van Damme movies. But with MMA, I saw that practitioners of eastern martial arts are human, and that practitioners of western wrestling and boxing are capable of beating them. They're not invincible like Van Damme and Chuck Norris in the movies. In my estimation, younger people didn't live through that; so they grew up with a more realistic view of karate. No disappointments, so I think that's where the interest comes from.

I think I can provide some insight on this: I'm 42 years old, and have only been doing karate for 2.5 years. I started just less than one month shy of my 40th birthday. In my short time that I've been here, I've seen white belts that quit after 1 or 2 classes. Having been where they've been two years ago, I was badly out of shape (and still have some work to do) and I absolutely hated the calisthenics. I dreaded those calisthenics to the point where I had to work up the courage before going in to train. And I'd say this was the case for the first whole year. Even outside of the initial calisthenics at the beginning of class, karate training itself is a workout. And, unlike going to conventional gym to lift weights or use cardio machines, karate training is not at your own pace. You follow commands at the pace that they are given, and you are to keep up with that pace with your fellow students. That's the first thing that had me considering dropping. But, eventually, I've developed myself physically to the point where that's no longer a concern. But once you get past that hurdle, there's another: at around 8th or 7th Kyu (we have 13 Kyu ranks), there's a level of frustration that I've experienced with kata training days, in that we don't always get to add on to the kata that we're working on - and by the time we've got the hours, we don't have all the material we need for the upcoming test. As a matter of fact, at my last rank, I had to learn two katas; and didn't even start on them until I had half of the hours necessary to test. And when I did start, it's because I brought it up and asked (I've heard that this is a no-no in some other dojos, and would have left if this was the case in mine. After all, I am paying customer). I was seriously considering finding a martial art whos training isn't based on curriculums and testing (i.e., most Western martial arts) because of this. This issue may be unique to my dojo (I don't know), but in my estimation, this likely affects some people's decision to continue once reaching that level.

At my dojo, the free gi given to new students is the 5 oz Pro Force. They're very cheap looking and they feel cheap. In my mind, as a new student, that was a "light weight gi," so I immediately looked for a "middle weight gi." I bought to sets of 11 oz gis. Too heavy for my liking; but I stuck with them for a few months to get at least some of my money's worth out of them. I then bought two sets of Hirota lightweight gis. They're 7.9 oz. That's just right. So, for anyone that's looking to upgrade from the "free gi," I'd say that an 8 oz gi works just fine.

So if one manufacturer's heavyweight is 11 oz, and another brand's middleweight is 11 oz... they're both more or less the same, correct?

Hello, I'm looking for some advice on how to determine what is what in terms of weight. I'm pretty much sold on Hirota, and am trying to decide between the MH-11 and MH-12. Right now, I have two Kamikaze America, both considered by Kamikaze to be "heavyweight." Kamikaze lists the America as 11 oz. The Kamikaze America is to heavy for my liking, so I want a middle weight gi. Hirota advertises the MH-11 as it's middleweight, but... it's 12 oz. That being said, if I get the Hirota middleweight... would I end up with something heavier than what I have now, and would be better off with the MH-12 (lightweight 7.9 oz)? Bottomline, I suppose... when looking at brands, do I judge by the advertised ounces, I do I judge by the advertised lightweight/middleweight/heavyweight?