KarateForums.com Gathering Pictures

[Patrick]

Hello,

As discussed, Shorinryu Sensei held a little (unofficial) get together for KarateForums.com users. Shorin Ryuu and Sauzin attended. He sent me the following pictures. For the sake of those with slower connections, I am going to link to them, as opposed to putting images in the thread. Captions provided by Shorinryu Sensei.

Standing Around.

Tough Guys.

Shorin Ryuu (Right) Explains Extending the Bo For a Strike.

Sauzin (Left), Shorinryu Sensei (Center) and Shorin Ryuu (Right).

Shorin Ryuu (Right) Explains "Cradling the Bo". (Or is he really trying to put an end to Sauzin's day?)

Shorin Ryuu (Right) Explains Moving Up the Bo Before a Curl.

Shorin Ryuu Strikes!

Shorin Ryuu Demonstrates a Kama vs. Bo Drill.

Glad that you guys had fun. Feel free to use this thread to tell everyone what you did, etc. if you haven't already.

[ninjanurse]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing with those of us who had to stay home.

[June1]

Wow! That looked awesome! Glad you all had fun! I hope more members can find a way to get together!

[aefibird]

Great pics! Glad you three had a good time.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

I would like to take the opportunity to thank Shorin Ryuu and Sauzin for coming all the way to Montana to visit and share their arts with me. They both are EXCELLENT young martial artists and a credit to their systems.

We had several sharing sessions on Friday evening and Saturday, and Shorinryuu and I took a drive through Glacier Park on Sunday. Unfortunately, my back "went out" sometime Saturday morning, which is a chronic problem I've had for the past 3 years, and wasn't able to contribute as much as I'd wanted to during their time here. I was mostly a spectator and throughly enjoyed their kata demonstrations. We all have similarities in what we do, but also a lot of differences.

I'd also like to thank them for knocking down most of the dandilions that were growing in my back yard while demonstrating their kata!

In my experiences in the arts, I have seen a lot of young black belts, and IMHO, these two are some of the finest I've seen. Their knowledge and precision of their techniques is a fine example for ANY martial artist to follow.

Thanks for coming all the way to Montana guys, it was GREAT!

[Sauzin]

Shorin Ryuu (Right) Explains "Cradling the Bo"[/url]. (Or is he really trying to put an end to Sauzin's day?)

I had my suspicions

There was a lot of explaining done both ways in those shots. I know I learned a lot and according to John (Shorin-ryuu) so did he. Even if it was only my "bad habits".

But seriously I feel there were a lot of things I could have explained better. I think that is a big part of the learning experience, though. Learning how to communicate, share, and learn from others.

And to Shorin-ryu Sensei, your hospitality and generosity was without equal. Beyond being a clearly accomplished and skilled martial artist, you are a true gentleman. That had a greater impression on me then any showing of skill possibly could have. It was my privilege to attend. Thank-you!

[Sam]

cool pics goood to see people meetin up

[Shorin Ryuu]

Oh, those photo were submitted and cheesily (in some cases) titled by me, hence the awfully one-sided nature of them.

I greatly enjoyed my experience. I got to fulfill my geeky academic interest by watching various kata done by people of other styles. We also fiddled around with drills, bunkai, self-defense and other things. Of particular enjoyment was simply sitting down and chatting about various things (life, martial arts, individual experiences, etc.) with Good People . Even if I tended to pick on Sauzin a bit it was only out of genuine curiosity.

I learned quite a bit from both Shorinryu Sensei and Sauzin. It's a nice feeling when you see for yourself in person how people can back up the knowledge they post on the forums. It was educational to see our similarities and differences, and the reasons for both.

Shorinryu Sensei's hospitality was quite gracious (he flatters us even still) and I thank him for arranging all this.

I kind of figured this thread would end up with all of us patting each other on the back. It's okay, we earned it.

So, next time this gets suggested, I highly recommend it.

That's probably the most emoticons you'll ever see me use in a post. I was saving them for a special occasion.

[man thing]

Montana rocks. Beautifulest state I've seen so far. I think I'll move there. But- who will I train with? ........Aha! Mountain Goats! (Be well aquainted with your lower-X blocks: those horns come up fast!)....Or, I might just stay here.

[man thing]

Hey! I just became a yellow belt! That means I'm a deadly warrior, right? But not like "kill-a-thousand-other-warriors-in-three-seconds-deadly": that's for black belts.