7-3-I-SearchPaper-Austin

= My I-Search On Shotokan Karate. = by Austin

**Introduction**
I've been training in Shotokan karate for almost 6 years. I'm starting to go to advanced classes to go for my black belt, except, everytime I train I wonder what is the traditional goal of a martial artist who trains in Shotokan? I know when I was a beginner they told us black belt excellence, but when you become intermediate they tell you your training doesn't stop once you receive a black belt. What will they tell me when I become a black belt? What would be my goal then? There are many different goals you may want to achieve in training, and I am aware of that. You may have kumite (sparring) goals, kata (traditional forms) goals, goals about the teachings of Shotokan karate, and so on. My goal right now is to achieve my black belt. Maybe one day if I do complete my goal, my goal will then be to open a school and bring up other Shotokan martial artists. But generally, what is the major goal of a Shotokan martial artist who trains longterm?

**Body**
From second grade up until now I've jumped around from style to style, but only stuck to one which is Shotokan. It interest me the most out of all the different styles I've experienced. I've gone to muay thai, boxing, jiu jitsu, and a little judo. But what attracts me to Shotokan is that they train you to use your whole body in training with strikes using your elbows, palms, knuckles, feet, shins and the sides of your hand. Not only that, Shotokan training involves locks and holds, self defense moves, board breaking, traditional forms, musical forms, weapons and a good workout! Sometimes you can choose what weapon you train in. Personally, I chose nunchaku. They use nunchucks. (Which is a weapon you might have seen the world famous Bruce Li use in Enter The Dragon.) Once I did a demonstration with my class in Sunnyside Community Services for the elderly using nunchucks and board breaking. It was actually very amusing. Unfortunately though, while going for a ridgehand to break a 1 inch thick wooden board, the student holding the board for me flinched and let go and half the board hit an older lady in the audience. I can write non-stop about other demos and tournaments but onto some of the information now. Looking around for information on a style is hard. In my opinion, the best information is from someone who knows or experienced first hand what the topic is about. When you train in any style you shouldn't show off what you know. In shotokan karate, they tell you don't show off what you learn in class because others may want to provoke you since you know a style of martial arts. That's something I learned from my trainer. I chose to interview him about my topic. His name is Dwayne Solandi. He is a black belt in Shotokan, who has been training for 18 years. Longer than what I've been alive. When I asked him about his goals, I received an unexpected answer. In a message I wrote "What was your goal after becoming a black belt? Did sensei give you a goal after becoming a black belt?" In a message back Dwayne replied " My goal was to do my very best for myself and for my students. Sensei gave all his black belts the goal of being the very best black belt. This made me think a lot about myself. Personally, I have been trying to juggle training after school with the pile of homework here at B.S.G.E, it also made me think of what other people tell me that i should put training to the side for a while. If I'm going to train, I should train for myself and because I want to and shouldn't stop because other people suggest it.

Earlier in the paper, I compared what I like more about Shotokan than in other styles. Then mentally that brought another wonder to my mind. I tried to think what might be better in Shotokan than in jiu jitsu or boxing or muay thai. So I then asked Dwayne " What do you think are the good or bad parts of Shotokan in comparison to other styles?" Dwayne then wrote back " There is no good and bad in comparison to any style; it is on the person behind the art and how hard a person trains there mind and body." Then I thought about a lot of people who misunderstand karate when they first begin, so afterwards I asked him, " What is your advice about training for someone who is beginning karate? " Then Dwayne replied " My advice for anyone looking to learn would be to find a style that works for yourself some styles hard or soft." Then I ran out of thoughts that would help my I-Search be cool and interesting, but then realized other people might be wondering about Shotokan now too. So I asked him " What do you think is a good source of information someone can use on Shotokan karate if they were interested in learning about the topic? " and he replied "A good place to start looking now is on the internet and also the local paper. " So then I replied and thanked him for his help and said I'll send him a copy of my paper when I'm done.

**Conclusion**
Even though I been in Shotokan a while I realized there is still A LOT to learn. There are a lot of things in writing this paper alone that has made me realize more about Shotokan and even learned something from this paper. I hope in reading this paper you might want to learn a little something about Shotokan. Honestly, even a few basic moves might be able to get you out of a stressful situation one day. As a martial artists it gives me respect among my peers, and a source of defense when I'm outside. Now after writing this paper it influenced me to go to my classes more often. In conclusion to my paper, I had my wonders about the goals of Shotokan and now I feel a little more knowledgeable about the style I've been practicing. Hope you enjoyed reading my I-Search.

**Works Cited**
Lyon, Terry, and Markus Weichselbaum. "Martial Arts Info - Shotokan." 07 Jan. 2008 .

Solandi, Dwayne. Telephone interview. 28 Apr. 2008.