Holland

I had forgotten that there was a style with such a close name... Boy, you gotta wonder why someone would name their style something that close to an already popular style. Would be like starting a style and calling it Kung Foo, or Tie Kwon do. To each his own I guess.

I read that Master Armstrong is in a nursing home and as a result of the brain tumor he had in the 1980's has almost no short term memory and basically can not remember anything from 1989 on. I will try to dig up the site I read it from...it was quite a long article.

There are several good books out there and videos as well. Even though I am not a fan of Harold Long's video series...his book "Isshinryu Karate: the ultimate fighting art" is a pretty good read. Some of the views expressed in it are limited, but all in all its a good book. Also...Steve Armstrong's "Isshinryu Karate: The One Heart Method" is pretty good as well...at least for getting to know a bit about the personal side of Tatsuo Shimabuku. The dramatized section of the book are pretty dorky though...good thing that is only about 10 percent of the book. As far as video's go...Harold Mitchum's is fantastic, though pricey. 80 bucks for all eight open hand katas. But these videos are far superior to what Masters Uezu and Long put out. The bunkai sections of Mitchum's video are extremely well done. There are several other videos out there that are decent, but most are pricey...especially for what you get. I pretty much look at ebay all of the time and if something decent pops up, I get it.

I would think to myself..."wow, this guy is attacking me with a katana." I would probably attempt to strike up a conversation about it....something like.... Me: Dude, you like, are attacking me with a katana. That Guy: Gimme your wallet. Me: I mean, not a gun? Wouldn't carrying around a katana be kinda conspicuous? I guess in this scenario I would of course have a nunte bo on me...or better yet a bazooka. In which case I think I would have the upper hand...

Actually I have seen Shichi-dan used almost as much as Nana-dan. Not quite...but close enough.

We use Sho-dan-ho as the rank for Jr. Black Belt. In my school you can not promote to a full adult black belt until you are 15 years old. I start students at 8 years old...so if a student starts at 8 and progresses normally, by the time they are 12 or 13 they should know everything they need to test for sho-dan. We do not test them for full black belt by rather for sho-dan-ho instead. The best is one of those black belts with the white stripe down the middle. When that same student gets 15, they test for sho-dan and get the regular black belt.

We have black belt workouts at the school I run every once in a while and they are very informative. On top of being able to do things you can not do in a normal class, it also allows an instructor to get everyone "back in line" on certain variances that inevitably happen in all but the smallest schools. Back to the original question though...my classes run 75 minutes for kids, 90 for adults. If I had to change the class structure it would be to go longer rather than shorter.

Name: Brent Style: 3rd Dan, Isshinryu 1st Dan, Okinawan Kobudo Years Training: 14 Height: 6'2 Weight: 235lbs Titles: The dojo I run was a top five finalist for "Dojo of the Year" by the Isshinryu Hall of Fame for 2005 and 2006. Favorite Technique: Left leg side kick. (I am a meat and potatoes fighter.)

For me it depends on the student. A yellow belt who came, lasted 5 months and leaves I don't call. A brown belt on the other hand I might get up with. Then again I run my dojo as a non-profit joint, so I only call people for sentimental reasons, not because they help pay the bills.

Gaudiness is inherent in the American blood line.

I have always used the round shureido tonfa, but recently I was introduced by a squarish pair made by Master Carbone and I really liked them. I am thinking about shelling out the 80 bucks to get a pair.

Nunte Bo. Reach helps.

Low kicks, more natural stances. Vertical punches primarily. Its a good style to grow old in, as the kicks are practically low. But pretty much Isshinryu is just a good ol' Okinawan style of karate. Been in it since 89 myself and still love the style. The politics suck, and we have like a dozen 10th degree black belts, but its still a great style.

I have always thought they were ugly. Of course I would not have told that to Superfoot at the time he was wearing them.

The bigger they are, the harder they hit.

I run my own school (3rd dan) At my home dojo, which is 3 hours away, my Sensei is a 6th dan. In wilimington I have a weapons instructor who is a 6th dan in shitoryu and a 5th dan in okinawan kobudo.

And now you can get green, blue and grey weapons as well. You are not stuck with red and black now!

Stand on one foot, put both hands on your head and scream something in turkish.

When I tested for san-dan I messed up my knee when my instructor was testing my stance in a kata. By the halfway point in the test my knee was really, really swollen. I grunted every time I had to bend in a kata and fighting was not fun. I survived though and passed. Now its a good story and funny to tell about, but at the time it was no joke.

We do a decent amount of bunkai in our school. Each student has to learn what each move does in a kata as soon as they are comfortable with the moves. Of course as a student grows their bunkai will grow with them. They are able to think outside the box and do more with simple techniques. Of course I have also seen people bunkai a kata to death....which is tedious.

In my core style; bo, sai and tonfa. I am also taking weapons from a different style that include the above and Tekkos, Jo, Eku, Nunte Bo and Kamas.

Welcome to the group.

Thats a lot of fun to do. You find out real quickly that it is just easier to get the heck outta the way than it is to actually block.

From 0 to 1200ish posts in like six weeks! Congratulations.

I am an Isshinryu San-dan under Tim Cunningham from Tarboro NC. I run Cape Fear Isshinryu in Wilmington. I have about 75 students. I am currently in no organization, having been most recently kicked out of the USIKA (last year)