hobo6

I had a similar situation switching from one org. to another. I spent three years studying with a splinter group (I went through most of those three yrs not realizing they were a splinter group ) working my way up to ni-kyu, till I finally got tired of all the faux tradition and cult of personality crap. Looking for a new style/dojo (thinking there's was the only matsubyashi group outside of Okinawa) I stumbled upon a dojo affiliated with the honbu. I called. They said they would be happy to have me, but I had to wear a white belt till I was ready to test for my next rank (ik-kyu). Their reason for doing that: matsubayashi-ka from the splinter orgs were below par in nearly everyway. They were right I grinned and bore it because I wanted to learn from the "source." It was worth it! Flash-foward a couple of years, I've moved, got injured and now that I've sinced healed (but woefully out of shape) I want to start traing again. Problem is, the only matsubayashi dojo close enough for me to train regularly is affiliated w. the group I started out with. Being an inward, poltical bunch I doubt they would let me train w. the dan ranks (while wearing a white belt) let alone acknowledge my shodan. Life sukks!

I-self, Unfortunately you had an eperience with an off-shoot of Matsubayashi. While an exceptional kobudo-ka, Ota's kata and kumite left much to be desired. He split from the honbu organization years ago and hardly a tear was shed. In fact, the attitude was more like "don't let the door hit your a$$ on the way out!" In the years since, many of Ota's students have defected back to the honbu system. It sounds to me that Ota is doing the McDojo thing. How sad. I ain't knocking the other styles. Actually, with time (and money) I'd like to delve into them. Unfortunately, there's only shobayashi branch here in NYC (opinions/info on this style?).

Sorry I-self, but you just opened a tin o' whup-*** with your comments on Matsubayashi-ryu. Seriously, though your essay was mostly spot on, i couldn't let your erroneous comments on Matsubayashi slip by. I'm not sure where you got your info, perhaps from a sempai/sensei with an axe to grind, or someone trying to instill loyalty since Matsubayashi keeps winning legions of "converts" every year. If there are two things the Nagamine/Honbu organization (don't even get me started on the splinter groups ) is known and respected for by karate-ka of all styles the world over it is: a. strict adherence to traditonal kata, kihon, bunkai and applications. and... b. kumite prowess in and out of the dojo. It was not long ago that Matsubayashi-ka were looked down upon for "thuggish/brutish" approach to kumite and self-defence. Even Joe Lewis in his prime thought the training was "too much." Even Teruo Hayashi of Shito-ryu went to Nagamine to learn kata and kumite. What's good enough for Hayasi... As for kobudo: ever hear of Ota, Oshihiro, Ueshiro, or Kishaba. Didn't mean to go off on a rant or tangent. Just had to represent. Have a good day.