Shorin Ryuu

No. I pretty much concur with White Warlock here. Not much of anything he ever said was "new", just new to people who knew nothing of martial arts.

Has anyone else used the hojo undou equipment from Bushi Power and found them to their liking?

I think a far better book would be John Sells' Unante: The Secrets of Karate (2nd edition). It is about 50 dollars, but the best book in English I've read on karate history (Okinawan and Japanese). If you want to know Okinawan karate history, that would be it. Most other books seem just like a Reader's Digest version in comparison. Funakoshi's book certainly does have some interesting anecdotes, but any one serious about learning the history of Okinawan karate should invest in John Sells' book. This may be the only place to buy it (perhaps?): http://www.martialsource.com/Unante.htm

Well, I don't train in Monterey. I actually train in San Francisco, which is two hours away with Renshi Sam Ahtye. I will be moving away from California next week so my year with him is coming to an end, sadly. I'll still probably see him at camps if I can make them and I plan on visiting every now and then, but in terms of continual instruction in Shorinkan, it is over for at least the next year. All that means is I will have a lot more training on my own, which will really force me to grow, hopefully not in the wrong direction. Every month there seems to be a new Shorinkan person here on the boards...it is always nice to see...

Aw, you're ruining all the fun, Sauzin.

What? I'm going to have to call you out on that one...Spinning the bo is just to look fancy or maybe develop wrist strength?...whatever it is, it doesn't really have anything to do with what you would do in a fight. The sooner as people understand that, the better.

Iie. That's "ee" as in "sleep" and "eh" as in "pet". Ee-eh. Although it almost sounds like "Eeyeh"...the "y" is very soft and formed naturally as your mouth moves from the long "e" sound to the short "e" sound. In other words, don't try to say the "y"...it'll just be there.

Best of luck to you.

Welcome to the site. This will sound harsh, and I certainly mean no offense. Being able to spin it quickly without hitting yourself doesn't mean you can use the bo well. I can't think of an example where someone simply "taught themselves the bo" and ended up actually being effective. There is a difference between being able to swing it really hard and "being effective with the bo". I think you know the answer to your question already. Either you're going to go for flash or go for practicality. You make the decision. It sounds to me like you want to go for flash and forego effectiveness. That's fine. It's your decision either way.

What? Where did you hear that? Buddhism wasn't a major factor in shaping Okinawan culture like it was for Japan. Okinawa's culture was (is changing now) far more Chinese than it ever was Japanese.

Heh. Thanks. I'm you liked it.

That's what you said. Personal development and "tradition" are not focused on ahead of self-defense, at least not in old school Okinawan karate. Maybe in modern karate, especially Japanese karate (some). The "tradition" you speak of...what do you mean by that? If you mean "kata", then I would argue that is still the study of self-defense. If you mean "meditation" and all that...that's not very traditional, at least not to karate.

Tricks? I get my pair of sai to fetch me the paper every morning. They'll do anything for attention.

I recommend you spend some time with good traditional Okinawan karateka just to see how they approach things. Most good schools would not be guilty of the things you are lamenting. You can easily incorporate fresh ideas back into your Shotokan to make your karate go where you want it to be. You may want to take out the "karate in general" part of that statement. Certainly it imay be traditional for Shotokan to do that (I'm not saying they don't focus on self-defense), but not necessarily for karate in general.

edit: looks like I'M the one who needs to read closer...

I've had an opportunity to meet Sensei Koeppel when he came to teach a seminar at a karate camp I attended last month. I was pretty impressed by what I saw. He seemed to know his stuff very well. If he has passed that on to his students, that school should be pretty decent and a good idea to pursue.

Hmm...I'll have to think about all this some more. Right now, I actually tighten more the forearm, the wrist, the back of the hand to the knuckles (in other words, not really emphasizing the tightness of the finger curl) more than I focus on keeping an extremely tight fist, now that I think about it (when did I start doing that?).

Interesting. But, say, if you make a tight fist right before you impact and allow enough time for the forearm to complete its retraction, would that not have the same effect? I've hit the bag using a loose fist and still getting that "sink" you describe. I thought penetration dealt more with the "depth" your fist aimed for, the time you allowed your fist to sink, and the forward action (osae?) of your momentum. My rather uneducated opinion is that I think those three latter factors would have a greater effect on penetration than what you described. How tight is "tight"? If the tightening of the fist causes so much retraction of the muscles, and that is countered by retracting the muscles beforehand, what implications does that have for your speed? I understand it isn't all about pure speed, and timing can be more important. At any rate, I'm more of an open hand hitter anyway...

Heh. I was going to post Michael Yon's blog entry in the other thread before I saw this one... That really is one of the best Iraq blogs out there.

That regripping thing was probably the first thing I noticed (other than the timing) in that video of you, Chun and Nakata doing the kihons you sent me. There certainly is some basis for credibility based on the videos you have seen of Chibana, Ohtsuka and Motobu's son. I'll have to do some thinking about that (once I get off here and after I finish my papers like I should...). I've always done the really loose thing until impact. What was his line of justification? Was it just if you misjudge timing or distance or something? I'm curious to hear it.

They are quite nice. They do seem a little heavy, and I even got the standard kind, which is lighter than the deluxe. I do like their balance, which feels very "alive" to me. The Murasaki ones, which I have had a chance to handle, may be even quicker to open and close, as their handles are much thinner and they are not as heavy (still solid though). This may actually just be a function of the very thick (relatively speaking) wrapping on the Weapons Connection sai. I might get a thinner wrapping around the handle and see how that changes things. I do recommend the Murasaki ones perhaps a little more than the Weapons Connection (by virtue of its slight speed advantage), although I think both versions are better than Shureido.

I have a pair of Weapons Connection sai that I use mainly. As Sauzin says, the moto is flat. My instructor has a pair of Murasaki Kobudo sai, and they are also flat. The Murasaki Kobudo sai are handmade by Kyoshi Jerry Taylor, and he does an excellent job. I may even be thinking about buying a pair of his sai sometime in the future, perhaps. I do like my Weapons Connection sai though. Shureido did have round moto for a brief period, but that was a quality corner being cut and it was stopped rather quickly...

I think it's better to let the other guy die for his honor?

I think both free and predetermined sparring have their respective benefits and drawbacks...

Hehe, I thought the same thing when I saw the "gohan"...but you never know. True samurai are always read for a battle, even during dinner.