Kuma

Exactly, because he's a great striker and he concentrates on that as his strength. He covered his weakness as a striker by becoming a BJJ black belt. He started training in karate at age 3, and BJJ at 15. So there was a 12 year time span between the two. He's a good example of someone who puts the effort in. That's the common trend among the champs. Take another great fighter, Matt Hughes. By the time he stepped in the Octagon in 2001 he was already a wrestling phenom since his days in high school (~1992). These guys are definitely a far cry from the norm. What sets them apart is they began by extensively training in what would become their main game plan. A lot of the more "joe average" fighters may mix and match quicker but when you get to the elite they put their time in.

Shadowboxing helps a lot. You'll just have to use lots of good visualization to really focus on avoiding those punches. Move around, throw combinations, keep your head moving, and stretch. You can also make a homemade maize bag by getting a tennis ball, poking a hole in it, and hanging it in your garage or basement at about head height. Get it swinging, then throw combinations and move your head when it comes forward and backward.

I agree with that, that's why you see a lot of samurai principles being put on something that started off as Okinawan. It's interesting to compare the differences between someone like Funakoshi who, with his background, made the perfect example of what a "Japanese karateka" should be like (i.e. samurai ideals, honorable, polite, etc.) and compare him to say Chotoku Kyan who by all accounts was a highly talented scoundrel and dirty fighter (and quite an interesting and insightful guy).

Notice how the best MMA fighters though usually have one phenomenal aspect of their game. For example, none of the current UFC champs each have one major strength to their name. Lesnar was a NCAA Division I champion wrestler. Machida has his extensive karate background. Silva is just an amazing striker. GSP, another amazing striker. Penn is a grappling phenom. Each one of these guys is a master of what they do and they do it well. It's rare to see a guy who's only "pretty good" at both hold onto the reins for very long.

Karate Bullfighter.

While I do agree it's good to be well-rounded, I also think you should concentrate on your strengths while minimizing your weaknesses. If you're a fantastic striker but only an OK grappler then you can work on your game plan to stay on your feet, avoid fighting where you're weaker at, and stay in the position where you can use your strengths. If you're a fantastic grappler but a poor striker, the reverse could be the same. This way, you train your strategy to use your best strengths (e.g. striking), minimize your weaknesses (e.g. grappling), and over time your weaknesses will grow just as strong as another's strength that it won't be a problem anymore. I have no problem with cross-training, I just think way too many MAists get into it before they're ready. You should have a solid foundation in one martial art before pursuing another in my opinion. I would say at least shodan or nidan in one style before considering another personally (or, in those that don't do belts, several years of experience).

I definitely think a martial art can have both. You just cannot lose sight of the fact that first and foremost you're training in a system that is designed for combat against another person with the thought of causing that person injury and/or death. You can get fit by getting a gym membership and working with a personal trainer. You can become a better person by joining a church and being proactive with it or doing lots of volunteer work. You can build self confidence by speaking in front of large amounts of people and doing things you normally wouldn't do. Anything you can get in the martial arts you can get doing something else. Except for one key thing. And this is something that brings us all together. This is the factor that makes all of us alike in one respect: we're all training in a system that's designed for combat against another person with the thought of causing that person injury and/or death. THIS is what makes Muay Thai and Tai Chi similar. This is what makes Aikido and Tae Kwon Do similar. This is what makes Escrima and Iaijutsu alike. Yes, they all develop different attributes and have different approaches but that one sole factor is what ties it all together. So yes, you can train for fitness or fun or whatever it is you do. The moment you stop thinking of it as a system of combat though is the moment it stops being what it was designed to do. In a shooting competition you might have a guy blowing away skeets all day long, but at the end he still knows when he takes that shotgun home it still has the potential to kill someone. And like it or not, shooting those skeets is training him to do just that. That is what a martial art is. It might be fun to play with and enjoy a good time with, but at the end of the day when you take it home with you you have to respect what it can actually do. Otherwise, like a careless gun owner, it could have dire consequences.

You can play sports and get self improvement. I know I met lots of coaches who all had a positive effect on me in one way or another. I learned how to stick to my word, back my friends up, respect my family, never quit, give back to the community, and be a better person. All through organized sports. However, aside from tackling somebody, what did I learn about self defense? Not a darn thing. THAT is the difference. You can get self improvement through all sorts of other means. The martial arts should be first and foremost always about fighting.

It depends on how you approach your art: as a "do" or as a "jutsu." Not everyone is in it for the "do." I personally feel if self defense is not a priority of your martial arts training, then what you're doing is not martial arts. By that point it's just exercise, interpretive dance, or whatever else you want to call it.

Be sure to let us know as soon as you do.

There's a huge difference between two consenting adults who are trained martial artists testing their skills against each other and a street fight. You and I both know that. I can honestly say too, it actually proved no point at all. I can say I know someone who managed to explode someone's head using mystical Dim Mak death touches to defend the life of another, but if there's absolutely no way at all to substantiate that claim, all it becomes is one of those ubiquitous MA myths about "this guy I know is the deadliest because he trained in my martial arts system." I'm law enforcement and military myself. I specifically train in Kyokushin not for competition but my primary focus is self-protection. We train in a way that positively improves my ability to protect myself. That's what MA training is all about. Oh, and actually this thread was about "standard kumite" being a waste of our time, not karate itself.

Like I said, a lot of it depends on the actual case itself which is why I would be interested to read more about it. Were they armed and dangerous, or just refusing to listen? Did they seriously injure their victim or just committed the act itself? Were they trying to escape (though it doesn't sound like it if they just weren't stopping)? We can armchair quarterback it to death without the right details. In my state deadly force for that situation would be extremely touchy with just what we know right now.

In the book "The Way of Sanchin Kata", I think they explained it the best way. While all other kata teach you the CONTEXT of a fight (i.e. techniques, stances, combinations, etc.), Sanchin teaches you the CONTENT, i.e. "karate posture." It trains you to be rooted yet mobile, that subtle hip roll for extra power, contrasting tension and relaxation, etc. It's a dynamic tension exercise as well, so it's strengthening your body at the same time. I remember talking to a Pangai Noon/Uechi Ryu practitioner who said physical conditioning is important to karate, and Sanchin helps build that foundation of conditioning.

Other karate styles have contact though, and to my knowledge no karateka has died yet in a competition. I think for certain attributes yes, it's good training, but as for what kind of fighting we as karateka should be I don't think it should be the focus. My main objective for training in karate is self-defense, and without contact self-defense training is sorely lacking. If you're afraid of getting hit (which everyone innately is) and get hit, you're most likely going to freeze up. If you've been hit many times before though and are conditioned to the contact, you'll shrug it off and attack back. Nothing against you, as I really enjoy many of your other posts, but stories like these that would be major news in its day that can't be confirmed always seem a bit suspect to me. You can search Google News back several decades nowadays, and especially if it was years ago when karate was the big fad (much like MMA is today) then you'd almost be guaranteed to be able to find it in the news. Not saying it didn't happen, as it is possible, I just think over the years it might have gotten blow out of proportion.

It's hard to pass judgement on the guy since I don't know more about what happened and when (I can't find it anywhere on the Internet, and something like that would be big news) but if he was forced to retire over the incident chances are it was a bad case of excessive force. As disgusting as rape is and as much as we would like to kin geri their buddies off into the atmosphere, sadly it doesn't warrant jumping to deadly force. Which is what that became, as deadly force also includes serious injury which obviously occured. So if the training you use will most likely get you in a lot of legal trouble, why train it? Not every wise guy mouthing off to you outside of a bar and taking a swing at you needs to be put in the hospital or paralyzed. Until we know more about the situation though, all we can do is "what if" it to death. When did this happen?

Did the officer actually use his karate skills in that incident, or was there something more? I can tell you right now, if it's three suspects against me and there's no backup coming for me, the last thing I'll be doing is to start the incident with bare hands. Did those individuals ever attack the officer, or was there legal problems due to the fact that he did in fact paralyze one of these guys? Also, an untrained blow can kill just as easily as a trained one. You see it occasionally in the news: two drunks decide to trade blows, one gets knocked on his duff and somehow smacks his head on the ground causing his death. Other karate styles who may do full contact kumite also have the idea of ikken hisatsu in their minds. It's not a trait solely for specific traditional karate styles.

There's really no such record for that as most things like that aren't recorded. The only thing you can find in a Google search is in reference to a Martin Nildem who hit at 1940psi but there's no other mention of him anywhere on the Internet. This is mentioned often, but there's no real evidence of it. The human body is surprisingly more resilient than you might imagine. Bare knuckle boxers often scored their KOs via body shots as it's a lot safer to hit someone in the body with a closed fist than it is on the jaw. I do a lot of makiwara training and bagwork and I'd still be hesitant to give someone a knockout blow on the jaw with a fist. And excellent advice btw.

I compete in strength sports (strongman and powerlifting), it's been a while though, just enjoying working out for the sake of it the past year or so. I'm big into home repairs and working on my house, slowly building up my collection of tools and adding improvements to our home. I cook, read, watch true crime TV shows, play video games, and take care of my family otherwise. I have a mild interest in shodo (Japanese calligraphy) right now.

Attacks can and do happen in crowds too, hence why you need to be cognizant of who's in your space. It's in the news all the time.

All I train with are adults, so I've never seen any kind of disciplinary problems.

You can be attacked by anyone. The times when you get hurt are when you don't think the person you're talking to is a threat and then they turn out to be. By assuming the idea of a "common attacker", you're underestimating others who could attack you. For the average guy, this could be women..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFDR6beT-v8 (NSFW, some bad language) ...the elderly.... http://blutube.policeone.com/Clip.aspx?key=976D787ED43696B6 ...or kids. Columbine anyone?

It's not required in my chosen art, but I think anyone who seriously considers themselves studying self defense needs to know how to use them effectively.

I saw the same fight, and honestly throughout most of the fight there was no real clear winner in any round. At most it would have been 3-2 Shogun, but instead they voted 3-2 Machida. There was no real beatdown, there was no one fighter taking more control of the fight than the other in much of it. Neither was dropped, neither was more aggressive. Guess we'll just have to wait for the rematch.

In no particular order: (1) Mas Oyama (2) Morio Higaonna (3) Masahiko Kimura (4) Bas Rutten (5) Jon Bluming (6) Andy Hug (7) Joko Ninomiya ( Hajime Kazumi

In regards to the Koden Kan roundhouse kick.... If anyone has the December 2009 issue of Black Belt, Kenji Yamaki uses this same idea for his mawashi geri and he's made it work often for himself in knockdown fights. The idea behind it is throwing your front, side, and roundhouse kick all from the same high chamber so you can hit all three zones (low, middle, and high) with all three kicks at any time and your opponent will never know what's coming.