Fish

If it means that the student learned what you intended to teach, then I think you should be pleased.

I took my Shodan in October, and I'm realizing more and more how little I really know!

Pinan 1 to 5 Kushanku Seienchin (the shito-ryu version, although I study wado) Bassai-Dai Gojushiho Naihanchi Niseishi Seishan Wanshu I'm studying Seishan at the moment - nice kata!

Well done!

It depends on the school. In Wado Ryu we do have point sparring in competition, but in the dojo I attend we also have fairly intense continuous sparring with contact. The best thing would be to ask the instructor or visit a dojo and watch them spar.

Hi Wa-No-Michi What are the other two? I know reverse cat stance, and I have seen a short version (e.g. in Pinan Yodan, Bassai Dai, Wanshu) and a long version of this (in Niseishi). Are they the other two or are there others I don't know about?

I think it depends what they are teaching and to whom. I have had one on one instruction from a young junior bb (I think he was around 13) who was teaching me a particular kata, which he knew and could perform to a high standard, and I didn't know at all. I had no problem learning from him and, as it happens, he was a very good instructor notwithstanding his young age. Sometimes an adult also has to have the humility to learn from a child.

About 3 to 6 months between coloured belts, but it can vary. I went 7 months between 4th kyu and my first attempt at 3rd kyu (which I failed first time around), and then retested 4 months after that - so 11 months in all between 4th and 3rd kyu. It took me almost exactly 5 years to gain shodan. I was happy because I achieved it before my 40th birthday, which was my goal.

In Wado Ryu there are two cat stances: Shomen (front facing) and Hanmi (sideways on) Neko Ashi Dachi. The sideways on cat stance is very similar to to kokotsu dachi, but the heel of the front foot is lifted off the floor in the cat stance. The forward facing cat stance is different: the legs are narrower, the body is turned forwards, both knees are bent and the weight distribution is loaded more onto the back leg.

The original post suggested these people died relatively young in their 70s. But bear in mind that modern life expectancies of 80 plus were not typical in previous generations where e.g. labour conditions may have been harder and medicine was less advanced. I wonder whether these people died at average life expectancy for their time, or exceeded it.

I think you see poor sportsmanship in every sport nowadays. Especially when kids compete with pushy parents in tow. In MA its not acceptable, obviously, because you have to be able to trust your opponent to exercise control otherwise there is a high risk of injury.

As a defence, any form of Tai-sa-baki, but especially as a defence to a roundhouse kick, shifting in and sideways off line, catching the leg and dumping the opponent on the ground.

Pretty much what you have described, tho the "block" might be a strike and grab, controlling the opponent while you kick, then pulling them onto the elbow strike. the most interesting sequence is the one after you have done (block maegeri empi) to the right - the sequence where you go into gyakuzuki no tsukommi stance with left hand blocking to the side and right hand overhead, then twist while rotating your hands, pull in to kick, and end up in reverse cat stance with the left arm across your body and the right arm performing uraken over the top of it. To my mind, the latter part of that sequence means you pull opponent on to a chudan kick. This will make their head move forward, you then pull their head down and perform an elbow strike to the neck (i.e the uraken is in fact an elbow strike). That's what makes sense to me anyway.

Wa-No-Michi, you comment that the nagashizuki is unlikely to lead into a throw - depends how you see it. Suppose it is not a punch, but a thrusting push to the head or the shoulder of the opponent. You thus unbalance them, and complete the sequence by twisting while bending the knees -- lowering your own centre of gravity, thus depositing them on the floor and ending as I've described. You may think I'm letting my imagination run away with me, but on the other hand there is a picture of Ohtsuka in what appears to be that nagashizuki stance, with his open hand pushing against the opponent's chin.

Hi Swadoryu2000, I practise wado ryu as well. I also think the jump is in fact training you for a throw. For my BB test I devised a pair technique based on the sequence leading up to and through the "jump". The jump part was actually twisting and throwing the opponent, ending with the with the knee pressed into their ribs and the juji uke being used as a choke on the throat.

I've got a brand new belt - not even worn it yet (passed my test on 11th October, and sensei lent me an old belt till he gave me my new one at the beginning of this week). It only has a blue label on it with manufacturer's name. I don't think I'll go in for one of those ones with my name on it.

In our dojo, some controlled contact is allowed. If you don't protect yourself, you're likely to get hit! It's a good lesson.

Thanks to all of you. I'm not sure how it feels. 5 years ago, when I started out in karate, it was the holy grail. Achieving it was almost an anti-climax. Don't get me wrong, it feels good - but it feels like the beginning of something, rather than a goal achieved.

I took the second part of my shodan test yesterday and I now have my black belt! Now I can train for the love of improvement and learning without having to think about belt tests all the time.

I've been there. I failed my 3rd kyu on my first attempt. It was the best thing that happened to me in MA - apart from passing it on my second attempt 6 months later. It made me determined to train hard for every grading and to really focus on improving and learning at every opportunity. Stick with it - you'll get there in the end if you persevere.

You can train at home, but not very effectively unless you have a teacher to show you what area of training you should focus on. Of course, you can work on fitness and conditioning, but it is difficult to work on specific self-defense strategies and movements unless you have a teacher to show you the way. I have a number of books on karate, and there are lots out there, but they are no substitute for my sensei, who shows me not only the correct way to perform a technique but also how to use it (which is a whole different ball game). Remember, the best self defence is to be aware of yourself and your surroundings and to avoid trouble whenever you can. Forget about Jason Bourne. Fights in movies look visually impressive, but real self defence situations are nothing like that.

The book is called Martial Mechanics. I can't remember the author. I found it on Amazon. I think the not withdrawing the hand all the way back to the hip after the punch is quite common in the heat of kumite. I think it might also be unrealistic when trading punches "in real life" (but I don't know because I've had the good fortune not to have been in a "real" fight).

Use more calories than you eat over a sufficient period of time and you will lose weight. But be patient, and lose the weight gradually, or you will only put it back on again.

Cool! That looked like fun.

Just to change the angle a bit, I've recently read a book that suggested that hand palm up just above the hip is better mechanically than and palm up at the armpit or high on the ribs, because the former allows the elbow joint to move correctly behind the punch, whereas the latter position doesn't. In sparring, I tend to keep my back hand on the hip because we are taught that, to "score" with a gyakuzuki, we have to withdraw the punching hand all the way back after the punch. I use my lead hand more or less as a jab to find my range, or to block the incoming technique of my opponent.