A dojo was recommended to me and...

[Makalakumu]

...I'm not sure I like it. I've gone to some classes. We are doing line drills, ippon and sanbon kumite. We are doing some kata in a move by move prefunctory way. I told myself I'd give it a month, but if things don't pick up, I'm going to move on.

The dojo is affiliated with Kancho Kanazawa's SKIF. It's got a high ranking sensei who is very traditional...whose teacher was Nishiyama Sensei before the big split. I was thinking to myself, this is probably going to be one of the better Shotokan Dojos on the island and it is. It's a lot like what I did as a kid.

It's just that I don't think I can train the line drills and prefunctory exchanges of basics anymore. Anyway, I'm going to keep my committment and give it a month. I'll check in here periodically to update.

 

[jarrod]

it's rough trying to make a school fit that doesn't naturally. i have the utmost respect for karate, but like you i have a hard time getting excited about line drills.

keep us posted,

jf

 

[terryl965]

Hopefully it will get better in time.

 

[Makalakumu]

It's difficult because of a lot of the organizational material that is being required. I KNOW for a fact that Sensei didn't learn Shotokan like this from Nishiyama Sensei or Kanazawa Sensei, but since he is part of the organization and this is what his Sensei wants him to teach, that's what he teaches.

My hope was that Sensei was more old school. I guess we'll see however. I'm going to give it a month. At least I'm getting my heart rate up and getting to work on my stances.

 

[Makalakumu]

Okay, time to be positive. Here are the changes that I've seen so far.

1. SKIF doesn't even bother with teaching the Taikyoku kata. They start with the Heians. I've been wondering if some organizations do this. It would seem to me that the Heians are the perfect kata to start with, especially in their rearranged format. Also, the bunkai for Heians are pretty darn good.

2. They are teaching some other kata that many veiw as "advanced" in the kyu ranks. Kata like Empi, Jion, and Kwanku. This is very interesting because these kata are considered BB level in TSD.

I've just begun to learn their version of Empi. I'll have it memorized by Monday for class.

 

[Brandon Fisher]

I know Shotokan tends to be more drill and by the count oriented. If you like karate but not the way its being taught in your current dojo. Maybe look for a old school Okinawa Karate dojo and see if that helps. I know of a Goju Ryu instructor in Hawaii but not sure where exactly he teaches but can put you in contact with him.

 

[Makalakumu]

I'm basically having a hard time trying to figure out what to do. I'm not sure if I want to deviate too far from what I know because I've learned so much, but on the other hand, I could see the benefit of starting over. I've had some difficulty trying to connect with legitimate karate teachers out here. This one has lots of promise. I think I just need to give it time.

 

[Brandon Fisher]

Good Idea!!