Zaine

Broadly? No, I don't consider karate to be wholly Japanese. I believe that it is too global for that. With things like Ed Parker Kenpo and the like reaching national and sometimes international popularity, I think that we can safely say that karate is a thing in and of itself. I think styles of karate can be attached to a national identity, and that it is important for styles of karate to recognize their lineage and pay respects to that history, but I would not call Tang Soo Do Japanese Karate, despite it finding origins there. For example, I practice Shobayashi Shorin Ryu. My karate is Okinawan and I hold that distinct from Japanese karate (despite Okinawa being an island owned by Japan). In this system, we draw heavily from the chinese tradition that the name implies, but we would never say that we are kung-fu, or even Shaolin. Funakoshi was Okinawan, but I don't see a lot of Shotokan practitioners identifying their style as Okinawan.

Unlike Bob's answer, I'm the opposite. I twist my torso and then snap back to straight.

Welcome to KF! It's great to have you.

Congrats Patrick! Such a fun journey ahead of you!

Says who? Don't let anyone tell you how to do something that you love, especially when you already have all this experience. I self-trained with videos and books when I was looking to get back into karate with a dojo. It helped me finish up the curriculum that my teacher had when he stopped teaching. I also would do some research into books. Blackbeltwiki could be a resource, but it's a shot in the dark as to whether the Shito-Ryu kata videos on there are the ones that you would have practiced or from some branch that wasn't yours.

Congrats!

Welcome to KF, and welcome back to practicing! I took a long break as well, though for different reasons, and felt the same way. It feels so good to get back in it.

Honestly, if I were in the GMs shoes then as long as he brought me some beer then it would, in fact, be fine.

Welcome to KF! It's great to have you!

That's awesome! It sounds like you've found a really good dojo. I also try hard to "not be that guy" at my current dojo, where I'm going through a similar process. Luckily, they are super interested in the way that I first learned (being that it's just a different branch of Shorin Ryu) so I get to talk about it a lot.

So this is going to depend on a number of factors. Ebay is probably your best bet in general terms, I found a Matsumura Seito complete kata dvd for $11. If you're looking for a specific branch of Shorin Ryu that might be a little more difficult.

You are a martial arts instructor, not a child therapist. I'm not trying to be disrespectful here, just reminding you that it it is not necessarily your job to correct his behavior, it's your job to teach him karate and foster a safe space for all of your students. In this, I would try to have another conversation with the mother. If it seems that she is not comfortable having it in person, send her an email. Just lay out your concerns, and talk about what you need to see. Whatever you do, and you know this given what you've said, don't mention the age thing.

Welcome to KF! It's great to have you.

Welcome to KF! It's great to have you.

Thinking way to much about a thing is my jam. I totally get it. Can't wait to read the updates!

Congrats!

Practicing bind work is tricky, and I know a lot of clubs (in fact, all that I have been a part of) that don't even bother practicing it. Some disagree with this omitting, but it reduces liability and the situation is just not going to come up in any real way. HEMA, being largely an historical recreation turned into a sport, does not need to practice with live weapons. Some do though, and take great care when doing so.

How dare you run away from the almighty Shorin-Ryu. The council shall know about this treason!!! In all seriousness, the transition is going to depend a lot on your openness to change techniques and the teacher's ability to teach. That they've been doing it for 30 years with success is promising. Tang Soo Do, from my understanding, will be a bit easier to transition to from Shorin-Ryu than if you were going to TKD. The stances are deeper, they might kick more than Shorin, but it's not a rough transition by any means. A lot of TSD dojangs will have similar kata with different names. They practice Naihanchi and the Pinans (called Pyung) so that will be familiar (though they differ in some ways so that's always fun trying to remember to do it the new way). Overall, it shouldn't be too bad as long as you allow yourself to remain open to the changes. Lean on your experience where it helps, and be accepting of differences.

Not having seen the video, and therefore having only the context you have provided, means that we cannot provide a totally accurate assessment. That said, I agree that live knives should not be used in partner demonstrations. There's no reason to use a live knife in a live demo other than to add a bit of drama and suspense to the video while putting your uke in not a small amount of danger. The risks outweigh the rewards.

Welcome to the forum! It's great to have you!

It's at least tangentially tied to The Silmarillion, specifically the Akallabeth. We're pretty sure that they have access to the appendices from the Return of the King and maybe some notes. I'm given to think that they have the rights to some very specific passages in The Silmarillion, but only time will tell.

I am not familiar with the kata but I found this video which, if it's the same one you're going to learn, goes through it slow and deliberately.

Is anyone else very excited about the new LOTR: Rings of Power coming in September? We got the teasiest of teasers during the 3rd Quarter of the game last night and I have already watched it entirely too many times. I've been a fan of the series for most of my life, and have read every piece of official literature that comes through from the original trilogy to the Nature of Middle Earth that was published last year. Needless to say, I am so ready to delve in to the show!

If the student is the latter then they will have no issue waiting until they are the former. When I train, I train to do the thing correctly and I revel in moving up when I have achieved that status. No student is committed to training without understanding that not getting promoted as fast as they wanted isn't a bad thing. Learning takes time, and, when committed, time makes the passion burn hotter.

My wife an I are both fiends for tattoos so we argue about who gets to get the next one. Right now I'm up by one so she has a very strong argument for getting the next one.