Shorinryu Sensei

As longas people understand that what yo uare presenting on your page is flash, and not legitimate good technique, I have no problems with it. It's when people present themselves as legitimate, and they're not...THEN I have a problem with it. My problem with websites showing improper, flashy and ineffective techniques, whether it be nunchauku, or anything else, is that people that have no previous experience in legitimate good techniques don't know the difference. I have seen over the years, God knows how many instructors that self-teach themselves weapons and then pass that crap off to their students as good technique. My problem with this is that the students are blindly listening to their instructors and don't realize that they are learning garbage technique, not good technique. Then these studetns go out into the world and open a dojo and continue to pass on this garbage as good technique...because they don't know any better, and their sensei tells them it's good. THAT'S what I mean by harming the martial arts. It's a plague that is spreading all across the martial arts community and I see it every time I judge/ref a tournament.

Practice doing your kicks VERY slowly and holding your leg extended at the end of the kick for about 10 seconds at first. Do each leg 10 times. As you get better and stronger, hold your leg out longer. Don't use the wall...it's a crutch. Consentrate on good form with your base leg (the one on the floor) slightly bent, not straight.

I'm notan actor, but I play one on TV. OK..seriously (me? serious? Nawwww..) if you're still in school, get involved in the drama department. If you're out of school, get into local plays and such. Take acting lessons if they are available. If you already have experience and think you're good, get an agent, join the actors guild (union), take any acting job that comes along to get your name out, including extra parts, commercials, etc. Most big name actors started out on the stage, then went to commercials, or extra parts and small roles. Nobody just signs up and gets a lead in a movie. Well, except for Arnold and VanDamm...they did it on their bodies. Neither even spoke hardly any English when they got their first movie roles.

Look at the blowup of the certificate closely...the description says ninjuitsu, but the certificate says shotokan karate. OOPS...looking again, there are two certificates...sorry!!!

Most likely that's because you do Korean systems which emphasise high kicks. They don't like to have the groin as a target because then you'd learn real fast why high kicks don't work, or aren't really a good idea anyway...and then where would you be? Just a quick little story here. About 15 years ago or more, I was running a semi-commercial dojo in my small town. A guy about 25 years old came in one night and was pssing through on his way from New York to Seattle and saw my sign and stopped in to check it out. He was a 3rd Dan (he said anywy) in TKD and asked if I would spar him. To make a long story short, he immediately threw a head kick (he was pretty tall) at me, which I ducked and very lightly (he wasn't in a gi or wearing a cup) roundhouse kicked his groin. Well, he didn't like that, said it was very rude (I hardly touched him and definitely didn't hurt him) and said that in his system (TKD) that groin kicks were considered dishonorable. He turned and walked out. It's all I and my students could do to withhold out uproarious laughter until the door shut.

Would you dye your dog if it was getting old and gray? Would you dye your favorite jeans if they were old and faded? Would you dye your spouse if they were old and not new looking still? Like me, my old, faded (but still in decent shape) gi has "experience" and is time tested.

Just a FYI...the tournaments I've judged/ref'd at over the last 25 years...all open/any style tournaments, all allow light/medium contact to the groin, and the lower torso below the belt is a legitimate target. I agree with this and it's made a HUGE difference in seeing the head kickers raising there legs to high. Or rather...they still do...but just once.

Hey..no problemo! But I know if one of my students started doing that sort of kick...tournament or not...there'd be some explain' to do!

ACK!!! Please JaseP...do NOT lump all Okinawan systems into this catagory. The day Shorin Ryu higher ups tell me to start kicking like a Korean stylist is the day I quit! And that's not going to happen. I've seen TKD/TSD kicks...lots of them from a lot of different black belts, and there is simply very little in common with how Korean systems execute a kick, and how we do them. Most noteably, we do not kick higher than the belly button...ever. Sorry if it sounds like I'm "pouncing" on you, but I felt that line needed to be clarified so that there are no misunderstandings, and I actually took a bit of offense to that line personally.

Exactly! We spar full speed, all the time whether we wear gear (bogu full contact gear), or bare handed. You learn control this way (and others) or yo uwill smack your opponent...and he/she will smack you back.

Ahhhh...but Ali was fast for a heavyweight...slow if you compared him to a middleweight or fly weight. A lot of his skill came from his footwork, which was unusual for its day and is commonplace now. he moved around a lot, whereas the normal boxers of his day pretty much came straight at you, stood toe to toe and started swinging. As for what the ideal body type is for the MA's...there is none really. Specific systems tend to favor lean body types, such as TKD, whereas judo favors short, stocky/strong body types.

It all depends on just how tattered it is. A bit worn I don't have a problem with, but holes are another matter. I don't look at it as a matter of disrespect towards myself or my dojo, but it just looks sloppy. Myself, my favorite gi is an old black, and pretty faded heavy wight gi. My senior student hates it and says "Why don't you buy a new, dark black one?" Hey...would I throw out one of my best friends? All I have to do is snap my fingers and it puts itself on my bod! And no, it's faded, but not worn or tattered.

Well..that's the plan...but the older you get, the more uncertain that is.

As PT Barnum once said..."There's a sucker born every minute." Especially now days, where people want the easy way to do things. Personally, they aren't worth the paper they're written on, nor the video tape their imprinted (or whatever it's called) on.

Well, I was thinking of qutting next week, but then I'd have to get a life! So I guess I'll just stick with it for maybe another 20-30 years or so. I was going to make some comments about some of the previous posts you guys made, but I figured I'd save wear and tear on my fingers since one of the mods or Patrick would have deleted the post anyway.

I read the same thing on the same page. I didn't say he wouldn't be interested, but Shorin Ryu already has great footwork...minus the Ali Shuffle..which IMHO isn't a good martial arts fighting technique...and very quick hands. And kicking with straight legs? There's not much power from that sort of kick without a bend to the knee to provide that final snapping motion where shorin ryu gets the majority of it's power from in all of their techniques (kicks, punches and blocks).

Can you elaborate a bit about just what splashing hands is? OOPS...never mind...found a bunch of stuff on google about it. Interesting if your sensei is a 6th Dan in shorin ryu why he would find this as effective, or more so than what he should already know.

If you check out the "Karate" forum, this same topic was just started (again) a few days ago. http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=18856

Oh lady...you just GOTTA post a picture of you wearing that!!!

Skills developed throuigh training are learning of technique, developing power and reflexes, how the body works and can be manipulated, physics, mechanics, etc. Different levels of sparring (light, medium and full contact) teach you fighting skills and give you the opportunity to experience the closest thing you can have without actually going on the street and looking for a fight and honing the skills you are taught. Some techniques work for some, and not for others, and sparring is where you find out what works best for you. Also, what works in light sparring may not work well in full contact, or you can't do in full contact because it is to dangerous (knee strikes, eye gouges, throat strikes, elbow breaks, etc) I believe you can. Actual experience is a better teacher of course to find what works, and what doesn't for you, but unless you want to go out and start fights every weekend (stupidity if you ask me), youy have to make it as real as possible in the dojo during training. I don't think so. If you teach your body correctly, practice hard and try to make your training as realistic as possible, your body will react better than your mind will if you let it. I have a 52 year old student that has been with me for about 7 years now. Rod has never in his life been involved in a "real" fight outside of the dojo. Despite this, I feel that Rod has the skills necessary to handle most people in a street fight. Note I said "most" people. A good boxer or experienced street fight would give Rod some problems, but I think he'd do just fine if he was forced to fight. Rod is at an impasse in his training and is pretty much stuck where he's at skill-wise for a while until we figure out how to get past this point that he's been at for quite some time (talking years here).

No oversight...experience would be under skill. Experiences give you skills.

I've been practicing this art for over 30 years now and enjoy doing the first kata as much as the last. I know I work on them more than my newer ones actually, because I'm constantly teaching them to lower rank students. We practice most kata we know in every class, but currently we're spending more time on the lower kata because I have several new students. All kata have benefits regardless as to how well you know them. To neglect the first kata you learn is not beneficial to your training IMHO.

Without actually selecting an individual (street fighter) for each of us to fight with, nobody can honestly say one way or the other whether or not we could win a fight against him. However, isn't what we're doing by training in the MA's to survive a fight against a person such as you describe? Of course it is. What I tell my students is that a real fight is: 25% luck -- Seeing and taking advantage of a huge opening in your opponents defense for example. 25% surprise -- I ADAMENTLY am opposed to assuming a fighting stance and a loud KAI!!! at the onset of a street fight, like I see so many sensei teach. To do so forewarns your opponent that you (might) possess fighting/MA skills, and by doing so, you have lost the advantage of surprise. 50% skill -- self-explanitory.

I've never been a fan of lesson plans, but rather prefer to "wing it" when I see who shows up for class. I've been teaching for 26+ years, so winging it is pretty easy for me.

Your instructor, you and one other...for $299? That's not bad..much cheaper than I was expecting to hear you say. Let us know how it was and if you thought it was worth it.