Sauzin

Yea, I have one of those, they actually work pretty darn well. I'll see if I can scan in the instructions tomarrow. Perhaps I can e-mail them to you or somethin'

These guys make a really good boken: http://www.sandatacrafts.com These guys make a really good boken as well: http://mivasecure.abac.com/kingfisherwoodworks/merchant.mvc Crane mountain is also at the top of my list.

Uhhh 32 strike sequence??? Sounds like a style specific question. I don't see how knowing that specific sequence or "standard form" will tell you anything about their over all skill with the weapon. It may tell you what style they practice if you know what style the sequence or form is from, but simply asking them would tell you that much. Not saying that I know everything there is to know about nunchaku (far from it) but I'm a 3rd dan in Okinawan Kobudo and I've never heard of a 32 strike sequence. And in Okinawan Kobudo there really aren't any "standard forms". I agree with Shorin-ryuu here though. Ask questions, ask about applications. Ask about his lineage. If he can't name more then one guy it is generally a bad sign. Also if he is holding the nunchaku near the cord it's a bad sign. If he twirls them around near his body a lot it's a bad sign as well. In my experiance these are red flags that may mean that he knows a lot about twirling them but little about actually using them as a weapon.

Ummm...that's an...uh...interesting question. What exactly do you consider a "competition" form? Because really anyone can compete with any kind of form. From my perspective a weapon is a weapon is a weapon. What makes a good fighting form, makes a good competition form. And what works well in a fight works well in competition. And from this same perspective, cord works well. Chains are harder to control and more for show. Maybe I'm an idealist but I don't think show should be a factor in a competitive war art.

Precisely

Sure it does. But my 16 year old brother can do that. Now can he do it as well as someone trained in Jujitsu? No, but why do you need to know how to do that well? Well maybe you might need to deal with a bigger guy, or someone who is armed, or more then one guy, or someone who knows how to take someone down as well as you do? Wait a second here. These are the same reasons we train in weapons. Maybe this isn't so hard to understand after all.

Um on a side note, about 4 or 5 years ago I saw a certain certificate being signed by some black belt friends of mine that certified George Dillman as a 10th degree. At the time I saw it, it had about 20 signatures on it. One of which was Wally Jay's. I think Dillman accepted the rank or at least that was the last I heard.

Well as my Sensei is fond of pointing out, the term "master" used to be coined for a boy who has not come of age who was to inherit title or land. He says he doesn't like anyone calling him a boy and as a result dislikes the term "master". I think he understands that when used in the context of martial arts the term "master" is meant to denote mastery of a skill or art. And as a 9th dan he would be worthy of this and more. In fact he would be a grand master as he was awarded his own style by another grand master (Seikichi Odo) along with his rank. Still he doesn't like the term. I think he needs to feel that he is still progressing in his art. I also think he feels in some way that being called a master somehow takes away from the master he learned from. Above all however, I think there's a word he has found much more to his liking after the decades of working with the students that he has had. "Sensei" I doubt he will ever give up his preference for his title of "Sensei". And I think that says something. What greater honor is there, really, then being a teacher?

I'm sorry but I need to make a correction here. I believe shorin-ryuu said it best when he posted the following: In either way, "kara" was never meant to refer to what you have in your hands. It is either Chinese or the "empty state" that it refers to. From the little that I have read and been told I thought Funikoshi did practice some weaponry and understood the importance of weapons in karate. Assuming you learned this kata in a Shotokan school all you would need to do is ask any of the previous people I mentioned if they knew of it and they could likely point you in the right direction. Just about everything having anything to do with Shotokan is highly published on the web and there are bound to be resources.

Here's my reply:

This is a very commonly discussed topic, read up on the following posts and you'll get some ideas. http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=16153 http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=15082 http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=14693 http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=18051

I can't say I've heard of that kata. Is it Shotokan based? If so there are some very high ranking Shotokan guys around here. AnonymousOne (6th dan), ajayfieldhouse (6th dan), G95champ (2nd dan), Tobias_Reece (2nd dan) just to name a few. Oh yea and then there's a guy by the name of SaiFightsMS who I believe also knows a bit of Shotokan that happens to be the forum administrator . Try PM'ing one of these guys, perhaps they could help. If it isn't Shotokan, let me know which style it originates from and maybe I can find something.

Okinawan Kenpo has a very specific way of doing this. First you must understand that in Okinawan Kenpo our front stance is no where near as deep then what you see in Goju or Shotokan. When we jab we generally add a shuffle with our front leg and then we rotate our back leg and heal out to the side and bring it forward as we bring our hip around for the reverse punch. This causes us to move off line slightly. The idea is that a jab will invoke a response, moving our back leg out moves our head and body slightly off line at the last second. This is very effective in sparring as well as the street as it really sets you up in a nice position. Also you can get quite a bit of bang in that second punch.

I'd rather fight the head hunter any day, in any situation. Maybe if my arms were tied down or had fallen off...nah...even then I think I would rather fight a guy who likes to kick to the head. Head hunters are easy to jam, and catch, and throw. They shoot for a very specific and small target that is easy to protect and move. Also head hunters don't know what to do when you grab them. Their balance is easy to defeat. In the ring only rules like “the only contact the head is with kicks” and “no grabbing kicks or throwing” protect head hunters. Without these rules they quickly learn to be more conservative with head kicks, or else they aren’t very successful. Leg kickers are generally more experienced fighters who know where your real weaknesses are. On the street though the target isn't usually your thigh, it's your knees or chins. Leg kickers don't have a problem when someone grabs them and it's your balance not theirs that you have to worry about. In the ring they are dangerously patient. They know what to look for once they wear you down and they are all too quick to take advance of it once they do.

You can purchase manji sai from Shureido by calling them. Their web site is: https://www.shureidousa.com Or you can order one from the best at: https://www.weaponsconnection.com Just about any sai kata out there can be done, and done well with the manji sai. I don't personally know of any specifically for that weapon.

The short answer is no. The slightly longer answer is (in my opinion)it is impossible to correctly learn a bo kata, or really any kata, from a web site. Compare moves, brush up on a kata already taught, learn more about a kata you already know, now those things are possible but in my opinion any kata that you would learn from a web site wouldn't be beneficial enough to your art to be worth the time. Now if there was a web site on how to paint a Picasso, that would be something.

All you have to do is grab something with one of the hands while making the blocking motion and you will find they work pretty darn good as locks, take downs, and throws. But this is true of many techniques, even punches. Often you don't even have to grab, just simply be aware of what you are moving where. Check out this post: http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=17353 Blocks and strikes are just labels we use to talk about the primary function of a movement. In kata movement is movement. A sound structure/motion can be used to strike, block, lock up, take down, or do whatever needs to be done to whatever opportune target may present itself.

Oh dear god This has to be one of the most in depth and encompassing group of questions I have ever seen asked on a board. Normally in class a student will come up with one good question like these a month. Anyway I will give a shot at answering them, and I guess we'll see if there is a word limit to these posts. In our style we don't do this. The arms cross but stay low. There is no wasted motion. In Go-ju we did bring it up. Not to the shoulder but to what we called a "cross chamber". Basically we brought it out about 10" in front of the shoulder. This wasn't a wasted motion either, and brought different applications to the movement. You can grab and throw, you can block higher punches, and you cover more distance this way. But it is slower and bringing the blocking hand that far away from its intended target is risky business with a low block because the hand that's left down there has a tougher time parrying in its position then in other blocks with similar crossing techniques. Different styles, different benefits. Absolutely essential and not a wasted motion. The body follows the head. You want your body to move a direction, point your head there first and it will go. Move your body first and you will be fighting yourself the whole way. Natural instincts prevent us from being comfortable with moving in a direction we aren't looking. We bind up and it's harder to flow. Turning your head subconsciously shifts your balance and readies your body to move. Absolutely essential. Essential for redirecting force down the leg. Straightening the leg makes a huge difference with how much force it takes to push you backwards. Coincidently according to a man by the name of Isaac Newton every time you hit something you get pushed backwards. This is why it is very important to be able to instantly direct the force to the ground. It's like breaking boards. If the guy holding the boards has his arms bent then good luck breaking them. But if his arms are straight and the bones are aligned then the force instantly gets redirected and the board breaks. No body likes a broken thumb. If the thumb isn't supported properly and bent then it can get caught and break. Also you can do some pretty impressive strikes with that thumb knuckle when it's reinforced against your palm. The fingers are stronger when they are together. Grab someone's hand and try bending their fingers back when they have them together. All they have to do is make a fist and they can stop you every time. Now with their fingers apart it's a very different story. That is what we call a open target and in the martial arts world we like to minimize those. Unless we're in a reverse cat or a crab stance we don't do that. It makes it harder to redirect the force down the back leg. What we do practice however is waiting till the last moment to fully straighten the back leg. This adds that little extra bit of "umph" and makes sure the whole body is behind the punch. This is a very long topic and to make a long story short I believe in practicing this, though its application may vary and may not include a full turn depending on who you talk to. Do a search on this topic though there's been some good discussion here. Not entirely sure what you are referring to. Certainly not every open hand strike we do has the guard hand with the palm to the ceiling. In fact we really don't do that technique, but the position of our palm usually indicates either a grab or a prepatory position to the next open hand strike. Hugely important. A signature of many Okinawan karate styles and something missing out of so many styles that have evolved from them. Not only does this allow the non blocking hand the chance to parry before the actual "block" is performed but it allows the non blocking hand to guide the blocking hand into position by feel alone. Like a rail road track guiding a train the non-blocking hand positions itself so as to direct the blocking hand to it's target, this creates a "crossing" position during the strike. This is what I call touch tactics where you maintain contact and feel out the position of your targets. There, of course, is a lot more to this such as what it does when you apply the block as a throw or how it teaches active use of the hand already in front as a transitionary tool to moving the other hand forward. I could literally go on for pages about this alone but needless to say it's not a wasted motion. In fact it's one of the most key elements in Okinawan blocks. This is arguably a wasted motion in application however it teaches students correct angle and direction for the strike. If you practice like that for a while you will learn to shoot a knife hand strike from any position because you will know what the proper alignment and angle will feel like. I have already given my opinion on this in other topics but to sum it up I believe in deep stances in certain circumstances when applied to grappling. But every stance can't be this way. You need to be able to fight and move in more narrow or shallow stances and then be able to quickly assume a deep stance when the need for a larger base and lower center of gravity presnets itself. This is why Goju has Sanchin dachi as well as it's front stance and well as it's squat stance. Whew, well that's it. Hope this helps. Sorry for the long read.

I agree. AnonymousOne said it well that the most difficult kata often provides the greatest benefits. Let me tell you, when I first started karate there were a lot of things that I thought I would be good at. I had a certain vision of what kind of martial artist I should be. As the years have gone by and I have focused on the whole art and I have found that some of the things that I had to work hardest just to be decent at are now my greatest strengths. And they are not the same things I thought I would be good at when I started. While I agree that in the upper skill levels the art has to become your own, I think there is something to be said about the long term benefits of going outside your comfort zone and learning kata that at first don't seem to fit. It seems to me that there is no better way to grow.

Uhhhh...DON'T DO IT! Trust me, it's a bad idea. I know from experience. I had badly bruised and possibly broken ribs entering a tournament when I was a brown belt. They had been healing for about 2 months but still hurt like heck and I really couldn't move very well. My sensei admonished me, saying that he had a student about 10 years ago who sparred with a busted up rib in a tournament. He did OK in the tournament even though he got hit in his ribs a couple of times. He went home that night and was found dead in his bed the next day from internal bleeding. Unfortunately I didn't listen to him and I sparred anyway. I did learn a few things. Like the fact that good opponents have a sixth sense for weaknesses and injuries. The first place I got hit was with a solid side kick to my bad ribs. I literally flew out of the ring. I got back up (after a couple of minutes) and kept sparing but I'll tell you what, when you can't breath because your ribs are busted up you make a fine sitting duck. I got a few shots in but I wasn't able to maneuver well enough to get out of the way. I basically had to stand there (which was an effort in itself) and wait for them to come in and try and get me. Which they did. I went on to spar 2 other opponents, and got hit in the ribs a couple more times but managed to finish the matches. I'll tell you what, that was stupid and it took about 5 months before I was able to really move and train like I wanted to again. The moral here? Any way you look at it, it's not worth it. Also listen to you're sensei, especially when it comes to matters of personal safety over stupidity.

I agree that a certain proficiency and familiarity with the techniques being used is required to really begin to relax. But since you are learning to swim by jumping directly into the deep end try breathing deeply in to your stomach, dropping your shoulders, focus on your target, and don't worry about getting hit. Don't watch the hands, watch the center of his chest. When you do move, move with full intent and work on only tensing the muscles necessary in the movement you are making. For example, when you punch only your triceps, pectoral, and hip muscles need tense, the rest of the arm, back, and shoulders needn’t tense up. The forearm only needs to be tense for the moment of impact. And once you are done with the punch none of these muscles need to be tense any more. If you practice these things eventually you will learn to relax and achieve greater effect with less effort.

No, but all martial artists should be fighters.

Ummm, let's see, Nakimura no sai was first called Kuniyoshi no sai by Odo. Now just to make sure we are talking about the same kata this is a rather repetitive kata that goes something like: -Bow -Open in horse stance double low -Step left foot forward & mid block -Step & mid block (Key 1) -Step & head strike -Step & head strike -Shuffle & right low block -Punch left, then punch right -Shuffle & double low block -Large drawback shuffle & double punch -Bend wrists up & double collar bone strike -180 turn counterclockwise & left side block -Shuffle & low block -Punch right, then punch left (End of Key 1) -Turn 90 degrees clockwise & right side block -Shuffle & right low block -Left punch then right punch -Turn 180 degrees counterclockwise & left side block -Shuffle & left low block -Right punch then left punch -Turn 90 degrees clockwise with right foot forward & right hand head strike (Repeat Key 1) -Step right foot forward into horse stance -Side block with right hand while hook punching with left. -Turn 90 degrees clockwise to side & right low block -Punch left then punch right -Turn 90 degrees counterclockwise by stepping back with left foot into horse stance -Side block with left hand will hook punching with left. -Turn counterclockwise & low block with left hand -Punch right then punch left -Turn 90 degrees clockwise with right foot forward & right hand head strike (Repeat Key 1) -Look to right & step left foot on the ground right foot up in crane stance & right low block (sai out) -Step down right foot forward and right low block -Punch left then punch right -Look behind and step right foot on the ground left foot up in crane stance & left low block (sai out) -Step down left foot forward and left low block -Punch right then punch left -Turn 90 degrees clockwise with right foot forward & right hand head strike (Repeat Key 1 only don’t do the last low block & two punches) -Step & right head strike -Step back into horse stance and left side block -Stab with right hand through left side block (kia) -Step back and right mid block -Jump falling into leaning stance right leg forward & low block left high block right. -End kata in horse stance double low -Bring feet together -Bow Unfortunately I don’t have a digital copy of this kata. Now if this sounds like the kata you are doing what you could do is link a copy of you doing it and I could point out any differences. Or if you notice something different in the description here we can talk about it.

The one your sensei is teaching you at the moment. If you are looking for what kata is the most broadly applicable or best all around I think this is going to be highly subjective. Really in any traditional kata you can find more than enough to do what you will need to do in a fight. It's really just a question of how you want to peel the apple. There's a million different ways, and they all peel the same apple.

I agree. In regards to the "scientific" statement I didn't mean to infer that deeper stances were more scientific. I said the Japanese approach was more scientific and this is really an observation and more a matter of opinion. The reason I mentioned this is because they observed two very basic scientific principles. The broader the base the greater the support. Also the lower the center of gravity the more difficult something is to tip over. If you look at these principles alone one would think that every stance should be broad and deep. But as you and I know there is a lot more to fighting then just stability. Also these stability principles can be gained in other ways (rooting, proper alignment, and force redirection) without needing to become static as a very deep stance can sometimes be.