Zanshin

Rateh, that sounds really cool, and well done you, for bringing your sister along thats a really nice touch. Sounds like you train at a dojo with a good heart. Kampai.

Nice One, Did you have the meal in your dojo? We have a Jnr and Snr Karate-ka of the year award, the trophies for which are wooden shields with engraved plates. The recipients get to keep them for a year. They basically are given to the students that have shown the most dedication throughout the year.

Its gone missing!

This Thursday is the final training session or "keiko-Osame" at our Dojo, prior to the Christmas break. The Keiko-Osame is a reflection of the years training, bringing it to a close on a positive note. In keeping with this tradition, as well as presenting the annual Karate-ka of the year awards, we will be having a bit of fun trying some stuff that is a bit more unusual and we don't cover very often. This year one of our Dan grades who is also a 5th Dan in Goju-Ryu will be teaching the class the Goju Kata "Seipai" along with some Bunkai. As "Seipai" is not practiced in Wado it should be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to it. Most important of all, we will continue the celebration in the pub across the road. Have you guys got anything special planned?

I agree with Brian, sometimes you learn more from the off days than you do from days where you go home thinking "that felt alright". Whilst its good to feel that your karate training is going well, i think its important not let yourself become too complacent. This is where a good instructor comes in. The day you start to think that you have got a kata "licked" is the day you should worry about the most. Unfortunately that still doesn't stop you from feeling bad, and lord knows I am no stranger to that.

Are you selling out - depends, are they paying you enough? In all seriousness, I teach courses regularly in the UK and I have a simple approach to it - "this is the way I do my karate" if you don’t like it (and some do not), then don’t come back. Luckily most tend to. People vote with their feet. If they think you are crap, they won’t come back. Make sure you get your money though!

Erm... I am lost for words really!!! I feel as though I’ve just been robbed of the last 3 minutes of my life by looking at that.

I often think that schools / Sensei that take a hard line against cross training in other MAs, come across as not wanting you to find out that the grass is greener on the other side.

Naah, preferred mine better. I brought algebra into Karate. Bet that’s not been done too many times before on this board!

Well yes and no I think. The Jujutsu that Otsuka sensei knew (Shindo Yoshin Ryu) was a "Koryu" jujutsu or old school art (pre Meiji restoration (1868)) and as such was a complete combat system for the time or "Bugai" within which a lot of kenjutsu (Sword), atemi (vital point striking) and other related field combat arts were practiced. Very different to self protection, or sport type Jujutsu (throws and ground work, pressure points etc.) that to most people today is the sum total of what the word Jujutsu means. As far as the Shotokan bit is concerned, well yes and no again really. Otsuka sensei did start his karate training with Funakoshi sensei (founder of Shotokan) but at the time, not only had it not been named as "Shotokan" but also it was very different really to the Karate that is practiced in many JKA based Shotokan dojo around the world today. It’s probably best to say that the Karate parentage of Wado is more along the lines of the "Shorin Ryu" family of Okinawan Karate. As to whether Otsuka wanted to learn Karate to give his Jujutsu some "Teeth" I don't know, but I believe it was his son that, when asked what percentage of Wado was Okinawan Karate as opposed to traditional Japanese Jujutsu answered along the lines of: “Okinawan Karate is to Wado as a pinch of salt is to a stew.”

Thank you guys. Much appreciated

To paraphrase a section of Ohgami Sensei's book "Introduction to Karate" Dynamic energy (or power derived from a technique) is the sum of potential, kinetic and rotational energy. Potential energy = Using difference in height by kick or punching downwards or (h) Kinetic energy = Increse in velocity of the technique or (v) Rotational energy = use of angle velocity (ie by twisting of the fist during a puch) or (rw) With the following in mind: E= energy,m= mass, g=gravity acceleration (980 cm/sec2), h=height, v=velocity and rw= angle velocity, the energy equation in basic physics can be understood as follows:- E=mgh+1/2 mv2 + 1/2m (rw)2 In other words you have the force of gravity that helps you create power, you have the rotation of the punch, but because these two are limited to height and the fact that you can only turn your wrist 180 degrees, the main possibility for gaining energy is velocity. In order to gain acceleration (as velocity is a function of acceleration over distance) you need force and this where good karate training comes in. Used effectively the strong muscles in the legs and around the waist especially, can create to good acceleration for a punch by using principles such as: 1. Waving of the Body 2. Twisting of the Body 3. Shifting of the body weight Probably the most important is body twisting. As it allows rapid acceleration whilst still being able to maintain good balance, but the others are also used to great effect. Some more than other depending on style etc. And who said karate wasn't for the thinking man or woman!

There used to be the "clicker" system, when fights were continuous. Referees had one of the people counting clickers and added up the points for each competitor. At the end of the bout the person with the greatest no. of clicks won.

Yep, but focus should be more on moving into the correct possition -back or sideways etc. (and timing of course) in order to allow the kick to be deflected safely. As Zorbasanhas said.

I tend to agree. From practical point of view, blocking a kick with your arm using gedan barai or any block for that matter, is not always the safest thing to do. I think that it is often practiced that way against a partner in yakusoku kumite, but perhaps that’s more to help students learn principles of distance and timing etc. rather than practical application. Don’t get me wrong it could work but your timing and footwork would have to be spot on, otherwise you are risking a broken arm. Arms just aren’t as strong as legs.

Following on from another topic on this board, I would just like to gloat quietly about a great grading results that our club had yesterday. We had (in the end) 10 candidates, who attended our association's winter course, and they all passed, we had; 1 x 1st Kyu 4 x 3rd Kyu 1 x 6th Kyu 1 x 7th Kyu and 3 x 8th Kyu All in all not a bad day at the office. Well done to them all, they worked their backsides off!!

Well I don't disagree with you really, but like you said about the TKD guys, these WKF guys are great athletes and they are very skilled at what they do. I am not sure the IOC would sanction the Kyokushin style of fighting without bringing in stricter safety measures, and that in itself could water down the whole spectacle. Kyokushin with full body armour is not quite the same thing.

Isn't there a risk that you are doing both TKD and Shotokan an injustice, by "blurring" them into the same martial art? I understand entirely, that the codification of modern TKD is based on that of Japanese Shotokan. I know very little of TKD but a little bit about Shotokan, and it seems to me that the "Korean" roots of TKD "Tae-Kyon"? may have been lost a little in the modern "sanitisation" process? Its great that you train in a ma that is very similar to your previous one, but personally, I would seek to learn more from the differences, rather than be too quick to make comparisons.

Well there you go. I am a brit and didn't know that the union Jack was part of the Hawaiian flag! I suppose its true what they said about the sun never setting on the British empire.

Very well done you. I am very pleased for you.

Is this what I think you mean, as in competitors are doing a lot of holding on to each other during bouts? Presumably this is to stop your opponent from achieving enough space between you and them in order for them to kick you. Or have I miss understood? Have you got any youtube links? Yeah, you have it much, pretty much. But the way TKDers clinch is different. They get up close, with their hands down, usually, and then try to jockey one into moving back enough to throw round kick or something. This video has some brief spots of clinching: They try to push and create space, or they hug, with the hands down low. I am of the opinion that many of TKD's knockouts could be avoided with a simple use of the "hands up." Yes, this tactic is being used more and more in WKF Karate comps these days. Competitors are not allowed to hold unless it is to facilitate a throw, but the push and kick thing is something that is used by many competitors. I have no problem with the clinching of your opponent as long as it is followed by a good throw and finishing technique. This is clip represents what I suppose would be a typical of a Karate bout if it was in the Olympics under the existing WKF structure.

Cool! Best of luck to you! Thankyou, but I am not grading tomorrow, but teaching on the course. I do have 9 students from our dojo going for various grades however, and I think I am more nervous for them than If I were testing.

Usually on Sunday afternoon (3.00pm) after a days training that starts at 10.00am Got one tomorrow actually.

The guy on the left hand side of the photo (Relson Gracie?) appears to have a union jack flag on his suit. https://www.pedrosauer.com/pedrosauer/page.asp?ID=32 Is this a sponsorship thing? Can someone explain as I am sure he isn't British.

Is this what I think you mean, as in competitors are doing a lot of holding on to each other during bouts? Presumably this is to stop your opponent from achieving enough space between you and them in order for them to kick you. Or have I miss understood? Have you got any youtube links?