Chado

No, my sensei cleaned it up and we dont do any of the flashy openings/closes anymore. No unnecessary movements. To be honest I'm not 100% sure where my sensei learned the kata's we are doing now...now that you mention it I am going to ask him. But most of the senior belts at the dojo have been around since we used to do it ' the old way ' and so they have to remember not to do the ridiculous spinning moves / and the cocky standing fist on the hips moves. My sensei respects the Don Warner style for getting him into martial arts...but he looks at it like an old car that has now died. "Let's not forget it...but let's not use it anymore either". My sensei is also a member of the JKF and so he has to do all his kata two ways, the Okinawan way, and the Japanese way...it gets a little confusing sometimes. But I would like clarification on the weapons. I'll ask him tomorrow when I see him.

My thoughts exactly...

My sensei started training under Don Warner...but he has completly abandoned that line of thinking. We train under veras-sensei who achieved sixth degree at the jundo-kan in Okinawa with Miyazato-sensei before he passed on. I don't think the kobudo is a 'lingering element of the old style' because we do lots of things for 'fun' sometimes that aren't part of our style...but since he includes the weapons in our grading that's why I brought this up. Interesting feedback I'm getting. The general consensus is they shouldn't be considered part of the same thing....that my kendo training is just as different from karate as my kobudo training. Interesting information...not that it matters persay, but I like to hear how others do things. I have tunnel vision phobia lol. I try to keep my mind open to as many things as possible. Thanks, Chad

When my sensei won the goodwill games in mexico there was a 5th dan 5 year old girl...trying to tell him what to do she said "I'm a higher belt then you so you have to listen to me" LOL. He informed her he was happy that she was a higher belt then him, but unfortunatly that didnt' mean he had to listen to her. hahaha I would of loved to of been there to see the look on her face Her father is her 'sensei' makes me wonder what kind of teacher he is hahaha....maybe you get shodan for doing 10 push ups?

He may very well be a good sensei for another club, but I think he's a little young to be running his own club. My sensei is 26 and I have no problem with that, he is quite qualified (I dont feel the need to list off why he is qualified here) I did find it funny that there was no class schedule listed, nor were there class photos (as someone else mentioned) and his prices seem rather high...but I guess that's up the student who is going there to decide. One month of his prices gets me 3 months of kendo though lol. Chado

I have the macho warrior stuff, with the xp head set (the really shiny black set). It looks great for tournaments, but for sparring in class I'm going to get a different set. I'm investigating a couple different sets at the moment. The shiny plasticy stuff doesn't last more than a year, I want something thats either a really strong vinyl or leather...but I have to be careful because I'm slightly restricted by my sensei as to what I can wear. 1kickKO: Which stuff from century are you using? The vinyl stuff or the shiny stuff like I have? I think I saw someone with a sturdy century pair of gloves (at the time it was coming at my face so I had more important things to think about then the design of the gloves...) but since century is pretty cheap I might look into that route if they have a sturdy set...

Oh... I guess this might be redudant...but dont get budo world sparring equipment...it seems to be junk (sorry if anyone likes it who reads this). It falls apart really easy. And there low end gi's I can make no comment on. I simply like the 16oz gi. Congrats on the trophies, this tournament isn't looking to exciting for me because I dont think anyone else from my dojo is going to be able to make it But I'll try to hold down the fort for them lol. Regards, Chad

I'll try to 'stay within the box' because my school has some variations for certain 'special circumstances' but since you wanted to know for rank requirements...we'll assume were talking about 'joe student off the street who wants to be a black belt as soon as possible (insert laughter here)' white belt - start learning gekisai dai ichi yellow - continue working on gekisai dai ichi gold - gekisai dai ichi orange - gekisai dai ni, start working on san chin sr. orange - perfect gekisai dai ni green - saifa purple - seiyunchin blue - Sanseiru brown - seipai black - depends This list again isn't quite correct since my sensei changes his mind about things alot...(saying you need to learn more than 'required' for your next belt) It takes a long time to get belts at my school...

Wow I liked everyone's advice...so mine will probably cross over with other peoples. The instructor of the school is obviously the most important, but that importance could also be in the instructor advising you that his school doesn't meet your needs...and not just taking your money to have another student. As others have said, decide what you want out of 'martial arts'. I say that because maybe Karate isn't what you want, I love Karate so if you choose a style of Karate...terrific. But decide if you want to just 'fight' or if you want to train spiritually...or if you want to workout in a safe environment... If you tell us what you hope to achieve after say 1 year of training...we could probably better direct you to a certain style (and then you can start looking at instructors) Oh! One other important thing...find out what kind of schools you have around you, and decide how far your willing to drive to train. For Goju-Ryu I drive 1.5 hour each way (2x a week) to train with my sensei...I have a lot of respect for him and I feel that the 25 dojo's I pass on the way to my school dont meet my needs as well as the school I go to (I'm sure for someone else those schools might be great! But not for me!) Hope that helps... Chad

I was curious how other schools treated 'weapons' or kobudo. My school used to be Japanese Goju and we did weapons kata's as part of our grading...a few years ago we switched to Okinawan style my sensei's sensei's dont count the weapons as part of anything because they say its separate. If we want to do kobudo that's fine but that's not what they do. In our school we still maintain doing weapons (Bo at orange belt, tonfa's at purple belt, sai's at brown, etc;) but when my sensei's sensei's come to town we never do any weapons stuff with them, and my sensei never has to do weapons for his gradings now. How about the other goju practitioners? Weapons at your school? No weapons? Separate class for it? Separate belt system for it? I'm just curious Regards, Chad

Interesting discussion...I enjoyed reading the many points of view, so I'll share some of my thoughts. At my school we have ALOT of differences in peoples opinions on what sparring is...so we have to adjust accordingly. When we do sparring we usually try to rotate through enough matches that everyone gets to spar with everyone. Great emphasis is placed on sparring being a 'reactionary drill' and that you are learning how to avoid taking damage (key words there, getting hit is irrelevant if it doesn't do any damage. Hit me all you want as long as it doesn't cripple my ability to strike back). When I spar with 'certain' people I pull my punches 2" or more and don't make contact with my kicks...is this good sparring? In my opnion...no, but this is how they want to train and I respect there wishes because that's why they come to Karate, not to get beat up. No problem. When I spar with my good friend James it's a whole different story. We strike hard, our blocks are hard...we aim to strengthen our shins and our forearms so our blocks can be used as strikes. In tournaments I find blocking roundhouses with elbows and strong forearms restricts further attacks from that weapon. Is it my fault that I train hard and it doesn't bother me to take a kick like that, but it hurts there foot? I don't think so...maybe they should train harder? So the bottom line is when it comes down to sparring...contact should be at a mutually agreeable level...point sparring is fine, but free sparring is definetly necessary as well. "Variety is the spice of life" and I equate that into my karate as well

Thanks alot for the advice...seems so simple but we never thought of it! Even my sensei's gi strings get broken alot, and even though its not serious damage it is rather annoying to have to get them sewn back on (I can't sew...so I have to beg a family member who can sew or take it and pay someone to do it ) Now instead of learning to sew I can focus on more training with the strings untied! Thanks again...glad I stumbled on this forum! Chad

Hrm, I never thought of that...the inside string just 'pops off' on the one side...so I just have to get it sewn back on, rather annoying but no permanent damage. It just bothered me the first time it happened since this was my first expensive gi do you leave the outside one tied up ? Or do you untie both and just rely on your belt to keep the top closed?

I have a Budo World Heavy Weight (16oz) gi that I've been using for everything for the last while and it's been great. It's a very nice Kata gi...I find the strings on it to be kind of weak though, the inside gi top strings have ripped off two times while ground fighting with my sensei....but then again maybe I should wear a Judo gi for that sort of thing! I just ordered 3 Tokaido Traditional cut gi's off ebay on a close out sale...I'm glad to see a lot of people praising them. I need to finish reading this post but I'm looking for a good solid black gi for torite-jutsu, I'm currently debating between a Shureido or a Tokaido, it will depend on how much I like these 3 white ones I ordered. On another note is there a reason some of you prefer wearing a middle weight gi? I have a middle weight century team gi but I only like it because of my club's name (and my name) being on it...I much rather wear a heavy weight gi... Chad

Hi there! There is one store in the Hamilton area, it's on Centenial Parkway just off the QEW. The only thing is that their prices are right out of the century catalogue. When I have my sensei order the equipment from them using his discount, even with him making some money, the prices are alot cheaper. Also if your looking for an expensive Gi (Tokaido/Kime/Shureido) I'd recommend getting it online as long as you know her size. And on one other note I have a Budo World gi...which I believe there office is in Toronto, but maybe they ship? and it's not to bad. I guess it just depends on what you are looking for. The store that I mentioned is called Kyoshi Martial Arts supply. The address is 45 Goderich Rd. Unit 6. They are actually hosting a tournament at the Hamilton Convention Center on Sunday...(which I will be at !) Hope this was helpful! Chad