Zanshin

A sokuto is a kick that refers to the position of foot as it strikes. Its the outside edge of the foot with big toe up and little toes down. I think that the Technique being described by Fish may be Yoko Tobi Geri or jumping side kick. A bit like the ones at the start of this clip.

Hi Athena, I would like to apologise for referring to you as male. I don’t know what I was thinking that anyone bearing the name of a Goddess could be a guy. V Sorry. Also sorry if my rant came over a bit negative. I think on reflection there is no harm in what you are doing and that it is investing your time in a healthy hobby which cant be bad at the end of the day.

Hi dragonwarrior_keltyr Fish is correct to point out that there is a link between Wado and Shotokan, however this is often over simplified. The Wado-ka would suggest that it is probably more accurately described as a blend of Shindo Yoshin Ryu Ju-jutsu and "Shorin-Ryu" karate (out of which Shotokan was born). The link is Funakoshi Sensei, with whom Ohstuka Sensei (the founder of Wado) trained with, amongst others, to learn Karate and to introduce it into his ju-Jutsu system which later developed into Wado. The Basics and Kata are similar in appearance, although there are some fundamental differences in how they are performed and the principles inherent to them. You will probably find that the movement in Wado is more relaxed and "fluid" as opposed to the deep rigid stances of today’s modern shotokan. This will probably be the biggest obsticle for you to overcome and may go against your shotokan grain. I hope you enjoy it though as I think it’s the best Karate there is.

Agreed. I've ran into many self-taught martial artists over the past 30+ years and one thing they all have in common (I'm not saying you do) is very weak technique, sloppy, exposed, poor stances/foundations, no understanding of what they are really doing (the mechanics) and the list could go on. Instruction from a qualified teacher is essential to iron our deficiencies and short comings in order to progress and improve. I can see the points that you guys are making. However, if someone has no other options, then trying to figure things out on your own is the only other option that you have. It may not be the best option, but it may be the only one. I also understand what you are saying, Montana, about the stances, technique, etc. However, I think that most of the "self-taught" people out there are mainly working on fighting concepts and principles. In this instance, knowing a proper front or middle stance will not be of as much importance. Hand techniques may not have as much technique involved either; they will punch more like a Boxer (not bad technique, just different technique) and other simpler moves as well. Not as much "style" involved, I guess. Ok, if we take a view that self teaching is the only option available (for the reasons stated), I feel that the best someone could hope to achieve is to "mimic" the techniques that they have seen in a book / DVD etc. They certainly would not be able to pick up concepts and principles that are often locked deep inside many systems. As my instructor once said, if you perform the moves in Karate without fully understanding why you are performing them, then you are just dancing. Can you "understand" by reading a book or video? I don't think so, because you have to "realise" the principles yourself and the only way to do that is by years of training under a watchful eye of a knowledgeable instructor. I am not sure that teaching yourself a martial art isn't actually counter productive for a number of reasons including the possibility of causing injury if techniques aren't performed safely. In addition you could be lulling yourself into a false sense of security and if you ever needed to call upon your training it may let you down. You could also be learning lots of bad habits that could be very difficult to undo. Secondly, I think the key to all martial arts is practicing against a partner. If you do not put into practice the techniques you are learning then once again you are just dancing. Training at a club, gives you such an opportunity. If training at a club is absolutely out of the question (which if I remember correctly Athena said he had a Karate club local to him but chose not to go because "everyone else went there"), then I would suggest that the best martial arts you could learn is Run-Fast Ryu. Keep your self fit and healthy, eat well exercise daily and wait for the opportunity to arise when you can start serious MA training with an instructor. All of the above said, take this opportunity to read and learn about as much MA as you can. When the time is right you can then make an informed decision.

Hi Athena, As NightOwl has already pointed out there is a thread running at the moment about the pros and cons of being self taught so I wont go over the same ground. One thing that you may like to think about though is the fact that you say you have been self training for 4 years now and, by your own admission you say you feel you are equal to a “school taught” TKD student who has probably been training for about 6 months. That should probably tell you something.

Hi Underlink, I have been teaching Wado at a club in the UK for the last ten years. Here is a brief list of things that you will need. A good hall. Find a suitable venue. Sports centres have all the facilities but tend to charge a lot of money. You can always look at Church and Community halls etc. Make sure the floor is good and they are the correct size. Consider the night of the week you want to teach carefully as some nights are better than others. Insurance. You will need a sports instructor’s indemnity and (depending on the hall where you teach) you may have to have accidental damage insurance to cover the hall should you, or one of your students damage it. My Insurance is with Perkins Slade in Birmingham. I think it is about £ 80.00 per annum. Affiliation to Governing Body. Our club is part of a larger organisation which is necessary for Perkins Slade to issue the insurance. It’s like an umbrella policy. CRB - Criminal Records Bureau enhanced disclosure. You will need a CRB Check, particularly if you are teaching children. Many local authorities will not allow you to hire halls if you can’t produce this. First Aid. You need a competent first aider present during session. Again may cause you insurance problems if you don't. A bank account. You should start an account in the name of the club. LloydsTSB have a small business' and charities account, which is Ideal. A child protection policy. These can be obtained from the NSPCC. Health and Safety. Risk assessments, method statements, and student health records. It sounds like a lot of fuss but once you have it in place you can go about the business of teaching Karate.

You are absolutely right, but personally I think that there is more to traditional karate than just "defending oneself". Naturally that is its key objective along with self-improvement etc., but I think the study of any martial art should include embracing the culture from whence it came. I study Wado ryu, which has its origins in the Koryu arts and is un-ashamedly a "Japanese" karate. Perhaps this is why it has a different "pedagogy" than that of TKD.

Not that I have seen. There are some great club vids on there (as well as some shockingly bad ones), and a couple trailers, but I haven't come across any full-length footage of katas from the "shiteigata" video in question. If anyone does come across any be sure to let us know.

Fish is right. Yokogeri, and Sokuto two different things.

bushido_man96 You crack me up. You are actually quoting yourself in your posts!! OMG I envy you so much that you have a job that allows you to read about 3 books a night! Or so it would seem.

A blitz Gi for £ 14.00!!! Where did you get that from?

I have to take my hat off to you bushido_man. How on earth do you fit in all this reading, work, family, posting an average of 16+ messages a day and still get time to go to the Dojo. Let me in on your secret.

Personally, I would look very carefully at a school that advertises instructors as being 8th or 9th dan. It not impossible that they are the grade they say they are, but to be honest, I have been training in a very traditional Japanese Karate Renmei for over twenty years and have only had the opportunity to train with a 9th dan on a handful of occasions, and he lives in Japan and is sort of legendary. A simple (but not definitive) test you can do is to "Google" the names / clubs. Chances are, if they are 8th or 9th dans they will be well known. If the results suggest that they are not widely known of (outside of their own club/association), I would be less enthusiastic. If you have the time, go and have a look at each of the clubs. Look at the students (not the Sensei) and do your best to establish who you think is doing the best karate. Best of luck and let us know how you get on.

The Serge Mol books are pretty accurate on the traditional Japanese MA side of things. As a Wado-ka I would also recommend: Introduction to Karate, and Karate Katas of Wado-Ryu - both written by Shingo Ohgami Eugen Herrigel's "Zen in the art of archery" is a good little read as well.

Not paying

Hi, I am Wado-ryu not Shorin-ryu but most of our katas came from your style so... Big up the shorin-ryu massive. You guys rock!

Us Wado boys only have 15 Katas and they take about 5 years to learn. They take a lifetime to master however but that’s by the by. We have bags loads of "kumite" though probably more than any other style. Also don't forget that wado was the style of Karate that brought "Ji-Yu Kumite" into the Karate world.

I think the fighting arts were originally used to train troops to defend a country as a standing army. Therefore, drilling would have been done in mass groups, and it was done with out ranks. Not really, the koryu arts were taught at a clan level, not national level. I don't think that you have to grade to improve. When you talk about the number of years that exist between many dan grades, I don't think the fact that one is going to grade or not has anything to do with their motivation. I had my first grading in a little over 3 years just two weeks ago, and I hadn't changed my training all that much. My motivation to improve has remained the same. Again, I point to the styles that don't use ranks, like Boxing, Wrestling, and Muay Thai. But does your style use ranks. If it does its probably for a reason. Sorry if I come over a little facetious but, in my view a steady improvement is what you should be getting out of any good day to day martial arts system/routine. I honestly feel that the "amping up" that is needed to progress on to the next level is important to build your character and skill. Obviously when the time is right for you.

I agree completely. I agree that that grading system is not a "necessity" for developing good martial arts, but the fact is that most Japanese gendai arts have seen the introduction of some sort of grading system as beneficial. It’s perhaps the abuse of this system that has given it a bad rep. I believe that the grading system, when employed correctly, provides a useful key-stage learning measure. You also have to bear in mind that the grading system was introduced as a “mechanism” for handling the larger volumes of students that started to study the likes of Karate and Judo as they became increasingly popular. Previously the koryu arts, from which the likes of modern day karate and judo etc descended from, were taught on a much more personal level. Getting back onto the subject of training and grading after black belt, a petty niggle of mine is Dan grades that that get to Shodan or Nidan and take their foot of the gas. Its as if they have a black belt so don’t have to grade any more. Generally speaking these people's karate tends to degenerate after a while, as they are lacking the want to improve.

Thank you for that. Does it have a name? I supposse we all like to think we do "the pure art" really.

That’s sort of my point really. Correct use of technique over physical strength is the most important thing. A good martial art will always stress good fitness but also economy of movement. As they say, the best way to learn karate is from an old person. Judo is also a lot more sport oriantated than many of the other taditional MA's that place self improvement as a higher priority perhaps.

it does account for physical capacity though. most 15 year olds will ever be as strong as a healthy adult male. IMO, you must have the physical ability to use the skills you were given. having the skill means little if you can only use it effectively against a limited number of the population. In judo, if I recall correctly has an age requirement of 17. I am not convinced about that. Just because a 15 year olds physical ability can not match that of an adult, why should they be denied Dan grade. I am a grown man, but my physical ability might not match that of man 12 inches taller than me and 4 stone heavier. Does this mean I shouldn't be allowed to be a black belt? I agree there is an argument that allowing kids to become Dan grades too young (or perhaps more importantly too quickly) as not good, but I feel if they are mentally mature enough and their techniques are there, then they should be given the opportunity to grade for junior shodan.

I don't know to be honest. Normally I would expect a blackbelt's age to be into at least double figures but as with the young girl I described above, it varies from case to case. If I saw a 5 year old with a blackbelt alarm bells would start ringing. However for all I know the kid may be the reincarnation of Bruce Lee (with all his skills kept) and have the philosophical understanding akin to that of the Dalai Lama... FYI, I was a blackbelt at the age of 14... technically I still am a junior even though I now hold my 2nd dan. Its kinda stupid really, I can drive a car, get married, have kids but technically at 17 I am still a junior blackbelt holder. Varies from school to school. In my association you can achieve junior shodan at around 14 years old but the dan grade status is not confirmed until you are 18. Furthermore, you are not permitted to grade to nidan until you are 21.

See my post just above yours.

The dreaded "P" word. I know exactly what you mean. I just try to keep my head down, train as hard as my body lets me, and try not to get tangled up with the "management" side of things. It also depends on how aggressively a school is trying to propagate itself. Sometimes this can lead to junior Dan grades spending too much time developing a new clubs rather than honing their skills. Difficult one.