ESA-Shotokan

I am right-handed and yup, it is easiest for me going to the left in kata. What is strange though is that my left gyaku-zuki is a lot more powerful than my right! Always has been. I guess it may have something to do with the power in which I can pull back my (supposedly) stronger right hand.

Kicks are used in the KUGB class as a major part of the warm up, so easily constitute about 60% of the technique. ESA class is dominated by hand attacks and so more like 40% kicks there.

Actually , here is something that has bugged me for a while. I did Wado-Ryu for a short period and one thing I could not grasp was the soto-uke block. Now this was performed from the inside, outwards like shotokan's uchi-uke? Whereas in shotokan, soto-uke is performed from the outside in!!? What have I missed here?

When you are in any stance and practicing a basic chudan thrust punch, do you feel you always need to have your gi on so that you get the snap "feedback" from the punch? I used to be like that and have found that as you develop the punch correctly, performing it even with no top on delivers the respectful feedback and focus. Just a little thing I thought I would share as I do find it quite amusing that some people insist on wearing the gi's when practicing as such.

I always find, even in the same styles, that people will slate another organisation for the most weakest of reasons. I ignore them now as what does it prove? Except that they are ignorant.

The deeper, stronger stances were developed more by Yoshitake Funakoshi. Regarding the kick, it is indeed a mae-geri and is practiced correctly in styles such as wado-ryu, where you perform a chudan block with the mae-geri. If you look at the actual translation of that move, it says perform a kick to the side, not "perfrom a side kick". Just all in the terminology and how it is perceived. Good fun!

Not quite in the same league but the worst injuries are blisteres on the feet! Especially once they burst and all that dirt gets in there!! Ouch! I had a break away from karate due to a torn cartilage in my knee and on returning to training, getting the feet hardened again was a painful period. Only other injury I have had was a hair-line fracture in my thumb, caused by it being punched while perfroming an age-uke.

I'm not sure I understand the question here... Gyaku-zuki tends to be practiced from zenkutsu-dachi, or front stance. It can be done in any other stance such as fudo-dachi or kokutsu-dachi but zenkutsu-dachi is normally where you start.

Don't worry...I know exactly what you mean. I myself am haunted by a "true love" I once had - she really was my everything. I'd like to tell you these feelings go away but they don't; unless you meet a very special person who can erase all such memories... You DO get over it but you never ever forget that particular person - I know I never will. I barely think about her now but every now and then, she is there in my mind and I am lost in the memory of what I once had! Try to look on such things as a "good" memory and then move on. I can't wave a magic want to take away the pain but you will get over it...I promise you. Be strong.

You can see details regarding Sensei Sherry on the link below: http://www.loghar.com/preview/kugb/profiles/profiles_sherry.html

ESA from the new Organisation I have joined and Shotokan from my flavour of karate

IT Development Consultant for software company. Accounting based client / server software used by local government, universities and the such.

Just be thankful for the opportunity to get out and meet some new people. Falling in love and being in love is great but meeting a new hotty for the first time is even greater! She has said her piece and made her bed, so you are not going to be in it - there is bound to be a better bed elsewhere! Life is just too short to ponder what if's with one person. Just don't go back as she will (may) do it again and totally wreck your head. There's nothing wrong with feeling sad and lonely and all that but just think of the fun your are missing out on while moaping about.

I have to admit, I would love to go along to the Kanazawa Sensei course but it is on the wrong side of London for easy commute. Hence after hotel costs would be a bit too expensive. Hopefully another more central will become available in the near future.

Big congrats to Sensei Sherry (KUGB) being awarded 8th Dan.

Well there you go!! Terry O'Neil's Fighting Arts International is coming back in electronic PDF format. Check out the link below http://www.terryoneills-fai.com/ Ofcourse this may be old news for other people here but welcome news to me. I currently subscribe to the excellent Shotokan Karate magazine but this also will have to be added to the list. Hope Terry produces the same quality as the original. Good stuff!!

It is great now. Had key hole surgery last October and now I'm in top shape again. Lots of running has been the biggest help and totally avoiding kicking heavy bags has been the other essential ingredient!

Hi there aefibird - yes course is open to any karateka, hence why I am planning to go along. I have uploaded full details with URL as follows: http://www.karate-shotokan.co.uk/SpringCourseAbe2004.doc If you can't see the form (it has to be downloaded) I can always email it to you. Oh and the venue is Bath Leisure Centre, though that is not clear on the details.

Hi there. Sensei Abe from the JSKA is holding a two day course in Bath, SW England very soon and I intend to go along for some education. I am really looking forward to the two, four hours sessions with Abe Sensei. Has anybody else here ever met him and been taught by him?

I originally took the Shodan grading last July (2003) and managed to pass the Kihon and Kata parts, and all with a torn cartilage in my knee! I was done in and in too much pain to perform the kumite correctly so I only have to do the kumite for the next part; which has to be a bonus Thank you all for the good wishes

Okay as I started this I may as well contribute further. A lot of comments have used past eductaional qualifications as a comparison for passing the Shodan grading ten years ago. If you took a PhD 10 years ago in IT for example, your skills would be well out of date now, especially if you went on to work in Toys-r-Us. In the same way, any educational qualification at such a high standared needs the succesful person to continue to build on this knowledge and keep themselves up to date or else they wont get very far. While passing a higher degree 10 years ago will still look good on your CV, no employer will really honour it if you have not used the skills for as long a time. So the same thing with karate and the Shodan (or higher) grades. If you walk into the dojo and your belt wont even tie around your waist and you are sick after performing the first three movies of Heian Shodan, then No, you should not keep your grade or at the very least, you should have to do a test after a period of around six months, just to demonstrate your ability.

Hi there. Some of you may know from my previous posts that I am soon to grade with the KUGB to Shodan (hopefully) and then to take the grading again with the ESA, as the standards are very different. Well that has changed now, as my ESA sensei has advised he will honour my KUGB grading should I pass, so I have to admit I am very much excited about that now It is on 21st March this year, so I just can't wait!!

Also too many schools practice tippy-tappy-crappy sports karate and call it Shotokan Karate. It is a thing that the JKA are guilty of in that too much emphasis is placed on offence and not enough on defence. I have attended a few classes were the sensei has advised me to be "in and out" with a combination and not wait around, whereas I felt that was wrong. If I am at close range with an opponent, I will normally stay there until they are down, not get in and take the advantage and then lose it by skipping out again; what use is that? If you have the advantage, use it and forget scoring a quick point. When you consider that a lot of the "attacking" techniques were originally introduced to "test" the defensive methods of shotokan. Over the years, it somewhat got twisted.

http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/cukc/katapage/kata/heian_shodan.html Just change the kata name in the link.

Best thing is to look at Heian Shodan Bunkai Oyo and get some examples of the application. You should try to simulate the moves of Heian Shodan but perfrom them only in a straight line - forwards and backwards and remove the duplicated age-uke and oi-tsuki movement; doing each of these only once. The gedan-barai which is done at the end of the age-uke (Kiai) would be a 360-degree turn with the action going backwards but the block being done in the forwards direction; if you see what I mean? Also the right tetsui-like, hammer attack after the the second gedan-barai should always be looked on as a block and not an attack. Works much better that way. Good stuff.