RichardHangHong

Our bow in goes like this Seiza Mokuso/Mokuso Yame Shomen Ni Rei Sensei Autagani Rei (at start of class all say onegaishimasu, at end domo arigato gozai mashita)

Most fights start up close and often involve a bit of shoving before fists start flying so often a shove can turn into a lapel grab. As for the wrist grabs, they're more commonly used with women and children to grab and pull them rather than as a way to get a strike in (unless you're a parent going in to slap the back of the knees! lol!). I do a lot of wrist and lapel grabs when going through bunkai, but balance it with strikes and blocks for the same movement. Also, I rarely do bunkai from a distance, 90% of the time it always starts from up close as most situations start off this way.

When coming up with a name it's important to choose something that has meaning. I'm quite a traditionalist and also like to keep things simple and to the point, so when choosing the name for my school I took this into account, did some research and chose Seitou Ryu which means Traditional School. It took nearly 6 months to choose the name but it was worth the wait.

Like the others said, there's no style that just uses brute force. If you're looking for a more circular style I'd recommend Goju Ryu. If you're in the UK check out https://www.otgka.co.uk, https://www.egka.org.uk, https://www.gojukarate.co.uk. If you're elsewhere, try https://www.iogkf.com Good luck

I agree with bushido and Angela, if the dojo is part of an organisation, then it only seems fair that the head person has the final decision on naming the dojo. Maybe having the organisation's name in brackets as part of your dojos name. E.g. Costa Rica Shotokan Karate Club (association)

I love Empi. When I did it at the last tournament I nailed the jump. Got a great photograph of me mid-jump about 3.5 - 4ft in the air! Awesome!

Well, I've had a few experiences where I've been told by various instructors I can't do this, not allowed to do that. Here's a run down of my most recent experience/incident. I was having a discussion with someone on another forum and they asked if I hold dan grades in other styles as my club is a blend of 2 styles. I said no, but a couple of Shotokan instructors (9th and 6th dan) both thought I was a 3rd dan (I'm a 2nd dan). I said that I haven't asked my instructor from the other style what grade he rates me at as I thought it was unnecessary. A week later I got an email forwarded by his assistant chief instructor saying that he had seen me mention his name several times on the forum and that I must stop using his name to add credibility to my club and style. He also made a emphasised point of telling me he consdered me "a beginner who only trains once a week at his dojo". Why he couldn't do it himself is beyond me but anyway, I promptly replied and respectfully apologised even though I felt what was said was unfounded. I went back onto the forums to check and review my posts for these several instances that he referred to. In the last 3 months I had said his name just 3 times. And on each occurence I was highly respectful, saying what a good instructor he is and how much I enjoy training with him and that I wish I could do more but my timetable doesn't allow me to. I also made no implications or other comments that could be seen as him "adding credibility to our club". I've left the issue alone now, but am taking note that this particular person seems to be a bit paranoid. I don't have classes anywhere near his ones so it can't possibly be that he's worried I'm going to try and steal his students away from him. Not that I would do that anyway. All I'm interested in is just training and developing my karate even further. There were another couple of instances where he gave me an ultimatum of either bring my whole club over to their style and association or I couldn't train with him anymore. They said this because they wanted their style taught their way and didn't want it being diluted (implied "by someone who was not pure Goju Ryu"). I promptly refused as it wasn't fair on my students that to them (I have about 200 students + another 100 in a branch of my club in another area run by a friend of mine), funnily enough, he backpedalled and I am still training with him regularly. I said I would happily re-take my grades if need be and join his association as an individual but he said it's not necessary. I really don't know why they are like this towards me. It's like a game of hot and cold. Sometimes they're really helpful and friendly towards me, giving me hints and tips on how to improve my technique, knowledge, etc and then other times it's cold shoulder acting like they've got to hide all their knowledge from me so I can't "steal" it away from them. It's crazy I tell you, crazy!

Haven't got a psp, just a PS2. Any ideas as to when the PS3 is coming out?

I've never read any of the books, I'll just wait for the movie!

I used to always go for Pizza Hut's stuffed crust, deep pan half spicy hot one, half super supreme. Now I'm hooked on Dominos' stuffed based! YUM! Always with extra anchovies though whatever the pizza!

Congratulations!

I read a bit of Marvel every now and again, occassionally I watch some Manga but it's changed a lot in the last 10 years. It's just not the same anymore. I was a big fan of Manga films like Ninja Scroll, Venus Wars, Akira, Guyver, etc. They just don't make them like they used to. And they're really hard to get on dvd too! It's all still on VHS!

I was just wondering if anyone here thought that there's just too much paranoia in the martial arts world? I've had quite a few experiences with a several associations over the last couple of years and it seems to me that the most prominent paranoia in the karate world is within Goju Ryu. I'll elaborate later but for now, what does everyone else think?

For fun sometimes we'll play around with the taigyoku katas, substituting the stances, blocks, strikes and kicks for others. It's a good coordination exercise and a lot of fun at the same time too.

I'm not sure I completely follow here. Are you naming your club/organisation or just that particular venue? In our association the dojos are named by the areas they are in. "Seitou Ryu Basildon Dojo" or just "Basildon Dojo" One thing to consider is including the style name in the title. E.g. "name" Shotokan Karate Club.

I used to compete with just Empi or Seipai before. I still like to use Empi, but I've got to get back down to 10.5 or 11 stone/70kg (currently 12.5 stone/80kg) before I can start using it well again.

I'm entering a tournament next weekend and I've chosen Jion, Sochin and Kanku Dai as my 3 best tournament katas. Apart from a small tournament I competed in back in May, the last tournament I entered was over 3 years ago!

Jack of all trades is a perfectly valid conclusion if the person is doing "a bit of this and a bit of that". But if one is cross training in order to improve areas of their technique and understanding then it can be very useful. For example, my style is a mixture of Shotokan and Goju Ryu but I continue to train with instructors in those styles in order to deepen my understanding of their respective styles. I also train in Wado Ryu and Iaido for a slightly different insight as to how others do things from both a karate and a weapons point of view. It helps me to get a more rounded view of things.

In our club, if they're from another karate style then they keep their belt on and join in at the appropriate place. If they're from another martial art however, they must wear a white belt.

Cross training can be good for you, provided you have a solid foundation in what you're already doing. As well as running my own karate club, I also train in Shotokan, Goju Ryu, Wado Ryu and Iaido. Although the 3 karate styles are different, they all have something to offer and I incorporate them into my own karate. The Iaido helps to develop the soft side of my training and keeps my mind quiet too.

My sensei had his black belt for a good 15yrs or so. We finally got him a new belt last month and presented it to him at the last black belt grading.

I don't think coloured belts have a white core. I've seen students over the years who've had their coloured belt for a long time and it's gotten a lot of wear. I doubt you'll ever see a frayed coloured belt. Although I think Tokaido do coloured belts (for tournaments i guess) so they might have a white core.

Jump and turn 180% with a confused look on your face as if to say "Who did that?" then sniff twice, make your face go all sickly green, stagger back a forth a couple of steps (drunken kung fu stylee). Suddenly stand upright rigid and fall backwards collapsing onto the floor.

Exactly. I had a student that moved miles away and there wasn't a single dojo of our club near them so I helped them find a Shotokan club with a good reputation near them and now they are continuing with their training.

I think it's more of a society and culture thing rather than what one does in training. Taking up a martial art is a great introduction to the way that society works and behaves. I certainly believe that if we as westerners took a few leaves from the Japanese cultural differences it wouldn't hurt us a bit.