Shorin Ryuu

Right...phone books. Anyway, just as an interesting input (perhaps), I was actually told by Doug Perry (head of my style for North America) that it was more important to be able to attack with the sai quickly then defend with it down to your elbow. I had a pair of sai that were 1 1/4 inches past my elbow and he suggested that I get some sai that were either just to my elbow or slightly less. He said that in combat, the sai has to be used closer in anyway, and if you block down by your elbow you're doing it wrong. He said you're not just going to stand there and let a katana slide down to your elbow anyway. That being said, he didn't mean that it should be "ninja turtle Raphael short" either. It's just that it is more important to be able to manipulate it quickly because of it's two handed, close fighting and attacking nature. Just to provide a conflicting perspective, maybe.

Its a shame, Shorin Ryuu, that not many people know the application of hikite. Especially those who practise it without knowing what its for. Yeah...hikite, tuite, all of it.

It's probably just good to ask. I've usually just got a fresh gi out of respect for the teacher if I stay for more than just a few classes if the teacher is in a different style or organization (I am far too lazy to take patches off after I've sewn them on).

I agree that crescent kicks and flying spinning kicks are completely useless. However, there is a reason for pulling your other fist back to your side. It just might have something to do with grappling. It's been posted before, but I'll see if you can guess it...

I think Vitamin-S is referring to steroids, if I'm not mistaken.

Just don't try to evade taxes by citing your dojo expenses as a church function...there is at least one person sent to jail for that.

Fortunately, the principles behind what I said about my crane stance should (in my opinion) apply to all stances.

It might be the hagakure. That movie never caught my interest, so I've honestly only saw a clip of it, and not even where he quoted anything. That's just a guess.

Another way of understanding an alternate method of generating power is to look at my post on punching. As it is older, I've even provided a link for you here (Aren't I customer oriented?): http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=14623&highlight=gamaku Brace yourself...it's a long one.

Yeah, I was about to edit out that post...I was thinking something totally different and realized I was being a moron, but you went ahead and pointed it out...

Yes, I understand. Here is the true crux of the issue: What I'm saying is that a good true traditional style in my opinion generates by far a lot more good instructors than bad. One advantage (I'm not saying there are disadvantages) of a hierarchy of some sorts (I'm not even referring to how it is administered per se) is that if it is doing its job, then there is actual quality control in instructors. That is why I'm an advocate of them. I understand that there are some people, especially in the military, who don't have the luxury of studying in one style, let alone one teacher within that style. I'm one of them. I've just been re-assigned to California two months ago, will move again in a year, will be assigned to Texas, will move again in a year. Fortunately (relatively), I've found two schools in my specific style that I can train in (although the drive is rather long). The quality is still very high because standards are maintained. Once again, I'm not saying its impossible to have a good teacher who hasn't trained in many styles. Like I said before, all the old Okinawan masters did, and for that matter, every instructor that I've had has cross-trained before. Returning to the crux of the matter: Quality control.

Actually, now I'm curious...did you mean shift to the left or to the right? I find it does what you're saying if shift to the left instead. Maybe my brain isn't working right now.

Goodness, where to start... He didn't say not to rotate your foot (we're talking about the side kick here, I'm assuming). He said not to rotate your foot so it is pointing backwards. You can rotate it even to 90 degrees to the side and not injure your knee. Trust me. There is a huge, huge difference between using pure strength and generating power. The snap kick will always be quicker than a fully committed kick. The method of generating power is different because it is used like a whip. Most people think they understand it, but they don't. It is an internal whip, not an external one. Actually, Shorinryu Sensei was trying to make a point, not speak specifically for the style. Shorinryu Sensei will be the first to tell you (actually, I may beat him unless I take to long to type this post) that there is no straight forward and back movement (read his post about moving at the angle). Believe me, Shorin Ryu is a grappling and striking style. We do not like to keep our distance. See above about the knee and power. As for reach, we like to get in close. If you kick out at me, I will close in, jam your attack (reduce its effect by staying outside it's effective range of power) and end it all. This isn't an "Anti-you" post. I'm just trying to explain things further.

Hold on, let me get out my soapbox here. *clunk* Alright. Here's what I think is wrong with a lot of these arguments: You all focus on learning techniques. What about the principles? The only reason for a style in the first place is to systematically present techniques so that people can understand them AND the principles behind them. You can learn an umpteen number of devestating techniques from a multitude of styles. You have to know how and why and what the implications the technique has for all of your training as a whole. "Mastering the technique" involves much more than being able to apply it within a fraction of a section. That just means you are good at imitation. I'm not saying you can't learn from other systems. I do, and have been encouraged to do so. In true traditional karate, all the great masters did (despite what Bruce Lee said). It is when people with a collection of kata and techniques from various styles without the necessary critical depth in any one of them try to package something together in a style. I don't care about the label. They could call it "Bob's Fightin' Studio". What bothers me is that a lot of them only teach techniques. Techniques in a fight may help you, but understanding the principles behind them will save you. There are too many people that make learning a large number of techniques in a number of styles and claim that they are superior because they multi-train, but they are only collectors of technique. I'm rambling, so let me explain this better: When you build the frame of a house, you use various materials. I'm going to simplify this (because I don't know too much in detail about how to build a house) by saying we're going to build a house only out of wood (limitation is only in the example). Every piece of wood represents a martial arts technique. Some are short, some are long. Some are thick, some are thin. They are not all the same kind of wood, and some are even composites of different kinds of wood. All of them represent a long time spent learning the arts. If you only collect the pieces of wood together simply because they seem more effective than others, than you are building a house by simply stacking the pieces on top of each other. A strong wind could collapse your house. If you have a strong base in one style (you could even call it a foundation...), then you understand the optimum engineering of the different pieces to form walls, a proper frame, and a roof. Now, what house would you want to live in?

Mu Ryuk, I notice you are in Monterey, too. Did you ever want to get together and train sometime? Just to try out new ideas, discuss things, whatever.

I was just given Living the Martial Way by my Okinawan karate instructor. He said it is an excellent read no matter what style you are because it really is about living the martial way, not about promoting living the martial way in some particular style. I haven't had a chance to read it though.

I actually did this before reading the book, but I walk around everywhere by dropping the knee rather than "normally". It keeps you more relaxed, anyway. I do naihanchi even more now than I did before. Basically all of my kata are in another phase of reworking (I do that every couple of months or so), trying to incorporate his ideas into them. Luckily, a great deal of his stuff he explains I have heard from a lot of teachers in my style (Kyoshi Doug Perry mentioned gamaku multiple times every class when I visited him). However, it did help me to get a much better mental grasp on these concepts.

Really read up on the section about dropping the knee to generate force. I had to read the book in its entirety at least once (not to mention sections several times) before I got the overall picture and then I could delve into it some more. A lot of it has to do with manipulating the center of gravity between two people as well, so a partner does help. All in all, I'm still immersed in trying to understand it completely myself (but I've lent the book to someone else right now) and I imagine it will be some time before I can translate my mental understanding fully into everything I practice.

The numbers for all these violent crime statistics have actually been dropping in the past years, much to the chargrin of naysayers.

Which is what I said here: And yes, there is a difference between power and pure strength.

I'm actually curious as to what the motivation is. I've heard that in some places, instructors ask their students to make up a kata. Or, it might just be for a tournament. Either way, most people do not have the sufficient depth of knowledge of biomechanics, breathing, energy, and application to make a truly competent kata that is worth practicing. There is more to kata then simply stringing moves together, even if the applications themselves are pretty useful. I'm sure there are some people that could make up a truly good kata, perhaps, but they usually have been practicing the arts far longer than the combined ages of me and asusradeon put together...

あはは。。。先生じゃないよ！　　四年間ぐらい日本語の勉強をしましたけど、　　大学は空軍士官大学だからあんまり日本語の勉強の時間がないんだ。 空軍士官大学というのは”Air Force Academy”です。 I studied for four years, but since I went to the Air Force Academy, I didn't have much time to spend studying Japanese...

Every day, with varying intensity.

Shuuchuusareta kokoro You may be looking for Shuushuushin though. In English, what you linked to would sound like "mind that is focused" rather than "focused mind" I still like my suggestion better, on the other thread.

How about you try calling it Muyougata instead? That's prononunced (Moo yoe gata). 無用型 "Gata" is just "kata", but the sound changes due to its use in a compound. As for Muyou... (In this case, I agree with thaiboxerken...) What's the motivation for creating your own kata at age 13?