username8517

Hello and welcome

Hello and welcome

You know, I never thought of that analogy. I just might have to use it sometime

That's perfectly fine then. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

If you show the exact same respect to your instructor that you show to "any other person" then you should probably reevaluate your outlook on your instructor and his/her rank. When you properly address your instructor, you are honoring the art that you study as well. I agree with this...... inside the dojo. I on the other hand, disagree. Respect should be given to your instructors at all times. Titles such as Sensei, Sifu, Professor, etc, whatever title(s) your instructor has earned. It's much similar to college professors - you don't approach them and address them as Mr. Johnson, you would address them as Professor Johnson. Addressing your instuctor by their rank is tradition. You wouldn't see old school karateka bumping into their sensei in a social setting and address them as Mr. so-and-so. Not unless that karateka would like a severe lesson in disciple and respect next class (if not on the spot). This is why we always bow in and out of the dojo and to our instructors. It's a sign of respect. When I call my sensei on the phone I only address him as sensei. When I run into him at the grocery store (it's happened a few times), I immediately stop, bow, and address him as sensei. I'm paying respect for his accomplishments and thanking him for allowing me to study under him. To do less is not how I was brought up in the MA world.

Hello

Hello and Welcome

We use one-step sparring with the students who we consider just entering the advanced stages. We use it for the above reason, but more importantly that in a fight karate is not going to be pretty. The idea is to get it out of the minds of the idea that a head block always has to be done the same way, with the feet the proper stance, etc etc. Rather it teaches them that sometimes they need to slip, parry, or simply side-step an attack rather than having a perfect form. Granted in the beginning they all tend to look a bit robotic as their mind's try and process what's going on and how they should react. But it makes a nice transition from basic self defense drills to sparring

I'm a bit confused as to whether this was directed at me or 24fightingchickens, so hopefully this makes sense coming from me. If you were to just come and train in our dojo for a couple times, your rank would in another system would be recognized since you were not a student of the dojo. However, should you start up classes, yes you would be required to start from white belt, regardless of your previous rank(s); unless you have previous rank in Shogen-Ryu. That does not mean that your previous ranks are not recognized, it just does not permit you to assume that rank in a different style. The original poster was returning to the same dojo under the same sensei with documentation as to what her legitimate rank was upon time of departure, this is why I was so adamant in saying that she should be able to keep her rank. Now if she had gone across town or to another style, she should start from the beginning--but not in the same dojo as where she had trained before. Myself for example, my first style of karate was Hayashi-hi Shito-Ryu, where I obtained a Shodan. When I switched over to the Matsubayashi-Ryu dojo (which was no longer affiliated with the organization, thus allowing us to transition to Shogen-Ryu), I started as a ju-kyu (White belt). I had to work my way back up to the dan ranks. My instructor still recognizes my Shodan in Hayashi-hi Shito-Ryu, we both just understand it's in a different system with a different instructer. Likewise, if I would ever to go back to my old dojo, I would expect them to recognize my Shodan, but not my current rank of Nidan in Shogen-Ryu. Hopefully this clarifies my point. I am going to have to disagree with this to an extent. Dan ranks who choose not to train to the level they need to will loose speed and strength as they age, but this is not an all-encompassing statement. With Dan ranks comes responsibilities to teach lower ranks, thus taking away from training time they had when they were merely kyu ranks. The Dan ranks must then find and/or make additional training time to adjust, if not exceed, the time they lost teaching. However, I have seen quite a few high ranking Dan move with tremendous speed and strength. Like you said, the key is to continue training. By all means, I agree that if people come in from other systems have them start at the bottom. I did as I mentioned earlier. And by these two paragraphs you listed here, it sounds like you're talking about people new to the system as you specifically mention those coming in from Shotokan to Shorin-Ryu. Let me ask you this--if you had a student who obtained brown belt rank leave and come back years later, would you still recognize that rank he/she obtained under your study. Granted their skills would be rusty, but would you recognize that rank regardless of what needed to be touched up on? If so, we're on the same wavelength, as we were previously comparing apples to oranges. If not, then I highly doubt either of us would be able to persaude the other to change and we can just chalk this up to a healthy debate.

It's a principle found in many kali and silat systems meaning to take the weapons away from an opponent--hence removing the fangs of a snake. Once that's done you effectively taken away all danger. Basically whatever your opponent throws at you, you take it away. If your assailant throws a punch, you attack the hand or arm. If they throw a kick, you attack the foot or leg. Ideally you're looking to temporarily paralyis or break whatever is thrown your way. And then when your opponent is no longer able to attack you (say after you've broken one of their forearms, split their knuckles on the other hand, and cracked one of their legs effectively leaving them hobbling on one good leg) you beat them at will. In weapons systems, such as Kali, the principle remains the same, but the effect can be anything from attacking the limbs of your opponent to disarming them of their weapons and then using it against them, but in the end you're still eliminating your opponents capabilities to attack.

I apologize if my point was confusing. I'll attempt to clarify here. What I mean is that your uniform is generally more loose (or restrictive depending on how you wear your uniform in to your regular attire) than your normal everyday clothes. Myself, for example, in order to maintain that business professional look I'm required to have I do have to wear a suit and tie to work every day. This outfit is much more restrictive than when I put on my gi. The point I was trying to make is that there may be occasions when you may have to use your skills when dressed in a suit & tie or in a coat. You should get to know what your moves are going to feel like when you're not wearing your uniform. Now I'm in no way saying that since I wear a suit and tie to work everyday that I need to train in a suit and tie. I'm just saying that every now and then you should train in an outfit other than your uniform (maybe a half a dozen times a year or so). It doesn't even have to be a hard workout, either, just something to familiarize yourself with what you'll be experiencing. When I do, it's usually in jeans and a tee-shirt; not in my fully business attire. And most importantly, when I do this it's not in the dojo, but rather often in my backyard or at a friend's. The main point behind this is getting to know what it's like to attempt those kicks when you're wearing jeans or throwing punches when wearing a coat, and how you might need to compensate or adjust your moves accordingly. Sorry for any confusion on the original post and hope this helps clear up my previous post.

Agreed. Also it was hard to see if any hip was being used when he was going through the kata. Through the bunki it was obvious he was not, but hard to tell in his full speed version. Stylistic differences I guess

Another good reason is because if you're ever have to defend yourself on the street, what are the odds you're going to be in your uniform to begin with?

I agree with everything you've said. However I wonder what the sensei's reply would have been had it be a Dan rank rather than a kyu rank

I know I'm jumping in a little late on this topic, but I would just like to make one point regarding the whole "mystical" aspect of pressure points and move like the Dim-Mak (death touch). Most of these moves and locations on the body were "discovered" hundreds of years ago. I use the term discovered loosely as the real meaning, i.e.--the biomechanical knowledge behind them, was lacking. Karateka (just to use an example) knew that by striking area where the hip meets the leg (where the femoral artery lies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femoral_artery), the receiver of said strike would die days later. With medicine being what it was back then, MA practioners and doctors had no idea that the femoral artery could be severed causing internal bleeding and eventually death. Instead the vast majority of MA would only know that they struck someone there and over the next few days their opponents fell ill and died. Hence the misconception of a "death touch" is born. Granted this is just one example, but it falls back to the main point--pressure points are a science. By evoling our understanding of the human body we have been able to explain those things such as pressure points and death touches that mystified our ancestors. Now on a personal level, the only time I attempt to use pressure points is when I'm in a grappling situation. I never attempt to aim at them with strikes. Rather for strikes I perfer to use what is called guntin in silat systems. Guntin, which means scissors in Phillipino terminalogy, is the action of attacking an opponents arms, legs, or whatever they throw at you in an attempt to cause damage including temporary (or even permanent if you're really mean) paralysis. It's often referred to as "defanging the snake"--removing the weapons of your opponent.

Thank you. I hope to share as much as I'm gained already.

I think I'm going to have to disagree with the majority on this. You should be able to keep your current rank, especially if you have documenation to prove your last rank. That brown belt you have is a rank you earned. It wasn't just given to you (hopefully), but something you put your blood, sweat, and tears into. For your sensei to make you start from the beginning is something I completely disagree with. If you were starting a new system, even one similar to your old one, yes; start from the beginning. But to start over in the exact same system is basically stating all your previous work and achievements don't count for squat. Now I'm not saying you should be able to leap in with full responsibilites as such. No, not at all. Sure your techniques won't be perfect, sure you'll find that you've forgotten some stuff--but there will be plenty you remember. Maybe start you at the basic material and give you informal testing before proceeding to more advanced stuff, sure. This would allow you to keep your rank while still being limited on what you're allowed to work on until you proved you have it to the brown belt rank you are. Lets use this example. Let's say you have a Bachelor's degree in Business. You go out into the workforce. 15 years later you return to college to pursue your Masters. Does that mean you no longer have your Bachelor's degree? No. It simply means you may be rusty and need some refresher courses to you back on your feet, but the college is not going to make you start over as a freshman. As I stated above, you should be able to keep your rank as you've earned it in this system under this sensei. You should be able to return with your brown belt worn with pride, but still go through the basics of a white belt until you grasp what you need to. Trust me, as someone who has taken some time away from MA, only to return down the road, you'd be amazed at how quickly you're going to pick things up. Just my two cents.

Hi everyone. After lurking around on the site for a month or so I finally gave in and registered. I started martial arts in 1987 in Hayashi-hi Shito Ryu where I obtained my Shodan. Briefly left the MA world in '94 to experience life, see what else is in the world, you know the usual "see what the world was about" kind of thing (in other words the end of high school beginning of college). I returned to martial arts in '99 after greatly missing it. I began not with a gentle transition but rather by leaping in headfirst by studying BJJ, Kali, and Silat (all at the same time) 6 days a week. That is until a silat injury forced me to undergo knee surgury. When rehabing my knee I stumbled upon a flier for Matsubayashi-Ryu, with a sensei no longer affiliated with the organization. Figuring my previous Shito-Ryu experience would allow me a smooth transition into the sytem, I decided to attend the first day the dojo opened. That was in 2001 and despite haveing to start from the beginning as a ju-kyu, I haven't left since. I am currently a Nidan and instructor as well. Since then, we have switched from Matsubayashi to Shogen-Ryu. Shogen-Ryu was founded by Sensei Taba, senior student to Osensei Nagamine, as a way to honor Osensei and carry on his tradition. Thankfully my sensei has prior experience with Kali and Silat, so between the two of us some fun stuff gets incorporated as well. Good to be part of this community and I look forward to sharing thoughts, beliefs, and opinions with all of you.