hobbitbob

I wish I could find Ken Furuya's essay "What is a Black Belt" online somewhere. It covers much of this same ground. I thionk for many of us, the rank thing is secondary, at best. I train becasue I can't imagine NOT training.

How many of you would prefer to have gone into "stealth mode"and worn a white belt? I know that sometimes I would have!

I guess that I would question the notion that Karate is static, and that there is a mysterious "one correct way," as compared to many "absolutely awful yucky ways."

Indeed, however basic technique quite similar in any style. If one posits "Karate" as consisting of a finite set of complex body positions and techniques, then the differences between styles becomes one of intereperetation.

Interestingly enough, Heiho (combat strategy) was a part of Karate training in the pre 1950 era. Apparently both Ohtsuka and Yamazaki emphasized it, as did the Okinawans, like Mabuni, Motobu, Chitose,and Miyagi. Nowadays it seems to have been reduced to discussions of maai (distancing) and sen (timing).

Having done Wado and Shotokan, both japanese styles, and now Seibukan, an Okinawan style, I have to say that the similarites far outnumber the differences. Much of the "difference" probably stems from individual instructors, rather than from the styles themselves. Remember, many of the "innovations" to Japanese Karate were accepted or even pioneered by Okinawans! Itosu Sensei (and Yabu,to a lesser extent) was responsible for the mass instruction techniques now commonly thought of as "Japanese." Miyagi and Mabuni both esperimented with protective gear and Jiyu Kumite formats. I think that positing a dichotomy of "Okinawan vs. Japanese" is a bit simplistic.

Choo who's?

\ Hmmm...product of the public school system, are you? Paediatric yudansha=toddlers with black belts!

Well...,I have gotten strange looks from people in the History dept. when they look through the door to my office and see me doing Kata!

The Palgues were initially the WTF's answer to the ITF's Chang Hon set. In the early 1970s the Tae-yuckys were designed, most likely to make TKD less "Karate-like." As for who uses what, that is a wonderful question. Theoretically, any WTF school should use the Tae-awfuls, but many do not. The Dojang I trained at used the Chang-Hons for the gup ranks, and the standard WTF Dan kata for the black belts. A friend of mine runs a TKD school where he uses the Palgues and the Chang Hons, and offers WTF certification. My understanding is that Kukiwon really only cares about black belt forms, and that lower belt forms used are negotiable. I could be wrong.

Next weekend Denver is having its annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Sakura Square. There will be exhibitions of Noh, Japanese Music,and martial arts galore! usually there is Shotokan, Wado Ryu, Shindo Jinen Ryu, Shorin Ryu, kobudo, Naginata Do, Kendo, Aikido and Judo. Do the places where others on this forum reside hold similar affairs?

We train with the 12 and overs in the "adult classes" however, the minimum age for black belt is sixteen. KW, I sympathize.. I'm five feet five and a whole half inches tall! I often try to work with the six footers because it is great training for me! As for attention spans, I'm 36 and there are times when folks older than me seem to have the attention span of a gnat...what were we talking about....???

I was allowed to wear my (Wado 2d Dan) black belt when I switched to Shotokan in 1992 due to lack of Wado schools in Karlsruhe. I also only tested for Shodan (JKA), not for kyu ranks. At the TKD club in Maryland I voluntarily put on a white belt out of respect for a completely different style! I also advanced quite quickly and became part of the instructor group after three months (so much for stealth mode! ). At the seibukan Dojo I study at now I wore a white belt the first night, and was invited to stay for the advanced class. Since then I have worn the black belt, and will test for certification in Seibukan next summer in Naha. My personal criteria has always been that if a student has strong basics,and is coming from a similar style, then the wearing of his black belt isn't an issue. For kyu ranks I think that White belt is a good choice. They will frequently advance to their previous level very quickly.

My major objection to WTF TKD lies in their tendancy to spar with their hands down at their sides,and completely ignore anything otehr than "slappy" kicks. Having said that, let me say that I hold Kukkiwon Dan ranking, however, I trained with a group that did martial arts, not olympic sport!