AnonymousOne

The hardest time I ever had was doing a 200 man fight in Japan in 1981. Fighting 200 other Dan grades one after the other was so incredibly draining.

-: You are absolutely correct. In the western world martial artists as a general rule are quite pathetic in their performance of Kata. I just got back from Japan and this was my 2nd trip there and the Japanese are fantastic at Kata and their fighting skills are just as dynamic. If you have mastered Kata, you are a master fighter - period!!

I dont do Goju-Ryu, but I have many friends that do. One is an 8th Dan. Its an excellent style. I have trained with them at training camps many times and I think its a wonderful school.

It all depends on the person, the type of training, the intensity of training, the amount and type of self study. There is no set criteria. Physiologically we are all different. Its all up to you. However I do believe that in a "decent" school 2nd Dan level is a beginning point.

There was this Pastor that was pulled up for speeding. The cop noticed a bottle of wine in the back of the Pastor’s car. He asked the Pastor about the bottle and the Pastor said “Oh that’s just water:” The Cop was suspicious and asked to see the bottle. The cop sniffed the bottle and said “that’s wine!!!”. The Pastor said “Praise the Lord, he’s done it again”.

There was this nun that was in a dormatory at the end bed. She got up and got changed, She then proceeded down the dormatory. She passed another nuns bed and the other nun said "I see you got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning", she was annoyed and said "I did not!", she walked past the next nuns bed and that nun said "I see you got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning", again she was annoyed and said in a louder voice, "I did not!!", she kept walking past another nuns bed and again the next nun said "I see you got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning", now she was really mad and said loudly "I did not!!!!". She got to the end of the dormatory and the Mother Superior walked in and looked at her, before the Mother Superior got a word in she said "Look, I did NOT get out of the wrong side of the bed this morning ok?". The Mother Superior said "Thats not what I was going to ask you, I was going to ask you why you had the Bishops shoes on"

In sparring, I hold my hands in a postion much like a boxer yet slightly lower. This allows for easy defence of the head and lower body. The position ois designed for effeciency and not looks. I also use the southpaw stance as a general rule in sparring, but I often change backwards and forwards to Orthodox to confuse my opponent. I think the sparring stance Bruce Lee used is most effective and thats what I basically use

Cant say I have ever heard of it. Its reported that there are over 200 styles on mainland Japan alone

Bon I have been training almost 30 years now. Its been my whole life, however I could not disagree with you more. Are you saying an expert in Kata has no skill? My recent trip to Japan totally refutes that and I think the contrary is actually true. I think ones skills can be measured by performance in Kata. I have to say, all due respect, its only ever the young people that say that. All advanced Karate-Ka I have ever met, here and in Japan, support Kata practise 100% _________________ Roku-Dan - Soft teachers make soft students [ This Message was edited by: AnonymousOne on 2002-07-10 01:41 ]

I am totally against Gay people adopting. Personally, I think its an immoral lifestyle and even from an evolutionary point of view its not natural. I have very strong religious views on that point that arent popular into todays "anything goes" lifestyle. I just dont think its natural. Now some are promoting that child molestation is a natural urge. Are we going to allow that in 20 years too? I am totally opposed to all this liberalism. A mother and a father make an even balanced contribution to bringing up a child. If nature wanted men to have babies, suckle them etc, it would have allowed for it.

I always do weights in this order: Chest Shoulders Arms Back Legs Stomach I mix weights also with plyometric exercises, which are a critical part of developing explosive power and anaerobic endurance that Karate so demands. _________________ Roku-Dan - Soft teachers make soft students [ This Message was edited by: AnonymousOne on 2002-07-10 00:56 ]

I was there for 2.5 weeks. I had spent a whole year there in 1981. I havent been online much as when I got backI have been putting a new business together. It was awesome training under Kancho Sensei. He always makes it interesting, but hes very strict, like a military commander

Simple, explore plyometric training exerices, nothing will but you up like them and I mean nothing

Well we had a great time. It’s been over 20 years since I was at Hombo Dojo in Japan. The only difference I noticed was a fresh paint job and different buildings everywhere around. This time around I took my sweet heart and stayed at a Westernised Hotel. Thank God for that, I can’t stand Japanese food! I don’t eat any seafood and they eat the stuff like sharks. The first week of training was relatively easy. We trained 2 lessons a day. 2 hours each. One late morning and the other in the evening. As I may have mentioned before I had trained intensely for about 2 years before I went. Not that I had really slowed down much in the last15 years. I just really focused these last 24 months. The morning lessons were spent with Kancho Sensei Sasaki 10th Dan. These morning lessons were the most enjoyable because I was able to ask him all sorts of things I never got a chance to ask him 20 odd years before when I was a Nidan. This man, who is quite elderly, now, trained directly under Funakoshi and he’s truly a man of steel. His skill and technique is truly awe-inspiring and he’s an absolute fanatic at neatness of technique. The evening lessons consisted of training with all grades. All grades train together for 2 hours at nights, from 7pm – 9pm. These were also good because the instructor really grilled the Kyu grades in basics. In fact I was senior in rank to all the instructors, usually 3rd or 4th Dan however out of respect of protocol and not knowing the complete language I just trained. I must say it was quite fan. Some of the Japanese are quite proud of themselves and believe that the Japanese have the franchise on skill and me being a “Gai-jin”, some attempted to give me a hard time in sparring. Just young whippersnappers who judge a book by its cover. What I did however was where a belt that had no Japanese inscriptions on it, so my grade was not indicated. That was a lot of fun. Then when we were asked to line up in order of rank I was way away from most of them. That will teach them young whimps to treat a bald headed old white coot!! So… things were a far different cry from the days when I was at the lower echelon of the Dan grade levels. The training systems hadn’t changed much at all. Same system. The Japs when they find something that works for them they sure stick with it. The second week was a little tougher. Kancho Sensei became more intense in his lessons. However he always made in interesting. He spent much time on Bunkai particularly. Actually he paid me a compliment, which is just extremely rare within out system. If you are good at something they never tell you, if you are poor boy do they let you know. Anyway, he said “Your technique grow much last time from”. In our system, that’s a huge compliment! I never expected it. So I was not only surprised but very pleased. It made me feel that all those days of running in storms, hail and rain, the tough evening lessons in the intense heat over the years, amounted to something. The only thing the old fanatic corrected me on was in one part of a Kata when my blocking arm was ½ an inch out of place. That’s all he ever said. I did this time around, get a chance to spar with the old man. Now bare in mind I have trained almost fanatically every day for the last 28 years. I can bench press 260 lbs and I am not a big man and I can run a marathon in 2 hrs 22 minutes. I consider myself extremely fit for my age (45). But this old man, sheesh, his defence is like a barrage of steel and his attacks are like lightning. Several times he broke through my technique and said “Ahhh, old man, very sneaky for Gai-jin”. Cheeky old prick LOL On the last weekend we went to a Gasshuku. That was tough but I got through it a lot better than many of the others. The weekend consisted of a pattern. Basics in the morning, Kata in the afternoon and Kumite in the evenings. As well as an 8-mile run in the mornings. I loved the runs; I out ran the lot of them! The Japanese are not great runners and they are weak in the arms, but they have legs like General Sherman trees. So the weekend went fine. Except for the bloody food, I had to put up with that Japanese crap for 3 days. I ate mainly rice and vegetables. All this time thinking of my sweetie relaxing at the hotel eating steaks, fries and eggs!! When we got back, I finally got a day off from training before my grading. Kancho Sensei ordered me not to train that day. However I got invited to his home for a traditional Japanese meal. More crap Jap food sheesh. Raw fish, eels, and some **** I wasn’t game to ask what it was! After the meal we were served tea by his wife outside on a sort of terrace thing, over looking a beautiful traditional Japanese garden. It was really beautiful. This was the first time I had ever really sat in a relaxed environment outside the dojo to talk to the old guy. I asked him many questions. Man there was so many of them I may not be able to remember them all right now. I asked him about his early days of training, why he got into Karate and what it was like training under Funakoshi. When I mentioned Funakoshi his eyes lit up and he smiled and in his broken English he said “Ahh Funakoshi Sensei, good old man”. He told me that training under Funakoshi was brutal. He said Funakoshi was really tough and the years early in the war there were so many students at Funakoshi’s Dojo they had to train in the streets. He was lucky and was excused from war service, as he was some kind of government employee. He also mentioned Funakoshi’s son Giko, who had a huge influence on Shotokan. He said Giko was a great Karate-Ka, a great teacher, but wasn’t refined in Kata as he could have been. Interesting. Then I asked him about Funakoshi’s technique He simply said, “Sensei always block and no get through like hard castle”. I mentioned to him that some in the western world think that Funakoshi’s wasn’t that skilled. He replied “No, one come from Okinawa and be bad for Karate. Master kill mountain if he bad man”. That’s his very words. What he ment of course was that in Japanese thinking, was that a mountain is held with great reverence and they are enormous in scope. So if Funakoshi was a bad man to try and destroy something as cherished as a mountain, he could of, that was the extent of his technique. I came away with the distinct impression that Funakoshi was truly a man of great skill. If my Kancho Sensei is any measure of that, Funakoshi must have been truly awesome. Then I got into a lot of technical questions with him. His thoughts on the state of world Karate, media coverage and how he feels about it all. I saw him in a different light that night. I think it was quite emotional. Here was an old man who had dedicated his whole life to an art he loves so much and he seemed very remorseful of what was happening. His views are that Karate is purely a martial art for the purpose of developing mind body and spirit. Although our school does cater for contest (and been extremely successful) it’s a very small part. This man, in all my years of training, is the most fanatical of proper etiquette and neatness of technique. Until you saw an advanced student from our school compared to other schools its hard to explain. But he took Shotokan technique in about 1957 and added a dimension to it that is unsurpassed, in my opinion of course. Well I have much more to say and particularly about the five hours spent talking to this old man on that terrace but its late and my sweetie is looking a lot better than this web page so I will retire and I will share some more of what he said perhaps after my morning run tomorrow if I get time. Blessing be upon you and may you reach out and achieve what you are truly capable of, meaning that which lies within you, that is dorment and needs releasing. Your greatest enemy to achieving your goals is self doubt, conquer it with a fierce battle or one day wake up an old man thinking “I wish I had tried just a little harder”. Don’t wake up to that nightmare!. _________________ Soft teachers make soft students [ This Message was edited by: AnonymousOne on 2002-07-06 11:39 ]

Damn I put this is the wrong column Thanks for your welcome, see my post under "Karate" where it should have gone in the first place. [ This Message was edited by: AnonymousOne on 2002-07-06 11:44 ]

Hi everyone, just a quick hello. I have been so busy since I got back from Japan developing a new business, I havent had time to jump online and say hello. All is well, Japan was fantastic!! Got my grade! Will tell you more when I get time.

I am off to Japan for two weeks. I am going to do some advanced training. I am nearing the time I qualify for my next grade. Its been 6 years since my last grading. I fly out on Saturday. I havent been here much lately because I have been working to get additional funds for the trip. This time I am going to be doing it right. A good hotel with western food! I am also taking a laptop and my fiance. The head of our school is getting old and this may be the last chance I get to train with him. I remember the days when I was just a student there and now I am returning again as a senior student. Man ones life changes. I will be doing two 2 hour lessons a day 6 days aweek. I will also be attending a Gasshuku there. At least its not winter yet! I am also going to be spending some time one on one with our Kancho Sensei (10th Dan). So I will be picking his brains. This is a rare privelege and this only is allowed for advanced students so I am quite grateful. I am confident it with go well. My body is fitter, faster and stronger than its ever been and as my teacher here reminded me, that I will be representing our countries standard of technique to Japan. Thats kind of an awesome thought! I have trained assiduously knowing this trip was going to happen for a long time. However the schedule I will be doing there is less hours than I do at home. The hotel has a gym and I will be able to maintain my weight training schedule so I am pleased about that. Off the dojo the Japanese are good to you. They take you out to many places. You often get invited to their homes for a traditional Japanese meal (Oh noo!!!). As I understand it all the lessons are for Dan Grades only. I am looking forward to that. I remember my first trip when the Nidans and Sandans beat the crap out of you. I am going back for some pay back!! LOL On return I should come back with my new Dan Grade and certificate. I will try and log on from Japan to let you know how its going. The hotel says they have internet access. My first trip I stayed in a little room next to the dojo. I used a bucket to wash and had a terrible bed. This time I am doing it in comfort!! Take Care and keep training. Remember its a life long art and you only get better!! _________________ Soft teachers make soft students [ This Message was edited by: AnonymousOne on 2002-04-23 17:32 ]

None I hate the stuff. Man did I suffer when I was in Japan. I hate seafood and they love it. I ended up eating lots of rice and sneaking to a steak restaurant when I could LOL

Despite New Zealand's not so close relationship with the USA these days, which was bought about by us banning US warships over nuclear issues, we support the anti-terrorism stance on the whole. I think Bush is doing a good job, I like him, but we must realise no one is perfect

Our school, as it is in Japan, a teacher must be at least 3rd Dan. He must complete a special course on teaching. He must have trained in Japan and hold a first aid qualification. Its not easy to get. These days becoming a teacher is to easy to do for some schools.

Funakoshi was from the Samurai class. Study what the Samurai attitudes were. Theres no way the Samurai class would practise an ineffective art. Their honour would not allow them to loose face. Azato and Itosu were two of the greatest Katare-ka that ever lived. Funakoshi wrote to them to get permission to teach and make changes to Kata. Funakoshi was very respectful of his masters and didnt do much without their authority while they were alive. I trained in Japan under a brilliant Karate-Ka who was taught directly by Funakoshi and by all accounts Funakoshi was highly skilled. It has been said his defense was hard to break through and that he always blocked. I was told this by a 10th Dan (in Japan). Karate has always evolved. Right from the beginning. Theres nothing wrong with positive change. When you get to master status then you can decide if the changes were warranted, thats a good idea

There are no rules thats the sad part. In the olden days it was thought that 15-20 years training would set you at Master status. Sheesh I have been training for 28 years LOL I train for training not for outside approval. I think thats how it should be.

In 28 years I have only had 4 street fights. The last one, every time he went to hit me I slapped him in the face. He soon realised he was out gunned and went away rather humiliated. Only his ego was hurt and that I thought was a good outcome

The best place to learn is from a competant teachers WHEN you are ready for it

We pay $20 US per month