Facepalm by GKR (Groan)

[Nidan Melbourne]

So I was practicing some kata in one of the parks close to my place this morning. Now I am a goju practitioner but today was different slightly as I practiced the few kata that I know that i do outside of my style; name Anan, Empi/Enpi and Jion

Now this GKR Salesman came up to me and asked me what kata I was doing and asked about my training. But I also enquired about their training and that they have trained for over 15 years in GKR and 5 years of Shito-Ryu. They had attained the rank of Yondan in GKR and Shodan in Shito-ryu.

They recognized Empi/Enpi because they do it themselves in GKR. Then they had no idea about the other two. Then tried to tell me that the other two aren't even kata. But the fact that they have also trained in Shito-Ryu dumbfounds me when they said that. As I would have expected that they would know there are hundreds of styles of karate with hundreds of kata.

When I asked them of all the styles that they knew of all they said was: Go-Kan-Ryu, Shotokan, Shito-Ryu, Goju-Ryu. When I also asked why they said that Jion and Anan weren't real kata they said they don't exist because they don't exist in GKR and that they never learnt them in Shito-Ryu.

They also asked me why i even bother learning kata from other styles when you can just learn the ones in your style. When i heard that i thought "why would i restrict myself to one style of karate in relation to training?" and that is what i basically said to them. Learning kata from other styles is beneficial to your own training to give you a different perspective on it and also it is for the enjoyment of learning and training.

Now I compete as well so having kata from various styles comes in handy. But that is not the reason why i learn these other kata.

After a little bit this salesman tried to sell me a membership and I rejected their offer considering i have heard bad things about it. But also because they were ignorant about other martial arts that they were coming across as really rude. They were trying to push it on me until i had to give them a firm no. Of which they then stormed off because they didn't get me on board.

I do give him credit for listening to my side and not criticizing me as much as i would have thought. But I was facepalming because of what they were saying.

[Kanku65]

Reading this made me want to pass out in frustration. I've never heard of GKR, but WOW. No. Just, NO.

Jion is most definitely a kata. It is one of few kata that Gichin Funakoshi did not make any changes to the name of when developing Shotokan, because he felt the tradition of it was too important.

I'm going to have some fun research tonight I guess.

[Nidan Melbourne]

Jion is one of my favorite kata from Shotokan

[mazzybear]

The more I hear of GKR, the more I dislike it! But to deny a kata exists because they do not practice it, is just ridiculous. We also do Jion in Wado, although with some very slight differences to Shotokan. I've not fully learned it through yet, as I'm currently learning Chinto, but I hope to make a proper start to it soon. It's a lovely strong Kata to watch, along with Kushanku it's one of my favourites to watch.

I think I would've politely told them where to go too. I'm always respectfull of other styles/arts, butI find that really hard with GKR, your experience just gives me another reason as to why.

Mo.

[hansenator]

I just looked it up GKR because I haven't heard of it. They say they're a traditional Japanese style but they also say they were founded in 1984 in Australia. How does that work? Even though it's based on traditional Japanese karate, wouldn't it actually be a new, Australian system?

[bushido_man96]

I just looked it up GKR because I haven't heard of it. They say they're a traditional Japanese style but they also say they were founded in 1984 in Australia. How does that work? Even though it's based on traditional Japanese karate, wouldn't it actually be a new, Australian system?

They can sell it how they want. It does have the base of the Japanese system, so they want to adhere to that, because the Japanese system is more attractive than an Australian system.

I am kind of surprised that they discounted the existence of a kata like that. They must not believe in any TKD forms. I could never be a salesman like that, either. Just too overbearing.

In the end, I don't think its worth getting too worked up over. Everyone has different experiences, and different levels of education, so to speak. These guys obviously believe in what they do, but don't know much about anything outside their box. Hopefully, they will learn about some other arts as they go along.

[Spartacus Maximus]

It really is an unmistakable show of ignorance and narrow-mindedness for a karateka or any martial artist to make such a claim. With all the karate styles that exist and their off-shoots there are hundreds of kata and the variations of these easily double or triple that number.

To conclude a kata does not exist or is not legitimate on the sole reason that one has never heard of it; or does not include it in their system is indeed very ignorant. Why, there are over a hundred kata with just the original Okinawan styles! Even Wikipedia has a list of nearly all the kata and it is quite long!

[Nidan Melbourne]

I was shocked when he said it didnt exist because why would you say that? Wouldnt you look at other styles out of curiousity if you were wanting to learn or see what karate is all about.

Also the fact that he trained in shitoryu should have made him think twice about what he said.

Note he was in his late 30's early 40's as well so there shouldnt been an excuse for his behaviour.

[bushido_man96]

Sometimes, all you can do is shrug your shoulders. Look at it this way; this guy learned something from you that day.

[kensei]

Genreally the GKR gang are kind of brainwashed to believe that A) they are traditional and B) that their instructors have all the answers. I actually had run into one once and was shocked at how little they actually were taught and how much of what they are taugh is created as a marketing tool and not accurate at all.

First they come from a Shotokan/Goju mixing similar to say Shito ryu (granted way older and before Shotokan and Goju but you get the point) and should be a great mixing of each "world" but they tend to be taught things that are not accurate. the one lad that joined us for a week of training was a black belt with a white stripe which shocked me at first when he came out of the change room. And then to find out he got his "Rank" of "Sensei" after six months of training and going into it after only having passed his Orange belt...well that was enough to have me ask him to wear a white belt for fear my black belt student may "test" him and scare the tar out of him.

In the end I feel sorry for them as I have seen what one of their "Sensei" knows and does not know. Suffice it to say he thanked me when he left and said he had some real serious thinking to do before he went back to his club to teach.