Jussi Häkkinen

My club: 150€ (approximately 190 USD) + 20€ (appr. 25 USD) association fee per year. No grading fees since I feel that gradings are a natural part of training. Shodan grading in our association is 10€ (13 USD) + certification fee. One may buy any belt he wishes to (or gets it from his club as a gift).

That is not true. Truth is that the current holder of the "Kamikaze" -brand name in North-America used to be a business associate of European Kamikaze. Then, the business relationship ended and the North-American brand continued to live its own life - its holder decided to produce its own, lower quality copies of Kamikaze uniforms (Arawaza is also one of their brands). Real Kamikaze is now known as Tokon in North-America, as the Kamikaze-brand is taken by the former business associate. So, if you're in Europe, buy Kamikaze. In North-America, get Tokon if you want real stuff.

I've never heard Kusanku to be called as "Kung Song Kun" etc., although I'm quite familiar with Okinawan styles. My guess would be that it's a new kata, named as Kung Song Kun by someone who wanted to add some mystical elements and historical claims to his karate.

I haven't seen NW-1 yet. NW-2 is reasonably light already. Personally, I sweat a lot and wear the NW-3 for my everyday training - it wicks the moisture right away from my skin and dries very fast, feeling cool and nice all the time. It's lighter than most "heavyweight" cotton uniforms by weight, still keeping the same appearance. ...or Shureido Mugen?

Shureido NW-2. Mid-weight, blended but very stiff fabric (i.e. stays away the skin, blended material - polyester/cotton - dries fast). Won't turn into a see-through uniform. The fabric keeps its stiffness when you sweat - it won't turn into a sticky "spiderman suit". If you wish to get something heavier, NW-3 is also a possibility. NW-line is seriously a big upgrade when compared to 100% cotton do-gi. Best you can get.

Akido? Not Aikido? Aikido is not karate. It's a whole different martial art. However, if we limit the discussion to Okinawan/Japanese karate and its spinoffs, we're talking about a couple of hundred (hmm, maybe 200) styles. Belt and rank systems vary a lot and are very hard to compare.

Yes. I also think that if it's possible to get up safely (well, relatively safely), it should be done. I teach both stand-up and groundfighting and the ways of getting up.

...and Tokaido's "Extra Wide" is 1 3/4" wide. Interesting phenomenon, though. I've never had problems with having a belt to hang down properly. Pretty much every belt settles with the first wash. Of course, if one is in the "never wash the belt" -club, he could moisten only the knot area.

Tokon is a name for Kamikaze products in North American market. The reason for the new name is that the owner of https://www.kamikaze.com took hold of the Kamikaze brand in North American area and begun producing the lower quality copies of the original European Kamikaze uniforms (as well as launched the "Arawaza" brand). So, if you're in Europe, Kamikaze is the real deal. If in North America, Tokon is the real deal. If you're searching for a good quality "value" do-gi, get a Tokon America.

Tokaido and Shureido (etc.) have a 1 3/4" wide belt as their default "wide" belt. Their "normal" belt is 1 1/2". You would get a 2" one only from a special order (and even still it'd be unsure if they'd be willing to make it for you). So, if you have a Tokaido "XW" belt (extra wide) or Shureido "BST" (black special thick), they're both 1 3/4" wide, not 2" wide. So, get a 1 3/4" wide. 2" wide is just tacky.

If it's To shin do (or toshin-do, toshindo), it's Stephen K. Hayes' organization. Hayes was originally a Bujinkan student under Masaaki Hatsumi and then decided to create his own organization - to shin do. It's one type of "ninjutsu" (a commonly used genre for Bujinkan, although not true - Bujinkan is much more than ninjutsu originally).

Do you own a pair? I kind of want to get some but I don't know, they can be expensive. They are - especially the thicker models (such as Twins GGL-1 with a 4cm padding) - the best combination of protection and free grabbing possibilities. Not for competition karate sparring etc., but if you search for good gloves for training that includes grappling, striking etc. (such as traditional Okinawan karate styles), they're about the best you can get.

MMA gloves.

It depends on the manufacturer. Some cheaper belts have a low quality, unwashed "core" material that may be pretty much any colour. Kwon, for example, has used brown-ish core material that, indeed, will dye the outer layer of belt brown when washed. Their coloured belts also loose colour rather heavily - the fabrics haven't been prewashed (or preshrunk, either) before assembly. Generally, if you pay $5-$10 or some other minimal sum, you should expect that your belt will loose colour in the wash. If you get a good quality colour belt (these exist, too - some are for competition purposes and some firms just have decided to put some effort to colour belts as well), you should expect to pay similar sums of money as you would for a good quality black belt.

Shureido, at least. NW-3 is pretty much an exact match to a 12oz canvas (Perhaps a little heavier), being (well, at least feeling) more durable than 15oz canvas (and looking similar to a heavier canvas). If you're asking about the fabric itself, well, that I don't know.

It'll come along - first, just concentrate on turning instead of spinning. The hip action is actually more about tilting than twisting (in ushirogeri). Proper leaning helps here. Don't overrotate. A good ushirogeri is basically a "mule kick" - you kick to the direction of your back. Later, you'll learn to use the turning etc., but first you'll have to get the basic form going.

1: Don't think that you're spinning. Just turn. If you spin, you lose the balance. 2: Kick as straight as possible. Force your knee go near the other knee, don't allow it to go further (it'd be spinning). 3: Lean enough. In most kicks, leaning is bad. In ushirogeri, it's necessary - you'll eventually wreck your back, if you try not to lean. 4: After kicking, don't spin straight around. Pull your leg back carefully, then turn, land your foot and that's it. 5: Try to do it naturally. Train the turning individually - and concentrate on turning, not spinning. And: Before doing the turning version, learn to do a "straight back" -version from a relaxed stance.

Why? Even if it'd be really dirty? Would you just buy a new one then? I'm actually a bit surprised about the beliefs towards the belt.

NW-3 is approximately same thickness/weight as K-11. NW-2 is a bit lighter. Can't go wrong with either one.

I've seen similar ones (Century isn't a big brand here in Europe) and they're horrible, that is true. I used to swear by cotton until I saw some of the new ones and eventually purchased one. When the do-gi is lighter than cotton, more comfortable, dries fast (in 2 hours after washing) and still looks like a heavyweight cotton uniform, it is something special. New materials do not sacrifice the traditional look and feel. They only make it better. Try the Shureido NW-3 - if you like the heavyweight feel - or NW-2 for a bit lighter feel. You will be surprised.

It's as loud as a loudest cotton do-gi. It's not overly loud - mostly the sound coes just from techniques, not from normal walking. It's not "sandpapery" sound. If you iron the do-gi (recommended), it'll reduce the sound a bit. Don't let the sound issue to become an obstacle. It's not that bad. The NW-series (I have a NW-3, after and alongside many other high quality uniforms) are - so far - the best karatedo-gi I've ever seen. I definitely recommend those.

A little bit - if it's a cotton black belt - but only via looong time. The effect is far less visible than the wear of a satin belt. So, if you have a quality belt, the fading is rather minimal.

NW's blue coloud fades a bit during the first few washes. It'll stay bluish, though. I like it - it won't turn yellow via time and looks whiter than the "real white" under artificial lights.

That's because of the modern high quality poly/cotton blends. Top brands have taken the development past cotton. If the poly/cotton would still mean the same as it did 5 years ago (in case of karate uniforms), nobody would vote it.

Shureido's new blends (NW and FA). Heavyweight and combining the best qualities of both cotton and polyester (more durable, dries faster, is stiffer, more comfortable). 100% cotton is also OK, although not as good. Cheap and light poly/cottons, then, are the worst thing there is.