hobbitbob

Here is the link to Rob Redmond's account: http://24fightingchickens.com/shotokan/kata/gojushihosho.html

Supposedly, Gojushiho Dai and Sho are what they are today becasue of a mistake made in a tournament in the 1970s. From what I have read, Yahara sensei, then 6th Dan, annnounced that he was going to do Gojushiho Dai and proceeded to do Gojushiho Sho. Since he outrankled everyone on the judging panel, he won the Kata division, and the Katas were subsequently re-ordered. I don't know how accurate this story is, and it sounds wierd even for the JKA! Be that as it may, in Chidokan and SKI Dai and Sho versions of Gojushiho are the opposite of what they are in JKA Shotokan. I'm rather happy that in Seibukan there is just "Useishi!"

Probably the wisest answer so far!

I think that Karate Culture, as such, can be traced down two paths. The first is the influence of Confucian thought, which dictates manners of the relationship between people. This is where the courtesy that is (I hope!) the hallmark of all Karateka comes from. The second is the influece of Showa militarism. THis is demonstrated in the way most modern Budo are praciced,and that we sometimes import into our daily lives. An instructor of mine caled this "Tuffugai (tough guy)" mentality. Postitive aspects of "tuffugai" are the unwillingness to give up when confronted by adversity. Negative aspects are the unwillingness to explore alternate paths when confronted by adversity!

For a "quick look" at Okinawan Matsubayashi Ryu Shorin Ryu, try https://www.shorinryu.dk . There are mpegs of the Kata. Different branches of SHorin Ryu use different kata. In Seibukan our Kata are similar to those of Matsubayashi Ryu, since Nagamine Shoshin was instructed by Kyan Chotoku, as was Shimabukuro Zempo.

Goju Ryu is usually taught in conjunction with Kobudo. So, yes, Goju has weapons. Aikido often incorporates Bokken, Hanbo, and Naginata. Give yourself time. How long have you been practicing?

It seemed to be a function of living in Baltimore.

When it happened to me, I stomped on the foot of the person behind me, scraped my shoe down his shin, twisted and broke his fingers, gouged his eyes, and then went after his buddy. After that, I ran home and poured H2O2 on my cuts and scrapes. In a similar situation? Who knows?

I wouldn't know unless I was actually in the situation. Playing "what if" is as foolish as thinking you will foil a mugger with your trusty 670degree spinning back heel summersault split landing handstand kick.

the nerves are healthy. The purpose of a test is to see how you react under pressure. The "big" black belt tests, i.e. Ist, IIId, Vth dan are more stressful than the others . They are the "milestones' if you will I-dan is the jump to "serious student" status. III-dan is simlar to finishing high school and entering the level of University. At V-dan you have reached a level similar to that of someone with an MA in a discipline. Many peopl quit before they test for Shodan becasue they don't think they can handle the stress. By quittting they prove that they couldn't. Your friend needs all the encouragement she can get. Shodan is a big step, but millions of people before her have passed,and millions will afterword.

Have you access to a heavy bag?

The Buffy/Spike destroying the house scene comes to mind.....

there is the key. MOST martial art schools in the US are NOT "real MA schools."

Your best bet is to practice Aikido or Karate and wait until you can move somewhere where there is a Bujinkan Dojo. Tapes and books are not that effectice a substitute for a real instructor.

TKD in the 70s and 80s was frequently exploited by people who had studied in Korea and granted themselves "airplane promotions (leave Korea a firstdan, get off the flight a sixth dan). THese people saw a niche in the after school activity market, like gymnastics had been, and filled it. The emphasis was on turning out people who could kick and spin and jump, who payed extravagant amounts of money for rank,and who had large egos related to their black belts. These students opened schools and taught the way they had been taught. Some of the blame can be placed on Jhoon Rhee (who was definitlyl NOT an airplane promotion!) who introduced the "Blackbelt Club" concept in the mid 1960s. From people I know who trained with him then, it was something that one joined at 3d gup, not something one was forced into at their second lesson. The other phenomenon that contributed to TKD being associated with McDojos was the explosion of the tournament scene in the early 1980s. Budweiser, etc... sponsored Karate "teams." Tournament competitors decided to teach Karate for a living,and "chains" of Karate schools began to open, in the Tracy model. These chains employed young, agile tournament competitors, most of whom had no experience or skill with instruction. The emphasis was not on instruction anyway, but on keeping and finding more students. Smaller schools, seeing that "Mile High Kuruddy" down the road was raking in the money, began to imitate the methods of the larger schools. One of the methods adapted was the use of the Chang Hon form set. It was standard, and easy to learn by anyone who came from a generic Okinawan/Japanese/Korean background. By default the schools became "TKD" schools, thanks to the curriculum being based on those forms. Another contribution to the decline of TKD as a serious art has been the growth of "Olympic" TKD. Whatever its original intentions, Olympic TKD has degenerated into a form of slap boxing with the feet for all but the highest level competitors. ther is no power in the techniqes of most of the "players," and no concept of self defence. Perhaps the major stumbling block for TKD has been the reluctance of any of its practitioners to do any serius scholarship on the art's background,and the efforts by many of them to block any serious scholarship. The "2 000 yr. old TKD" myth is one example. This originated in the early 1960s when bitter memories of the Japanese occupation were more fresh. Unfortunately, this story has become dogma and efforts to delve into actual hisotrical origins of Korean MA have been blocked by the Korean Government, which wants TKD to be known as Korea's ONLY martial art/sport. Because of this little has been done on the idigenous Korean weapon arts. Lastly, the incorporation of TKD into the secondary school curriculum in Korea means that there are thousands of Third Dans out there who see opening up a TKD school in American Suburbia as a way to prosperity. These instructors, probably with good intentions at first, follow the McDojo model and are soon turning out eight year old first dans and other such loathesome creatures. Having said all of this, there are good TKD schools out there. Chuck Serreff in Broomfield CO, is an examples. Though his students do the "bouncy-bouncy" thing in basics, they are solid martial artists. Chung Moon Gil in New York is another good example of a serious martial artist, as is Pham Phuc Ky in Baltimore. Hope this helped.

Excellent point! "Real" fights usually end up with both parties injured, often severely. A Chinese proverb, repeated in the "Karate Kid" movies, says that those who wish to engage in violence should first dig two graves. One for themselves. and one for their opponent. Only in Hollywood do you fight a group of toughs, or someone armed with a knife, etc... and emerge unscathed. In my (far too numerous for my taste) experiences with being mugged and attacked while I lived in Baltimore, I never got out of any of those encounters without many bruises or cuts. I gave over my wallet, satchel, etc... more often than not, since I can buy a new wallet, cancel credit cards, cell phone, etc... I can't buy a new life! The only times I resported to violence were times when it was apparent that the assailants planned to kill me. I have scars to show from this period. The best thing for me to do would have been to move to a safer neighborhood, but as a full time student, I lived where I could afford to live. At the University club I attended, one of the yudansha one night was trying to show a group of impressionable lower ranks how to "disarm' an opponent with a gun. What he was showing them would have gotten them killed. The other instructors and I had a few words with him after class,and put out a disclaimer in the next class session. It is easy to think that your martial art trainng has made you bulletproof. Rest assured that you aren't. I have traken care of enough patients who have had blunt and penetrating trauma to ever think that anyone has better than a 50 percent chance of prevailing in an encounter. What good does it do to win the encounter, then bleed to death afterwords? Use common sense and avoid conflict whenever possible, and be prepared to be seriously wounded or killed should you be forced to fight.

I have aften taught a "guard" during the pre-altercation verbal phase of an encounter should be something like both hands in front of the body palm to palm in a "contemplative" attitude. From here one can block or strike of grab as neccesary. ANY technique should be executed from Shizen Tai, the "natural" position. Even the various "stances" are variations of Shizen Tai. As far as head kicks, I have always said that the first kick might not be to the head, but the fourth or fifth one might be. I am not willing to sacrifice stability for flashiness.

What is the kanji for the style name? IS it the same Ibuki that is a form of "hard" breathing?

No more and no less than any other form of Karate-do. It all dpends on the instructor. TKD is filtred Shotokan. An intelligent instructor who has an understanding of Bunkai can teach his or ehr students to defend themselves. Most of teh goos TKD students that I know realize that teh high kicking is for stretching purposes. Their philopsohy is that if you can kick high properly in the Dojang you can kick low even better in an encounter. Olympic style and commercial style TKD are poor methods of self defence, but I guess you could hit them with the trophy.

Lets not forget the splinter groups: World Oyama Karate Organization Seido Karate Seidokan Karate Seidokaikan Karate Shinjitaido karate Seidoshitaikan Karate Whew!

This should tell you something. The Kuji Kiri thing was played up more by charlatans like Ashida Kim in the 1980s, than by the "serious" practitioners like Robert Bussey or Stephen Hayes. If you really wish to know more about the Kuji no In, go to your local library and look for books on Shingon Buddhism. That is where the porectice occurs. The Ninjutsu link is at best peripheral.

I guess they must, otherwise this site wouldn't exist: https://www.budogirls.com

The only person whom one needs to prove one's worth to is oneself.

I have great reservations about such things. I find that this places the emphasis on rewards (rank) rather than training. I have always thought the "black belt club" to be a marketing/swindling tool.

Started out in Wado, from 1981-1991. Shotokan from 1992-2003 (with a little Hayashi Ha Shito Ryu thrown in for good measure.) Now doing Seibukan Shorin Ryu. Martial girl, breathing is very important in Wado Ryu. You may still be at the point where it is more important to worry about "what am I doing next" than about inhaling vs. exhaling on a techinqu. Incidently, one of the two Kata that are used by WKF to "typify" Wado is Sesan, a breathing Kata. I'm curious how learning Wado and Shito side by side is going? The two styules are quite different in emphasis!