major_motoko

I like all the Pinans but especially yondan and godan. I love Naihanchi (tekki) and Pasai. Seisan is good, I love the sudden change from slow movements to fast, like going from calm to an explosion of power motoko

I totally agree! What kata teaches you is how to react instinctively with fast combinations of techniques. Kata is nearly always a block/evade followed with a counter, perfect self defence practice IMHO! Sansoouser, why not have a look on the internet for some kata video clips and see for yourself what we are talking about motoko

I think what you mean is if you tell the police after the event that you used martial arts to defend yourself, the law is much harder on you. Or if they find out you are registered at a MA club/org or something? There was a story about a year ago here in England about a teenage girl who was a black belt in Judo. She got picked on in the park by a gang of boys who started to push her around. She beat up the whole lot of em! But then she got taken to court and her black belt was used as evidence against her - even tho it was HER who got attacked!! I think the boys sued her or something Those kinds of stories make me really mad motoko

Oh yes Martial_Girl, that jump is hard!! 360 degrees and then land with your front leg bent! I've tried but without much success. There is a similar jump in the Wado kata Wanshu, but you land in back stance. motoko

Has anyone seen the film Whale Rider? It's a beautiful film about the Maori, indegenous people of New Zealand. When I was watching it the other day I was fascinated by the Maori stick fighting art of Taiaha. It was similar in some ways to Jodo in the way the stick was wielded. In the film they mention that there are Taiaha performing competitions in New Zealand. If anyone is interested here is a link about Taiaha http://www.tu.co.nz/taiaha.htm And here is the official site of the movie. (I highly recommend going to see it ) http://www.whaleriderthemovie.com/ It's interesting that many cultures adapted their own fighting styles away from the China / Okinawa influences, and yet often came to produce similar arts. There are also indegenous martial arts of Hawaii amongst others.

That's a great idea WadoGuy.. I might mention that to my sensei .. then again maybe I shouldn't Last week's training Sensei got us to make up a short kata of our own, and explain it's bunkai to the rest of the class. Then we had to put all the kata together into one long kata and learn it!! That was hard as the end result ended up being longer than Kushanku! motoko

This article about the Shaolin is absolutely fascinating.. very long tho. It talks a little bit about Bodhidharma bringing early martial "exercises" from India to the Shaolin monks, which became the famed Shaolin Kung Fu we know today, which in turn brought about the Okinawan arts. http://www.karate.org.yu/legacy_of_shaolin.htm osu, motoko

Hello, I'm working on Naihanchi (aka Tekki) and Seishan (aka Hangetsu) for my 1st Kyu grading. I know the moves, now it's getting the power and focus into it. I've also been practicing a little on Wanshu and Pasai (aka Basai-dai), as well as Bo and Sai kata, but obviously these are second to my grading katas. I remember Pinan (Heian) Shodan and Nidan took me quite a while to get right.. stick at it, one day it will all just fall into place The worst thing is when Sensei makes us do the katas the opposite way! For example, turn to the right first instead of the left in pinan nidan. I get in such a mess! motoko

That's so weird AlienRage, I was thinking about asking this very question on the forum just yesterday! Spooky Luckily I don't yet have to wear glasses except for reading, so no problems with training. But if I did have to, I personally would be a bit worried about getting hit in the eye while wearing contacts. Accidents do happen, and friends of mine have had problems while playing sports with contact lenses in. I would suggest sports glasses for kumite, or if you can, go without! Wear your glasses for non-contact training like kata etc. Good luck! motoko

In UK and possibly other countries in Europe, K-1 is sometimes on Eurosport Channel, usually after 11pm. It's ok, I don't find it keeps my interest much tho, sorry I actually really like to watch.. Sumo! Very entertaining! motoko

I obtained my 2nd Kyu in shotokan, then after a break for a couple of years joined a Wado club. I trained for about 4 months with a white belt, then my Sensei said I should put on my brown belt as he felt I had returned to that level. He gave me an "informal" grading too To be honest, I would have been a bit upset to have to go all the way through the kyu belts again. Especially as Wado and Shotokan are very similar in basic techniques and even the kata aren't that different. Sure if i start something like Judo or Jiu-jitsu I would gladly wear a white belt, even if I was BB in karate. motoko

Hmm, this is a hard question because some young kids really are great martial artists.. but the majority aren't ready for it! There is a 12 year old brown belt in my club. She was given that grade from another club under the same organisation so when she came to our club she got to keep her grade.. but she is awfull! Terrible technique, no speed or power and she knows nothing about the philosphy or history of our art. When I spar with her she giggles endlessly! So if she tried to grade for Shodan, she would probably know the moves.. but she would NOT be shodan level IMHO. However, there can be child prodegies.. just watch some of those olympic gymnasts that aren't much older than 9! I think if the kid has been graded in front of a panel of judges, shows good technique (and as much power as someone that small can manage ) knows the history and philosphy and shows a level of maturity, sure why not give a BB before 16.. I'm just saying that these should be very rare cases! osu! motoko

I'd like to call myself a traditionalist.. if a graphite Bo works best for you, then great. But personally I like the feel of a real Red Oak Bo that's got a good weight to it. Different strokes for different folks But I'll never understand transparent LED glowing nunchuku or Bo with silver glitter on tho - I kid not! osu , motoko

I love Usagi Yojimbo!! Not only is it cute, but it's full of samurai culture and customs! It's like Lone Wolf and Cub.. only cute! motoko

Ah this old discussion again. Some people will always think kata/forms are useless.. no point in learing them etc etc... and everyone is entitled to their opinion of course! My opinion as a karateka is this. Kata is karate! Without the kata we wouldn't have the karate we have today. The techniques have all been passed down, from China and Okinawa via kata!! Kata were thought to be entire styles of their own at one point. But - Kata is nothing unless you also study in depth it's applications against a real opponent! Unless you do that all you are doing is as someone ealier said "a dance". I agree! Kata can be beautiful, lovely to look at, and yes they bring the "art" to martial arts.. but they will not be of practical use unless you do the Bunkai/Oyo at full force with a partner. Kata is one of my favorite parts of karate. I love performing kata, and I love learning it's applications. And of course a full rounded martial artist would train in both sparring and kata! Obviously kata does not work for all martial arts, I'm not sure if arts such as Judo, Jiujitsu even have kata? Just my humble opinion I'm sure others here on the forum will give good arguments against kata practice too. osu motoko

In Wado-Ryu Seishan (or Seisan) kata is shotokan's Hangestsu with a few different moves. This site has a few Goju kata clips, not sure if they're the ones you want tho: http://www.spokanekarate.com/kata/index.php This one has good descriptions of the techniques in Goju Sanchin: http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Union/CombatKarateClub/katamain.html This one is descriptions of the techniques in Goju Suparinpei: http://www.btinternet.com/~goju.ryu/Katas/suparinpei.htm Sorry I couldn't find much else on t'net for Goju kata.. it's mainly shotokan stuff Osu! motoko

Heh, anyone seen Steven Seagal's "Hard To Kill"? He does just the same thing, and then after training for the length of a musical montage.. punches it so hard he breaks the board in half! Great stuff motoko

Sorry if this has already been posted, but I found this video clip that shows you one way to tie your belt. http://www.spoeth.com/~leduc/movies/tyingthebelt.wmv motoko

The reaction I always get when I say "I do karate" is "ooo I'd better not p*ss you off then".. like what the hell? You think I'm gonna start beating you up just because I do karate? They don't understand that doing MA actually makes you a LESS agressive person! Then there have been one or two who just take the micky, making all the over-the-top Bruce Lee "wooooooo" sounds and putting their hands up in the stereo-typical "karate chop" motions! I think they're just jealous that we have a hobby (well lifestyle really) that to them is mysterious and different. motoko

Sometimes if stuff is a streaming file you can't save it and it doesn't get put in the temporary internet files folder. The only thing you can do then is either keep clicking on the link to view, or use a bit of software like StreamboxVCR to save the stream. But I wouldn't worry about it too much, I doubt you'll be downloading the files so many times you shut down the site.. I hope motoko

one of my favorite funny quotes: "Before you criticise someone, walk a mile in their shoes.. then you're a mile away and you have their shoes" motoko

I'm 2nd Kyu Brown, so I've still got my 1st Kyu grading to come which I'm training for now. Black belt always seemed so far out of reach when I was coming up the ranks.. it still feels far away.. but a little bit closer and more obtainable now I know I will get it when I'm ready. What does it mean to be a brown belt? You have a lot more commitment, a little bit more understanding of the complexity of karate (hopefully ), a bit more responsibility to help out lower grades and be a good example in terms of behaviour and dojo etiquette. You also realise how much stuff you still have to learn osu, motoko

Some nice sai movie clips: http://www.zentokukai.com/movies/Kobudo_nincho_marquez/kihon_sai_kata.mov http://www.zentokukai.com/movies/OshiroiSai.mov http://www.ikkf.org/okk8.mov http://www.ikkf.org/okk20.mov motoko

There is a video clip of a sai kata here if you scroll down a little: http://www.uechi-ryu.com/videos/tc_videos.html The picture's a little fuzzy but you can still get the idea. motoko

yes agreed.. i guess it depends on what your desired outcome is. I think ball of the foot to the ribs or organs would be more effective at breaking / causing damage.. but shin or instep to legs, arms, head or groin could have more of an overall impact, shock to the system etc. Good discussion! motoko