Zaine

Hey, the topic of semantics is basically my M.A. It's super weird. I agree with what you're saying here. In my case, then and now, it was distinct. We had MSSR things that we had to know and Shorinji things that we had to know and while they were often blended down the line they were distinct.

Getting hit with a spear hand in the throat is going to hurt regardless of the level of training of the person throwing the technique. The technique itself isn't ineffective, the human throwing it might be. The issue is that there is a greater risk of injury than if you threw a punch at the same area, which would likely be just as effective if landed. The pay off is greater control of yourself, and a greater range of soft targets. It would be difficult to shove a fist into an eye, but a finger might do the trick if I was looking to temporary blind someone to escape. As to the question on length, I think a few years is a good measure of mastery, but not so great if we're measuring proficiency. I think that it's fairly safe to say that a martial artist would be able to throw an effective spear hand or toe kick without injuring themselves within a few months of training.

Like most things in the realms of the martial arts, yes. Though I wouldn't necessarily call it hardening in this case. I feel that it is more akin to getting use to the feeling and drilling the amount of power that you can take. There is a reason that these strikes aren't typically done at full power. Chiefly, they don't need to be, they're generally meant for softer parts. Secondly, no one likes jammed and broken fingies.

I generally agree with this, and it's something that came to mind after a class and the next time I'm in class is tomorrow, when I will be able to actually ask. That said, I wonder at what point the system ceases being two systems and is just something that the CI has started on their own. If the teacher is teaching Shobayashi and Shudokan and holds that he only gives rank in Shobayashi, where do we say that he teaches neither but a system developed from both? I feel this is different. I, as with most people, learned Okinawan Kobudo with MSSR, but I would not say that my education in OK is as rigorous or structured as someone who was going to an OK school. I learned 2 bo kata, a sai kata, and a nunchaku kata. Outside of those, the training with the weapons happened few and far between and we generally did not break them out with any regularity unless there was a test coming up. This is my inclination as well, as much as it generally doesn't add anything besides a proverbial line to the CV of my martial arts journey.

What a title, right? When I was taking Matsumura Seito Shorin-Ryu growing up, a part of the program was Shorinji-Ryu. My Sensei's Sensei held a rank in both MSSR and SR as did his Sensei as did Soken. The style grew to a point where the programs were merged and you were required to be proficient in both to rank up, but there was no ceremony stating both. I never thought anything of it, and still don't think of it all that much. Karate is karate and as long as I enjoy doing it and continue learning new things they could keep me white belt for all I care. However, my Shobayashi school teaches a full Shudokan curriculum alongside Shobayashi-Ryu, to the point that it has been formalized and is correct to say that we are learning both systems (whereas growing up we only really ever said we did MSSR and mentioned Shorinji-Ryu if someone wanted to know more about the system). This got me ruminating on the technicalities of the language that goes in to ranks (I have an M.A. in English, so I find myself thinking about this kind of stuff a lot, as it happens). Is it correct to say that people who learn two distinct systems that were merged have two ranks? By which I mean, two separate systems that are unique enough within the dojo to say that you did two, not hybrid systems where we've assimilated what we like from this-or-that other system. For example, I think that few people who have a Shodan in Shorin-Ryu would say that they had a Shodan in Shuri-te, it's parent system. Anyway, if you've encountered this before, either because it's familiar to you personally or you've seen schools that do this, do you consider their rank to be in both? Am I a Shodan in MSSR and Shorinji-Ryu? Are the Shodans and above at my current dojo ranked thusly in both Shobayashi-Ryu and Shudokan?

You don't have to let it be a hindrance to choosing what you want. If you talk to the CI and let them know your situation and they still require that you go all out then they're not a great instructor and you should find a different school. I have a pretty limited knowledge of the 4 systems you list, but from what I understand I would suggest Aikido as the system that seems easiest on the joints. I could be very wrong, but that sticks out to me.

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

Congrats!

That's great news, Bob! Congrats!

Congrats! No judgement at all, it sounds great. As for tips, I would take the time to look for some free resources on classroom management and pedagogical standards. Skillshare has a free trial (and you can get a longer one if you find a YouTuber who is sponsored by them like Girlfriend Reviews and use their promo code) so I would browse their library. Even though it might now have much to do with karate classroom management, I became a better MA teacher when I learned how to be an English teacher because I was able to transform those lessons to be relevant to the dojo. Otherwise, like with most things, instructing requires patience, good humor about your own mistakes, and a willingness to learn. Be open and honest with both yourself and your students. Don't be afraid to invite outsiders in for feedback. Don't let the job aspects make you forget why you wanted to do this in the first place. Good luck!

Congrats! That's awesome!

Welcome to KarateForums! I have not heard about it, and it seems like a long shot asking this forum in particular. That said, if you're interested in it you should see if they have trial classes. A lot of schools offer an opportunity to take a few classes for free to see if it's for you.

It's a cool style for sure. If the Mabuni lineage isn't available to you, I would definitely go with the Demura school as a personal preference unless the other school is just phenomenal.

No doubt! I think that if I was in Hollywood I would definitely incorporate it into my system just for the meme, if nothing else!

That's crazy cool!

I do not, which is expressly not what you wanted a reply to say. However, most times it's not the system that's ineffective, but the teacher (there are some exceptions to that, obviously, but with something like Shito-Ryu I think that's a fair statement). In cases like these, my suggestion is always to just do a trial class or two with both dojos and see which one vibes with you a little better. My guess is that for their differences their similar enough that the choice isn't too dramatic, so go with the dojo that you're more comfortable in.

I'm interested in why you hold that position. If this were a question of someone not feeling ready to test, I can see why a CI would want to encourage and gently push a student to the next rank if the CI felt that they were ready. But if this were a moment of the student being comfortable with their level and they had no desire to advance, then why should the CI care? That seems like a great way to drive away a loyal student.

Congrats! Well deserved!

That's awesome, Brian, congrats!

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

I had my first class last night. I went for a trial period before enrolling my kiddo so that I could get a feel of it and make sure it was a good environment for her. I caught the last 30 minutes of the kids class, but it seemed really fun and the Sensei was very interactive with the students. Since she inherited my ADHD, I think it will be a great place if what I saw was a typical experience. I had genuinely forgotten how much fun I had in a classroom. I've been mostly solo training for the last decade and I've gotten used to that. I knew it wasn't ideal, but it was good enough. Stepping back in to a classroom was a breath of fresh air. I got to learn their first three kata, the first 3 in the Taikyoku series. There was a 7th kyu there who was learning Seisan, so the black belts and I got to talk about the differences between in the Shobayashi Seisan and the Matsumura-Seito one. Afterwards we did some Naihanchi bunkai drills. I got the overwhelming sense that they were there to do karate because they loved it and that was so refreshing. The two black belts there have been doing it for longer than I have (and I have 18 years) and sometimes you find people like that who are burned on it and just going through the motions. Seeing that not be the case here was awesome. It was so much fun to train with people who are as passionate as I am about karate.

For a cheap, no thrills makiwara, my old CI would take a nice, thick piece of wood, take a pool noodle apart and glue it to the wood, and wrap it in canvas. He nailed his to a tree, but had a version with a longer piece of wood, made a very simple base, and weighted it down with sandbags so that it wouldn't rock. That's not an awful solution for apartments if you're worried about neighbors. If you're looking at a heavy bag set up. I hope you have a lot of spending money.

North Sentinel Island and its inhabitants, the Sentinelese, are exactly who I am thinking of. I'd love to learn the way of launching a spear from a huge bow. I'm sure I could suss it out on my own. I think I would prefer that over trying to find a authentic teaching experience.

It has been years since I've stepped foot in a dojo to be there long term. A large portion of my training since Shodan has been relegated to a lot of at home practice, forays into other styles, and when I could I got together with old training partners to practice. I've been pretty happy with this. I've moved around not a small amount since moving away to college 12 years ago so paying for a long-term membership to a certain dojo did not seem like a good use of my money (which was limited many times in the last 12 years) or time. However, now my child is interested in starting. My original instructor hasn't taught for over a decade, and there is no Matsumura Seito school anywhere near me, so we're both starting from White Belt again. It's cool being a WB again, but it is a little weird being in a white gi. My first CI preferred black and at 3rd kyu we wore a black top with blue pants. I'm looking forward to studying Shobayshi-Ryu, and seeing her excited for a lifelong passion of mine is great as well.

I would not be surprised to learn that there was some system of combat that came, or still comes, from an uncontacted tribe or maybe an island nation that didn't get out and for some reason no longer exists.