equaninimus

Actually, Oyama Shigeru's family adopred Young I Choi in teh 1930s. So Oyama Shigeru is essentially Oyama Masutatsu's (Young I Choi) younger brother.

Thats pretty much why I stopped competing and judging. I don't see kata or kumite competition as haeving anything to do with Karate. I used to, and I was a "tournament rat" in the 1980s, shuffling from Colorado to Utah, to Az, to NM each month for "traditional" tournaments, and participating in open tournaments in the same region. I just don't really see the point (if you will) anymore.

Look at the clip entitled "Jion Bunkai" from the site I linked the clips above from. Or any of the other "bunkai" clips. Flash and trash, of the block punch kick variety. I doubt many sport types are that interested in tuite and tegumi.

The Black belts usually go out to Old Chicago Pizza every thursday after class, where we eat round food, and those of us over 21 usually indulge in a few pitchers, but none of us drinks to even tipsiness, let alone driunkenness. Thats pretty much the extent of my alcohol intake. Last wekend for my birthday my friends took me out to a strip club, and got me blotto, but that was a fairly isolated incident, and I think my girlfriend enjoyed the experience as much as I did. I guess I'm pretty sedate.

This is precisely the reason why I think Kata cannot be judged fairly. If you come from a certain tradition, you consider "good" Kata to have the presentation that your system uses. Styles that don't do things the same way will seem to you to be flawed in their execution. Consider the differences between JKF Goju-Kai, and Okinawan Goju Ryu; the JKF Goju people maintain a straight back, have little variation in head height, and use very low stancing. Hip motion is limited to a rotation/vibration model. In Okinawan Goju, the back is not always straight, height of stances varies greatly during Kata, and hip rolling is used as well as rotation and vibration. To someone who has been mostly exposed to the Japanese model of Karate, the Okinawan Goju stylist will appear to have poor technique.

Sorry to continue to rant, but one of my pet peeves is how tournament kata has deviated so far from its original origins. Look at the clips below, if you have time. These are fairly typical of WKF competition kata. They are certainly athletic, and aesthetically pleasing, but are they really about fighting techniques, or are they gymnastic routines? http://www.jutsko.com/Site%20Junior/Nouveau%20video%202/empi%20junior.wmv http://www.jutsko.com/Site%20Junior/Nouveau%20video%202/empi.wmv http://www.jutsko.com/Site%20Junior/Nouveau%20video%202/unsu.wmv http://www.jutsko.com/Site%20Junior/Nouveau%20video%202/empi%20bunkai.wmv http://www.jutsko.com/Site%20Junior/1993/a%20kanku%20dai%20france.avi

In WKF sanctioned events, the bias is definately toward Shito and Goju, and less so to Shotokan. Here in Denver, Wado people usually win, because Kurobane Sadaharu Sensei, who is the senior JKF person runs a Wado school. Shindo Jinen Ryu people are also up there, since the local USA-NKF rep runs a Ryobukai Dojo. In Baltimore it was the Shotkan people who usually won. In Seattle the Shito people usually filled the winner's ranks. Same reason. In open tourneys the bias is often toward the judges own students. Before I took up Shorin Ryu, I regularly down-graded Okinawan styles for what I perceivd to be poor stances (too high). I have graded Oyama lineage people lower because their performance of kata is different from most other styles I was familiar with, i.e,. not as crisp. I disqualified a Seido person once doing Seipai, because I was unfamiliar with the changes Oyama made to the kata. Oh well, I know better now, but I also have no desire to be a tournament judge anytime soon.

Our organization requires certification in CPR (Basic Rescuer) and first aid to teach.

Kukkiwon certification was probably the last "gold standard" to fall by the wayside, after the JKA and ITF went silly-buggers. Unfortunately, judging by the quality of WTF blackbelts I've seen in the last ten years, that seems to have gone the way of the others. thank you "Olympic TKD."

When I did TKD, we did the Chang-Hon and Tae-yucks for gup grades, and the Koryo, etc.. BB forms. I have seen the Palgwes and like them, but apparently Kukkiwon is not in favour of them anymore. Of course, they probably really dislike the Chang Hon set!

Why is it that important? Robert L. Welch Shodan, Seibukan Shorin Ryu Sandan, JKA Shotokan Nidan, JKf Wado-Kai Shodan, Yoshinkan Aikido Shodan, AJNF Naginata Do Shodan WTF TKD Does this make me a superior, wonderful, smurfy person? Probably not. I still make mistakes, yell at the dog, irritate my girlfriend, confuse my students, and dissapoint my professors. I'm human. We all are.

Also, buy a katana (you might know them as "sam-er-eye swords) and wear that with the Hakama, oh, tie your obi (that's the three inch thick black belt with your name and style name in flourescent Chinese letters on it, and nine stripes at each end) on the outside of the belt. Practice cutting watermelons off the tummies of students with it (make sure their contracts are fully paid up. Sue their survivors if the payments cease.).

Depends on what "proper" is for your style. Stances in Seibukan are not as long or low as the ones in Wado, which are not as long or low as the ones in Shoto, etc.... I have actually had a difficult time trying to not drop into an overly low posture.

Hire someone who hits really hard to hit you there repeatedly. have him punch you in the face too, to build that up.

What he said.

Msotly TKD, of the McDojo variety, unfortunately.

Shouldn't you be sitting under a bridge somewhere?

Gaijin ryu: School of those who smell of unwashed hair and bodies.

I like thosee little rubber squooshy balls, both as a grip strengthener, and as a stress reliever.

At least as good as "Gaijin Ryu," or "Sex Way House (Seidokan)"

Weapons training tends to make your empty hand techniques crisper.

If the school you choose gives you a bad time about being unfit, then you should probably not practice there. Your fitness should improve over time. The CC where I teach history has a TKD class, and the instructor is apparently fond of epithets like "fat boy," and "lard *." I encouraged his students to file complaints with the administration, so that ihis aerobicized butt can be removed to an environment better suited to his liking.

According to Robert Dohrenwend's ongoing series on TKD history in Classical Fighting Arts, Rhee's instructor was Yi Won Kuk.

The WAdo dojo where I started training 23 years ago just used white, green, brown,and black. Sensei has added orange and blue, since then.