How to chose a Dojo and or Orginization.

[novastorm]

At my university I have the choice of joining a JKA affiliated dojo.

http://www.gwu.edu/~jka/. Or a SKA affiliated http://www.gwu.edu/~ska/.

I intend to be serious about this and I was wondering if anyone had opinions on SKA vs JKA or if they have any personal experience with these Dojo’s and as I am a student money is something to consider as both these clubs are under $100 per semester.

Thanks.

[Drgnslyer]

i havn't had any dealings with either personally, however a governing organization isn't nescessarily the best way to pick an individual dojo.

IMHO the best thing to do is go and check each dojo out, watch a couple classes and see how the interaction is between the sensei and the students, what sort of warm-up they use, and what sort of techniques they train, and the entire process involved. Another good thing to keep in mind is the interaction between the students...do they get along, or do they bicker at eachother.

[Menjo]

I find the most important part, if i was going to another dojo is to watch the instructor. You can look it up i bet something on looking for instructors will be there, there are certain things about an instructor that makes him/her so good at it. One of the things is sometimes the more "fake" instructors really try to get you there, that says thier looking for money only and prob dont care about the students. But yea look it up on google.

[novastorm]

hey thanks alot, actually I just signed up for the Univeristy Class..so hopefully that will work out.

[24fightingchickens]

At my university I have the choice of joining a JKA affiliated dojo.

http://www.gwu.edu/~jka/. Or a SKA affiliated http://www.gwu.edu/~ska/.

I intend to be serious about this and I was wondering if anyone had opinions on SKA vs JKA or if they have any personal experience with these Dojo’s and as I am a student money is something to consider as both these clubs are under $100 per semester.

Thanks.

Yes, I have experience with both.

Back during the 1940's, the Japanese were trying to organize their karate training sessions they had been enjoying before all of their karate clubs were bombed out of existence and their karate players were conscripted or joined the army. As the men who survived the war crawled out of shelters or returned home to Japan, they found that the Occupational Authority under McArthur did not think very much of their desire to practice military arts - especially considering what had been required to topple Japan's militaristic society and military controlled government.

Several of the karate style leaders of the time got together and talked about founding a Japan Karate Association - a non profit corporation which would act as a lobbying group for all Japanese karate. They did this by copying Judo - which was gaining acceptance by the Occupational Authority and starting to be practiced again.

The JKA was a loosely organized group - a sort of Trilateral Commission.

Once karate was accepted again by McArthur's folks, which was accomplished largely by holding repeated meetings with them and explaining that karate, like Judo, was not a "military art" for the Japanese, but rather a self-help program like the Boy Scouts except with fighting.

This obvious lie was overlooked when the Japanese offered to teach their fighting art to the American military, and so karate practices were restored.

But it wasn't long after that that the JKA started to turn into a Funakoshi Society, and the guys doing Funakoshi's karate started to call all of the shots. Quickly the Shito, Goju, and other groups bailed out and gave the JKA the finger.

The JKA itself started to schism in the 1950's, when the clubs based at colleges run by liberal college professors at liberal arts schools started to have clashes with the instructors of the clubs based at business schools. The business schools had previously been teaching Japanese soldiers how to manage colonial holdings in conquered lands, and so were much more militaristic. They also viewed karate as something that should be organized like the NFL or Major League Baseball - with the JKA serving as the giant profit corporation that oversaw all activities.

The college professors all joined each other and bailed out, leaving the business schools and the world's first for-profit dojo behind in the JKA.

Those university clubs founded what was known as the University League and eventually joined what was called the Shoto-Kai (Funakoshi Society). The JKA kept going on its own.

The first guy to arrive in the US from Japan, Ohshima, to teach karate set up shop in LA in 1955 and ran a club there without any ties back to Japan. He'd seen enough politics and decided that he would keep his club independent.

One has to wonder what he was thinking then in 1959 when he invited the very militaristic business school instructor from the JKA Nishiyama to come teach his club for a few years while he traveled the world starting other clubs.

Nishiyama immediately tied the club back to Japan's JKA and started changing the practice methods.

Ohshima came back to his club and was angry with what had happened. The club split into two parts. Ohshima then founded SKA - Shotokan Karate of America - to differentiate his club and any affiliates from the JKA. I believe this was in reaction to Nishiyama using the JKA brand to market his karate so heavily.

Today there are JKA and SKA styles of SHotokan in the US (and maybe a hundred independent shotokan styles that have been founded by Americans).

SKA uses older methods. The SKA is like a time machine back to 1955. The number of kata is fixed at the 15 original kata that they claim were the only ones Funakoshi wanted taught. They follow the book Karate-do Kyohan very closely - with a zeal that makes some people a little uncomfortable.

They are pretty famous for "Special Training Sessions" that last hours and hours being required for belt proomotions, and students are not allowed to return if they choose to leave.

JKA is more modern, more sportified karate. The JKA's goal was always to become the NFL of karate, and so they teach karate with that in mind - the concept always being to create tournament competitors who are fun to watch.

The JKA itself has experienced some unpleasant splits within itself.

At an SKA club, expect narrower stances and less emphasis on competitive sparring. In a JKA style club, expect more emphasis on winning matches or kata competitions, more stylized and robotic movements. No matter which you go to, if you ask about the other, expect to receive a sneer. JKA and SKA typically do not mix with each other.

BTW, the SKA owns an HQ dojo outside of LA that was built using member donations that is absolutely huge. It looks like some sort of church.

[kivikala]

The previous post pretty much nails it square on the head regarding differences JKA vs SKA. However, the disharmony between the two groups is more intense than a few sneers, but I won't go into the mud with that. Key points are there are fundamental philosophic and technical differences between the two. If you have experienced both the physical differences are quite outstanding and are somewhat like oil and water in that they don't mix well at all. Philosophically the training mentality appears to be radically different also. I know in the early days of SKA all back belts coming into the fold were hand picked by Ohshima and are all very like-minded. SKA also maintained close ties with Shigeru Egami (Shotokai) and often arranged co-practices. As for following Karate-do Kyohan, it more "exactly" rather than "closely". The book always has the final word.

Personally I have found JKA to exert a looser influence on the student whereas SKA seems to have a stronger closer influence on them. This is an example of how SKA students might seem a bit more zealous.

For what it's worth...

[tigerclaw2]

Stay away from USSD.............

[Kane]

Which one did you end up trying, novastorm?

If you're a beginner it may be hard to judge which one's right for you and what the differences really are. JKA vs. SKA... I started training Shotokan with one of the two groups, then switched to the other and am feeling a lot more at home there. There I found what I had always been missing in the previous flavor of Shotokan - and it wasn't simply about the people, because I have practiced with various clubs from both groups. I am mentioning this not knowing which group you picked, simply because I believe that each of us starts karate for different reasons and with different expectations and needs. Keep an open mind, and if you feel - later on in your training - that you are missing something, don't quit Shotokan, but look around and try the other flavors of Shotokan that are out there. There may be a flavor that's better suited to your needs than the one you are trying now.

[dcku]

SKIF emphasises more on Kumite training whereas JKA empasises more on Kihon and Kata. At SKIF they let you do jiyu kumite (free sparring) even you are only on your white belt whereas JKA you need to wait until you are brown belt at least for that. That's why when you train with SKIF you tend to suffer much more injury compare to when you train with JKA.

In JKA you tend to do the same basic kihon technics over and over again until you are perfect on each one of them whereas SKIF they just jump through everything and that's the same with Kata as well.

[gronis]

SKIF emphasises more on Kumite training whereas JKA empasises more on Kihon and Kata. At SKIF they let you do jiyu kumite (free sparring) even you are only on your white belt whereas JKA you need to wait until you are brown belt at least for that. That's why when you train with SKIF you tend to suffer much more injury compare to when you train with JKA.

.

Is that how JKA generally operate? I train at a JKA dojo in Sweden. I'm 9th kyu and have sparringclasses 3 times per week with one instructor. Continous pointsparring with medium contact. The chief instructor is more kihon-oriented but usually throws in some light contact jiyu kumite without protective gear at the end of his classes. They even do kumite with slaps instead och kicks and punches in the beginnerclass. I thought JKA was the same all over the globe?