Social Media Naysayers

[Hot Lunch]

I’m a third degree black belt in Kenpo karate and a brown belt in ishinryu karate. No I don’t train those anymore but I still respect the styles….please feel free to share anything that I’ve said that “has a bone to pick with tma” or…let me guess…you saw my username and jumped to conclusions.


I do find it amusing you’ve made a thread about people talking trash online and when I give an opinion you jump straight in making assumptions and talking trash to me….

I actually mistook you for someone else. Another Muay Thai guy who has a problem with "belts."

 

[isshinryuronin]

Here's an example:

https://fb.watch/vg83IALUZn

Do you think he's unworthy of his black belt, as so many people in the comments are suggesting? Or are these guys just a bunch of haters?

Not familiar with ryuei ryu style or this kata but saw no major problem with his technique execution. Crisp, balanced, controlled, deliberate, strong, etc. Black belt level. This was a competition, so the kata was likely modified a bit and very well-practiced. The comments were not expert critique and mostly general BS.

 

[Same Trick]

About what this thread topic is about it seem the judgement of black belt standard is solely from kata performance.
Loads of top Kumite competitors suck at performing beautiful kata, as well as loads of kata aficionados doesn’t last long in kumite events.
And to be honest look at the “older “ karate masters, say , such as was mentioned in the OP - Hirokazu Kanazawa, his kata performance looks not that great, from a up to date established kata competition performance view.
Look at old pictures of Gichin Funakoshi and they’re probably not of black belt performance level too, both from a kata as well a kumite perspective.

 

[isshinryuronin]

it seem the judgement of black belt standard is solely from kata performance.

One can tell a lot from the way someone does kata.

look at the “older “ karate masters, say , such as was mentioned in the OP - Hirokazu Kanazawa, his kata performance looks not that great, from a up to date established kata competition performance view.

The old guys did not "perform" kata - they executed it. How kata looked to a spectator was completely irrelevant.

 

[Gyakuto]

Here's an example:

https://fb.watch/vg83IALUZn

Do you think he's unworthy of his black belt, as so many people in the comments are suggesting? Or are these guys just a bunch of haters?

It’s not what I’d expect of a third Dan, the techniques lacking focus nor any ‘narrative’ story-telling, but it’s not awful, and standards have ‘changed’ since I was at it in the 80s.

 

[isshinryuronin]

It’s not what I’d expect of a third Dan, the techniques lacking focus nor any ‘narrative’ story-telling, but it’s not awful, and standards have ‘changed’ since I was at it in the 80s.

It was not exceptional, but I thought the techniques were well executed. I do agree that the form lacked "narrative" (well put) due, I think, it being a competition version with little attention to bunkai. It had a mechanical look to it. I looked up some else doing more of a dojo version of the same kata and there was a noticeable difference.

One of the things that struck me when watching the posted video was that it did not look like a Naha-te kata (but I withheld judgement as I don't know much about ryuei-ryu or their kata). However, the other video did show more of the style's Chinese roots.

As I've said before, sport warps the original art to fit the competition mold.