armanox

I wonder if we could get him to do a round robin - all of us vs just him?

Both of the Shorin Ryu schools that I am at charge $5 per class. One class meets twice per week, the other once. The Aikido school that I'm hopefully returning to soon (my schedule isn't very fun right now) charges $65 per month, but, you can attend as many classes in a week that you are able (which is at most 7 right now).

Any particular reason your sai are made that way? And my sai since you asked... http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/armanox/Shorin%20Ryu/DSCI0014.jpg

Hehe...You can keep your six pack...I like my party ball.... funny No air, no windows, window fan in the door way. And we still ware our gi's (hard core dude's). I had to wash my gi every night so I bought a back up because sometime my gi would not be dry for the class the next day. You too? We have three vent windows, and a fan. Sometimes up to 115F in the dojo (when it's about 100F outside). We train in our gi's too. And ring them out after class...

I am able.

Kusanku Sho and Seisan

Ok, let's see... 1 - Block/evade - avoid getting hit and move while doing it. Either outside (diagonal, not back) or in 2 - Attack - come in w/ strong strike(s) 3 - Throw/Lock/Takedown 4 - Final attack - end it.

And a good set of years it has been.

I'm English - we have GKR insteadDon't feel bad. I live in the same state as Sir Gerbil and I've never heard of them. Wow, thread necromancy.....I might have to pay Sir Gerbil's school a visit....

Not that the governments listen to the Constitution anyway...After all, "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." And, I personally would like to believe that this means all armaments, not just firearms. So, technically the Constitution prohibits the states from creating anti-gun laws. Currently there is a case before SCOTUS about this (see District of Columbia v. Heller).

Dude, if he did Tekki Shodan, props to him. Many of the Okinawans hold Naihanchi to be one of the staple kata that everyone should know. One of these days I will probably use it in a tournament, just because it's that great of a kata (ok, so I do like Seisan and Kusanku better....)

So, I guess I'm the odd man out failing to see why doing a lower kata is an issue? I've learned Seisan as a white belt and have been using it and winning with it ever since. I do agree that he never should have been against the girl due to rank difference. Also, what is the issue with the length of the kata?

Well, you might do it if you have a good pair of shoes on maybe? Oh, yeah! Steel-toed boots come to mind.... Oh combat boots, how I love thee.... I was taught that the ball of the foot is preferred, but, toe, instep, and shin are acceptable. What gets used depends on target and distancing. (Oh, and the shoes you're wearing. I would not do a toe kick in flip-flops, but love them when I'm wearing my boots)

REALLY?!?! Mine too! On a more realistic note.... Get back into shape. I used to be able to do a 6.5 minute mile. I'd like to do that again. Improve with weapons, learn a couple of new kata (Kusanku Dai, hopefully, and for weapons, Gyosho no kun (bo), and *maybe* a new sai or nunchaku kata?)

In our style we do not use the axe kick. It does not appear in any kata, and thus it seems to be ignored in the style.

I never really thought about it. I know a lot of people that complain about not having the same range of motion in a gi as in regular clothes, or about how things fit them, but, my gi fits me as well as what I normally wear, and I can throw kicks just as well in jeans/slacks/dress pants/etc as i can in my gi.

Handgun? Not a bad idea for a modern art, really.

Good job.

Thank you.

Great job!

Good luck indeed.

What a fun set of events for me Saturday through Monday. Saturday I participated in a tournament (US Eastern Regional Championships hosted by Tompkins Karate Association). I was in the under brown belt division (they combined beginner and intermediate mens divisions) for kata, sparring, and weapons. Fifth place kata, 15th place sparring, 3rd place weapons. Much fun. Monday night in class was a surpise to me. Sensei had called a friend of mine up from college (a 1st dan in Hapkido) to attend class, and also was surpised to find Mr. Jim Lilley (8th dan), Mr. Bruce Charity (7th dan) and Mr David Rees (3rd Dan) all present as well (in addition to the regulars, Dan Simons (7th dan), Mr. Will Adams (7th dan), and Mr Dick Kelly (6th dan). I was up for promotion. By the end of class, I was promoted from 4th kyu (green belt) to 1st kyu (brown belt). But, to end a long story, once again I had no idea that a promotion was coming, and also it coincidentally came right after I was in tournament.

Just to add in another organizations traditions... Any student more senior then yourself can be refered to as Sempai. The senior most student in the class, a 3rd Dan, is *technically* Dai Sempai, but we never call him that. No one under Yondan (4th dan) is refered to as Sensei, and then only if they are teaching a class (needs not be the current class, just that they have they're own class). The titles of Renshi, Kyoshi, and Hanshi also exists in our style, Renshi 5th-6th dan, Kyoshi 7-8, Hanshi (Literally translates to Master) 9-10. But, different people refer to the higher ups in different manners. My Sensei's Sensei, an 8th dan, is just refered to as Mr Jim. On Monday, he refered to his instructor, Mr. Takeshi Miyagi, a 10th dan, as Grandmaster Miyagi. But, another one one of our blackbelts, always refers to Miyagi's instructor (another 10th dan) as Master Mirahiya. Quite an odd incosistancy.

Awww...no belts for sale this year? Or maybe.....selling mod positions?

For the purposes of rank and grading use the Japanese version. I would still teach the Korean method, but as an off the side thing rather then a core part of the curriculum.