KarateTips

Thanks for your reply, bushido_man96. It's definitely worth a look - some good stuff in there. The thing I like about John Graden's work is that he's studied hundreds if not thousands of successful schools and found common successful traits amongst them. And like I mentioned it doesn't mean you have to change your system to follow his, however you might pick up one or two things that might make a HUGE difference. That's the way I look at it...

Hi, I find that my reaction depends on my "state" at that moment. If I'm having a good day I usually laugh on the inside and say something like "Step forward with your OTHER left foot..." which 99 times out of 100 makes the student laugh too, which is important... I know some instructors get really angry when a student doesn't make the connection between what they hear and what they want their body to do, AND the instructor expresses their frustration. Some even punish the student for "not listening" with pushups, etc. What does this do? First it makes the student feel inept and secondly makes them feel bad for trying. Not a great learning combination! How long would you stick around with someone who made you feel bad for trying? If I'm in an unresourceful state, I find my reaction is more serious and it's very challenging to keep my patience, especially after the 10th time in a 5 minute period. At this point I try to change my state to a positive outlook by forcing myself to smile and encourage the student. I think as instructors we've got to remember that most people ARE trying. Congratulate them when they do well, and nurture their development, instead of stifling it with anger and frustration. It's also important to realize that different people learn in different ways. I have one kid in my program right now who totally just "doesn't get it" in regular terms. I was explaining to him how to do a pushup, and asked him to lie on his tummy and bend his arms... His response was to lift up his shirt and point at his tummy! So I had to SHOW him what a push up was and then he could do it no problem. Some people learn better visually, some through actions, some through auditory commands. I believe our role as instructors is to teach on all 3 levels to increase the learning rate for all students rather than dismissing someone as "slow" or having "A.D.D", etc. Quite often it's the teacher in us that isn't communicating in the most effective way for that student - kinda like trying to plug a European appliance into a US socket. - Jason

Hi, Somehow when I was a member of MATA, I ended up with a copy of John Graden's book - The Truth About the Martial Arts Business. I don't think I ever actually ordered it, but I received a copy anyhow. Lol. Anyway, it's a good read whether you buy into his system or not. I don't outsource my billing to a 3rd party company, or teach the way MATA promotes, etc. In fact I do a lot of things very differently. However I did discover some creative ways to structure certain parts of the business - and if I had actually purchased the book to begin with I think it would have been worth the money. Hope this helps!

Hi, There are many versions of Shitoryu ... and the katas also. Mabuni Sensei had many fine students who developed their own versions of Shitoryu and those instructors had students who have developed it further. Tani-ha and Hyashi-ha are probably the most well known versions of Shitoryu, while Kimura further developed Tani-ha Shitoryu which is commonly called Shukokai. Shukokai isn't really a style in itself - it was the name of Tani's school which means "way for all". I've been teaching and practicing Shitoryu for over 15 years, but I'm not familiar with the name of the kata you asked about. Perhaps we call it something else. What organization do you belong to? Anyhow here is a list of the W.K.F recognized Shitoryu kata as per the W.K.F rules which can be downloaded from http://www.worldkarate.net. SHITO-RYU KATAS 1. Jitte 2. Jion 3. Jiin 4. Matsukaze 5. Wanshu 6. Rohai 7. Bassai Dai 8. Bassai Sho 9. Tomari Bassai 10. Matsumura Bassai 11. Kosokun Dai 12. Kosokun Sho 13. Kosokun Shiho 14. Chinto 15. Chinte 16. Seienchin 17. Sochin 18. Niseishi 19. Gojushiho 20. Unshu 21. Seisan 22. Naifanchin Shodan 23. Naifanchin Nidan 24. Naifanchin Sandan 25. Aoyagi (Seiryu) 26. Jyuroku 27. Nipaipo 28. Sanchin 29. Tensho 30. Seipai 31. Sanseiru 32. Saifa 33. Shisochin 34. Kururunfa 35. Suparimpei 36. Hakucho 37. Pachu 38. Heiku 39. Paiku 40. Annan 41. Annanko 42. Papuren 43. Chatanyara Kushanku Regards,

Hi LoneWolf, Thanks for the recommendation! Glad you like the site...

Hi Killer, I like Chinto because it's difficult to do well. The crane stances and strikes really require you to have good balance and coordination. I guess you could say I like to try to master difficult things.... it gives a sense of self-achievement and continually pushes me to try harder. Thanks for your question. Regards,

I recently attended the US Open in Las Vegas and filmed the kata finals. You can see video of Annan, Matsumura Bassai and Kushanku at the following link. http://www.karatetips.com/video.asp Hope this helps!

I usually wear a white gi, sometimes black when instructing... I recently visited an American Kempo club where they were wearing black or blue uniforms. Some students had a mix of both and one girl was even wearing a denim gi jacket..... hmmmm?

Chinto for me.... then maybe Tomari Bassai....

The recent 2003 US Open in Las Vegas had prize money for all of the adult events... $2000 for first place in most events and $3000 first place in the men and women's open kumite. World Champion, Elisa Au, won both her weight division and the women's open... an excellent achievement... and what's more, $5000 for the day. There were individual competitors (and teams) from Japan, Azerbaijan, Norway, Morocco, USA and more. No doubt the prize money is quite an incentive for people to enter, but it could be argued that this takes away from the spirit of karate-do. What are your thoughts?

What I found interesting in his book was the whole philosophy of karate-do being about "not fighting". This is what Funakoshi lived by and promoted as the spirit of karate-do. However if you look at his masters, Itosu in particular, there are numerous stories where Itosu apparently had no problem giving someone a hiding if they deserved it! I wonder if it had been Itosu that introduced karate to mainland Japan whether the spirit of karate-do would have a different meaning! Perhaps karate would be about "fighting"?

I think it's a great kata... and I've always been taught it's to the solar plexus. Regards,

Hi Arys, Also check out this site. It has good information and plenty of links. https://www.kyokushin-australia.com Hope this helps,

If you haven't already seen this site, have a look at the following link... http://www.richardsandrak.com/ I'm not exactly sure what to say...

A good drill for improving the speed and power of your reverse punch is as follows. This method of resistance training builds strength, speed and power. Things you need - 1 ) An inner tube from a bicycle tyre. 2 ) Something to tie it to or a partner to hold one end. Procedure - 1 ) Cut the tube once so you have one long piece. 2 ) Tie the tube to itself so you make a loop at one end. 3 ) Tie the other end to something solid that will not move or have your partner hold it. 4 ) Put your punching hand through the loop you made and make a fist. 5 ) Make your stance at a distance where the tube is tight, but still can be stretched with your partner behind you holding the other end. 6 ) Make your reverse punch slowly with good technique ensuring you are driving forward so your body weight remains behind your punch. 7 ) You should feel resistance from the tube. If you don't feel resistance, move forward (away from your partner) until you cannot make the punch to full extension. Then back off a little until you can. The tension of the tube should provide enough resistance to make the punch difficult but not impossible for you. 8 ) Once at the correct distance, increase the speed of your technique and practice say 10 - 20 times. Repeat 3 times. 9 ) Practice this every day and you will build the exact muscles you need to increase the speed and power of your punch. Remember this is just one way to increase speed and power based on increasing the muscles required to punch. Hope this helps,