AnonymousOne

Thanks. However I am just a student like everyone

Your eventual jail wardens might oppose that

I have to say I disagree I am sorry. It does work...... for me As regard to your other point. I am 48 yrs old, been training 41 years and probably at the peak of my physical fitness. However, one is always learning and growing. There is always new areas to improve in and areas where one gets a greater insight into more effective ways to perform something. Thats the exciting thing about karate. Its a life long journey. This is something that is encouraging for the youth. My teacher is now 66. Hes 9th Dan. He also says the same thing. Hes probably the most skilled karate-ka in our country. I dont know of anyone who even approaches his skill level and he says he also is growing all the time.

Well, I think assigning a rank to that technique or even just a very broad range (for example, between shodan and yondan) is kind of arbitrary. I don't see the point in that. Regardless, if you are already in a full-blown exchange, I wouldn't recommend doing a distraction in that manner which leaves you so open. As Sevenstar said, a feint would be far safer and more effective. sandan was assigned because thats the approximate level one needs to attain before on can effectively apply such things skillfully. This has been proven true Of course you wouldnt recommend doing something you cant do. If you feel its unsafe for you to do, then dont do it. That however doesnt mean others dont have the skill to apply it effectively

Many, many, many times I have had the honour of free sparring with a 10th Dan in Japan. He was 78 at the time and still incredible

Those techniques work brilliantly. But you need to be skilled and fast. I am not talking like you are sitting around waiting for things to happen, I am talking about reacting that way in the heat of a full blown exchange. Thats the hard part and requires skill. Its get up around sandan technique and something to work on or at least think about

Been doing that for 40 years. Works great, glad you have discovered it. Try doing the Muhamid Ali foot shuffle. That works too. People think you are mental but it works Haha!!! Also learn to launch dummy attacks. Fake kicks and punches. Try suddenly stepping side ways and then back again that confuses people. Any unsual movement is good prior to launching an attack.. creatively is the key. There are no rules in this. Just fool them Another way is to reach forward and cover their eyes with your hand. You have to be fast to do this

I am semi retired. I have my own business and only need to work part time. This was by design to explore MA

"In every adversity, there is a seed of greater benefit, if you look for it, water it, and let it grow"

Thats interesting. Our school never allows you to consume anything during a lesson. Same with HQ in Japan

Excellent! Sounds like you are in a good school and I love your positive attitude. May your training be blessed!

To say learning to hit an oponent by practising full contact is better is completely wrong. A competent karate-ka has the ability and control to pull a punch 1/4 of an inch from their opponent or punch one foot through them. One constantly knows exactly where a punch or kick will land. Control is practised by sparring, using a makiwara and a heavy bag. Over the last 41 yrs I have heard many people claim you can only learn to be effective by full contact and this is a misnomer. True full contact would put a sparring partner on the deck every time. If I can break 15 tiles with a punch (and I can) what would that do to your head or rib cage? Sparring with full contact with that capability is not only dangerous its plain stupid. The force generated by a punch is just far too dangerous. If I need to develop power I go to a makiwara or heavy bag. Those two can take blows that a human simply cannot. In the interests of safety, punches are pulled short of a target in sparring. Does this mean someone is ineffective or is only used to pulling punches? Absolutely not! I never miss tiles, bricks, a makiwara or a bag ... never!! And neither have I missed a target in the few street fights I have had. Its about control, knowing the length of your weapon and so on. Youthful enthusiasm wants to feel the reality of actually hitting a target. If that is desired, I would suggest appropriate protection. Wear a sparring condom so to speak Haha!! After many many years of training and learning to effectively control the placement of an attack, one doesnt need to worry about if they might hit or miss a target, you know damn well you have total control.

There were two lawyers stranded on an island alone and after a couple of weeks a nude unconscious blonde washes up on the beach. So they were standing there looking at her and one said to the other "Shall we take advantage of her?"..."The other replied ..."Don't be stupid, she hasn't got any money or assets"

There was this Nun who asked a class of children what they wanted to be when they grow up. So she asked little Mary the question. Mary replied "When I grow up, I want to be a prostitute". The Nun, in shock, sternly asked "I beg your pardon young lady, what did you say???". Mary replied "I want to be a prostitute". The Nun replied "Thank God for that, I thought you said Protestant!!".

I only take Glutamine with water

The Tekki Kata are very different from Sanchin. The purposes are different. The Tekki Kata have a large range of technique and Sanchin is much more limited. Sanchin is designed more for physcial development. Tekki and Sanchin are great Kata but certainly not all encompassing. Sanchin was designed for slow movement and muscular tension for development, whereas the Tekki Kata has some fast movement in them. The purposes of each Kata is quite different indeed. Our school does not practise Sanchin but I know the Kata well.

How does that work in war or a street fight?

You learn a lot as you teach. I stopped teaching about 10 years ago because 1) It was interferring with my training 2) I moved too far away from the city where the dojos are 3) I set training goals that disallowed spending time teaching Otherwise, teaching is good.

Dont misunderstand the argument here. We said certain styles are better than others, not that the other styles are useless/ineffective. No ones debating whether you know of people who have developed good skills in martial arts deemed lesser to others. Could you give more insight as to why you disagree? For instance, lets take a style like Tae Kwon Do and compare it to something such as Wrestling or Judo. All 3 are Olympic sports and *arguably* have roughly the same level of popularity. How could you explain that Wrestling and Judo have had MANY successfull fighters in MMA competition and TKD has no where near as much success? How can something such as Muay Thai, which is FAR less popular than virtually any karate style, have so many more strong competitors? Therein lies your problem, you are assuming that contest with rules is a true test of actual ability

Ok Monday - Saturday at 6am - 7am One hours running which includes hill work and 4 x 800 metre sprints with rests in between Monday - Saturday at approx 3pm - 5pm Kata and basics (always 2 hours) Tuesday and Friday 7pm - 8pm Weights and plyometric exercises Sunday rest Sometimes I replace weights with playing squash about once or twice a month. Its good for agility

Chidokan

I realise 3 years is a long time to some. But for me personally I have plenty of time to train only working part time these days and have often worked on one kata like that. I often wondered why the old masters did that, so there was only one way to find out. I originally started that idea with the Tekki Kata and spent 10 years on them. When I say self train, I mean as every bit as hard as the dojo and at times if not harder. Tape recorded lessons see to that which I make myself and follow. I have gone through the Tekki Kate, Kanku Dai, Gojushiho Dai that way so far. The last 18 months I have been working on Bassai Dai. I do that for two hours every afternoon. I run first thing in the mornings and do weights and plyometrics twice a week each. Not bad for an old koot of 48 eh? haha

IN our school it is mandatory for a student from another school to start right back from the beginning namely white belt. This includes dan grades from other schools. However they "may" be allowed to sit certain grades earlier, depending on their ability. Our school has very high standards and is quite picky over the performance of technique and a student must do it exactly right to pass grades, this does annoy some students from other schools who wish to join.

When I was in Japan from 82-84 I was told that the son of Gichin Funakoshi, namely Giko, introduced Mawashi Geri to Shotokan. Giko often travelled back to Okinawa to visit masters when he and his father were living in Tokyo. I dont know if he developed the kick (not likely) or merely introduced it to Shotokan schools. Either way it was his influence that led to the kick being used by Shotokan and it was also his influence that led to lower deeper stances. Giko had a huge influence on the development of Shotokan as we know it today but rarely gets any credit for it. Thats all goes to his father. But the word is that Giko was a first rate karate-ka

The makiwara is an old idea, but in my mind the best system for this