SlowHands

hi matt71, i think everyone has pretty much answered your question, but here is a video to help supplement the idea - Iain Abernethy is known to provide exceptional explanations of kata bunkai. i hope this helps!

actually... i've never worn a cup, whether in class or at tournaments. i've always felt that if i got tagged in the goodies, i probably deserved it and should've done better to protect myself. the way i look at it is - i'm not going to be walking around the street wearing a cup, right? (and i'm not saying wearing a cup makes you complacent when you train) so i try and spar as realistically as possible in class. however, that sort of mentality isn't for anyone and its just my 2c..

i trained with Kancho Kanazawa sensei and his son back in 2011. the seminar was suppose to be 3 hours, but soon became close to 5 hahah.... it was a good seminar to emphasize how important kihon is to the karateka. i distinctly remember him saying the hardest part of karate is lining up when it came to large groups. he's still a fabulous instructor as well as his son, but he's definitely more frail since his skiing accident a few years back.

well done i doubt i'd ever be able to do many of those moves. not sure if you've seen these videos, but White Lotus Kung Fu academy has tricking nights http://www.youtube.com/user/WhiteLotusVideos

my sympathy and condolences to both Suzuki Sensei's family, both inside and outside the dojo.

here are a couple of matches at a recent local tournament I competed in, not the best technique so go easy on me guys hahah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqIj4XRVb8Y&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWPJFVO9pFE

the escrima stick, imo, is the most intuitive weapon you could learn. there are no moving parts like a nunchaku, the length does not prohibit you in narrow areas like a bo, and its easy to find something similar to it on the street than either of those weapons.

Hakua-Kai Shodan 3x classes & 2 self practices/ week

Not a problem. Do each Kata 20 times per day. ^ quoted for truthiness a lost voice should never prevent you from practicing. and just because you're not at the dojo doesn't mean you can't practice at home

-shadowboxing -jump roping for better foot work -simple combinations that you can pull off easily the object of kumite in the dojo is apply the stuff you've learned in class so that goes with out saying that you should do just that. however, you have to learn what works best for you in terms of your body type and your mentality. are you a defensive fighter? practice your counters, block + punch/kick, switch it up a little shift, parry, counter, counter, counter, etc whatever your imagination comes up with are you more on the offensive? practice entering at different ankles from the left or the right of your targer, and try putting together combinations that flow together and target different planes (high, middle, low)

i believe fight quest is available for streaming on netflix

welcome to the boards! i would advise stretching, lots and lots of stretching it'll pay dividends in the long run

i had a similar pain in the hip joint area and originally i thought it could be something like tennis elbow where i over-trained.. 6 months later i was still in pain, and at times it was even sharp, much like pins and needles. another month later and i was having throbbing sensations course up and down my leg. i would soon find out that i had strained an abductor muscle along the inside of the thigh/groin. because of my mindset (to just train through it), i wound up exacerbating the injury. go see a sports medicine specialist when you get a chance. i've been going for nearly 2 months now and the hip is markedly better.

there are a couple of different ways you can combine/chain the two techniques together. 1.using lead leg only: sweep with the lead foot, at the end of its arc you continue the motion and hook kick to the head. 2. using back leg: sweep with your rear foot, when it lands you spin and hook-kick with other foot. its really all about setting up your opponent. the ashi barai is really used to misdirect their attention.

oooo yah, was just talking about this with my sensei a few weekends ago. i thought kanazawa might've been at fault, as they sometimes make him seem like the rebel since he "broke away" from the JKA