stl_karateka

WELCOME!!!

Good story Shorinryu Sensei --- thanks for sharing

I picked Okinawan based cause I am currently studying ShorinRyu, and before that IsshinRyu --- both Okinawan styles

I'm just curious what style everyone is. I'm surprised I haven't seen a post like this. If you have studied multiple styles, just list the one that you are studying now. If you pick other, describe for us

Katas are usually pretty easy for me to learn -- Chinto probably presented the biggest challege, but I think that was cause I had trouble making it to the dojo during that times.....hardest to perform: UNSU

Welcome

Welcome to KF! I'm not a Christian --- thats a title....I am a born again child of God!!! I love Jesus, in case you couldn't tell

Is it ok for students to go to tourneys without consent from the teacher at their own school? No---not because going to tournaments outside of your school is wrong, but because you are being disobienent and therefore disrepectful to your instructor. Talk to your sensei....why don't they allow outside competitions? Explain your concern. If it doesn't work out and he is adamant about you not competing, then you need to respect his decision or find a school that will allow you the freedom to compete. Also.. I wanted to know if my school had any symptons of a mcdojo 1. black striped belts seperating the traditional solid color belts to add extra rank ---Are you being charged for these extra belts? Tests? Is this for the adults or just for the kids? Do you get them on a 'scheduled' basis, or based on merit 2. 20 minutes of class is used stretching - How long is the class? If its a 30 min class then, yeah...that's a problem Seriously though -- stretching is important and often times overlooked...be thankful!!! 3. no seperation between kids and adult classes, meaning 5 year olds are in my class --- All the time? My current school has 'open hours' on Saturdays, and that is the only time we have all ranks and ages on the floor at the same time. Of course there is usually about 5-10 black belts floating around and we can break them up accordingly. Honestly, that sounds like a detrimental teaching environment --- you can't teach a 5 yo the same way you teach an adult. Do they literally have class together, same sensei...or do they split up...please explain more. Bottom line --- are you learning quality martial arts? You say there are a lot of people who have rank but don't know the material well enough --- may I ask what rank you are? Do you know how long students had to train there to get black belts? Sorry, I've asked more questions than I've answered --- but the term McDojo has been thrown around so much --- its not my job to label anyones dojo --- but I will present the questions and you should be able to make an educated determination for yourself.

IsshinRyu & Matsubayshi ShorinRyu: White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue*, Purple*, Brown, Black *Matsubayashi ShorinRyu only issued these belts to kids. Adults got degrees of green before brown.

Welcome to KF!

welcome

Hey ShorinRyu Sensei, you still around....what do you think of this Rek Suit: http://www.reksuits.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=browse&id=16958&pageid=89 Looks like a traditional white gi but provides the flexibility of the rek suit --- its half the price of all the 'flashier' ones too....I'm thinking about getting it. Anyone here spar with a Rek suit? How do they compare to traditional gi?

Welcome!!!!

Welcome to KF

Welcome to the wonderful world of Martial Arts!

welcome

Welcome to KF!

agreed...I have a sprained finger now....fell awkward last time we sparred broken ribs....ouch! that's pretty serious! I never heard of your style....is it a lot of full contact?

Haha cool story! Fortunately gis were also sold at my school and it wasn't until I wanted to 'upgrade' to a heavy that I had some decisions to make

There are a couple tournaments coming up in Springfield (if that is your thing) -- go and ask around...a lot of ShorinRyu competitors are at midwest tournys....if your lucky, he'll be there or some of his students and you can see for yourself, if not, somebody there should surely know him.

capoeira --- its will definately keep you moving! problem is schools are hard to find. Its a fun art too

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome to KF!

Welcome! Thanks for sharing your MA bio and some ideas...I look for to more of your posts