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[karateman7]

Will a transition to shotokan from wado be smooth :(

I hate to leave but there doesn't seem to be any way around it.

The DC shotokan club (seems to be legitimate).

http://www.dckarate.com/index.html

Local judo club (high ranking Japanese instructors)

http://www.washingtondcjudo.org/


Any of you are welcome to come to America and start a new dojo in DC :)

[majin29]

I'm not in quite the same situation but I am moving from Goju Ryu to Wado. Initially I wanted to migrate to Wing Chun and while I found it interesting, I missed the feel of karate. I left the last school as it became abundantly clear that they were more interested in promotion and merchandising than actually teaching their students. Pity because I made some good friends there. However, I also found aspects of the style not quite to my liking and think Wado will be a better fit. It looks like it fuses a few ideologies that make sense. While many schools market themselves as teaching realistic self defense, I don't know whether their styles could actually be effective in real life. Wado with its grappling and locks as well as atemi looks more like a complete package. I did do Jujitsu in addition to Goju but they were exclusive and not integrated together.

Anyhow, looking forward to studying this style. I'd be studying under Sensei Akira Onoda. Anyone heard of him? I'm in Toronto Ontario BTW.

Hi Majin29,

While I am not familiar with the instructor you mentioned, you could do worse then to check out the C.W.F.K.

There web link is http://www.wadoryu.ca/

Cheers,

Chris

Thanks Zim. I actually have spoken to a couple instructors from this school and it looks very promising.

http://www.mhamenterprises.com/maframe.html

They don't have a dojo per se but I'd rather do classes at the community centre and know it's directly from the lineage of Suzuki sensei rather than more watered down MA that seems rife in my town.

Classes begin in Sept. and I'm told they will honor my Goju rank of orange belt. My only challenge is that we didn't learn Pinan series kata, but rather Taikyo and Geki Sai kata. I'll have to play catch up but I'm one of the few people who doesn't care about rushing to get my green belt so I'm good.

[oneya]

I'm not in quite the same situation but I am moving from Goju Ryu to Wado. Initially I wanted to migrate to Wing Chun and while I found it interesting, I missed the feel of karate. I left the last school as it became abundantly clear that they were more interested in promotion and merchandising than actually teaching their students. Pity because I made some good friends there. However, I also found aspects of the style not quite to my liking and think Wado will be a better fit. It looks like it fuses a few ideologies that make sense. While many schools market themselves as teaching realistic self defense, I don't know whether their styles could actually be effective in real life. Wado with its grappling and locks as well as atemi looks more like a complete package. I did do Jujitsu in addition to Goju but they were exclusive and not integrated together.

Anyhow, looking forward to studying this style. I'd be studying under Sensei Akira Onoda. Anyone heard of him? I'm in Toronto Ontario BTW.

Hi Majin29,

While I am not familiar with the instructor you mentioned, you could do worse then to check out the C.W.F.K.

There web link is http://www.wadoryu.ca/

Cheers,

Chris

Thanks Zim. I actually have spoken to a couple instructors from this school and it looks very promising.

http://www.mhamenterprises.com/maframe.html

They don't have a dojo per se but I'd rather do classes at the community centre and know it's directly from the lineage of Suzuki sensei rather than more watered down MA that seems rife in my town.

Classes begin in Sept. and I'm told they will honor my Goju rank of orange belt. My only challenge is that we didn't learn Pinan series kata, but rather Taikyo and Geki Sai kata. I'll have to play catch up but I'm one of the few people who doesn't care about rushing to get my green belt so I'm good.

I would see the Goju grade as being the first thing to discard when moving to a wado ryu dojo. It has no significance whatsoever unless you plan on a generic (brown soup) finish to your understanding of wado ryu.

Many things in wado are so unique to its Japanese heritage that even a dim memory of a goju mind would forever create its own rock to climb over in the wado ryu process.

Congratulations though on seeking out Mr Ham.

oneya..

[majin29]

oneya, interesting. I think the instructor's mind set is that I already have a lot of basics down save for the deviation in kata. I do understand there are intrinsic differences even in how one blocks in Wado compared to Goju but I'm not a young kid and have studied various martial arts on and off for the past 30 years and they figure I can pick up the new stuff pretty quickly.

That said, muscle memory cannot be overlooked. I think if I feel it's best to start back at white belt, I will do so. I want to learn properly after all and not just skip for the sake of pride or whatever. That's the whole point of my switching schools. I found the last one to be very McDojo-ish and not really interested in preserving the real point of karate. They gave belts out much too quickly even for my own taste. not one adult student there could hold their own if ever confronted with a situation of physical aggression. And their waza was half baked at best. But then again, they were all newbies and I have higher standards for myself and others.

I am happy that I'm enrolling in a school where the lineage is pure and traceable. That might not be a concern to most casual karate-ka but it is to me. I don't want watered down b.s.

Not at this stage of my life and training.

[WadoAJ]

Hi majin29,

I do understand there are intrinsic differences even in how one blocks in Wado compared to Goju

I think that should be:

I do understand there are intrinsic differences especially in how one blocks in Wado compared to Goju.

As for pride about the belt you are wearing.. I remember going to a Daitoryu seminar, I wore my white belt for obvious reasons. Other Aikido and karate people showed up with their black belts on, but when Kondo sensei asked the question "what is the purpose of this movement" nobody gave the right answer. Funny thing was that I was wearing my white belt and actually gave the right answer. Kondo sensei's head turned in my direction like Naihanchi. Not to brag because in my opinion it was an easy answer..

What I'm trying to say is that a belt in Goju is not a belt in Wado, although you might be able to understand some stuff up front. I must say, even when people come from other ("wado") Dojo they cannot necessarily hold their grade when they come to our Dojo. We made that mistake once and it will never happen again.

In short, I don't see the point in keeping a belt when you change style. If you change Dojo I can understand, but this is up to the head of the Dojo to accept it or not.

AJ

[majin29]

Hi majin29,

I do understand there are intrinsic differences even in how one blocks in Wado compared to Goju

I think that should be:

I do understand there are intrinsic differences especially in how one blocks in Wado compared to Goju.

As for pride about the belt you are wearing.. I remember going to a Daitoryu seminar, I wore my white belt for obvious reasons. Other Aikido and karate people showed up with their black belts on, but when Kondo sensei asked the question "what is the purpose of this movement" nobody gave the right answer. Funny thing was that I was wearing my white belt and actually gave the right answer. Kondo sensei's head turned in my direction like Naihanchi. Not to brag because in my opinion it was an easy answer..

What I'm trying to say is that a belt in Goju is not a belt in Wado, although you might be able to understand some stuff up front. I must say, even when people come from other ("wado") Dojo they cannot necessarily hold their grade when they come to our Dojo. We made that mistake once and it will never happen again.

In short, I don't see the point in keeping a belt when you change style. If you change Dojo I can understand, but this is up to the head of the Dojo to accept it or not.

AJ

AJ, thanks for your email. I have seen various demos and subscribed to your YouTube page. Very impressive waza. It's great to familiarize myself with this iteration and personally, my gut feeling is it's better to start with the basics and if I happen to move up quickly then great. If not, no harm no foul. I think I would be putting a lot of pressure on myself to begin at Orange level given it is a different system of karate than Goju. Based on your demos and those of Suzuki sensei, I do see a lot of differences between Goju and Wado. Wado looks exactly like what I was initially searching for when I began training in karate. Something direct, practical, and effective.

Also, and I must stress this- I personally feel that the Goju school I went to this past year was, well, rubbish. We did warm up for 30 minutes which left 30 minutes for training. I actually mentioned my concerns to the instructors (as diplomatically as possible) and was summarily told to mind my place. I also wanted much more interaction (bunkai) which I expected to happen once I got to mid-level rank but nope, just kata. Hey, I recognize the importance of kata just as much as the next guy but little to no interaction in martial arts is just like dancing- it's not going to help you with timing, distancing, and tempo. Anyhow, I'm seriously trying to AVOID the mistakes I made with this other school. It looks like the school I'm going to train at is reputable as far as lineage is concerned so it's just up to me to learn as much as possible and train as much as possible.

I've certainly been reading up as much as I can but books are only so good for martial arts. You have to get in and train....geez, Sept. cannot get here soon enough!

Thanks again everyone for your feedback. I respect your knowledge and experience seeing that I have none in Wado. :)

[Tesshu]

@majin29

I just trained with Sensei Ham and his sister here in sunny ol' Myrtle Beach. (Even on vacation, he practices!) I couldn't recommend a better teacher.

[majin29]

@majin29

I just trained with Sensei Ham and his sister here in sunny ol' Myrtle Beach. (Even on vacation, he practices!) I couldn't recommend a better teacher.

Is his sister Marsha Quan? If so she's the instructor for the classes I'll be attending in Sept. She even offered me a chance to try a class out before officially registering.

[oneya]

oneya, interesting. I think the instructor's mind set is that I already have a lot of basics down save for the deviation in kata. I do understand there are intrinsic differences even in how one blocks in Wado compared to Goju but I'm not a young kid and have studied various martial arts on and off for the past 30 years and they figure I can pick up the new stuff pretty quickly.

Hi Manjin,

My observation was purely academic and I have no dog in the fight but from experience there are more than intrinsic differences involved in any Wado - Goju comparison. Sanchin kata for instance, which I believe is at the heart of goju ryu,is diametrically opposed to every wado kata in its raison d'être because of its origins. In discarding the past at the beginning you can only make the transition easier for both yourself and the instructor. Much is said about emptying one's cup but very little about cleansing the same cup. I wish you well.

oneya

[majin29]

oneya, interesting. I think the instructor's mind set is that I already have a lot of basics down save for the deviation in kata. I do understand there are intrinsic differences even in how one blocks in Wado compared to Goju but I'm not a young kid and have studied various martial arts on and off for the past 30 years and they figure I can pick up the new stuff pretty quickly.

Hi Manjin,

My observation was purely academic and I have no dog in the fight but from experience there are more than intrinsic differences involved in any Wado - Goju comparison. Sanchin kata for instance, which I believe is at the heart of goju ryu,is diametrically opposed to every wado kata in its raison d'être because of its origins. In discarding the past at the beginning you can only make the transition easier for both yourself and the instructor. Much is said about emptying one's cup but very little about cleansing the same cup. I wish you well.

oneya

Very true and again I must thank you for your input. Sanchin dachi is a very dominant aspect of Goju as is the hard conditioning. One of the things both Wado instructors mentioned is that the stances are higher and a little more forgiving on 40+ age groups. I'm 43 and definitely felt it days after classes. Again, I don't want to slight Goju Ryu. My sense is that it wasn't well represented at the dojo I attended and while I feel badly about maligning it on this forum, I don't think it was the best place for someone to train in earnest (my observations after studying 3 separate styles over the past few decades).

Anyhow, I have been invited to try a class out before the course officially starts so I'll let you guys know how it goes. Thanks again one and all for your kind thoughts and time. It's very much appreciated. I must tell you had I not stumbled across this forum, I fear I would have signed up at that Shintani-based dojo and well....you get the point.