Fu Man

Isshin-ryu Karate includes kata and training for the follow Kobudo weapons: Bo, Sai and Tuifa (or Tonfa). The Kama and Nunchuaku are also studied in the system, but no katas exist for them. Ted

Thanks for the feedback, Goshinman!

I'm going to get me a hacky sack!

Has anyone on this forum cross trained Judo and JJJ at the same time? If so, how was the experience? Did you find yourself improving faster in both martial arts or did it impede your progress? A friend of mine attends a terrific JJJ dojo, and I am thinking of joining. Currently I practice Judo and Karate. However, I am seriously leaning towards adding another grappling art in lieu of Karate. I studied another striking martial art for several years, which is extremely similar to Karate. However, grappling martial arts are a new experience for me, and I would like to greatly improve in this area. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Oddly, I saw the hacky sack being used at a Wing Chun Do school in Michigan. I thought it was rather an odd warm-up exercise. I guess if it preps the body for serious workouts its okay.

I am so glad to hear the news. Good luck!

None of your Sensei's senior students plan to keep the dojo open or teach somewhere else? Considering all of the dojo members are in the same situation, I would try to contact the senior students to see what their plans are at this time. Also, maybe the members of your dojo can workout a deal at another dojo to practice and/or take classes. A BJJ school closed in my area, and the instructor worked out a deal for his student's to train and take classes at the dojo where I practice Judo. By the way, all things considered, I hope your Sensei has a speedy recovery. Ted

Without any hesitation, the best martial art that comes to mind for a death brawl is Tae Bo. Just kidding. With all things being equal (i.e., innate characteristics such as being able to take a hit), I am unsure whether or not any single martial art is best for a death brawl. In my opinion, it is more based upon the martial artist being able to effectively utilize his or her martial art, offensively and defensively, better than the opponent. Ted

It's like comparing apples and oranges. Kodokan Judo is the martial art. The sport aspect of Judo, shiai, is one of the ways Judoka can compete. The same logic can be applied to other martial arts and their competition settings as well (Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, etc). When analyzing the full syllabus of Kodokan Judo, the martial art includes nage-waza (throwing techniques), katame-waza (grappling techniques) and atemi-waza (striking techniques). The aforementioned techniques are trained via uchikomi (repetitions), randori (free practice or sparring) and kata (self-defense drills as taught in traditional Jujutsu). When the full syllabus of techniques and training methods of Kodokan Judo are taken into consideration, the martial art is more similar to another style of Jujutsu. As a matter of fact, the martial art was initially named Kano-ryu Jujutsu. The major problem with Kodokan Judo, in my opinion, is the prevelance of dojos that only focus on training for and under the rules of shiai competitions. Atemi-waza and kata are either totally ignored or lightly covered at the Dan ranks. Ted

I am unsure who the true leader of Isshin-ryu Karate is today. If I were to speculate, I would assume the torch was originally passed to Master Uezu. Nevertheless, as an Isshin-ryu Karate practicioner, I find the political fragmentation at the organizational levels to be a poor example of Karate-Do. In my opinion, Isshin-ryu Karate would be more popular within the martial community if it functioned as one cohesive entity with standardization in katas and other techniques (i.e., Shotokan Karate). Heck, some dojos are still taught to punch with a horizonal fist. As the Bible states, a house divided against itself cannot stand. This seems to the most prevalent hinderance of the growth of Isshin-ryu Karate, which I find to be a terrific self-defense system. It's a shame that two of the three current leaders are possible charlatans that care more about pride, money, etc. The key word is possible. Who knows? Master Shimabuku was known to constantly change things. He could have privately passed the torch to all three of them in an effort to please everyone. Ted

Yes. Kosen Judo. Also, I have heard of American Combat Judo that focuses on in-close self-defense tactics. Does anyone know much about this style of Judo? Ted

In my opinion, it's a good idea. There is very little, if any, cross-over between the two martial arts. I currently study Isshin-ryu Karate and Kodokan Judo. So far, mixing the two martial arts has been a great learning experience. Ted

I have heard of Kosen Judo. To my knowledge, the martial art has more of a focuses on ground work. Ted

I currently train in Isshin-ryu Karate and Kodokan Judo. Isshin-ryu Karate is an Okinawan martial art. Although Isshin-ryu Karate has unique charactistics, such as its vertical fist, the founder combined many components of Shorin-ryu Karate and Goju-ryu Karate. Overall, Isshin-ryu Karate is a very practical, self-defense oriented martial art that focuses on in-close fighting techniques. My Sensei teaches a more Jutsu, rather than Do, approach to the martial art. To supplement Isshin-ryu Karate, I study Kodokan Judo; which has many throws, locks, holds and chokes that are excellent for self defense purposes. With the combination of both martial arts, I feel my training is fairly complete. Also, I practiced Ji Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do for eight years, but I ceased its training over 12 years ago. Ted

Great website. The katas are wonderfully performed. This website has Ryukyu Kempo kata videos: Click Here Ted

Osoto Gari, Ippon Seoi Nage and Tai Otoshi are my favorite throws. Ted

From my experience, your child should be okay. I studied classical piano and TKD at the same time for 8 years with no problems at all. Ted

I have always enjoyed katas. For me, katas have provided a systematic method of working on transitions between various stances, movements and techniques. Overtime, I do believe katas help individuals become better martial artists, technicians and fighters. Does this mean that sparring is unneccessary? In my opinion, no. But, katas are beneficial in the long-run. When I perform katas, I imagine that I am in a real fight. I am really focused on making each element of the kata count as if my life depended on it. Ted

Thanks for the feedback, Ben and RB.

I hope the following link helps: http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=12042 Ted

For me, I would combine Isshin Ryu Karate and Shinki Ryu Jujitsu or Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu. Ted

I was recently faced with the dilemma of cross-training Judo with either Wing Chun or Isshin-ryu Karate. After visiting a few schools, I ended up selecting Isshin-ryu Karate due to the Sensei's instruction, class schedule and monthly price. As far as effectiveness, I think both martial arts are practical for self defense with the right training. The similarities I saw between the two martial arts are: 1) Main punch type is delivered with a vertical fist 2) Kicks are focused on mid to low level body targets 3) Implementation of soft/hard and circular/linear techniques 4) Greater emphasis on hand techniques (50/50 to 70/30) 5) No non-sense martial arts that focus on basics Both martial arts seemed to have similar strategies, but different tactics. Some Karate systems will probably compare differently, though. Ted

Although I have always used a training journal for weight lifting, I never thought of using a training journal for martial arts. It seems like a good idea; one that I may implement. Ted

Therefore, the strategy outlined in my initial post in sound? Thanks, Ted

As a newbie Judoka, the hardest aspect of Judo for me are the throwing techniques, or Nage-waza. To improve in this area, I am thinking of working on 5 hand picked throws that are suitable for my body type until I become very proficient at performing them. The other throws I will learn during of course of regular training at some point. Is this strategy a good idea? I do want to learn as much grappling techniques, Katame-waza, and striking techiques, Atemi-waza, as possible. However, when it comes to throws, I just cannot see myself being able to perform all 67 throws with confidence in Randori anytime soon. Hopefully, with years of practice and hard work, this will be possible, but not in the foreseeable future. Ted