Jussi Häkkinen

Hanbo. "Han" = half, "bo"=staff. Literally "half staff", but used also about normal walking cane.

I haven't ever seen a jumping and turning kick in a traditional karate kata. kempocos: Ryukyu Kempo? Dillman's or some true Ryukyuan style? Shigeru Nakamura's?

Heh, seems like a traditional end of the class. First: Shomen ni rei (bowing for the dojo). Second: Otagai ni rei (bowing for each other). I don't find this as a "strange" seremony.

No. Shinto Muso Ryu Jo-Do and several other koryu bujutsu ryuha do teach jo as a weapon. More: https://www.koryu.com

Ah, "stainless steel"...hmm, then you can not do much damage by yourself. I'd say that you can fairly safely use gun cleaning kits - the sword is not a treasure. My earlier answer was made since I thought that you actually may have a classical sword in your hands. However, those were never made of stainless steel. Be careful when swinging the sword. It may have a "rat tail" tang, which makes a sword practically unusable - however, it may still be a good wallhanger. If the sword has the "rat tail" tang, do not use it for cutting anything under any circumstances.

Chibana lineage? Good stuff - go for it. Of course, check out the normal McDojo-signals - if you see coloured uniforms that have multiple badges in them, run. But if they look traditional and tell you openly the lineage and are open when answering the questions...go for it. Chibana's lineage belongs to so called "kobayashi" (other way to read their way of writing "shorin" - the style I train writes "shorin" as "sukunaihayashi") -faction that comes from Anko Itosu. While traditional training may be occasionally boring (lots of repetitions, not much flash), I'd say it pays off. And, well, at least I personally find the history aspect to be a nice extra.

Which Shorin-Ryu lineage does it belong to and what is the lineage of the teacher of the club? Does he belong to an Okinawan organization (and if does, who is a head of that organization)? If you get good answers to those questions, go for it. I'm willing to help with the answers when you get more information. There are frauds in every pack - and some that claim to teach Shorin-Ryu are not the real deal. Check the backround always.

Rude? Hardly. Obnoxious? Occasionally, yes. Cowards? Nope. If they don't want to go for war when someone else feels like it, it doesn't make them cowards. They had no need to go to war with Iraq (after all, USA did not have much need either - outside USA's local politics). So, they decided not to. Brits obviously thought that they could gain something (at least in their politics with USA) and went for war. Their choice. It's this thing you call "freedom" and claim to fight for - even when nobody asked you to. Everyone do not need to agree with you.

Get an iaito. Bokken is very different from the real thing - iaito, unsharpened iaido sword, is a good middle step closer to the use of a real thing. Iaito also are rather beautiful (untrained eye can not tell the difference - and as long as you keep it in scabbard, most trained eyes can't either) and certainly cheaper than real swords. If you wish to wield a real sword some day, join an iaido/iaijutsu or kenjutsu club. Aiki-ken doesn't count as one - aikido sword use is to supplement the unarmed training, not to train the use of the weapon. You'll also learn the basic things when handling a live blade (iaito is handled similarily). Iaito pages: http://www.swordstore.com http://www.tozando.com And when buying a live blade...do not buy anything that costs under $1000. Price really is a factor here.

Fred Lohman has a sword restoration service. You can find him via http://www.japanese-swords.com/ Do not do anything to the rust by yourself without first consulting a professional. Gun cleaning kits may stain the blade (if it is a properly made, forge folded blade) and even cause the rust to become worse. Take some photos from the current condition of the sword. Sword tip, some blade parts (at least the rust parts) and perhaps the handle should be photographed - use a fixed camera and lightning that doesn't reflect straight to the lens. Mr. Lohman might find these useful when estimating the need and price of the restoration (and whether the sword is worth a restoration or not - if not, I'm sure that he can share some tips for restoring the blade).

And what does this do here? This is a karate section - ninjutsu (yes, jutsu, not jitsu) should be somewhere else.

Ah, OK. So, American kenpo...if your style is American, why do you use Japanese in its name? Interesting - as is Mr. Parker's martial art history and claims. I don't need to search for ancient secrets. There aren't many secrets in martial arts, after all. I just handle classic styles as classic ones, modern styles as modern ones - and fraudlent hoaxes as fraudlent hoaxes. And we don't follow "a bunch of protocals" (sp, should be "protocols") either. Update your knowledge about traditional styles.

Shaolin = Chinese word. In Japan it would be "Shorin". Kenpo = Misspelled "kempo". Japanese word for kung fu. If someone translates it as "fist law", we're talking about American style here. Karate = Japanese word, meaning "empty hand". Mixing Japanese and Chinese in a name of the style: Pretty ridiculous. At least makes all claims of traditionality and long lineage to be hoax automately.

For this attitude I give my highest recommendation. And about the 10 year mark and karate being hobby until then...well, it'll be hobby after it, also. Actually, best thing is that all the excessive stuff has dropped away and now karate is just karate. Not a "lifestyle", not a vehicle for "perfection of character"...it just is karate. No need for more.

Yes, it has.

Yes, it is. You could as well rise a flag with a text "KICK COMING" if you pivot your foot before kicking - this applies to all kicks where you pivot the foot, also to a back kick. You also weaken the power of your kick by pre-pivoting. Turn the foot when you snap the hip for kick - that's the way to do it.

Ah, so you pivot the foot while kicking, not before kicking. Hmm, do some people actually pivot the foot before kicking...never ran into such style, really. Great thing that you clarified it, Killer Miller. I actually had interesting knee surgery scenarios running in my mind.

Since WHEN has Shotokan quit turning the supporting foot while kicking mawashi geri? Certainly hasn't been a JKA way elsewhere...just another piece of Nishinformation, maybe? I think that people at https://www.24fightingchickens.com forum might find your idea...well, at least interesting. I do too.

Darce: Pekka Seppänen is a kyusho-jutsu person, at least according to web. Not hearing about kyusho-jutsu crowd is a positive thing in my book.

Uchi deshi. Doesn't sound too seducing for me.

Weirdly enough, Merriam-Webster accepts that "misspelling". Potato, potatoe, tomato, tomatoe...

Kyus do not make you strong. You do - if you want to and if your body can take it. If your genetics aren't helping you, all the will won't help you out. Just train and enjoy. Don't worry about becoming a strong person or about other similar things.

It will, occasionally. Trust me.

Interesting idea. I see his work as saying that Japanese way is not superior, but equal. And his thoughts about training can stand under a serious evaluation. You can drop the cultural side and national side away and still get valid stuff. I'm from Europe and feel myself as European. I still see his points as valid ones. Especially when concerning about "karate for life" -aspect.

I still think - since some schools use the different tying methods - that old good "ask your sensei" -method works wonders here.