knarfster

How can Funikoshi not know the Bunkai? Especially if he trained with Itosu directly and was an Okinawan himself?

I really like tekki shodan, but because I started in Shorin Ryu before Shotokan it was the first kata I learned. 26 is not too many if you have a life time to learn them, but you spend 2 years plus on each kata it will take you forever get your Sho Dan LOL.

Just a follow, after 20 years off it was nice to see some old friends, but boy have they advanced. One freind is a San Dan and another i went college with is a Go Dan ! (pretty good for a white boy in the JKA)

I don't understand why the JKA added all those colors. I recently restarted after a 20 year hiatus. I left Shotokan in 1987 (went in to the Army) we had White (9th through 7th Kyu) Green (6th through 4th Kyu), Brown (3rd through 1st kyu) and Black. Now that I have started again with my 8 year old I see white, yellow, orange, green, purple, brown and black. This all under the same Japanese Sensei (A student of Funakoshi's in the 50's, yes he is 70). I wore a white belt for the first 6 months back, then Sensei said I can wear a Purple belt (4th kyu again).

I am not sure why anyone would be "secretive" about what goes on during the test (behind closed doors). I thought part of a teachers job was to prepare a student for his test.

Don't Quit! I have a arthritis in my hip but I still train. It is the trip not the destination that is important.

I live in Phoenix and was wondering if the Fred buck "School of the Tiger" is a good Kyokushin school? I see he is the son of Don Buck, and pictures of him with his dad and Mas oyama, so I hope it is alegit school.

I vote for drilling moves into your head and making them automatic. However, that won't happen if you think of the katas as "dances". I am constantly reminding my son to picture his opponent when he is practicing kata.