searcher

I was wondering if there is anyone here that studies with any of the Dog Brothers? If you do, which pack are you with? Who is your instructor? Have you gone to a Gathering of the Pack? The reason I am asking is that I have been considering going to a Gathering. I want to here of some first hand accounts of what to expect. I have had a great deal of respect for the Dog Brothers way of sparring at the Gatherings for a very long time. I have been in contact with Guro Crafty about coming and have always felt welcomed. For anyone reading this post who does not know about Dog Brothers you can get some good info at https://www.dogbrothers.com .

Good advice SS. I have used a little survey in the past that has helped me out. It has questions like Have you studied before? If so where and from who? If yes why did you leave? What are your reasons for studying? What do you hope to accomplish while training here? The survey mixed with an observation/evaluation period are the things I have found to work best.

Go buy the Abs Diet book. It has a workout and excellant nutritional information. If that is not your cup of tea, go to Borders. They have books on everything.

Kiai should be short and to the point. You have to ask yourself if you are wanting to draw attention to your kata or to your kiai? I guess if you are not very good you should kiai for a long time. But remember, the louder and longer you kiai, the more people will be watching. They will be watching for Mr./Ms/ Loudmouth to screw up.

I am currently at the rank I wish to stay at. I once though that I would like to advance as far as possible. Then one day I read something that Mas Oyama had written concerning rank. He said that up to and including 5th Dan it is what the system has done for you. Any rank over that is what you do for the system. That is the best advice I have ever heard concerning rank.

The reason I asked the question about the stretching is that I used to do static stretching at the beginning of class. This was until I read Thomas Kurz' book Stretching Scientifically. Now I do dynamic stretches at the beginning and isometric mixed with static at the end. I ahve always liked the mixing of two different classes into one, but with the difference in ages it is very difficult. Also there is only a limited ammount of space to workout.

What type of competition are you going to? Is it an open or system only tourney? Where is it going to be held at?

I have way to many to list and some of them have already been mentioned. My tastes have changed in my collecting over the years. Most recently I have had a greater interest in the KMA. One of my most cherished books in one called Zen Combat by Jay Gluck. It was written in the 60's and has many one on one discussions with masters like Mas Oyama, Gogen Yamaguchi, M. Ueshiba, and many others. If I may add to this, what is your most prized book or books?

Those are two very good points that are very often overlooked.

Can it be garlic mashed potatos, they are good? On the creation of a new style. It takes years of research and study to trult get a deep understanding of what it takes to create a whole new style. I have seenway to many who have taken what they have learned and created thie new style. What they were truly lacking is a backbone to their new are, some soul. I have been through the ringer so to speak over this issue. I have been studying for quite a while as it pertains to a human life and have studied multiple styles. This being said, the only thing that I have been able to do is alter some of the techniques of my existing style. To better suit my own way of doing things. With so much still to learn in the styles that I have studied and the one I still study. I have come to the understanding that anything I think I can come up with, has already been thought of. To sum it all up if, as martial artists, we think we are ready to create a new style we need to make sure that what we are going to create will be of some martial use.

Definately, knowledge is power.

If you want a sword for cutting get at least a Bugei hand forged swords. Bugei Tading Company has some very good swords, but be prepared to pay out the yingyang for one. My wife is a Kenjutsu BB and she uses a custom forged sword. If it is O.K. I would like to give you some advice? If you have no training with a sword, please go buy a bokken and save yourself some trips to the emergency room.

53 in 30 seconds, it is my Master's dojo record. When I first started I couldn't do 10 pushups. Later on, when I started boxing, I started doing lots of pushups. Then I started training for BUD/S and got my fair share of pushups. If you are wanting to get more strength start doing them in sets and build. One method is do 5 sets 5 reps, then the next week do 10 sets 10 reps and so on. The other method I have seen used with great results is, do 5 pushups on your toes then 45 on your knees. The next week try 6 on your toes and 44 on your knees. If you can't do any on your toes do all of them on your knees and build. Both methods are very good.

Everyone sounds like they have similar structures to their classes. I am in the same boat as some of your instructors. I have been using the same structure for some time and I have been thinking it is time for a change. My class structure is currently: 10 min warm-up 15 min basics 15 min self-defense/Yakusoku Kumite 15 min kata 5 min stretching Some nights I will set the classes for a longer duration, but all of the students are in the same class. On a side note do any of you stretch at the beginning of class as opposed to the end of class.

I don't know of any in Jersey, but the Missouri Bujinkan might be able to help you find one. If you do a web search you can easily find their homepage. I knew some of their guys back when I was in college. They seemed to be good people and knowledgable. They are of the Hatsumi lineage.

Do plenty of sparring and running over your forms. Try to do your form at least 10 times a day every day, so it becomes second nature. Keep your cool and have fun, tourneys are a blast.

The use of the red and white belts are becoming more common in many karate styles and is also being used in other styles aslo, like ju0jutsu, judo, etc. Most systems award the red and white Master's belt at 6th Dan, however some do at 4th. In my system our 4th Dans get Red and black block belts, and then red and white at 6th Dan. Red belts are usually set aside for 9th and 10th Dan. The red and white belt is supposed to signify the return of the rank holder back to the basic or re-birth. This is in the Okinawan and Japanese systems. The Korean systems use the red belt right before Sho-dan(1st Degree black belt). All systems don't use the same belt colors. For instance, Tang soo do uses a midnight blue colored belt instead of black belts. Other styles use black and white to show who is a master.

Black Belt: Go-dan Chito-ryu Yon-dan Okinawan Kobudo Sho-dan Isshinryu Blue Belt: Hawaiian Kenpo(Style I started out in) Red Belt(1st Gup): ITF Taekwondo-studying for 9 months. This is the style I currently train in. I still teach Chito-ryu and Kobudo.

I teach Chito-ryu and Okinawan Kobudo both together and seperately. I require my students to research Kobudo as it pertains to helping them with their karate training. Many find it helps with timing and conditioning. Since I also teach and rank my students in kobudo seperately it gives them the option of whether or not they wish to pursue rank in Kobudo. I also start their rank at shodan when they are testing. If you have not reached the shodan rank you are considered "junior" until you do advance. I have looked into the Warrener/Kim style of kobudo and I find it very insightful. It does not seem to me to be detrimental to my kobudo development or that of my students. If one person finds that they don't like the way another does something and they change it, it seems to me they are creating their own bias. The old way is not always the wrong way. If you keep an open mind it will help you grow and not die off.

tommarker is right on giving up the bo so soon. I have learned a very large number of weapons and kata for them. If you give it more time you might be suprised with it. It may grow on you. Now for your fan question. If you want to learn it and you want to have someone teach it to you. Go to a seminar and learn it. There are seminars all over the U.S. and I am sure there has to be one in your neck of the woods. My wife trains with the fan along with her Kenjutsu. She works very hard and is quite good IMHO. If you try learning it from a video it would take forever, no matter how good you are. Besides, it would most likely look aweful. I would suggest that you either go back to the bo or pick up the sai, as you suggested you might.

Of recent I have been going over the structure or breakdown of my classes. This got me to thinking of what other instructors have as their class breakdown. By this I mean how long do you spend on each section of your style: Warm-up, basics, kata, self-defense, sparring, etc. Please feel free to expand on each area I named or even throw in some that I may have missed. I am hoping to get some ideas so I can re-write my class outline. Thank you ahead of time.

As has already been stated you do need to move in a circular fashion. You need to be very light on your feet and avoid his ranges(outside to beginning of the mid-range). You do not want to take any punishment on your way in so you need to learn to parry his attacks. If you try to block or "eat" any of his attacks it will only lead to your own body receiving the pain. Work on slipping and evading. As for techniques to use: stick to the side kick and low roundhouse mixed with hooking and uppercut punches. With only one year under your belt you should look at your own progress and just try to get better, not get even. In time you will be able to deal with a more diverse group of individuals.

I might be getting attacked for this, but I will give you an answer. Go to Sifu Wing Lam's sight, WLE.com. He has a large number of video tapes and books that might help you out. What style of kung fu are you looking to study? Northern or Southern? Internal or external? This info would help.

It healed up with no noticable effects. Right after class I was at home and he called me. He told me to come right over. When I got there he showed me that he could blow air out into the skin under his eyes. This was the only outward sign that they were broken. He didn't even get black eyes.

Before you start training with a live blade go buy a good bokken or suburi-to.