Miick 11

The other issue is , its not about 'another place to train' . I am beyond that now, and in any case too old for it . I am more of a coach ; I can show young fit people with experience in karate how to apply what I know ... but I am certainly not up for 'a 50 man spar' I am more interested in doing seminars and offering what I have in that type of environment . I have been to a few seminar type instructions that other clubs put on, they where great and I learned a LOT from them . ... and , of course, a 'certain person' would never accompany me to these , even though a few other local club heads , teachers and seniors went along .

Thanks, your feedback is appreciated . I did write a long post in response , but I have no idea where it went ? Anyway , this has broached into another general subject, which I hope to post on later about : the Student instructor relationship . The other day I saw a good video from a many years long Iaido practitioner ; " Why I hate Iaido . " he bought up some relevant points to 'karate instruction' that I'd like to discuss here in another thread .

.... then stomped it into the ground.... then kicked it in the river . I probably should not have , but lost it due to frustration . I think , I should have been more patient and explained what was going on for me but then ..... I realized that has been my approach for over 5 years ! nothing seems to get through or make a difference. I may well have given up martial arts . I dont want to , but I dont know who I am going to train with anymore ? I live in a rural area ... and NO ONE else does anything like I do .... except for one person who 'gets it '. I train ; 17 empty hand katas ( plus a heap of bunkais and drill developed from them ) and the same with 17 katas ; bo , jo, eku, sai, kama, tonfa and a lot of boken ... I guess that is all going to be done 'in the air' now . I suppose I will wait until the dust settles from the explosion and see what happens then .... but no way can I go back to what was happening (eg. I am not going to list all my complaints .... too many, but an example of 'annoyance' : sword match .... slow speed so we can observe and learn ( yet another thing instigated by me ) , my partner ( the one guy that 'gets me' ) enters with a nice tsuki , and slices the 'blade' across my throat , I stop, bow to him . We start again , I mange to come in over the top and down and stab him in the shoulder and push him back ... he goes back, I pull the blade out and slash , he stops and bows to me . I do the same technique to 'instructor' .... he refuses to go back when pushed with the sword tip ( a slow tsuki) after I get past his guard , he gets annoyed , lets go of his own sword with one hand , grabs my 'blade' with his hand and 'annoyed' pulls it out of the way ! .... I have to keep telling him " dont try to grab a sword blade , you keep saying to train with a boken like it is a real sword ... now IS IT , or is it a 'sword jo' make up your mind - then he will not answer . That and other behavior has driven students away or any new interested person . About 40% of applied technique he 'teaches' comes from me .... yet I pay him to support a hall rental for the club for night classes I dont even go to, nor really does anyone else nowadays . . . then he moaned to the remaining guy that 'no one pays me for instruction ' . Thats it ! I am out .

We have been ding all sorts of stuff with kata at training . Instigated by me as 'instructor' has been away a lot lately . The guys get bored and so do I . Instructor doesnt seem to , just happy to do kata the same way over and over again with the same old, stale , near 'mythological ' bunkai / applications . So several things are done now ; A standard type of formal bunkai .... still , 'rigid and robot like' - like a ritual , or a tea ceremony . A more dynamic version where the other tries counters against the bunkai . A version where its more dynamic, or 'real' where both move around and 'spa' . Or this ; pick a kata , pick 3 moves , 'spar' tying to use mostly those moves or bunkai (other techniques allowed to 'mix it up a bit' but we concentrate on a few specifics, examine them , gauge their effectiveness, etc . 'Match speed ' - doing the above but at slower speeds and each going to same speed as the other ( 'Instructor simply can not do this ... he HAS TO speed up ) - its great for timing, finding gaps, examining movements etc . Along with this we try to react and follow through eg ; at times, even if you are in slow motion mode , you can see an opportunity to deliver a perfect technique or counter. The other should go with it, eg. a strong strike to the side of the head, does not stop before contact, but becasue its slow, it pushes the others head, neck ad their body follows into a specific shape , then you work on that shape . This revealed that some where, even in slow mo, well out of proper range .... too much sparring without striking , just 'flicking' techniques a couple of inches away from target . Last week, these games revealed ; the benefit of 'cross step in, slap down a guard and deliver a vertical fist. And the reason why we often see in forms like Wu-shu , a spearman does a one-handed thrust up on one leg .... my opponent ( with a bo) had backed off out of rage (so he thought ) ... that raised rear leg , in concert with an angled down from high position , one handed thrust , gains about 1 metre ..... got him right through the heart when he thought he was safe ! ( rubber tip of course )

I start each day with waking up, peeking out my eyelids to check and then ..... "My God ! I am STILL alive ! What a miraculous day ! Then I might do some kata .

1. A very new, young and nervous yellow belt in an open Shotokan tournament. I got matched against this black belt that was cleaning everyone up . He had massive long gangly limbs, long reach , was sticking his fist in people's faces and they could not hit him with side kick . He kept holding his arms out, nearly straight and jabbing at me . It annoyed me so I thought to attack what was annoying me and 'in my way ' . I stepped through with back leg, kicked his fist and followed through with a lunge punch to the face . I must have jarred a finger , he stopped hunched his shoulders lifted his arm and hand up and back and at the same time he moved his back foot forward and rose up a bit and moved forward a bit . Ref blasted his whistle, jammed his index fingers together ( two opposes forces meeting ) , flung one finger in the air then pointed at me "Ippon" ! - a one point win . He looked so furious the ref jumped between us to shield me . 2. Aikido ; A successful randori against 3 black belts with the 3 different weapons . I was white belt, but had been that for a long time - previously I had done very good training with old school akikai guys in various locations in Sydney. I moved to the country, no aikido. Then a club opened . Things seem to have degraded somewhat . Then some visiting black belts came for a seminar , one knew the guys I had trained with earlier and he asked me for how long - it was him that suggested I 'be allowed' to have a go when the seniors where playing randori . First they started going easy on me , after a bit it got real fun . 3.Very beautiful young lady , about half my age , the 'head turner' of the town and then, recently my new girl friend , turns up at training , says "I will wait for you outside darling ." Jaws drop, gawp ... stare incredulously.

Same here . Its a kids babysitting program . I expect it is because ... that is what modern karate IS - a school kids physical fitness system based on older karate. I dont do it for just that reason - especially nowadays . We visited a club in the nearby small city, three or four senior instructors and a herd of kids. One of the adults says to me ; " We might have different styles, but we are all in it for the same reason .... to help kids grow up to be good responsible adults . " Me ; " We dont have any kids in our club . " ..... just as well too , I would never teach kids stuff like that . Any quires , I say to send them to the town's Shotokan club . - I'll digress a bit ; we did have one 'kid' for a while, he was a senior at school, so not too young , he came from another club , in that nearby city . He wanted to train with us to learn , primarily, an ecu kata so he could 'do something different ' for his black belt examination, which they required . Many a conversation I had with his father about the costs they burdened them with . With us , he either paid $12 a lesson , or nothing if I took the class . I was always concerned with his 'form' , I noticed at times , when 'under pressure' ( a quicker or surprise attack, a difficult move, etc ) his r leg, when in a rear position seemed near paralyzed , ie, knee bent and turned inwards, heel up and ankle twisted, as if all the weight was on the other leg , as if he was 'protecting' and keeping weight off the right leg . He didnt do it when practicing kata or kihon , so I asked him " When you do a kata, does your instructor correct your 'form; stance ', position and balance ?" "Oh... all the time ." " And when you practice a bunkai, does he ever correct your footwork or leg position and stance ? " " No . " Strange , but the 'evidence' suggests that very thing . I kept pointing it out and suggested he correct it , but I guess, that was not what he was there for. The father is concerned and tells me how much he spent so far ; uniform, training sessions , club yearly payment , fees for each exam for each kyu , special 'training camps' , $150 for a previous black belt examination , but they failed him , and he still had to pay , this was his second attempt ... and money to buy (off them ) .... wait for it .... a hakama ! Me ; " An Hakama ? In karate . " Dad; " Yes, they can wear one for training after they become a black belt . " Anyway , I talked to his father about the left rear leg 'problem' but he didnt seem interested - I suppose he thought if it was not significant , otherwise the 'professional' instructors would have said something . Anyway, he got his black belt , I saw a film of his exam, which he did in his new hakama and doing our ecu kata and then demonstrating a couple of bunkais he learned from us with his instructor as partner ( who, nervously, was wearing a full kendo helmet ) He did a basic move , the crowd roared approval, he got his black belt . Then he vanished . I saw the father some months later and he was complaining about all the new charges again ..... what ? ! Apparently all that was for his JUNIOR black belt , and if he wants a full senior one ...... The last time I saw the father he was distraught . The lad got a bad disabling injury in a sparing competition . Me ; " Right leg ? " Yup ! now the kid has to have a big operation .... on something .... doc says 'No more karate for you ! " It will probably trouble him into the future as well . No more being a 'karate cash cow ' for him ! I dont know what the total money cost ended up to be .

I dont run 'dojo' as such but I have used it as a valuable tool to help some get around issues they have had with training . But I see it as a 'visualization tool' to help align , balance, root, extend , etc . Eg , one very slight woman was easily lifted by two strong guys, but when I got her to visualize certain 'ki aspects ' ( ) they had great trouble lifting her - weird thing was, they did get her feet little off the ground but then nothing - the people watching could actually see the guys straining, their muscles bulging, but nope . Eventually she opened her eyes, got a surprise that stopped her concentration and up she went with ease . Most observing where amazed and saw it as some mystical energy , but they knew little of 'multiple body mechanics interaction' .

So our official instructor has been away for about a month and I have been taking class . " You guys up for something different ? " - I got swamped ! They where very much up for that as pretty bored with endless repetition of things that have not changed that much in years ( except where I have manged to sneak stuff in ) " We need to get out of 'bunkai kindergarten' . .... YOU ! pick a kata " - he does . " You. pick a move from it and a bunkai ... and you, another , and you another . Right, practice them . " " Okay , you have faced off , bowed , got into ready position , one attacked , one defended/countered . NOW do it as you would start a spar ... the attacker move around a bit and feint a bit then attack . " They did that for a while . " Now, do the same but add this ; the attacker, try to stop their bunkai / counter . " Then after that ; groups of three ; two 'spar' ( say 'spar' but there are no rules or restrictions , except try to NOT injure your partner ) one observes ; " Use any of the four techniques and their bunkais ... of course all other sorts of things will happen but concentrate on looking, within all that , for an opportunity to apply one of those techniques . The third person is like a referee , observing and calling when he sees one of those techniques applied successfully . It started as a slow motion movement , after a bt we speeded up . A very enlightening exercise ! Some bunkais and moves where hopeless and easliy countered . Others where not . And the ones used in static bunkai practice ( ie against classic oi-tsuki, straight punch, that is left 'hanging out there ' ) where useless, as no one was punching like that in a 'spar' . ... except for me, a first .... to give them a better chance at applying one of those techniques . I think this is part of the problem ; people teach kata , then 'static' ( just standing there ) bunkai , then leap over all these other bridging exercises , into 'free spar ' , no wonder many of those techniques dont transfer . IMO its all about 'dancing around' (fighting ' as usual ' ... however you can AND THEN applying a technique when the opportunity presents itself . One problem with this is .... without the pain and pond down , people dont react properly - I mean , at one time I had one of them in a wrist lock / straight arm bar sort of thing, he was bent over and I was continually smacking him with a swinging wild round uppercut to the face ( not really, of course , we dont do comp MMA ) , I got bored and came in with knee to the ribs followed by a down elbow into his spine as he was going down . Thing is, he could have got me with a back kick after the first face punch ... but he didnt 'think to do that ' ..... I am pretty sure , after one or two more real ones ... he would have . Thats the thing .... if its not real, its not real ... if it is real ...... thats a bunch of sore and sorry club members afterwards ! Over the years I have had to take a few offs. once months , once a permanent injury .... and thats from NOT trying to hurt each other !

Yes, we were meaning two different things here so the wires got a little crossed. I was meaning someone on the ground but not knocked-out. That's a fair point. We tend to use it in a few different ways. Not surprising. MSSR Chinto is much different from the Chinto that Shobayashi does and I've seen at least 2 other ways since. Very possible, and that is the difficulty with talking about kata in a text based format. There's also the issue of the game of telephone that is learning karate, and the way that some people will morph a kata to make sense for their bodies. We run into this problem at my school. The founder was a very short man, and as such some of the techniques were very likely changed to make sense for him. In the change came a change in bunkai and the like and this is what he passed on. Now were at the place in the dojo of trying to translate those techniques back into something that makes sense as a lot of us are significantly taller than he was. Part of the fun of karate for sure, but definitely frustrating. Yes, its a difficult discussion without the visuals . The size thing is significant with us ; Mr N was short , but Ted ( Soken's student that bought the style to Australia ) was very tall . Still , there was significant OTHER differences . I see them as 'base style ' and 'family style' . Both seemed acceptable to Mr N.

So it looks like no one here ( in this thread , anyway ) moves backwards when practicing 'kihon' against an attack , or as a bunkai from a kata move . Shotokan seems to love doing it . And many other demos on youtube .

The example the comes to mind here is Gojushiho. In the Shobayashi iteration of it, there is the sequencing of the finger strikes, kick, punch, then a horse stance at 45 degrees where we scoop up the head (imagine grabbing hair) and then punch down. There is also the final move of Chinto (also Shobayashi) where the final move is expressly hitting a downed opponent by going to the knee and delivering a punch. There isn't much of this in Matsumura-Seito, but I've encountered quite a lot of it in Shobayashi. Ananku, in every version that I have learned, sets a cat stance in the first two shutos by stepping forward into a cat stance. Some versions of Wansu also end with setting a cat stance forward for the shutos. Pinan Shodan often steps forward into cat stance with shutos as well. Its probably a terminology issue ? I thought a 'downed opponent' is a finished one . Not a 'taken down ' one. But you probably mean when someone is 'lower' than you are ? Or they are 'on their way down ' and you sorta 'help them along ' . We have plenty of that , then after that, they are 'downed' . Plenty of kata moves are shuto going forward in cat stance too , but I dont see moving forward as 'setting' into cat stance . Its more of a circular motion with the front foot to get around the others lead foot . And as I said , we dont use shuto as a type of 'chop' or a 'block' ; its a short circular movement, in front, with both hands to 'get around' the others attacking arm and strike over the top of that arm to any weak point above their shoulder. And the Chinto I do ends nothing like you described , although there are two other occasions when you punch from a one knee kneeling position in the form of Gojoshiho that we do , but they are not directed downwards . There is a reason why they are done one one knee though , but it isnt to hit someone on the ground . I feel we are back in the place where many moves in kata may have lost their meaning during the transition from old traditional style to modern 'school style' just as the applications for basics did .

you might never punch a downed opponent by your feet but have you ever thought of the movement in a grappling context? Like say pulling and pushing someone down?I definitely don’t take it for granted that others think about karate the way I do. Even in my own organization I’m unique in my approach, much less my experience interacting with the wider karate community online. I used to love the karate culture FB page, then it got pretty big (by karate page standards) and a bunch people who had clearly never even had a sparring session with moderate power began posting…don’t remember his name but one was a major fraud with self published books talking about energy, and sharing videos of him demonstrating how defend against someone swinging a stick like object at your head (his partner used a bokken) where he simply just caught it with one hand and pulled it from their two handed grip lol. I can definitely relate to that ! We do a kata - Nabudhi Nagata ( sic ? only ever HEARD the name - never seen it else where ) . It supposed has staff disarming techniques . I wa shown some applications just like that ! he just pulled the staff away and hit the other with it . Ummmmm , yeah, but what if he ISNT your instructor and you decide NOT to hand it over compliantly ( which is what they are actually doing . OR one move showed a full powered forearm block against the incoming staff ! My protests where met with ' Well, some guys can break a bat over their arm ." - sigh - My response ; 'Go on then " . Well HE couldnt do that .... so what the hell was the point ? Neither can I . its been adapted so they DID work , eg I take the hit from the other side and everything flows smoothly with no force or shock ( to me that is ) and incorporates the sequence of the next few moves , resulting in a 'throw away' of the person with me left holding the staff .

Sinking down into a horse stance and hitting a 'downed enemy' seems the wrong application of a technique to me . A few times I have been in a grapple, or half way through a lock or take down, the person is 'down there' (say NEAR the ground , but not 'downed' ) and its simply natural to stand firm and wide ( 'horse' ) and 'sink' down with an elbow strike . 'Setting' into cat stance seems strange to me - yet 'moving' ( 'snapping' actually ) back into a cat stance from a deep 'front stance ' can be a very good supplementary technique ( as in the first 'rear move' of the first Pinan kata ..... which we probably do different to everyone else as well ) Doing a 'wrong' move or bunkai will not make much sense or work . But thats my issue , doesnt seem to matter .... people will just keep on practicing it over and over , and teaching it to others to practice over and over . Which is fine , IF your sport is technical accurate reproduction of anothe'rs movements .

Not in the public forum. The ones in the public forum are more in the area of focusing on Hohan Soken and sometimes a young Nishihira is seen in them . The ones of Nishihira post Soken are private ones I have seen and collected . The '3 strikes you are out' technique' is against a more lumbering, swinging drunk type .... not a 'snappy boxer' * . The other one where the wrist is twisted to the outside, I already said I am skeptical of it IF the person does not do a 'tsuki' and leave there hand and arm sticking out there floating in the air (although I see this commonly in karate demos ) . * one guy shaped up boxing style to Nishihira , his response was to leap in from a distance with flying roundhouse kick (faint ) to his knee, as the guy stepped back and Nishihira kicked with the other leg into the inside of the other knee . ( a bit of an issue , the guy had to be hospitalized , some asked 'Why did you do that ?" " He want to fight me ! " It was explained that 'at home' if someone jumped around 'at you ' like that they where 'inviting you to SPAR with them ' . - personally I think it was an 'impoliteness issue ' - he should have bowed first and then asked if Mr N would spar with him for training purposes . If you are not familiar with him ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosei_Nishihira

I have seen Mr Nishihira 'back up ' .... it goes like this ( a 'self defense' thing ) ; 1. person takes a swing at him , he throws hands up and steps back out of range ; " No no , I no fight ! " 2. they take another swing , he steps back, throws arms up again ; " No! I no fight ! " 3. they take another swing , he goes to step back again, throws arms up but catches the punch in both hands ( like a clap ) , angles to side , slides front foot forward , seizes their wrist with one hand and the other slides up the inside of their arm to 'nukite' in the throat . - 2 warnings , strike 3 and your 'out' . Another one I have seen is a step back, seize the punch and twist the wrist outward . I dont particularly like it .... hard to do unless the other does a straight punch and then leaves it hanging out there in the air ..... some do that in training , but not the 'street wise' .

Yeah well, we can mix it all up like that for 'warm ups' or just practice techniques but I am specifically asking about why people move forward in kata to do their 'blocks' but move backwards in practicing those techniques from katas . And also (trying) to introduce this 'new idea' - I thought someone here might also have encountered this ? Indeed , most of the moves I described are angling off to the side And moving forward - its hard to 'brush something aside ' / strike at it to deflect its path unless you are moving sideways and/or forward . And by stepping back you are often out of range for a counter without stepping or sliding back in. So, when you train for these 'defensive tactics ' and you "get into a good defensive stance and perhaps blocking then " do you use 'blocks' and counters or something like what I described ?

Yes, many of the more 'obscure' moves in some kata , I have been shown are grappling / take downs . So how do you train with these techniques ? Are you doing inner and outer 'blocks' then counter . or are you doing something like I described above ? or something else ? - no one seems to want to comment on these techniques , so I am guessing not many , if any, other people do them , or even understand what I am talking about . Regarding 'lost applications' I remember this story ; Hohan Soken went to Argentina and missed the conversion of old style Okinawan karate into modern day 'school kid / sports ' karate . He returned to Okinawa later and saw some of the modern karate and asked what it was those people where doing . He was surprised to be told it was 'karate ' . However he did teach that 'old style' to some people . I know many people dispute this , quotes from seniors who trained with Soken , like " I trained constantly with them and I never saw any distinction ." yet there was a distinctive difference between Soken's American students that also trained 'on base ' and those that just trained with him as 'close associates ' . Eg, In my travels around Australia seeking out people that trained with Nishihira, one person ( who was student of Ted Lange - Ted bought Soken's karate to Australia , he was an American serviceman in Okinawa , after Soken's death Ted informed us, that for us, Mr Nishihira would be the new master of the style) had gone to Okinawa to train with Mr. Nishihira and he told me the first thing he said was 'Show me your karate ' . So he did some kata . Nishihra commented in politeness ; " Oh yes , Ted style , very good ! " He said " No disrespect to Ted , but I have trained under him for years . If want to learn more from him, I just go to the next town where we live . But now I have traveled half way across the world to see you and I would like to learn anything that you think is worthwhile . " Then according to him, a whole lot of new stuff was taught . And it was that same stuff that I have been extracting and concentrating on , that seems to exist within and alongside the 'other' 'base tradition' . They are the differences of technique that I have described in a few posts here . I am sure this 'old style ' exists and was passed on by others than Soken ? No one seems to speak about it here though ?

The whole system of applying them is inefficient - which seems all about doing things in a very specific way and form - ie. practicing 'karate sport' - even though the movements may be inefficient and awkward . Uki actually means 'to sweep aside' which seems the opposite of 'block ' . In many cases that is exactly what we are doing ; sweeping aside an attack ( while evading and 'stinging' at the same time . - 'sting' , strike 'funny bone' or wrist LU8 etc ..... 'weak point ' ) Evade/sweep aside/ sting , control/take down , 'finish' . One of the biggest differences I have noted is in 'shuto ' , many seem to do it like some type of 'karate chop' . Its actually ( well, in my style) a very subtle controlling and drawing in and twisting /catching 'hand spiral' developed from (or visa versa ) a classical hand movement in Okinawan dance . - it works best against a straight punch, but on one occasion I managed to apply it to a kick boxer who attacked with a wild circular 'hay maker' punch .

yeah, that's why I put the apostrophes around 'blocks' . That would have been my answer - and I have addressed this issue many times here an talked about what those 'blocks' originally where . No real response though .... you are the first 'positive ' response I have got to the idea . I would be interested to read your take on what the techniques are ? * - oh yeah , my style is a continuation from before those 'school kid changes' where bought in ; 'Matsamura Sieto Shorin-Ryu via Kosei Nishihira ( via Hohan Soken ) ' . No, you dont want kids learning this .... we dont even have kids in our club , I send them to Shotokan . * ( One example ) In Shotokan ( as a school kid ) I learned 'outer block ' ; step back r. leg, move right arm across your body to the left and left arm across your body to the right ( crossed arms ) , the left comes across to block the strike and the right goes to the right hip . In MSSR ; step to the r.side, the r. hand comes across to the left, deflecting the strike, arms are as above , in an X , the r hand is drawn back , the left back knuckles strike the others elbow . or in an 'inside block ' , similar except the 'ring knuckle' is whipped across into the others wrist at LU8 point . Similar with low block .... whose names dont even mean block anyway, if translated to English . Understanding Okinawan's 'crane form' is a big help to getting a lot of this ; ' wings open, wings closed ' . I am interested in WHY people still do it though ; up and down the hall forwards doing 'their blocks' and then going u and down the hall backwards applying those 'blocks' ? - oh yeah , of course, one can use blocks as well, when the need arises ; 'pre empt, jamming , etc

When you are doing a variety of katas, often when moving down the embusen ( the line of the original direction you where facing at the start ), and in other directions ( eg. to the side ) you do a series of 'blocks', ( eg upper in Pinan , lower in Passai forms ) whilst moving forward Yet, in practicing kihon ( or ' one, two or three step sparring ' with a partner ) they are mostly done (as I observe others doing ) by moving backwards . So, why do you think the forward movement with virtually no backward movement combined with blocking is used in the kata ? or conversely , if you have a good reason to be moving forward with blocking in the kata , why is so much practice done moving backwards while blocking ?

All things or any things AT HAND . I got a new student that want's to learn staff . He is very accomplished Ju-jitsu / kick boxer but is unfamiliar with weapons . We also did a bit of knife and machete stuff the other day . he commented about what damage a simple small knife can do . I had to interrupt - " Don't mistake any of this for self defense against a REAL knife situation , this is just a training aid . However I have done self defense class against a REAL situation, and then explained it . It was in a school gym set up as a dojo for the night . Various people did stuff . I gave a tanto (wooden) to a 'slippery' guy and invited him to attack me , he advanced and I was out the big open back doors in a flash and gone . people seemed confused when I came back in the side door . Again : this time he positioned himself between me and doors and advanced , I backed up and found myself amongst some chairs that had been pushed aside , we played cat and mouse there for a while but he " I will catch you eventually ." Me; " Do you want me to start throwing chairs at you .... or just advance on you using the chair as a weapon ?" He responded " I will grab a chair too ! " Me ; " What are you going to do with that 'sharp' big knike in your hand while you are trying to weild a chair " ? So we started again , this time he is blocking my exist to the doors and the chairs , so I back up , with no ther plan than to get away from that knife .... my back hits the wall and ..... the weapons rack ! So I reach behind me and grab a boken ." " And here " I hand my new friend a wooden tanto " In your home dojo there is that " he had bought a vacuum cleaner in previously to go over the mats before we started , " I could flay that around at you with the hose, the Vac would probably break off but I think that hose would give you , or your lead arm a flogging ..... there are your weapons scattered about as well , the garbage bin ... anything . And yes, there is the aspect people mentioned re the keys , but this applies to a lot of stuff , you dont know the subtleties of tonfa , you are libel to get hurt using them , nunchuku are a classic ! someone pulls them on you , stand back and watch them knock themselves out ( I am talking about silly street punks types here ) . I have noticed that some who seem proficient with a weapon have little idea about practical use ,,, particularly in the area of 'rebound' . If you have not experienced that try seriously whacking your nunchuks into a makiwara or similar .... maybe start iff with plastic pair .

To me , I think its modern, flashy and impracticable - all the things I dont like . We used the type available at local hardware store in Okinawa . But I find these unsuitable for what we do . Now I prefer rubber ones - hard rubber . I would prefer wood - solid and all one piece with reinforcing between handle and blade . Like I got my wooden machetes made for training . I like to practice 'bunkai' from our 3 forms ; too dangerous with a sharp or pointy one and will cut, chunk, nick , a wooden weapon up in no time . Gamma is not a 'strong weapon' between the handle and blade - not 'head on clash' strong , it relies more on movement and sharp cutting and piecing power ; so I can deflect, knock, strike aside with the handle or near the join of handle to blade , even hook over with the thick end of the blade near the handle with the rubber version , so defense isnt greatly compromised ; yet I can slash cut and pierce with the rubber blade on the others body , across the throat ,hook behind the knee and lift , come in low for an 'insertion' and rip back to take out the femoral artery ... etc . techniques I would never practice on another , even with a blunt metal blade .

What about sparing , especially in inter club comp ? I might have a black belt becasue I can do the kata and have an understanding about it that my style thinks is worth a black belt . Some other guy might have got his by proving his ability with kata, understanding , vigorous conditioning , including how to take a HARD hit . He goes into a spar with me thinking "he is a black belt , good, he should be able to handle ..... " Result then is an 'embarrassment ' of a different kind . Especially if he has a 'lower grade' than me . Unless he is a 'proof is on the floor ' type of guy . There are two schools of thought on this .... and I have noticed this with some people happy to give kids and others ( like the disabled ) a grade that they earned by doing their best possible . The other school, of course, is that it is about the performance and not the person . I would say, the more a style or club is geared towards a 'real fighting style' , other than a sport or competition indicates how much they rely on the validity of performance over effort . That is because modern karate has 'got out of control' - see tatsujin's comments above .

Our teacher, Mr Nishihira , didnt have a dojo but trained and taught in his ' bentoyasan' catering 'shop' - just pushed some stuff aside . You can see this in pictures of him training and teaching on the internet ; pots and pans , freezers , tables , etc. Shotokan early training was in school gym ... with a pic of Funakashi on wall . Sikiran training was done in hall downstairs from Masonic Temple ( we heard 'strange' noises coming from up there ...... but I think THEY heard even stranger noises coming from downstairs ! ) Aikido was in school hall and community hall , and I volunteered to make the 'Shomen' ; it was awhile back , it has to have a shelf , something alive, something that was alive , something inanimate ..... tatsujin probably knows . I made it out of 3 types of bamboo I have growing , including a rare green with brown stripe 'painted bamboo' , a small twisted dry tree stump / roots , shelves of pine board , pic of O'Sensai of course . Oh yeah, stand for the 3 weapons of aikido (jo, boken, tanto ) , a river rock with a quartz seam running through .... ummm .... ? Able to disassemble , store or move , and set up elsewhere - I hear they still have it . At home I have a flat area , mostly circular , about the size of the radius of full lock on the tractor steering (cause thats how I made it ) ; 'The Circle of Death ' . And on the weekend , its in town , in the park, by the riverside .... that might be the best one yet ! Great spot .