Shotokan practitioners?

[JasonASmith]

So when the Shotokai/NKK split happened is when more kata were added to the system? I haven't obtained Karate do Kyohan yet, so I am not quite sure what kata were in what style of this system...Am I even right to be saying that? I am aware that the NKK didn't use the Taikyoku set, whereas the Shotokai did...That stands to reason why we use the Taikyoku at my Dojo...Maybe we ought to re-name this the Shotokan discussion thread...

 

[JasonASmith]

I have been doing shotokan karate for 4 years now I live in the uk and have been tought by some of the best, they include sensei frank brennan 6th dan, sensei billy higgins 7th dan, sensei andy sherry 8th dan and the late great sensei enoeda who came over to the U.K. to teach us this great martial art.



Karate without passion is like a body without a soul.

So you would be studying the NKK/JKA style of Shotokan, correct?
God, I hate politics! I wish that this misery could have been avoided...

 

[theriverrat]

Yes the JKA style is what i practice. I have read some of your other posts and see you are doing lots of katas but say you are still a white belt? is this correct or have i misunderstood you? In the UK we only teach the katas that match the belt.

 

[twendkata71]

Yes, Jason, I am unsure why your sensei is already teaching you all five Heians. That is a bit much to absorb. When I started we worked on our first two kata for almost a year before I was allowed to learn new kata.

 

[twendkata71]

Have you studied other styles before you started Shotokan? Just wondering. That would explain why your current sensei is teaching you kata so quickly. When I started studying Matsubayashi Shorin ryu I was already a shodan in my original style. So, since many of the kata were similar I learned all of their pinan's and naihanchi's in a short time.

 

[JasonASmith]

Actually, I have studied with my Sensei in the past, but it was only for a short amount of time...Only a month, actually...
I remembered the 3 Taikyokus, and most of Heian Shodan...so that made it somewhat easier...
I have often wondered about this myself, but Sensei seems to have faith in me and what I can and can't do, so...what can I tell you?

 

[JasonASmith]

I have often wondered about this myself, but Sensei seems to have faith in me and what I can and can't do, so...what can I tell you?
[/quote]

Actually, let me refine that sentence...
What I meant to say is that Sensei has(somehow) managed to divine what my limits are, and he is giving me what he thinks that I can handle...I'll be damned if he isn't right, because although it's a lot of information, I don't feel overwhelmed...

 

[JBrainard]

Hello All,
I was just wondering how many Shotokan people there are here.
How long have you been studying?
Who is your Sensei?
What's your lineage?

I already PM'ed you the answers to the above questions.

Why did I start Shotokan? I know this is not a martial arts purist's answer but, I was broke and it was only $25 a month. Little did I know that the Sensei was a 5th Dan (JKA). Score!

 

[JasonASmith]

Why did I start Shotokan? I know this is not a martial arts purist's answer but, I was broke and it was only $25 a month. Little did I know that the Sensei was a 5th Dan (JKA). Score![/quote]

Score indeed...Congrats once again

 

[twendkata71]

Finding a teacher that is good and not expensive these days is rare. It is good to see that there are still sensei out there that teach for the art and not for financial reasons.
To Jason, I was just curious. Usually the more experienced you are the easier it is to learn new kata.

 

[JasonASmith]

[To Jason, I was just curious. Usually the more experienced you are the easier it is to learn new kata.[/quote]

No worries, Mate...
Just on an aside, it's been somewhat odd for me since I have started...
Every time that I have been shown a kata in the past few weeks, it's as if I already know it....I just have to remember how it goes...It's the strangest feeling, because I have never SEEN anything above Heian Shodan before now...It's just really odd...

 

[JBrainard]

Finding a teacher that is good and not expensive these days is rare. It is good to see that there are still sensei out there that teach for the art and not for financial reasons.

Totaly. Sensei doesn't even want money talked about in front of him!

 

[twendkata71]

When the JKA first started sending instructors to the US. It was nice because the way the JKA instructor training program was/is set up is that you have to have a degree from a University to be in the instructor program. That way when you were sent somewhere to teach you could have a career outside of karate do and have the money to run a school, without being commercial. Somewhere that has changed, at least for some of the original JKA instructors that came over. Most of them still do not charge much. Now training at the JKA headquarters in Tokyo is a different matter. They have a large full time staff teaching all day long every day of the week, plus the instructor training program, which is of course closed to all but those that are in the program. It is not cheap to train at the JKA Shotokan. But, that is a different matter all together.

 

[JasonASmith]

Sensei doesn't even want money talked about in front of him![/quote]

That's the way that my Sensei is, as well...

 

[twendkata71]

Jason, when you start learning the Tekki kata series let me know. I no longer practice them. Now I practice the older Naihanchi series from Shorin ryu, but I wanted to know what you thought of the Tekki series after you started learning them. I felt that they were actually more difficult than many of the other advanced kata.

 

[JasonASmith]

Jason, when you start learning the Tekki kata series let me know. I no longer practice them. Now I practice the older Naihanchi series from Shorin ryu, but I wanted to know what you thought of the Tekki series after you started learning them. I felt that they were actually more difficult than many of the other advanced kata.

I will sir...
The Tekki are a long way off for me...
The Heians will occupy me for a good long time...
One of the benefits of attending an independent Dojo is the fact that we are not "constrained" to a preset teaching pattern...I'll explain...To achieve green belt(5th kyu) in our Dojo you must be able to perform Jion...
The Taikyokus and the Heians are the base, but Sensei includes Jion as a sort of "gift"...It's an advanced kata, and he recognizes that, however he thinks that Jion has some good information contained in it, so he includes it...That's not only the individual movements, but also bunkai for the kata, as well...
As you can imagine, that's a lot of hard work(and time spent in rank) to get to the point of being tested for green belt, but it's worth it, in my opinion...
As a humble 9th kyu, I am working hard on the Taikyokus and the Heians(as well as the Tjimande Silat that I have posted in another thread), but Sensei informed me Thursday night that he is permitting me to start learning Jion...I guess that I'm doing well, and I got my first one on one with one of the 1st kyus Thursday night for this kata.
I fully realize that I am now at the end of my leash, so to speak, and frankly I'm glad...Lots of information swirling around in my head....
The Tekki series, on the other hand are reserved for 2nd and 1st kyu(which is brown belt, and brown belt with a black stripe), so I've got many years ahead of me...I'm up for it...

 

[twendkata71]

I figured that it would be a while before you learn the Tekki series.
Jion is a good kata for building strength. Good luck with that.

 

[Carol]

Just on an aside, it's been somewhat odd for me since I have started...
Every time that I have been shown a kata in the past few weeks, it's as if I already know it....I just have to remember how it goes...It's the strangest feeling, because I have never SEEN anything above Heian Shodan before now...It's just really odd...

Odd?

That's not the word that came to mind. I was thinking perhaps...talent.

BTW Jason, I am VERY envious of your ability to learn Kata so quickly. That's awesome! :thumbsup:

 

[JasonASmith]

Thank You, Oh fellow night-owl...

 

[JasonASmith]

Jion is a good kata for building strength. Good luck with that.[/quote]

Thank You Sir...There are many things in Jion that are alien to me(no pulling hands, UchiKomi, etc.), but there's just something about the kata that pulls me in...