Jussi Häkkinen

Actually, no. Training uniform, grades and language used in the dojo are not bound to karate. Karate (or a karate style) is simply a way to teach unarmed fighting and healthy exercises (according to many masters, health is the most important goal of karate) to a student. Language, uniform and everything else is just decoration, not the point itself.

In a class I've seen them in a nice and tidy do-gi. That feels comfortable, as well. Tailor made ones usually do feel, from the day one.

Yes. However, they don't need to know it. You don't need to wash your belt in front of them. I've washed gazillion colour belts and they did not stiffen (at all, thanks to the starch being washed out - they actually softened). I don't wash my black ones by myself, they're a tad bit too expensive for that (and I don't want them to shrunk), so when they begin to have a little stench, I take them to laundry for chemical cleaning. Overkill? For some, maybe. For me, it's just a matter of being clean. Of course, if a belt is dirty and frayed, I may as well throw it away and buy a new one.

Umm, in most Okinawan styles you don't get stripes to your black belt to mark your dan-grade. You get one stripe to mark a grade of renshi (usually around 6th dan), two stripes to mark a grade of kyoshi (around 7th dan) and three stripes to mark a grade of hanshi (around 8th-9th dan). Those grades aren't dan-dependable (although there are rough guidelines). Some styles use a red and white panel belt (originally taken from judo, where it's a sign of a 5th dan black belt) to mark a kyoshi grade and a red belt as a mark of the style's head at 10th dan (in some styles even at 9th dan).

Pretty much always when they're performing in a demonstration or in similar occasion.

Because if you sweat to your belt for ages it will start to smell. If you stain your belt it won't look tidy. Etc. There are many reasons to wash your clothes. They all apply to your karate belt as well.

Type of the uniform. Try tournament cut (shorter sleeves and pantlegs) next. You can also take your do-gi to a local seamstress and get it fixed to your prefered length.

Price. All else is just benefits.

[NoFear]: Begin with washing it in 90°C cycle, it should work fine. A do-gi shrinks usually quite a lot in a first 3 washes. Check out after every wash if the do-gi has shrunk enough and if it is, quit using the 90°C from then on. If there's still a slight need to shortening the sleeves or pants, get them shortened. Do not use a tumble dryer, it wears the fabric out. After first three washes, don't use the 90°C cycle in washing, but use the 40°C cycle as a "basic wash" and 60° when the do-gi is very dirty. Personally, I like a roomy do-gi with short-ish sleeves and pants (tournament cut).

Yes. Actually, there are many individuals from many different Shorin-ryu branches in these forums.

It depends. For daily training I'd suggest you either a good heavyweight do-gi (if you want the best price/quality ratio, get a Kamikaze America) or a nice "special lightweight" do-gi (Tokaido NST, Shureido FA, Hirota Pinack, Kamikaze Sovereign). A cheap lightweight do-gi isn't good training at all, I think.

Lightweight cotton (cheap ones): No benefits. When you sweat, sticks to your body and restricts the movements. Becomes transparent. Lightweight ribbed poly-cotton (competition uniforms): Doesn't stick to your body. Breathes well (keeping you cool). Evaporates moisture fast. Looks raggy. Heavyweight cotton canvas: Doesn't stick to your body. Can absorb huge amounts of moisture. Very warm, although breathes well as it keeps away from your body. Can take some serious punishment (doesn't rip). Looks very good. Good quality ones last forever (like my older Shureido). Special lightweight canvas (such as Tokaido NST, Shureido FA and Hirota Pinack): Durability and unsticking abilities of heavyweight cotton in a lightweight canvas. Currently probably the best stuff there is for a karate uniform. Most expensive, though.

Styles weren't trademarked back then. "Shorin" is a common way to nod towards Shaolin (occasionally "ji" - "tzu" in Chinese, meaning "temple" - was thrown in). School (kan) means usually more than style (ryu). Back in the days of 1800's karate styles weren't really defined as they're now and even the "root styles" for many now well known "kan" were in a development state. Kyan called his approach to karate as "Sukunaihayashi", most probably to give Shaolin some credit as a home of many Chinese martial art traditions. That is hard to say. Seibukan and Kyudokan aren't very commonly mentioned in any karate book and even Kyan is often passed with a couple of short sentences. One explanation may be that Kyan didn't have that many students and that his karate was - even in his days - seen as "rugged" and "old styled", as opposed to Itosu's school karate approach and its followers. "Hogen" means dialect generally. But if you're asking if Sukunaihayashi refers to Shaolin in Okinawan language or dialect (Uchinaguchi), the answer is yes. Hmm. I wonder if your nick refers to your chosen school of karate? It'd be nice to meet an another Seibukan student online, especially when it seems that there aren't all that many of us. Drop me a personal message if you wish.

It is a mispronounciation and it's used knowingly. Backround for this interesting use is in Uchinaguchi. Sukunaihayashi was a name Kyan himself used. That is what he claims, but he was too young to be a student of Kyan. His older brother was a student of Kyan, though. Eizo's techniques reflect - more than anything else - that he studied from his brother Tatsuo Shimabukuro (who had his personal approach to karate, including a "standing fist" that can be seen in many pictures of Eizo Shimabukuro as well). Eizo Shimabukuro's kata list is not Kyan's list (Kyan did not teach Naifanchi - a fact confirmed from Joyen Nakazato, only still living student of Kyan Chotoku) and includes kata from Goju-ryu -heritage (that his brother also studied and taught), such as Seienchin and Sanchin. Eizo Shimabukuro is a "hot potato" with his claims about being Kyan Chotoku's student. However, no other student of Kyan has confirmed his claims and his age also speaks against him in this issue. His older brother was asked this question several times and each and every time he confirmed that Eizo Shimabukuro was not a student of Kyan Chotoku. Other students say the same. Eizo has still continued claiming so, which, with certain other interesting features (such as very efficient "special training" if a student has a suitable amount of cash, resulting in rise of dan-grades) has earned him a certain reputation in Okinawa (that can be verified by asking just about any Okinawan teacher). I'm sorry if this text startled anyone. I know that Eizo's claims are accepted by "truth" by several people. However, no proof for his claims have ever surfaced. Here's a list of verified students of Kyan Chotoku.

Ah, we must be talking about a different part of the book. I mean the part where he describes the dojo and style of Shimabukuro Zenpo (son of the Seibukan founder, Shimabukuro Zenryo) and where he uses "Chubu Shorin-ryu" as a style name. If I recall correctly, the association text is elsewhere in the book (and is rather correctly done). I don't believe that Mr. Bishop would have done that intentionally. I have a feeling that he's a rather honest person. The mistakes in his book aren't that monstrous and my belief is that he really has tried to do his job as well as possible. Given the comprehensive nature of his book, the small mistakes are unavoidable. You can find an article about common mistakes regarding Shorin-ryu Seibukan (including the Chubu Shorin-ryu -issue) here. It translates to "holy art school". It was a name that Shimabukuro Zenryo gave to his dojo, located in Jagaru, Okinawa, in 1962 (he did teach karate before that, but built and named his head dojo in 1962). Yes, the book was in English. The mistake is in both the first and the newest edition. Sadly, I couldn't meet Mr. Bishop in his seminar in Finland (I was too busy at the time with other immediate issues) and discuss about this. With all being said, I think that Mr. Bishop's book is a decent one and well worth its price. There aren't that many good karate books around and it certainly is one of them.

The book is OK. However, Bishop has a couple of little mistakes there. One is to list Chubu Shorin-ryu as a style, while it actually was an association. "Chubu" means "central" and "nanbu" means "southern". All Okinawa Karate-Do Association divided its Shorin-ryu styles to these two regions, "chubu" and "nanbu". Mr. Bishop apparently didn't have this information available and he listed Seibukan as a style under the name of Chubu Shorin-ryu.

No problem, I'm glad if I could help. However, I must say that one shouldn't judge the karate historians too harshly - karate history is a big, fat and hairy case of work and I am rather convinced that even one style often has a history that is a pretty heavy item for study - even if we stay in happy 1800's. If we go back to 1700's, we have a semi-impossible mission, I'm afraid. I try my best to give you the image I've got by myself. I must advice, still, that read everything with a healthy dose of criticism - be it published by anyone.

This information is wrong. Chotoku Kyan never was a student of Yasutsune (Anko) Itosu, although he worked as a teacher (of karate, in school) in Kadena during the time that Itosu was working there. The exchange of information is possible, but Kyan (or his students) never regarded Itosu as his teacher. For a chart of Kyan Chotoku's teachers, click here This is also incorrect. While Eizo Shimabukuro is certainly a known teacher, he has not been a direct student of Kyan Chotoku (Eizo Shimabukuro simply was too young for that during the time Kyan lived). His older brother, Tatsuo Shimabukuro (founder of Isshin-ryu) was a student of Kyan and Eizo's karate reflects the ideas his brother has brought into his karate (such as standing fist etc.). When talking about Kyan Chotoku's style, the word sukunaihayashi is commonly used (pointing towards the writing style - same as Shaolin of "Shorin" in the style's name). Nowadays there are two schools that aim for preserving Kyan Chotoku's style in its most unaltered form. These schools are Shorinji-ryu Kyudokan (Joyen Nakazato) and Shorin-ryu Seibukan (founded by Zenryo Shimabukuro, currently headed by Zenpo Shimabukuro, son of a former). Nagamine also had other teachers, such as Chojin Kuba (his neighbour), Kotatsu Iha, Taro Shimabukuro and Ankichi Arakaki (students of Kyan Chotoku) and Choki Motobu. He also teaches Itosu no Pinan -kata series which doesn't belong to the Kyan's curriculum (Seibukan teaches Pinan, but states clearly that they're "additional kata" and not Kyan kata). Source: Several interviews with Zenpo Shimabukuro and Zenryo Shimabukuro's students, interviews with Joyen Nakazato, discussions with Tatsuo Shimabukuro. Interviews and discussions by several students of Okinawan karate.

Don't forget Sukunaihayashi, which comes from Chotoku Kyan's view of karate. Most notable representatives are Shorin-ryu Seibukan (Zenryo Shimabukuro) and Shorinji-ryu Kyudokan (Joyen Nakazato).

Kamikaze is good. Get Kamikaze America or Europa.

Hmm. I think that #4 and #11 are rather common things, even among very traditional and very non-commercial karate dojo. Tournaments aren't a thing in every style (sparring is still done, often full contact). If a style is self-defense oriented, tournaments don't really have much to give on that area. Lots of dojo sparring is needed, though. Having a belt on the floor - if it's not in a place where someone could trip or slip on it - isn't a bad thing. It's just a piece of cloth for some (I know that in some styles belts have a deep, symbolical values. Others just use them to show the grade and hold the jacket closed).

No, they aren't sized the same way. Sizing also differs between the karatedo-gi manufacturers, sometimes a lot (I personally am size 6 in one manufacturer's chart, size 8 in other). Occasionally (especially among the Japanese manufacturers) the sizing differes even from one do-gi model to another (i.e. "traditional cut" and "tournament cut" are often differently sized). I recommend you to measure your karatedo-gi. The most important sizes are the width (armpit to armpit) of your jacket and the back length (without collar). Some manufacturers of judo-gi also have different sizes for slimmer or thicker bodies. Ask about these - this way you'll probably be able to have a perfect fit with perfect sleeve- and pantleg length. Remember that the judo-gi is a "measurement sensitive" uniform. That's why you probably should wait until you begin training judo and ask the instructions for buying a do-gi from your instructor. You'll get a correctly sized uniform then. I'd also recommend you to get a good quality uniform. While beginner do-gi often are usable, heavier and more sturdy do-gi are more pleasant to wear and last a lot longer.

I put my belt on the floor, if needed. I also wash it, if needed. I still train and teach very traditional Okinawan karate and practice discipline and respect. For me, having clean clothes (including my belt) is part of this discipline and respect. Putting the belt on floor...well, there's nothing wrong with that, if the floor is clean and you need a place to put your belt for a while (when training without do-gi top, for example).

Both. Makiwara has a characteristicly straight and predictably give, making it very suitable for training the good punch without thinking about footwork or anything else than the structure of the technique. This is a good element for basics training, both for beginners and experts. Heavy bag has a charasteristic of swinging around and moving unpredictably, thus helping with the skill of aiming at a moving target and doing the footwork that is required for that. It also doesn't "give" straight backwards always (unless the accuracy is good), so it helps with learning to deal with less-than-perfect hits and evading opponent. Combinations are possible. Heavy bag is a great tool after a student has learned the basics with a makiwara and is ready to move towards more appliable training. Suitable from lower intermediate students upwards. I'd say that the makiwara is a basic tool and heavy bag is an application tool. Both are worthy (and needed, I think).

Ehm...I definitely recommend tapering the board for makiwara. Cut it in a way that the striking end is about 0.5" thick and thickens eventually to the ground level to ~1 - 1.5" thickness. The board has to have a good give - 10-15" with a good punch is OK. Having a 4*4" board and using it as it is will only cause your fingerjoints irreparable damage. Not recommended.