They may know you in a couple other ways, and were going to get into all that as we go on. Learning and never thinking I know it all. Common names for the dan ranks are thus: 1.Il dan - first degree black belt (also known as cho dan) 2.Yi dan - second degree black belt 3.Sam dan - third degree black belt 4.Sa dan - fourth degree black belt 5.O dan - fifth degree black belt 6.Yuk dan - sixth degree black belt Osu! How you overcome obstacles tells you a lot about yourself, so its a way to discover who you are. Keep studying and practicing until a punch becomes just a punch again. I'm in a bit of a transition at the moment so your words resonate with me. We had Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Tae Boxing, all of these different martial arts that gave me a pretty wide base and perspective on martial arts as a whole. Lets talk about competition. It all started in the dojo. That's a pretty important book. Your arcticles always make fantastic reading, and your seminars equally superb as told by our student and Sensei Jeremy! I enjoy your writing and dedication, so just a word to the wise "keep doing what you do", Shoshin shogai, Jesse-san, shoshin shogai. So be proud of where you are in your Karate journey. Couple that with my sensei(s) repeatedly telling me I need to stretch more and improve in areas I am already aware of week after week , it feels like a battle that has already been lost. It's a beautiful feeling and a great approach to beginners to see us all the same. And humans, were hard-wired to make mistakes and to learn from those mistakes. About the Author: Colton Woodard is a 7th Degree Black Belt in Kuniba Kai Karate Do and holds the title of Kyoshi as well. Thank you, Jesse-san, it is exactly my thoughts. What do you think about belts and styles? Martial arts like BJJ still gave a tight grip on the belt system, but even Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is headed the same way as Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Kempo and even Okinawan styles of Karate and Kobudo. That's why I started Karate, and I liked the whole aspect of having weapons as well, because I love fighting with weapons, too. While they put under the watchful eye of our club captain and assistant instructor, an experienced sandan for the whole lesson, after about 20 minutes, my senior instructor called me out to assist and train in the line beside the novice whose first class it was. Yesterday we had a new beginnerenroll in our dojo. Jesse-san, when confronting you with my hikite-theory, or mind blowing revelation I thought, you looked at me and said: ok that's good, but I just try to keep it simple. There's not really one book, because there are so many different versions of his notes that people have put together into books, but the publishing company is called Tuttle, and that's where I suggest you get them. If you haven't shared an episode of the show with your martial arts friends, this would be a great one to share. It certainly helps you to peel off all the complex thinking in my mind and just focus on the real Karate. Something completely different to what you are already familiar. For one moment, I wouldve traded my arm and leg to be in her position. I could remotely feel their sense of proud and satisfaction. The best tip I learned was from a 5-yr-old who always got it right. You do a lot of writing. Dont Talk-Just Do!.the number of times I have said this?!?! I appreciate your time. Jesse Itsoundscrazy, but I really wanted to be her! Okay. To some people, it might seem like I'm living a very limited life, like I don't enjoy other stuff. What a lovely sentiment, and I agree 100%. The Dynamics of a Black Belt - KARATE by Jesse Me and my friends, when I was younger, we used to play that we were in the Drunken Master. Its about unbecoming everything that isnt you. But because it's the #1 way to reach next level in your journey as black belt. We want moreknowledge, improved skills and advancedtechniques. What is it about that that really resonates for you? People know who you are. We get stuck in all the "traditions", we get stubborn and slowly start missing and forgetting the essence of Budo. Okay. I am glad to have earned a Black Belt, and wouldn't have wanted to miss the experience and challenge of those years. I would say if I had to do my black belt over, I would try to relax a bit more, and pick my moments where I would go in and attack, and then I would basically chill out a bit more, so I could last longer and have better efficiency and economy of movement. of. Oh, interesting. We get back on. Don't just try to copy everyone else and just go through the moves mindlessly, but put a little bit more effort into thinking about what you're doing as well, and that whole combination of theory and practice will get you much further. Excellente article. http://www.martialarts.social CONNECT WITH ME:- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/karatebyjesse/- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/karatebyjesse/- Twitter https://twitter.com/karatebyjesse- Blog https://www.karatebyjesse.com/category/karate/- FB Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/karatenerds/ CONTACT ME https://www.karatebyjesse.com/contact/WARNING: The advice and movements shown in this video are for informational and educational purposes only. So I learn what works and what doesn't work, and I also learn that sometimes it doesn't matter what you do, they'll still disappear next payment cycle :-), Excellent article Jesse-san, one of the "mantra" in our dojo is Shoshin-beginners mind. That was like stepping into a different world. That's why I call myself a karate nerd. If you had it to do over again, how would you handle that match, that fight, with what you know now? Of course I do, but I enjoy Karate even more. Sempai/Shidoin/Sensei. And about those black belts. I am a nerd about Karate, and as you know, nerds don't do anything else other than the stuff they're nerdy about, right? I have been training irregularly for forty years now, am 65 years old and got my shodan last year only because I wanted to teach what I think I know. I had participants from 25 different countries coming there, and I bet they didn't even know that it was the first time I ever did a seminar outside of my own dojo, and in English because English is not even my first language, so it was a big deal for me. Earning A Black Belt - USAdojo.com 'Unless you become as a little child again, (Beginner's Mind)you cannot enter the true Way of Karate.' In the world of survival we have a saying " the more you know the less you have to carry". What do you think he would How do you think he would feel about the way Karate, and martial arts overall, is done today? You know what? Keep For a lot of folks, they'd stop. Why do we do this instead of that? At a young age, Jesse earned a black belt in karate and he also taught karate in his parents' dojo. It was a special thing when I visited him there last year again, but I have a lot of other mentors and people who have influenced me as well, but the first one, I guess, outside of my own dojo would be Sensei Hokama Tetsuhiro. Keep training & reading! I even went back to his dojo in . Keep up the good work :). I started studying Japanese. When did you first realize that you could be completely, not just satisfied, but enjoy your life if it was end-to-end Karate? Can't wait to see you in Canada in May :), That pain of knowing "too much"! I never fail to be amazed at his ability to gauge my character and training requirements. Body now slowing down at the age of a retired 64 and training in a tiny dojo once a week with 'lower' grades, I felt like giving up and just doing home practice. Really in line with what I tell the instructors at our dojo: I like to keep it simple, and fun, and informative, educational, but entertaining as well. I like that. Web. Each individual belt is called a 'Degree' of Black Belt (1st Degree being the lowest). I resolved those feelings in time and came to understand that my whole journey was based on curiosity - not on some kind of love of martial arts. Now, you're the Karate Nerd, as you've referred to yourself. People don't know this, but if there were blogs back when Bruce Lee was alive, he would be the greatest blogger alive, because he wrote down so many things related to philosophy, history, tradition, and all of these things that were still talking about today. The Bubishi, or Wubei Zhi in Chinese, is pretty important because it is the first documented connection between southern China, Fujian Province, and Okinawa, which means that we have evidence or proof that these techniques in this combat manual, this ancient manuscript, were transmitted from China to Okinawa, and lay the foundation or the roots of what would later become Karate. One side hates competition. Thank you for throwing light on this! I would say, What martial arts book should people read, but Im going to guess that dozens doesn't even begin to explain how many you've read. Its about finding out how far I can go. Shin guards are going to be sweaty, and ours, they are too, but they're less sweaty than the others, and unlike a lot of them, ours stay in place. I never found it easy, although in recent years it has begun to become more 'natural' and spontaneous. Sensei Jesse Enkamp is the mind behind all of the wonderful material coming out of Karate by Jesse, and he's as passionate a martial artist as we've ever had on this show. Sometimes I don't even know what I'm going to do tomorrow. At whistlekick, we make the worlds best sparring gear, and here on Martial Arts Radio, we bring you the best podcast on the traditional martial arts twice each week. We at my dojo have something like this: we use white belts as a tradition every 1st week of class in the year, every year. I think i know what you mean. Jesse Enkamp (\"The Karate Nerd\") explains the Karate black belt meaning, grading systems and Japanese terminology Sensei Seth is a Karate teacher and kicking / tricking expert famous from Instagram. Proper Martial Arts Ranks and Titles - USAdojo.com For whatever those thoughts are worth Maybe just walking over to another school for a while does the trick? I'm finding it difficult to train because all of the knowledge I have gained makes that next step seem insurmountable. But people call Hokama Sensei a master, of course, and he is a 10th dan, 10th degree black belt in Okinawa. I would go so far to say those of us in the martial arts that have the opportunity to bring people together in that way have a responsibility. In other words, he looked great executing the techniques on his willing partners. Thank you Jesse san! My mind is clear after reading your article. It takes years of work to reach and not any black belt can automatically declare themselves one. It stops loading when I click a couple of times. A lot of people use tradition as an excuse to do stuff in an old-fashioned or outdated way, but that does not interest me. Its an exclusive podcast episode. You can find our show notes at whistlekickMartialArtsRadio.com, and that's also the easiest place to sign up for our newsletter. [2] Background [ edit] Karate [ edit] Enkamp grew up with martial arts as his family runs Combat Academy - a martial arts center in Tby - where he himself started training already at a couple of years old. If you study sport karate or mma take up escrima or Silat. After talking with Sensei Enkamp, I had two, overwhelming I guess, thoughts. whistlekickMartialArtsRadio.com, in case you missed it the first time. I prefer to spend 2 years to pass a belt than ranking up the ladder and always have a feel I've left important details behind, unfixed. Training a few more times with the painful realisation I truly DID suck and was nowhere near where I pictured myself, I went back to that discussion and realized a few words of a famous physician: I like to keep an open mind but not open enough for my brain to fall out. I've written some blog posts about him. Tell us about your thoughts on competition, why you compete, and maybe some of your history with competing. When you think you can punch, your sensei explains: ok, very good but now start learning to get this or that into your punch(hip movement, whatever). Do you have a favorite, or a few favorites? When I got there, I was pretty intimidated by the number of black belts in this collective holiday session, where the focus was more on cardio. If this is your first visit, read my Free 7-Day Karate Nerd Guide. We were talking before we started recording a little bit about competition. Steven Seagal Appears on Jesse Enkamp Youtube Channel I was fortunate enough to get a [board 36:17] smashed through my face. After ripping through yet another karate gi, Jesse Enkamp - international karate ambassador and entrepreneur - discussed with his student Marcus why there was no better karate uniform out there. I am delighted when I see the kids improve, and it's a joy to work with them. I do a lot of stuff these days, and I don't really stop to think about the stories that I go through, but if you ask me to reflect on a story, there are so many because I not only travel to do research and stuff, but I also compete, and I do seminars, and there are stories from all of these different areas of my Karate life. Sensei Jesse Enkamp is the host of Karate by Jesse and a self-proclaimed Karate nerd. I think I know how you feel. I made this whole thing, we had pink belts instead of black belts or whatever belt you had because you had to wear the same belt as everyone else. But the first time one of the kid's faces lit up, it had me hooked on teaching the newbies. Anyway, so I'm there. Long story short, Dan the Wolfman sent him a FB friend request and started to pimp up his Black Belts, YouTube videos and other stuff, Jesse unfriended him, Dan the Wolfman took it personally, called him out on YouTube and challenged to a fight, "The Karate Nerd" commented on the video and apologized (for nothing) and the Wolfman kept on . It seemed like most karate uniforms were not made for practitioners who enjoyed every aspect of karate; including kata, kihon, kumite, bunkai and self-defense. Yes. Tell us about what's got you fired up right now, and what you're moving towards. Tell us about your goals. Steven Seagal and Jesse Emkamp | Page 2 - martialtalk.com I don't think so, and that's why these things had to be removed. He throws me and he immediately catches me in a kesa gatame position, also from Judo. Then, I'm about to fight this Russian dude, and hes maybe He has a little bit of grey hairs in his beard, maybe hes like 50 or so, or something like that. The very next day I felt awfulI felt like I didn't know a thing about being a Black Belt and wanted to just hide.my belt and myself. If you don't like competing, I think that it would give you even more, because there's probably a reason you don't like it, and facing stuff we don't like usually turns out well, because that teaches you something about yourself. I felt like I was right there with you. You have a great way with words Enkamp-san: succinct, coherent and to-the-point. You're entering the competition season in Europe right now. I was one of those kids with a black belt that old dudes don't like because they think they get everything much easier than they have to do because they're so old. I'm all about progress, so I use tradition and the wisdom of the past to propel myself forward, and to go into the future with an even better understanding of what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and how it should be done, in order to progress to higher levels and elevate my understanding and the collective knowledge of people around me as well, because a lot of people don't have the ability to research the old ways or the traditional ways. You know what? That you're - maybe hoping is a little bit too diminishing of a word - that you are going to accomplish. Thanks for the heartfelt article! I enjoyed it. Again, I am very happy having the courage to start with something totally new. There's nothing more I can tack onto that. What is tradition? You can follow us on social media, too. I just hit his leg and nothing happens. Arigatou gozaimasu Jesse-san, keep up the great work look forward to seeing you in Cambridge Canada again soon! There certainly is a lot of wisdom in a loss. . I'm "The Karate Nerd", #1 Amazon.com best-selling author, entrepreneur, traveler, athlete, educator, carrot cake connoisseur and founder of Seishin International. Thank you Jesse-San for a wonderful article. I think that probably a lot of other Karate masters at that time in Okinawa would criticize him, because as we know, the original purpose of Karate was practical self defense. It is just, that you think you'll never get it. Okay, so you're a good person to ask. In order to really understand something, explain it to someone who doesn't understand.