Harlan

Questions are just part of the normal process of delving into why we train. Good luck in your training. Personally, I think no matter the path or teacher, or the door that we initially go through, that we all (can) get to the same place. Personally, I'll skip the 'budo' and go for the 'kodo'.

And how do you discern a 'master' that holds no rank?

Excellent post.

It seems to me that if you don't know the reason, that it's a 'lesson' wasted. You say you are 19? You are your own man...respect is a two-way street. Either way, for whatever reason, you are on a whole new footing with your sensei now.

Depends on who is there...visitors or makeup of class/what needs to be addressed. kobudo - basics, and then kata as needed for all weapons...interspersed with feedback. Then bo bunkai. goju - some warmup/stretching time that is varied...sometimes kung li...sometimes a few line drills. then all known kata with feedback. then applications. finish with tensho.

Eaku. Don't know why.

It's a polite way to show some very rude things in public.

Beginner...no rank. 5 years Matayoshi kobudo 3 years Goju No interest in belt chasing.

I don't get it...aikido one week, karate the next. Each of those styles could take years to master...they aren't the same at all. Bits and pieces of arts, without a solid base...I don't mean to offend...but it's a 'frankenstein' approach to developing students.

So, essentially, a karate student would get only one class every two weeks?

It came as a complete surprise to discover this truism, and the deeper one digs...the more it comes up. Very disheartening. Best to avoid the nasties, and stick to one's own training situation.

Well, if I ever get the opportunity to learn it, this old lady will keep that advice in the back of the mind.

Can't find another example (of Matayoshi or Gakiya sensei), but here is a sample of the kata (with shoulder roll). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKvSKBBN0ko&feature=channel_page

Not sure if it's so much the popularity, as the ability to perform. At a certain point, age and shoulder injuries preclude the shoulder roll.

Sorry...don't know the answer to that. It might be known/taught in Matayoshi kobudo, but I haven't been exposed to it.

It's been 5 years, and I still whack myself on occasion. 'Bo bites'...

In our school, Matayoshi kobudo and Goju are taught seperately. I started with kobudo, and after two years asked to learn Goju as well. As for the curriculum, it depends on what one's teacher knows....I hear there are around 21 weapons (which includes a shoe kata... ). But the standard seems to be: bo, sai, tonfa, nunchaku, quwa, eaku, sansetsukon. In addition, there is chisikunbo/tekko, nuntibo and kama.

Lots of them in academia. In my field, they are called 'armchair anthropologists'. That's not a compliment, BTW. One is expected to do the time in 'field work'...'hand's on', first person, experiential data collection. Sadly, many people move on and 'mine' their initial fieldwork for decades. Kinda like...the martial artist that gets too fat, lazy or tired to continue to train...but sells books.

We don't touch on it. That concern is always there...but left up to the individual to ponder on in their own time. As my ex-military husband likes to teasingly ask, 'Why do you study an art that will put you in jail if you use it?'

In Kodokan Goju, one can learn Okinawan weapons first. There is a saying, 'Kobudo and karate are two wheels on the same wagon'. As a beginner, I tend to interpret this as two systems that are related, and interact, but not the same. I see some systems that 'hold back' on weapons, and the design/intent is to mesh the weapons into the system. I wonder if at times this isn't 'force fitting'...making the weapon fit the empty hand at the expense of exploring the uniqueness of each weapon.

The 'sticky' part of owning nunchaku here, in Massachusetts, seems to be the 'transportation'. You can own it...but not transport it. I have no problem practicing in the back yard...and just to be a pain...I wave at the chief of police who parks across the street (in full view) in his favorite speed trap. For class...a type that can be easily strung/unstrung (making them little more than two oxen handles and a string)...is perfectly legal to transport.

Sure. It's a weapon that is in Matayoshi kobudo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2TuUWn43Lc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWNx3nuN8x8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npcbnIZWjU4

At some point, the 'supportive' parent needs to let go, and let the child determine the course of their training. I believe, from Marmadukes various posts on various forums, that he is VERY involved in his son's training...but does not train himself. At some point, one has to step back as a 'handler' (being nice here...various posts make me have me wondering if the son is spoiled beyond belief and gets everything he wants...or if dad is a little 'over the top'...a 'sports dad' and pushing). Tournements, belt-chasing, kata collecting, uber-competativeness...'beating other people'...is this what MA is about? It's too easy to get wrapped up in that, and think the original reaction was inappropriate. On the other hand, it might be a good thing overall. A chance to step back and reassess what MA means to your son (not you...because you aren't the one training...your role is to be 'supportive dad')...and why he trains. There is nothing wrong with training for the love of it, BTW.

As long as your are aware that all Goju isn't the same (there is a difference between 'traditional Okinawan Goju', and 'Canadian Goju'), good luck in your MA journey/training.

I am 'lucky' in that I have the experience of surviving an armed assault before ever taking up a martial art. I have to look at that question in reverse...my life experience's inform my art. As for the applied aspects, since I train with intent, I hope that the opportunity to use that intent never presents itself.