Grenadier

I've found that lightweight uniforms (cheaper ones, especially) that have troubles staying tied shut, can be helped by a spraying of the ties with some starch. This will give the strings a bit more tack, and could possibly hold things together a bit better.

Glad to hear that the Sensei has a good understanding of your current situation. If there are any drills that would otherwise limit you, I'm certain he has alternative drills that are just as challenging, for your situation. You should be safe, even during sparring. Virtually all Karate schools (and martial arts schools) will not allow people sparring, to kick each other in the knee. Sweeping the lower part of the leg (below the calf), yes, but a sweep to the knee, or a flat-out kick to the knee, no way. Sound promising.

As a student of both Okinawan and Japanese Karate, I'd have to agree with the above poster. Most Karate styles won't teach you how to be a street fighting machine in a short time. This isn't to say that you can't become a good street fighter, it's just that this isn't the primary focus of most schools. If you wanted something that is more heavily oriented towards street fighting, you may want to see if someone offers Krav Maga in your area. Since you're in California: http://www.kravmaga.com/california.asp In the end, though, if you kept at your current Shito-Ryu training, I would be confident that in due time, your street fighting abilities would be fine, it's just that you would have to be a bit more patient. Which way is better? I can't / won't answer that, since what works well for one person may be inappropriate for another. Good luck with your search.

For martial arts training? My first weapon was a set of tonfa, made out of black lacquered hardwood (maple). I bought this set just after I had gotten my first promotion to 7th Kyu. Tried learning from a book, but let's face it; a book can only take you so far, else the "black belt in 10 days" texts would be the norm. Fortunately, one of the senior students there had extensive experience with tonfa, and gave me some lessons in them in exchange for a box of 20 floppy disks (very expensive at the time). These were taken away from me by the parents, since they were extremely anti-weapon (of any kind). My second weapon was a plain ol' ash bo, purchased from Sensei. At first, the parents strongly objected, confiscated the bo, and even tried to talk to Sensei, hoping to convince her that I could progress without weapons training. During that time, I had simply gone over to the lumber store, and bought a 1" dowel rod to serve as a makeshift bo, so that I could train. Fortunately, Sensei put her foot down, and simply said "no weapons training, no advancement." Eventually, the folks grudgingly accepted this. The next weapon was a pair of chrome plated sai, octagonal pommels. Being my first metal weapons, the folks were outraged, but since we had a sai kata, once again, Sensei was able to talk them down. This all became a moot issue after I moved away from home. No more of the "our house, our rules" statements. Throughout the years afterwards, I experimented with various cheap stainless steel swords bought through the mail order catalogs, thinking I would find a quality blade. It wasn't until 1994 that I finally got my first real sword through Kris Cutlery, and the sheer quantum jump in difference in terms of quality, was just astounding. I still have that 26" bladed katana, with its wonderful mahogany wood handle, just as a memory piece. A great cutter, but I've since then, graduated onto Last Legend's offering. I currently have a Mark V katana (4096 layer folded 27" blade), that has been a most wonderful blade for tameshigiri. Yes, I realize that there are all sorts of Bugei, Clark, Trim, etc., blades that are superior, and I'm not going to argue, since I'm in complete agreement, but for the money spent, I got what I wanted.

Several favorites. 1) Spyderco Dragonfly, serrated: Short blade, but still a very effective cutter. 2 5/16" blade, and small enough that almost nobody would think of it as a combat blade (even though it would certainly work). 2) Spyderco Delica, partially serrated. 3" blade, and a bit more robust. Still small enough to be somewhat inconspicuous when using it. 3) Spyderco Police, plain edge. 4 1/8" blade, very well designed, so that it's a combat worthy knife, while still fitting when clipped on the front pants pocket. This is probably about as large of a blade that I could carry and not raise any eyebrows, unless I opened it up. When I need to use it, the folks who see the blade either stare at it enviously, with a few oohs and aahs, or cringe at the sight of it. 4) Spyderco SPOT: Necklace sheath, and its flat profile makes it all but invisible underneath a shirt. http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=47 It's a shame they're discontinuing it.

It's better to be prepared for the (hopefully) extremely rare emergency that does arrive, rather than to be caught unprepared for the one that does arrive. The Los Angeles riots of 1992 was more than ample proof of this, and poor Reginald Denny will never be the same.

Sad indeed. Unfortunately, though, many folks don't realize that it takes years of training, and conditioning (both physical and mental) to get to that echelon that they had hoped to achieve. There's simply no substitute for experience and conditioning. Furthermore, they also don't realize that the "one size fits all" aspect just might not be for them. As long as there are impatient people out there, there will be a market for this guy's wares.

How deep is the corrosion? If it's not too bad, go to Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware, or a well-stocked gun store, and get some metal polish. The two brands I recommend are Maas (available at Wal-Mart in the cleaning supplies section), or Flitz Metal Polish (available in some gun stores and Ace's). Apply a small dab to the corroded area, and take a soft, lint-free cloth, and start gently buffing, using a circular motion. If the corrosion is pretty deep, then start with some fine steel wool to get the worst out of the way, and then use the Maas / Flitz polish.

You might be comparing apples and oranges, but if you can be a bit more specific, maybe we can compare winesaps to granny smiths instead of macintoshes to mandarins... Tae Kwon Do comes in several varieties / flavors. Some dojangs place a premium on "sport" Tae Kwon Do, such as Olympic-style competitions, while others emphasize a more traditional approach, and in the end, might not differ too much from an Okinawan or Japanese style of Karate. While it's true, that the "AVERAGE" Tae Kwon Do system will place more emphasis on kicking than the "AVERAGE" Karate system will, you really can't get a full answer, until you visit the school of interest and see for yourself. Take a visit to each dojo / dojang, and see what the classes are about.

Red oak is a bit too generic of a term here. There are so many species of red oak, that vary greatly in terms of grain tightness, strength, etc. Some red oak is pretty darn good, such as the stuff that Shureido uses in some of their red oak weapons. A lot of red oak isn't too good at all, especially the generic stuff that you see in discount catalogs.

I stole this link from this forum's archives: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~kataylor/bokuto.htm Quite informative. Also, for wood selection: http://www.crane-mountain.com/page6.html If anything, you should send Crane Mountain an e-mail, asking about your needs, and wants. Pam's great to deal with, and knows her stuff.

Heh. Everyone who has trained with wooden nunchaku has done this. You can always tell by looking at their inner elbows. I remember working with them, as an eager youngster, and trying to emulate Bruce Lee, using a set of hardwood nunchaku connected by a swivelling chain. I was actually building up a nice speed, until I heard a "thock" sound, and my mind instantly knew what had happened. Then came the fiery pain on the inner elbow.

As TangSooGuy stated, it depends from one organization to another. In my current, and previous two dojos, all of the black belts do not have stripes on them. The current dojo's only labelling is the name of the organization embroidered on one side (in kanji), and the yudansha's name on the other side (in katakana), while the previous two had nothing at all on them. At a younger phase of my life, the dojo I trained in, did use stripes (made out of medical tape), with one stripe per dan rank, so shodan ranks had one stripe, nidan ranks had two stripes, etc., all the way to the chief instructor of the division, who as a rokyudan, had six stripes. I still use my old belt occasionally, in the current dojo, although I did remove the stripes to conform to the others. Still, you can see white markings at the end, where the two stripes used to be, if you look closely. I sometimes think about taking some solvent to get the remnants out, but I'd rather not leach out the color of the belt in the process.

Several "carry" options for me when I'm not at work: 1) Cool / cold weather: Glock 23 (.40, but sometimes I'll swap in the 357 Sig barrel), two extra 13 round magazines, Spyderco Delica II knife with serrated edge. Holster is carried at the 4:30 position on the hip in a Desantis Mini-slide, magazines are carried in jacket pocket. Spyderco knife clips to the pocket of the pants. Ammo type is the Remington Golden Saber 165 grain brass jacketed holowpoint. 2) Warm weather: Same as above, although I may substitute the more compact Glock 26, and instead of wearing a jacket, I'll either wear the shirt untucked, or wear another light dress shirt on top. 3) Hot weather: S&W 642 5-shot revolver in a Desantis pocket holster. Fits easily in any cargo shorts front pocket. Extra speedloader in other pocket for balance. Ammo type is the new Speer Gold Dot 130 +P JHP. Spyderco Delica II is clipped to the back pocket. 4) Leaving the dojo from Iaido training: Last Legend Mark V katana, 27" blade, or Crane Mountain 6' long, 1.25" diameter bo staff. Some people may ask "why do you carry guns when you've studied martial arts all of those years?" Simple: It's better to be prepared for the emergency that never arrives, instead of being caught unprepared for the one that does arrive. Martial arts are a wonderful thing, indeed, but there are some things that they can't help.

When judging, I look for the following: 1) The person performing the kata is focused, maintains good zanshin. Eyes do not wander, and are focused on the target in question. 2) Performs clean and strong techniques that blend in well (not too jerky / rough) that would land accurately. 3) Maintains a consistent pace, unless the kata specifically calls for acceleration / deceleration of the pace. 4) Does not show emotion while performing, unless a kata calls for a specific emotion (rare). If someone messes up, and keeps on going with confidence, then I'll be a lot more generous towards him, than I would with, say, someone who rolls his eyes or shakes his head.

There are no federal or state laws requiring such legislation, and even if some oddball locality managed to pass such garbage legislation (some have tried), it would most likely fail. Even if it did pass, such a community most likely does not have the resources to enforce such a law, and that any reasonable court would squash such legislation.

It boils down to the individual's beliefs and practices. Some folks want to hold onto their original belt, because they believe it symbolizes something. Over the many years of dedicated training, it will wear out, start "cracking," and fraying, and will lose a lot of its original solid black. This can happen regardless of whether someone wants to wash it or not. There are some folks (of any age) that are given a satin black belt. These are much less durable, and will fall apart with regular use. There are some younger folks, that are given such old belts from their instructors as gifts. It's quite an honor if your teacher is willing to part with one of them. There are some folks (mostly kids, though) that will constantly wash their belts at all opportunities, just to get that weathered-in look. I regard such individuals with disdain, since they're trying to show that they are something they really are not (an experienced martial artist). Now, onto the next part: Is washing a belt a horrible thing? Again, that depends on the individual. Some people believe that the belt has a fixed amount of energy in it, and that washing the belt washes out the energy. Even if it starts to fester and smell like a locker room containing a spilt over beer keg, they will refuse to wash it. IMHO, this is a rather limited belief, since the black belt is simply a strip of cloth. The real essence of Karate (or insert other martial arts here) is in the man wearing the belt, not in the uniform or belt itself. Some people don't have a need to wash their belts, since they might not leave so much sweat on them, or maybe they take time to store them properly (hung in the air), so that anaerobic microbes can't flourish and generate bad-smelling compounds. As I stated above, some people will wash their belts all-too frequently, either out of an abnormal fear of germs, or because they want to get that "weathered-in" look. I have already stated my disagreement with such methods. Some people (like me) will wash their belts if it accumulates enough "stuff" to start smelling odd. I see no harm occasionally washing my belts (well-made Pine Tree and Tokaido belts) in a GENTLE cold cycle, using a small amount of detergent, and then hanging it to drip-dry. While they may be slightly faded compared to a brand new black belt, they still look great, and no evidence of accelerated wear and tear is seen. I've not had to wash them more than once a year. If I have to get a new black belt to replace these, I'll do so without any hesitation. I know that the black belt part of me is, well, within me, and not something that I wear. The way I see it, if a belt smells that badly, then you're creating a distraction to the others that are trying to train. You and your fellow karate-ka are there to learn, not to be distracted by the more physical things in the world, and by making sure you maintain at least a minimum level of cleanliness, you are helping them by not providing distractions.

It's all dependent on the style, and the whims of who controls it. For convenience's sake, I'll limit my post to the Japanese and Okinawan styles. In most styles, 10th dan is the "standard" maximum, that can only be achieved by someone who has demonstrated a life of dedication, accomplishment, and wisdom. There is usually only one 10th dan rank per style (or faction), and the holder is usually referred to as O-sensei or O-shihan, or some other title. In some styles, there may very well be a smaller number of dan ranks, and I've seen several that only go up to 8th dan. For example, Ohtsuka, the founder of the Wado-ryu karate system, held the rank of 10th dan in this style, and one of his students, Hirano, founded his own branch of the Wado-ryu style (Heiwado). Hirano's style uses 8th dan as the highest rank. There are even some styles out there that use 5th dan as the maximum rank.

In the United Staes, the answer is "no." There is no Federal, or State, law that requires the registration of one's self as a deadly weapon, destructive device, etc. Now, there might have been a few wacky localities that have tried this, but such legislation simply has an extremely poor chance ot passing, and even if it did manage to pass, it would probably only happen in some small, way out city that doesn't have the resources to enforce such junk legislation, and thus a moot issue anyways. Finally, such legislation would never hold up in a court challenge.

I'm guessing that it's more sodium carbonate (aka washing soda) in combination with other chemicals that generate peroxide (or more appropriately, peroxy radicals). These are much more suitable for washing gis than any hypochlorite (aka chlorine) bleaches.

There's nothing wrong with washing a belt, as long as the sole purpose of the washing is to clean it, or to break in an excessively stiff belt. Some belts, such as Tokaido, aren't hurt by a single gentle cycle in cold water, using a conservative amount of detergent. This makes the belt much easier to tie, and you get much less knot slippage. Other belts, such as the satin ones, will probably fall apart after a few gentle cycles. If a belt smells badly due to the accumulation of bacteria, perspiration, etc., then by all means, go ahead and wash it in a gentle cold cycle as described above. You shouldn't let your uniform be a distraction to the other folks training, and it's simply common courtesy. However, given the way belts are, you shouldn't have to wash them frequently at all. After you are done training, hang your belt so that they can air dry out quickly. This will help delay the need for washing. Remember, the belt is just a piece of cloth. The true knowledge and spirit lies within one's self. Now, where I would chide others for washing their belts, is if they did so to intentionally fade / break their belts. I do get a bit irritated when I see kids under the age of 10 having washed their belts many, many times under harsh conditions, just to make it look weathered in.

Good judges won't care what kind of gi you're wearing, as long as it's reasonably clean, and your techniques are good. I've placed with higher scores with a medium weight Pro Force gi (almost no "snap" to it), than I did with a heavyweight Kime gi. Now, if you're looking for a good quality gi that will last you a while, be comfortable, and look good, then I would recommend taking a look at the Kamikaze (or Juka) brand of uniforms. Many of their uniforms are a very comfortable brushed cotton canvas, and so far, I've found them to be quite durable.

Another vote for the avoidance of chlorine (actually hypochlorite) based bleaches. Use an oxygen-based bleach instead. These are not nearly as destructive on the fabrics, and don't leave any smells. You can find bottles of generic store brand oxygen bleach (sometimes called color safe) in any grocery store or Wal-Mart. I found a greyish spot on the back of my 8 year old Pro Force heavyweight gi, so I ran it through a warm wash cycle with chlorine bleach. This only made the greyish spot even more pronounced.

Wash the uniform. Your body's sweat and oils that are secreted, tend to have unwanted consequences, if allowed to remain on the cloth. Various bacteria and other microbes, thrive on such substrates, and can do more damage to your gi than years of wear and tear. Using a rancid uniform creates a distraction when training with others. While a martial artist should be able to block out such distractions, the wearer of the stench ridden uniform isn't doing anyone any favors. A dirty uniform can also wreak havoc on your skin. Rashes, infections, etc., are all possible. It gets even worse if the skin breaks. Furthermore, you could also be transmitting some nasty microbes to your partners as well. If you sweat a good deal, then by all means, wash your gi no less frequently than once every two sessions. If you can, wash it in a gentle warm water cycle after each session. If you're someone who doesn't sweat much, then perhaps you can get away with a less frequent washing schedule, but even then, you're still suscpetible to the above. With no disrespect to your Sensei / Shihan, I am simply going to say that he's somewhat mistaken on this matter! The real spirit and energy of the martial arts comes from the greatest source of power: You. Not some cotton uniform.

You're not too old. Since you already have experience, you're going to pick things up significantly faster than the "usual" student. I made a similar transition back in 1997, having studied Shotokan Karate and Tae Kwon Do for over a decade, and having a dan ranking in both styles. I didn't mind starting at white belt all over again, even though it was in an Okinawan Karate style. I don't regret my choice one bit. Going back to the beginning taught me to keep a more attentive eye on the basics, and to clean up many undesireable habits that had formed along the way. I went through the ranks faster than the others, but it was never really about the rank, and instead, more about the knowledge. Furthermore, it's entirely possible, that the new style you're studying may be working muscles that you had previously not conditioned, and it's safer to gradually build things up.