I was just about to write exactly about this, when I saw your comment.

@ArtofOneDojo Sensei, thank you that you put just as an example a praticioner of Matsubayashi-Ryu (my styl) for the kata Pinan Shodan- I know, it doesn´t matter, but here in Germany okinawan Karate is not so well represented...we have a growing number of dojos for Shorin -Ryu, but the majority is Kyokushin and Shotokan.

@@salvatoreplacidoplumari3840 Kyokushin is 3rd most practised style. Shotokan is 1 and Goju Ryu is 2nd place.

I wish I had noticed you had said something about it sooner before I had posted. Lol😅

Depending on the history taught. Itosu in fact was the creator of the Pinan Kata's which is actually one big kata, Kusanku. Itosu hand picked Funakoshi because he could read and write also being a 'yes' man not because of any great karate skills. Karate was changed when the Japanese wanted the art from the Okinawans. The kept their hidden secrets / techniques for themselves

I do Kaju also and that must have been a cool mix!

@@erikpuckett7052 ya it was really cool. Incorporating different traditional training methods into bjj and mma training. Modern and traditional together is my favorite

About your Goju Ryu career: was it okinawan Goju Ryu or japanese Goju Ryu? Because there are also differences between these 2. Though I am not sure what these differences are as I am a practitioner of an okinawan Shorin Ryu-ha.

That's a pretty fair summary in many cases.

The problem is that most Okiniwan dojos don't really teach you how to apply it and pretty much can't apply it. Bunkai and yakusoko kumite are NOT application, they are explanation. The only way you learn to really apply fighting techniques is to fight. Any other notion is pure fantasy.

@@nelsbrown3674 Actually it's fair to say you need both. Bunkai and understanding WHY something is done is the foundation. You need the fighting to actually implement it. If you're just sparring without the foundation then you're just swinging. They are two halves of the same coin.

I study Japanese Karate and Okinawa Karate. My Shotokan dojo gives us lots of questions we can interpret than having a standard answer. It's amazing how different dojos can choose to train their students. 😮

I train kyokushin under Howard Collins and we are allow to ask question on why we do as we do

What you mean by that?

@@oskarjohansson5757 different in Japan

Question and answer is the essence of learning. In my experience, American kenpo is approached as a science of motion. Imagine 3, 2-D universal patterns spinning and tilting on 3, 3-D axis with your center of gravity at the intersection of those axis.

Yup, can confirm as a Wado-ryu practitioner. I was very confused when I trained at a Shotokan dojo once. I was asked to demonstrate Pinan Nidan, only for the person who went before me to do Heian Nidan. Everyone was confused, myself included, when I did Pinan Nidan afterwards. We genuinely had to look up the kata on KZfaq to see what the heck was happening. Suffice to say that we all had a good laugh when we realised that they were switched.

Question: does the Chuck Norris system have a lot of grappling?

Yes it does. They have started having BJJ class add in the last few years.

@@Christianmartialartist78 that's very cool. I expected as much really, as Sensei Norris is a black belt in Judo and BJJ. Thanks for the reply. Happy training! 🥋

I don't say that Rika Usami would be bad. But her take on that Kata is surely not a good one. She is stuck too deeply in her tournament style, that omitts much of the essential detail on how to execute the techniques and makes me wonder if she actually knows WHY the techniques should be done in a certain way? Her stances are too long and too low. I'd say her take on the Kata is a "Shotokanised" version of Pinan Nidan. Yes, I know she didn't practise Shotokan, she practised Shito Ryu, but mainland Shito Ryu is very similar to Shotokan when it comes to the Shorin Kata. I personally like this version better: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rZufd6yqtLG1YHU.html

Old 4th dan here. Never give up, you and I practice a special style. You can do it the rest of your life. With most Okinawan styles you can.

From my understanding it's also a lot more open now than it used to be.

@@ArtofOneDojo even in Japan like the JKA which was the oldest Karate organisarion in Japan based on Shotokan and even they teach bunkai and explore other concepts. A prime example is the head of the JKA, Tatsuya Naka. We also have the Shotokai (which you covered in The History of Shotokan) and they also cover a lot of application. Again, it's always been dependent on the dojo. What is lacking in one dojo does not affect the rest and vice versa.

@@PhinTheShoto Also, Shotokan is not the only karate style in Japan. There are other styles being taught, like Goju, for example.

@@nelsbrown3674 for sure. Goju-Kai, Kyokushin and even other lesser known styles made in the Mainland has characteristics that makes them unique. But a lot of people tends to characterise Shotokan as THE "Japanese" Karate. Which I don't agree with with the many schools and styles established in the mainland.

The majority of his channel is about American Karate styles.

Water it down so you can win a trophy 🏆 cause Americans today don't have the patience for kata and self defense Americans karate

@timothymcghee2 I disagree I study American goju and there is heavy emphasis on kata and kihon at my school

Oof. That's rough, buddy. Kumité is a lot of fun.

​@@Cailus3542 That's why I canceled after a few weeks there. Worst thing was, people actually believed they could use this in self defense. No Bunkai, no Makiwara - more like Yoga with air punching o.O I really want to get into Karate, but I stick to Judo until I find a school teaching full contact stuff. Kyokushin or Goju-Ryu but afaik there's no school in an 1 hour radius that teaches it :(

I'm in Shotokan. We spar, kata, and do other self defense practice. Guess it just depends on your Dojo and instructors.

@@MarineA109 absolutely, just don't know how anyone could sell THAT as self defense...

Any idea what style the karate dojo is near you?

If you are able to, you can do both! Depends on your budget and location if an Okinawan dojo is nearby

@@PhinTheShoto There is one around where I live. But I'm not sure the budget and my time. Plus I use to live in Vietnam for 8 yr and traveled learning different style of kickboxing and I know other various arts under my belt, aside being 49yr. it's been a crazy journey. I been curious how is Okinwan karate in depth is. I want to learn Machida karate but that karate is adjusted to MMA it's not sport karate.

@@hotpopcorncake that's more than fair! If you're an experienced Karateka, I can also highly suggest taking up online Karate lessons. They're there to teach you how the style works, but are not a substitute for a real class. And to help give you something to think about if you want to improve your martial arts. Machida Shotokan Karate has an online dojo and they do belt promotions there too! A lot of it is very kickboxing oriented and the more grappling and MMA aspects are more reserved for the black belts of the school or if you're a black belt in general. (I train there often) As for Okinawan Karate, absolutely try it out when you have the time. I do Goju-Ryu as crosstraining in a proper dojo and a lot of what they teach differs from what I do in Shotokan. I even pick up some online Goju content for further training. It's good to try something new. All martial arts are different and learning from each other is the best way to improve yourself. If you're in it to learn it, use whatever resources are available in your spare time! 😃 Wishing you all the best!

It needs to become more practical to stay alive. I did Indonesian gung fu and medieval Japanese martial arts. Neither of them make you a capable fighter IRL. They need to catch up to MT, kickboxing and just even traditional English boxing. The late 20th century introduction to Eastern martial arts made these arts popular cause movies were saying it would make them great at fights IRL. I remember as a small child wanting to do whatever Bruce Lee did cause it made him a fighting machine. Although my gung fu training gave me the physical training I needed to win my first "street fight", the opponent was someone who had never fought a day in his life. If you put these traditional arts against combat sports, they lose 9.9/10. In every street fight after that, I purely relied on my Muay Thai and BJJ training. The wrist locks from gung fu, too situational. The flashy high kicks, not practical in a street fight. Great for point fighting but not knocking the other guy out so you get to live. Cause that is what modern street fights have degraded to. You knock the other guy out or he knocks you out and 5 guys stomp on your head and you die or become a vegetable.

@@MustardSkaven What the hell is Indonesian gung fu and medieval Japanese martial arts? Do you mean silat., Medieval japanese martial arts I never heard of it. Is that kendo, if so that a weapon base martial art. that wouldn't work.. But anyways karate is affective in the ring and in the streets. I don't know aht you trying to say.

And thus many generations would be very confused, thinking "hang on a minute, that's Shodan, not Nidan...what the heck?" Always good for a laugh.

This really depends on a school by school basis. If the styles are similar, talk to the instructor, they may let you keep it. Sometimes some school will like you keep your previous rank but you are frozen and have to catch up by going back and learning their curriculum. Some styles are just too different and you should start over. If you are ever in doubt, take a white belt to the new school until you have a chance to talk with the instructor about it.

Kyokushin is a little bit of a different beast. It's a mixture of influences. Mas Oyama was born in Korea but moved to Japan where he lived most of his life. He had training in Chinese Martial Arts, Shotokan Karate, and Goju Ryu. So there's Chinese, Japanese, and Okinawan influences right there. Kyokushin's curriculum is built on Shotokan and Goju Ryu put together, with what seems like some Korean kicking and possibly Muay Thai? They have that chopping power kick that you don't typically see in other Karate systems. The stances and style of fighting are completely different too. Close range, powerful, pummeling fighting. So Kyokushin is technically a Japanese art because that is where it was founded and established, however, it really is a mixture of a lot of influences that makes it stand out a bit more than other Karate styles.

Yes, I agree it was simplified because it can get very complicated. Shito Ryu and Goju Ryu are Okinawan arts that have Japanese versions, but that's a little bit different than an art like Shotokan, which is more than just a "Japanese" version of Shorin Ryu. There were changes made to fit the culture. Shotokan, Wado Ryu, Kyokushin...there are enough differences in them when compared to Okinawan Karate.

You mean the ones Jason David Frank made in 94/96? The kata's are made up by Hanshi Jason David Frank they aren't part of the Toso Kune Do system but the techniques are part of the Toso Kune Do curriculum.

@@GothamKnight84661 Made up? He trained his students well.

@@GothamKnight84661 What he made a power ranger style? BTW Rip to Jason David and Trini Kwan, Even tho Trini's last name didn't sound vietnamese. Sorry her name is Thuy Trang

What did I get wrong? It was Pinan Shodan first in Okinawan and then later renamed Heian Shodan in Japan. I'm not sure what you're debating.

@@ArtofOneDojo Funakoshi rearranged Pinan Shodan to be Heian NIDAN. He made the first Shorin-Ryu kata as the second one for Shotokan. Pinan Shodan = Heian Nidan Heian Shodan = Pinan Nidan

Hey ArtofOneDojo, Shotokan practitioner here, the above mentioned comment is correct, they are reversed

@@ArtofOneDojo He's right Funakoshi rearranged the first two kata.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. This was an oversight on my part, I apologize. Good catch. I will make a pinned comment and then I'll release an quick video update in the next day or two.

Yes, I overlooked that and added that pinned comment at the top.

"Tou di" means "Chinese/Tang Hand" in Okinawan. "Karate" is the Japanese translation of that same word. "Karate" is the Japanese word for "Tang Hand". In Japanese, different Kanji characters can share sounds. 唐 - means "Tang" and is pronounced "Kara" 空 - means "empty" but it's ALSO pronounced "Kara". If you translate "Toudi" to Japanese you get "Karate" which means Tang Hand. Funakoshi changed the Kanji so that it meant "empty hand" instead, but was still pronounced "Karate". So yes, Karate originally meant Tang Hand but was changed to mean Empty Hand.

唐手 - means "Tang Hand", pronounced "Karate" 空手 - means "empty hand", still pronounced "Karate".

@@ArtofOneDojo oh, fair enough, I stand corrected, I didn't know that was the case, I am not well versed in the Japanese language, so yeah, once again, fair enough

@@gnos1s171 No worries, it can easily get complicated. I am not versed in Japanese either but I studied the early history of it. Japanese is an extremely flexible language.

Tang = Chinese because it refers to the Tang Dynasty 618-907 CE. Chinese people often refer to ourselves as “Tong Ren” people of the Tong. In cantonese, chinatowns are called “Tong yun gai” or Tong People’s Street. Pronounced Tong not Taang.

Wado Ryu is an offshoot of Shotokan. Shorinji Kempo is another beast altogether. KENPO in general is different from Karate.

@@ArtofOneDojo Wado-Ryu definitely an offshoot of Shotokan (I did both). Wado-Ryu has shorter stances, faster and I'd say more dynamic and sophisticated incorporating elements of jujitsu.

​@@VicNorth2023 Yup. I've trained a bit in Shotokan, and I really do prefer Wado-ryu. That's not because Shotokan is less effective or any such nonsense. Wado-ryu is just more fun for me.

The founder off Wado Ryu, master Ohtsuka, was a student of Master Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan. He was also a talented practitioner of Japanese jujutsu, and incorporated this art in Waco ryu.

It's more adapt than copy

@@dakentaijutsu2010 agreed.

The Japanese watered down Karate.

@@MrJames-eb6rp not necessarily and it really depends on how you look at it. While Shotokan definitely has cut back on some techniques, you can't argue the amount of success it had with making Kihon, Kata and Kumite an all in one in class setting deal a good way to train people in Karate. Efficiency and delivery to the masses matters especially if you're promoting a martial art. And you have to take into context that not everyone is trying to be a full on fighter and the very quiet majority are there to study Karate for self improvement and health. Is it watered down? Yes, for a necessary reason and succeeded in bringing it to the masses. It's not necessarily a bad thing. Kyokushin too has given so much to the world of Karate. It got its title of "Strongest Karate" for a reason since it did adopt both Shotokan and Goju-aryu and established its own system that the actual competitive fighters can engage the most in. If anything, Kyokushin didn't even water down. It filled an entire waterpark for combat. It EXPANDED what Karate can be capable of and what other realms Karate can be a part of if it doesn't exclude itself from just Okinawa or even Mainland. Karate isn't even the only martial art that watered itself down to make it accessible. Watering down doesn't mean bad if it means it can succeed in providing accessibility. Muay Thai is watered down Muay Boran and no one complains about it being watered down. Ring Savate is watered down Street Fighting Savate. Kendo, Judo, Aikido, Iaido are ALL watered down versions of Kenjutsu, Jujutsu, Aikijutsu and Iaijutsu and NO ONE complains about it. Us Karate Nerds need to chill tbh. Myself included.

@@PhinTheShoto I get your point, But I prefer the individualized training from Okinawan Karate instead of the masses that's more of a business scheme aka "promoting", and I like Okinawan Karate not having the WW2 militaristic mentally with the screaming before a Kata and all of that non sense. I like how Okinawan Karate kept most of its Chinese roots mostly seen in Uechi and Goju than Shorin, Shorin is too linear and rigid not my cup of tea. I believe having both linear with circular is best but that's just my opinion.

That's why I put the pinned comment at the top.

"Tou di" means "Chinese/Tang Hand" in Okinawan. "Karate" is the Japanese translation of that same word. "Karate" is the Japanese word for "Tang Hand". In Japanese, different Kanji characters can share sounds. 唐 - means "Tang" and is pronounced "Kara" 空 - means "empty" but it's ALSO pronounced "Kara". If you translate "Toudi" to Japanese you get "Karate" which means Tang Hand. Funakoshi changed the Kanji so that it meant "empty hand" instead, but was still pronounced "Karate". So yes, Karate originally meant Tang Hand but was changed to mean Empty Hand.

唐手 - means "Tang Hand", pronounced "Karate" 空手 - means "empty hand", still pronounced "Karate".

@@ArtofOneDojo They don't like making it easy for us by having one or even just three readings for the same character do they 😃. Tō ōchō is the JP name for the Tang dynasty hense me thinking Tō Di was just another way to read 唐手。

@@markherron3067 Not they don't make it easy at all lol. Japanese is a complicated language.

I said Japanese karate used it too, but they don't use all the hojo undo tools Okinawa does.

I sincerely apologize, I have a lot of trouble pronouncing words in other languages, which is why I often put that as a disclaimer in the videos. I will try harder.

Thank you for being so accommodating of my pet peeve. Your channel is great!