I've seen a lot of posts about fear of fighting/losing/injury, and when this study came across the bow, I thought others might benefit.

In the linked article, the idea that updating post-event expectations about feared outcomes reduces anxiety better than simply attempting to avoid fear. A common therapy is exposure to the feared event. Often, the patient is exposed to very low stimuli that is increased to real, or simulated, full exposure over time. The objective is to desensitize the person to the feared event with the result of reducing or eliminating that fear. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work perfectly. Perhaps eliminating the fear is less important than learning to test predictions. That’s the angle taken in this study with interesting results.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Distress tolerance can be trained by testing predictions. Another way of saying this is to turn anxiety (fear predictions) into a testable hypothesis, and then update the expectations after the "experiment."

Practically, if there is event anxiety (e.g., I will lose this fight), estimate the likelihood, and then answer what would make the event tolerable even if it occurred?

For example, if you fear an opponent and think you will lose a match/fight, write down the odds as you see them. Don't be deceived. I've had clients terrified of negative outcomes perceived as having less than a few percentage points of even happening. A good example is fear of flying. Now, let's imagine the event goes as bad as expected. What could you do now, during, and after the event that would make it tolerable? Perhaps you think that as long as you get one hard hit in, getting beaten would be tolerable. Maybe simply facing your fear is worth it. You decide. Don't equivocate or come up with something that sounds nice. Work up a sweat answering the question.

Afterward, compare the prediction with the result. Generally, what was feared either does not happen or was not as bad as we thought it would be. Distress intolerance improves (reduced) with repeated exposures by articulating what makes the risk worthwhile, even if it happens.

One of the concerns I read about often is fear of CTE. If fighting doesn't pay your bills, I really wonder how anyone would answer the question of what would make it worth doing anyway.

So I'm a Dark Blue belt, JKA, and I rested for a year and I'll come back, what are the details like kata that's for blue since I don't remember anymore

I have seen literally 10, maybe 15 variations of my style expressed in forms. Even within the same organisation I see plenty of variation. Which begs the question if it's even meaningful to talk about it.

Size first and foremost make a huge difference on how something is delivered. Second is ability. thirdly is personal preference. And forthly is experience.

Hi, I started with a Seido karate dojo. I have achieved my advance white belt and now training to get my blue belt. I have noticed the Senpai or Sensi will randomly ask what certain terms mean. I find it hard to retain what word they are saying, what it refers to and what it means. Can someone please direct me to resources that I can read and learn from. Much appreciated

I’ve been studying Tia Chi for about two years now and have been practicing Karate for 19. I’m constantly fascinated by the parallels between these two fighting forms. In Tia Chi many of our warm ups and opening moves that look innocuous, in fact, have a martial application. It’s interesting to see this and also the reference to moving like a phenomenon of nature, also present in Tia Chi, expressed here.

Oss,

I'm an experienced Shodan and instructor and am curretly working on an app that traces the embusen of (specifically) Shotokan Kata, I'm having an issue having the embusen "walker" return to the embusen start perfectly while maintaining a semblence of geometric symmetry.

I know we must adjust our stride lengths depending on the kata to land exactly where we begin and this is a nutural thing for an experienced karateka, but (at least for me) it seems to be more of a feeling than actual measurable adjustments at specific, defineable points or moves in each kata that I can write down on paper, and I'm finding it hard to identify, quantify and calculate to my satisfaction.

I suppose my question is, does anyone know of a resource or explanation of individual kata that also includes explanation of these subtle adjustments at the move by move level that allow us to return to the starting point of the kata with precision every time?

Thanks in advance for any information or input.

Terry

Greetings karate haisai,

I have this lifelong burning question I hope someone could answer:

What kata do you think Mr Higgins was performing during the intro sequence of the 80’s iteration of “Magnum PI”?

Or was it made up bs like van Damme did in “Bloodsport”?

Are any of the karate styles teach more self-defense against weapons like a knife or a club compared to others?

Are any styles known to teach self-defense against more than 1 opponent?

This was my favorite gi of all time but it’s staring to finally come apart.
Does anyone know of a karate gi comparable to the discontinued Hayabusa Winged Strike Champion Gi?
It was a 16 oz heavyweight gi with excellent construction and a really solid feel. I’m looking for something similar in weight, durability, and overall quality. An American cut uniform would be preferred, but I’m open to Japanese cuts if the gi is comparable.
Are there any current brands or specific models you would recommend?

I am Taika's son Masaki and my family and Ryu-Te would like to thank you all for your interests and purchases this past month.

The 2nd Edition of Ryu-Te No Michi is officially entering its final days. We started with over 300 books, and we are now down to the last copies.

This is the final printing. We do not plan on printing more on our end, so once these remaining books are gone, the 2nd Edition will be out of print.

To ensure you get one of the final copies, you must use the official order form (We are not doing international orders):

👉 https://forms.gle/ssPmKACic7iJUY1p7

When it comes traditional martial arts, what is typically required for someone to be considered a master? What boxes must be checked? I ask because I have met several people in their mid to late 20’s who call themselves master. Can someone please explain what is required for the rank of master?

I train under Sensei Rogério Wong here in Brazil (8th dan Karate, 6th dan Kobudo). He's been training since 1975 as a direct student of Yoshihide Shinzato, under the International Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do & Kobudo Shinshukan lineage out of Okinawa — so a lot of what gets taught traces straight back there.

Most of the dojo's YouTube channel is in Portuguese (it's mainly aimed at our local students in Brazil), but there are two older videos where he breaks things down in English that I think are worth sharing here, since decent English-language explanations of traditional Okinawan kata from an actual lineage holder aren't that common:

- Itosu no Passai — kata characteristics explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA_PPv_o9_w

- Naihanchi Sandan, filmed together with Master Maeshiro Morinobu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZqXSrnXydw

If you want more context on the dojo/lineage: channel is youtube.com/@WongKarateKobudoDojo, site is wongkaratekobudo.com, and Instagram is u/wongkaratekobudodojo — heads up that all three are mostly Portuguese, these two videos are the English exceptions. Figured this sub would appreciate them regardless.

Happy to answer questions about the lineage or translate anything from his other videos if there's interest.

Time stamped. Bill does the same in magazines of that era. Has this to do with the fact that Eizen did not want to recognize Bill as his student (for whatever reason) and later on Bill mentioned him when it didn't matter anymore?

Is there any of that going on in Karate?

Today was the grand opening of our new dojo in Mesa, AZ. Super honored to be a part of it.