hobbitbob

Of course your feet hurt! Over time, this will ease as you begin to devlop calloused little footsies like the rest of us have. What is the most important thing to practice? EVERYTHING!! Breaks in class??? You are kidding, right? Hydrate yourself before class instead! In 22 years of Karate (including Shotokan) I have NEVER had breaks during class. Drink, pee,and poop before please! If you feel you might pass out, then sit down (with permission) . If you feel you may vomit, please do so off the floor!

Army "hand-to-hand" training is a joke! We learned how to do boxing style punches, and hip throws. I partnered up with a Hapkidoka, and was having great fun until one of the drill sergeants saw us, and PT'ed us for not following instruction. The Bayonet training was interesting. The Pugil sticks are supposed to be training for bayonet fighting (pugil sticks are the infamous "Q-Tips" seen in many basic training movies),and were conducive to Bo technique. I had three years of Naginata-Do prior to the Army,and used similar technique in the Pugil stick ring, confusing many by yelling "Men, Men, Do, Men, Kote,...etc..." as I struck! For a soldier to be fighting with bayonet, or hand-to-had implies that he is close to dead. One only resorts to such things when all of one's ammo is gone. As for the "deadly" army fighters, On a slow weekend night in the ED at Madigan Army Medical Centre we would see an average of ten Rangers from the 2/ 75th Ranger Regiment who ahd been beaten up in fights in off-post clubs. So much for the "trained killer" image that they liked to push. Often they were beaten up by strippers, but that is another story....

I guess it depends on the shirt. The ones from our dojo ahve the Kanji for "Seibukan Shorin Ryu Karate Do" on the left breast, and that is it. At the university club in Maryland, we had our club logo on the left breast,and the Hangul for Tae Kwon Do on the back. Once again, very low key. Having said that, I would NEVER wear anything to a nightclub/bar, etc.. that showed my affiliation with Karate. That is asking for trouble!

Always ask about grading fees (are they included,are they additional), contract status (is there a provision for breaking the contract in case of having to relocate, change work hours, illness, etc...? Make sure it is in WRITING!!!!), are additional "seminars" required? Are the included in the fees? Are there extra fees for equipment? Has the dojo liability insurance? How is the dojo represented in its business liscence (Health CLub, Private Corporation, etc... these have some bearing on pricing)? Non-financial: Who is the instructor's teacher? IS he still in contact with his instructor? IS it possible to contact his instructor for verification? What governing body (if any) certifies Dan grades? Is the instructor familiar with other instructors in other areas, so that should you have to relocate, he will be able to reccomend a new school? Dojo appearance: Is it clean/ well lit? Are separate changing facilities available for men and women? Instructor appearance: IS he clean/well groomed? IS his GI clean? Has he an odour of alcohol about him? Does he seem to be inebriated? Is he in reasonably good shape? Observing class: How do the newest students behave? How is discipline administered? What is the skill level of the brown belts and newest Shodans (this is the best idicator of an instructor's ability to teach!) ?

My first concern was the instructor going door to door.....

https://www.martialsource.com puts out a video :"the Itosu kata of Seito Shito-Ryu" that has it.

You will never change people's opinions. My brother in law, who is somewhere to the right of Mussolini (on a good day!), loves to tell stories about big rednecks he knew in the Air Force who beat up koreans during his time there. I have, over the past twenty years or so, learned to ignore him. There is a saying about opinions and excretory orifices....

Some of the Kata (Sesan, Ananku,etc...) have Yakusoku Kumite sets designed around them. Most of the time in advanced classes we take a single kata and "take it apart".

If it is merely a dojo shirt, I think it is fine. Some of the "aggressive" t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc.... are a little far out there, though. An example is the famous one from Century: "Black Belt... don't fear the rank, fear the person wearing it." Are you so insecure that you must wear such things (usually seen with shaved head/crewcut, rolled up sleeves, sunglasses, driving SUV or Pickup truck, and rarely more than twenty years old!)? I recall folks from my army days who would go into town (Karlsruhe!) wearing their embroidered "bomber" jackets with nifty army sayings on them, Were they aware that they looked foolish?

Look at his feedback profile, people have bought them.

Here is a Karate certificate from the same charlatan! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16044&item=3609861582

I found this on ebay. I don't know whom I am more disgusted with. The self proclaimed "master" who is selling this, or the idiots who would buy it! Before this turns into a "TKD-bashing" thread, be aware that similar dan certificates have shown up for Karate, Judo,and Aikido before. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3609416661&category=16044

On this last part, I agree with you. I've done it myself on occaision, although it always leaves a bad feeling in my spirit.

Not to mention a genius. Hmmm..how much did the anthropoid one pay you to say that? Maybe I'm just loved Sigh... If I were twenty years younger, monkeygirl.....

Having looked at his website, I would tend to disagree with you. On the other hand, why did he agree to accept the "challenge" from someone who was just there to watch class? The more correct solution might have been to offer to let the individual watcha few more classes, and let him see for himself that Karate probably isn't for him. the idea of "holding things back" in order to be "one step ahead" is disingenous to the extreme. This isn't the behaviour of someone who wishes to teach, but of one who needs to be "better than others."

Not to mention a genius. Hmmm..how much did the anthropoid one pay you to say that?

To quote Ken Furuya: "If you feel you are ready for, or deserve your black belt, then you are most certainly not. "

The above post is the perfect example why youngsters shouldn't have their own schools. As one gets older one's ego settles down. the purpose of teaching Karate is to teach, not to prove to yourself or your students that you are "better" than them. If your student had natural abilities in sparring, why not nurture them, and also build his basic skills? If he was a"hot-head," as you described, why not simply refuse to teach him? I guess my real question is: are you teaching for your students, or are you teaching for yourself? Are you more interested in imparting knowledge, or in showing them up? We have a few green and brown belts at our Dojo who can give some of the Yudansha more than a run in sparring, I am rather happy at this! It's great training for us and for them! I actually prefer working with them because they give one-hundred percent all of the time, unlike one or two of my fellow yudansha who are content to rest on their laurels. Let me also add that the longer you teach, the more comfortable you will be with your role as a teacher,and you will hopfully lose this idea of being in competition with your students.

Do you guys do the "drunken" steps?

Are you not at least slightly suspicious about points that must be hit "at three thirty p.m. on a cloudy thursday while facing north and wearing a charteuse sweater?"

Actually, I disagree. Knowlegde of "killing blows" is an essential part of Karate practice, if only as a last resort. The fallacy that Karate is only "self improvement" or "sport" is one reason that so few karateka actually exhibit any sort of skill. Karate is first and formost a method of delivering crippling and killing injuries to an opponent. To pretend it is otherwise is to fail to respect the art. This is one reason I have real problems with teaching Karate to children. Would you give a five year old a loaded pistol? Those who fail to take into account the very real danger inherent in Karate techniqes are only practicing half-heartedly. All the same, along with the knowledge of how to harm comes the responsibility to use that knowledge wisely. This means being polite to others, helping those less fortunate than you,and all of the other things that come under the heading of "self improvement." Few things have made me more aware of teh preciousness of life than the knowledge of how easy it is to take that life away! For those who doubt the fragility of life, I reccomend a stint volunteering at your local emergency department!

This is a myth. There is about 3 cm. of bony tissue between the nasal prominence and the brain tissue that would have to be penetrated. I cannot overemphasize the importance of a basic knowledge of anatomy and physiology for the serious Karateka!

In general the Kuda lineage people are strong fighters who tend to eschew competition. Have you visited the class in the U district?

Is Kobayashi Ryu the Itosu or Matsumura lineage? We (Seibulkan) are the Kyan lineage, and Matsubayashi seems to be acombination of the Kyan asn Itosu lineages. Does your Chinto have the one-legged stances like Shotokan's Gankaku, or the "t" stances like the Kyan Chinto?

Which Kata do you do? We have the Pinan I-V Naihanchi I-III Sesan (the index Kata) Ananku Wanshu Passai Chinto Kushanku Useshi Wanchin Jion