Kuma

For lead leg kicks, practice going back into neko ashi dachi then kicking with the lead leg. Get this down and you can then incorporate it into kumite drills and eventually sparring. I'm a big fan of lead leg round kicks, my personal favorite being to the inner thigh of an orthodox fighter as it's an excellent "jabbing" technique to keep them on their toes and difficult to block. Good for chudan and jodan too though, as it's unexpected.

Good training today, though for morning workouts I do tend to have less endurance than evening ones. Hot one today too, which might have contributed. Lots of floor exercises, then worked on Pinan Sono Yon for a while as well as the first "Kumite Kata" which is as such: **From yoi dachi, turn to left into left side kumite stance **Simultaneous shin and forearm block with lead side **Left straight, then step through with a right straight so now you're southpaw **Left mawashi geri **Right spinning back kick **Left knee **Right knee **Turn 180 degrees back into left side kumite stance **Repeat same exercises, except now turn only 90 degrees **Lead side kick, then step through with right roundhouse kick to southpaw **Left spinning back kick **Right knee **Left knee **Turn 180 degrees into left side kumite stance **Repeat same initial exercises, but now on second knee you're going to turn to the left and execute a throw on your opponent **Left backfist to opponent on ground, right gyaku tsuki to opponent while on ground, then finish him off with a stomp.

Monday was a good day, got some training in despite court and overtime. Got home from work and after a quick warm up and some joint rotations I busted out the tire and the sledgehammer. Beat the tire with overhead and side chopping strikes, switching sides, for about 5-6 minutes straight. Did some body conditioning with the Iron Hammer, knuckle pushups on a pair of bricks, and neck isometrics. Today I passed on morning training, by the time I got home from work I was absolutely beat and had a pounding headache. Slept for about 10 hours straight and feel better now, though I decided to take it easy today since there's morning training tomorrow.

Keep in mind though, the makiwara is first and foremost a tool for learning how to focus your punch and for impact training. The secondary effect is the knuckle conditioning. I still stick by my old Goju Ryu sensei when I say 3 days of conditioning a week with a day in between each is more than enough. Any more than that you'll just be prolonging the process as you won't be fully healed and will be more susceptible to injury. You also want to start at about 50% and progress from there. Try doing your knuckle pushups 3x a week, but since your main focus is conditioning, do them out on your sidewalk and really focus on the first two knuckles. Make sure to leave at least one day in between.

I do a variety of things. Right now since I can maybe attend class 1-2 times a week, I have 4 individual training sessions per week in kihon. On days I attend class I won't do those kihon sessions for those days. My current approach is similar to a class structure of sorts. I mokuso then warm up a bit, then go into stationary kihon. One day I'll do blocks and strikes, the next blocks and kicks, so both will be done twice a week. I then do some floorwork, mostly basic stuff but just to focus on the stepping and striking. I then do some kata, some accessory exercises for techniques that I want to focus on or feel are lacking, then stretch. Pretty basic stuff but effective.

Training as an individual those are really the best way to go. The makiwara is great too but I don't recommend that unless you've had some serious instruction in it for a while.

Sanchin kata really showed me the value of moving from your center.

Been a while, my apologies. Trained at two classes this week. A good mix of kihon and kumite combinations then we finished off with kata and ippon kumite (both traditional and self-defense related). It's weird to see myself as one of the senior students now and leading others in drills as my sempai walk around and correct me and the other kohai. Some of the more fun SD combinations include (all from chudan punch): **Reverse down block which you then slide in and get armlock, break opponent down, then shuto sakotsu uchi to the back of the neck. **Chudan shuto uke which you then hook and drag them to you slightly, which then goes to a toho strike to the throat, grab, and gyaku tsuki to behind ear. **Jodan koken uke to gedan shuto uchi (same arm) then step in with an empi to the chin.

I could be considered one of those fellows I suppose, since aside from Kyokushin I'm also an amateur strongman competitor. I can see we're not going to change each other's minds, but I tend to go with the philosophy of Sosai Oyama and feel that training with weights is a necessary part of being a karateka.

Actually, it's most men that lift recreationally that think just upper body. I see it often: the fairly muscular upper body combined with a pair of chicken legs. Not good for much of anything. However, once you get into the realm of serious strength training for sports, you will see how it is nothing but beneficial. For anyone who doubts how weight training can improve your flexibility, balance, and overall body strength, I always tell them to try out an overhead squat.

Off day today essentially.

Mas Oyama was around 175cm and 84kg (5'8" and 185 pounds), which made him a fairly stocky guy. Add to the fact that was his prime and as he got older he invariably added more weight and he was probably over 90kg most of his life. In his bio, Bruce Lee was about 172cm and 58kg when he died (5'7 1/2" and 128 pounds). Oyama was definitely much larger, especially when you see him in the old photos fighting boxers and wrestlers in America and seeing how in some cases Oyama is actually bigger than them. These two prove, though, that there is no "ideal" for martial arts. Tall or short, small or large, anyone can become good at it. That is why MA training is so valuable for everyone.

07-29-09 another busy day, slacking a bit too much. Did my "PT Pyramid" (1 pullup-2 pushups-3 situps, then do 2-4-6, then do 3-6-9, etc.) from 1-5 and did a couple kata, mostly Sanchin and Tensho.

I feel the main reason why you don't usually see other kicks aside from push kicks and roundhouse kicks is due to the training MMA fighters typically focus on. Most of them tend to go with the "Muay Thai and BJJ cocktail". However, it's interesting to note that virtually all of the greats have had training far and beyond this, and I feel it's because of the fact that they're not solely restricted by the usual cocktail is how they gain victory more often than not. You do occasionally see other kicks though, which is a refreshing trend that I've been enjoying.

Figured I might as well kick off my own training since I'm the one asking for a separate forum for it This will also help keep me honest because I've been slacking on keeping track of what I've been up to and though painful to admit it will show me that I need to quit slacking despite working so much. 07-27-09 I had court in the morning so I missed most of what I wanted to do that day. I managed to fit in a quick 20-minute yoga workout but that was about it. 07-28-09 was better. I put in a good kihon workout for about an hour (where I discovered for some reason my dog absolutely hates kake geri as it wasn't until I started practicing those that he began to bark his head off) and then hit up the gym for a good upper body workout that lasted about 60 min total. Incline Bench: 75x3, 95x3, 115x3, 135x3/3/3/3/3. Dumbbell Bench: 40s x5, 50s x5, 60s x5, 70s x5. One-Arm Dumbbell Row: 40s x5, 50s x5, 60s x5/5/5. One-Arm Kettlebell Swings: 4 sets of 8 reps with the 20kg. Stone Lifting: Played with my river rock for a bit. Not sure of the actual weight of it but I'd place it between 170-200 pounds. BW: 197 pounds. Did some stretching afterwards.

That was a really rapid--and a really body-twisting--hip movement from about 2:45 to 3:03. His firing off the snapping shot and snapping his body/hips back with the recoiling punch is unreal. Shinzato Sensei is absolutely amazing. He's the one who gave my sensei Yuki his sandan in Shorin Ryu and to whom Yuki credits a lot of his power. I hope I can even do half of what Shinzato Sensei does with his koshi someday.

I think the main difference between the two is how you utilize your koshi, or hip action. By turning with the strike you are doing more of a follow through kind of strike, even though the general rule of thumb is to snap the fist back to your regular fighting position right after impact. However, you can do a counter rotation of the hips which naturally adds more "snap" to what you're doing. You turn normally with the strike, but in the last instance before striking you turn the hips AWAY from where you're striking at, creating a more whip-like motion. For a more visual idea, compare the two different Naihanchi kata. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3Y_Lpf985c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DEVYxsihlE

After reading over the Training Log thread, I think it would be a good idea if there was a subforum where forum members could post their journals. I think this would be a beneficial thing for everyone, especially those posting the journal. I know I would slack less if everyone else knew I was slacking.

I just want to say this for now...IMHO, the 'punch', no matter which one it is, must be done correctly first! For the punch to be correct, imho, the SNAP must be solid, no snap, then it's a push! Therefore, to not recoil is to not snap is to not punch! The physics favoring the recoil punch isn't so surprising to me. My questions are these...did the subject do the punch correctly? Did the person using physics understand what's all involved in a 'martial arts' punch? What was the level of experience/knowledge of the one who is punching? I'm just asking some questions....nothing else...just questions! I think it's more like comparing say the type of strike of a seiken (follow through) compared to a strike like a uraken (a more recoil type strike) if that helps.

joesteph, you will not regret it. During my yearlong deployment to Iraq that was an invaluable text that I really think helped me take my martial arts training to the next level. I read it so many times I need to order a new copy.

My friend and sensei Yuki calls these two the "Goju" punch and the "Shorin-Ryu" punch, funnily enough. Back when he was with us before he left, his best compliment to me was that I had a good Goju punch because, like many guys, I like to plow through my opponent with my punch like it's a cannonball. However, his punches were snappy and hit like a sledgehammer for a guy who only weighed 75kg compared to some of us who was training with him (he would stagger one of our guys with a single blow against a pad, and this guy was over 120kg!) Both are great choices I think, and it depends on what you're better at. Another school of thought on this is Philip Starr in his fantastic book "Martial Mechanics." Without stealing too much of his thunder, he prefers follow through against the more immobile targets (i.e. the body and the legs) and recoil strikes against the more mobile body parts (i.e. the head and the arms). I'm actually experimenting with this current school of thought right now, and it seems to make a lot of sense.

I agree with this as I got a few lumps for not doing this. I was cross-training with a few Shotokan guys and we were doing sanbon kumite and ippon kumite (three step and one step sparring, for those who prefer English terms). For chudan uchi uke I noticed I kept getting hit in the solar plexus area as when I went to the preparatory position my arm positioning was too high. The elbow of my blocking arm was more up near my sternum so by the time the block got there against a fast attack I was already hit. Once I lowered it some, now the elbow of the blocking arm during the preparatory phase is protecting my solar plexus. Now, if the strike hits it's my elbow against his fist, which can sting a bit, and my "block" is now a follow up forearm strike to his wrist or elbow. I think sanbon kumite and ippon kumite are great tools for learning how to use your blocks, and greatly underestimated tools at that.

Sounds funny to say, but I remember watching a Cops episode a long time ago where some jerkoff tried robbing a man who was a TKD practitioner. The TKD guy actually kicked the guy in the head and knocked him out cold, then for good measure gave him a couple kicks when he was on the ground. The TKD guy actually thought he had killed him for a minute there.

Sure, but if I take a poorly conditioned couch potato with a year of training in proper form and structure, and throw them in the ring with an athlete with excellent cardio who runs 5 miles every day, the couch potato will slam the athlete into the ground on SHEER ENDURANCE ALONE. The athlete will gas out and be exhausted and the couch potato will still have endurance to spare. Not quite sure where you mean to go with this, but if that athlete has comparable experience then my money goes on the athlete.

http://www.olemiss.edu/orgs/karate/sanchin.html This is a good link that you might find interesting. It's Sanchin kata from a Western medical point of view. They checked the blood pressure and pulse of each participant during Sanchin kata and then during three sets of squats with 70% their bodyweight for 12-15 reps. There was no difference and they discovered it's just like any other strenuous exercise, not really any more dangerous than anything else you could do.