Montana

I had ever intention of going to my senseis class, as I had been doing for abotu 2 years and hardly ever missed one. But..my girlfriend made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

Agreed. IMHO, getting TKD into the Olympics ruined the art. How rediculous is it to stand nose to nose and try to kick someone in the head...sheer nonsense IMO.

That would have been something I'd have loved to attend...and I'm a vet. However, I'm pretty much retired and my body complains alot when I practice to hard now days.

In my origional instructors class (all adults and mostly men), NOBODY wore cups. There was no rule against it, but we just didn't. Or train of thought was that you won't be wearing one on the street (unless you're really strange) so you'd better start learning how to protect yourself in that area. And yes, before you ask, the groin is most DEFINITELY a target. Now, in my own classes I required young men under the age of 18 to wear a cup at all times. But from age 18 and up, it was optional. Most did...I never did. And yes, I've been put to the ground before because of it.

Do some comparison shopping the the exact same equipment to get a price comparison..and if it's the same, buy from the sensei. The sensei buys at wholesale and sells for retail, which you, the consumer, pays. Generally, wholesale is about HALF the retail price. If you find he is charging OVER retail prices, buy it elsewhere.

Personally, I have a tendancy to overheat easily, so I never wear a t-shirt under my gi. For my students, girls are required to wear a t-shirt under their gi top, guys it's optional unless there's an "issue" with them wanting to expose their chests frequently and flauntingly (yes, it has happened more than once). However, because most of the places that I've used as dojos in the past were NOT air conditioned, I allowed my students to wear gi pants and solid color t-shirts during the hot summer months. We didn't practice alot of grabbing techniques in the summer because of it..but no biggie..there are 9 other months to do that!

I'm certainly no expert at this (my youngest son is however and does TV shows for a living), but I had to keep hitting pause to allow me to read the script and then look at what it was referring to. Otherwise I'd never be able to keep up with it. And the music...personally, it would have been better with no music, rather than THAT music. lol

Congrats! Alas, I'll never make it there myself. To old and falling apart.

THANK GOD somebody is teaching the use of the nunchaku CORRECTLY!!!

In all honesty, I could teach a weeks worth of classes (that's 3 - 2 hour classes/week) on any kata, starting with Pinan Shodan and going up from there. Lesson 1: Just teaching the kata itself, without putting much time into what the movements/bunkai means. Lesson 2: Bunkai...bunkai...bunkai...plus fixing what the students are not gettign right in the kata. Lesson 3: More bunkai..and fixing more issues as they arise. Then for the next 30 years or so..continuing to improve that kata and make it better.

I could explain it to you, but then I'd have to hunt you all down and kill you! I've never heard of that particular technique, and doubt if there really is such a thing. On a quick personal note about something my original sensei witnessed during his training on Okinawa..he told me that there were often people that would stop and look in the open windows of mys dojo as he practiced with his sense, and sometimes the grandmaster...Soken Hohan. On one occasion while OSensei Soken was visiting and working with the class, a american Military Policeman (off duty) with his trained German Shepard stopped and watched the class. The dog continually barked and barked and OSensei Soken eventual;ly tired of it and went over to the serviceman and asked him, thru an interepter since he spoke no English, if he would please silence the dog. The military policeman just smiled and said nothing...and the dog continued to bark at OSensei. After a few minutes of this, OSensei walked over to the dog and slapped it on the nose..which of course infuriated the dog, causing the dog to lunge at OSensei...who BTW, was in his mid-80's at the time, and stood maybe 5'4" tall and thin. When the dog opened his mouth to bite OSensei, OSensei, without hesitatiion, quickly reached in the dogs mouth and grabbed his tongue and held it. The dog immediately stopped his aggression and started whimpering. OSensei proceeded (In Okinawan) to chastise the dog and basically tell it to behave...then released the dog. There were no further issues with that dog. I didn't see it, but my sensei witnessed it, and I've never known him to lie to me.

Something else to try regarding speed..RELAX...RELAX...AND THEN RELAX SOME MORE! Tense muscles move more slowly..relax and throw your kick/punch and tense the muscles jut before impact...of full extension.

Exactly!

Exactly! If you only have one way to generate power you will be limited. Different methods makes you a more rounded and effective fighter imo.

In my branch of Shorin Ryu anyway, anything above 7th Dan is honorary. As long as they strive to get better, Both in the art and themselves.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh yeah I have! I used to be friends with a "gentleman" that was the head and founder of the AKKA (American Korean Karate Assoc) based out of Great Falls, Mt. Essentially, he was a TKD 3rd degree black belt that decided to self-promote himself up to 9th Dan, and start his own system and association. He was a nice enough guy and we became friends, and he put on fantastic well run tournaments! Long story short, a year or so after he elevated himself in rank he was on my neighborhood (about 250 miles from where he lived) and dropped in to watch my class. At the end of the class he stood up in front of my class and gave a glowing, flowery speech about what a good sensei I was, how proud they should be to take classes from me...yadda yadda yadda. Then he whips out a 3rd Dan certificate from his association in TKD (which I've never so much as had one single class in) and hands it to me. He advised me that this certificate is as good as any his association gives and nowhere on it did it say honorary or such. I was flabbergasted to say the least! Interesting to note, after the students had left and we went out for a beer to talk, he asked me "Since I gave you a 3rd Dan in my system, can you give me one in yours?" He was collecting certificates from various people in different systems to hang on his dojo walls..I guess to add credibility to what he was doing. I thanked him for what he had said to my students about me, and the "honor" it was to have him give me a 3rd dan in "his" system..but said I was not comfortable giving him ANY rank in the system I teach (it's not MY system afterall) without taking classes from me. Then I added..."Do you want your certificate back? lol he said "No..." but was clearly disappointed. He died friendless (very long story there) and the AKKA, as far as I know, went with him.

I'm 6'6" tall and weigh around 250 lbs (not sure how many stones/rocks that is) and 62 years old currently. I have had recurring back issues for many years before I started training back in 1975 and just dealt with it as best I could until it got to the point that a hard right kick would throw my back out for WEEKS! That, and arthritis in both of my knees is when I decided to retire from the arts after 30 years.

First of all..congratulations on your promotion! I think I got my 9th kyu back in the spring of 1975...lol. As to all of your questions...those are questions only your instructor/sensei can answer..we can't because we don't know you or how your class is run. We don't have a clue how your testing works either..so ask your sensei, or a senior student.

The minimum age requirement is designed to keep people from achieving overly high rank for the time that they have had in their given art form. For example, I have seen people in their EARLY 20's that have 6th and even 7th Dan ranking. Granted, they maybe have started training when they were 4 and have nearly 20 years in the arts..but maturity level (IMO of course) is well below that of someone sporting that sort of ranking that had as much, or more training to reach the same level, and was in their 50's. Rank is just a method of gauging what experience and training you have done in an art. But think about it for a second. I have personally seen a 3rd Degree black belt that was 12 years old. He was good, yes..but would you take classes from a 12 year old? Or would you take classes from a 3rd degree black belt that was 25+ years old? Assume that both had the same amount of time in the training. The time in grade (minimum time requirement) is for "seasoning" in that rank. It's meant to prevent people from progressing IN RANK faster than their skills and maturity develop. Personally, I wouldn't ever consider taking classes from a person with high rank, but young age. They may know the moves, but doubtful if they have the understanding of what they are doing outside of a physical movement they learned to mimic. But I'm an old fossil and stuck in my ways. And by the way..."Age and treachery will ALWAYS overcome youth and skill!"

I can't tell you where it came from, but I can tell you it's definitely NOT from Shorin Ryu. It goes totally against all the shorin ryu principles..such as not exposing yourself while being attacked. if one of my students blocked like that, he's get an earfull from me! lol

I've only trained in one system, and that is Okinawan Shorin Ryu Matsumura Kenpo Karate and Kobudo. I find it's about as complete a system as there is (in my opinion of course) for what I looked for in a martial art. Why did I start in Shorin Ryu instead of another system? I've told this before on this forum, but in a nutshell, there were only 3 different martial arts available in small town Montana back in 1975. The TKD and Hawaiian Kenpo instructors were well known bullies and bar room brawlers that went looking for fights frequently, and encouraged their students to do the same. That, IMO, was not what I thought the arts were all about. Then I found, thru a friend, a Shorin Ryu Sensei in town that was fresh out of a tour in the Navy on the island of Okinawa. I loved the philosophy, found the techniques to be practical and make sense, and the longer I was in it, the more my love for the art grew.

Look at the video again in regards to the leg checks...notice alot of them not only block his kicks, but also protect Sensei Lindseys groin, while at the same time making his opponent lose balance. The change of body (side stepping) is taught in many systems, but in all honesty I've NEVER seen these other systems use it in refereeing about 20 years of tournament sparring. I competed in only 1 tournament (my students guilt tripped me into it) and I used it alot. In every instance I nailed the guy cleanly coming in, yet not once did I get a point from it because the judges didn't see that his technique missed, and mine connected. However, my opponents each time touch gloves with me and stated "You got ripped off man...". or words to that effect, becuase he knew I had him cold, but the judges didn't see it. No biggie..I still won 2 of my 3 matches in single elimination, heavy weight black belt division. One thing I've never liked about sparring is that it often has seemed to me that even glancing blows tend to get scored, and a block that absorbs or redirects most of the power, but may still glance, gets scored. The strategies of point fighting and useful self-defense are often miles apart. Agreed!

I just wanted to post this video of the late Grandmaster, OSensei Soken Hohan. It's an old, somewhat grainy video from a black and white film showing the grandmaster performing Passi Sho. At the time this video was shot, he was well into his 80's!! also, here's another excellent video of Sensei Lindsey doing what we do best...

Look at the video again in regards to the leg checks...notice alot of them not only block his kicks, but also protect Sensei Lindseys groin, while at the same time making his opponent lose balance. The change of body (side stepping) is taught in many systems, but in all honesty I've NEVER seen these other systems use it in refereeing about 20 years of tournament sparring. I competed in only 1 tournament (my students guilt tripped me into it) and I used it alot. In every instance I nailed the guy cleanly coming in, yet not once did I get a point from it because the judges didn't see that his technique missed, and mine connected. However, my opponents each time touch gloves with me and stated "You got ripped off man...". or words to that effect, becuase he knew I had him cold, but the judges didn't see it. No biggie..I still won 2 of my 3 matches in single elimination, heavy weight black belt division.

I feel your pain bro. I also have loaned out video's on the head of my system to others and never got them returned. When confronting one guy in particular (an instructor from a totally different system that wanted to see it) it darn near escalated into a full blow fist fight! Not quite..but darn close. He promised to return it to me within a week...then lo and behold..he moved out of state!!!