mattys

Ahh good stuff here. Let's see. Getting my greenbelt was definitely a good one. Being awarded best karateka of the year at my dojo, and being told by my instructor that he thought of me as almost a son. Ummm.... getting all first places at a tourniment for the first time was great.

NICE! Good for you, it's wonderful to hear of success in this failure-ridden world. I hope you have fun with that.

I would say that it is your duty as a karateka to help out your friend, but to do so in such a way as to cause minimal harm to those trying on your mate.

Teaching is a great way to learn your own technique more in depth. I've found that when I'm teaching young children, I have to tear apart every aspect of what I'm trying to teach, so as to find a better way to convey it to my students. When you have to show someone a technique, it demands that you know the technique wholly yourself.

Allo! I'm not exactly new here, but I've never introduced myself, so I figured I should post here. I'll be fifteen on January 31, and I'm yonkyu (4th Kyu Greenbelt) in Okinawan Kenpo Kobudo. I live in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area, and I've been studying karate for a little under two years. I'm pretty excited/worried since my brownbelt test is next Saturday. Oh, I guess I should mention my name; I'm Matt! Dozo yoroshiku!

I would never charge a student for testing without good reason, such as stated by Shorinryu Sensei. Otherwise, it just screams McDojo to me.

I was extremly scared. I was a yellow belt in kumite up against a whitebelt half my size (13-15 division) and he beat the crap out of me. Why? I needed more confidence. I took shots because I was too afraid to pummel him. In forms and weapons I learned the same, it was my first tourniment but I still placed well, I believe a second and a third in those... so I basically learned to be much more confident in myself and my abilities.

Whoa I just noticed this is in the weapons section... could a mod move it to the equipment section? Sorry 'bout that!

Hah nice. Uh, about the washing with colours and the gray stains... it's a black gi. I just read on the shureido usa website that the heavyweight gi's get grey streaks out of the wash, so I was wondering if it was normal with the middle weight gi as well. Is it alright to wash the black gi with colours?

Alright, I finally got my middleweight shureido gi! Now a question. What cycle, speed, and temperature do you lot wash your shureido gi in? Also, any certain detergent? When you drip dry it do you put it on a hanger to dry or just leave it lay? I noticed two things after my gi came out of the wash the first time: 1, it was extremly stiff; 2, it had greyish streaks or stains all on it. Is any of this normal?

I realize that I am not quite at the beginner level, and that I am in fact far above my own level at other dojo, but my sensei is extremly traditional, and he holds extremly high standards, I'm just afraid that I won't meet them. Shorinryu Sensei: thanks. In my worry I forgot that there really is no reason why he would be testing me if he didn't intend to promote me or think I was ready.

I realize there have been enough of these threads, but yeah, I'm a bit nervous. My 3rd Kyu (brown) testing is in the first week of January, which is just around the corner. I've been studying for a little under two years, and I consider myself a fast learner. My dojo sets the bar pretty high for all students, but especially the brownbelt-candidates. I was in the group of my sensei's very first students, and I was there close to when the dojo started, that being said, I am one of the high belts in my class. I go to my friend's dojo from time to time, especially recently, to prepare for my brownbelt test. Just on their friday sparring nights, because I used to think I was lacking there. What was pitiful was that I had a few blackbelts to the mat when I barely broke a sweat. The thing is, the step from green to brown is extremly intimidating. I've seen many other dojo, and by their standard I would be ready, even they've told me so. I don't really think that I'm ready for this huge step. There's so little that I know about the art, so little waza I have become proficient at. I study traditional Okinawan Kenpo Kobudo under Shihan Mark Jovich. So, does anyone have any consoling words for this brownbelt-to-be?

Well, my with my Christmas list being complete and ordered, I decided to brag and ask. I ordered a Shureido MIDDLE weight (not heavy) black gi, and a pair of Adidas TKD-2000 Martial Art shoes. I'm alright with the thought of the mat shoes, but I am somewhat concerned about the Shureido gi. I know wonderful things about Shureido, and I have heard the hype about the Shureido heavyweight gi, but nothing about the middle, and I hope that I'm not disappointed. Anyone here with a middleweight Shureido gi?

I realize that they only get them through the California store, as they are WWMAS's supplier. I already payed for them, and this information came not from WWMAS, but from the Shureido importer. Aparently the next shipment of Natural sai containing a 20" set is in January.

1. Shureido doesn't make round sai. 2. There are the purple and the black wraps, but you'd be hard pressed to get one specific to your prefrence, it's really a hoping thing.

About two weeks ago I ordered a set of Shureido sai from http://wwmas.com but then after reading around on this forum, I decided to cancel the order for my 18.5" sai and order a set of 20" sai. I have been told that there are no longer any 20" left of the new design, and that they would be recieving another shipment sometime in January. However, they do have a set of 20" Old Fashioned sai, and I was wondering if anyone can recomend me as to what to do. More specifically, what are your experiances with either (more if you have both) and could someone post pictures of the Old Fashioned sai?

Hmm really depends. Kata-wise, when I do a really loud kiai (pretty much at the climax) I'll do a loud "EHHSOOOOOH!" but on the more minor techniques it's different. When I'm punching I'll make a "tsu" sound, and when kicking I'll make a slightly louder "HAI." Kind of follows through a kind of Ninjutsu style, with a different kiai for each strike.

Not to sound rude or to start a flame war or anything, but in what language is zai the plural of sai? The sai are an Okinawan weapon, and though in the past it wasn't, Japanese is the spoken language of the Okinawans. In Nihongo (Japanese), there is no distinction between singular and plural, thus the plural of sai is sai.

Back on the topic of testing fees... all I have to say is wow. I would consider any dojo which had a fee to test a McDojo. My school has no fee for testing, and the tuition is $25 per month for the older students who were at the school when it first started (somewhere around $60/month for the rest).

I realize that there have been a great many threads partaining to this topic, but where is the best place in the US to purchase Shureido sai? The best I think I've found is WWMAS, but I'd like advice from someone who knows first-hand. Thanks!

My all-time favourite is most definitely Kusanku... more because of the fact that it's so many different kata combined, I get the all inclusive package.