MASIsshinryu

The American instructors of Isshin ryu were reportedly told to teach in english. As such, there is little that needs to be learned in the understanding of the names. On that point, anyone out there know of a listing of the Okinawan names for Isshin ryu techniques? I can find untold numbers of Japanese names, but nothing identifying itself as the Okinawan dialect.

As one of my buddies put it, when referencing beginning students: "The video cannot tell you 'hey, your wrist isn't straight.'" Unless one has a very good grasp of the basic and intermediate concepts of the style being portrayed, it is all but impossible to cover the nuances which go into the techniques. There is no personalized feedback, to support the learning experience. I have some very good videos of the kata, assembled and provided to me by my sensei (at the cost of a blank tape and some postage), which I use as reference (I now live 400+ miles from his Dojo), but I would not let anyone else try to learn something from them, for the first time.

There are so many things, in just about any given environment, which can be utilized. I think that is one of the most important things that newer students can get from this type of training. Luckily, most improvised weapons fall within either impact or thrown types, providing at least a basic set of concepts to work off of. Of course, there's always someone who comes up with the unexpected...

As long as your daily/semi-daily routine continues to include a reasonable stretching component, you should not lose flexibility. The challenge is not as simple as some say ("Mass reduces speed"), it is that some people fail to maintain flexibility, resulting in muscular tension during the course of your techniques, as the involved areas reach their current limits of motion. This would work against the concept of remaining relaxed until the point of contact, and would slow your techniques down. For muscle mass to impede range of motion, outside of the muscular tension issue, one would have to be at the extreme end of muscle bulk development. Continue to stretch as your bulk increases, and it should not be an issue.

It is my understanding that Sensei Advincula is a 1st Generation student of O-Sensei Shimabuku, having started with O-Sensei in the mid 50's. He is also credited with the original design of the Isshin ryu patch, with the outline in the form of an Isshin ryu fist. Although I have never made it to one of his seminars, I am told by those that have that it is very much worth it, if you can possibly make one.

With my respectful apologies to our international brothers and sisters, as I do not have similar information for areas outside of the US: On average, in the United States, persons committing an Aggravated Assault will use Firearms 19.1% of the time, Knives or other cutting instruments 18.2%, "Other objects" (such as bricks, boards and other improvised weapons) 35.9% of the time and Personal Weapons (hands, feet or other body parts) only 26.9% of the time. This is from the FBI Uniform Crime Report (UCR) for 2003. The most startling part of this is the fact that as little as 20.9% of these assaults are attempted WITHOUT a weapon, in the most weapon-prone region(the "South" in this document). So, the question becomes: How much time do you spend on weapon defenses?

If you do have a written examination, what types of material does it cover?

In most jurisdictions, the "Reasaonable Man" concept is usually applied to such situations. If a typical, reasonable person were placed in your situation, would they feel that they were in immenant danger of bodily injury, as a result of the subject's actions. In many cases, this boils down to verbal threats, attempted acts of violence or similar indicators which most "reasonable people" would take to imply that such a threat existed.

In Isshin ryu, it is the index and middle finger knuckles, the fist is between verticle and 45-degrees rotation (roughly the angle of the inner edge of the ribs, in the area of the solar plexus), with the thumb stacked on top of the fist, bearing down on the 2nd joint of the index finger. Having studied other types of fists in the past, I still find this the strongest I have used. Good bone alignment seems to give excellent support from the radius/ulna, through the wrist and into the hand, the chosen knuckles give good ability to drive through, while adapting to shifts in the target surface alignment. In short... works great for my physical makeup.

Absolutely. Try blindfolded / no lights, loud music, doing kata while being pushed/shoved in different directions, try doing mirror-image of each kata... the more you create stress in the enviroment and execution of a kata, the more you understand it, and it's applications.

Don't just practice them every day, LEARN from them every day. Break them down, work through the concepts and find mor bunkai in them.

In most jurisdictions I am familiar with, the law states something to the effect of: "A person is justified in the use of force, except deadly force, against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or herself against such other's imminent use of unlawful force." Most then go into further descriptions of when deadly force can be used, as well as when force may be used in the defense of others. The critical point in application is: How does one know, or believe, that the other persons unlawful use of foce is imminent? In many cases, if you can explain or answer questions of Intent, Ability and Proximity (How do you know they were going to do this, were they physically able to make good on that threat and were they in a position to make good on it?), then you can claim that you "feared for your safety." The bottom line... as usual in any legel case ... talk to an attorney. Find out about your local laws, and how your local prosecutors have handled this in the past. Of course, as another old saying goes: "Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6."

I usually practice kata in two of four ways: I always go through once with proper form, technique, timing and focus. Then I usually go through again practicing each with either maximum speed, maximum focus on proper technique or doing every technique with maximum muscular tension - similar to execution of Sanchin (quite exhausting). My only concerns with adding weight to the hands/feet is that the additional weight might greatly increase the stress on the connective tissues and joints, unless one is extremely careful with gradually increasing it.

IMHO Karate is a mosaic, with components such as specific techniques being but little dots of color. Katas and such that make use of those would be larger pieces of the puzzle. As we progress thorughour training, over years of effort, our individual mozaic comes together, with the end result being a honed spirit, honed skills and an improved person. That is a full, vibrant, colorful mosaic that we each struggle to create. Advancements and refinements are great things, as long as the mosaic is not tainted or washed out by the replacement of spirit with technology. To make a small advancement in a given skill, at the expense of some development of character, goes against the intent of any given Way. Improve the theory, but retain the spirit. That is the challenge to be faced. At the end of one's days, when they think back on their life and what they have accomplished, one should not have a completed mosaic which is devoid of color. Our link to traditions provides our "color."

You are quite right, too much bulk can really slow down techniques. How much is too much, though? To some extent, it does boil down to personal physiology. As long as you maintain a simultaneous stretching program, you should be able to put on some muscle mass, and not seriously hinder your speed. Use the stretching routine as a gauge of how much the mass is getting in the way. If you start having trouble doing some of the stretches that used to be easier, you have hit the limit. Be conscious of the exteme limits of your flexibility, so that you can detect gradual losses in that area.

sorry but 35th degree black belts are sold out at the moment Fine, I'll just pay the extra $175, and go right to 36th degree, under the "Monday Internet Special" program. Unfortunately, I think things of this nature cheapen the Martial Arts in general, and injure the credibility of legitimate instructors. The general public, perhaps those looking to start an MA program, will get a badly skewed idea of training from this sort of promotional material. Sickening.

Never would I knock such an icon of modern society. Without it, many families would go hungry.

I guess the extension of the question would be: How many dojos research this type of information for their location, and cater the provided training to reflect the nature of the methods of attack which are more common to the geographic area?

So... a Black Belt in Consumer-do?

Yes, they still can be. To some degree, the level of mayhem encountered in a fight can be influenced. If your blocks have become ingrained in your motor memory, you still have a good chance of executing them, assuming you are also properly controlling your timing and distance.

It depends very much on how you train to block. Blocks, in conjunction with movement and control of spacing, can be used in most conflicts. Remember also that blocks can be used as attacks, locks or throws, with just a shift in intent and execution. In many situations, what is often taught as a hard block can in application be much more than that.

To me, choosing to avoid learning such techniques is like choosing to not learn how to swim. Maybe you will never fall off a bridge, river bank or otherwise into a body of water, but how can it hurt to know what to do. Do I spend a lot of time on those techniques? Not really. A small percantage, but it does happen.

I started at perhaps 11, or so, but could not continue after a brief period of time. I knew it was what I wanted, but could not get to/afford classes for some time. I restarted at 16 (late '83 / Early '84), and have continued to learn / grow with it since then.

Absolutely. Part of my intent was to prompt thoughts of how well a given persons training program addresses the potential threats.

Crisp, clean technique. Good focus and power, proper speed and flow of the techniques. Beyond this, can I visualize the opponent that the techniques are directed at? Are the techniques, stances and movements reaistic enough that I can imagine the intention of the techniques, based one the kata being shown? If one has proper visualization, good technique, power and control, an observer with a conceptual understanding of fighting skills should be able to envision what is being portrayed.