Mitchell

Of the Okinawan kata: Shisochin, Miyagi-no Sanchin. Of the Japanese kata: Kanku-Dai; tekki kata (all); Heian Godan, (my old friend).

I love Jion. My teacher also taught me it's ancient cousin, Ji'in. I love them both.

Every technique has a purpose. The purpose of any technique is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever. We aren't performers. We are martial artists. I know some who have been larked down in kata comp for "Showing off" rather than performing technique with a thorough demonstration of it's purpose. If Karate-Do changes, what will it become? No, "Honor tradition and etiquette." It is a line in our kun. Our style is set against the slide into aesthetics and purposeless techniques. The day I see a 20 foot-high jawline is the day I will stop training the "old way" and start making my yoko geri go "straight up."

I have noticed that especially American martial arts schools tend to use the label "karate" to give more immediate meaning to their art. They tend not to differentiate as much as other countries. TKD is in my opinion definitely not Karate-Do. Karate-Do possesses rich philosophical and inner strength syllabi. While TKD possesses something of the kind, the sheer richness and depth of both these syllabi seen in acceptable Karate-Do Dojo is not seen in TKD circles. I find it interesting how TKD follows a "Kata" format similar to Shotokan. The kata syllabuses practised by both seems to be very similar. However, in Shotokan and similar styles of Karate-Do, much greater attention is paid to detail; the interchange between hard and quick kime; hip vibration, rhythm; breathing method, and so on. TKD versions of the kata such as Heian (Pinan, I think, in TKD); Jion and so on, purely bore me. Hm. Enough of my talk. Silence is more golden, afterall, and far more eloquent.

There is no difference. It is a matter of the shifting (not "fixed")pronunciation of the Japanese language. In the same way, kick is pronounced both "keri" and "Geri." From the Japanese tongue, these sounds are very similar.

The belt means nothing. The person wearing it matters. Either they are worthy of their grade, and so make the belt mean something. Or they are not worthy, and so make themselves liars. Unfortunately, some for their own reasons are offering belts and "Easy passes" as incentives. That is not Bushido. Not Budo. Not even Karate.