bushido_man96

It's an interesting article, and the insight into the language is helpful. As has already been mentioned, people study their style for many different reasons. Some lean more martial, and some lean more art; and some have done more one way that the other based on where they were in their lives at the time of their study. Approaches to training and outlooks on aspects of life ebb and flow; I see this article as a picture of that. We all may have a different outlook on what we are doing and why 10 years from now, and 20, and 30.

This is a very interesting topic, and lots of good points have been made already. I kind of feel the same way you do about this, @Wastelander, but for TKD. I know TKD isn't as old as some Karate styles, but it has a rich history, which I feel has been mostly lost through the unification of the original kwans. Most of the styles taught in these kwans were originally styles of Karate, Chinese styles, or Judo that were picked up by the practitioners during the Japanese occupation of Korea. There are also the rumors that those that had studied (or played) Taekkyon when young in Korea also added that flavor to what they learned and taught. I've spent some time researching these kwans, and information is hard to find. It saddens me to think of what material and methods from those original kwans are no longer taught in modern dojangs. Karate is luckier than Taekwondo in a way; at least there isn't one driving force trying to unify and codify everything under one umbrella. I think the plight of rarer styles is like @sensei8 mentioned; they are born and die without much transition taking place, whether this is by hook or by crook. Those, like you, @Wastelander, that are the gatekeepers of these rare styles, I think have to decide how it is preserved and how it moves forward. Personally, I love to have written material to refer to, but not everyone is going to write a book. Perhaps people aren't as interested or simply don't have the time and resources to seek these things out. Where would I have to go meet up with you and seek out KishimotoDi? Illinois? That's quite a trip for me, and probably for most, except those who are local. Hitting up a weekend seminar would be a great option, but how much can you pour into someone over the course of 8-15 hours of training? Not enough to pass on a style. Some concepts and technical aspects would be retained, for sure. Hopefully you have a handful of good students that will be able to continue on the style, and perhaps it will grow more in time and therefore become a little more widespread and accessible to others. If people aren't seeking out those styles anymore, perhaps the answer is for them to seek out others. But I don't think that is in the nature for these rare styles to do. I could be wrong; that happens all the time. I hope this doesn't come across as a "pointing fingers" type of response; that's not my intention. I'm just trying to put forth points to generate more discussion on the matter. Something we don't see happen as much anymore is the uchi-deshi, the student who lives with a master for a length of time. That seems like it would be harder to do nowadays. I'm not sure if it would help out in this instance or not, but we just don't see that kind of commitment from those seeking to train with skilled and knowledgeable instructors.

Congratulations!

Now I'm reading Wado-Ryu Karate, The Complete Art Uncovered, by Frank Johnson.

Chiefs have locked up the #1 seed in the AFC, and will be resting key starters on week 18 against the Broncos. Carson Wentz will start at QB, and I imagine lots of WRs and RBs will rest. Chris Jones is going to rest as well. This definitely helps the Broncos, as they need to win to get into the playoffs. Not sure how I feel about that.

I enjoy this one, too. I enjoy David Harbour.

My son has played it quite a bit. I'm more into the retro Mortal Kombat games right now.

I've been seeing quite a few ads for it, but have not pulled the trigger on it. Maybe down the road.

12/26/2024 TKD: I went to the gym with the kids and spent some time in the dojang trying to learn my new hyung from a video sent to us by one of our seniors. I got about half of it down I would say. I was working it off and on, and going into the gym to help the kids with their strength training. 12/27/2024 TKD: Went back to the gym and did some more work on the new hyung. I got through it all once, and worked on sections of it, too. Feeling better about it. There's a few trick balance parts that are tripping me up. I may try some visualization work with these sections. New form is Choi Yong.

This is an interesting discovery. I haven't been able to consume caffeine or alcohol for some time now, but I don't know that it has helped my eating habits. I never really was an energy drink guy, but I did like my coffee. Not had any in some time now. Thanks for sharing this with us, @KorroddyDude.

Lots of great advice has been put forth already. As martial artists, we've all been there in that beginning phase. The truth is, it just takes time, and you have to tell yourself that you're looking years down the road, not days. It's easy for me to say, "don't be so hard on yourself," but the fact of the matter is everyone is different and this is tough for some to accept. I started Aikido back up very recently, and I get frustrated with myself in class at times because I just can't seem to make some things work. The sensei is good about telling me to not worry about trying to be as proficient at Aikido as I am with Taekwondo, so I try to take it all in stride. You need to do this for you; it's got to be your journey. You'll have lots of help on the way, but only you can put the work in. Try to take one positive thing out of every class. Just one. And focus on that. Keep a journal, and have an entry for every date that you go to class or practice something on your own. Write down little notes you remember. These could be feelings you had about a certain topic in class, or they could be tidbits you recall the instructor telling you to improve one aspect or another of a technique. Jot these things down, and you can look back on them for reference, and it's also a log of your progress. It also keeps you accountable. I've found it to be a very handy tool. Then, come back here to KarateForums and talk to us about it. Heck, start a thread that's a log of your training like several of us have done here. I've found this community to be very supportive, and coming here to discuss my thoughts on classes and testings really is a motivating factor in going back to class. I think you will find it to be true, as well. Go back to class. Believe in yourself. We do.

Congratulations to you and your daughter on your promotions!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Wado-Ryu Karate Fighting Techniques Uncovered, by Frank Johnson.

I just saw this and wasn't surprised either. Sounds like he had three full practices. He's too much of a competitor to sit these games out. If KC can win all three of these games, that'll be a monumental task. Playing 3 games in 11 days is a bit crazy. I believe Pittsburg is still first in the AFC North, and Houston is first in the South, and Denver, although just losing to the Chargers, have turned into world beaters and will be a tough out. Bo Nix has worked himself into the OROY conversation. In other good news, Hollywood Brown will make his season debut against Houston on Saturday. Things may be coming together at just the right time for KC.

I don't know that it's dying necessarily, but it's popularity has declined, but appears to have levelled out. I think the heavyweight title fights still tend to be the most popular, but that's just my perception; it may not be true. Does anyone know what the pull was from the last big boxing PPV?

That does look pretty good. I guess I need to get Cobra Kai all finished up yet. Cool to see Jackie Chan again.

12/16/2024 Aikido Class: 8:30 - 9:30 am. Morning class. After our warmups and stretching/aikitaisos, we got to work more on testing material. The first technique I did was shomenuchi kokyonage. I need to get better at the balance breaking aspect of this technique. Sensei gave me a few good pointers, the most important one is staying relaxed when I hook the hands on, especially the one that goes up to the head/neck area. From there, I tried to focus more on a "drop" than a pull or a yank back on the uke. From the drop, pulling the head to the chest becomes easier. I started to see improvement. Next was shomenuchi iriminage. This one was a bit of a challenge. In the kokyonage, the pull was down. In this iriminage version, the pull is around, and then feeding their head into the crook of the elbow, and keep using a tenkan turn to get them off balance, then throw them down. The control of the head in the crook of the elbow and pointing the elbow up at the right time seems to be a key. On top of performing the techniques, I'm still worrying about how my head will respond to getting taken down. I did take a couple of falls, and things went ok throughout the day. That was a nice relief.

Pretty interesting. It's good to get data on things over time. I don't blame you for not wanting to jog. It is boring, and it does suck. I'd much rather do forms/hyungs for an hour than jog. Have you had any opportunity to wear that thing while sparring to see what that data looks like? It'd be interesting to see.

Thank you everyone, and congratulations to all the winners! I'd also like to express appreciation for the members that nominated and voted. The community is what makes this forum so great, and without all the great people here that post, respond, and most importantly, help each other out, then it would just be another spot on the web. Instead, you all make this the best place to come and talk about our passion. Thank you all for being here!

Hehe, we watched The Grinch with Jim Carrey tonight, so I heard that one, too.

Another head-scratching performance by KC. And now we've got to hope Mahomes's ankle is ok to go on Saturday. That game with Houston is an important one.

I will heed that advice! Currently, I'm finishing up Life Lessons from a Martial Arts Master. It's written by Mastery Corey Lewis, who is a master in the organization I'm in. He was a judge at our recent testing.

I love Magic the Gathering.

It's going to be interesting to see this project at UNC going forward. Bill presented a plan on how to run the football team like an organization, with the how the NIL stuff affects things now. I think he's basically going to run it like a pro team. If it goes right, this will set the precedent for how college football teams are ran going forward.