Travel to Okinawa Kyu-rank

[BridgeWalley]

Hey guys. I am wondering if any of you have any recommendations and/or thoughts on going to Okinawa to train traditional karate (e.g Shito-Ryu etc.) with the following background:

I am interested in a 1 - 2 week stay, mainly to train and get inspired by the traditional styles and make them part of my skills and knowledge when I go back home.

- I have only studied Shotokan Karate for 2 years, so my Kata-reportoir is limited to a selection of the Heian series, and my other knowledge (Kihon, Kumite etc.) is naturally limited to what 4 days pr week karate training gives you.

I wish to travel to Okinawa when I reach my 5th kuy, so my specific question is this:

Do you think it is a must to have a Shodan rank or at least 2nd or 1st Kyu to get the full experience from a stay in Okinawa, or do you think that it is ok for an eager karateka like myself to travel and train only as a 5th kyu?

Appreciate your thoughts on this.

Thanks from Norway!

[Zaine]

First off, welcome to KF! It's great to have you.

It would help to know what rank you are now, so that we can have a better understanding of where you are in your MA journey. That being said, talk to your sensei about it. I know that seems like a cookie cutter answer, but they know you (especially if you're their 4 days a week). They will know what you're ready for, and what you would need to practice to get to where you want to be.

That being said, I don't think 1-2 weeks is enough to really immerse yourself, and I would recommend spending at least a month there. Furthermore, I would get in contact with an organization there that is willing to take you in and train you for that time period. Nothing would be worse than getting there and finding no one to train with. Finally, as to rank, I'm not sure. I don't know your skill level, nor your attitude towards training. There are some 5th kyus that I would absolutely suggest go to Okinawa to train, while there are many more I would not. It depends on the person, not the rank.

[wildbourgman]

First off I've never been to Okinawa but I train Shotokan and Shorin Ryu which is a traditional Okinawan style. I've have class mates that go to Okinawa to train but they don't normally go unit 1st dan or sometimes 1st kyu so they can test for 1st dan.

Personally I think it would be hard for a 5th kyu Shotokan student to get much out of going to Okinawa strictly for training purposes and expect to get much from it. If I were you I'd broaden the trip to include more cultural exchange.

That's just my opinion. Personally my expectations for what a lower ranked Shotokan student can attain from such a trip would be in the cultural rather than building karate skill. The Okinawan skill set such as Shorin Ryo, Goju Ryu or other traditional Okinawan styles are somewhat difficult to adjust to and I'm thinking you might want to be better prepared for that prior to taking such an expensive trip.

I'm not totally disagreeing with Zaine, it is the person not the rank but without knowing anything about you other than rank I'd say you should probably take more time prior to incurring the cost of a trip like that.

[JR 137]

There is a company that sets up training in Okinawa for visitors/tourists. The man behind the scenes of it was on a documentary called Tee: The Spirit of Okinawan Karate. Search for the documentary, it was quite good.

If it's worth going or not is a personal thing. No one knows your finances nor time commitments other than you. Speaking to the gentleman who arranges trips should answer more questions than we can. Here's a website link...

http://okkb.org

There are also seminars periodically which bring together many different masters in Okinawa to one place in Okinawa for several days. May be worth considering instead of training under one person the entire time.

If you've got the money and time, why not? If this is a once in a lifetime thing for you that you can do down the road at any point (within reason), you may want to hold off until you've got more experience in karate.

Since you're a Shotokan student, have you considered going to a Shotokan dojo in Japan? I'm not a Shotokan guy and I have no idea if it's possible, but I'd be very surprised if one of the Shotokan bodies didn't have something in place for foreign students to come and work out. Shotokan is huge.

[sensei8]

There is a company that sets up training in Okinawa for visitors/tourists. The man behind the scenes of it was on a documentary called Tee: The Spirit of Okinawan Karate. Search for the documentary, it was quite good.

If it's worth going or not is a personal thing. No one knows your finances nor time commitments other than you. Speaking to the gentleman who arranges trips should answer more questions than we can. Here's a website link...

http://okkb.org

There are also seminars periodically which bring together many different masters in Okinawa to one place in Okinawa for several days. May be worth considering instead of training under one person the entire time.

If you've got the money and time, why not? If this is a once in a lifetime thing for you that you can do down the road at any point (within reason), you may want to hold off until you've got more experience in karate.

Since you're a Shotokan student, have you considered going to a Shotokan dojo in Japan? I'm not a Shotokan guy and I have no idea if it's possible, but I'd be very surprised if one of the Shotokan bodies didn't have something in place for foreign students to come and work out. Shotokan is huge.

Beat me to it, JR 137!! Very SOLID POST!!

[Nidan Melbourne]

I think it will depend on the schools you contact, as they may allow lower kyu grades to train. BUT probably best to contact a Shotokan Dojo because you have that background.

I am not sure about how strong it's prescence still is in Okinawa (being a Goju-Ryu practitioner myself).

Normally I'd recommend you being minimum 1st Kyu, but i think some schools operate "beginner" and "advanced" classes so you could potentially go to the "beginner" class.

[JR 137]

I think it will depend on the schools you contact, as they may allow lower kyu grades to train. BUT probably best to contact a Shotokan Dojo because you have that background.

I am not sure about how strong it's prescence still is in Okinawa (being a Goju-Ryu practitioner myself).

Normally I'd recommend you being minimum 1st Kyu, but i think some schools operate "beginner" and "advanced" classes so you could potentially go to the "beginner" class.

If they don't have beginner classes, how do students start their training? Not trying to be a wise guy here. Beginner classes may not be taught by the head honcho, but without beginners, the art dies.

[Nidan Melbourne]

I think it will depend on the schools you contact, as they may allow lower kyu grades to train. BUT probably best to contact a Shotokan Dojo because you have that background.

I am not sure about how strong it's prescence still is in Okinawa (being a Goju-Ryu practitioner myself).

Normally I'd recommend you being minimum 1st Kyu, but i think some schools operate "beginner" and "advanced" classes so you could potentially go to the "beginner" class.

If they don't have beginner classes, how do students start their training? Not trying to be a wise guy here. Beginner classes may not be taught by the head honcho, but without beginners, the art dies.

Obviously if we didnt have beginners there would be no art.

I know many dojos that operate only 1 class for all grades, so 1 juniors class and 1 seniors class.

So it does depend on the teacher.

[BridgeWalley]

Thank you very much for your replies!

I know with myself that I am extremly eager to learn and spend alot of time practicing, doing and thinking Karate. My initial question was maybe not crystal clear but I see that I still got a couple of thoughts back that pinpointed it.

I wanted to ask if it is necessary to have a skillset and experience equal to a 1st Kyu/1st Dan to get anything out of a taste in Shorin or Goju-Ryu.

As some of you say, that the traditional types of Karate is very different from the style that I practice. It might then be a positive thing to get introduced at an earlier stage rather than usng 3 days getting rid of "old Shotokan habits" when visiting Okinawa.

I appreciate your web page links and general advise.

My preliminary conclusion is that I want to either:

1. Investigate the possibility of finding a seminar e.g that is held in Okinawa that is open for lower grade students "to get a taste of Okinawa-style Karate"

2. Follow your recommendation to find a traditional Shotokan school and hopefully find and study the original thoughts, principals and execution of the style.

Do either 1. or 2. in combination with a cultural trip. I know that I will get alot out of just being there and grasp the surroundings.

However I understand that training-wise I will not get much out of just a 2 week stay, but just by seing and experiencing the "real deal" will give me much joy and boost my character growth.

Once again; thank you very much for your thoughts, links and recommendations!

Much appreciated

[JR 137]

I think it will depend on the schools you contact, as they may allow lower kyu grades to train. BUT probably best to contact a Shotokan Dojo because you have that background.

I am not sure about how strong it's prescence still is in Okinawa (being a Goju-Ryu practitioner myself).

Normally I'd recommend you being minimum 1st Kyu, but i think some schools operate "beginner" and "advanced" classes so you could potentially go to the "beginner" class.

If they don't have beginner classes, how do students start their training? Not trying to be a wise guy here. Beginner classes may not be taught by the head honcho, but without beginners, the art dies.

Obviously if we didnt have beginners there would be no art.

I know many dojos that operate only 1 class for all grades, so 1 juniors class and 1 seniors class.

So it does depend on the teacher.

I misread your post. I somehow stupidly thought you said they didn't teach beginners. No idea how I thought that one.