daizyblackbelt

you're absolutely right about mobility. i'm not entirely sure what possessed me to say that... i'm also picking up a european swordsmanship through another activity: sabre, cutlass, and dagger. i really enjoy it, as i do most weapon play. of course, my weapon of choice is the bo (yamanni chinen-ryu), but that's difficult to actually practice in a combat scenario. too much power behind the swings, though i'm working on modifying a pair of shinai into something similar to a bo, that'll let me work with someone in bogu. but that's WAY off topic. i suppose i'm just going to have to see how it all works out with my feet, i am getting more comfortable with what they're asking me to do, but i do it a little differently than they want, so i constantly get corrected. i'm enjoying it anyway though and that's what really matters.

possibly legality issues in certain places? i'm not sure about that. the standard one is my personal preference, because when people ask me what it is, i just tell them it's a hunk of aluminum that i use to keep track of my keys.

that's the issue though. i'm not supposed to bend my knees AT ALL. i'm very well versed in movement in a sparring type situation, and the type of movement they are asking for seems less than practical to me. it allows one to move in a straight line fairly quickly, but i can cover the same distance in a shorter amount of time. it also feels restricting in terms of mobility, though that's less important with a 4 foot blade...

i've taken up kendo recently (about 6 months ago), and since i've begun i've been consistently dogged by problems that stem from my karate conditioning and training. for instance, kendo footwork is FAR different from and empty hand footwork you will see in a competitive format. the legs remain straight and propel the hips forward, driving the body and striking edge of the sword forward. Personally, i find this to be very odd. i'm used to traditional karate point sparring, which generally involves keeping one's knees bent. i suppose it's just something i'll have to adjust to, but i have a feeling that beating it out of me is going to be difficult. maybe i can make it work my way? after all, who can tell WHAT my feet are doing once i get my own hakama i was wondering if anyone else had problems of this sort, or if they could shed any light on what i might do to (at least intellectually) accept what i'm being told to do. i move MUCH slower this way, and although it's probably lack of experience, and it's a little frustrating. hope to hear from some kendokas out there, but anyone's opinion is welcome!

i'm going to assume that you mean a mawashi uke (as mawashi just means "round") if you were to do a mawashi-uke that ended with the right hand on the bottom, and right foot forward, the left hand would begin facing palm in, and the right hand would begin facing palm out. think of it as a defense against someone grabbing your left hand. you lift it palm towards you, and scrape off/grab their hand with your right hand, and finish off with a double push away or double palm strike. that's one interpretation, and the one that most closely matches the outward form of the move.

aaaaaah, nana ju shi! I learned that one up in yakima from shihan mack and one of his sons. I think it was Marlin? very similar in many ways to gojushiho, but much different also. i wish i could remember it, but i only picked it up very briefly.

for those of you who were interested, i'm sorry i haven't posted videos. i've been down with a case of mono and unable to do pretty much anything. I'm FINALLY starting to recover so hopefully i'll get something up eventually. sojiro, always good to see another shudokan parctitioner. there aren't too many of us!

it's also simply a training tool, just as all stances are. it builds the leg muscles of a beginner by forcing him or her to constantly have bent knees.

the answers you are going to get will depend a bit on the person answering, but here's mine: The time it takes to reach black belt varies substantially from school to school. In my karate dojo, it can take up to 7 years to reach black belt if you start at a young age, or as little as 4 if you start as an adult and show a certain amount of skill. I have no direct knowledge of the requirements for black belt in TKD, but have seen 9 year old girls from certain TKD schools (read: McDojo) wearing black belts that didn't deserve it. As for the relaxed attitude, that depends more on the school and the teacher. Some karate schools are almost military in their behavior, while others are much more relaxed. The same goes for TKD. Now, from my personal experience, karate technique tends to be a little tighter. That's most likely because many traditional karate schools place a lot of emphasis on kata and basics and the fact that the TKD schools that i interact with tend to be more into the sport side of the martial arts and place more emphasis on flash than on effective technique. My two cents.

shihan mack is my sensei's sensei. i see him regularly at tournaments. so far as i know, which is pretty well as i am an intsructor at my school, he has not added any more pinan katas beyond the traditional 5.

our shodan test has gone through some changes to be much more difficult since i took it myself. (my nidan and upcoming sandan have/are making up for it....) currently it includes: 10 one step basics 20 two step basics some indeterminate number of kicks (spinning side-kicks). 10 self-defense techniques 10 katas (kyoku katas 1-5, 5 others) ~30 bunkai for those kata 5 bunkai sets for the 5 kyoku katas (1 each) and then at the end they are told to do some sort of workout (eg crunches) while the grading sheets are collected beyond shodan the test become more free-form depending on the individual.

these kata are unique to shudokan karate and are not done by any other style. as shudokan is a relatively small style (read: smaller than shotokan, shitoo ryy, goju ryu, etc...), they are not widely known. as far as i know there are no dvds of them, or videos on the internet, though i have not done an exhaustive search. i'll try and post some videos within the next week!

it is a very different kata. sochin (so-CHIN) is a very nifty shotokan kata, with some unique stances (i.e. sochin-dachi) soshin (so-SHEEN) is the first in a line of shudokan katas which are: -soshin -kakoshin -choshin they are not guarded katas (a.k.a. the kyoku katas) and can be performed anywhere and taught to anyone (though they are generally reserved for dan ranks). They are some of my favorite katas, though it's been a while since i practiced them. if you were really interested i could probably find a video of it, or tape myself doing it.

it kinda depends on the weapon you would be facing, but as first choice it would be a straight (not tapered), round bo. 6 feet of solid hardwood=pain and broken bones. but bo is tricky against an edged weapon, you have reach and the ability to bend the usfulness out of their weapon, but they have the ability to reduce your weapon to little pieces of wood or slice your fingers/body parts off (esp. a katana). second choice would be a pair of sai (three if i could throw one...) or a knife. or a naginata if i knew how to use one... maybe i just don't want to be in the competition? and lose limbs?

This particular block shows up a lot in shudokan karate (we call it a kakete). it's very popular in the more advanced kyoku katas (which are taught only in style). it also shows up constantly in crane forms (hakku tsuro no ona, hakku tsuru no otoko, hakku cho, hakku cho dai, etc...) used in many different ways, both as a block and strike. you will also see it the kata tensho, though the finger placement is different.

Name: David Titles: errr, does ALMOST winning grand champion in kata and sparring count? Height: 6'1" Weight: 155 lbs Style: Shudokan (not shotokan) Karate, Kendo, Yamanni Chinen ryu kobudo Fav Technique: -for self defense: horizontal elbow to the sternum -for sparring: round kick (fake), side kick as they come in to block the round

the target identification (from what i understand, as i am just a beginner) happens too late for your opponent to do anything about it. the kiai takes place as the strike LANDS, and as such there is no "tell" from the kiai. i suppose it's also a bonus for judges who can hear what you MEANT to hit. funny you should mention it sohan...the people next door frequently tell us to "SHUT THE **** UP". although, they play terrible, terrible dance music (what is it with martial arts and dance clubs always being right next to each other?). on a related note, i was chastised the other night for NOT KIAI-ING ENOUGH in my karate class. i thought it was funny, because i kiai in real sparring matches and kata divisions. but evidently i don't when practice... whodathunkit

i've recently taken up kendo, and it's a whole 'nother world in terms of kiais. they kiai CONSTANTLY. They yell before they attack, during their attack, after the attack, it never ends. Part of it is identifying the attack: "men" for the head (short for shomen-uchi), "do" for the ribs, etc.. But, it's also based in the idea of focus/distraction/intimidation that most of us karatekas have. In that circumstance, the overabundance of yelling has to do with the art one is training in. It's a vast difference from my experience with traditional karate in which katas have about 2 kiais each. despite that, even though it sounds silly, it's kinda fun to yell your head off as you chase someone around whacking them in the head with a piece of bamboo...

everyone has given you excellent advice. just remember to have FUN! meet new people, learn new things, watch everyone compete. it should be a great experience! good luck!

My most difficult test was for nidan. I didn't sleep well the night before for various personal reasons and the test began at 8 in the morning beginning with our katas. After the forms (10 loooong, athletic katas...) were finally over and I was already exhausted, we moved onto bunkai. My partner and I both got a beating. We managed to managed to lose control so many times. I got kicked in the groin, he got punched in the head, and various other accidents... That's what we get for being tired i guess. In the end, i had trouble walking, much less standing. But, i had managed to pass somehow.

Hawkeye, Beautifully put! And I appreciate the Toyama reference, so close to my heart

Brandon, Ouch, that's no good. I haven't had the opportunity to learn any of the naihanchi katas, but i will be doing so this summer. I'm not entirely familar with kusanku sho and dai, but i do know chatanyara kusanku, shihokoskun (sp?), and kosokun sho and dai, which are all pretty much the same kata, esp. the last two. (There are a heck of a lot of versions of kusunku, oddly appropriate considering the title of this thread). I assume that you mean the bit about the zenkutsu dachi comes in where the aerial jump is and is in place of the four-point landing? (If not, i'm lost). If that's the case, I have made EXACTLY that change before, but in a kata called kyoku yondan (exclusive to our style) that has a simlar jump in it. The student was an older man who couldn't bend his leg very far because of a fairly recent surgury of some kind.

congrats on all counts! (i don't normally approve of "bragging"...but i think i'll let it slide just this once, you deserve a little bit of acclaim )

Now that, is a crappy situation. What's with the grandmaster not knowing any kata...? In any event, I'm with you on the thought that changes made by the organization should be universal. It doesn't do at all to have three different version of a kata floating around the same dojo, all with different moves and applications. I suppose that what I'm trying to say is that a kata can be PERSONALIZED. By that I mean timing, targeting (to an extent), small changes in the way a move is done (to emphasize a different application), and things of that nature. I don't approve of changing the stances or pattern of the kata unless the person has a physical disability of some kind that prevents them from performing it. (That's a problem I've run into before when teaching, but I tried to strike a balance and make them push themselves rather than just take out the move completely).

I agree, but doesn't there also need to be room for expansion, progression, and evolution? Pure consistency, while great for preserving things, breeds complacency and stagnation. This is me kind of playing devil's advocate here (as I am quite the traditionalist), but i also believe it's important that consistency not be the GOAL of a dojo. I agree that it makes teaching MUCH easier. But isn't it reasonable to say that once you have passed beyond the kyu ranks that experimentation should be allowed? The kata we perform were not handed down from god, they we developped by men, and there's nothing to say that they can't be changed or that new katas should not be created by those who understand the art. In the end, I'm not really quite sure what to think about this...but it' fun to talk about!