I Almost Lost My CONFIDENCE... ｜Yusuke in Okinawa Season 2 Ep.10 【Shogen Ryu Karate】 

What are your thoughts on the last point mentioned by the sensei? Previous Episode: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aUT0nKfina0.html Yusuke in Okinawa Season 2: ru-vid.com/group/PL6uceGkw5VFmFMlNwF9ra2yPvZSsuqZXT Yusuke in Okinawa Season 1: ru-vid.com/group/PL6uceGkw5VFkSWeQVK8hnrXt5LEwiV6JD

That’s rough, two masters drilling you at the same time, throwing a ton of advanced concepts at you very quickly.

"You're not even close to getting this" That is so brutal. At 47, I would have been so frustrated. Amazing work.

I started practicing Shotokan in 1978. Believe me, I too have almost cried. I like you Sensei I have tried other styles, this is the true key to unlocking your potential as a true practitioner of Karate. It is true that you only start to learn karate once you have obtained your Shodan. Keep going and learn to implement what you learn into what you already know.

The fact that you were so upset shows great passion and respect for the art. If you cried look at it as your eyes being cleared and reborn for a fresh look to the art.

I can't thank you enough for sharing this. As someone very new to karate (testing for green belt soon) It's very reassuring to see that the growth and understanding in karate is an ongoing process. While I may get down on myself because my understanding and knowledge of karate is still only that of a beginner, I can see through the videos you share that the whole idea behind karate is to always have the mindset of a beginner. We must remember to keep an open mind for learning and seeking out the wealth of knowledge that has accumulated in the centuries of practice and study of karate. Your willingness to let us see that even as a sensei you still sometimes struggle to comprehend and master the techniques of those who have a lifetime worth of experience, is a wonderful gift to your viewers. Twice each week, my husband, myself, and our 6 year old daughter go to our dojo. Your videos in the Okinawa series have shown me how important it is to see that when my family comes to karate, we stand on the mat as equals. Even after we earn our black belts, we are still students who are indebted to learn as eagerly and respectfully as on the first day of training. And even though our dojo is what some would call a "McDojo", that doesn't preclude seeking out more knowledge and having deep respect for the masters who have so much to teach us. Thanks to you and your excellent videos, I can take the lesson for each week from my dojo and add to it with the knowledge I gain watching you in Okinawa. A perfect example is this week's focus in my dojo being the back fist and reverse punches. Watching the Matsubayashi Ryu (episode 2) video gave me real insight about how to practice and why the moves are done a specific way. Watching your video on how to show respect in the dojo inspired me to put those tips to use. Even they aren't really necessary in the rules of my dojo, they are still a way to show my dedication and respect for karate. Living in an area without a "real" dojo shouldn't stop me from learning and practicing karate with proper respect and dedication to principals. With your videos, I am able to learn what the true masters in Okinawa would want me to know as a student of karate. Please keep making these videos and showing us how to learn karate with our hearts and minds as well as our bodies.

Hello Yusuke-sensei, thank you for the video. I think what the sensei meant by moving the tanden in all three dimensions is that you mustn't lock your centre of gravity into one dimension of movement. For example, if you are sitting too hard on your back leg in your neko-ashi, then you cannot move forward or backwards freely, only up and down, so you lock into that dimension (or the y axis). If your centre of gravity is too far back or forward, then you lock yourself into moving in a linear way in that dimension (x axis), etc. But I have never trained like this or heard this teaching, but from everything else the senseis said, this is at least a part of what I think Sensei meant by his comment.

these guys have so much passion for their art i get what these guys are saying though sometimes karate teaches you to be rigid in your movements

I guess it's very hard to get relaxed when you're told to relax 😅😅

Thank you so much Mr. Nagano for putting this out for the rest of karate world to see. These Okinawan masters are jewels of our art and it won't be long before they pass to the other side. It is great that you documented little of their valuable teachings. As you indicated, these little tips and phrases they tell you will spark and haunt you, for many years to come. From my experience, I can tell you that tanden was an illusive thing for many decades. I heard it about it all through my training, but it was only recently that I actually felt the existence of it in my body. Like one of the senseis mentioned, it is a spot and you move it to direct the entire body, in 3D as he described. Some things can better be expressed in Japanese, "tanden no sonzai wa ishiki dake janaide, kanzen ni taiken suru koto ni narimasu."

There’s a shogen ryu teacher a couple hours from me, I might look into cross training with him after I get my shodan. Look at how detailed and precise their basics are!

The “one point” he was talking about is imagining your Tanden or center of gravity is like a ball and you are moving that ball as your whole body is surrounding it.Not arms and legs separate but the whole body as a unit. It’s a Tai chi, and Southern Mantis principle. Many of the principles they are showing are closely related to Southern Praying mantis Kung fu.

Loved this... This was so interesting and so very respectful.

This episode is fantastic! I practiced Shotokan for many years and then Tai Chi and other internal Chinese styles. This Shogen Ryu looks like it was what links it all and what I was looking for. Thank you for sharing your experience!

Glad to see you doing these kinds of videos. You're an inspiration!

This was a truly inspiring one for me. seeing how the two masters were in excellent shape and stressing relaxation, wait til the end to tighten on impact. This point has always been stressed to me in Isshinryu. You're smart opening yourself up to learn from these great masters and sharing it with us. Thank you for that! Not only hearing what they have to say, but watching them show you how it's done says everything! Remember, they've been doing way longer than you've been alive! Stay humble and you will grow leaps and bounds!

That was a fantastic lesson! THX ...! I love these clips!

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing this!

You are so humble and willing to learn, it makes theses videos so much more engaging… great work. It’s must have been hard to absorb some of that with two masters analyzing you.

aaa i was looking forward to this so much

This was amazing, thank you

Great video!

I think what he meant by moving that "one point" is like levitating your centre point or centre axis of your body. It's like not thinking about your shoulders,arms or legs but simply flowing as if your levitating. This video just spoke to me emotionally because I cried when I thought I knew but I did not know

Really good video, lots of great Information

I train in Ry Kyu Kobudo which also teaches the one point center of gravity moving in 3 dimensions. It is very difficult as I also come from a Shotokan background. After 6 years of Kobudo Ive barely scratched its surface but what I have learned of it, has vastly improved my overall Karate technique! I encourage you to continue training this concept. Excellent video! I look forward to the next!

There is no way you can relax with two masters rushing to fix you at the same time 😁

I learned so much from this video I've been doing martial arts for over 30 years And that was a different kind of relaxation It was really good It's so good to see how much as a martial artist you have to learn.👍🏾👌🏾🥋👍🏾 Martial arts is really alive journey.🤔

That was a engaging experience. I’m surprised that they didn’t get much into breathing alongside with being relaxed until it’s needed.

Muy bien excelente conocimiento. Gracias

We all have to learn to be more relax in our karate. i find this very interesting and something I am going to look into further to practice more and hopefully be able to teach others as well.

You can see how influential Chinese martial arts are on the Okinawan schools with this video.

This is fascinating stuff! :)

Sensei, by your curiosity you are bringing a new perspective to the martial arts. A severely needed Renaissance!!! Texas Shito-Ryu. All respect to your journey and bringing us along. 🙏

The video was impressive. Thanks👍❤

Yusuke sensei,this is one of your best videos yet. If we train long enough under good instruction we encounter these "shock" moments over and over as we self correct in search of the correct action. Through this we never become satisfied, but also we are making progress even when we don't think so. Thanks for sharing!

Don’t feel bad, this is exactly what it is like to learn from people with that much experience! They are completely natural and make it look easy , but they are doing a more advanced internal art which requires much more time to become “natural”

Just learning Karate recently (since June of 2021) and am only a purple belt level 0. My dojo practices Hayashi Ha Shitoryu Kai Karate, and I'm not sure whether it is the same as this or very similar, but we are taught to make sure everything is put into that one moment of power with a block or attack, and then everything is loose again. I don't have the flow of these masters, nor Yusuke, but it gives me a direction and a goal to strive toward every day seeing where I can improve in my Karate journey. Thank you for all the videos and the work you put in to helping all of us!

I am enjoying your series of videos training in Okinawa with Okinawan Masters. I studied in Okinawa for 8 years and offer my humble perspective from Seidokan Shorin Ryu and Motobu arts. "The One Point" and "moving the tanden in all three dimensions" are references to centered movement. The ability to transition effortlessly from and through stances fluidly is based upon a few things. 1) keeping the knees bent to a comfortable traveling level. 2) Weighting yourself over the ball of the foot, in all stances. Even when you have weight over the heels, the heels are not grounded, there is at least a sheet of paper width of air space between the heel and the ground with the ball of the foot suspending the body's weight. Else with the heel grounded you have a dead foot, and all mobility stops. This also stops effortless strength. With the weight distributed throughout all stance transitions through the balls of the feet, you can work up to paring the ankle and wrist joints. The point here is that each paired joint establishes a circumference where natural strength exists defined by the width of the lower pared body part. The wrists can move in that circumference well but extending outside of that circumference with the wrists is declining in one's natural strength potential. You are essentially giving your opponent a lever to capture if you extend beyond your body's structure. We have the sphere of control and outside of that is the sphere of influence. Next, we go to the next paired sent of lower and upper joints. The knees and the elbows. The same rules apply to them. Set by the distance of the knees the elbows can work inside that circumference with strength or lose strength when extending beyond that threshold. The same for the hips and shoulders. Maintaining these parameters will allow the 'one point' to move freely between the balls of the two feet balls. This structure allows for effortless power. If one does not extend beyond and lose power, centeredness can easily be achieved. So, to take this setup back to the video and your questions about what is moving the tanden in all three dimensions? Simply means floating your one point at the center of all of this balanced structure through stance transitions and the execution of outward movements. It is not extending beyond the sphere of control and create an imbalance whereas whipping motions executed draw the karateka into an uncentered position one needs to recover from. I hope this helps. I very much agree with Sensei about loosening up and being relaxed through your movements. My own Tamaie Sensei kept reminding me I am too tight through my movements, and he would often say about my punch, "(execution) relax, relax, relax, strong (contact)! (retraction) relax, relax, relax ...

Yusuke-san, this is like every lesson for me,but after every one I feel the benefit of learning. I feel what you are experiencing, everytime I feel I am relaxed, somebody will tell me to "relax!". I hope you will take these lessons back into your karate :)

I remember my early martial arts journey with my Sensei telling me to relax. “I am relaxed!” I would say. Another 10 years and I realised how stiff I actually was. Then I trained with masters and it was like I was a beginner all over again. This clip brought all those memories flooding back. The maintenance of centre so that at any stage in the movement you are grounded but not static is hideously difficult to master (I don’t profess mastery). Relaxation is a top to bottom process: learning to relax the neck and shoulders, then the chest, down to the hips and legs is so hard. My sensei described it as having having your centre high in your chest when you’re tense, which means your whole balance is off. As you learn to relax more so that centre moves lower and lower. Sounds so easy but is so hard in practice. It just shows that the black belt is still only something that keeps your trousers up 😊

in muay thai we keep the fist open on punches until the very end in order to help with that relaxed feeling. you move faster and more fluid when relaxed so you train to only stiffen the body when needed in bursts. if you just hold your fist out and open and close it and slowly raise your arm, once open, once closed, you can feel the huge difference in tension and how it effects movement. they were asking you to reproduce that same kind of thing along your whole body, which looks super difficult to do along with the stance you had to be in, not even to mention the added pressure

Amongst the masters, amazing!

You are doing a great job Sensei it can be surprising when training in a different style of Karate 🇦🇺🥋

It looks tuff 🥋good job I got a few pointers out of this one ☝️ to work on my stability.

''That one point in your Tanden moves freely in this 3 dimensional space'' its exactly how Koichi Tohei descibes One Point in the lower abdomen ("seika no itten")and how you move using this.Its the same principle.Thats amazing.You must search about Koichi Tohei's book (Ki in daily life)and his teachings you will find so many similarities that its ''scary'' haha.Thank you so much for your videos!!!!

You are more patient than me. Good job!

I love these drills and I’ve been doing them for years

Asking someone to relax in the way they want is like saying; step 1: achieve enlightenment. It takes a very long time, especially for someone that practices externally. In regard to moving the tanden in a 3 dimensional space, I took it to mean moving your centre of balance at will, which is a very advanced concept

As a Kung Fu practitioner, I truly relate to that feeling! One of the worst things was when we had to practice a stick fighting form for hours after class at high speed and with many acrobatic movements. Everytime I made a mistake, there would be so much shouting and it happened many times a week until at one point I broke down crying because I really wanted to get it right. One would not get so emotional over such things unless one was truly passionate, which you truly are.

The senseis are superb! You are lucky got direct instruction from them.

To see these old masters move so gracefully and yet powerfully efficient is something else. They seem to have so integrated these precise movements of Kihon into something so natural, so human and so smoothly beautiful. Please convey my deepest respect to both gentlemen, and please accept my respect for your courage and perseverance in this journey you are on. #MyDeepestBowToYouAll.

This brings back such wonderful memories of learning modern fencing from Maestro Danosi, a 75 year old Hungarian maestro many years ago. I had other maestros later over the years, but Maestro Danosi used to whip my shoulders (leaving welts) any time I did anything with tense muscles. These two senseis remind me so much of Maestro Danosi minus the whipping you, haha. Over the years I think newer fencing maestros stopped the practice of whipping you leaving welts any time you did anything wrong, but I think it's a very sensible and good technique because you can't see what you're doing wrongly. If a knee is out of place or an elbow sticking out or your shoulders tense or your thumb exposed or your foot in the wrong position you can be told it, but you can't see it. When the maestro whips you when you're out of form or technique, you immediately feel it and can immediately start correcting it. I think the reason you felt so frustrated was they were telling you good advice and telling you what was wrong, but you just can't see it when you're doing it. They should consider holding bamboo rods or the like and hitting you where they want you to be fixed. I think that would make it less frustrating :)

The principles here remind me wing-Chun. Gaining speed through relaxation, focusing on balance, focusing on center of gravity, stiffness comes just when you hit etc.

If "tanden" is the same as "dantien", I think he is saying that with a relaxed body (and from practicing these drills), you'll be able to easily move yourself, from your center of gravity (tanden), to whatever position you like or need. He did not say the following, but I think how your opponent's energy is coming at you will determine your need. The idea is that your body will be responsive, balanced and strong, without the mind affecting your movement and without the stopping caused by the shaping of forms slowing you down.

About moving your tanden- think of a ball in your hara, lower stomach. Attach a single point on that ball. Move THAT point up, down, left, right or diagonal. Doing this will influence your hip AND spine movement, spine in a small way comparatively. AFTER you get comfortable with that, add a second point on the complete opposite side of the first. Now your tandem will move equally on both sides. So when you do a gyakuzuki, you don’t just cut into the front hip, or push the back hip forward, but you do both at the same time.

In the internal martial arts like taichi, xingyi and bagua, the tendan moves like a ball and all the 4 points ie 2 points at shoulders and 2 points hips/legs intersection are in sync (opening and closing). The center of mass moves the body and hands.

XD haha awesome. Best dressing down I ever got was exactly like that: "movement looks beautiful! But completely useless!". We spent a week going back to embarrassingly basic drills - and it was the most useful instruction I have ever had. edit: tanden is the same as dantian 丹田 in Chinese martial arts, right? The center of balance of your body, so to speak, but not really the middle. When you can rotate your body freely around the "great field", all muscle-groups, all sinews, all of it is connected and under control. There's no displacement or unbalance as you move or use force, no hesitation or preparation in a movement; it's seamless. A good start is to do it like that, getting "relaxed power", like my teacher says. A guard-movement can be the same, to see the difference between a block and having unbroken power through an entire rotation movement. But then you have to practice for 60 years before it clicks :p

Ahhhhhh, the realization in our Okinawan way of karate!

(I think) It basically means to let your movements flow from one to the other. As if walking, your centre (tanden) is stable, yet moving freely without the rest of the body taking up a specific "shape". Intention of technique is the function, not the form. You can see the instructors perform it slightly differently, yet bearing the same principles. We've a similar concept in Ashihara Karate, though explained differently. OSU!

Wow, just wow!

Hey,can you make a video about kyokushin karate style? I'm from kyokushin karate and I'd really like to see you discuss or even visit a kyokushin karate sensei like you did in this video

theres a lot of archaic descriptions for concepts in martial arts. but the best description Ive ever heard for "one point" is the center of balance...or rather the focus point of balance and how it shifts with every micro degree of movement as you do...literally anything. thats why its such a pain to learn to be aware of, and then use it for your benefit

Really insightful! Perhaps what is meant by the one point in tanden can be understood as the fulcrum of the body, the centre point in the entire body which you revolve your movements around. The relaxed movement of shogen ryu is similar to what's found in taichi, especially in old school chen style taichi.

The fate of many Shotokan practitioners when trying the one or other Okinawan style... I once started with Shotokan myself back in 1998. In late 2005/ early 2006 my Sensei became student of an Okinawan Master and the majority of students (I was one of them) followed. Now after this session you can relate to the struggle we as now ex-Shotokan practitioners had to learn the new stuff and get rid of the Shotokan habits. About weight distribution: that is one of the aspects why Shotokan people struggle with this. In Shotokan you have a weight distribution of 80% back leg, or even 90 % and the rest on the front leg. If you change this to 50 : 50, it will be much easier.

Your energy (tandem) must flow freely before, during and after your technique. It is the vibrancy and relaxation of execution.

The center line is vital and this is the old style of 'this is they key, go away, train, then come back'. Now it is more 'pay pay'. This is exactly what good Chinese teachers do to. That old skilled generation was incredible.

PS: I think it would be cool if you would try the rare karate style of Shindo Jinen Ryu! 😎

The same thing happened to me. I went from shotokan to traditional Goju ryu and that was the first and most difficult for me. I'm still trying to improve that but little by little the mountain is climbing. Thanks for your work.

In a world where theatrical and hyper athletic martial arts drills (some more valid than others) are promoted alongside the continuous trolling by internet experts; it is refreshing to see such an authentic and highly useful method (though subtle and difficult to grasp) being demonstrated. Thank you for sharing this, many can benefit tremendously from this crucial lesson.

love your vid i train shotokan too

I believe Sensei was saying that the Tanden point (center of gravity) must not be restricted by constricting the stomach as you execute the move.......it should be like a water bag, which bounces freely in the direction it is flung. So in other words, the more relaxed you keep the tanden center, the more that center of gravity can 'bounce', thus resulting in flexibility of movement and power. But the more rigid one is, takes time to keep flowing into the next movement like the Senseis were showing. Easier said then done, but you are at the right age! Thanks for a wonderful video!

I'm Patrick from Malaysia🇲🇾 and I'm currently working in Japan. I started Karate since I was 13 and I'm mainly specializing in Shito ryu. Indeed, relaxation is the hardest part in Karate no matter what style we are. Our body will get even stiffer when we tend to be relax. In my opinion about the one point tanden, what i can think about is the theory of the den den daikoでんでん太鼓. We keep the stick up straight (body) by holding the stick with our finger(tanden) and spin it forward and backward. It takes very long time for our body to get use to it so it's normal we can't master it in short period. All we can do is set our own goal and keep practicing. And thanks for sharing all of these video, I've learned even more about Karate with all of your video.

I think where the struggle is for you, when we do Kata we have to show emphasis on the power in the end of a movement with a pause. so this is in our muscle memory. So we have that stop and go built in into our training, where if used in a fight it needs to be relaxed for speed and the power then quickly back to relaxed and fluid. The movement is all derived from the center and hips so it must be relaxed to move effectively and anchored only when striking, same with the shoulders and arms only firm at the end of the strike. At the same time we learn these things in pieces, to help us understand when and were to use the power, then we have to learn how to make it fluid. I think it is wonderful you are getting to have this experience even though it is a little frustrating now, this is a vital piece in your continued journey to make you as efficient as possible if you ever need to use your skills. As fast as you are, you can be faster with less effort. This appears to be what they are trying to convey to you.

same one point in shin shin toitsu aikido

A very different approach. Interesting

since the 60's never had formal class. but some sensi may have showed me these facts, as sound familiar in those movements/method i have tryd to practice. tanx. this was much gud...

Moving one point with whole body moving in unity,,,,, great budo OSS

I’m not a karateka, but I have studied various martial arts for ~30 years. If I may, I believe the last point the Sensei made is with reference to your dantien or center. The center moves forward and all movement of your limbs revolves around that. If one is both loose and balanced, you can move in ways that seem illogical to your opponent as power can be delivered from any angle with speed. When you are stiff you work against yourself with antagonistic muscle and slow yourself down. This will also create double weightedness in root. You go from a root that is difficult to nail down/ find to a stiff object that can be uprooted and broken from anywhere contact is made. Just a thought. Great video, thanks for sharing!

Well, I´m no expert..But once upon a time I had to react instantly where I was working as a security guard..I was turning toward the door through which a loud drunk had pretented to exit, just in time to see a fist preparing to hit me. The reaction, block and slap was from position of almost total relaxation and yet the security camera put the the whole reaction betwteen frames at 25 frames per second...Since then I´ve tried to incorporate this into my training, :The idea of almost moving (or seeking to move) at the "speed of the idea" from A To B. as a kind of snapping of the whole body or rather mind/body from the center of gravity....

Those wizened gentlemen are giving you pure gold. However, it will still take years to understand and assimilate what they are talking about into your daily practice if that’s the road you wish to take. Using the tanden (center), vertical axis and complete relaxation to override normal movements are the keys to a different system of movement and the real core that has been passed down. Please take heart in the fact that no one gets it in one lesson…not even those teachers. They were just being bluntly honest. It will take time, practice and insight to unlock what was freely given as its considered to be hidden in plain sight. I love your work ethic and curiosity, btw. Cheers.

Oss Sensei! Please explain to us the tanden concept you talked about in the video! Also the accompanying 3 axis plan movement! Thanks

i love your vid i train shotokan too

Yusuke San - when i see your karate i think wow i could stand to re-learn your crispness and speed. I wonder just a thought - if the mind set is different? Meaning that if to strive for the perfection of character is imbedded in the karate of mainland Japan, then the fluidity that the Okinawan karate of old still remains? It really doesn't take away from yours - it's just another element that was lost when it was transmitted to the mainland. You are still an inspiration Sir.

Nice this must have been hard. I think relaxation comes with age. When you're young especially your upper body is tensed up at the shoulders but also I always had a problem with 1,2,3 step training etc. I know it's part of the movement broken down but it creates bad habits. When I watch the Sensei's move they look so fast but it looks like they are moving less. I enjoy watching your videos I'm learning a lot 👍

Wow! Their practice is almost identical to some Southern gongfu styles like Southern Crane (Yong Quan White Crane, Calling Crane), Song Tai Zu Quan, et. al. There are qigong, neigong (气功， 内功）exercises to help develop it, but what the masters said is true, it takes years to develop, especially if you come from a more hard, external style. I came from American Kenpo and after 20 years of training my Chinese shifu still says I am too hard and not using my dantian （丹田）correctly, well---actually he says I am using it differently. Chen Tai Ji Quan, or at least Feng Zhi Qiang's lineage of Chen Tai Ji Quan, also has some good exercises on moving the dantian in three planes of motion. The method allows you to generate force from your center, rather than emphasizing the back, chest and arm muscles the way most external styles do.

I had the same experience moving from Shotokan to Shorin Ryu- it humbled me and caused me to explore the Chinese origins as well…

This makes so much sense and is in line with very experienced boxing coaches saying "you should move like youre walking around in your livingroom." Thomas Yankello says something very similar about footwork.

"When you form something, it takes time to the next one" I can see this principle everywhere now, but is still so hard to apply....

That looks hard. I can only imagine what your going through to trying to learn it.

@Karate Dojo waKu I believe he's talking about your center of gravity. In my style we over emphasize interim stances like neko and sanchin dachi, dropping our weight/center and deeply bending the anchor leg. This compression allows greater control of movement in any direction. This also contributes to spitting/explosive movements when you decompress. Compress then explode or swallow then spit. If you practice this right your knees will shake like baby first trying to walk, hope it helps!

Soon you become History's Strongest Disciple Yusuke.

I had to laugh 😂 But not about you, you’re great! But this was intense and hardcore! Keep doing these videos, please! ❤

I recommend practicing taiji with paul mcyntire back in tokyo. Kanazawa sensei said in an interview I read a while back that taiji (tai chi) taught him alot about how to move. That was one thing that made me want to study it. After doing shito ryu for 20 years, I started studying HME taiji and it’s made my karate 100x better. You will be able to relax the way they are asking you to in 3-6 years, rather than 10 or 20.

Shoto-kan is generally stiffer than other Karate styles and because of that it became popular in Japan because Japanese people in general are traditionally strict,very disciplined and formal in every action they do especially in martial arts training.

Keep up the good work 👏 If you ever get a chance please try to train with royama kancho of kyokushin kan karate. I used to be his uchideshi really an amazing teacher and very strong as well.

You cannot teach an old dog some new tricks... but this dog is not old enough. :)))

So, I currently train aikido. In aikido, much like Shogen-ryu, there's a heavy emphasis on moving from a "relaxed" muscular state. I'm nine years into my aikido training and I still struggle with it from time to time. It was also a very tough transition for me at first, as my prior art was Hung Gar kung fu, which shares some similarity in movement principles to Shotokan (at least when it comes to the beginner to mid levels of training). You might also want to check Jesse Encamp's channel; some time back he had a guest on the channel talking about how "relax" is sometimes a misleading description of what needs to be done. He suggested thinking of it at "releasing" strength, letting go of your external strength being a driver of your movement. Two ideas, if you genuinely want to pursue relaxed body movements (without having to relocate to train in Shogen-ryu fulltime): 1. Practice just the footwork exercises, without involving your hands or kicking. I think the typical snappiness of your Shotokan training is throwing you off. Once you get very comfortable moving your feet in a free flowing manner (without stopping at any given position), then try to work your hands back into it. 2. Enroll in a completely different art that emphasizes relaxed body movements (do so as supplementary training), then try Shogen-ryu again after a couple years (leave the camera crew at home). Aikido or Daito-ryu would be my top suggestions for this (I'm biased, of course). Both are different enough from karate that it would probably be easier to settle into a beginner mindset.

From what i understand tanden is similar to kinesiology center of gravity as it applies to things like baseball pitching mechanics. I have trained with these two and know that they try to give everything they can as they know it is hard to get there. I hope you had a chance to join them for one of their monthly dinners

Tanden. Really important. I studied aikido and some daito Ryu jujitsu. Basically you want to “relax” or soften your limbs and use your tanden or center to move your arms and legs. It’s a long arduous process to stop using muscles and use more facial tissue with tanden. I highly recommend to google Dan harden and come to one of his seminars. He is a a guy that studied Japanese martial arts that found a way to train the tanden in a easier (but still hard manner). Also check out chris Li’s aikido sangenkai blog on internal power.

The movement is similar to Chow Gar / southern mantis with the whipping of the limbs connected to the waist in line with the placing of the arrow of the front foot