Kuma

Friendly sparring.

I first learned them in Goju Ryu.

Sensei Andrew Budd is the Enshin Karate branch chief of Texas. You can try sending him an email and see if anyone is close to you. http://www.enshin-karate-texas.com/location.htm Other than that I don't see too many other options for you.

My nigiri gami were the easiest to make. I just took two empty protein jars (both around 3.5" wide at the top, they were close), filled it up with some play sand from the home improvement store, and put the top on tight (one of them slips a bit so I put some athletic tape around the top to hold it closed).

I also made a very primitive version of "tetsu geta", though having never used it myself I can't say how accurate it is. Like a lot of people, I have the ankle weights but from everything I've read it's definitely not the same as you have to grip with the toes when you do the exercises just like a regular pair of sandals. I was about to toss an old pair of sandals I had, when I had a bit of a brainstorm. I actually strapped the ankle weight around the middle of the sandal and then put on the sandal itself. Standing was a bit awkward in it (I'm sure with regular geta it is too) but when I did some exercises with it I really had to grip tightly with my toes to get it moving. Definitely not like the real thing I imagine but an acceptable substitute I suppose. I'll have to experiment with it more.

I've been experimenting with making a lot of different hojo undo equipment lately and figured I'd share a few ideas to the fellow karateka of the board. Today I actually just finished making a plate-loaded chishi. So far the total cost was under $10. Here was the materials required: *24" length of pipe, 2" diameter (I ended up getting plastic because it was cheaper, which is sturdy enough for most of the weights to be used for chishi) *Four (4) hose clamps (I put two on each end; one may have been enough but the second one's on just in case the first one fails) *Duct tape (to thicken up the barbell plate end so it fit snugly) *Athletic/duct tape (for the handle end; since it's plastic it's going to be a bit slicker than the traditional wood and, due to the thickness, a little extra grip can't hurt) *Hacksaw *Flathead screwdriver *Tape measure (1) Measure the length between the tip of your middle finger to the crook of your elbow. This is about how long you want the chishi to be. (2) Measure and mark the pipe the same way, and use the hacksaw to cut off the excess. (3) At one end (preferably the end you cut, so you don't end up nicking your hand open), fasten two hose clamps with the ends alternating (i.e. one on the left and one on the right). (4) Use a fair amount of duct tape right below those two clamps to thicken up the pipe so the plate can fit snugly. (5) Place the barbell plate down flush against the one side (I used a 10-pound plate to start) and put on the other two hose clamps with the ends alternating. (6) At the other end use a bit of tape to give yourself some grip. Simple and easy. As a test, I loaded a 25-pound plate on it and did some two-handed exercises and it seemed to work just fine. Obviously if you have standard barbell plates you need to make the pipe a bit smaller or may be able to use wood for the handle. Once we find our camera, I'll post a picture, but hopefully those directions were pretty clear.

I actually meant control also when I mentioned this part. If you're up against a younger less experienced person and you're training, you don't manhandle them. This would be like me going to Muay Thai and blasting a beginning student with full power strikes and kicks. You should be adjusting the skill and contact to what level the least experienced of the pair are.

It actually is, unless you're so big compared to your opponent that you don't mind getting punched and kicked by him. Much like any martial art, distance is an important part of Kyokushin.

I wouldn't say his attitude was inappropriate, just his control. When I began training in Muay Thai, I didn't say anything about my previous training experiences but they could tell I've had some prior striking experience. However, when I train MT I use only MT techniques and don't crush my training partners who may still be learning.

Ryu Narushima is only 5'6" and 155 pounds and considered a very tough knockdown fighter. Against taller fighters, the traditional boxing tactic is infighting so I would make sure you're emphasizing that as well. Shita tsuki combinations, shovel hooks to the body, knee strikes, low kicks, etc. Be careful when you're at your opponent's kicking range, when you see a jodan mawashi you need to either move out of the way fast or close the distance quickly. You can definitely do it, it's only a question of strategy and tactics. Another option is to add in some weight training and hover near the high end of the weight class so when you're in close you can manhandle your lighter opponents around.

Book-wise, Ned Beaumont has written two fine books on boxing specifically for street fighting which are very informative, packed with good information, and go from your basic footwork and stance to counterpunching, combinations, training ideas, and other solid information. http://www.amazon.com/Championship-Streetfighting-Boxing-Martial-Art/dp/0873649346 http://www.amazon.com/Savage-Science-Streetfighting-Applying-Championship/dp/1581601239/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2

His is a bit of a different approach though as he's focusing more on generating shock rather than just sheer impact. The idea behind keeping the heel flat on the driving foot is because when you create that impact, you generate a reactionary force that travels back into you. If your heel is raised it doesn't do anything, but if the heel is firmly planted and your stance is stronger than your opponent's, that secondary force actually gets returned to your opponent causing greater shock. However, in many styles that advocate raising the heel, not all of them use the driving foot in that same ideal (i.e. locking out the leg with the execution of the technique) so unless you're sticking with a stance that allows you to perform that way, it's probably better to raise the heel and turn on the ball of your foot if you're in a more conventional boxing-style stance.

They need to be controlled, not super slow but not snapped out like a full power kick either. When you go too fast it becomes more like ballistic stretching which can actually cause injury.

With dedicated practice you can most likely do side splits. Not sure about the pain thing though. Check out the book "Stretching Scientifically" by Thomas Kurz. Fantastic book, it helped me a lot.

Where are you living at sensei8? Maybe we can help you look around.

This might help.

Is that one of those Treadwalls? If so you have a fantastic grip exercise right there. You can adjust the incline on those babies so you're just climbing with your hands.

Very true. Impact conditioning isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. It takes a long time to build up to an appreciable level. As much as I like Takemi Takayasu I will definitely say he's quite the extreme. It's better to take it slow and at a moderate level, this way you can actually train longer and get more conditioning rather than just banging it out hard for a few reps, whimpering, and recovering for the next few days. I also wouldn't do this training any more than 2-3x a week tops.

You can see kote kitae with a partner demontrated in his video at about 0:04 and 0:17. (I would recommend staying away from using baseball bats though...) This is another version you also see in some karate styles:

You can't go wrong with a basic boxing station. A heavy bag/speed bag setup works out well, and with a little creativity you can exchange out the speed bag for a double end bag. As far as strength training, you can stick with just bodyweight or go above and beyond, with such cheap things as sandbags, rocks, and other easy yet effective items.

That's a good observation actually. Self defense is more than just violence. It's controlled violence. You have to meet the threat but you don't want to meet it excessively if it comes back to bite you in the butt later on.

Not a flaw. Just a different mindset than about 90% of the people out there. It has its downsides. Ever play a game with your significant other and let her win? Yeah, that's really tough for me to do. And she's just as competitive as I am. I also can occasionally overestimate myself, which is one reason why I enjoy sparring as it keeps me grounded in reality.

There's a v2 highlight of him that has more of his fights but even in this one he drops some much bigger guys. Watch 1:03, that guy's pretty big compared to him. And at 4:22 on he fights a well-known K-1 fighter who usually fights at around 230 pounds.

I like to win, so I try to never think about losing. Character flaw.

That's the same they did in that ad too. I never understood it as I always thought "Squeeze tighter!"