isshinryu5toforever

I have been thinking about officially taking TaeKwonDo to receive an actual rank. I have competed on the college team using an arbitrary rank given to me by the coach, because I have a black belt in Karate, but no official TKD rank. My question is, would if be beneficial for me to get formally ranked in TKD? I have done Isshin-Ryu Karate since I was about 5, so about 15 years now. The TKD poomse seem extremely easy to learn, I could do Koryo after watching someone do it twice. So, would it be beneficial for me to take TKD or would I just be collecting another belt?

I agree with wearing a white belt if you begin a new style to an extent. The only problem I would have with it, is that you may hinder other true white belts because you may learn faster. If you have a beginner specific class, it could also be a problem, because this "beginner" could possibly overwhelm someone else of the same rank in the system once they get the basics down. I would request that they wear a white belt, but maybe not put them into a beginner's class. The only thing I don't agree with is what someone said earlier about a recognized black belt coming from the same organization. If the black belt was earned in the same style, and they have no gaps in training, I feel it would be a bit disrespectful of their time put in to not recognize their black belt. Unless they are seriously deficient in the style, they put in the time to reach black belt and should be treated accordingly.

Most of those old, old video are horrible. Shimabuku didn't think that the camera could move so he continually shifted his feet and changed the angle of his punches. Old video are no way of gauging what a person could do. You'd have to see them live.

My top 1 mile time is 5:00, top 2 mile time is 10:20. Top 40 4.65 seconds

If you find it difficult for people to challenge you challenge yourself. If you can score on people using your normal style of fighting, use a different one. Say, ok against this person I will only use my hands. Or against this person I will try to use technique combinations exactly as they are found in kata. That will force you to look for specific situations in which to attack/counter/defend. Sometimes as we get more experienced we become frustrated with the "lack" of progress we make. One must overcome this by challenging themselves within the exercises they are doing. Instructors have black belts work with juniors for a reason. After a while, Karate is not solely about your personal journey, but about helping others with theirs as well. And who knows, someretimes a junior surprises you and teaches you something that you never would have learned had you worked with only black belts. There's a method to the way things work.

as said before mastering something takes a lifetime. It would seem to me that master rank is more like master teacher. When you earn this rank it menas you have brought your skill to such a place that someone learning from you will be able to take away a great deal of knowledge. I do not think it necessarily means you have absolutely mastered anything.

different dojo/dojang have different requirements to test. When I tested there was a reading list, but no CPR classes or community service. Then I know others who only had to know their katas, basics, etc. Their tests were done ont he whim of the instructor. I know others who have had to go to seminars, read books, take instructor classes, etc., etc. Each instructor will want different things.

IsshinRyu is partially based in GojuRyu. IsshinRyu karate was developed from ShorinRyu and GojuRyu. That is why they share a couple kata. I would go with the advice mentioned above. Visit both schools, see if they have a two week try-out period to see if you like it. Try each one, and make your decision.

we used to make beginners clean the dojo. That was more to make sure they were able to be humble though. It wasn't to embarass them, degrade them, or get free labor. It was a step each of us had gone through, my instructor got it from his instructor, and his instructor from his, etc. So, it's just something we've done.

In good martial arts? All of them. It depends on the style I suppose. If you focus on kicking, then by all means work on your legs. If you're a style that focuses a lot on grp strength and being able to push and pull people then work on the upper body specifically the shoulders, chest, and back. For all martial arts you need a strong core, so work the abs as well, but not just the upper and lower, the sides too. After you've done all that work though, you may as well work the rest. So, I think my second sentence still sums it up, all of them.

I think we still need to hear what exactly you're looking for. If you're doing Kyokushin, I don't see how you're really going to supplement those kicks and punches with TKD. You might get some advice on being able to get in and out faster through TKD, but if you're planning on competing in Kyokushin, you should train that hard, full-contact style, or you could get used to wearing a hogu (chest-protector) and get smoked by a reverse punch to the mid-area.

Rattan is light. I suppose it's possible that it is made of bamboo, but all bamboo bos I have seen are hollow and not meant for hard contact.

I'm guessing you have a rattan bo. Bamboo isn't really a bo for hard contact, it would be for show. As far as woods go, you are looking at oak and ash. Both are decent, but can have a tendency to warp. Japanese oak is a different story. That wood grows in a much colder climate, which in turn makes the grain of the wood much tighter. People who can handle the extra weigh sometimes opt for a bo made of an exotic hardwood like Jabota.

yeah, a little bit of humor embedded in seriousness never hurt anyone

People are making generalizations about the types of fighter, but I think the point with the person being a real Thailander is that most of those guys are poor, so they practice from when they are 4 or 5, and their body becomes quite rigid with the full contact beating they take from an early age. The other guy is ITF, so they do more point fighting than full-contact. It is all about the fighter though, not about the style. Oh and side note on the flying side: Mongolian horses backs are a 5'5" person's shoulder height maybe shorter, they are for long distances, not speed, so it is plausible that a flying side kick was at one point meant to take someone off of a horse that size. I'm sure they got speared an awful lot though.

You are very confident in your TKD training, that is a good thing, but you also must realize that there are people on these boards with exceptional amounts of training in various martial arts. While TKD is a good system, especially when taught by a good instructor, it, like any other style, is by no means a complete system. No style can make someone exceptional at every aspect of fighting. That is the point that everyone else is trying to make. Also, you are il dan, that means you have learned all the basics, and can perform them very well. When I was shodan, I was more aware of what I didn't know than what I did. I believe that first dan is a stepping stone to greater things, and while one can be very knowledgable, they by no means absolutely know everything they have been taught. I knew that Seisan Kata was part of my training, but I by no means truly knew the kata. I still probably don't, because knowledge isn's just in performance, it is in knowing every in and out of what you're performing.

Lil_ol_ninja, I think GM Park Tae Zee would have something to say about that. Bruce Lee was a great martial artist and inspirational, but too many people turn him into a god. Favorite martial artist, well that's a tough call. Park Tae Zee, I admire for his skill (1963-1968 TKD champion of Korea) and willingness to accept change, by changing his school's curriculum when he found it too difficult for beginners. Mas Oyama (Choi Yong-I for all those that didn't know he's Korean) for his physical power, as overblown as it may be. Taira Shinken for being the garbage pail of Okinawan Kobudo. Benny Urquidez for having the guts to step back into the ring post-40 and still win the title back.

You can get one on the website https://www.seka-sports.com although, I am in agreement with everyone else, a plain white gi is the best.

I am looking for a Kumdo school in Manhattan. I have been doing martial arts for a very long time, and I feel like picking up a sword art. I suppose it would be easier to find a Kendo place, but I am Korean, and therefore Kumdo would be my first choice although I've been doing Isshinryu Karate and not TKD for 14 years lol. Thank you for any help.

My instructor doesn't apply the rule of positive comment after critisism to brown belts. Brown belt is the time where you get your butt kicked, everything you do gets criticized, and you wonder what in the world you've been doing for the last x number of years. It's intentional, to see how bad they want to get to the next level. In my experience it's worked. For all colored belts and children that's great though.

I'm not allowed to discuss the full details of my test, but it took something like 6 hours for shodan. The best test I heard about however happened to an older gentleman who is a student of a my instructor's good friend. He's in his mid to late 60s, and he's a good ole Midwestern guy so he's a drinker. At 11 PM on a Saturday night his sensei called his cell phone and said, "You have 15 minutes to get to my ranch in uniform for your black belt test, or you will never be allowed to test." He ran out to his truck, went home and got dressed as he ran out his door and drove to the ranch. He got there with 30 seconds to spare. His sensei said, "Ok run laps staying just within the tree line until I tell you to stop, and then walk about 25 feet into the woods and do all your katas." It was around midnight, there was no moon out, the guy thought to himself "I bet he can't see me" (which he couldn't) but then he though, "But if he can I better finish my katas or he's going to kick my ---" The rest of the belt test was the basic stuff, pushups, situps, basics, self-defense, sparring, etc. It got done at 9 AM the next morning, and he passed his black belt test.

It looks pretty, but that's about it. They always say, we have a good grounding in the basic stances and strikes of karate. I have never seen a karateka in a traditional martial art whip his bo around one handed, scream his lungs out with every little flick of the hand, and make every strike look inconsequential. There is no rhyme or reason to their forms. Maybe Mike Chat has a good background in traditional karate, but it doesn't seem like many of his little black belt phenoms do. If they're black belts they should be able to defend themselves like a black belt, and be able to take a little punishment like a black belt. This I would like to see.

Master rank differs by association and style. So where one style may consider master rank 4th dan, another may consider it 6th dan or possibly higher. When this is the case you will see large differences in age between masters of one style or another. If 4th Dan is master rank, then it is totally plausible for someone between 25 and 30 and possibly younger to be a "master." They are considered a master by rank, not necessarily by skill in instruction. For my style 6th dan is master rank. You must have a school, have a certain number of ranked students, and be able to prove that you have bettered the martial arts community in some way. Different standards for different styles.

I have to ask, how did you almost get into an altercation with someone with a samurai sword?

Pressure point knockouts aren't the issue here. I think most people will admit those are possible. It's even scientifically backed that it is actually possible by manipulating the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. They are referring to George Dillman's No touch knockouts. He makes claims to be able to knock people out without touching them. He also claims to be able to move people using his chi. I respect him for his pressure point work, but not much after that.