skullsplitter

You say you are near IN, OH, and KY. Maybe reach out to some of the schools at the link below that are on a circuit in that area. I know none of them do full contact at their tourneys, but some do grappling and light continuous. Someone on that circuit may be able to help or at least point you to someone else. http://pro-amrskc.com/Tournament_Circuit.php

Thanks all for taking the time to read and reply. I'm over it. I think it just hit me hard because of the age difference. She's doing well and due back soon.

Folks, I'm posting this hoping for some advice, insight, sage words of wisdom, etc. Some background info first. At our school we have a mixed teen and adults class. It's been this way for as long as I can remember. So teens and adults will spar each other in classes. We also do not separate males from females for sparring. We do wear headgear and foot/hand gear. And we go pretty hard at each other. Everyone knows this coming in and it's not been an issue to my knowledge. With all that being said, I as a 43 yo old man often times spar against teens. One 14 year old gal in particular likes to spar me since we both push each other very well. I can take her kicks and she can take my hands. At different times we have both left each other hurting, not in a vicious way but from good hard competition. She has actually been in the adult class since she was 12 so sparring adults is common for her. This past week she and I sparred. Everything was going normal. I was holding back some because she had mentioned she wasn't feeling up to par. But on the last point I caught her with a hammer fist to the top of her head. Her knees buckled, I caught her and lowered her to the floor. It ends up that she has a concussion. A week later her doctor still hasn't cleared her to return to physical activity. This has bothered me a great deal to the point of being sick to my stomach. I've apologized so many times to her parents and our instructor. Both tell me that I did nothing wrong and these things can happen. Her parents are not upset with me at all. They know it was not done on purpose. Our instructor was watching the session and didn't think I hit her that hard. Yet all of this just rings hollow to me. Here I am still upset and blaming myself. Have any of you been in a similar situation?

Did you find one?

We don't do the hops. Our instructor learned the kata with the hops when she was young, but changed it when she started teaching. She felt the hops were too feminine. After the last punch at the end we chamber both fists at the waist, step out with a wide double punch, spinning jump with a shuto (like enpi), then step back and shuto.

You have to call or email them. There is a link to the right for 'contact us' or something similar

See the bottom of this link.. http://www.crane-mountain.com/styled-3/index.html

Thanks everyone. As to why I ask this, my son has an interest in learning a little about Korean martial arts. We are in a Shotokan school, but the instructor encourages the school to learn a little about other styles. He's not a high kicker due to a muscular disease thus the need for a low emphasis on kicks. Our instructor knows a few Korean forms, but none that suit him.

Are there any Korean style forms that have less emphasis on kicking (or no kicks at all)?

Thanks ladies and gents. We both made it, though these old legs were definitely wobbly at the end of the test. I'm definitely not done, just this leg of the overall trip. Sperki, thanks for the parenting compliment. I've coached baseball, football, and basketball. I've always tried to instill some sense of humbleness and self awareness in my teams. He definitely picked up on it.

All the old Saturday morning Kung Fu theatre type of movies, Blood Sport, and definitely Mortal Kombat (movie and games). At my son's first tournament years ago I tried to start a kumite chant ala Bloodsport. Sadly no one would join me.

Sorry for the long post…. In a few weeks I test for my Shodan. It’s been a fun and sometimes frustrating 4+ year journey. My only regret is waiting until I was 38 to start the journey. Looking back I can remember the first few months of classes. I was in such bad shape that my instructor would not allow me to work for more than half the class. I struggled with everything from pushups to horse stance drills. Now I’m stronger both mentally and physically, I have more flexibility, and better stamina. I haven’t lost much weight, but that may be genetics and too much beer! Sparring has been my favorite thing to do. I’m one of the older people in the class so I’ve had to go against teens and 20-30 year olds with much more speed, strength, and experience than I have. I’ve taken some hard shots, but have always gotten back up. More times than not I’ve been able to give back those hard shots. I have to do the 5 Heian katas, tekki shodan and nidan, empi, chinte, bassai dai, and seiuchin for my testing. Also, my son tests for his Sandan. Yes, I know there is a lot of angst over kids getting Shodan and beyond. Often times I share that angst. He started in karate 10 years ago not even thinking of belts and that is still not his focus. He is in this to learn all that he can and eventually pass it on. He will be the youngest Sandan that his teacher has awarded at 14. We currently only have 2 active members at this rank or higher in our school. He will be number 3. We don’t do a jr blackbelt. He gets the rank, but still can’t teach on his own or do some things an adult would do. To put this in perspective, my son was born with a mild muscle disease that really impacts his flexibility and strength. He has worked his butt off to get to where he is. He is a very self-aware young man too. He asked to put off his Nidan testing because he wanted to be sharper (request granted). He asked to put off his Sandan testing too (request denied), because there is an adult student who he feels should get the rank before him. Due to work and life she has not been able to attend and test regularly though. I am proud to see the man he is growing into and martial arts is a big factor in that growth. He has to do sochin, nijushiho, jitte, kanku sho, and a fifth of the sensei’s choosing. If we both pass, I get the privilege of graduating with my son. I can’t think of a better way to end the Shodan journey.

Ours does not do much in the way of advertising at all. Prices are given out over the phone or by stopping in.

I've tried and failed to get my wife to take classes. Since both sons and I are enrolled she can enroll for free, but even that won't get her to try it. Our school has started a women's self defense class that she is taking so I'm hoping she will transition from that to the karate classes.

My son will be in the 12-13 taller NASKA division as long as his mom let's him. He took a really bad shot at Battle of Atlanta with mom watching. She's not wanting him to fight at nationals now, but he's still game. He took a big kick to the chin and was on the floor for longer than I liked. He did finally get up and finished the match. He actually came after the game the rest of the time and got a few points in, but he was overmatched. The other kid ended up on stage for jr grands so he was no slouch. After the match my son told me he wasn't sure where he was or what he was doing when he was on the ground. Anyway, for what he lacks in speed he makes up for it with heart. AKA last year had about 12 in each taller and shorter NASKA divisions. I though the talent was better at BOA though. Wish they'd split by weight and not height though. Seems odd. Hopefully a young lady from our school goes this year. She hasn't done any of the nationals yet due to other sports, but she will make an impact if she goes. She's 14 and an absolute beast in the ring. I'm 42 and she's put me down more than once.

What is his division for AKA Grands?

We loved London. The people there were so friendly and interested in why we were visiting. I did find it interesting that often times we'd say we were there for a karate tournament and we'd get puzzled looks. If we then elaborated that kickboxing was also part of the tournament people seemed to connect better with that term. We definitely want to go back when we don't have to worry about getting kids rested and to and from the tournament site. 2015 is in Albir, Spain, a little north of Alicante. 2016 it comes back to the USA. 2017 is rumored for Ireland.

We have seen plenty of normal team sparring, but this one tournament was the only one we did that had the tag team format.

who else went? all I heard was Sergio, k-swift and aaron. Abia Williams and AJ Jenkins rounded out the mens team. The US had some ladies doing full contact and coninuous, but I did not get their names.

We spent last week in London as my son competed in the WKU Worlds. Sorry to say that he did not medal, but came close a few times. I honestly expected him to be crushed after eliminations, but he was on the mats after each days events watching video, working on what he can do better, and working on some of what he saw others doing, already with an eye on next year. As a parent and spectator, this was a huge change from what we are used to in NASKA and regional events here in the US. Judges professionally dressed. Coaches had to be in team uniform. Parents not allowed on the floor. 5 judges around the ring for forms vs 3 judges all sitting together. Less emphasis on screaming and facial expressions for forms. And the fighting was so intense. Every age group was going at it so hard. No games of tag here. Bloody noses, black eyes, broken jaws, and so on. Plus the camaraderie of the competitors each day was great to see. It was a great experience all around!

I think the scolding was out of line. If she had a problem then she should have addressed it with an instructor. I'm a 42 year old male in a teen/adult class. We spar hard at our school. Yes, we are padded, but we go nearly all out. That being said, our instructors are careful not to match up the 55 year old woman who is there for exercise and the 14 year old killer. I tend to get the younger people because the instructors know I can take a hit and don't really care how hard you come at me. It really comes down to communication and awareness in my opinion.

Thanks for all of the tips! Training is going well, multiple hours a day.

My son was born with a very mild case of cerebral palsy. His doctors and therapists wanted him to stay busy and stretched. My aunt and cousin suggested we try karate (Shotokan) at the school they were at. 9 years later he's still fighting the tight hamstrings and heel cords, but he's still going strong with his ma with no end in sight.

My son tried out for and made the WKU USA national team. He'll be competing in London, England this summer at the WKU World Championships. This is first time competing outside of the county. Do any of you have any tips to offer?

We discuss this often at our school. Our instructor thinks there are too many sanctioning bodies for this to happen. There's WAKO, WKF, WKU, IKO, JKA, ITKF, NASKA, NBL, etc, etc, etc. So many rule and ideology differences between them. I'd like to see it though. Perhaps a super traditional division and a creative division to make the majority happy. For fighting have a knockdown division and an open (all styles) point sparring division. It could work.