Howdy folks!

[Shorinryu Sensei]

Hi All! I've been visiting this forum for maybe 2 months now and have started some threads and commented on others, so I guess it's about time I actually introduced myself and said "hi!"

 

Some background on myself. I'm a 50 year old male (51 later this month ) and have been involved in Okinawan Shorinryu Matsumura Seito/Orthodox/Kenpo Karate and Kobudo since January of 1975. With the exception of one TKD class while in the Army, this is the only system I have studied, although I do watch many other systems and have taught quite a few seminars to other systems.

 

I have been teaching my own classes since 1978 and love the art that I do. I feel, for me, it is the most well rounded martail art there is. The Ultimate Art? No, but what is? Short of nuclear weapons, there is no sure way of ensuring anything is going to work.

 

I run a pretty relaxed, first name basis class and am pretty approachable as an instructor and person. I really do not like the boot licking that some systems practice, nor the militaristic way some run classes. Not to say it's bad, just I don't personally care for it, nor would ever want to join a class like that myself.

 

I live in beautiful northwest Montana in the middle of the Rocky Mountains, where the air and water are clean, the people are generally friendly, and everybody carrys a gun or rifle in their truck! lol

 

I like this site so far, and enjoy a good discussion and sharing of information.

 

Paul

Edited November 2, 2003 by Shorinryu Sensei

[hajime]

Welcome sir!

 

I only lick the boots of my partner if she's got all the money.

 

I agree that friendliness over power trip helped me to enjoy martial arts in a nice atmosphere.

[stl_karateka]

Welcome --- even though you've been here for a while

[telsun]

Welcome Paul.

 

I for one value your input to the forum, your experience is apparent in your posts. I am humbled by your presence.

 

It's nice to finally have some background on you. I cannot confess to knowing much about Shorin-ryu. Would you care to brief us it's concepts?

[Ben]

Welcome to the boards (officially that is!) I agree your experience shows in your posts.

 

You seem to have settled pretty well, we share a certain.. discomfort *sly grin* but I hope you enjoy your time here

 

[gheinisch]

Hello and Welcome, as the others have said your posts have been noticed and I know that I have enjoyed reading them. My Hanshi has been studying for 37 yrs. and was brought up through a very strict and formal background. Lucky for us he thinks the way you do and runs a relaxed dojo who loves to get questions asked of him and truly enjoys passing on the knowledge he has acquired over these many years. Makes for a great learning environment.

 

Welcome once again!

 

Greg

[Hybrid]

Welcome.

 

It's good to have someone with your experience here.

[karatekid1975]

It's about time! Na just kiddin ya Welcome and I enjoy your posts so keep on posting

[Shorinryu Sensei]

Welcome Paul.

 

I for one value your input to the forum, your experience is apparent in your posts. I am humbled by your presence.

 

It's nice to finally have some background on you. I cannot confess to knowing much about Shorin-ryu. Would you care to brief us it's concepts?

 

Oh gosh guys ...thanks for the warm welcome. I just say my piece on subjects I have an opinion on, or possible some knowledge or experience of. Some like it...and some (ahem Ben) don't.

 

As for Shorinryu's concepts, I'm not sure what you mean exactly, but I can give you a quick idea. Keeping in mind of course, there are several "main" branches of Shorinryu, plus numerous sub-branches, so all I can speak of is what I personally do.

 

What we are striving to do in the branch that I study, is to regress backwards to the oldest, and most authentic ways of doing shorinryu, instead of what most other systems are doing, and that is trying to improve their systems by modernizing and taking techniques from other systems into their own.

 

Whether this is a good thing, or a bad thing..is debatable, but in our opinion, newer isn't necessarily better.

 

For example (and there are many), the majoity of "modern karate systems" are utilizing high kicks to the head. We don't, and never will. For us, the groin is a very viable target, and what easier way to attack it than to have your opponet raise his leg high to allow easy access? The same goes for the knee and inside of the thigh.

 

Have you ever been kicked to the inside of your thigh? The outside is protected by large, strong muscles, and a good kick there will just usually leave a good bruise and a sore muscle for a few days. But the inside of that thigh is so much more tender, and when a well placed kick wit hthe ball of the foot, roundhouse..or even the toes (yes, we kick with our toes curled down to soft targets), it can be rather incapacitating for your opponent.

 

Shorinryu is a system that utilizes speed..I think more so than most systems. Out attacks are short, precise, and very fast. We endeavor to attack specific points of the body with specific weapons. We don't like to over commit our bodies to an atytack, such as throwing shoulders into punches, or hips with kicks. Yes, doing so lends more power to your technique, but if that technique is blocked, or you miss..you leave yourself wide open for a counter attack, which is what we want the OTHER GUY to do! lol

 

The vast majority of our punching, kick and blocking power comes at the last part of the technique, rather than throughout the entire technique. This takes a while for people to learn and to understand, but try it yourself.

 

Take your basic front snap kick fron a left foot forward stance. Kicking with the back leg, the majority of systems start the full power and speed the moment the back foot leaves the floor and they try to increase the speed and power throughout the entire technique until, and beyond, the piont of contact.

 

We, on the other hand, move the back leg forward, chamber it to the knee first (but not stopping at the knee), and then at THAT point is where the majority of the power comes from in the form of a very quick snapping motion. The same premise applies to all kicks, punches and blocks. The power comens at the end of the technique, not throughout the entire technique.

 

Odd concept possible for you to understand maybe? lol If you try it a bit on your own. Relax more than you probably are used to doing (that's import for us..relax)..front or real leg kick..chamber it to the knee fast, but relaxed, then snap as hard as you can from the knee outward (careful not to hyperextend the joint please).

 

Try it with blocks. do you normal block, but instead of muscling and trying to get all the power from the entire movement..do it just at the last part of the technique, just before it makes contact.

 

Try it with a reverse punch...through all thepower into the last 4-6 inches of the technique just before it twists.

 

I don't know if telling you these thigns is going to make sense, or if you'll try it once or twice and go "Phooie!"..but it does really work once you get the hang of it, and you'll find it takes a whole lot less energy that throwing a whole body technique.

 

Please understand this isn't a new and improved, modern idea. This is several hundred years old, and most systems have either not learned it, or forgotten it somewhere along the line.

 

Another technique, which isn't unique to Shorinryu, but in my experiences, we're the only ones that I've ever seen actually practice what we preach with it..is called change of body, body shifting..or several other names I've heard.

 

Basically what it entails is the shifting ofyor body away ftrom an attack, but that shifting is done at hte last possible moment, when the attackers technique (kick/punch/baseball bat) is fully commited and it's course can't be changed. Again, it's hard to explain, but I use it all the time when sparring, in a couple of street fights I couldn't afford, and my people (the few that do this anyway) that go to tournaments use it and invariably, and consistently..score on their opponents with it.

 

A quick example. Left foot forward in a front stance. Envision (or have somebody do it) a right handed punch coming from your opponent, heading directly for your nose. You beed to wait unbtil the last possible moment to move (you'll get bonked a number of times until your timing kicks in)..and when you do move, leave your left foot in place (OK to pivot though) and shift your right foot behind you into a 90 degree turn backwards. (keep that left foot where it was though and pivot on it). At the same time that you do this change of body, through your left hand out to an open spot on your opponent, usually his ribs or throat, so that you nmake contact about the exact same time your right foot settles and stabalizes into a good, solid stance again. You are striking your opponent with 3 different energies.

 

1. The energy transferred to your arm by your body shifting and rotating.

 

2. The forward momentum of your punch.

 

3. Your opponents forward movement used against him.

 

Also look at thsi point. From your origional front stance, extend your left arm out as far as it goes, liek a punch. Put a student/partner there so that your fist just touches his chest and from this point, they won't move.

 

Now, with yoru left arm extended, do that same change of body movement to 90 degrees. You should see that your reach has extended forward quite a bit, which is the power of your body behind your punch, plus you get a lot closer to the guy as he's coming in.

 

Did I mentionm, if you move just right, that his punch/kikc or whatever...missed you entirely???

 

Owwww...finger cramps here! lol Did I lose anybody..or bore you to tears??? Sorry if I did, but this is the sort of stuff we do daily in class, and why I love the art so much. I have seen other systems practice the body shifting, but have never seen anybody else actually use it when they need to. We drill it constantly, until it becomes (or try to anyway) automatic..and FAST!

 

oen more quick thing that ocmes to mind. Out of all the different doo's I've visited in the past, I constantly see belts of all colors doing basic one step kumite, where one person piunches, the other blocks and then throws a counter punch with the opposite arm.

 

We do that too, but only as a very basic, white belt..1st week sort of technique. We call those the "old one and two's".

 

What we do instead..is a one---1/2---two. Take any block. Opponent tosses a pucn...you block, but instead of your counbter immediately coming from your opposite arm/hand, you counter FIRST with the blocking arm..because look where it's at? It should already be halfway to your opponent as it blocked his arm, so take that block (don't rechanger it or pull it back), and from where it's at in the block, launch a striek to your opponent from there, and THEN launch your other hands counter punch.

 

Sure, the 1/2 isn't a real strong technique, but if you land on the nose, or most places in his face, he's flinch or duck..causing you to have a real good oppening for you #2 punch.

 

Again..does that make sense???

 

Anyway...I've rattled enough for one night. Take care.

[Darce]

Welcome.