isshinryu5toforever

If you want occupation and post-occupation history Bruce Cummings is the author to look up. He's a professor of history at Chicago University, and one of the few Korean studies scholars of prominence in the US. His book Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History is a good place to start. This won't give you a great idea on the martial arts, but it will give you a firm grasp on why the KMAs have taken their current path, why nationalist history has been re-written, and why outright lies are widespread. If you want a comprehensive, and I mean completely comprehensive study of the Korean peninsula post-WWII pre-Korean War, then look at Origins of the Korean War Volumes 1 and 2. Don't buy them unless you're a Korean studies person, like me, because they're very expensive and hard to find. Your library might be able to track down the volumes. It'll take a ton of time to dig through them (I think nearly 2,000 pages in total), but it will give you one of the best researched dissections of the post-occupation Korean peninsula, and the lead up to its movement toward modernity. The major criticism of these volumes has been that they rely on North Korean sources too much, and that they're over-critical of the United States' foreign policy at the time. I'd say it gives a more balanced view. That's just my opinion. If you're very intent on finding the history of modern KMAs, then you'll need to be well aware of the history of modern Korea. How it was shaped by the Japanese occupation, and what happened post-occupation. It might help you pick through things if you want to go to the library and have them find books for you. Most libraries have a shared database, and they can request books from other libraries.

Getting back to Tiger Claw brand belts and such, my instructor's school has gotten Century, Tiger Claw, and off-brand belts for the students over the years. Here was my impression, Century belts were very stiff, but eventually broke in well, and they didn't bleed. Tiger Claw brand belts were better. They weren't too stiff, even straight out of the package, and they didn't bleed either. A lot of off-brand, super cheap belts, weren't stiff at all, which is good, but they would bleed terribly for about 5 months. People wearing certain belts barely needed to wear their belt it seemed. Green and purple belts had a nice green or purple ring around their waist from the dye in the belts. I'd say, if you're not going super high end Tokaido, Shureido, etc. go for a well-established brand.

I was going to say the exact same thing, but maybe the old-school system is the way to go. I like the old system. Fewer belts, but it makes them more worth getting. Here's an idea, I don't know if you do this already, but you could do what they do in a lot of schools in Japan, and even Korea. They have all the ranks on a wall, and all the student's names listed under. Like so: 10th kyu 9th kyu 8th kyu 7th kyu etc. Student1 Student2 Student 3 Student 4 In the places I've seen this done well, it's an honor to be on the wall, and instructors and outstanding competitors are marked as such. It could be a tool for encouragement if executed in the right way.

I was actually talking about the Dai Nippon Budokai, not the JKA. The JKF does have a very large amount of sway in mainland Japan, and it has the ability to confirm rank in any of the official Traditional Japanese styles of Karate they currently recognize. As far as finding another person to create a relationship with, I don't know of many. The only person I know is in the St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota area. His name is Dr. Terry Warner, and he has a comprehensive system of his own that he now teaches. I know that he has handled grading for people without associations that do Shotokan, WTF Taekwondo, and ITF Taekwondo. He's about the only person I could recommend. I say impossible, not because of the limitations of humanity, but because most people who are Soke of their own systems have trouble being taken seriously. The other very high ranking people who are well respected belong to associations that put restrictions on the type of thing you're talking about. You might want to see if your current instructor knows anyone he can refer you to when he does decide to retire. I agree with you that awarding yourself rank can be a slippery slope. I've seen it done before, largely when someone has several students that haven't been promoted in about half a decade, because they've reached the "ceiling" so to speak because of their instructor's rank. They create a committee, and vote to promote their instructor one rank higher, so they can climb the ladder as well. Things like that get difficult. I can understand why you'd want to avoid it.

Ok, creating your own style is a completely different animal. There may never be someone to truly grant you rank above what you currently have. You would probably get more out of consulting with other martial artists at this point. You could continue to gain rank int he many styles you just named under legitimate teachers, but it would be impossible for any one of them to legitimize your rank in the system you've created. As far as I know, there is no organization for this kind of thing. If you could get all the masters in the US to agree, you could create something like the Japanese Karate Federation, which holds the right to confirm a person's rank in one of the Traditional Japanese Karate recognized by their organization, but I think you'd have better luck trying to fly to the moon by flapping your arms haha. I'd say what you really have is a true practice of the Jeet Kune Do philosophy. You have experience in many different martial arts, and you make what they do work for you. That's amazing, and something I think a lot of people would like to do, but finding someone to give you rank that means something will be extremely difficult.

There's not a single school close to you that practices the same martial art? If that's the case, I'd talk to your instructor about who his teacher is. It would be difficult to impossible to get another instructor of a style that is not your own to recognize your current rank and promote you in the future. It might help us help you if you could tell us what style you do and where yo do it. I'm not really sure if there are any blanket organizations in the US for all traditional martial arts. At least none that are reputable.

The bad aim bad luck part was about sport martial arts. I would say though that it might be a little harder to get a trained fighter, MMA, Karate, or otherwise, with an eye poke or a groin kick. Imagine how hard it is to hit someone solid in the face with your hand, now think about how hard it is to hit someone in the eye with your finger. That's my biggest point. Rules do limit the way you respond, but the way most of those guys would hit an attacker, I don't think they have much to worry about. You will respond the way you're taught to, and the way you've fought. I think kicking someone with a leg kick and then punching them in the face when they bend over in pain is pretty effective self defense. I don't think eye gouges especially are as big a thing to worry about as people think they are, and groin kicks, I've seen angry people walk through one or two of those. The pain settles in later, after the dust has settled. Adrenaline can do some amazing things.

I don't buy the eye gouges and groin strikes argument. Those are mostly about bad luck or bad aim in the ring. Yes, they happen in street fights, but guess what, if you can do it to them, they can do it to you. I'm betting in a life or death situation, they would do it to you too. I'm not going to argue about the best striking styles on the planet. It's all about the fighter, period. Also, the best techniques of traditional martial arts being "killing" techniques, is bogus. No style can be truly effective in teaching its students to defend themselves, if they can't actually try out what they learn. Techniques attempted against zero resistance are really just untested techniques. It's used as an excuse to avoid embarrassment a lot of times. I don't do MMA, but I have done bare knuckle competitions. You can say that Kyokushin fighters (the most famous, but not only bare knuckle competitors) are limited by their rules (no punching to the face), but I doubt anyone in the traditional martial arts community would argue about their ability to win fights real or sport. I don't know why we feel the need to defend traditional martial arts by knocking down MMA. It's true that you'll see a young MMA or BJJ guy spouting off about how TMAs have no real value, but that's the exception not the rule, and usually an older, wiser practitioner will tell him to reevaluate what he's saying and be quiet for the time being. In more or less polite terms than that.

That's a very interesting, and thorough analysis. The biggest problem lies with the casting of the main characters, not the extras. I still wouldn't excuse the casting of Sokka and Katara as being purely white. The casting of the entire Fire Nation came under fire (no pun intended) as well. The analysis you posted even said that the Fire Nation in spirit was very heavily influenced by Chinese and Japanese imperialist powers, which would be the pre-dynastic powers in China, mostly the Qin, and the post-Meiji Restoration powers in Japan. That's where the issue comes in. The costuming might be more Chinese than Japanese, which is a huge departure from the series, but the casting of Indian and Middle Eastern is where people start to take issue. In the series, the darker skinned people were actually the Inuit/hunter gatherer based Southern Water tribe. They were inherently good in the series, and this can be shown by the juxtaposition of Katara and Sokka to just about everyone else. They have significantly darkened the "evil" power, and there has been a correlation shown between the perception of race by young children and the representation of said races in media print or otherwise. The hero is almost always lighter skinned, and the bad guys are almost always darker skinned. It has rubbed off on our culture. I could have bought casting the Air Nomads as being from India, because so much of their religious and cultural views come from Buddhism, but not the Fire Nation. Thanks again for the analysis you posted. It is an attempt to be very even handed. There are still inherent problems in the politics behind casting, but it's Hollywood, what are you going to do? haha I still don't think it's a waste of time for people to be offended though, because it is something that hits close for many.

It has nothing with people simply having nothing better to do. It's a real issue. The world the original series was set in was based off of Asian and Inuit cultures. All the writing is done in traditional Chinese characters, the costuming is distinctly taken from Korea, China, and Japan, and the nations themselves represent their Asian/Inuit counterparts. This was an opportunity for Hollywood to do something different. To honor the representation of cultures in the same, highly accurate fashion of the series, and they passed it up to try to sell movie tickets. It would be like white-washing the cast of Roots. Imagine the backlash! As far as Memoirs of a Geisha, there was a similar problem with that film among the Asian acting community. I'm not an actor, but I wish they had done one of two things: made the movie in Japanese, or chosen Asian-American actors who didn't have accents. Being quasi-Asian just for cosmetic purposes is a bit insulting, and it helps spread the stereotype that all East Asian people just look the same, and they're interchangeable.

Good luck guys. The best advice I can give you is keep and open mind and train hard. There's not a lot we could tell you about testing, or how to prepare, because everyone's journey is different, as is everyone's relationship with their instructor. No two tests are the same, even in the same school during the same belt test, for two people who started at the same time. Don't worry about rank, your instructor will worry for you, and let you know when you're ready.

Keep looking through Youtube. Someone posted all the Wado, Shotokan, and Goju katas in their JKF (Japanese Karate Federation) standard form. If I can find it, I'll post the link.

It's hard to judge a school based off of just one or two classes. There are good black belts and bad black belts in any school. The more you learn, the easier it will be to acclimate yourself to the school and the classes. As long as nothing too crazy is happening, like a full year contract that you have no ability to get out of, give it a shot. As far as Chinese Goju-ryu is concerned, I haven't seen much of it. It's a bit curious though, because Goju-ryu is Okinawan (it's also recognized by the Japanese Karate Federation), and it's well-known that they use Chinese principles in their practice already, so I wouldn't really say Ron Van Cleef created anything unique. At least, it's not a unique enough combination to warrant the creation of a "new style." That might be where any animosity is coming from. Don't let that scare you off though. A good teacher is a good teacher no matter the style. And if you've found one, then learn from him.

Are you having pain in your muscles? Or pain directly in your spinal column? Those are two really different things. If it's lower back pain, it could be a number of things. The way you sleep, your posture, the way you walk, etc. You can strengthen your back muscles, but it takes a while, you need someone to teach you how to properly do the exercises or you WILL hurt yourself, and you need some equipment for the best exercises. I wouldn't be likely to attribute that kind of pain to stepping down hard when you punch. Now, if you have a direct spinal injury, you need to see a doctor or a chiropractor. There isn't a whole lot you can do for that on your own.

I've been too involved in the political discussion surrounding the movie to support it by going to see it in theaters.

I do dynamic stretches before activity, static after. If you static stretch a lot before a martial arts class, it can affect the accuracy of your kicks, because your legs are too "loose."

Open competitions sponsored by huge organizations have evolved (degraded?) to the point that it is very difficult for the traditional Karate practitioner to compete. The forms divisions have ballooned to include XMA, non-traditional, traditional (looking), musical, and other types of competition. It can be fun to watch, but they're a far cry from competitions years ago. Sparring, especially at the black belt level, is about speed, which it should be, but it isn't about actually hitting people. It's about touching people. It's like two kids slapping at each other sometimes. It sounds harsh, but that's why there's been a backlash from some organizations where they've closed themselves to outside competition. It's not worth the hassle in their eyes, because it's nothing but a bad influence on solid basics. I'm making myself sound much older than I am haha.

bushido_man96 is right, your hammerfist doesn't need conditioning. If you are looking to condition your hands though, the old Okinawan method is to use a makiwara. Here is a quick description of a free standing makiwara: http://www.ctr.usf.edu/shotokan/makiwara.html They do make hand held versions that aren't quite as effective, but would work none-the-less.

I love martial arts, I always have. I've been involved in some form for nearly 19 years now, but life does happen. You can't fault a person for working nearly 60 hours a week, sleeping for hours a night, and missing a couple of weeks of martial arts classes. The rest of his time probably went into eating, traveling back and forth to work, getting ready, and finally getting a little relaxation in from the work week. A lot of people do make excuses for themselves, why they didn't train harder, why they weren't more dedicated, but I always attribute it to life just happening. We want our students to be dedicated at all times, but sometimes they can't be. Kudos to the student for taking the initiative to apologize though, most wouldn't.

Welcome. If you're looking for books, you can use google, although, if you offer up the type of Karate you're going to be studying, someone here might be a bit more helpful than Google. Google gets you results, but a person who has read the books can probably give you better results haha.

Breaking does have its virtues. True, your opponent will never stand truly still and let you hit him, but correct breaking does allow you to hone technique to a point. If you're breaking with no spacers, using correct technique, instead of just trying to break things, you can hone your skill a little bit. Also, if you step on your opponent's foot, they might stand still haha.

I am in the midst of a move, and I want to start doing martial arts fairly seriously again. I train a lot on my own, but I want to join a school, hit other people, etc. I have a few choices. First, what I have already accomplished: 4th degree black belt in Isshinryu Karate 1st degree black belt in Taekwondo (WTF) experience (unranked) in Aikido Here are my choices and thoughts. The three martial arts I have considered are Kumdo (Kendo), Yudo (Judo), and Kyokushin Karate. Yudo would compliment the Karate and Taekwondo I have already done quite well, but there is a really huge push here to compete, so you really only practice competition techniques, and a lot of the schools seem a bit haphazardly organized. Kendo is something I have always thought would be a lot of fun, but the monetary commitment for equipment can be quite steep. Kyokushin might not be necessary at this point in my training, but I'm still young, and you have to admit hitting people full contact is a lot of fun. Any advice?

Hahaha, I like the way you put things. I am in total agreement with you. Seeing people break huge piles of roofing tiles or boards might seem cool, but the technique isn't always sound. It's the same with creative breaking when they use the 1/2 inch balsa wood focus boards. They started stuffing them with extra saw dust too, so the "effect" would be more "spectacular." Imagine if you had to give a technical score based on technique as well as looking at the number of boards broken. I have a feeling, we'd see much smaller stacks.

I'm not big on the idea of honorary belts. At first, I thought, well, it's more of a friendly gesture than anything, but then I realized that I would never accept it if it were someone who wasn't president or prime minister or what-not, so why make an exception? Despite my disdain for honorary ranks, I do think that we tend to put too much of an emphasis on black belt in the US. That might be why there's the stigma attached to an honorary first dan. In reality, especially in South Korea, there isn't a lot of weight put on first dan. I'd say it's less like getting a university degree and more like a high school one.

This might be a chicken or the egg discussion. Did the rule of recognition come about, because Okinawan MA's (which became Japanese MA's) always had the idea that you had to look your opponent in the face, or did they adapt that way, because of the rule of recognition?