Mark Groenewold

Personally, I think you should just go for it. Give it a try! You might bump into someone interesting and it would be a unique experience. But the advice to take care of yourself when abroad is a good idea too. If the training looks unsafe, just bow out and excuse yourself. I'd just hate for you to miss out on an opportunity just for being overly timid. Enjoy! Mark

For a history text you can't go wrong with either Harry Cook's beautiful text, or Randall Hassel's "Shotokan Karate: It's History and Evolution". Granted, there is a fair bit of Shotokan focussed stuff there, but the material on the early karate pioneers is quite excellent as well. Mark

Hello smr, Thanks for the feedback! The reason that the pages are set up the way that they are is that we wanted to have, as much as possible a "magazine" feel to the site. Yes, some pages are long, particularly the Letters page, but others are a little more balanced in terms of images and text. I realize that some people have a short attention span, but that is not necessarily the target audience I am looking for. I am interested in people who enjoy reading, enjoy following descriptions or arguments, and who want to submerse themselves a little in the text. But I hope that there is a little something there for everyone. We try to update regularly so you are most welcome back and see how things are evolving. Many thanks again, Mark

Dear Friends and Neighbors, You are cordially invited to see what updates and additions, breaking news and revisions have been made at http://www.karatethejapaneseway.com For those unfamiliar with this relatively new website (2 years old and counting), the content is prepared by myself, a long-time ex-patriate resident in Japan. I have been doing karate during my 8 year plus stay as well. This site has been created and tended with the beginner to karate in mind, as well as instructors and senior folk who wonder what karate is really like in Japan. Anyway, enough preamble from me. Come on over, take a look around, and let me know how it looks, how I did, what needs to be changed, what needs to be added. Many thanks, Mark Groenewold Kanazawa, Japan

Agreed! I'm tall (6'3) but have met all kinds of smaller teachers and karate-ka here in Japan. I can't count how many times someone smaller than me has slipped inside my maai!! But then again, with slower or equally fast opponents, I have the advantage of longer arms and can usually keep them at bay. Shorter guys can (and often must) move more quickly. I guess you just have to use what you've got to your best advantage. Mark Groenewold

On cross-training: Over the years I have done a fair bit of gym-training to complement karate and it helps a lot. I find that the karate training has become more of honing skills, remembering moves, technique, distancing, and some more finesse. the running, weights, and aerobic work gives me a stronger body to bring to the dojo. So I suppose you have to figure out which accents the other. Does the cross-training help your karate or does the karate help you in the gym/basketball court.... etc.? Mark Groenewold

If I may be so bold... I suggest checking out this section of my site: http://karatethejapaneseway.com/gradings/index.html If anyone has something to add, are argue with, by all means, let me know. Best regards Mark Groenewold

Thank you SaifightsMS for your comments. I agree that it is important to respond to others' posts with respect, but only if it is merited. There have been a variety of personal attacks in this thread, and although I do not necessarily retract a syllable of what I have written, I certainly apologize to bystanders in this discussion who are offended by what I have said. I have only myself to blame in my responses and am sorry if my comments to the umbrageous posts aimed my way offend the sensibilities of others. I did not know that "chris" was actually someone with whom I have had contact with previously and did not know it was the same person until a few posts into our "discussion". Now that I know who I am dealing with clearly, I shall respond in these forums with due caution and simply ask that chris refrain from any further personal attacks. I shall certainly do the same. Regards, Mark Groenewold

Hello aes, And thanks for the nice comment. Glad you liked the article. I have to agree that sometimes there seems to be a division between what kind of karate different people do. Are you a kumite player? Are you a kata specialist? It seems that in some contexts you have to choose one or the other. In my dojo I train a fair bit in kumite, although I am finding that I am slowing down.... ahhhhhh!!! Some "karate types" seems to be ear-marked for kumite rather than kata, and vice versa. So I think that for me, in order to really improve my karate, I need to do more kata. There are a whack of them I have yet to really learn, and then kata outside my own style. The road goes on and on. But it is good travel and the weather is fair. Best regards, Mark Groenewold Kanazawa, Japan

Ok Chris, I think that we have had enough tit-for-tat stuff for the time being. I really don't know what is in you to be so provocative and agressive. But that's OK. I don't care. You are a hyper-sensative person and you have wasted enough bandwidth with your prattle. In all your verbosity, convoluted statements, and bizarre extrapolations from what has been written and said you have managed to present yourself in the full rainbow of psychological challenges which would give most shrinks a lifetime of work on their couches. Don't go around challenging me. It's a waste of time and certainly not in your best interest. And then you allude to legal trouble I may be in? Please, you make me laugh. And then you call me a coward to try to goad me? LOL! Get lost. Our communication with one another is terminated. You may (and certainly will no doubt) say what you wish about me. But I think that your track record with others, and then with those who will meet you in future days, will always speak for itself. I wonder how many people you have met in all your years of training will stand up and say that yes they know you, call you friend, and will stand by you. I think that the very nature of how you conduct yourself and speak to others drives others away. And rightfully so. Your conduct is offensive and repugnant. I am certain that you will feel the knee-jerk desire to blast away and respond to what I have written here. If it will help you vent your spleen, by all means, do so. I will consider it my small contribution to your psychological rehabilitation. As for me, I think that I will just try to stick to the karate at hand. The rest, the backbiting, badmouthing, gossip and inuendo, maligning of others' characters, bitter venom, and verbal diarrhea is all yours. Bugger off. Most sincerely, Mark Groenewold Kanazawa, Japan

Interesting thread. It was quite by coincidence that I wrote an article for my site that follows some of the arguments mentioned so far in this thread. http://karatethejapaneseway.com/articles/karate_sucks.html I had fun writing this one... Cheers to all, Mark Groenewold Kanazawa, Japan

This should be a fun thread. Yes, good Shotokan karateka can hold their own against anything with a pulse. Yes, instructors kicking students in the groin is outrageous in any situation. Yes, it is weird that a room full of students would stand imobile while the teacher wanders around the dojo playing football with their gonads. Run man! Run!!! Low stances are training stances. If you can do technique low you can do it higher up. The reverse simply is not so. I'm not such a tough guy but the toughest guys I ever spar against are all Shotokan dudes. The thing about Shotokan which makes it special (imho) is that it is has a one-shot fight approach to kumite. Every punch, block, and kick is designed to dispatch the greatest amount of damage possible to the attacker. Shotokan is an "all or nothing affair". For some it is all they need. For others, its nothing.... (that's too bad though... ) Mark Groenewold Kanazawa, Japan

I really enjoy my club, my teacher, and the whole karate experience. I also get to do it all here in Japan, so that is a bonus. I even put together a pretty lengthy website about the whole thing. If you are interested, please feel free to go and take a look at what I have put together. Any comments, suggestions, objections, rejections, inflections, or defections can be sent to my email address. Or even addressed on these forums. Mark Groenewold Kanazawa, Japan http://www.karatethejapaneseway.com

Very interesting and amusing post, Chris. Your style of oblique ad hominem attack is most interesting. You had seemed to be a "straight shooter" a "tell-it-like-it-is" kind of person. Regrettably, you must even disappoint yourself in this particular event. At any rate, I believe that the main focus of this thread was in response to what is the JKA, what does it mean to be a member of the JKA, and how all that fits together. Since the initial worthy attempt to address these things you have decided to make this thread something about you. And when the topic is not about you, you attack others. Silly. Juvenile. Ridiculous. Nevertheless, for those of you reading this thread and who would like to continue this discussion in earnest I would be most interested to continue exchanging ideas and points of view. For those of you who wish to engage Chris further on his thesis on himself, please continue to do so. I would like to merely stick to the issues and lay off the personalities. Best regards to all (even you Chris!) Mark Groenewold Kanazawa, Japan

Working on kata through video is hard enough as it is.... but with CD rom... sheesh. I can't imagine hauling the computer into the dojo. TV's seem to be more standard fare with some dojos. Of course I just try to see what I can do in the livingroom without bashing my shins on the coffee table too hard. BTW, are there any Shotokan DVD's being made yet? Mark Groenewold Kanazawa, Japan