Goju Hall #25-66 Blog

I often find the classes I dread the most turn out to be the best. Perhaps I've had a bad day, and would like nothing more than to take the day off. Lately, I've been at the computer too much, (ah, the travesty of having a real job, too), and don't want to stress my joints too much. Almost invariably, I find the class to be good. My joints put themselves back in the right places. Class goes smoothly, or it will even be a breakthrough.

• I have never studied martial arts.
• less than 1 year
• 1-5 years
• 5-10 years
• 10-20 years
• 20+ years
• I was born with nunchaku in my hands.
• I practice the art of fighting without fighting.
• I haven’t been keeping track.

I gotta tell you. I love kiba dachi. There's something about it. The root, the ch'i. Sure, it has its flaws. At first blush, it appears 2 dimensional, off balance. But a deep horse stance is stable. You see it in sumo. It is a place of balance, but its advantages are hidden, like sanchin dachi. Only years will unlock this koan.

• Appropriate equipment for this dojo
  
• Class times and locations
  

I've always been a kata-type of karateka. Kata comes first, and kata comes last. No matter where I am, I can do kata, even if I can't move, I can still do kata. But sparring brings people to the dojo.

required

The only required equipment is a hachimaki, or headband. A simple one as you'd find is a sporting goods store is fine, but it must be plain white. For sparring, a mouthguard is required. Classes are done barefoot, but students should come prepared with running shoes.

Uniforms

Students will eventually wish to get a uniform. USAGF Karate students wear black uniforms, which are available from the link below. Please use this page as your starting point for purchasing equipment, as it will bring the overall cost of the dojo down.

A uniform is not required, only the white hachimaki is. It is most common for students to get a uniform after their first promotion. Follow the menu path below to find the uniforms.

menu path

 -> Karate

Karate is for everyone, but individuals and groups tend to differ as to how and what they wish to learn.

Traditional Karate is without a doubt the best way to go. Traditional in this context simply means that the class is taught in a dojo, where the instructor is referred to as sensei. Students wear black gis (karate uniforms) and white hachimakis (headbands). There is a belt system. There is a strong focus on discipline and courtesy. All the elements of USAGF karate are practiced: kata, self defense, and sparring.

"Traditional" is a controversial word. An Okinawan stylist might view traditional as focused on kata, with no sparring component. Some school might

Karate is a fighting art from the island of Okinawa, off the coast of Japan. Kara means "empty", and te means "hand". In addition to implying weaponless fighting, this name symbolizes peace in the Zen Buddhist sense. Goju is a particular style of Karate. Kanryo Higashionna taught Okinawan fighting arts to Chojun Miyagi, who merged in soft techniques from Chinese Kenpo and named the system Goju-ryu. Go means "hard", and ju means "soft". Goju Karate harmonizes these aspects. Goju came to America when Peter Urban studied under Gogen Yamaguchi, then patriarch of the style. On his return to America, Urban founded the USA Goju Association.

Had a question about counting in japanese from a student's parent the other night so I did some research.

It's an adage that a good martial artist gets better with age. This kendo blog has an interesting post about baseball skill and age. The data referenced are certainly interesting to look at, but the use of drugs masks its relevance. A question though: I don't think it's so much trickery as experience, so is baseball a good comparison to a martial art? Weightlifting would be another poor example. Loss of muscle with age is will understood. Archery I would imagine a good example, as would any skill where it's more brain than brawn.. This assumes brains are actually more important in martial arts than brawn..

• escrima
• bo
• sai
• nunchaku

Karate is a tradition of indeterminate age, but everyone agrees it has been developed and passed down for hundreds of years. There is no vanilla "karate". Karate is broken into families, where one generation teaches the next. You can read about the specific lineage of the USA Goju Federation here.

Karate instruction has evolved over the years. Originally, there was a focus on kata alone. Katas are forms which demonstrate the movement of a system. Kata is the core of true karate. Both percussive and grappling techniques can be gleaned from its study.

Chasing burglars away, with a bokken no less.

Kata can be difficult to get kids into. I used the recent Halloween to get the class thinking about being in character. This worked pretty well and you could actually see them looking at their imaginary attackers, though of course they were a bit silly at times. We went from this into bunkai. The group was sufficient to do a "three attacker" scenario. The silliness reached a new level here at times, but I think it solidified the imaginary concept. We'll see next week...

Disclaimer: This website does not provide legal advice. If you need that, seek out a lawyer. The information found herein is to provide the reader a starting point for research. If you have an immanent question of self defense, seek legal counsel. If you are in immediate danger or feel threatened, contact the police.
The law allows individuals to defend themselves if attacked. In Florida, this right is codified in Florida Statutes, Chapter 776: Justifiable Use of Force.

I get this question alot. Here is a post of some good questions to ask. I would add to this list: look at the students. This is who you will be. If the instructor is impressive, but the students appear to have trouble, this issue will probably come to haunt you, too.

First class we did kata and sparring and discussed the upcoming tournament. The kids are getting used to sparring child vs. child, but the problem with "pawing" remains, of course. Second class was small, 4 people, so we did bunkai based on "three attackers".

USA Goju Federation Karate classes consist of three basic components

• kata (forms)
• sparring
• self defense

In addition, a variety of conditioning methods are incorporated to prevent injury and build ability to perform movements.

If you are interested in Goju, but you do not live in the Tampa area, below are links to other USAGF Karate Schools. These sites are separate entities from this site, and are provided as a courtesy to practitioners and dojos in other areas. These sites will open in another browser window.

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The goal of USAGF self defenses classes is to prepare participants as quickly as feasible for the violence that may occur in everyday life. These classes combine unarmed (and armed) defense from the martial arts with research on what happens in violent encounters, such as rape. The material focuses on habits that can keep a participant safe, and ways to get out of a confrontation if one occurs. Self defense classes can be tailored to a specific group or setting.