Karateka

Within the martial arts, it is customary to bow. This shows respect to others and shows humility within ones self. I think another aspect of it is the fact that though it may not be religious, some families do not wish you to bow. Although I do bow in my Karate class and in other such related events, as a Sikh, I have been told not to bow to anyone other than my Guru or God. He may have been brought up with the family tradition of not bowing, referring to the first case of this thread. I wouldn't get to angry about it, to be frank, let the master get angry if he wants. You should just go with it

Of course. The Karate that was first used was against the samurai on horseback with weapons. I hypothesize that in those times, emphasis was put on practicality, not flair. Many different students train in techniques over and over again because it doesn't look or feel right. A real fight isn't clean cut and surgical. It can turn into a scrap fight in the blink of an eye. If I seem to favour the West, I do only because I have not experience Okinawan Karate of old. For myself, I actually do prefer the Eastern practices, since my culture is based in India. I only spoke of Western culture because I have found that some western aspects are changing Karate. These changes aren't bad, in my opinion. Just another weapon to the arsenal. As in the ancient Karate, you took what worked and used it. In the end, you trained in Karate for a purpose....to fight and survive. Though that is not the only reason Westerners may train, it is still a key component and also the reason why I started to train.

I saw that show. Its either Shotokan or Shito Ryu

To my understanding, Karate spirit is the determination that one has during everything they do. This is what my Sensei told me..."Two people are hanging off a cliff from their fingers. A guy comes up and says "Help is on the way, but it might take up to an hour". One guy says "I can't wait that long, I am going to fall, I can't hold on." The other guy, the one with karate spirit says "I am going to hold on till help arrives, I don't care how tired I get, I will hold on." That is the best way I can describe my opinion of Karate spirit.

We have that kick in our style too, we call it Gedan Sokoto. And you are absolutely correct for its application and why the edge of the foot is used. Well, he is absolutely correct, in my opinion.

The West has changed what many view Karate as. I know that we still have our ties with traditional karate and that we practice lots of etiquette and maintaining that peace of mind that comes with training. That being said, we are a competition dojo who have excellent point sparring competitors. I would not call that point sparring a "laughable" part of Karate, merely another aspect of it. To be good at it, you have to be able to work hard on techniques that can take months, even years to learn. I know that if I hadn't been taught Kata and worked on them for months, I never would have been able to have the patience to learn the techniques necessary for me to go into tournaments. Point Sparring was introduced by Japan, not the West. It is an excellent tool for developing the three necessary variables with any technique....speed, distance, and timing. Everything has its purpose, you just have to realise what that purpose is. The music in the "EXTREME KARATE" that are on during the kata's have a purpose....its to make the crowd enjoy it. As for how much the West has changed Karate...I think its allowed new ideas to be brought into the system. I know that sometimes we use the "quick fix" version of doing things instead of "hard and thorough practice through pain" but I do not see that as a detrement. On the contrary, I feel that if the same effect is drawn out, then it is efficient and worth it. If someone is looking for the psychological aspects of working through a specific technique, there are plenty in Karate which can be substituted for it. Its okay to be efficient, in my view.

You can carry a weapon as long as it isn't concealed i.e. a knife in a sheath. But be prepared to be hassled by any police officer when they ask you why you have it. Technically, by having the weapon out, you can be charged with assault under the Criminal Code of Canada. Better to grab a Code book and look it up.

Hey, we can learn from anyone. As we say in Karate Oni Gaize Mastu (sp?) Translating to "Please teach me" we say this not only to the Sensei's and Sempai's but also to each other.

We use the edge of the foot. In our style there is a difference between a sidekick, called Yoko Geri and Sokoto-geri which is translated to us as Sword Edge kick. It looks like a side kick, it just is worked differently. The knee is raised as if you are doing a front kick and then it is thrusted with a hip rotation and the edge coming out. Rather than attacking with the heel or the sole of the foot, like a brick, the foot becomes a wedge. This goes well with soft spots, hurts more IMO, and fits nicely inbetween ribs

Fight Music by Eminem and D:12 Thunderstruck by AC/DC Princes of the Universe by Queen We Will Rock You by Queen We are the Champions by Queen

I find that these kata's can help to train on the basics of footwork and techniques for the beginners, especially those who have no footing in the martial arts themselves.

I have had one shot to the bicep and my ENTIRE arm went black and blue. It can work especially well if the person has their muscle tensed. It all depends on impact and angle of blow.

Assault cannot exist if both parties agree to fight. I personally wouldn't have fought them but I'm glad you didn't give them a chance to fight back and seriously hurt you. I have heard of many situation where someone who has an MA background waits for the person to amke the first move and gets swarmed. It could have ended a lot worse for you. Good luck with the future.

Footwork is a major part of this. You have to be on balance at all times otherwise you will never land any technique. Ballerina dancers spin continously without vomiting by always fixating on a point which they will stare at for the longest possible period before they snap their head around. Make sure you are relaxed and in close and tight. After a leg technique make sure you place your foot in a position to get back into a fighting stance. For any technique in our point sparring, WE MAKE SURE WE AIM SLIGHTLY AWAY FROM THE TARGET, at first anway. That way, we leave a margin of error in case we accidently knock the person out.

Taisabaki, or body shifting is one of your best tactics for this sort of situation. Also, shifting and sweeping doesn't mean you have to be in close, just make sure you practice and practice and practice sweeping while on the go, i.e. stepping back and sweeping. Also, try defending by taking their own attacks and deflecting them off balance.

A person who waits for you to come in for an attack and will always sidekicks is one of the easiest to attack. Simply feint or deake her out. Fake an attack that will confuse her to draw out her attack i.e getting in just outside her range. Have your hand upwards so as to entice a target but be ready to grab that leg or block or deflect. I would personally see that kick coming and deflect and push it so that she starts to spin exposing her back to me. Follow up with kick, punch, or if she is completely turned around, head kick or grab her shirt/gi collar, throw her down, and punch 3 + times.....but then again, that's just me

Our Dojo takes children 5 and up, however most do not go for their first belt until they are 7 or 8. The lowest age we can receive our black belts is 14 and it is called a Shodan Ho...at age 16 they go for the belt test again to get Junior Black and at 18 they go for their Shodan. Its all the same test but it helps the association see who was in it for the belt and who was in it for the knowledge. I know that I have better application and techniques than some who have their Junior Black or Shodan Ho, but those who have their Shodan are, in my opinion, the ones who really deserve it. I do not find a problem with children learning martial arts if they are willing to learn new ideas. If you are there cause its "cool" and "wanna kick *"...well, you will be "attending" the classes, not "learning" from them.

For competition kata, I usually do Seinchin and Matsumara Rohai....nice balance of slow and fast movements. For practical katas, i have found that Nipaipo has been excellent for the Bunkai we have learned.

We try to do pad work at least once a week, usually Wednesday's are reserved just for Kumite or fitness.

I also used to do Kickboxing before I started my Karate. I found with Kickboxing easier simply because of taking hits and waiting for that right moment. With my competition Karate, when you see an opportunity, you have to take it.

Our Shihan created 17 Kihon kata based around the first 3

Pinan at ours. Though, we are Shito-Ryu

I could believe the fact that he knows many Kata. 119 does seem to be a lot but knowing the Bunkai of all of them is pretty easy since so many moves flow together. I am curious to know if he only knows 1 form of Bunkai for each kata, as I was always taught that as one advances, they should know 3-4 different Bunkai for teaching purposes. If all he knows are basic moves, then perhaps he need to go back and re-evaluate so that he can learn more about them. I agree, quality over quantity does win but his knowing that many Kata is exceptional. As for him going into the argument that "his karate would look better" that's not a valid argument to me. There are many things that look good and work like *.

Killer Miller, I wasn't talking about Kihon Kumite. Perhaps we have different views of it. This is more relaxed and is more fluid. Kihon Kumite, from what I have been taught, is different then the Randori I have been taught. This is structured into set moves of 1, 2 or 3 steps. This is completely random.

Goju and Shotokan are the solid systems of Karate, stemming from Naha-te and Shuri-te styles of Karate, respectively (someone correct me if I am mistaken). Shito Ryu is a combination of two styles since the founder, Kenwa Mabuni, was taught by two instructors...Itosu and Higoanna. Also, Mabuni went to China and learned some White Crane Katas from a tea vendor (or so goes the story). Out of the four major styles, Wado Ryu comprising the 4th, Shito Ryu has the most Kata, almost 50 officialy and more than 60 in practice. Shito Ryu is softer than Shotokan but lower in stances than Goju Ryu. Since of the variety of Kata, the blocks and techniques can seem to have a more Chinese flair but focus on deflection and movement rather than full on stoppage of an opponent's technique. Shito Ryu has branched off over the years but still the core element still exists. For more information on the styles, https://www.karatebc.org has a full history on Karate.