Brady

Hello all. I am a first Dan in Traditional Shorin-Ryu. I am moving shortly, and am considering training in a new style. My problem is this: I am not a huge fan of the striking aspects of our art, so I would be looking for something that is more of a locking and throwing school. However; in our system we train in 5 traditional weapons, and I would hate to give up all weapons training. So, the question is: Is there a system that relies heavily on throws and locks, but still has weapon training as well? Thanks for your input. Brady

I have been training in Shorin-ryu for several years, and (with my sensei's ok) I will be starting to train in traditional jujutsu at another dojo. I wear my Federation patches (2) on my gi, and i am not really interested in getting another. Do i need to remove my AOSKKF patches to train in the new dojo? Brady

If you have concerns about your Dojo, and you are in Colorado Springs area, there is a Shorin-ryu dojo in your area that you should check out. Kyoshi Ader is an Director in the All Okinawan Shorin-ryu Karate and Kobudo Federation. He trained under Fusei Kise, who trained under Hohan Sokon, who trained under... all the way back to Bushi Matsumura. At any rate, I train at a sister school in New Orleans, and you should go and check it out. I have no idea how much fees would be, but the system is great, and I would bet there's no fear in it being a McDojo.

Does anyone have an online resource that deals with, or has a chart indicating, useful information regarding meridians and their cooresponding pressure points? Thanks Brad

I am looking to replace a couple of weapons. Obviously for shipping, I would like to get them from the same place. First I am looking for a pretty decent pair of Nunchaku. I need them to be traditional, made of wood, with cord instead of chain. I also need a 14" pair, instead of the "standard" 12". Second, I am looking for a new bo. I am not one of those people that feels that they need one bow for kata, and one bow to train with, and one bo to fight with. I just need a good 6' wooden bow that isn't too heavy, but can withstand an appropriate amount of striking.. Thanks in advance!

Good work Shui, what it basically means, is straighten out your gi and obi and line up by rank... More or less. B

I asked my sensei. Thanks for all your input and help. I don't know how to spell it, but we start with, "Yoshiro omawato migi obi na su." Thanks again Brady

Maybe someone can help me. I train in Shorin-ryu Karate, and at the begining of every class we bow in, much the same as everyone else, I suppose. The highest ranking student leads the bow in, and I have recently become a high enough rank that sometimes that responsibility falls to me. The problem is that I have no idea what we are saying. I know the responses, but not the first command. I know that in English it amounts to basically "Turn around and straighten your obi and gi," but we speak in Japanese... any help would be appreciated. (And save me from future embarrassment.) Thanks. B

I am looking for kata video dowloads for Shorin-Ryu Matsumura. I am trying to catch up after being out of training for a while, and could use the refresh... Any help is most appriciated. Thanks

There are a lot of different people on this boards, and they display many different takes on martial arts. I was just wondering why each of us decided to train at martial arts, and how old we were. Brady

There is often a lot of talk regarding how short a period of time that some Dojos guarantee the recieving of a black belt. What about dojos, or systems, or senseis that gurantee that you WON'T have a black belt in a certain period of time? I study Shorin-ryu, and I hear alot about how long the system is, and how NO ONE gets a black belt in less than five years. I am respectful of that. One of the reasons that I chose the system was because of it's depth. But, let's pretend, just for the sake of dialouge, that I was really, really good (I don't think I am.) Shouldn't I be able to move along faster than the "approved rate?" Just looking for some thoughts on the subject.

I am considering adding a second martial art, and I was wondering when in the training of a primary art is it "safe" to begin to study a second art? Obviously I don't want to confuse my body or brain, and I wouldn't want either art's technique to suffer.

Ok... well thanks for all the info, and your thoughts on training

The thing is that there's not alot of instruction, it's more like follow along. I just feel like I don't want to hold things up any, and I could be better than I am with just a little more work and information

I just recently started training in Shorin-ryu, and I enjoy the style very much. I asked a Sempei in the class if she could point me in the direction of any record of our kata system, so that I could work some out at home. She indicated to me that there was nothing that I could or should use, and that the only way to learn them was to come to class. I understand that one requires an instructor, and that you can't learn karate from a book. You have to paint the fence. However, I am trying to learn and work as much as I can, and altough i could never master the katas on my own, I certainly could learn the basic sequence of moves training at home, which allow me for more time at training to have Sensei and Sempeis help me really polish and hone my skills. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?