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This clip is one of my favorites.  It's absolutely ridiculous, but there are all kinds of things in this clip that actually happen in martial art schools today.  If you visit a school and you see any of these you should know it is probably not a good dojo.  #1Crazy instructor who thinks he's the best there ever was #2 Very expensive training fees for almost nothing in return #3 An Instructor who needs to show off to his students #4 Crazy student wanting martial art training for probably the wrong reasons(i.e. "kill a man in his sleep") #5 The instructor trying to teach techniques that will only work in very particular situations. #6  An instructor who deliberately hurts their student to show how good they are.  

Morio Higaonna Master Higaonna was born on Christmas day in 1938.  He started his martial art training when he was 14 with his father.  When he was 16 he began studying Goju karate at the recommendation of a friend.  He met An'ichi Miyagi(one of Chojun Miyagi's senior students) and started training late a martial art maniac.  He would train 5 hours a day, many times to the point where he could no longer move his arms.  With such enthusiasm and hard work Morio quickly gained skill and recognition as a martial artist.  Anyone who has met him will testify that he is a genuinely humble and kind man with no interest in the "lime light" or personal recognition.  His life has been dedicated to training, teaching and spreading martial arts all over the world.  In Sept. 2007 he received his 10th Dan black belt (the highest rank possible) as well as a special certificate signed by An"ichi Sensei and Aragaki Shuichi Sense(both Senior students and successors of Chojun Miyagi) recognizing him as the 3rd generation successor of Chojun Miyagi.  In 2009 his Master An'ichi Miyagi passed away leaving Morio Higaonna as head of the style.  This clip isn't in english, but it is pretty cool to get to see this guy and a little of what he does.

A lot has happened since I posted last. I have thought about writing, but my mind has been occupied, for you see I'm engaged now! you probably all know this already but I thought it'd be important to write about it anyway. It has been about 3 weeks now since he proposed so I am way behind schedule in updating... sorry!! He proposed after I forced him to, which I feel kinda bad about.. but not really at the same time.  haha. I knew he had the ring and was waiting and waiting and waiting for him to finally give it to me, but he was taking so long!! so I began to bug him constantly until he finally proposed.  haha.  It was about a week earlier than he had planned.  He had gotten work off for this big date and I had forced him to do it early.  I feel a little bit bad. hehe. and I don't.  

I have much more to write about, but if I try to write it all nothing will ever get posted!! So I'm gonna do it in chunks.  And here is chunk number 1.  

Also.. sorry I am a poop on advents this year.  no excuse except I'm lame. 

Gogen Yamaguchi He was born Jan. 20 1909, on the island of Kyushu Japan.  His given name was Jitsumi Yamaguchi.  He showed interest in martial art training at a young age.  At about the age of 12-13 he began his studies with kempo and kendo.  It wasn't until after his family moved to Kyoto that he seriously began his training of karate.  He met a carpenter named Takeo Maruta who was a student of Chojun Miyagi(remember him?).  He later studied directly with Miyagi and Miyagi is said to have gave him the name "Gogen" for his mastery of the hard, or physical, side of Goju (the name goju basically translates "hard,soft").  Mr. Yamaguchi had quite an acomplished life.  He went to law school and received his law degree in 1934.  It was at this time that he opened his first karatedo dojo at Ritsumeikan University. in 1935 he organized the All Japan Goju Kai Karate-do association (today's I.K.G.A.)  He also began his travels as a military intellegence officer, and celebrated the birth of his first son(he later had a total of five children).  In 1942 during his military tour in Mancuria he was captured by the Russians, and spent two years as a POW.  Gogen's autobiography says during his time as a POW the Russians were looking for some entertainment and put a live tiger in the cell with Gogen.  He was able to defeat the tiger and once the Russians realized who he was he began teaching them Goju.  After his release and end of military service in 1945 he reopened his school of Goju-kai.  Under his leadership the I.K.G.A.(International karate-do Goju-kai Association)  has flourished and goju-kai is being taught in over 60 countries.  He also succeeded in united all the karate schools in Japan into a single union called the The Federation of All Japan Karate-do Organization. He nickname of Gogen "The Cat" is also pretty interesting.  There are a number reasons that are given as to why.  It is said it comes from his fight with a tiger, or it's from his speed and favorite stance know in english as the "cat stance", or it could be from the american GI's who gave him the name because of his gliding walk, long hair, and ability seems bigger than he was (He was only a little over 5 ft and 160 lbs).  His contributions to the martial arts have been immeasurable.  He died of natural causes in 1989. The beginning of this clip has Master Yamaguchi showing some striking techniques. 

Our last post we talked a little about the Gi martial artists wear. Now we are going to talk a little about the belt that holds it all together.

There are quite a few misconceptions and myths about belts and what they actually mean. One of the more humorous myths is the concept of where the colored belts system comes from. Legend has it that ancient martial artists would start with white belts and the dirt, sweat, and grim from training for years in dojos and mountains would change the belt color until it finally became black. The idea of a "black belt" being an ancient tradition is also not true. People would just practice for practice's sake and if the master felt the student was qualified they would receive a certificate or something similar giving them license to teach the style. It wasn't until the 1880's when the founder of Judo, Jigoro Kano(post for another day), created the the concept of rank using belts. Even then it was only white and black. It wasn't until the early 1900s that the colored belts before black were created. After that the concept spread to the other arts. The pattern of the colored belts today varies widely from art to art. There exists arts that follows the old white then black idea and some schools have over 25 levels between white and black. The skill level and time commitment to receive a black belt also varies widely from art to art. Another misconception is the idea that a "black belt" has mastered the art when truly they are now only an advanced beginner.

#8's advent is going to be a little bit about the clothes many martial artists wear. In Japanese, it is called a "keikogi".

The "Keiko" can be replaced with the name of the art being practiced such as judogi, karategi, and jujitsugi. In english we've shrunk it to just "gi"(pronounced "gee"). The different styles of gis have come from the neccesities of the differing arts. a Karate gi is much lighter than it's jujitsu or judo counterpart. Being more lightweight, they give more freedom of movement and bears closer resemblance to its origins as the undergarments of farmers. Judo and jujitsu gis are much heavier and are a bit longer in the sleaves and legs than the karate gi. The added weight is from the heavy stitching for the lifting, pulling, throwing and all around more abuse to the clothes. The folds of the front are worn left over right(right over left only if you are a dead person) and held closed with a belt. Gis can come in all colors and sizes, most commonly in white, blue, and black.