JWLuiza

LOL. I second your motion on the kata bunkai for Jitte. I love the Gojushiho forms, and heard tell of a story that what is NOW Dai was once Sho and vice versa based on a high level competitors mistake during an All-Japan competition. They are so similary it makes sense to me

I'm going to play devil advocate here: I think that basic kata are not the kata you should strip your art down to... Like in Shotokan where Kanku and to a lesser extent Basai contain a catalog of ideas and principles of the art, you should pick those. However, Goju would have their own signature kata, etc. The goal of this question is to think: What is the best bang for my buck? Where can one put the most effort with the most return. In that case it probably should be a kata at the shodan level (where most karateka during the Meji era started learning the kata). Of course you could always just pick the prettiest.

On https://www.tkasudo.com in the media section we have a .wmf with Shu Shi No Kon Sho.

Realistically this situation calls for clear headed action, not martial arts foolhardy action. If the other victim is incapacitated you might end up at a 5-1 thug to you ratio. Run. use cell to call cops. I don't walk around strapped and I stay to areas where I won't get mugged. 5-1 is not a scenario you want and/or expect. If you fight and get sucker punched you are both toast, but if you run there is a chance for a response from authorities significantly increasing both chances for survival.

TaekwondoMike, Good point, but he might mean that his cohort raises money for a non-profit entity, in which case, they would be ok. Still, sound advice Mike!

It's not just karate--- look at any hobby/activitiy. "I learned to play chess, but I never joined a club" "I played t-ball, but I wasn't varsity" "I always wanted to write a screenplay but..." We have to prioritize our life. In High School I prioritized martial arts over girls, and it got me here... I would agree that drive and motivation are variale among people, but to say most don't have the mettle to get a black belt should actually be "Many people don't want to get a black belt".

Research suggests that by sequuencing your feedback as positive and feedback, your feedback will be more impactful (at least in psychological research in therapy)... At the children's gym I work at we do "I liked how you did this.... next time try this..." John

Scott, LOL. TKA doesn't quite reach up to the Northeast part of the state, but thanks for the lookout. What experience do you have with us?

What about the BJJ guys? 10 years for them and that is training 3-4 times a week. At my school it seems to be about 4.5-5 years on average.

Taijitsu, IMHO will provide a bit harsher training environment with some grappling, but as is the case with everything in MA: It depends on the school.

Do you have anything you can tell us? Nothing but second hand information. I don't have any experience, I was just commenting on the word of mouth press they have with the parents that come to my gym... Maybe I'll see if I can get a free trial class and report back...

Best of the Best.... I just love the cheese!

3 Ninjas... A double edged sword though...

Uh? McDojo? We have a USSD here in NOVA, but they have a bad reputation (not nice, poor training, etc.)

Good luck with the new Sensei...

It has some great choreagraphy

??? How old are you? Why would communicating with someone from class be a requisite for the judgement of technique? Do these requiremetns hold to everyone in your dojo? Support systems come in all shapes and sizes.

Congratulations. I applaud you for getting involved with your children. I wouldn't worry so much about legitamacy right now, just have fun!

You are lucky because you have an idea of what you want in life, but you might think of an association as opposed to a franchise... Basically you need credibility and supporters. Like others have said, you need to start with the first step: Open a club.

Stretching after is the most important. Research suggests that it is this type of stretching that prevents injury. The research is sketchy at best regarding stretching pre-workout.

I think in Gracie style, 3 years, you'd be a young/middle blue belt, not even a purple belt....

I beleive the heart of the question at hand is: Can you learn enough to progress in a few months to deserve a rank? And, like many questions in Karate, we have to reply with a "it depends". The cultures and standards associated with different schools have great influence on testing procedures. While testing procedures may not be standard betwixt styles and schools, as long as the testing is consistent within a school, your culture will be positive. I beleive the progressive delays at later belt ranks is dependent upon the capacity to learn. For example, when teaching very young children anything, they can gnerally remember a number of tiems equal to their age, so to is this true with your average karateka... A white belt can only consider a few concepts when learning something new, but a black belt is refining subtle and complex knowledge structures, so the changes in their style may be infinite for one new piece of information.

Right now I only know Shu Shi No Kon Sho. I used to know a Bando Bo kata called Four Winds, but I didn't drill it enough to remember.

Hey NidanKid, You can search the forums, the black belt test has at least one thread with multiple responses to the "What's your black belt test like?" question. I've posted mine there.

In terms of my school, Bassai Dai and Kanku Dai represent a catalog of all of our kata. They also create opportunities to work with timing and presentation.