Zaine

I have a couple of friends who do something like this. Teaching karate very, very rarely is a viable full-time job. I've trained with a lot of people in the past 20 years, some of them with very successful dojos, who still had regular jobs. My first Shodan is a guy who started teaching me and a few people in the community center of the trailer park he lived in. From there he grew. I wouldn't worry to much about being only a Shodan. If you're still attending your other school(s), you will likely hit Nidan before you able to promote someone else to Brown Belt, much less Shodan. New people take roughly 3 years on average to get to Brown belt, and then another 2 from there for Shodan. You could either just pick your favorite variation, which is something that I am planning to do, or teach them all and let the student decide which one they are going to focus on. I would suggest just picking your favorite variation; too much choice for someone new to Karate can be too overwhelming. I like to collect kata, and I find different variations fascinating. For example, the version of Pinan Shodan I learned is incredibly different from anything I've seen anyone else do, but my favorite version is the Shotokan version, which is not even a style that I've ever done but I've watch videos of Shotokan Pinan Shodan enough that I can do it. On the other hand, the Naihanchi I learned first uses Uchi Hachiji Dachi and I don't like doing versions with Horse Stance, but I'm currently going through a system that does a version with Horse Stances.

I've seen this done a few ways. My current dojo combined two styles and awards ranks in both at testing. My first dojo eventually added enough other things that they felt it warranted calling it a new system and just created one with Shorin Ryu as a base. I've seen others do something similar and still just call it what they learned first. There's a great dojo near me that teaches Goju Ryu and also adds ground fighting into the mix. For me, I eventually want to start my own system. I have a lot of variety in my experience and I want to take what I know and create something that is greater than its parts. Will I be good at that? I sure hope so. In my first dojo, after the switch, the CI explained the history of the system whenever he talked to new people about it. Essentially, he was very upfront about what the system was made of, and why he had made the decision. I imagine that if I get the opportunity to design my own system, I would do the same. Lineage is still very important, even if you are the beginning of a new one. Yes, and I think that we do a disservice not only to the students, but to ourselves, when we don't. Karate, like many things, is meant to evolve and grow. There's a reason new systems keep popping up. I think that a mistake that a lot of people make when starting their own system is that they cut themselves off from organizational support. Sometimes, this is because their previous organizations want nothing to do with new systems. Sometimes, it's due to that very human tendency to want to strike out on our own with no help. My first teacher was in the latter, but networked with other schools in the area to hold tournaments and seminars, creating his own organization. At the end of the day, as Bob likes to say, the proof was on the floor. It didn't matter who his lineage was, people could see clearly the effectiveness and legitimacy of the system. For me, I have a desire to maintain contact with the people and organizations that I've built relationships with. I'm a millennial, and therefore love freely accessible information. I think that, at the very least, any non-classified information should be readily available. In that, I love the idea of Martial Arts organizations, especially inclusive ones. I want to learn and help others learn. My biggest problem with organizations, as they stand now, is that they often gatekeep knowledge and information. Not just things like kata videos, bunkai demonstrations, etc., but things like histories and philosophical information.

Congrats R5ky! Well deserved!

Yeah! That second trailer looked great. I know I should curb expectations, but I'm hyped.

I'm with Bob on this one. I've been thinking about this for 2 days. 1: Not only receiving my Shodan after an arduous, painful test, from my Sensei, but one from a grandmaster in their style as well. 2: I've recently started creating Karate educational content. It has only been week, but I have found it to be incredibly fulfilling and fun (if not a little silly at times when I take photos at the park). 3: Starting the belt journey over. It has caused me to have perspective changes. Re-evaluate the Karate I learned first in a more objective way and has made me a better martial artist all around. It humbled me not in temperament, but in intellect; and I'm grateful for that.

What's the title of the book?

The most consistent advice that I have been given from dieticians is the best way to get macros and micros is to eat foods in which those things occur naturally. I have protein powder because I take Adderall and that kills my appetite so it's a good way to get extra calories, but overall if you're looking for more protein, or energy, or anything from a supplement, your best bet is to eat more food with a higher density of those nutrients.

We don't know your body, and so the best we can do is recommend what works for us. Your best bet is to sample a good range of products and stick with what you like best. That being said, the thing that gives you focus in pre-workout is mostly the caffeine. If you have a favored energy drink I would suggest going with that instead of trying something new so close to the tournament.

For those that do not want to purchase a book, The Bubishi is in Public Domain, so you can get it for free. Just not with all the fancy analysis from McCarthy. My favorite part, as is usually the case with these types of books, is the history sections. I love knowing where things came from and the philosophical underpinnings that made it what it is today.

I was so obsessed with Power Rangers when I was a kid that during a play my parents were in (I was in also, Carousel requires a lot of children extras) I would do Power Ranger moves instead of bowing.

That's awesome! HIIT makes an incredible difference, and I love doing it. I noticed the exact same thing when I started doing it in my classes. The only thing that I would suggest is that after doing it for awhile, take a week break. They're not kidding when they say high intensity and your body feels it. I currently do a 4 weeks on 1 week off routine. During that week, I'll do some yoga, bike or row instead of row, or just take a break from it all. Your body wants those rest periods, and taking them will make you stronger in the long run.

I worried about that as well, but it ended up not being that bad. As my first Sensei used to say, in Karate you leave your egos at the door. I'm there to have fun and train, and everyone knows that I have 20 years under my belt, 2 Shodans, and that my practice schedule is intense. More than that, however, I love sharing. I can give perspective. I love drilling the same thing 100 times in a row. I have the patience to help someone until we're both satisfied. A part of starting over is lifting up others. A part of Karate is lifting up others. I'm there because I love Karate and I love it when other people walk into the door for the first time. I love having the chance to share that love. If others are hurt by your skill, especially after learning that this is not your first go-around, then that's their issue. That is their insecurity. They can either leave their egos at the door and let that motivate them to work harder, or they can wallow in their envy. That's not on you. In my experience with kids and teenagers (and I taught 4th - 8th grade, so it's no small amount of experience), I think there a part that has an expectation of adults being better. When you're a teenager, you think that being a teenager is hard. I remember thinking it would be so nice if I had all this time that adults seemed to have to practice and do other things, but I had a schedule to keep. Obviously, I was comically unaware of how hard the next part of my life would be. However, if there are hurt feelings from younger people, that's a great opportunity to express to them that you have experience, and that you practice. They can be just as good as you are. The only thing that separates the two of you is time and practice.

Someone on Reddit was looking for a system for striking to supplement their grappling experience and posed the question "Why should I choose Karate?" This comes up on KF every now and then, but I have found that the reason people do Karate change as they do. So, why did you choose Karate? Why do you continue to choose Karate? Would you change your decision if you could go back? Here's what I wrote: Well for me it was because it was free at the time, and the love came later. Now those reasons are different and hard to quantify, but I'll do my best. There is a certain ritualization to it. The practice of the kata, the procedures for beginning and ending a class, and the way you address those around you have a certain comfort to them. A rhythm that promotes self-discipline and mutual respect. If you're looking for self-defense, there are many schools that focus more on this than something like sparring. If you want more sparring, there are many schools that focus more on that than self-defense. In this, the variety of choice is nice. Karate has grown to such a point that you can find what you are looking for if you look for it. Karate teaches you range. Unlike Muay Thai and other systems which prefer to remain "in the pocket" with their fighting, Karate tends focus on coming in at a range and leaving quickly. If you are looking to get some striking in as a way to be a better fighter in a ring, this translates having a bigger toolbox when you're closing in on your opponent, and having more practice quickly gaining distance if you need to. This is a generalization, to which there are exceptions. Kyokushin, for example, is a style that prefers to have closer ranged fights. Again, variety is great. You can find a style that focuses long range, short range, or something in-between. Karate has made me a smarter fighter. Sometimes, when I'm watching an MMA bout, I see fighters rush in headlong, or with little consideration. This works for them, and some successful fighters do just this. However, it's also often their downfall. Karate can be that sometimes, but mostly I have found that it is a game of analysis. It teaches you to abandon yourself in the moment, certainly. Mushin is an important concept. However, there's no small emphasis on gauging not only your opponent, but yourself. What's your distance look like? What options do you have? What's around me that's useful to incorporate into this next attack or defense? Finally, Karate puts emphasis on defense. Most 2+ step drills focus on receiving an attack, instead of initiating. It teaches you that a block is a strike and a strike is a block. It teaches you how to avoid damage, and to know when to take some damage to gain an advantage. In my experience with other styles, such as MT, Boxing, etc., there isn't an emphasis on this like there is with Karate. Getting hit is a part of fighting, but Karate, in my experience, attempts to train you to mitigate that damage as much as possible Overall, I love Karate because it is a part of me. It was chance that my family started doing Karate. A friend offered it for free and by the time he started charging, we were helping him teach so we had no tuition. There was a time, I think, when I might have said that I would do it differently, perhaps join Muay Thai or Boxing, but now I wouldn't give up these experiences for the world. Is that because I am older? Wiser? Let's say yes . I realize now, looking back, how much I needed the discipline and rituals of Karate. To my young ADHD brain, having the routines of practice to do at home and the consistency of Karate in general was exactly what I needed at that time. I didn't know I had ADHD then, just that there was a lot about Karate that I found soothing. On my worst days I still drill kata to calm down. Moving through moves I've done countless times, having something occupy myself with other than the cacophony of noise in my head. This is a longer post, and I wax on a little as I ruminate, but y'all should do the same. Tell me your stories.

hey Sensei8, that's interesting because I haven't really run into that while practicing Shotokan or Shorin Ryu. In class, they occasionally used seasoned brown belts as an example for the lower kyus. However, I have never seen them approached for their input as part of promotions as they themselves were still part of the Kyu gradings. Dans and above where always graded by higher ranking BBs (yodans and above) I have seen them assist with kids classes under a black belt but not lead a class solo unless the BB was unable to make it to the dojo on that certain day and would tell them to cover To the bold type above... You might've not seen them approached; however, they more than likely were approached behind closed doors by a phone call and/or the CI visiting their dojo's. After all, the reputation of their CI was always at stake one way or another. Exactly this. I am often approached in private to give my thoughts on a student getting close to a test. Given, I have 20 years of experience, but even when I was a new brown belt (over a decade ago) this would happen. If you use brown belts to teach new material, then the brown belts are going to be the ones with the most intimate knowledge on where those new students are. It's only natural to ask them what they think.

Just wrapped up my Sankyu test. There were 10 other testees, 4 total going for Sankyu, 2 for Yonkyu, 3 for Gokyu, and 1 for Nanakyu. It was a good test! Everyone passed, and I'm currently enjoying some pizza in celebration. Almost to that 3rd (and 4th) Shodan!

I was in your shoes 6 months ago, starting a new dojo that practices a different branch of Shorin Ryu. I just went in as a white belt, didnt even consider asking to come in at Shodan. I wear it during informal classes, and of course any time at a tournament or outside thing, but in classes I started over and I found the experience to be refreshing and a lot of fun. That said, they are different enough from my branch of Shorin Ryu (Matsumura Seito/Shorinji to Shobayashi/Shudokan) that I don't think it would have made much sense to ask. If this school is so similar to the point of the difference being trivial, I would ask the Sensei what their expectations are.

The dojo I grew up in also did mostly MMA/KC rules when sparring. The CI reasoned that it was because he wanted us to be prepared in the event that a fight didn't end due to some self-defense technique we learned, but I think a big part of it was also that he's a fan of MMA and just wanted to take part in it. Whatever the reason, the tournaments we went to did continuous sparring and we always took first in our respective age/rank groups.

Allow me to insert some of the words I learned while compiling a massive amount of debt in order to be called a Master of the English Language. From what I can tell from reviews, both professional and reader, it seems to be a speculative/slipstream young adult book. Slipstream is an umbrella term used to say that a book, or story, has a setting that is either the modern, real world or a world that is closely paralleled in technology and culture. In this alternate world, there is some element of fantasy (in this case Chi being quantifiable and used as a force instead of abstract and philosophical). In essence, it's an imagining of our world with a few things that are different. This is nice because for the reader, they do not have to do a lot learning about the world or memorize a bunch of obscure locations, making the things that they do need to learn much more manageable. For the writer, they don't have to create some huge fantasy world with that they have to keep track of. It's a genre which has been seeing rising popularity within the last 2 decades (think Harry Potter, Hunger Games, or, going back even further, Slaughterhouse Five). This one looks like a fun read. I think I'll pick it up to read to my kiddo.

So many people don't make it this far. I'm glad you have.

I would definitely recommend a HIIT routine, there are a number of good ones to be found online. Once you get used to the process, you can start to sub in exercises you enjoy and create the routine that works best for you. That will help you maintain muscle performance during rolling. The cardio can be whatever you want. Sounds like you have a pretty good idea on where to go from there when it comes to cardio.

That's not an uncommon approach, especially in less formalized schools. There is a fairly large amount of stuff Traditional Karate does on the grounds of tradition alone. Some of these things are about respecting the history of the art, and some of the things boil down to "well, the Sensei who taught me this did it this way so that's how we're going to do it" even though the Sensei who taught them was 4' 10" and they are 6' 3". It's good to understand how people at different heights do kata so that it makes sense for them, and how a kata was originally taught, but if I'm teaching a class full of giants then I'm probably going to have them do less high blocks. For me, testing is one of those traditions that I quite enjoy. It feels good to go through a gauntlet and emerge victorious. Even if you know the odds are stacked on your side. Even if you know the chances of you failing the test are slim to none. There's always that errant maybe that gets you. It feels good to win. My first Sensei would just test you when you were ready. Instead of a special day (aside from Shodan tests, which were scheduled for a special day), when you were ready you tested during normal class. Everyone would do the warm-ups, you would demonstrate your kata, go through some sparring rounds, and then at the end of class you would be awarded your new rank.

There is a very good reason that Sanchin is such a wide spread and important kata in martial arts.

It really depends on your end goals. We're looking at two different types of cardio work here: Aerobic and Anaerobic. Both are important to martial arts, but your specific goals will determine what you want to focus more on. Both aerobic and anaerobic refer to the air we get as we do the exercise. Aerobic means "with air" and generally refers to exercises we continuously that last longer than 2 minutes. Anaerobic means "without air" and refers to exercises that we do with such intensity that our bodies struggle to oxygenate cells in the short periods of time we are moving. Aerobic exercises are things like running, swimming, biking, or any other prolonged activity you enjoy with no breaks. This trains our bodies to better take in air. It allows our heart rates to stay lower over a sustained amount of time. It also trains us to breath better through long pushes. Anaerobic exercises are things like HIIT, weightlifting, and strength training in general. These are workouts that focus on what your muscles can do while they aren't being actively oxygenated. They are exercises that focus on created sustained power throughout an exercise while also raising your ability to sustain desired intensity through thing like sparring rounds. I enjoy doing HIIT because while it is largely Anaerobic in nature, it touches on Aerobic health as well and teaches me, psychologically, to better handle multi-round bouts and sparring. Furthermore, if I become bored with a certain routine, I can switch exercises in and out of the plan to keep it fresh. Like I said, your goals matter when choosing what to do, as does access to the equipment necessary to do these things. I enjoy HIIT, for example, not only because it is varied but because I don't need equipment to do it. It can all be done with bodyweight. At the end of the day, the best supplement is an exercise that you enjoy doing. Starting a routine is difficult, and the more you dislike it, the less you want to do it. If you like biking, that's your jam. If you prefer swimming, then swim.

I see what you're getting at now. I do not have much experience with boxing gyms, though we did have a boxing coach at the MMA gym we ended up renting out who, when he had off time, would come over and teach us some stuff. It was a lot fun and informs a lot about the way that I fight now. What I can speak towards is the idea that, broadly and with exceptions, traditional martial arts does tend to have the ability to focus on the individuals with more than others. I hypothesize her that this is largely due to the difference in competitive scenes of Boxing and Martial Arts. Boxing is far more popular than even something like MMA. The top 5 grossing PPV fights for boxing averaged 3,106,000 PPV buys whereas the top 5 UFC averaged 1,710,000 PPV. While MMA is not something like Karate, it is closer, and remains a good, if rough and imperfect, comparison. The point being, if a boxing coach has a person they're training who seems more than good, that they have whatever it factor that indicates that they can go the distance, then it also means that the coach could achieve renown. Renown means more requests to train people. It means larger cuts of prize money. It means that they're set for life and those students who are "merely talented" they few as fodder for the betterment of their prized students. Or perhaps they see someone who can be a coach one day and they keep them around to teach them that. Again, I have little to no familiarity with how boxing gyms work as a whole, so I'm basing this hypothetical off of your analysis and boxing movies. Karate, on the other hand, does not have a clear path (though extremely difficult, requiring an absurd amount of dedication, and even then, often luck-based) to fame and fortune. No competitor gets rich off of their success at World's, or similar events. While fans of fighting, and I would wager and good number of non-fight fans, know who Floyd Mayweather is, and to a lesser extent Connor McGregor, I imagine that most would be hard pressed to tell you a single name of someone competing in KarateCombat. Even dojos that do focus heavily on tournament results and are successful won't really find the success that Boxing would. Because of that, and because it is better to have a high density of people who are placing at tournaments over than one person, Karate has more time to focus on more people than Boxing does, which may only ever see one person in a gym who could "go the distance" and that's if they're lucky.

Haha yeah same. This was before my time, but I got a chance to peruse some issues that would have been out in the time I was starting karate. I can remember going to my local MA supply store and staring wide-eyed at these products through the glass.