Bartrum

Many thanks for your reply DW. One of the reasons I asked about the health quotes from CKD was because I am a former ITF TKD student who has had problems with joints (I can't solely attribute this to TKD as I also played alot of football). Having heard of Kwang Jo Choi's claims of his own problems I was interested to see if CKD was any good. Think I will give it a try and see what its like.

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge of this martial art. I am looking at starting training in this but I have read alot of negative comments on the net. Most of the bad press appears to centre around the polotics rather than the art itself. I wanted to know if anyone had any experience with the training, and whether the claims of the health benefits hold up. I'm particulary interested in whether this art is better for your joints than TKD. Many thanks for any info in advance. Bartrum

Has anyone come across or does anyone have any knowledge of Karate 'Jutsu'? I'm interested to know what the major differences are compared to Karate 'do'. I assume its along the same lines as Judo/Jujutsu, Kendo/Kenjutsu, Aikido/Aiki-Jujutsu and so on but what are the main differeces when it comes to Karate. B

SB, it helps alot, many thanks again. Sound like your style is exactly what I am looking for. I like the sound of Bunkai, it has been added to my list of questions for instructors. On a slightly different topic, has anyone come across or does anyone have any knowledge of Karate 'Jutsu'? I'm interested to know what the major differences are compared to Karate 'do'. I assume its along the same lines as Judo/Jujitsu, Kendo/Kenjitsu, Aikido/Aiki-Jujitsu and so on but what are the main differeces when it comes to Karate. Sorry if this is not the correct place for this post. B

Many thanks Bacon, you've been a great help. I'm glad I found this site now. I have one more question before I start making my way around the different clubs and I'm going to give a bit more background info. I used to study TKD (ITF) and had a great instructor who focused more on the applications than sparring (which I prefer) and I loved going to classes which I did for quite some time. Unfortunatly this instructor had to leave the club and was replaced by an equally good instructor but this one focused more on sparring and I found that my enjoyment in the art took a dip and I evetually left. I am looking into Karate now because I have a minor knee problem which I don't want to put it throught the dynamic kicks of TKD or competiton sparring. This is why I trying to research styles of Karate, I am wanting a style that focuses on Kata and applications more than sparring and not a sport style. So to the question, is there such a style or am I wasting my time. Is it just a case as with my TKD experiance that its not the style but the intructor/club that determines the sylibus. Many thanks again for all the advice

Thanks for the info on Wado, I will check the classes out. I've found a couple of other clubs in my area teaching 2 more styles. The first is Shukokai Shito-ryu and the second is Shotokai. Having tried to do some research on these styles I can see why the best course of action is to just try out a class. The politics of Karate is crazy! If anyone has any info on either of these styles feel free to enlighten me. I'm now thinking that I should just pick the club that I like the best rather than try to choose a style I like.

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. I will be checking them out before I make a decision, I just wanted some 2nd opinions as my Karate knowledge is limited coming from a TKD background. The other club I am looking at is this one... http://www.japanartscentre.co.uk/ I'm not so sure about Wado though. If I was going to go for one of the more traditional styles I think I would prefer study one of the Okinawan styles like Goju or Shito. That said, I don't have the choices available so beggars can't be choosers and as I said before my Karate knowledge is limited so Wado could be perfect for me. Best to go and see for myself. Thanks for the help. Advice is always useful.

First off, as I am new and this is my first post I would like to say hello to everyone. I'm looking to get back into martial arts after a lay off and was wondering if anyone knows anything about this association? http://www.cmaauk.com/ The club I am looking into are affiliated with them so I am just trying to make sure they are a credible organisation and club.. http://bristolmartialartsacademy.com/ Any help or advise will be appreciated, Many thanks in advance B