Shorin Ryuu

I told you, the Okinawa Program, a book you can get for relatively cheap, has a 4-week diet plan on it. More importantly, it gives you the nutritional know-how to know what foods to eat, why, and how. That way, you don't simply have to just take our word for it and merely eat something because someone said it was healthy. If you have solid nutritional knowledge, you can think for yourself and provide an endless menu of variety for yourself. Even though this is just one opinion, I find it's advice backed up by good researched and confirmed by other sources. That will help you far more than simply making a menu that you use merely because someone told you something was heathy. I know Sun Ti will back me up on this when I say that it is far better for you to learn and understand then simply follow what others tell you. And I think the Okinawa Program will help you do that. EDIT: Don't just see a doctor, see a nutritionist. Your doctor (if you ever see your doctor) will probably suggest this as well.

I think he was, but not too sure.

Me... RyuuNOSPAMsoul@hotmaNOSPAMil.com remove the NOSPAM, of course...hehe

Ah, that's too bad... There was someone like that who really went off the deep end that used to be in my style (Shorinkan Kobayashi Shorin Ryu). Frank Hargrove was an excellent martial artist, but he let money, fame and all that get to his head and did a lot of dirty dealings and was subsequently kicked out of the style. Later, at his dojo, he began to teach karate as a strange hybrid of Christian evangelism and martial arts, and last I heard, is in jail for tax evasion: Apparently he tried claiming his dojo was a church...

These are all excellent points mentioned by Jussi before I was going to bring them up.

I agree with your message at least, Sun Ti. I haven't read enough of Shane's posts specifically to see if he falls in this category, so this isn't directed against him. Something people don't realize is that traditional martial arts is a lot like jazz. No really, I'm actually going somewhere here. Being good at jazz requires improvisation, but if you improvise without knowing music, you'll just end up sounding like crap. Most all traditional masters, at least in Okinawan styles and I've heard of many others in Chinese styles learned the basic "sheet music" of the martial arts. That didn't stop them from going out, learning different systems of fighting and playing their tunes they had within them, and they played darn well. What else is Okinawan karate, but a "perfect fifth" and a "perfect fourth" off of the indigenous styles spiced up with some Chinese rhythms? Yes, in traditional styles, there is a lot of kata and things that the "higher-ups" in Okinawa want to be taught a certain way: your hand here, your foot there, your weight in that spot. Kata was meant to be structured to take into account not only its fighting application, but also the natural breathing, the energy, the concepts, the flow. I like best how Jim Silvan puts it: "Kata is the study of biomechanics." But now, just like back then, people who are proficient are encouraged to "stylize" the kata to suit their own needs. You teach the sheet music to the students. When they get good at it, when they can make conceptual leaps, when they hit the "sweet spot", that's when the real music flows. Like I said, it doesn't take a genius to form a way of fighting. My little brother could do it. You have to know what you're doing to create something worth doing. If you really want to know why traditional martial arts are so good but aren't taking them, I'll just use what Louis Armstrong said when he was asked what jazz was: "Man, if you gotta ask, you'll never know." I came up with this analogy after someone used it to discuss how change in an organization is just like jazz. He used the piano to demonstrate his point (sometimes he uses a band). I let jazz play on my trumpet years back, and I think the analogy fits perfectly with the martial arts. So, for all of you critical thinking martial artists out there, keep on jamming! Edit: Shane, you posted that while I was typing away...I just want to say good luck to you in your training. In my view, traditional martial arts is the best source for learning how to play sheet music...but it isn't the only one, so I hope your music composition goes well.

I don't know if this is good or not, but this is what an internet search found... Okinawan Shorinryu Karate 7281 E Southern Dr Columbia, MO 65201-6923 Phone: (573) 814-2900

Yeah, I've bought stuff from Murasaki and I've always been pleased. Anyway, purpleheart is good, but is simply more expensive. As far as six feet being too tall, you have to remember that short Okinawans use six foot long bo all the time. On the other hand, a lot of people suscribe to the inch or two or three above the head rule in deciding what height should be used. Probably the best for what you are looking for and for your son is to get one more close to his height, as it would be a bit easier for him to manipulate. As far as weight goes, ash is pretty light, gets more smooth the more you work with it, doesn't warp as much, but does not take impact very well. This might make it a pretty decent choice for you. Plus, it is cheaper cost-wise.

As with most weight-bearing exercises, aren't you supposed to breath out on the exhertion (i.e. on the way up)? I use this method for three reasons: 1. It naturally happened that way (okay, not a good one). 2. I find that the breath is easier on the upwards motion as you are "opening" your body as you rise and "closing" your body as you fall. 3. Due to the nature of the pushup, it is harder the more you are closer to the ground and easier the higher up you are (structural support is better when you are fully extended in the up position). Therefore it takes more work going down. I'll talk about this more in my next point, but this was assuming you are trying to do a controlled motion in both directions without taking an extra breath at the bottom. Now, if you were doing them for speed, then I sometimes do it in the opposite manner, since I just let my body fall on the down motion and push up on the upwards motion. I was talking more about training than in terms of "competition" or "fitness test" speed methods. Especially when you are tired, people have an easier time gaining energy exhaling, so you might want to exhale on the upwards motion as well. As a sort of related note, it is commonly accepted in a lot of martial arts that exhaling is weak and inhaling is strong. But the inhale can be used to generate power like the exhale as well. But you brought up a good point, thanks.

Well in that case, read up! I'm glad to see that you are getting back into the swing of things. Best of luck to you.

Oh boy... I think the Okinawans have really propogated the myths of Okinawans fending off the samurai. It is more of a romantic, tall-tale, pride thing rather than some malicious attempt to re-write history though. By the time the Satsuma (a domain in lower Japan) invaded Okinawa in 1600 (thereabouts), the Okinawan kings had already tried to enforce weapon bans, with some degrees of success. Therefore, when the Satsuma samurai invaded, it was facing a population that wasn't fully armed or used to full mobilization in the first place. The fact that the Okinawans lasted for more than a few days is a testament to their spirit, but the outcome was inevitable. The samurai basically took over. I think there may have been a few tales of an Okinawan fending off a drunk/lecherous/bad samurai I'm sure from time to time, but there was never this huge guerrilla resistance that some sources would have you believe. Especially over the years, the Okinawans just took it all in stride. Even before they were invaded, they started to gain a reputation as relatively peaceful people. They were in a quasi-state of Chinese fiefdom and rule by the Satsuma samurai. This was resolved by the samurai "looking the other way" when the Chinese would come and trade with them, and then things would go back to normal. Relations between the two as years progressed (Okinawa and Satsuma) weren't necessarily antagonistic. As mentioned in another post, Matsumura trained in Jigen Ryu, a swordsmanship style characteristic of Satsuma samurai. Like I mentioned, I'm sure you had cases of rowdy samurai, and maybe they would get knocked around by some locals or constables, and probably did some knocking around themselves from time to time. Okinawa was finally formally annexed by Japan in the late 1800s. Short answer: No.

Yikes, I missed that one...I hope this was a joke then...

These only make me sad because there are so many beginners that lack a critical eye for martial arts instructors that get duped into these kinds of schools.

Just to clarify, as I said, it is the instructor joking with us or talking with us, not just us off on the side blowing the instructor off. But, different philosophies for different teachers. I never said we didn't work hard, but like I said, there is a difference between being severe and working hard.

Please don't tell me it's your English teacher. You beat me to it...

Pentex, if you think you have perfected the cat stance, then could you explain to me the important dynamics of ki/gravity potential in this position? Perhaps you meant to write that you have been fully introduced to the cat stance and are looking for other techniques to think about... A good book? Try Secrets of Okinawan Karate by Kiyoshi Arakaki. It has a lot on the energy of stances (and the lack thereof in the stances of many people) as well as good in-depth theory about striking and basic energy theory (he takes an interesting gravitational approach). If you've mastered the cat stance (or even if you haven't, which seems more likely), you might be able to take away a lot from this book. While a lot of it is in context of Okinawan karate, it explains it in a way to be applicable to all styles. I know I haven't "perfected" the cat stance yet...

Usually when I did it a lot during my boxing days, it was more of circuit training. It would help your cardio some, but more oriented toward activating the body for lactic acid work (anaerobic) and quick recovery. To specifically target aerobics, we would run. That's how we did it, anyway.

I didn't know that. I had read somewhere that Ikeda Honshu said he couldn't verify it in the records of Jigen ryu. But I recall seeing that connections between Jigen Ryu and Matsumura's karate before though. I didn't know he had that kind of effect on Jigen Ryu (or vice versa). I wasn't necessarily casting doubt on this fact in my original post, I was just showing how common it was for people to train in many different things back then.

Credit Card please. With name, address and social security number. Oh, and your signature.

*sniff sniff*...I didn't get one. Don't worry, just send me three easy payments of $39.95 and I can forward it to you!

I agree with cvkid that filming sparring or even just practice in general is a great tool to supplement your training. It really gives you a look at what you are doing from the outside, which can help with a lot of things.

I'm not even sure what this cross-over in the back is... I just make sure when I tie mine, the knot is firmly over the dan'tien/hara. In Iaido, I have to tie it a certain way so that it stays tight after moving the saya around a bit. But, since the whole belt thing is relatively new to karate anyway...

Yeah, I think it somehow goto a list of all those people who have their email addresses available for this site and spammed them... (There goes my feelings of being special...)

I keep one. It helps me to look over my notes. When learning new material, it helps me to remember it later on. I also write down my varying interpretations of kata or things that jump out at me when I am practicing so I can ponder them at a later time. All in all, it just plain helps.

No, thank you for the great points you brought up and forcing me to really think about what I had posted.