Quote:
|
Originally Posted by fanman.
What are the soft elements of gojuryu karate? does it really have any?
|
My Goju instructor had soft elements - locks, throws, and such. I don't know when he started teaching them. I only got to green belt with him and hadn't seen any at that point. However, he and I still keep in touch. When I'm in the area, I visit the dojo. I'm an instructor in my own right now - though not in Goju - so when I visit, he has asked me to uke for him and to participate in black belt classes. In one of the black belt classes I participated in, he was focusing on locks.
Although, I do remember him touching on some sweeping aspects in bunkai before I was a green belt. But he didn't specifically teach them at that point. He just demonstrated them.
Like I said, I don't know when he brings it out in his curriculum but, based on what I saw in that class, I'd guess it's around brown belt level. The 1st dans had the techniques but still needed a lot of cleanup. The 2nd & 3rd dans in the class had a bit more depth of understanding of the techniques (as would be expected). So I'd guess that he introduces those aspects at one of the brown belt levels.
Mike