Fairfax_Uechi

How old are you and how do you conduct yourself? If you're serious about your training then you should be respected. Of course, your age and those of your classmates will impact this. In our dojo we don't have this kind of problem, but we also work hard to ensure that everyone is treated with respect, and is in the dojo to work hard.

Yea, their all similar. Not many different companies make them. Now as others said, the colors of the belts are all different even from dojo to dojo.

I would have liked to start training sooner, but it wasn't ment to be. Also, I probably wouldn't have studied Uechi as the thought of all of the body conditioning would have scared me off.

Nope, just the first to vote!!!!

Now this can be good as a motivator, but if they truely are gifted don't feel bad if they do this (depending on your style, experience, etc)

I agree that Bunkai is great for learning fighting skills, but I don't think many people really understand it. With that said, Bunkai is the applicatio of kata! Learning kata helps with all of the things that I said above, and all that everyone else said, but Bunkai is the practice of the kata. So once you learn how to do a technique, doing Bunkai will supplement your kata and help you see what you're doing wrong.

I've seen this several times. For some reason, I got a funny feeling about this though. It seems odd that they would pass along the information to an American. I can understand that many of the techniques, but the scroll and other things that only he was to see. Some how this just didn't seem to be fully legit. Maybe I'm just a big skeptic but it just seemed phoney to me. Now with that said, I thought the techniques were pretty good, and the way they used things as weapons was excellent. The concepts were good. I just felt that the instructor was shady.

Why?? Is this for competion or something? Generally losing 1-2 pounds a week is considered safe. You can probably drop 5 pounds with water weight but it won't be something that will stay off. Also rapid weight loss usually results in a bounce back and more weight gained that you lost. My normal recommendation is to eat right with a healthy balance of protien, carbs, and (healthy) fats. Reduce your calories and make sure that you work to slowly lose the weight. Also add weight training and cardio to burn more calories. In your case without knowing your specifics it's hard to say exactly what to do.

You don't have styles listed by your name. But your name is "Hapkido-Kid" and you said Goju Ryu is your favorite. Care to tell us about this a little?

The technique that gets the job done is the best. I personally don't like punches that much as they're "beginner" techniques. Palm and elbow strikes inflict lots of pain with limited risk of getting hurt, but they aren't as easy to do as a simple punch. So it goes back to "it depends". A nice chop to the jaw is also very nasty. But unless I really wanted someone to be drinking out of a straw for 6 months, it's not a technique that I would consider as a first or second choice unless I really wanted to teach a loud mouth a lesson. Jay, my suggestion to you is to learn your techniques as well as you can. Have confidence in all of them, have a couple of favorites, then a couple more that you like as "secondaries". Then never have to use them outside of class.

Don't even really need that. A nice grassy park can work well, as well as any workout clothes if you're just practicing with friends on a nice day!!!

Kata does many things, and like Menjo says it can be a very long discussion. But what you get out of Kata depends on what you put into it. If you just think of it as a bunch of moves then you won't get much out of it. But if you think of it as a fight against your old invisible friend from when you were little, it can be highly effective as a training tool. Through kata you learn to visualize, the use of proper technique, control, speed, and a bunch of other things. What you have to realize though is that kata is just not about going through the motions, you have to learn to think about what your doing. For instance when I want to perfect a technique, I'll spend hours in the gym in front of a mirror working a technique. I'll work it slow, medium and then fast, then really slow. I'll do it over and over and over until I'm so sick of it that I can't stand it. But I'll see what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. And as I practice, I'll improve. Finally, kata helps me to relax. I can spend time doing Sanchin and just work on my internals. I can practice breathing, slowing my thoughts, or just being on "auto pilot" and doing the moves fast. The point is that all of this comes together. It all makes me a better person. THAT is what makes me a skilled fighter. And the speed, control, power and techniques just validate it.

A little frustration is good. But if it doesn't go away soon, talk to somene about it. What I mean by this is a little frustration will help you want to improve. From your workouts we all can see that you know how to push yourself. What you need now is to learn how to adjust and push yourself in different ways. Or to take a step back and see what's working and what isn't. Believe me. I'm not very good at dealing with setbacks and when I'm going through one it's very hard on me. But when I get through it, then I build from the experience. I'd suggest you do the same thing. Try not to be so hard on yourself. You're learning to deal with what you have. Some folks are younger, faster, stronger, etc. There's nothing you can do about that. But what you can do is to continue to train and figure out what works and what doesn't work for you. FYI, the second part of that - the learning what doesn't work for you is very hard and what you're learning now. So while it doesn't seem like much now, know that it's actually a good thing. One final thought. HANG IN THERE. We all go through this. What seperates us from the majority of the people in the world is that even when we're discouraged we keep plugging. It's not easy, but you've shown you're able to do things that are tough. You'll be fine. Be kind to yourself and just keep doing your best.

I agree with the others. My opinion is that you should tell him what you told us, and also talk to him about what was said. In other words, tell him you appreciate the chance to work with folks of lower rank than you. Find out what techniques he thinks you need to work on most and then take advantage of that, but also let him know that you'd like to work with some folks that are higher ranked with you in order to get ready for competition. Afterall, you can use the lower ranks to work on certain techniques as discussed above, but having the chance to work with folks better than you will also push you to improve. See if you can lay out a plan and get his help to follow that plan.

I study Uechi-Ryu so I would say Uechi.

Can you explain your point? In sparing you need a combination of all of the above. In self defense the objective is to end things as quickly as possible, so whatever works.

How do your clothes fit? If they're starting to feel looser then you're doing great. If not, then your diet is probably the problem. You see, when you workout a lot and put on more muscle the number on the scale can stay the same, but the fat gets burned and you start putting on muscle which weighs a great deal more. Also depending on how long you've been training, it could take some time to start seeing the results. Also you culd be over training. All are hard to tell without meeting you and without having details of your workouts, diet, and how you rest.

Lower ranks in most (all?) Okaniwan and Japanese styles are Kyu, and Gup in Korean (If I'm not mistanken). Dan are the black belt ranks. So you can think of Dan as the level of the black belt. 1 Dan - 1st degree, 2 Dan = 2nd Degree, etc.

Just tell her they're apples and oranges. Neither is better or worse. She may also be saying this to rib you some, and also to stand up for what she studies. People always want what they have to be the "best" so it's natural for some of this to occur. As for the effectiveness of Shotokan, you're right about the student and instructor being key factors. FYI, one thing to keep in mind, is that in popular arts like TKD and Shotokan you are much more likely to come across poor teachers as there are so many dojos. Say for the sake of example that just 10% of the dojos are McDojos and that there are 100 dojos within an hour of you. Then 10 would be McDojos. In a style with only 10 dojos you'd only run across 1. So while the odds may be the same, the perception that there are more with the more popular style is due to the fact that there are more bad instructors. The point is that perceptions are built for several reasons, and some of them are valid. Also, the techniques that you use will depend on many factors. In my case, the low linear stances of Shotokan just aren't very natural for me. Uechi is more upright and better suited to me. So while Shotokan may be great for you, it isn't for me. So when you compare them we go back to the apples and oranges. Also if I'm not mistaken, Judo is mostly ground work and Shotokan is mostly a striking art, so they often don't cover similar techniques. In Uechi we have a good mixture so while we're mostly a striking art, we also have some ground work. So in your case, learning some Judo from your friend might be a good complement to your Shotokan, and teaching her some of your strikes might be a good complement for her. In my case, I've been toying with adding more kicking to my Uechi as we do some but more extensive kicking would really complement my striking and grabs. So... just keep your open mind and learn all you can.

Glad to hear that it worked out for you. I think your situation shows that if you take your time and reason things through that things can work out well. Imagine if you would have flew off and told them off? The outcome woud have been very different. IMHO, the way you handled things is exactly how a martial artist should go about things. Stay calm, hear the other person out, take your time and think things through, treat the other person with respect, and stand up for your beliefs. Use your training as part of your life and benefit from all of your hard work. To me it seems that you students are very lucky to have a great teacher, and keep up the good work. And congrats!

Typically for a Uechi student it takes 4-5 years to earn Shodan. To master the art it takes a minimum of 15 more years so you're looking at at least 20 years. We consider a master a 5th degree black belt. And as someone else said, it really takes a lifetime to master. Just because you've achieved rank doesn't mean that you're mastered the art. Everyone goes through stages where they improve, and when they find new things to improve. It's just normal. For instance, Sanchin is a farly easy kata to learn the moves, but it's very difficult to master. The better you get the more internal it becomes and the more you have to work to master it, a process that takes a whole lifetime.

For Shodan, most Uechi dojos require Sanchin and Seisan kata, Sanchin testing, Seisan Bunkai, Kotkite, Hojo Undo exercises, Dan Kumite, and questions about Uechi including history. A test board of higher ranked black belts will evaluate the canidates and all judges must pass the canidate for a student to earn his/her Shodan. The tests are similar for higher ranks with Seisan being replaced for the appropriate kata for the higher rank. Uechi students learn the first four kata as colored belts and the remaining four kata as black belts.

Actually the idea of a black belt mastering a martial art isn't totally correct. In most traditional styles a Shodan or 1st degree black belt is considered a beginner. One who has just learned the basics. In Uechi one becomes a Master at 5th Degree Black belt. Until then, you're just a progressing martial artist. Now don't get me wrong, having a black belt means that you've done a lot of work, and unless you study at a McDojo it means you're probably a decent martial artist. But to say you're (or someone) a master isn't right (IMHO)

Actually you would be suprised at how much change can occur in a week or two let alone five. You're right for some folks, but for others, 5 weeks can be like a lifetime. Now as you can see from my post above, I don't recommend doing anything to risk serious harm, but I don't think it's right to tell someone that they won't lose anything durning a 5 week break. One thing I don't like is to make general recommendations, especially with injuries. They're hard enough to do in person, let alone without really knowing the person, or the extent of the injury. IMHO, the worse case is to sit out the five weeks. Muscles will have some negative effect (sorry but we all lose some muscle tone in this time) And we just need time to get our skills back. If the injury is bad enough, this is the only choice. But this is also the safest choice with the least risk of further injury. Next would be to take a week or two off, train light for another week or two and gradually work back into things. This is usually the way many folks that I know work. There's a chance of getting hurt or not healing quick enough, but there is also the chance of returning fairly quickly. This option really requires a lot of knowlege of yourself. I would call this a middle option. The ideal situation (again IMHO) is to train in ways that you do some training, but don't do things to the injury. For instance with a knee injury, work the upper body in the weight room. Or if you hurt your toe, avoid kicking the heavy bag. This requires experience, and if you don't know what you're doing (or even if you do and make a mistake) you can cause more injury. But it also keeps you "in the game" and makes the return the quickest. In any case, there are options. The way you work them depends on your goals, objectives, injury, experience, etc.