ps1

Very good! I do some 2 on one with my police officers. Seems prisoners and gangs are teaching each other one go high, one go low, take the officer down, take their weapon and use it on the them. Seems to me the most practical tools are some really good foot work, boxing with some elbows, a little Greco and great leg defense. Keeping the two in line making one useless to the other. Not necessarily in that order. Agreed! It's funny how something that works tends to show up in several martial arts. This is the way we trained it in TKD, Shotokan, Aiki Jujitsu, BJJ and Chuan Fa. Good footwork and try to stack the opponents. Not to mention trying to get the heck out of the situation as quickly as possible.

We use them in BJJ when we do no rules. Certainly not legal in grappling competitions however.

In case you're interested, here's a complete list of requirements i used when i was still teaching karate. You'll notice that it was not just purely shotokan. Kobudo and BJJ factored in with the way I promoted. Essentially, a person earning a black belt here would also have earned their black belt in kobudo and a blue belt in BJJ. Unfortunately, my partner at the time lost his job and it never really got going. But here's the list anyway: Rank Requirements White Belt (25 class minimum, 2 stripes, 1 stripe every12th class) Hand Techniques (te waza) Lunge Punch (oi zuki) Reverse punch (gyaku zuki) Elbow strike (empi) Kicking Techniques (geri waza) Front Kick (mai geri) Knee strikes (hiza geri) Blocking Techniques (uke waza) Low defend (gedan barrai) Rising block (age uke) Inside block (uchi uke) Outside block (soto uke) Stances (dachi) Attention (musubi dachi) Ready (yoi) Horse (kiba dachi) Front Stance (zenkutsu dachi) Back Stance (kokutsu dachi) Self Defense (goshin jitsu) Wrist grabs Kata Teikyoko Shodan (pattern only, no hands required) Vocabulary Count to 10, stop, come to attention, bow, bow to the instructor, bow to the front, Teacher, Student, Begin/start Orange Belt (30 class minimum, 2 stripes, 1stripe every 10 classes) Hand Techniques (te waza) Palm heel (shotei zuki) Knife hand (shuto) Back Fist (uraken) Kicking Techniques (geri waza) Side Kick (yoko geri) Roundhouse (mawashi geri) Back Kick (ushiro geri) Stances Cat Stance (neko ashi dachi) Self Defense (goshin jitsu) Break fall Kata Teikyoko Shodan Movement Ippon Kumite 1-4 Tai Sabaki Yellow Belt (50 class minimum, 4 stripes, 1 every 10 classes) Hand Techniques (te waza) Spear hand (nukite) Ridge hand (haito) Kicking Techniques Crescent Kick, in and out (hangetsu geri) Jump front kick (tobi mai geri) Turning back kick Double kick (nidan geri) Self Defense (goshin jitsu) Break fall Wrist grabs blouse grabs chokes Throwing Technique (nage waza) Inner reap and outer reap (O soto & O uchi gari) Kata Heian Shodan and bunkai Kobudo Bo basic strikes and blocks Tsui Sho Movement Kumite- beginner Blue Belt (75 classes required, 4 stripes, 1 every 15 classes) Self Defense (goshin jitsu) Bear Hugs, Head Lock, Close Distance, T- Position & throws, ground control Movement Sparring (kumite) basic, light contact One Step Sparring 5 – 10 (ippon kumite) Kata Heian Nidan and Bunkai Kobudo Bo Ippon kumite Vocabulary All listed Green Belt (100 classes required, 4 stripes, 1 every 20 classes) Advanced strikes Spinning Kicks Jumping Kicks Movement Kick/ Punch Ippon Kumite 1 – 6 Kumite waza 1- 12 Kumite with front sweep Kata Heian Sandan and Bunkai Kobudo Bo Sho Self Defense Ground Series 1 (Upa escape and escape the guard) Ground Series 2 (3 sweeps) Knife Defenses Purple Belt (100 classes required, 4 stripes, 1 every 20 classes) Self Defense Total release capacity Situation Avoidance Ground Series 3 (from guard) Movement Kumite waza 13- 24 Kumite with sweeps Kata Heian Yondan and Bunkai Heian Godan and Bunkai Kobudo Sai basics Kansetsu waza Arm bar (Juji getame) Key lock Brown Belt (100 classes required, 4 stripes, 1 every 20 classes) Kata Jion Bassai Dai Tekki Shodan Movement Kumite waza 25- 32 Kumite with leg kicks and full sweeps Ippon Kumite with take down and control Kumite waza with takedown and control Kobudo Bokken basics Sai Ippon Kumite Weapon kumite Shodan Ho (Black with white stripe) aka: Jr. Black Belt Kata Bunkai Bassai Dai Bunkai Jion Tekki Nidan Kobudo Advanced Bo, Jo, Tonfa, Sai, & Cane Advanced Kumite Skills & Drills Movement Advanced Kumite

I'm doing this from memory so...forgive me if I forget something. For us, yellow was the third rank...orange came after white. So, for the second belt the requirements were as follows: 3 months of training Taikyoku Shodan- kata #1 Ippon Kumite 1-5 -first 5, 1 step sparring techniques Oi tsuki- lunge punch Gyaku tsuki- reverse punch Age Uke- rising defend Gedan barrai- low level defend Zenkutsu dachi- front stance count to 10 in Japanese edit: The full rank system was White, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Green, Purple, Brown, Black

When you watch him, it's easy to see why he captured the attention of so many people. He just oozed charisma. Even when he wasn't making sound or fighting, he was just so intense. Add to that his amazing physique and skill. Simply put, it was really fun to watch him do stuff.

Interesting analogy. I kinda like it.

Sorry to say, but most of ancient martial art history is mere speculation. That includes Bodhidharma. There is very little written evidence of lineage dating back that far. Frankly, you're lucky you have it as far back as you do.

First, I realize I've taken this somewhat out of context. For that I apologize. But I do it becuase, in everything you mentioned here, not one has anything to do with fighting. All of these things can be drilled and done with athletic style drills such as weight lifting, plyometrics, calisthenics, stretching and cardiovascular exercise. So, IMO, they are not valid reasons to practice kata. Take a football player for example. There's no football kata. Yet, he hits the weight room and goes through rigorous exercise to prepare his body for what will be demanded of it. But the football part he does out on the field in countless hours of drills that require other players.

Had you intended two different videos, ps1? LOL Why yes...I did. Thanks for pointing that out. I'll go edit it now. Rather than editing that one... here's the vid of kicks in mma format

Hi! Good to meet you! lol I'm sure you're right. I don't think anyone has worn their swords in public for a very long time. However, when I was studying Yagu Ryu under Viol Sensei, he was very clear on the idea we were studying a bujitsu. More specifically, a sogo bujitsu. He was almost offended if one asserted that what he does is a budo. However, not being raised in a Yagu school, understand perfectly well what you mean. In today's society, very few people are truly practicing an art that will be used every day in combat as the bushi of the past did.

I would disagree. This kick is used in Muay Thai, MMA, and Olympic TKD. I've seen KOs in all of them. It's an extremely powerful kick. It's power is generated more from the momentum of the movement and pivoting of the entire body into the kick rather than from the snappy turn of the hips with the strike, however. The power generation of a more traditional round kick comes from the rotation of both the hips and leg as you turn it from the vertical to horizontal position. Both are very powerful kicks though. I really like to mix it up with both versions of the kick in order to keep an opponent off balance. If they start checking low line kicks, I'll switch up in order to rise over their knee. Additionally, I like to rotate the traditional kick to come in on a downward angle, striking the bridge of the nose, clavicle or outter thigh (using shin).

You see the 45 degree angle round house kick in two major venues used for very different things. 1) It is very common in olympic TKD in order to be quicker to the target and to easily slip under the arms (which are often left hanging in this type of sparring). In this video you'll see several kicks thrown at this angle, along with other variations. 2) In MMA, a straight line from the ground to the head (usually 45 degrees) is taken with the kick. The point of contact is most often the shin however. This is because the kicker sets up an angle where the opponent's shoulder would not impede the kick and/or the kicker notices the opponent has left his head hanging to be kicked easily. Here's a video that demonstrates my point: The reasoning for both of these is speed. It's simply faster to move straight to a target rather than moving up to a 90 degree angle and then over to the target. Think of a right triangle. The hypotenuse is always going to be shorter than the sum of the other two sides. As for the original question: I chose traditional, simply because I prefer it. That said, I think they are completely different weapons. I do tend to use my shin as the striking surface though.

The Koryu are legal to practice and still are quite regularly. However, the practical daily application of their techniques is somewhat limited in the world of firearms. It's important to remember that, not unlike today's military, unarmed combat was a last resort to the feudal warriors of Japan. They focus on the use of battlefield weapons from ancient times. Few of those, save for the tanto (knife), rope (for arresting techniques), and perhaps the tanbo (short stick), have any relevance to today's streets. However, many military strategies that are practiced in them such as rank and file, flanking maneuvers, subterfuge, ambush techniques and so on...are still practiced commonly to an extent.

It would seem that your problem is one of goals. You're mentally tough. You put yourself through a heck of a workout. You simply stop caring once you've locked up a medal. This is fine if you always want to be known as they guy who was never quite good enough. The question you have to answer in a manner that convinces even you is: "DO YOU CARE ABOUT BEING THE BEST?" Once you're convinced the answer is yes. You'll discover you already have the tools to do this. At this point, and from what you already admitted to, you seem perfectly content being second or third best.

Everyone has offered some really great answers for you. I have no disagreement with any of them. However, as a practical application of what many are saying, I offer the following: Not too terribly long ago the martial arts, primarily in Japan, had fallen out of grace with the general populace. They were seen as a somewhat brutish tie to an ancient past in a country that was desperately trying to modernize itself. It was Jigoro Kano in 1882, with the invent of Judo, who is credited with first adding the "do" suffix to a martial art. This made the arts more palatable to the Japanese population as it highlighted the focus of the art as self perfection, rather than just fighting prowess. Many of the karate schools which I have entered focus on Karate first as a path that leads us toward enlightenment and self perfection. The teachers at these schools tend to refer to their art as "Karate Do." Still other schools focus more on the "street" application and self defense of their martial art. While they often teach the exact same techniques as their Karate Do brethren, it is the context in which they teach it that changes. These teachers sometimes refer to their art as "Karate jutsu." As Sojobo mentioned, however, the two actually coexist within one another. IMO this is a very keen and wonderful observation. Still there are others, who have taken no time to study either Japanese society or language in even the slightest, that use the term for yet another reason. They use it as a ploy to make money:( If you ask some instructors they will tell you that the "jutsu" suffix means that they have a grappling element. Any instructor that tells you this is simply wrong. They added the suffix in order to attract people that are looking for grappling and Jiujitsu style arts. You should certainly steer clear of those schools. While the instructor may be very skilled, you don't want your first experience with a school to be based on a lie.

Do you really think there is? Keep in mind that I'm speaking in the context of tournament sparring. Most bunkai I learned involved striking the neck, takedowns, joint locks and low level kicks. Many of those techniques are illegal in tournaments.

I tend to agree with your point of view.

I would have him do it again, this time with control. I would further explain that if he makes contact again, I get to return the favor.

It's often said that in most competitions, the people who win their Kata (forms) divisions, are usually the same people who win their Kumite (sparring) divisions. I have seen this throughout the years for myself. I'm fortunate enough to have been one of them on several occasions. I have, for many years, read and heard this argument used to defend the usefulness of kata in regard to kumite. My question to the forum is this: Do you feel that this happens because there is some connection to skill in kata and skill in kumite? Do you feel it's because the person doing well in kata is more athletic and that trait translates well into kumite? Or is it simply because this may be a person that works harder than the average bear to be good at what they do? Personally, I never felt that one was affecting the other. The techniques used in my kata were never really applicable to the sparring rules. I just worked hard to be good at each division. I trained 7 days a week for years and put my blood and sweat into it.

It absolutely could be because you're flat footed. However, many flat footed people do karate stances with no problem. You're likely walking around on your feet in an improper fashion. Meaning you're putting more weight on the inside of your foot (where most people have an arch to distribute the weight). You should talk to your family physician about this. Your doctor will likely get you in contact with a podiatrist or physical therapist who can help you to correct the problem.

He was certainly a martial artist. Acting served him in many ways though. It was a good venue to showcase his skill and get out the word about his martial art. It allowed him to do what he loved (martial arts) and get paid well doing it. He was a little vein and acting appealed to that side of him as well. So acting was a vessel while martial arts was his way of life.

You're telling me!!! I approached a Kuk Sul Won school in my town about teaching BJJ classes out of it. They have no classes on Tuesday or Thursday and the building just sits empty. The instructor is a Marine and was very excited about the proposition. I had offered to pay a portion of his rent to operate out of his building on the days he had no classes. Before we concluded our meeting, he said he'd have to check with his organization and get back to me. About a week later he called me up and declined my offer because his organization had told him no. They further reprimanded him and put his promotion off another year for "disloyalty!" This was absolutely crazy to me. Some guy that considers himself a grandmaster can tell a small business to just lose money!!! More crazy to me is that the guy takes it! I've left organizations like that before so I am always in disbelief at these kind of situations. I see this in Korean Art based schools more than any others.

Nakayama was a direct student of Funakoshi and head of the JKA for a long time. Anything you get by him is going to be a great supplement for what you are learning. However, remember that a book is just a supplement. If you learn some things differently than what you read, you should do it as your taught and not be bound to the words of the book.

You're welcome...glad you didn't take my post the wrong way. I see where you're coming from now. It certainly sounds like the guy you saw was both not very good at judo and not a very well trained fighter. Of course, who really is. If a BJJ or good judo school ever gets close to you, certainly take the time to train with them. I think that's the best way to understand what the guy was doing wrong. As far as the technical variables of throwing/grappling being more complicated than basic striking and kicking. You're probably right. While the stragegies of stand fighting take much longer to get skilled in using, the techniques themselves are much simpler. I see your point here.

Respectfully, I would highly suggest you visit and train regularly in a BJJ or Judo club. I think you'll find that a seasoned practitioner isn't going to get eye gouged and their submissions aren't easily escaped. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say you're completely wrong. But I've been where you are. I've trained standing arts since 1985. In 1997, I wrote a 10 page paper stating many of the things you've sited and others. Then, 6 &1/2 years ago I met a BJJ instructor. Not only did I find out I needed to learn the art, but that all my karate, kung fu and Aiki Jujitsu defenses for the submissions were based on incorrect principles and false assumptions. A combination of my time in the military, 25 years of training, and personal preference has led me to believe that, while standing and striking skills are necessary, submissions are more dependable and based on body mechanics, which can not be thwarted by a strong chin or high pain threshold. I'm not trying to change the thread or start any kind of flame war here. Just saying that you should get with a true BJJ black belt or high ranking Judo instructor and test your escapes on them. If you've done this and succeded, I'm sorry for assuming otherwise. But if you have not, you may have the opportunity to make yourself even more effective and pass that on to your students. An open mind is the pathway to wisdom. Good luck.