Isshinryu_heart

Also: One Heart Way Way of the heart All things begin with one

great article!!! the stars are also in a straight horizontal line - the japanese kanji for one. Isshinryu means "one heart way". Master Shimabuku also said it was because "all things begin with one" The grey background signifies the unknown. The patch is actually not of Mizu Gami (the water goddess) it is of Isshinryu no Megami (the Goddess of Isshinryu) The water is purely symbolic.

Seiuchin and Sanchin are good for concentration For anyone in Isshinryu though, Sunsu because it's our own kata

SABRE because you get to SLASH haha Actually Ive only fenced sabre once or twice in my life, but it seems the most fun

Kali is great - effective and fun

In my opinion, Judo goes well with any form of MA - though Ive never taken TKD....it's good to have a background in groundfighting and the throws are very effective in self-defense. Just keep in mind that it's probably a lot different than what you are used to.

The reasons I was taught that a vertical fist is more effective are 1 - it takes slightly less time to throw - time that can really matter in a fight 2 - some of the power behind the punch is lost in turning the fist, so a vertical punch is more powerful because it is directed straight to the target. 3 - in addition to the vertical punch being more powerful, it can also be much more painful, since all the energy behind the punch is directed into the top 2 knuckles instead of spread out over the entire fist **This is only for straightfoward punches, in other techniques turning the fist is inevitable, such as hooks, uppercuts, backfists, etc. As for the claim that you have more/less of a chance of injuring your wrist using a vertical punch compared to horizontal - anyone can injure themselves using any type of punch if their form is off.

definitely TKD

Some ideas for partner warmups: Have the "anchor" person wrap their legs around their partner 's calves (sitting on the floor) supporting their legs with their hands the other person can do a "stand-up" (its like a situp but you stand all the way up and then sit back down) This is great because it works the abs and the legs. you could also do partner leg-lifts - one person lays down and grabs the "anchor" person's ankles. They lift both their legs up and the anchor pushes them back down (the idea is to keep from touching the ground) Works lower abs Partner squat kicks are also a good warmup, just have 2 people facing eachother (can link arms or not) squat down, come up and do 2 mae garis to the side or 2 sideblade. Partners keep eachother motivated for this one. Some stretches: have the person being stretched sit on the ground with their legs spread. The other person positions his/her feet on the inside of their partners legs. The link hands and the stretcher leans back, pulling the stretched forward. After holding the stretch, push their legs out a little farther and lean back again. Have the person being stretched do a straightfoward kick and the other parther catches it. holding their leg in one hand, and their hand with the other for balance, SLOWLY walk backwards. This stretches the whole back of the leg, and works the split the stretcher kneels down on all fours, keeping their back arched. The person being stretched squats by the side of their partner and slowly leans back until their back is stretched completely over their partners body. This stretches out the back very well and also feels really really good. I hope these are helpful!

chatanyara is awesome my favorite hand kata is definitely chinto

my school does a demo to kung fu fighting. It's awesome.

wait NJ is the only place with slurpees? That sucks for everyone else

"Practice makes permanent" (not perfect) "ok kids, it's sizzle time" "time and pressure make diamonds" "happy pain" There are so many more but I am having brain issues at the moment

I had no intention to insult you...this was just out of curiosity. Please don't take it the wrong way. That was actually the whole reason this came about - my sensei was trying to make the point that there are other things in life more difficult than a black belt test

stand up, spin to the left into chinto dachi, double high block

My sensei recently asked the black belts to rate their black belt tests on a scale of 1-10 (compared with everything else in their lives) 1 being the easiest thing you ever had to do 10 being the absolute hardest thing you ever faced in your life I'm curious to see what it is like for other styles. **Please don't tell me what you had to do for your test - I believe that the events of a black belt test should remain within the black belt community of your school. I am merely interested in the overall difficulty level of the test. -Thanks

I joined karate at a real low point in my life...I had very low self-esteem and various other issues... I'm happy to say that karate has created a completely different me. I have much more confidence and respect for myself and others. So here I am 5 years later...my dojo is my second home. I am seriously addicted. I don't think I could live without karate!

As unfortunate as it is, there will always be tension between different styles - even between different schools of the same style. In my area there are a lot of Isshinryu, because different black belts broke away from my sensei (for various reasons) and started their own schools. What resulted was basically a huge rivalry between the schools, and a lot of unnecessary hard feelings and fights. I remember one time I asked another girl from a different Isshinryu school to train with me in preparation for a tournament. She refused because she would "never train with someone from my school" That was the last time I ever asked someone from an outside dojo to train with me. (BTW, I beat her in the competition ) It's like, whenever the opportunity comes to defend your school, everything you ever learned about respect goes out the window. I guess it's a mix of school pride and ego. It's one thing in the spirit of competition but some people take things way too far.

Wow, you don't teach Seisan until 3rd-4th dan? That's the first kata taught in Isshinryu. Interesting...

kudos to Patusai i don't really believe in rank either...I'm just a girl studying the martial arts. however, officially I am a ni-kyu.

Just introducing myself. I'm 2nd kyu in isshinryu...Ive been studying for about 5 years now.

congrats on your promotion! I have to say that (at least in my style) 3rd kyu tests are a BIG deal. My test was spanned over about 2 weeks of classes which was extremely nerve-racking as well as exhausting. You should keep in mind too that your belt is just something that holds your pants up. Rank shouldn't be the most important thing in your training. Making promotions quickly is not necessarily a good thing. You should focus more on your overall training and improvement and leave it up to your sensei to decide when you are ready to move up. Just stick with it and don't get discouraged!