equaninimus

Practice, where do you come up with some of the things you post? Sweeping is a skill, like any other. Those who practice sweeps are usualy better at avoiding them. Rich, I would guess you are speaking about the standard modified zenkutsu dachi that many of us spar from. If all your weight is on your front foot, and you are stationary (what a friend of mine calls "Rock sparring. ), then yes, you will be quite easy to sweep. But no "Style" is immune from being swept, nor is any "Style" invincible. Somedays I wonder if most of the people here are incredibly gullible?

I always thought "Demo Teams" were sort of like "Black Belt Clubs," "SWAT Teams," and other marketing gimmicks used by McDojos to separate the marks,er..I mean the students, from their money.

Here is a more complete explication of the tale. http://www.ku.edu/~sma/chushin/chushtxt.htm

Compare the WWII era Chushingura with Kurosawa's version from the later 1960s. It shows the major shift in attitude toward authority in Japanese society in that period.

Lousy MA, lousy actor, lousy person.

He apparently made the mistake of challenging Gene LeBell to choke him out a few years ago, then sued Mr. LeBelll to keep silent about the event.

"If thy toe offend thee, rip it off in great gouts of blood and foul smelling ichor." Okay, maybe not, but it sounds like an excuse to avoid actually training. Sorry.

Why? Because after getting hit in the head too many times one's perceptions alter, perhaps?

The emphasis on belt colour, instead of training, is why the McDojos do so well. they "guarantee" BB in two years.

Actually, I would place Kyokushin closer to TKD in its emphasis on artificial rules for sparring, i.e. no hands to the head, and its disdain for kata. One look at the way Oyama modified the Kata shows he didn't "get it," and that to him, Karate was all kicking and punching. I would agree with Kumite 988 that the original Okinawan styles were "complete" arts, and I would venture to put Shito into the same category, depending on one's instructor. Certainly it is as taught by Minakami sensei in Seattle. Wado also has the potential to be a "complete art" depending on how it is taught. The Wado Ryu Renmei organization tends to do so, in my opinion, whereas Wado Kai does not. Once again teh disclaimer, I'm a Wado Kai person. Goju definately is a "complete system," although again this depends on the teacher. Shotokan,though I love how dynamic it is, is not, and is not even really a fighting style as taught by most instructors.

Don't block with your nose?

Just a note of caution. I noticed people talking about kicking and punching at full speed with weights..BAD idea. this places excessive strain on the joints and can lead to serious injuries.

Puzzle mats are becoming more affordable, and they are easily stored when not in use. I would also suggest a collection of sparring gear, like hand/foot/headgear.

Indeed. I tested for Shodan in Shotokan after 12 months of training (I was nidan in Wado already) and will test for Shodan in Seibukan after about 18 months (with 23 years of total training time in Karate). I wore a white belt for the entire year befroe testing in Shotokan, and have been wearing a black belt while training in Seibukan. Different Dojo have different rules.

If you are only practicing kata to pass tests, why even bother?

It took me five years. Where I train now the average is six or seven.

International Okinawan Seibukan Shorin Ryu Karate Assoc. Head of style: Shimabukurao Zempo, Naha, Okinawa. In the US Dan Smith, of Atlanta is in charge.

Never was "big news."He is, obviously. still active. The MA world here in the US tends to facilitate scams like this.

Ther first few months back at the Wado dojo, after an extended Shotokan binge , I wore a white belt again. After two months, Sensei told me "Get rid of that thing, wear real belt! You are confusing people!"

I stand guilty of having avoided grading whenever possible. My 2d and 3d dans were under strong "encouragement" from my instructors (Robert, its December, yes? Test sandan, June! Work harder!).

Well, if its the show I'm thinking of, several things were apparrent. First: Before anyone took any sort of technique, they huffed and puffed like the big bad wolf. I don't know of may attackers who will let you "get ready" before they attack. Groin shots: One person at the test obviously did the technique incorectly ,and did the stiff legged waddle away from the station. The others seemed to be standing with thteir thighs close enough together that they were trapping the kick before it hit their groins. The woman who was being profiled actually got knocked out at the chest punch station. She denied it, but it was pretty obvious. Throat punches: I've seen Uechi-ryu people take blows to the throat, etc, after tensing the trapezii, sternocleidomastoids, etc...Again, they huffed and puffed , they called it "ki-ing up," before hand. I would question the efficacy of the techniqe for self defence. Maybe a mugger would run away thinking you are crazy, or laugh himself to death (good options, in my book!), but I don't see this as a valid practice, or a valid group.

This site has details of the slander suit he filed against Don Cunningham and Jeff Boler. The suit was dismissed. The evidence submitted by "Dr. Ron in his own defence seems to have gotten the case dismissed. I especially liked how he made a mistake in Kanji interepretetion. Seems that instead of the Kanji for "truth" in Seidokan, he used one that means "sexual." Oops! http://www.e-budokai.com/jukokai/libel.htm Here's a site that talks about his diploma mill, "The College of Oriental Philosophy." (I ain't just a satisfied student, neither, I own the whole danged comp'ny! (imagine the accent)). http://www.geocities.com/bolerjpee/sacharnoski.htm

A Big round fraud!

Ahhh.."Dr." Rod and his junko kai. What a group of losers and charlatans! If you do even a brief web search you will find that they are not legitamate. Old Roddy has been run out of three states, falsely claimed rank in gods only know how many organizations, and been zapped for fraud and embezzlement by two juries.

The full chamber has a couple of rationales behind it. -To train the student to use hip rotation when doing techniqes, therefore using his entire body, rather than just his arm. -The hikite can be thought of as pulling the oppponent into the karateka. -In some techniques, like the final two techniques of Pinan Sandan, the hikite is perfoming an elbow strike. -Alternately (in the same kata) the hikite represents the hand on the opponent's collar during a throw. So the short answer is that there is no short answer.