Pacificshore

I think I saw the same ad in one of my black belt magazines. It appears that a peice of rope or a shoelace can do the same thing. If I had to envision a sleeve choke, I see one arm wrapped aroung the neck with you holding and pulling on the wrist of that arm, applying pressure to the caratoid arteries.

All good explanations, but if I understand correctly, you just started your training. My suggestion, try not to jump ahead of yourself and stick to learning each rank up to black belt. Although there's nothing wrong with looking at what your dojo offers at the higher rank, it would seem more appropriate to concentrate on the rank and material you are currently at. Like ninjanurse said, there's alot more to learn once you've obtain your black belt.

Well Shotokan is a hard style which emphasize power. Then if you look at Goju-ryu, it is considered both a hard/soft style, meaning it contains powerful moves along with flowing type techniques.

Sure a career can be made out of teaching martial arts. It'll just depend on how much work and effort you want to put in, and then to balance between teaching your art with a strong foundation, versus trying to just earn the fast buck...

All the more reason to be aware of your surroundings, even when you feel comfortable in it. What's that old saying......"expect the unexpected"

Ramymensa: Glad you decided to stick around

Take them to your seamstress and have them put in an elastic waist with the drawstring. I had that done to a pair of mine and it seem to work fine. Also another option is to get a custom made pair with your waist size, that seems to work the best when it fits right. I have a Satori brand gi which I bought out of Canada, and nothing fits like a custom gi made for you.

I don't personally study that style of karate, but a good friend of mine does. I went with him to his Black Belt test last year, and if I recall right, many of their katas have resemblences to the Japanese/Okinawan flavor. I know they have a website up. Have you tried doing a search for it in google?

How about shifting your body to the side and apply what we call a universal block, one arm up, one arm down. You can then use the arm that is up to countergrab and the other to strike.

Is this the Victor Marx version of karate?

You should do the things you choose to do, and in your case karate. Don't put too much thought or stock on which martial arts is better because in the end it's up to the individual. Plus, you may think your a BA in whatever martial arts, but there's always someone out there that'll be better, faster, stronger, or carrying a .45Cal. Do what makes you happy and want to give it all your effort .

I know here on the westcoast, just about every martial arts weapon seems to be illegal, but if you are training in a martial arts, and are transporting your training weapons to and from the dojo, then that's not usually a problem.

Interesting how a weapons kata is taught so early in the lower ranks. Most systems reserve the weapons katas for the intermediate to advanced rank. Hmm.......interesting

As in a particular dojo, or like a wide open space where you won't be disturbed??

There are various types of bo's on the market, as well as weights. One way to measure a bo for you is to hold one arm above your head, and bend your hand at the wrist. At the bend is where the proper length of the bo should be. I use a waxwood bo right now because: 1) I was able to cut it down to the size I wanted, 2) It is thin and my hands aren't that big to begin with, and 3) It has plenty of flex. I've had and used many other bo's, but for now I prefer what I have. The only other bo I may think about getting is another rattan one. Hope this is of some help.

Whazzup

Nothing beats a nice heavyweight gi. A nice middleweight gi is also great for those HOT summer days. Anything else is a waste of $$$.

Welcome

Yes, primarily to hide your footwork

GreenKi: Go check out both and see which you feel most comfortable with then go with that. You won't really know until at least 3 months of training if the style/instruction is for you.

Agreed with the use of tennis balls or sheets of paper for focus training. Just remember the better your control, the less likely you'll be hit back with the same amount of force, or more

Not that I can recall..............then again, I can't remember yesterday!!

Welcome!

Welcome, and good work on your site!!

Welcome!