Montana

Yep...winter's coming. 80's here during the day, 30's at night. Go from shorts and a tank top to a heavy coat...all within about 8 hours...gotta love it!

I also would recommend Okinawa if you want to really learn about karate. You'll find it a whole lot different than Shotokan and with a generally very relaxed atmosphere compared to the more (usually anyway) "militaristic" approach of theJapanese/Korean systems. There's not much "Yes sir, No sir" stuff on Okinawa, nor doing pushups for minor infractions. Those are more Japanese/Korean philosophies of teaching the arts. You'll find Okinawan masters, 8th-10th dan, to be approachable, friendly and wanting you to learn. However one thing to be aware of is that these Okinawan masters tend to show you something once or twice, and if they don't see you making the effort to do what they want you to do, they will start ignorng you...so you need to pay close attention and do what you are instructed to do, not what you're used to doing in Shotokan class. Be adaptable and receptive to a different way of doing the arts.

Yep, that's pretty much it. Takes some practice to maximize the "snap" from that position, but when you've got it...Oh BABY...it's powerful.

Yes, I read numerous descriptions of the TKD whip kick. Nothing at all like what we do. It's hard to explain really, but our "whip kick" isn't just one kick, but rather in the execution of the front snap kick and side kick (mostly). I have some examples of it on CD's from several sensei's of our system, but haven't a clue as to how to get them on the net...or whether I should or not. Not that it's all that big of a secret really, but it's rather unique to our system...possibly some other Okinawan systems. How do I explain it? First of all, all of our kicks come all of the way to the knee before going out to their intended target. Many systems I've seen don't emphasise this much, if at all...whereas we put great importance on that little detail. Once the kick is chambered at the knee (no, there is no pause there), from that point (the knee) is where the power for the kick comes from in a whipping motion. Very quickly out to the target...contact, then just as quickly withdrawn. Emphasis on returning back to the knee just as quickly as it went out. This kick is more of a close in technique rather than a distance technique. We work a lot of angles in our defense and counter attacks, so targets are normally the side of the leg...and both inside and outside of your opponents leg. That whipping motion creates a lot of power very quickly and literally can break bones. Since all of our kicks are low level kicks, the damage to your opponent occurs from the ankle to the lower abdomen. It's easy to demonstrate, but difficult to put into words. Did that help at all?

I wouldn't bet on that. I've never taken a TKD class, but have watched dozens and dozens of their classes (I have friends that teach TKD) and about the only similarity between TKD kicks and (some) karate kicks, is the foot leaves the floor and moves towards an opponent.

Doing a quick search on "whip kick", I see TKD does one called that also, but from the description...it's not even close to the same thing we do. It has to do with the execution of certain kicks, not a specific kick in itself.

I wasn't thinking so much of assumptions bushido...more like keep an open mind about how things are done, and WHY they are done that way. The blocks will be similar, as will kicks and everything else...but different...for a reason. For examples, I've seen some TKD'ers do a high block where their forearm is parallel with the ground. For some/most Okinawan systems, the arm is at a 45 degree angle to the floor, not 90. Another is the chamber of the foot when kicking, and the execution of a roundhouse kick. Another is our rather unique "whip kick"...I've never seen another system do it. It's a bone breaker. I could do a long topic just on the differences, and reason for those differences, between the Okinawan system I practice and TKD, and why we do them the way we do. Actually...now that I think about it...lol

My best advice for making the cange from TKD to any Okinawan system, is to keep an open mind. It's going to be different...WAY different if that Okinawan Kenpo is anything like what I do. One question though..... WHY???

One thing I've found effective against kicks is when they kick, slide/hop backwards just enough to not get hit (or at least not hard), then as their kick either comes down towards you (depending on what they're doing) or retracts backwards..lunge forward. Basically, follow the foot back to your opponent.

I recently had the opportunity to watch an hour demonstration at a local "Art in the Park" which featured local artists (lots of them around here) and craftsmen displaying/hawking their wares. Anyway, Saturday afternoon they were hosting a martial arts demonstration from the largest club in the area. I'll withhold the name of the system so as not to start any inflamatory arguments. I've seen this groups demo's numerous times, and they never fail to frequently mention that they, and their organization, are the "Ultimate in martial arts"... What this system consists of is a "break a board and get a belt" mentality where flash is good, the more patches on your gi the better (this space for rent), no head punches allowed (why?), kicking to the groin is considered "dishonorable", black belts as young as 8, and the list goes on. Essentially, IMHO, a belt factory...but a sanctioned, well established international belt factory! Anyway, my senior student and his two high school aged kids (also students of mine) and I attended this demo and all we could do the entire time was shake our heads at how open/exposed they were when they did their self-defense techniques, how robotic their movements were, how silly it looked to have the 8 year old black belt doing self-defense techniques aginst an adult black belt 5 times his size, and how basic in technique their "advanced" kata were. I wanted soooooooooo BADLY to walk into the middle of their demo and say "Listen, what you are doing is so much CRAP!"..."You are taking these people's money under false pretences!"...but I didn't. They talked a lot about their proficency at tournaments and proudly displayed many large trophies of their successes at them. When they opened up the demo to questions from the audience, my senior student asked them "Do you attend tournaments that are open to all systems, or just your own? The instructor replied "We attend ONLY (inset name of worldwide organization here) tournaments." Then my student asked "Why?" His reply was "If we competed in open tournaments outside of our organization, we would dominate so much that they wouldn't invite us back again." I almost lost it at that. I've been a judge/referee at open tournaments for over 20 years, and believe me, the majority of these guys wouldn't make it to the 2nd round! Like many of you, I am proud and confident of the system that I have chosen to devote my life to. I have confidence that what I have learned in the last 30+ years works in a real life situation, and that knowledge has been put to the test several times during my training. It hasn't failed me yet. I admire anybody that loves their system and devotes their life to it, but to openly state that they are doing the ultimate in martial arts, when that art is full of so many holes and obvious flaws, that a blind man could see them, just amazes me to no end. Thoughts?

Speaking from my own observations and experiences only here, this is what I've found from people that are "self-taught". When I first moved into this area back in 1985 and started teaching a karate class in my basement, word spread quickly (small town Montana) about me, and being a high school teacher I was bombarded daily with kids telling me about Brian...another "instructor" and high school student, that was "Fantastic!" and teaching out of his parents garage. I met Brain a few days into the school year (he was a senior) and found that he had taken a few months of classes from a blue belt Chuck Norris System instructor, and a few months worth of classes from a local 7th Dan San Sou instructor. He told me he felt he knew more than they did, so started training on his own from videos (pre-DVD days) and books. As chance would have it, Brian's father was my wifes boss at the hospital and we were invited over to their house for dinner a few weeks later where I had the opportunity to talk at length with Brian about what he was doing. He invited me out to his garage where he had an impressive collection of every martial arts weapon that you can buy from a catalog. I asked him if he wouldn't mind showing me some things that he was practicing, and he eagerly agreed. Well folks, all I can say is...YUCK! To say he was sloppy would be a gross understatement. To say his technique had no power would be like comparing a very expensive sports car of your chosing, to a lawn mover. And this kid was teaching, and PROMOTING about 10 other high school kids! He was more concerned on looking good, rather than proper function. Blocks were nearly non-existent, no chambers (to the knee and back) for kicks, punches were wild and unfocused (as was everything he did). I have run into several other self-taught people through the past 30+ years...not one has ever impressed me of having any technique above possibly a very low kyu ranking, yet considered themselves very good...right up in the black belt levels. They all have the same inherent weakness's and flaws in their techniques...stances, blocks, power, etc. You can't learn that stuff without a sensei telling you where you're making your mistakes and correcting your flaws.

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've never heard the term either. Maybe this is just a way to obvious, but I assume your sensei is tell you that you are doing this...right? Ask him/her what it is and how to correct it.

Do the kick very slowly and hold it at the end of the kick for as long as you can without leaning your body very much as a counter weight. It will improve balance and also strengthen the leg muscles.

Trying to disarm a person with two weapons is where you made your mistake. Instead of disarming them, use your speed to get in and out with very strong and fast blows/jabs, low kicks, etc to upset their balance. Angle your attacks to their weak side (their left side if they're right handed, etc) Your legs are longer than their arms, kick low and fast. The thing that most people don't realize about defending an attacker with a weapon is that the attackers entire concentration is on using that weapon pretty much exclusively. They rarely kick. That can be used to your advantage. You don't want to get close to them unless you're attacking, and you need to move as fast as possible, and as efficiently as possible. Forget fancy kicks, complicated disarms (unless the opportunity presents itself and you can do it safely). We've done this same sort of scenerio in my class, plus in my sensei's, and his sensei's class. It can be done.

Would you mind clarifying what you're saying here please?

I think what you guys are missinbg here is the purpose of training in karate or muay thai. Karate was developed for self-defense purposes, whereas muay thai is for sport. True, there is a lot of sport karate out there now, which I think is really sad and pathetic (personal opinion), but training traditionally for karate is to protect yourself on the street against any sort of attack, not just attacks from one particular style of martial art.

Agreed. The karate fighter approached the JJ guy with his hands down, no defensive posture at all. He was either extremely overconfident...or stupid.

Every height has its advantages, and its disadvantages. Tall people have a greater reach, usually (not always) a harder punch/kick due to more mass, but a larger target area to defend. Short people have speed, lower center of gravity (more stable) and a smaller target area to defend. The thing to watch out with taller people when they fight a shorter person is that most of them are "head hunters"...meaning they go for head shots the majority of the time, as that's what's easiest for them to attack. A shorter person needs to understand that and learn to get under their attack and go for the torso more than their head.

Agreed! Simple? Well, simpler than higher katas perhaps, but simple...not even! Our "simpliest", first kata is Pinan Shodan (Shotokan people call it Nidan). Attention to minute details is important the higher you are ranked. Nobody does it perfectly, especially myself, but that is our goal. Just on a side note here, ALL kata can be asked for for each and every test we take. ALL known kata are practiced by ALL karateka (including myself) during each practice. Each and every kata in our system is as important as any other and has its place in our system. Well, now you did it. You went and made me use upper case!

6'6" here...that's about 198cm for you metric folks. Being taller than everybody else in class has it's on set of "issues" too.

I had a student a few years back (Don) that after getting his first of 3 brown belts started attending an Ed Parker Kempo class occassionally without telling me about it for a while. I had lunch with that other sensei now and then and that's how I found out about it. I had been suspicious anyway, as Don was trying different stances, blocks and techniques that we didn't use in my class...now I knew why. I wasn't angry about it and have no problem if a student isn't satisfied with what I'm teaching, but I think I deserved to at least be informed about it after putting nearly 3 years into teaching a student.

A card that you show someone before thumping them, so that you aren't held liable for their butt-whooping? Am I understanding your statement correctly? I think the idea is that while they're reading the card and starting to laugh hysterically over it, you nail them!

There was an article many years ago...1970's somewhere...possibly in BB magazine or in a medical journal about it. The article was about the continuing growth of a serious, continually training martial artist, not a tournament competitor. The difference is the honing and refining of skills was a continuing process and that advancements can still be achieved into the mid-60's. Of course this doesn't pertain to UFC sort of competitions. Take for example a true master of the arts, any art, when they are in their 50's or above. They normally have the skills to defeat a much younger opponent, also with MA skills. There are countless examples of this. How old was your sensei, and could you, as a much younger person, defeat them?

I disagree. When you reach black belt level, or that level which you are considered proficient in the basic fundamentals of your particular system, then that is the time that you are really learning "IMHO". I have progressed so much since that time that I can't begin to describe it since getting my BB back in 1978. My reflexes are faster, timing is better, understanding of what I'm doing is phonomenally better, speed and smoothness of my techniques is better...in general, reaching black belt is just the beginning of understanding what your art is all about. Did you know that as a martial artist, you don't reach your peak until your mid-60's? It's true.