Eiichi

Let me throw out a scenario. 1. You don't know his intentions. All you know is he's bent on harming you. 2. Again, you don't know his training, but he's bigger and much stronger than you. 3. No, he doesn't know you have training in the martial arts, but he's not taking it easy on you. 4. You're sober and you've just left a concert or a movie. 5. No weapons, but he does throw a barrage of punches at you, and manages to grab you and wrestles you to the floor. His whole goal is to knock you unconscious. 6. You notice him following you after a block, and you confront him. Thats when you initiates the attack. 7. Your male attacker is over 6' and over 200lbs 8. Lets say he's sober, but he's obviously insane. 9. My definition of defending oneself is to be able to stop an attack long enough to get away.

Who are you to judge!? What makes you think a well worn obi is disrespectful? Some people get their obi to look like that by years of training, not by a key or a lawn mower. The obi contains the years of hard training that an individual has put in. Frankly, I don't care if it's new or if it's well worn. Worry about your own obi around your own waist. Martial arts isn't the military.

This is why all martial artists should respect Muay Thai. Gotta love it.

I suppose, but Goju Kai isn't authentic Goju Ryu IMHO. I would say IOGKF and schools that shot off from Miyazato Sensei and other senior instructors under Chojun Miyagi are authentic. Gogen Yamaguchi modified too much when he started Goju Kai.

I belong to the IOGKF, headed by Morio Higaonna. The only other Goju Ryu dojo I know of in my area is a Goju Kai dojo headed by Gosei Yamaguchi (son of Gogen Yamaguchi).

Thats good that your sensei is getting your thighs conditioned. The outer thigh has plenty of muscle and it can take more punishment, but the inside of the thigh is what can really get you. Although you have plenty of muscle there as well, you have more nerves that run through there, and being hit there several times can cause serious bruising. If you get hit on the outside of your thighs, just learn to absorb the impact or block it with the outside of your shin, like the Muay Thai fighters do. This is why foot work is important. You want to minimize the punishment on the inner thigh area by moving. Just incase you're wondering what sabaki is. It can mean different things, but I'm talking about ashi-sabaki/tai-sabaki. It's about outmaneuvering your opponent by using fast, springy movements, kinda of like suri ashi, but you're trying to move to your opponents blind spot. Enshin and Ashihara style karate use sabaki the most. Isshinryudo, OSU!

This all depends on what type of tournament you'll be fighting in. Is it a knock down competition like Kyokushin? Or is it a point competition? If you're doing a full contact bare knuckle knockdown competition then I suggest plenty of conditioning, and I mean plenty! If you're confident about your stamina then work on conditioning. Get used to being hit in the chest, ribs, stomach, legs etc. It's hard to get used to being hit in the ribs, just remember to use your elbows as cover for your ribs when a barrage of punches is coming in. Use a sand bag to condition the instep of your foot and shins. Your arms will naturally get conditioned by blocking punches to your upperbody. Work on doing lots of foot work, sabaki mainly. Don't get into the habit of wasting movement by dancing around the mat. Move only when you have to. Work on developing a strong gedan mawashi geri, because it really helps when you're trying to tear down your opponents legs, also work on your mae geri. Mae geri isn't used as often as a mawshi geri, but it can be devastating when it lands. Do these things even if the tournament requires protective equipment. I'm just babbling. Bottom line is you should work on everything. Train as hard as you can. Eat, drink, and sleep knock down competition. Good luck! OSU!

I understand the importance of kata, and practice it more than kumite, but I enjoy doing kumite far more than anything else. I enjoy the spirit training in kumite. The test of endurance, stamina, and especially the technical aspects of it. Nothing is better in my book than hard hitting iri kumi training.

Commit hara kiri without an assistant, eh? You know how painful that would be? It's a slow agonizing death. You would better off in the electric chair. Give me lethal injection please. My last request would be not to die.

Okinawans have more Japanese blood than anything else. Not to stray too much off topic here, but Japanese in general were convinced of their own superiority over all neighboring asian countries. Whether it was the Koreans, Chinese, Okinawans, Filipinos etc. It didn't matter if the Okinawans had Chinese heritage or not. It was because they were stocky, hairy and spoke funny. Even if some of them looked Japanese all they needed was a Okinawan name and they were taunted. Some of the older generation Japanese and Okinawans still have the same feelings towards one another.

Not only did the Japanese dislike anything Chinese, but they showed blatant racism to the Okinawans as well.

Okinawa.

From a strict sparring standpoint I would suggest gedan mawashi geri to the inside of you opponents legs. The inner thigh area is real sensitive, and continuous kicks there will cause bruising in no time. I wouldn't recommend chudan mawashi geri for a couple of reasons. It doesn't do much damage if someones elbows are protecting their sides, and your just asking to be swept if they manage to grab hold of that leg. Stick to basic techniques.

Kendo is not completely useless. Kendo has a good footwork plus you could always carry a bokken around with you. I don't think bokken is illegal, but it would be cumbersome to bring with you wherever you went. Carrying a shinai would probably draw more attention. Holytriforce, bottom line is you should pick the art that you'll think you'll enjoy the most. If you love the samurai and their history then kendo will suit you fine. Try to look for an Iaido dojo as well. Shorin Ryu is traditional Okinawan karate and has nothing to do with Japanese samurai. Karate would probably be cheaper when you consider the equipment you'll eventually have to purchase for kendo practice, but if you're truly interested in Japanese swordsmanship then that shouldn't deter you. Personally I think karate and kendo are great, but like I said earlier, pick the art that you think you would enjoy the most. Good luck!

I was always taught to "disable" your attacker so they couldn't doit to someone else anytime soon. If that means breaking an arm or snapping some of his fingers, then so be it. They don't deserve to die, but they do deserve a few broken bones.