Shorinryu Sensei

I'm pretty much of a "purist" at heart and feel that if you're going to study an art, then study THAT art fully before you go and start mixing things up and changing it like so many people are doing now days. What I'm afraid will happen eventually, is that most arts will be so bastardized that they will be lost. If you feel the art you are in is weak in some area that you think it needs, then you'd better start shopping for something else. My opinion anyway. However, if you're limited as to what arts are available to you, or like I said, you are seeking the best training for a particular sport..then by all means, crosstrain.

I don't crosstrain at all with another system because the system I do, I feel anyway, is as complete as I need for what I expect out of a martial art. Now, if I was interested in tournament fighting, I might be inclined to crosstrain in Parkers Kenpo perhaps. If I was interested in Hollywood gymnastics, such as flying kicks and head kicks..then I'd probably do TKD perhaps. If I was interested in K1 or full contact competition, I'd probably crosstrain in BJJ and boxing. But since I'm not into those types of things, but rather effective self-defense, I feel what I am doing satisfies my needs quite nicely, and has for 29 years now.

True. I've watched their kata and done mine alongside theirs so that they could see the differances. Similar in a very general way, but different in so many aspects.

As far as I've seen, the standard bo is 6' long, not 7'. Where are you buying 7' bo's from? Also, as I understand it. the bo that you use as your personal weapon is supposed to be as tall as you are. Therefore, I technically should be using a 6'6" bo, not the 6 footer I have been using since I started training with it. Hey tommarker..you don't have pool cue's laying all over the ground where you live? Dang, we're tripping over the things around here! lol Although the bo and jo have similar uses, the jo is designed more for close in fighting or in an environment where movement of the weapon is restricted, such as in a home or brushy area, whereas the bo is primarily used for distance fighting where movement isn't restricted.. The bo can however, be used quite effectively in close quarters normally.

Yep...she's a regular China doll all right! But...her belt is to long for her, which could interfer with her techniques..plus her technique is just plain crap! Legs are straight, hands are down, foot is in bad position...but she looks dang good doing it poorly! lol

Just a quick comment on this. There is a local Shotokan class in this area that I've worked with a couple of times, and watched maybe 10-12 times, and I've not seen many simularities between the two systems. Stances, blocks, hip movements, etc are all "wrong" in accordance to what I have learned and been teaching for the past 29 years. On the topic, per my nick, I teach Shorinryu Matsumara Seito/Orthodox (old system) of karate and wish I could make some comparisons for you, but to my knowledge, I've never seen a Goju class that I could make a comparison from.

I'm classified as 44% diusabled due to a chainsaw accident in 1983 to my right hand (I'm right handed of course). The saw severed the ulner and medium (sp?) nerves in the wrist, and basically everything down to the bone. I have use of the hand, but no fine motor skills and little feeling in it. My left knee still gives me fits from a cheap shot by a student (I wasn't looking) where he kicked me in the knee while I was explaining something to the class. I partially tore the (sp?) anterior crucia ligament and had authroscopic surgury on it to repair it. Usually it feels OK, but now and then.....*sigh*. Also, I've had lower back problems since junior high, mostly caused by rapid growth when I was young and the fact that I'm 6'6" tall now. At one point, we had so many people in my dojo with various ailments, we were thinking about calling the school "GimpiKan"! lol

GREAT comeback equaninimus!!! Kelly LaBrock is my DREAM lady! As to the question, I haven't heard anything about that fight, and I'm sure it would be all over the news and on forums such as this one (I frequent 4 of them and haven't heard a word on this). As to whether or not he would win..depends on the situation and who they are I would think. Ask me if I thought I could defend myself successfully against 3 men, and I'd probably say "No...well, maybe?"...but I've done it. Surprised the heck out of me! lol

I'll tell you what. For a mere $4,000 and you cover the hotel, meals and all transportation, I'll PERSONALLY fly to whereever you are and work with you one-on-one for a whole 30 days, and give you a black belt and certificate at the end of that time. For $7,000, I'll work with you for 45 days and give you a 2nd degree black belt! What a deal, huh? What size belt do you wear? First come, first served...the line starts back there <----------------{{{ No personal checks accepted...VISA and MasterCard spoken here!

Yes, I think a person needs to be well rounded in striking and grappling skills if he seriously expects to use his training in a real confrontation some day. However, if he doesn't practice other than for enjoyment or competition where only striking (point tournaments for example) or only grappling (judo tournaments for example) and never expects to use it in a real fight, then I think he's getting what he's paying for.

[quoteWell I don't mean to be counter snippy, but this seems to be a bit of stereo typical macho attitude. Believe me aes..if you knew me, I'm not at all into this macho * like a lot of men are. It's just a fact that karate involves hitting each other in one form or the other, and if you're concerned for your facial features being damaged, then perhaps you're in the wrong activity is all I meant. That face mask you show looks like it would protect your entire head pretty well. Nose, teeth and chin..as long as no stright finger techniques get in that is. And I for one, wouldn't be hitting that grillwork with unprotected hands or feet (if you head kick) anyway.

Uhhh...open your mouth and say..."No"..."SIR!"

You know aes, and I don't mean to be snippy here, but if you're worried about getting hurt, then maybe the contact martial arts isn't what you really want. The first thing I tell a new student before they do so much as a situp, is that they can get hurt in here. This is karate, a fighting martial art, and if you're worried about getting hurt (teeth, nose, jaw..whatever), then I think you're in the wrong place. I understand about your teeth. 4 of my front teeth (2 on top, 2 on bottom)are basically "dead" (no nerves and brittle) due to a swimming competition when I was in junior high and at a swim meet. I did a flip turn off the wall (I was winning at the time) and brought my knee to far up and banged myself in the mouth with it. I finished dead last (almost knocked myself out), and at the time held the state record for my age group and was trying for a new record. I personally also have a bad knee due to a cheap shot by a student years ago, and it could go out at anytime requiring more surgury. Being tall, I am also prone to throwing my back out of whack doing the simplist thing. Just turning wrong can do it, and lay me up for a week or more. Yet I persevere and continue to train and learn because I love what I do, and I accept the risk to my physical well-being. I can't envision EVER quitting the arts as long as I can raise my arms and legs, and have the ability to move. I'd say that if you're worried about getting hurt, try TaiChi perhaps?

The only thing I "require" in my class for sprring is a groin cup. If the student wants to get other things, ok by me, but I remind them that they won't be wearing any protective gear on the street..so don't grow to depend on it. As someone said..the best gear is to learn what you're taught in class everyday, block...and DON'T GET HIT! lol Have you considered a good mouthpiece? That should protect your teeth just fine. There are cheap ones, and good ones..spend the extra couple of $$$'s and get the best you can find.

I just HAVE to get DSL one of these days! I started to download that video, and after 15 minutes, it was still at 7%..so I cancelled it. *sigh*

*putting oin my "Old Oriental Master" face here* Ahhhh Grasshopper...you finally begin to understand the true meaning of karate! Everybody that studies any martial art eventually gets to this stage. It just clicks! Yesterday, you had to think about it...today, you don't! Basically, your mind and your body have just merged into one mean, lean, fighting machine aes...now is when the fun starts! Enjoy it, because from this point forward, everything will get easier..yet harder, because you need to push that mind/body combination as much as you can. The interesting thing I've found at this point is this. Even if you quit training today...your body will remember what your mind THINKS it forgot...and it will come back to you very quickly if you should resume training again.

Personally, if the judge needs to "see" your feet, he has no business judging. A good, experienced judge should be able to knwo where that foot is and how it's positioned if the gi goes all the way to the floor. The old style gi had shorter pant legs. It was just the way that they wore their pants. Yes, it looks a bit odd now days, so I'd say that it depends on what your sensei wants in his class. If he doesn't care, hem them so that they are a bit higher (in my opinion anyway) that you would normally wear a pair of jeans so that during practice, if the waist should loosen a bit, they don't fall down around your feet. That could cause you to trip over them, or cause a distractuion while you're doing kata or such. I'm 6'6" tall (around 198cm) and when I first started..ALL of my gi pants looked like I was expecting a flood at any moment! lol I have long ago switched to another brand which goes down to just above my ankle. UI've never had to hem a pair yet.

Congrats Bud! Been there, done that also..it's smooth out to a routine soon..hang in there. I've taken a coupld of "breaks" from teaching/practicing myself..sometimes you just need to! lol

OK...I can see if the dojo's in Beverly Hills and paying sky-high rent for the property and teaching Hollywood movie star's kids or something, but otherwise, I think people are nuts for paying those high fees. "You get what you pay for" is a bunch of bunk, if you ask me. My origional sensei trained directly on Okinawa with the head of the system for 3 years, and charged $25-30/month for 3, 2 hour classes/week the first couple of years, then decided he didn't need the money, and started charging NOTHING! We lost 75% of the students because people don't put value in anything free, but I sure did! The training was hard, but excellent, and I owe that man a lot for what he did to change my life over the last 29 years.

Yeah, the students seemed to like it. I also taped sparring sessions and just general classes at random and let the students check them out for a few days, or make a copy if they wanted. It gave them the opportunity to see how they are doing. I found that taping their kata, ESPECIALLY when they didn't believe they were doing something consistenty incorrect (like I could be wrong??? lol), and then going over it with them after class, was a great teaching tool, because you could slow motion, or freeze frame what you were talking about, and they could see it for themselves.

I had a commercial school for 3 years and when I got a student tested for their first colored belt, I opened a new video tape and made a big productuion of putting their name on it. That tape was used to video all of their belt tests. or it worked OK until my camcorder blew up anyway! lol Some people had as many as 7-8 tests on their tapes when I gave them to them to keep.

Yes, I'd agree with this. It's not easy just grabbing a guy's harm and trying to put a lock on him..that's why grabbing the punch isn't working.

A small Okinawan gentleman that passed away in 1980 I think. Most of you haven't even heard of him I suppose, but he was one of the BEST! OSensei Hohan Soken *sigh*

Just taking a guess here...are you trying to grab and lock a punch? Voice of experience here..don't! Locks aren't really good for punches because punches are to fast, and you need a bit of time to apply a lock. They work great against grabs, or in a standup, or prone grappling situation.

I know pushing myself away from the dinner table before I try thirds at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners is good resistance training.