Jussi Häkkinen

General Choi received 1. or 2. dan, which was common to a person who had studied karate in university for more than one year. Times were a bit different than they were now. Interesting story. However, I recommend you that Modern History -text that I sent a link to before. Well, no. Read the text, it explains it. Choi was never "in charge" in Korea (except in ROK Army) and there were several people with black belts (most noteworthy was LEE Won Kuk, who had received a 4. dan from Gichin Funakoshi himself and actually begin with teaching Shotokan karate in his own school, Chung Do Kwan, in 1944). There is quite a lot of data available from those days and Choi actually isn't as central character as many would claim him to be. He most probably came up with the name - taekwondo - but technique-wise the taekwondo was mostly crafted by others (when talking about Kukkiwon-taekwondo that is often known by its competition organization, WTF, and which is an official Olympic event. ITF and its content are a brainchild of Choi during his exile). Umm, partly yes, partly no. Well...no. Shotokan/Shorin -kata were used in beginning, but first poomsae series were created a lot earlier than 1988. Korea had a huge nationality boom after being released from Japanese reign, so taekwondo was heavily changed. Techniques remained same, but poomsae were rearranged (creating a series called Palqwe) and new history was crafted to boost nationality. Taegeuk were created after Palqwe series. I believe that main reason was to simplify the lower grade poomsae and to make the road towards competition circles easier. Palqwe series were omitted after creation of Taegeuk-series. Read the Modern History. It is just one view, but covers the area still pretty reliably - and other trustworthy sources generally seem to reinforce the claims of it. It also covers the claims you have made here, perhaps binding it together better.

Gen. Choi trained - as did some other taekwondo founders (yes, taekwondo is under 60 years old - pretty exactly 60 if we're optimistic and count its age from the founding of Chung Do Kwan in 1944) - under Funakoshi's students in university club. LEE, Won Kuk (founder of Chung Do Kwan) trained under Gichin Funakoshi in Shotokan. Other karate teachers that taught taekwondo's founders were Kenwa Mabuni (Shito-ryu) and Kanken Toyama (Shudokan). It shouldn't be a surprise that taekwondo's basic techniques are pretty much 1:1 to Itosu-lineage Shorin-ryu, since these three men (Funakoshi, Mabuni and Toyama) were Itosu's students. More: A Modern History of Taekwondo.

Besides, doing 80+ pushups doesn't require one to have big, strong muscles. It only requires muscle stamina - which is most easily acquired by having slow muscle fibers. Doing high reps of pushups very often will actually hinder one's ability to use their arms fast. I have never understood the idea of having to do 100 pushups for shodan etc. that is seen in some schools. "Man! He sure is slow but he's pretty darn good in doing pushups!" Ridiculous.

Common, although widespread, legend. Doesn't hold water. Jigoro kano made black belt (not dirty belt) to be the mark of his more experienced students. Later, other colours were added to system. Japan was - and still is - a society that is pretty obsessed with cleanliness. Having your belt so incredibly dirty (and smelly) that it would show outwards as a dark colour - even black - would just be no-no in that society. Washing belt to fray it (instead of cleaning purposes) is, of course, silly. Funniest thing is that while it may impress some kids and lower grade students, higher grade students won't really even recognize it (they just watch how one performs) and visitors will just think that one with a frayed belt is a poor fellow who cannot afford to buy a new belt.

Heh. Many Japanese big cheese sensei smoke like they'd be chimneys. They also drink quite a bit. And well, there's nothing wrong with it - after all, karate is just karate. It shouldn't stop one from enjoying life in the way he chooses to.

To wash. Without washing you only get a "real feel" of really special skin diseases. Same thing as with washing a belt. If it's dirty, wash it. Uniform gets dirty easily => wash it after every training where you have sweated. Just unbelievable...what is this filth-addiction that those legends do feed...?

I believe that Kinsey specialized in this...

Actually, size 6 or 6.5 kamikaze (at least Europa and America) fit me pretty much perfectly. Long limbs and wide shoulders - that's the thing. Jacket is just enough roomy in size 6 - anything smaller and it'll be tight around shoulders. Trust me, I know my size.

I'm 6'2", 187 lbs and I wear size 6.5 Shureido. My belt is size 7 (130"). Well, I think I'll just skip training in Informer's dojo.

Does that mean that tall people aren't allowed to train in your dojo? Nor the ones who prefer longer belts? Tournament cut size 6 or "classical cut" 6? Which belt brand?

...and thing is that these "chubby" Okinawan dudes can still demonstrate the things they're teaching. They're in good shape - they just have some padding over the muscles. It is leading by example - these people show that they still can enjoy the life and they aren't overly fanatic about karate. That being said, some of these people just look chubby - their body may be very fit and the body type just makes them look a bit different (I have seen quite a few sixpacks that look "barrel-ish"). From other circles, I doubt that anyone would say that sumo wrestlers are in bad physical shape - even though they're overweight and do have excess fat.

Most definitely, if the testing fees are high-ish. I've actually wondered about this a lot - I've got used to rather low (at least I think so) fees. Our general kyu-rank testing fees are 5€ (about $6.5) and dan test fees are 10€ (about $13) - and, for some reason, I didn't have to pay even that - grading was free. With dan-rank we have a certification fee (paid only when test is over and passed), which is set by our international association. Generally, test fees are used to pay the expenses (food, travel, accommodation) of the person who judges the grading. Higher price for dan-grading is probably due to lower amount of people in these gradings. People have to buy their own belts. I wouldn't call that as very bad, when it comes to fees. I've heard of very much higher sums. Amen.

Mu-kyu white 9. kyu white 8. kyu yellow 7. kyu orange 6. kyu green 5. kyu blue 4. kyu blue 3. kyu brown 2. kyu brown 1. kyu brown 1. dan and above: black Renshi: black with one stripe Kyoshi: black with two stripes Hanshi: black with three stripes Shorin Ryuu: I like your instructor's idea.

Usually the basic training class words are used - techniques, directions, excercises, commands etc. I don't necessarily thing that it's "learning the language", though - it's just being ready for international seminars and visiting other dojo. And well, it's an exotic thing as well - "maegeri" sounds more stylish than "etupotku" (Finnish) or "front kick". I agree. It's also fun to learn Okinawan terms to some things - not using Japanese, but Uchina guchi, Okinawan language. Of course, basic Japanese (and Okinawan dialect, Uchina hogen) is used as well. Necessary? Not really. Fun and exotic? Most definitely. Bow towards the birth island of karate? Oh yes.

If the belt gets dirty or begins to smell, I wash it. If it gets overly frayed, I get a new one. As simple as that. It's just a garment. I tend to keep my clothes clean and tidy. Tradition? Hmm. Japanese culture - where the belt tradition was born - is pretty much obsessed with cleanliness. That tradition suits me.

Belt holds the knot when it just is beginning to show some white in the knot area. It's still firm enough otherwisely and not too "floppy", is aesthetically nice, but holds the knot well and does not need too much adjusting to find the knot area and good tightness.

Best? Tokaido, Shureido or Hirota do-gi, tournament cut. #10 or Hirota's #163 fabric (does NOT mean oz - #10 is approximately 16 oz). Cheaper possibilities: Kamikaze Monarch, Kamikaze America and similar ones.

It must be so!

Relaxing, concentrating to the class. I personally prefer "active meditation" and cut the zen-gibberish away by warming up and preparing that way to training. It'll relax you, warm up your body and makes you ready to training both mentally and physically.

It's just because most of the "bleached" do-gi are not actually bleached but tinted white. Result from bleaching will be a gray-ish do-gi. It does stand out - as a "dirty" looking area in the do-gi. Chlorine is also a pretty harsh detergent that weakens the fibers of cotton. So, your do-gi will last shorter if you bleach it.

I smell something burning.

For aikido, I'd recommend a light single weave. Stress isn't so heavy in aikido as it is in judo. If you are allowed to wear a hakama, get a white kendo jacket - one with a split in back. It's better when you're having those sidecuts, won't look like a hassle. A word of advice: If you don't wear a hakama, buy a single weave judogi and get a pair of heavyweight canvas pants with it. Usually the pants that come with light judogi (and even with double weaves) are pretty light fabric that will wear quickly in suwariwaza. It's worth to get an extra pair, preferably stronger fabric.

I find that interesting...especially since your signature refers to an Okinawan style. Only do-gi styles I've noticed worn by Okinawan martial artists are full white (most common), black jacket/white pants (common in kobudo) and all black (rarest, but frequently seen), and, most rare, black pants and white jacket. I've never heard of any style that would use other combinations. Hakama, of course, is occasionally used, but seldom in training. I am not familiar with do-gis. What exact Do-gi is a correct way of writing "gi". "Gi" itself just means "clothing" and is seldom used alone. From karate or judo uniform etc. you can use a term karate-gi, judo-gi or keiko-gi, or just term do-gi.

I hope it's Tokaido, not Tokaido Arashi. If it's a real deal Tokaido and not one of the multiple bootlegs, it's a very good deal. Still, Tokaido makes a reasonably priced do-gi too, and they're not too far from the price range you mentioned.

BB was good in the 70's and 80's (having read the old issues), now it's mostly an ad-magazine with some critiqueless articles. I'll stick to more serious publications, such as Classical Fighting Arts magazine.