mattys

Thank you very much for your time. I've just recorded myself doing Kusanku and Pinan Shodan, however, the greatest differences are in Kusanku, so I recomend you take a look at that first.. The comparisons that I've made are to the clips found at http://www.traditional-karate.com/students/student.htm The recordings I have made are found at: http://hamlet.artorg.co.uk/kata

Reading the rest of your post there I can say that there are a few things that we have done bunkai for that are obviously not blocks, punches, or kicks.

At the moment I have Naihanchi Shodan, Nidan, and Sandan, Ananku, Kenpo (I think my sensei made that form up), Pinan Shodan, Pinan Nidan, Pinan Sandan, and Kusanku. Over the past week or so I've been working on Seisan with the other highbelts in my class. We don't actually have Wansu in our system. If you stay on for about 10 more minutes I'm currently uploading clips of myself doing Kusanku and Pinan Shodan for you to look at.

Since it seems to keep comming out a bit, my rank is sankyu.

I've always prided myself on being a traditional martial artist... my sensei always tells me that there is a huge difference between traditional martial arts and contemporary, but I'm starting to doubt that my sensei is telling the truth in this. I don't know much about the history and the ryu system in Okinawan budo, but my teacher has never specified what Okinawan art we study. It's always Okinawan Kenpo Karate-do. All of our kata are similar to that of Shorin-ryu and the like, all the Pinan, Naihanchi, and the like, but I have no idea what we actually study. Is Okinawan Kenpo actually an Okinawan budo? I've always thought that kenpo is just a sort of blanket term, like the term martial arts. Also, I've been looking up a lot of kata videos lately, and all the videos that I find are exactly alike, but they are all at odds with the forms that I know. The same basic movements are there, the same structure, but somehow much more complex than what I know. In all of our kata, all the movements are basic: punches, blocks, and kicks, but this seems to be totally different. What's even more disturbing is that I know that this stuff has to be mostly true that I'm being taught... because my sensei has studied in Okinawa under Masters Odo and Maehara many years ago. The lineage is there, it just doesn't look the same as what I'm seeing. I guess this sounds like a rant against my sensei, but can anyone shed some light onto this situation?

Ah I am at a loss. I think I am finally going to go with: ス　リ　バ　ン　 based purely on it's artistic value vice the other one.

Wouldn't ソ リ バ ン be a slightly better interpretation? After all, it's not pronounced "Sah-llivan," it's pronounced "Suh-llivan." So I think So-ri-ban be slightly better... I was just wondering the oppinions of those on this forum. Any suggestions?

How would one translate the surname "Sullivan"

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When testing with a kata, you shouldn't have learned it, you should know it. That's why they say three years is nessicary. When you get to the rank of sandan, those are the types of things that matter.

Just a few questions about the paradigms on these things. Firstly, which name is usually embroidered: given, or surname? Is it more proper to use katagana or kanji for it? Last, where would you usually get this done. I don't know about you, but I don't want to take some eastern calligraphy to be embroidered on my Shureido gi at some local tailor. (BTW, talking about by the label on the gi)

Well. I don't exactly know how to explain my situation, because I'm not sure I have one. The simple version is that I am not content with my current dojo and sensei's teachings, and I'm looking for another school. After many hours of internet search, I've decided the best place to come is here. Does anyone know of a traditional school in the general Harrisburg, PA area? Shorin-ryu, Uechi-ryu, Matsubayashi-ryu, and the like. Please?

For a "power kata" as you put it, either sai or tonfa, those are the two strongest traditional weapons IMHO.

My school does things slightly informal by comparison to all these I see. We've never gone by strict kata requirements for testing. We have katas, but they're just a suppliment to our training, the only real kata requirment we have for promition is that we need to know all of the first thirteen kata for black. The accepted order to learn these is Kihon 1-9 Naihanchi Shodan, Nidan Pinan Shodan Naihanchi Sandan Pinan Sandan Kenpo Anaku Pinan Yondan Seisan Pinan Godan Niseishi Bassai Dai Bassai Sho Kussanku Et cetera. But like I said, we are very lax on requiring any of these, as they are just a suppliment to our training. As a testiment, I'm a brownbelt in my form who knows Kussanku, I haven't mastered it, nor have I really come close to making it even look good, but my sensei taught it to me as a learning and training tool.

Wow, that is some impressive lineage. Thanks!

My instructor is Shihan Mark Jovich, his who's main instructor is Master Clarence Rasberry, who trained primarily under Master Maehara. I'm sure you know the lineage from there.

Wow thanks... so should I cancel my order with WWMAS?

My favourite right now is my black Shureido middle-weight.

Sometime in the middle of November, I ordered (through WWMAS.com) a set of natural 20" sai. A few weeks later I recieved an email that at the time they were, sadly, out of 20" natural (new style) sai, but that for slightly more, the old style was open to me. I declined, electing to wait for the next shipment in January. Come January I emailed WWMAS for an update, and was informed that the shipment was comming in January, and that to get through customs, to all of the retailers, and to the customers would require another month, so I was to wait for February. Now, come February, I learn that the last shipment of Shureido equiment did NOT contain sai. The next shipment will be in April.

Oh wow. The testing. It was seven hours long (in a sense) and preformed by my sensei's Master. We had about four or five hours of formal testing, then we were promoted and got our belts. THEN he took us into another room and for about three or four hours my sensei's Master took us through ever bit of self defense we had done during the test, and all of our kata, correcting every minute detail; sort of a rite of passage, to see if we could all last that long.

Ahhh I'm so relieved about my testing. At class today we reviewed EVERYTHING that will be on the test, and my sensei gave me a study guide for the written exam so that nothing's a surprise. I'm much less nervous. The date is set officially for January 9th, so I'll inform you then.

I own a shureido gi and I will never go back, it's the best gi I've ever owned.

Most of the time in an underbelt grading session, you will execute all the kata required and self defense you've learned. A good thing to remember is that you most likely won't do anything on your test you haven't done in class.

Well what do you chineese folk call yourselves?

I always prefer to say karateka vice martial artist... it is a word more suited towards what we do. Karateka does not translate to martial artist, but to "one who follows the way of the empty hand." Better, wouldn't you think?