You may want to consider that when choosing a school. And I don't mean that everyone should, but transparency and straight-forwardness when it comes to black belt requirements seems to be important to you.
I don't have much experience with Shotokan, however my other main style aside from Goju Ryu, in fact my first style, is the style of Shi-to Ryu which is quite similar to Shotokan. It too uses lots of straight line techniques. Yes I would say Goju Ryu is overall more circular with the techniques but especially how you step, much of Goju Ryu has to do with changing the angle in which you're facing your opponent which can involve both moving your own body in a circular motion and making your opponent move in a circular motion. I don't know much about Aikido in general let alone the specific style you mentioned although from what little I do know about Aikido it does involve circular motion. So I could see how a background in an art such as Goju Ryu could be more of an advantage than a background in an art that uses a more straight line approach.
I've never done Shaolin long fist or any of the other styles you mentioned but I've done some Hung Ga Kuen which involves the five animal styles of dragon, snake, tiger, leopard, and crane. I did really well with it although as you point out, it can vary how well a person with previous experience in the martial arts and what arts they have experience with, does with it.
It may be compared to Goju-ryu, but that's about it. Their Shuri-te katas are actually most similar to Shorin-ryu.
Black belt requirements are sometimes important to me. They were very important to me at the dojo where I started learning my first style of karate. When I joined that dojo it did not even have a website because back then the internet was still in its infancy. At the schools Im going to now, the Gracie Jiu Jitsu school and the Goju Ryu school, it is not so important to me. At the website for the Goju Ryu school it does say that you have to be a student there for at least five years before you're eligible for a first degree black belt but as I said, it wasn't that important to me when I joined.
A female tourist should also be able to walk the streets of Port Moresby alone without being sexually assaulted. Is that gonna happen? Nope. And if she insists on doing it, because she should be able to, well... may the Force be with her.
You would have gotten more energy out of me if you started to drive me towards the wall. Just from a self-defense perspective, being close to a wall is a big issue for me, especially because of my circular movements. Pinning me against a wall takes away a lot of options and I'm all about my options. Pin me against the wall and I'm sure that some creative stuff will come out lol.
Hung Ga has long fist techniques in it.
Just a point of curiosity (since I spent some time around - but not training in - Shorin-ryu), how would you say their Shuri-te are similar, as opposed to other styles?
It's moreso the fact that Shotokan - and some of its descendant styles, such as Shindo Jinen-ryu - are the outliers, due to the change in stances of its katas. Kenwa Mabuni kept them as he learned them in Okinawa, as opposed to making the changes that Funakoshi did (e.g., changing neko ashi dachi to kokutsu dachi, shizen tai to zenkutsu dachi, etc)
I'm going to pick nits just a bit, just to get it out of the way.
Thanks. I understood some of what you said (which is much more about my lack of knowledge than about your communication).
Funakoshi's main background was in Shuri-te, but he also learned from Itosu who had a mixed background (including Higaonna's Naha influence) as did Mabuni. Prior to 1930 there was much "cross training" and mixing of the various Okinawan styles. But a very general description of Shuri vs. Naha differences is that the Naha styles retained a little more Chinese influence with Shuri-te having a more linear yet agile quality to it.
While they both had roots in Okinawa, they are now essentially Japanese in nature, sharing deep low stances and extended punches.
Shuri-te is a general term for the original root "style" as practiced in that Okinawan town. Shorinryu (of which there are 3 main branches) evolved from Shuri-te and is considered as part of that family as opposed to the Naha styles like goju.
I think by the time Mabuni started teaching in earnest in Japan the JKA (shotokan) was already established (and out of Funakoshi's control) and had great influence. I'm guessing this may have exerted some pressure for shito-ryu to conform to that style, but I'm not familiar enough with shito-ryu's evolution to offer any solid opinion. Mabuni did have a great wealth of karate knoweldge, much of it not being included in Shito-ryu's curriculum.
When I spoke of Shito-ryu's Shuri-te katas, I was referring to them to distinguish them from their Naha-te katas, since Shito-ryu has both.
Thanks, that was informative!
Daniel didn't ask how long it would take to get a black belt he asked what belt Mr. Miyagi had and when Mr. Miyagi mentioned his canvas belt that he got from J.C. Penny for $3.95 and that karate is in the head and the heart not in the belt he was simply pointing out that he doesn't believe in belts of rank as not all instructors believe in or use such belts. As it is there are some styles that don't have belts of rank and generally that's how the Miyagi Do style is and you see that in The Next Karate Kid when Mr. Miyagi starts teaching Julie karate. The only time Mr. Miyagi does use belts of rank is if you need a certain belt to compete in a tournament such as when he gave Daniel a black belt so he could enter the All Valley Under 18.
Well how long it takes of course depends on the student and from my own experience I would say most students never get a black belt because they drop out before getting that far but what you said about it taking a minimum of 3.5 years and that with most folks it takes over 5 years, that is a straight answer. Such information might or might not be useful to a student but there is no reason such information shouldn't be provided if asked for.
Miyagi didn't have belt rank, because belt rank hadn't yet reached Okinawa from the mainland by the time he left. So the whole idea was unimaginable to him.
My point about sexual assault is that there's the way it should be, and then there's the way it is. The sooner you stop worrying about the way things should be and start operating in the world the way it is, the better off you'll be.
Got it, thanks. Also true of my style.
Let me clarify - I don't mean sexual assault, I meant what I was saying about Port Moresby.
