Skeptic 2004

Typically but not necessarily. Depending on how you walk, you might slightly favor one side over the other causing unequal loading. For example, for some reason I tend to slightly favor my right side (my right shoes are always the first to show signs of wear, my right leg is always the first one that gets tired when I run, etc). You might also have some people with the freakish limbs (an arm or leg that is maybe an inch or two longer than the other) Where? On the outside of the knee? It's perfectly normal for the outside edges of the shoes to be worn out (after all, your foot naturally supinates...or at least tries to if you're flat footed). But, if the outsides edges are excessively worn out compared to the rest of the shoe, then judging by this symptom and your gait you MAY have ITB. It bothers me on my right knee only as well. The thing is, I can feel the grinding sensation at times, but I sure as heck don't hear anything. I'm going to go with the advice everyone else has given: Get an MRI to check it isn't something else.

From what you've described, there are two possbilities. One, you need another x-ray and a second opinion because your doc missed something. Or, you might suffer from a minor knee injury that won't show up on x-rays. You might want to be a little more descriptive about your symptoms in order to get a specific response. How you walk may actually make the problem better or worse for your knee. When you take a step, the foot naturally supinates; that is, it rolls to the outer edge of your foot giving your foot the ability to lift the heel, roll along the ball of your foot and lift the toes. Experiment: try taking a step by putting all of your weight on the inside of your foot...it's a lot harder. The problem comes when you put too much weight on the outside of your foot, or (for lack of a more scientific term that I know of) over-supinate. This places too much stress on the ankle and outside edge of the knee resulting in a little condition I'm currently suffering from called iliotibial band syndrome - the iliotibial band is a band that runs from the upper thigh muscles, along the outerside of the knee joint, to the shin just below the knee (I think...don't remember where it stops exactly). Iliotibial band syndrome occurs when this band rubs against the side of the knee and becomes irritated and inflamed. There's no loss of stability or strength, but it feels like someone took an icepick and stabbed you in the knee with it. It isn't painful enough to make you cry, but I've screamed a few curse words when I've had to take the stairs (it doesn't hurt when your knee is flexed...but it man oh man when it comes time to bend your knees...OUCH). Overpronation/hyperpronation (walking on the inside of your feet) throws your knee out of alignment with your hip causing pain in the feet, possible joint problems with ankle, and possible back problems later if uncorrected. When your knee is thrown out of alignment with your hip, there tends to be alot of unequal lateral loading on the patella tendon as you walk which may end up causing patella tendonitis. I've never suffered from this condition, but if your tendons are inflamed, I can imagine that bending them is unpleasant. People who walk pigeon toed tend to overpronate. If you work out a lot on hardwood floors bare foot and do a lot of jumping up and down on them (uh...sounds like anyone who's practiced MA), the loading on your feet may actually flatten the natural arches causing a loss of arch support and the flattening of the foot. Flattening of the feet causes hyperpronation when you walk which leads to all the nasty stuff I've already talked about. Hyperpronation is actually pretty normal for people who work on their feet for long periods of time, and most often the worse thing people feel is discomfort. Arch supports easily correct the problem. However, the nasty stuff I talked about is very possible. If you're flat-footed like you say, you probably hyperpronate. But, if for some reason that's not the case or you somehow compensate by "over-supinating" that's bad too. Uh...I guess working in a shoe store for 2 years actually came in handy for once but I'm not really sure I answered your question. I guess in short, yeah, being flat footed may have something to do with it.

I'll limit the scope of my response to karate, because that's all I can really speak on. Historically, karate was developed by the gentry class in Okinawa, and like other bored rich people throughout history (notice how most of the great European thinkers/inventors were bored rich people?) they came up with the enlightened concept of "bunbu ryodo" (sp?). This concept basically focused on study of tode (karate), mastery of calligraphy, and study of the Confucian classics. It was desirable for young sons of the gentry class to follow bunbu ryodo as the first ensured health and the latter two a sense of spirituality and mental enlightenment. As a result, rich families hired calligraphy teachers, Confucian scholars, and famed bushi to instruct their sons. This precdent established that spiritual and mental development took place outside of the dojo (note: it was not until Japan seized upon tode and rechristened it "karate" that spirituality and mental development were formally introduced as aspects of training). When a youngster went to learn tode, the fighting aspects were the focus. This is not to say that there was not some sort of spiritual and mental developing going on (one only need to read Itosu Ankoh's "10 Lessons of Tode"), but these were informal and not the focus of training. The main focus of training was the fighting aspects. I still believe that while there are other benefits to training, fighting must remain the paramount focus of training. Otherwise, what you're doing is not a martial art (as defined in my previous post).

Hmm...semantics...don't want to go down that road (though it looks like I did already).

I couldn't resist providing a little bit of input. If you're calling yourself a master, you probably aren't. (And by "probably" I mean "definately") People who are masters tend not to know they are. They're not under the illusion that they're bad (usually they tend to think they're "pretty good", some of the more egotistical on the spectrum "very good"), but their goal is perfection and they realize that they fall short of that. I think the reason masters tend not to know that they are masters is because they cease to exist; all that matters is whatever it is that they're doing. I'm sure a concert pianist will tell you that they when they play, they cease to exist; the music lives. The best dancers I've ever seen speak of being possessed by the dance. Master artists and sculptors don't speak of forming images (insertion of self); instead they speak of images emerging (absence of self). Masters have an uncanny ability to make whatever it is they do alive. Picking on karate (since it's all I know), one of the finest karateka I've had the pleasure of meeting (Sensei Doug Perry), looks otherworldly when he performs a kata. The kata becomes alive, and he ceases to exist. I've seen other fine karateka whose kata looks good and sharp, but I can count on one hand how many others I've seen where their kata is alive. In regards to martial arts, a high dan is not a sufficient condition for mastery. Your ability to make what you do come alive is.

I'll make this brief...(otherwise I'd just go on and on....) In his youth, Chosin Chibana had a reputation for being a talented, tough nailed, ferocious fighter. He calmed considerably as he got older. Chosin Chibana had three K's: Kihon Kata Kumite The kihon were basics. You needed to learn the basics in order to do kata. Kata was the fundamental aspect of karate training, he once said "Karate no michi wa, kata no renshuu koto" (rough translation: Karate's path is through the practice of kata). Kumite was kata in action with a live, resisting opponent. There was something particular about his three K's however: they all diverged to kata. Kata is the core and central focus of karate, according to Chosin Chibana. Kumite's utility is limited to one's understanding of the application of kata - if you don't understand kata, you're not going to understand kumite. Edit: My brevity was due in large part to me having to run and take care of some business. I realize now that I probably could have been even more brief with the following couched in simple logic terms: Kihon - necessary, but not sufficient Kata - necessary and sufficient Kumite - necessary, but not sufficient

Shorin Ryuu is correct; osae is not a technique. It is a principle (I coined the term concept in the first post). As I understand it, it is a constant forward projection of your hara/tanden/diantien/center that applies a constant forward presence towards your opponent, even in retreat. This constant press from your hara extends to your limbs while blocking, punching, kicking, or grappling. Sandan touched on a very valid point in that my instructor stresses osae the most during transition from one move to the next. Osae is key during transitional movement....though I'm having trouble maintaining osae when I move... My instructor focuses on the full osae, though he maintains that Chibana had actually mastered the half osae, a much more difficult application of the principle. I'm just starting to grasp the full osae, so my explanation of the half osae is probably even more dubious; please excuse me. The half osae, as I barely understand it, is just as powerful/effective as the full osae but requires less effort. It's just that it's incredibly difficult to do correctly since it is highly dependent on rhythm and timing; this varies from kata to kata, and in combat from opponent to opponent. Unlike the full osae, there's no heurisitic for the half osae. My instructor admits even after 40 years he still has trouble with the half osae and that Chibana was probably the only person who could do it...

This is sort of a whimsical question: Is anyone else familiar with the concept of "osae" or "pressing"? My current instructor has been hounding me on this concept, as his teacher (Chosin Chibana) hounded him on this concept. Personally, I believe "there's nothing new under the sun", and I have my doubts as this being solely a Chibana-ism. Thus, I was wondering if any other karateka outside the Chibana lineage (not to discount those inside the Chibana lineage...your thoughts are welcome as well) have ever heard of osae and wouldn't mind explaining how they understand it.

While I love Fist of Legend, there actually is a significant amount of wire-fu in that movie... I like (and I believe these movies got his career into high gear) the Once Upon a Time in China series. The Fong Sai Yuk movies are good too. It's rather hard to say which movie was his best.

I stand corrected: I met some capoeristas from Maui today and briefly attended a capoeira seminar to learn that the Senzala Group is a full fledged branch; the Brazilian mestre running the seminar taught Senzala style. That, and I think the "Grupo Senzala" t-shirts everyone wore to the seminar was a dead giveaway.

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh" Voltaire

I think I have one of the best deals: my teacher charges nothing. Classes are daily excluding the weekends; unfortunately I can only go twice a week because of my schedule. My teacher also recently made an interesting offer if I ever wanted to go to Okinawa...

I believe there's actually two main branches: Regional and Angola. Like any other MA, they probably have several derivative branches, especially if there were any Western students in Brazil around 1960's-70's when capoeria started attracting attention from the outside world (we Westerners tend to go somewhere, train under someone for a little bit, and then come back to America/Europe as a "master", setting up our own style, opening schools, and raking in money). Angola if I'm not mistaken was the traditional style taught in Bahia. The Angola practiced today I think is said to be different from the traditional Angola practiced in Mestre Bimba's time since there was a massive sweep of modifications to it in 1940s -1950s. Regional was founded by Manoel dos Reis Machado (Mestre Bimba) around 1930's-ish. He held some sort of meeting with other Angola capoeria instructors and suggested teaching capoeria differently than the way it was being traditionally taught at the time. There's mixed accounts on how well this went down with the other instructors. He was criticized for wanting to make capoeria more combative and lethal (which I personally find ironic considering that way back in the day [before the Academia period] they used to hide knives or razor blides in their sleeves). He pretty much broke away from mainstream and started doing his own thing; the style of capoeria he started teaching others became known as "Regional", I'm guessing because he named his system Luta Regional Baiana. His style of capoeria ended up becoming immensely popular. Now, there is a third major group, but I'm not sure if it qualifies as a full fledged branch. The Senzala Group was started by a group of teenagers in the 1960s in Rio de Janeiro. These teenagers didn't have a teacher; instead they tried copying Bimba's method and then threw in a little bit of their own imagination into their capoeria. They studied how Eastern MA's trained and tried to initiate similar training methods. They also assimiliated Western methods of learning (since a few of them were college bound). They introduced a highly gymnastic element to capoeria (since they were all pretty young and fit) and ended up making the game more like a sport. They were pretty influential by 1965 since they were the only major capoeria group in Rio. I'm assuming that Rio by the 1960s was also a touristy city, and I'm thinking that if foreigners had the chance to see capoeria in Rio, it was probably a Senzala style. Any capoeria guys feel free to correct me. I read this all in what I thought was an excellent comprehensive book on capoeria by Nestor Capoeria called Capoeria: Roots of the Dance-Fight-Game.

Doing: Naihanchi - all of them Watching: "Water Dragon", a Bagua form that is very pretty and has some surprisingly functional bunkai

Come to think of it I suppose it does...

Yeah...so about that Dux Ryu stuff.... I thought I would give it the benefit of the doubt and at least read the information on the "official" Dux Ryu website. I think my brain checked out when he compared himself to Miyamoto Musashi. Stay away. Far away.

The grizzled old guys I train with are all Hawai'ian (most of them Japanese/Okinawan ancestry, a few Filipino and Chinese ancestry as well); with me being the only non-local, the dojo tradition is to pick on me , though I think in general, the dojo tradition is to make fun of everyone in the dojo. I found out that when Hawai'ians bag on you (generally though not always) it's actually an expression of acceptance and endearment; these old guys rag on each other all the time and encourage me to rip on them. With all of the off color jokes I've heard, had I not known that small cultural tidbit walking in, I probably would have been put off entirely (seriously, some of the stuff they say about each other would sound pretty offensive to an outsider who had no idea jokes like those were the norm). I think it's a phenomenon that keeps them humble (I've definately been humbled with some of the things they've said about me) and highlights a little of their cultural/historical irony.

*Looks in closet at "new" black belt (I've had it for 9 months now), notices that it is still stiff and starchy from lack of wear* I can count the number of times I've worn my "new" belt on one hand; I moved right after my shodan test and my current instructor doesn't wear rank (long but interesting story on dojo politics and greed...). Since I started training with him (which would almost be the entire time that I've been in Hawai'i), I haven't either. I hope on the rare occasion that I do wear it again (i.e., when I'm visiting another dojo where wearing rank is the custom), that my training speaks for itself. I'm sure other people would feel the same in my position. Just throwing out a different perspective on the subject...I think...

No, no. Your first impression is usually the correct one. I was paying attention carefully the first time I watched it and was under-whelmed. Read my first post.

Personally, I say stick to the sequence; the learning order of the kata is in that arrangement for a reason. But, if you just rarin' to go, then read on. I would have to endorse the idea of becoming familiar with "the next kata" through careful observation of someone performing it either in person or on video (from still shots in a book is out of the question), but I would advise against trying to teach it to yourself ahead of time/out of sequence. This is because in absence of proper instruction, you'll end up learning it wrong; wrong maybe not necessarily in pattern or execution [if you have a critical eye], but there are subtleties you won't catch until it is taught to you, and you will more than likely develop bad habits. Then you'll end up wasting time unlearning whatever bad habits you had developed. When I say familiarize, I mean acquaint yourself with the gross movements - key word gross. It's okay to have your body get the general idea, but when you start to try to teach yourself the specifics, this is where the bad habits will usually form in absence of proper instruction. (e.g. familiarity with gross movements - "turn left, knife hand block, reverse punch." e.g. trying to teach yourself specifics - "turn left 45 degrees pivoting on left ball of foot into cat stance, knife hand block, curl left hand as if grabbing and pulling opponent into you, reverse punch with right hand"). Shorin and I taught ourselves a few kata "out of sequence" via video in absence of our instructor. When we found an instructor who knew these kata and were trying to teach them to us, in the cases where we had tried to teach ourselves the specifics we ended up spending a good portion of our time unlearning bad habits. In cases when we were familiar with the overall gross movements, we learned the kata properly very quickly. I wouldn't encourage expending a lot time and energy into jumping the gun and trying to figure out the nitty-gritty of an out of sequence kata by yourself when those resources should be devoted to refining and perfecting the kata you should already know. If you want to learn kata out of sequence, I encourage you to look at, study, and familiarize yourself with it if you desire. When you have studied and are familiar with the gross movments of your out of sequence kata, when you instructor finally teaches it to you properly, you will pick it up quickly, and there won't be any bad habits to unlearn.

If you enjoy watching train wrecks... My all time favorite would have to be Zhang Ziyi based on her physical ability, acting talent, and sheer beauty. Jet Li would come in second based on his physical ability and acting skills as well, though save for his foray into kung fu comedy with the Fong Sai Yuks', his acting range has yet to be fully tested (he does a good job at being the ticked off silent dude). Third, personally, I would place Wesley Snipes. He's the man.

I agree with Shorin Ryuu, and it's not just because we think alike. Not to sound or come off as arrogant, but I know a lot. There are tons of concepts and ideas in my head that I've gathered from training with various karateka and people from other styles as well as reading and independent study. But, if I can't apply physically all the things I've learned mentally, it's all just academic. I measure my progress by how much and how well I am able to physically apply what I've learned and how well I can alter those concepts under different conditions. When what I know and understand about a concept physically manifests itself in my performance of a technique, I know I have progressed.

Uh..ditto on that. As far as my current instructor (not a part of Shorinkan) goes he actually doesn't give out rank and has not given out rank in over 20 years. Back when he did give out rank he used to give white, brown, black. It was very similar to what Shorin Ryuu's current instructor does; no tests, he gave belts when he thought you were ready. He stopped giving brown and only gave black with a teaching certificate for a while in the mid '70s. When he noticed that his younger students stopped coming after he gave them black belt and a teaching certificate, I think around 1980-81 he stopped giving rank all together. A few years later he stopped wearing his rank. All the students that were still with him followed suit. To this day, no one wears rank (including me now that I train with them). His school is pretty small and there are no testing fees (since there are no tests...or rank for that matter).

I've soiled my hands with the magazine twice: the first time when I didn't know any better about 7 years ago and was first starting out in MA; the second when I was in a bookstore last month and morbidly curious...I got a good laugh but felt dirty all at the same time. In both instances I read cover to cover; even as a beginner I wasn't particularly impressed 7 years ago...I'm still not today.

Yeah...couldn't really resist tossing in a couple of my stats. This is definately a spitting contest. Voluntarily: Personal Best - 106 in 2 minutes Hardest - 100 one-arms on each arm Psychotic - 26 one-arm-three-fingered (thumb, index, middle) push-ups on each arm (I watched Jet Li's Fist of Legend and wondered if I could do the three fingered push-ups he did...I didn't know about the wires at the time) Most Psychotic - 13 "jack-knife" (one arm, one leg) push ups (I read about it in a mag talking about Russian Spetnaz training and wanted to see if I could do them) Involuntarily: For fitness test purposes I averaged 72 in 1'45" During basic training my flight did 2000 over the course of 1.5 hours I know these sound like tall-tales, but they're true. Of all the exercises I did during basic training, the only exercise I was ever good at was push-ups (I was the slow guy at the back of the formation, I was the first one to put my feet down doing flutter kicks, etc.). I survived basic because I could do pushups really well. Afterwards...well, let's just say I had lots of free time on my hands and wanted to see how good I could get.