Sokusen

God help you is your trying to stop that guy with an inside crescent kick!

There really is no telling when the bruises stop. It all depends on how much you condition, how much contact there is in your training and how your body reacts to it all. One big word of caution is don't try to play catch up with advanced belts when it comes to conditioning. All you’re going to do is hurt yourself. Slow and steady eventually the bruising will diminish. Though to be honest the bruising never really goes away. It all depends how hard you hit each other. I'll do conditioning with some students they bruise I don't. Though on the other hand I was holding a pad on my upper outside thigh for someone to practice leg kicks and the next day I had a bruise the size of a desert plate on my inner thigh.

Several posters have mentioned needing room to do there kata at home. I say leave that for the dojo. When at home try doing your kata in a neutral stance without moving your legs, i.e. no stepping no turning only arm movements and kicks. You will find very quickly how poorly you know your kata! It is amazing how we rely on certain movements to remind us what comes next in the kata.

If it were easy to tell the difference between a good school and a bad school then there weren't be so many bad schools out there making money. Your going to have to vist schools and watch classes even participate in some beofe determining what is right for you. Some things to look for are what do the schools focus on? Is it mostly kata with little application? Are the applications realistic or mainly for show? Do the students know what they are learning or is a common answer to "why are you doing it that way" is "because the teacher told me to". I enjoy the classical styles of karate for me they seem to have more lonjevity in them. Though even a classical style can be hard on the body if you choose. There are areas of karate that have to do with conditoning the parts of the body for striking or being struck. Though depending on the school you should have the choice whether or not you want to focus on that. But if its soley self defense your looking for look into Krav Maga. Krav is a style that focuses almost soley on real world application

It's not the style that matters but the school, or teacher. I study an Okinawan style of karate so I am biased for that style. But I would be very disingenuous to say only study karate, especially if the karate schools around you suck. When it comes to MMA and other styles like kyokushin they are just as effective as any other martial art but they are hard on the body. This is mainly because it's meant for full contact competition. But if competition is not what your interested then I wouldn’t recommend it as a long term art to study. I don't believe they are anymore street effective then any other martial art. Study something you’re going to enjoy and that you can do for the rest of your life. Of course this just one mans opinion.

Hi Godzilla-san Finally another Uechi ryu practitioner! I also study in MA, if you don't mind me asking where do you study? My suggestion would be keep an open mind in your training. There is a saying in Uechi that you'll hear a lot and that is "All is in Sanchin". Well I would say everything maybe in Sanchin but Sanchin isn't everything.

I think people are missing the most obvious answer, and that is you will never know until it happens. There are so many variables when it come to self defence that it's impossible to give you the answer your looking for. For example you could be in a bar when an altercation happens and be able to defend yourself perfectly fine. Or one day you could be walking down the street when someone puches you in the back of the head and you wake up in the hospital not knowing what happened. Enjoy your training pepare yourself as best you can and pray the day never comes where you have to defend yourself.

I agree, I'm not a big fan of the term "beginner" for someone who has been studying for years. Though I like the mind set of always learning. I consider myself as "always the student". Even when I am asked to teach I am always learning, therefore I'm not the teacher I'm the senior student.

I don't think I ever really considered MMA as an explanation of a set of rules, but more of a description of a type of fighter. When the UFC first began the basic rules are the same as today, though there are a few major differences today. The fighters in the beginning never called them selves a Mixed Martial Artists, because they weren't. Now after finding out what works in the octagon fighters started mixing in other styles to there repitoir to give them the best chane to win. Today you have a style of fighting that is fairly well defined not just in the techniques used but in the training methods as well. Whats funny is that most martial arts were once a "mixed" martial art but then became defined over the years as a particular style. The ironic thing is the longer MMA is around the less it's going to be a mixed martial art but more of a particular style.

What I think is interesting is that we may actually be seeing the birth and evolution of an American (western) Martial art known as MMA. 99% of the fighters in the UFC all label themselves as an MMA fighter. They are all training in approximately the same way, and they are all learning approximately the same techniques, and this is because of the rule base that the UFC has stated. Because of this you now have a "style" called MMA. I predict years from now you will have schools all over the world teaching American MMA. Some may give it a new name so that they can teach their own brand, much like goju, kyoshukin, shotokan, uechi or shohei ryu. You'll have schools that water it down so that they can attract the soccer moms, and after school programs. Then you'll have the schools that are more hard core "because that’s how they use to teach it in the old days!" You'll have political issues on who invented it as well as stories of the masters like Randy Couture who fought until he was 80 and defeated competitors who were as old as his grand children. What we are seeing today isn't much different then what went on in China when Kung fu experts would have public displays of there skills. Teachers would fight, they would learn from each other, adopted what worked and create "new" styles. Then you have foreigners coming to China learning the styles, adopting what works, bringing it back to their country and creating a new martial art. That is MMA, right now. This would actually make for an interesting paper.

My school doesn’t require breaking we just do it for fun. In fact we just had a break night the other day where the students got to choose what break they wanted to do and then after we went someplace for food and refreshments. It was a lot of fun. During the class my teacher explained what he felt breaking was about. He mentioned how it is a way to show power, speed, and accuracy but then he mentioned something else which I thought was very interesting. He said sometimes you see people during a breaking demonstration pacing up and down before the break, screaming, huffing and puffing trying to psych themselves up, then running up to the break and then do what ever they were going to do. Not quite. Breaking is a drill to work on going from 0 to 100 then back to 0. You bow in, very composed, measure off your break, then explode on what ever you are breaking, collect your composure and bow out. This is something that can actually translate into self defense. Walking down the street not expecting anything and then all of sudden having to defend your self, going from 0 to 100mph and then back to 0 again. You are not going to be given the luxury of psyching yourself up before having to defend yourself. You have to be able to explode on your target and keep your composure for what ever else may come at you. I thought that was a very interesting explanation.

With what? Fashion advice? How to change your oil in your car? The meaning of life? Probably need to be a little more specific. By the way Welcome!

My wife tells my son not to use the word idiot or stupid. She says no one is and idiot. I happen to disagree. I believe if you do something that you know is wrong then you’re an idiot. The reason I called this man an idiot is not because he has a different point of view, but because he knows better. The man did not defend himself he attacked someone and that’s the problem. I am all for criminals getting there just deserts, and maybe this thief deserved what he got. But part of being a martial artist is having self discipline and self awareness and he showed neither.

This guy is an idiot and if he is lucky he will only have scars to show his friends and not a criminal record. The DA could easily charge this guy with assult and battery. The victem was never in danger until he chased after the theif. So it's his word against the theifs and he is admitting chasing the man down and beating him sensless. Like I said idiot.

First off congratulations! Second, how many time have we read on the net that breaking is pointless, it has nothing to do with fighting, boards don't hit back blah, blah, blah. What you said in the above quato is exactly why people do it, because we think we can't.

I was a competitive swimmer from 3rd grade through college and let me tell you swimming absolutely works your abs, if you do it right. Like with any exercise technique is everything. To work your core muscles you have to force your body position to be on top of the water. If you let your legs drag and your butt sink then you won't be engaging your abs and you will be powering your way through the water; which is a great way to tire yourself out real fast and not get the work out your looking for. Supplement your lap swimming with some kick sets with a kick board and focus on keeping your butt at the surface of the water, which will work your abs, plenty. Throw some sprints in to get your heart rate up and you'll be good for the day.

It also depends on what you consider grappling to be. If you mean grappling to the extent of jujitsu then no that would be jujitsu and a whole other art that takes a lifetime to master. But there are plenty of karate styles that are open handed styles that emphasize grabbing and controlling the opponent. This type of grappling then opens the doors for take downs and locks.

I really don't think it has anything to do with the style. I have been studying Uechi ryu for a fair number of years and I have seen really good Uechi ryu dojos and really bad Uechi dojos. It is true there are only 8 kata and technically 5 of them are really just a mish mash of the original three. So you could call the style a very narrow view of fighting but a very deep one. But that necessarily shouldn't translate into this style produces better fighters then that style. That is solely based on what the teacher is teaching and the talent of the students.

Like I said before I love Uechi ryu, though I am biased since that’s what I study. I am not sure what you expect to get from a forum, the only way to find out what you like is to visit a dojo. But if you’re looking for background info on the fighting philosophies to help narrow down what dojos to visit, then I can give you my take on Uechi but don’t take my word for it do some research. Uechi ryu was brought from China to Okinawa by Kanbun Uechi. He learned three kata and eventually 5 other kata were added through the years as bridging kata for a total of only 8 kata in the system. The system favors open handed techniques, bushiken, shoken, shuto, nukitie, including a lot of grabbing to control your opponent. There are benefits and disadvantages to open handed techniques, one benefit a smaller person can focus a lot of power into a very concentrated area, think of a knife instead of a hammer both hurt one has more penetration. The down side if you don’t take the time to condition the hands then the technique becomes pointless. Kicks traditionally are waste high focusing on knees, groin and the femoral artery. The traditional striking surface in Uechi ryu is not the ball of the foot but rater the big toe, again for more penetration. It is a circular blocking system so by adding in the grab we are so fond of it lends it’s self for takedowns. It’s not a fancy art if you look at one of the katas on youtube I would be surprised if at any point you said to your self “what would the application of that move be?” It’s pretty much bash him in the face with an elbow kick him in the groin and shove your fingers in his eyes, not necessarily in that order. I hope this helps, and remember this is my take on the style based on the dojos I have worked out in. Do your research and visit dojos.

I love Uechi-ryu for it's mix of no nonsense fighting and traditional Okinawan philisophy. But if your looking for street survival you might want to look into Krav Maga.

Miyagi Rules of Karate: Rule Number One: "Karate for defense only." Rule Number Two: "First learn Rule Number One." I love these rules! That being said just because Karate is for defense only dosen't mean you have to wait for someone to try and hit you. Somebody being threating and invading my personal space will easily be considered an aggresor and initiate the correct response to defend myself. Cable Dog, don't take things so literaly no matter what form of Karate you study you will always have to make it work for you.

Totally agree

I don’t think that’s necessarily a fair statement. I don't have to hit a person in the throat with a shoken (single knuckle punch) to know it's going to be effective. Same goes for several strikes that are illegal in the UFC. That being said I do agree the argument that "my techniques are to dangerous for the UFC" is a bogus argument. I believe the reason traditional karate has not had a strong showing in the UFC is simply most traditional Karate students don't train for the UFC. Just like any sport at a high level of competition you need to train for it. Those who train for competition do well; those who don't train don't do well. I feel confident that if things went down I would be able to defend my self, which is one of the reasons why I study Karate. I also feel confident that if I stepped into the ring with some one like Chuck Liddell he would kick my butt. You obviously have never been kicked by a properly formed sokusen!

I was out for about 4 years after I blew my knee out and had a kid. I call it the perfect storm, injury + family = no time for anything. But I decided to get back into it and it was the best thing I could have done. You will be amazed at how fast it all comes back to you.

It dosen't matter what we think. If your learning then he's good if your not then he sucks. Don't look for approval on a Karate forum. Do some research about the school don't take his word for how good he is.