MASIsshinryu

Another approach: Cycle your breathing on a 16-count rhythm. Inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4. Try not to inhale more than 80% of your capacity, as you may feel some strain when holding the breath. Repeat... repeat ... repeat.... etc. Start with relatively short periods of time, then add a minute each day you do this. Let each thought pass you by, but do not be concerned they they have made an appearance. Think of it like sitting by a small, slow moving stream. The thoughts are the leaves that drift by you. Look at them, even admire thier shape and beauty, but do not try to hold or stop them, as that would break the tranquility of the surface of the water.

How much weight would you give to other opinions of potential students? If it were not a member of the Law Enforcement community that warned you, but instead was: 1) An existing student of yours; 2) Another potential student, who claims to have been accosted by the person in question; 3) Another person off the street, who simply states that they saw the person in question enter your dojo, and wanted to tell you what kind of person he/she is. From Shorinryu Sensei - Although I am familiar with the sex offender databases, how much trouble was it to get a listing of other violent offenders? I work with Law Enforcement agencies, and know how to go through them, but is this publicly posted in your area?

For those that do utilize Shugyu, how long do you usually allot for this? When doing this on my own, I usually pull 3+ sticks of incense (a brand/product that burns for roughly 2 hours per stick), depending on how my training and work has been in the weeks leading up to this, then time myself by burning them sequentially while I train. Nice ambiance, too.

Who regularly uses any form of Shugyu, in their training / teaching? I have been involved in this several times, even on my own, and enjoyed it / learned from it every time. Just curious.

We have lower legs (viewed from directly in front) vertical from the ankle, upper legs at roughly 45-degree upward slope. I have had two Isshinryu Sensei, both studied under the same First Generation student of Shimabuku Tatsuo.

In many cases, the techniques incorporated into a style were those that the founder thought were of value because they worked for him/her, based on experience or a belief in the effectiveness of them. It kind of boils down to: What did they think were the threats to be faced and how did they think they could most effectively counter those.

Word of mouth usually has the best impact, if your students are pleased. After that, a good website and business cards with the link identified are great, as well. Give your senior students a couple dozen, so they can give them to people they are talking with.

On the liability side, if you do incorporate make sure that everything is kept separate from your private life. Do not share equipment, space or anything else which could be used to agrue a link between the two. Extremely hard to do, if it is on your property. As far as the building, itself: Find an existing building you like, take good photos of it from ALL angles, and ask an engineer or architect about some good building plan costs. This is something I intend to do as well, if i ever manage to quit being transferred every few years.

Warrior or not, by title, makes little difference. Live with honor, above all else. Base this on Courage, Justice and Obligation, and you will live a more powerful life. History is full of "Warriors" who lacked honor.

I could not agree more. I practice roughly an hour every day, with my main focus being my Kata. I have seen my technique improve over time, even during periods of time when I have had no direct access to instruction. On many occasions, after extended periods of Kata performance, I have gone back to the heavy bag, or sparring, to discover that the technique is quicker, more accurate and more effective than it was the last time it was used in the same manner. Even if I am under the weather, I do not allow myself to miss my Kata. If i can do nothing else, I perform them "for form alone," at slower speed, but with maximum emphasis on the visualization and proper technique. Very often I find that my illness seems reduced once I am done running through all of them, as well.

I remove the tags, as well. I have never seen the need to advertise a given product, although I do not mind telling people the source of anything I use, if they are looking to purchase the same. We use a very simple White-Green-Brown-Black progression, buying your own as appropriate. If you wish to add the name of the sytle on the end, that is permitted. We have not added stripes or other markers to anything up through Yon-Dan.

My take on this has always been that the basic concept, the goal, intent and to some degree methodology is the same. The punch is, after all, an attempt to deliver directed force into a selected target through the rapid application of the knuckles. How it getst there can differ, but the end result is basically the same. I think the variations come more out of unique qualitites of specific humans, than they might out of environment or geography. It seems that certain individuals have, throughout history, excelled at personal combat. As a result, others wanted to emulate them, sought training from them and learned to fight in the same manner, and with the same doctrinal and tactical philosophy (Ah-ha! A Style is born!). The variations begin to appear when the soon-to-be founder of a style discovers that his personal, physical unique qualitites lend themselves to a specific method of performing a technique, above and beyond other possible methods. In essence, if a local icon can execute a punch with full rotation of the fist better than with a vertical position at impact, others will want to do it the same way. Most will never question why this works, as they have seen their Sensei be very successful at using this. The end result might be similar to the punch used in another style, but they are practicing what worked best for their teacher.

Again, some very good suggestions already. Work on lateral movement, circling your opponent and changing your line of attack. Remember also that many rediection techniques can also be preparations for strikes. Good example against a jab/straight punch: Use a combination of the chamber for what is usually a Low Block / Down Block as a slapping redirection of the linear attack, while you move your body to the outside of the attacking limb. If you can move outside of the attack and forward simultaneously, all the better. This will often leave you with a hand chambered around your shoulder level, with your opponents outstretched arm next to you. Great set up for a backfist, which can be sent right back up th line of that attacking arm.

I absolutely agree that the Sensei should know where each student is, on a daily basis, and that advancement to the next phase should be based on this. This helps the students retain focus on a continuous basis, rather than just on "Test Day(s)." On the other hand, using such occasions as an annual Shugyu to test the focus, control and motivation of a prospective Shodan provides a great deal of personal satisfaciton, as well. The decision to promote should be made beforehand, based on the continuous observations. Barring a contradictory performance during the Shugyo, this should be part of the culmination of that event.

I will certainly admit that it can, and does, work in some cases. My only issue with using it is the relatively small percentage of people and situations in which it will probably be successful. As with any combination of aggressor / defender, there is always the element of chance. Anyone can be beaten, it is simply a matter of the myriad of variables falling into place. Can a crescent kick strike with sufficient force to cause a person to drop a knife? Yes, some can. Can a person kick fast enough to land a crescent kick before an aggressor can recognize the threat and react? Yes, some can. In both cases, though, there is a fairly high possibility of failure. Should a failure occur, I see some very real chances of extreme consequences. As such, I would not rely on it, for my own defense, unless I could find no better options. I am certain that there are many who are better at this technique than I am, and they would have a much better chance of applying it with success.

Two people (one a close friend that became an instructor, the other my instructor who became my friend) asked me to start by filling in for them, when they were unable to be at class. Shortly thereafter, my instructor asked me if I could take over one of his two locations, as his non-MA obligations were limiting his teaching time. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Teaching ranks very near the top of my list of things that are fulfilling. It is a daily challenge, emotionally, physically and spiritually, but gives back to you so much that you rarely feel "drained" by it.

Please forgive me if this thread appears elsewhere, I am relatively new to KF. Are there certain things you look for as an instructor, which cause you to choose not to accept a given potential student? If so, do you actively screen for these criteria? Example: (Yes, this is purely hypothetical) Two prospective students separately stop by your dojo to get tours, and be interviewed by you. Both are very polite, and seem to have a serious interest in the style, and your described instructional philosophy. Immediately after one of them leaves, the other identified himself as a member of local law enforcement, providing you with proper credentials, and tells you that the person who just left is a known criminal, with a history of arrests and convictions for violent crimes. How would you handle this?

Beyond this, which I certainly agree with, even if you choose an outside crescent, to avoid exposure of the vital areas on the inner side of the leg, you face the very real possibility of suffering a crippling injury. What it breaks down to is this: You will be attempting to move a large portion of your body mass a distance of as much as 3', in order to get the lower leg/foot into contact with your opponent's knife hand. In contrast, that opponent needs to move as little as 6" to shift that hand out of position. Assuming that you are at proper range to not expose your upper leg to a slashing injury, you are still putting your Achilles tendon in very close proximity to the blade. Assuming your foot is even close to vertical, and the thug is holding the knife also close to vertical, a slight drop in knife elevation puts your Achilles dragging right across the blade. End result: sudden inability to evade or escape effectively. My instructors have always stressed the importance of achieving control of the weapon, through control of the arm. One humble opinion.

Beginning class - 1 Hour Advanced Class - 1 to 1.5 hours. By running the beginning class immediately before the Advanced, the advanced students can also come to the beginning class to work on the basics, also being good role models, then stay for the advanced class immediately following. It gives just enough to the beginners that they do not get burned out before they build up good endurance, and the advanced students can (as we all can) benefit from regular refreshers on the kihon and early kata.

Great responses. Thank you. I certainly prefer Full Contact Kumite. My reference was for what seems to be the vast majority that do not go Full-Force in day-to-day training. Light contact, or even moderate contact, kumite builds up the reflexive response that can frequently fail to deliver power under stress. Failing to make use of techniques, in this case was a reference to kumite were limits such as "no contact with the neck or groin" are part of the rules of engagement. If your oppenent leaves open the side of the neck, but your training has precluded practicing strikes to that area in a realistic manner, you may well fail to make use of the opportunity, because you will not be programmed to respond to that. I must admit, I do not know much at all about Kano and the phase of judo / jujutsu history you have referenced. Thank you for the reference. It will give me a new topic to read!

Absolutely. The presence of a weapon simply changes the methods in which the opponent may attept to hurt you. Where there once was a possible punch, there now is a punch, followed by a slash... etc. The immediate expectation of being cut is often cited as a method of preparing the mind and body to that possibility, when facing a knife-wielding opponent. Without it, an otherwise minor cut may cause panic and shock. If your opponent does fit into the category of those that fixate on the weapon they are holding, then thier actions will create openings for you. The assumption that this is the case can easily lead you to try for openings which you quickly discover do not exist. In some knife fighting training, individuals are taught to play off of this, and use it to lure in opponents (Lunge with the knife, but follow up with the opposite elbow immediately, as an example. If you take the bait, and try to wrap and control the wrist, you are in range for the elbow strike.)

The concept of Kuzushi, breaking the opponents balance, can be woven into almost anything. Even when the hand/arm/leg/foot techniques are not utilized to achieve this, the movement of the body often can. By driving one's own center of gravity into conflict with anothers, using an advantageous position and ideally lower center of gravity, one can upset your opponent while working against their techniques with your limbs. Often, this is a mid- to advanced-rank skill, as it absolutely relies on ones own refined balance, timing and control of fighting range. Once those are failrly well developed, initial training in achieving kuzushi will immediately point out any existing weaknesses in those areas.

Well said, SR. BC: keep in mind also that there are often many bunkai for a given technique / set of techniques. Often, as one progresses though the experience of learning a kata, you will be taught increasingly complex bunkai for the same series. None of them are wrong, although some instructors assign an "Official Bunkai" to a given technique, at given levels of experience. An understanding of the more reasonable bunkai for a given series is critical in your efforts to visualize your opponent(s). This is what makes the difference between learning from each time you execute a given kata, and simply "doing kata."

It all rests in the bodies, minds and methods of each person. A highly skilled striker may defeat even a moderately skilled grappler... or they may not. Likewise the highly skilled grappler vs. a moderately skilled striker. What it comes down to is that the person makes the art function. The art alone does nothing, without the motivated and dedicated person to enact it. Most Law Enforcement officers will tell you that the vast majority of fights on the street do go to the ground. Those that have looked into it will also tell you that the vast majority of the people involved in those have little or no formal training in either striking or grappling, but that they do what seems to come from the flow of the conflict, then often simply loose balance and control. Although there is a higher focus on striking in "Karate" (quoted to denote the wide range of styles that seem to get lumped into this), and a higher focus on grappling in Jujutsu, neither is completely devoid of the other's primary focus.

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