brickshooter

Osoto Gari Seoi Nage (in case I'm surprised from behind) Ashi Waza (I like to apply this one after kneeing my attacker in the groin... whether hit or miss)

Hein Shodan Hein Nidan Sochin

You guys sound like the OP is going to become Arnold Schwarzenegger overnight by lifting weights. He won't. Weight training isn't an overnight result. And because of his (likely) smaller frame, he'll never bulk up due to genetics. And if he wants to actually bulk up assuming good genetics, it's take years of dedicated training. Abeit I don't know the OP's height. IMO, a majority of males at 18 years old doing contact sports should be 135lbs and above, with most of their muscle in their legs, back and shoulders; and body fat under 15%. Yeah I know... what about athletes in the "lightweight divisions?" It's called "cutting weight." Your typical 115 lbs wrestler's real world walking around weight is roughly 130lbs. They cut weight for their weigh-ins. For example, GSP's fight weight is 170lbs. His real daily life weight is 200lbs.

For this price, I expect my instructor to act as my personal body guard, accompanying me where ever I go.

You're underweight. Solution: Lift weights.

You guys are both wrong. At impact, there is no difference between the horitzontal or vertical first. They're ALL vertical.

It's funny that the two guys are always given each a sparkling brand new gi. Unwashed, they're always a full size to big and makes them look like little kids.

IMHO, everyone does semi contact for daily training. Including professional boxers. Including professional MMA fighters. Including illegal bare knuckle fighters. It is what it is.

Yes. Pretend you know nothing when you start Shotokan. I recalled Bruce Lee explaining why his punches were superior to Karate punches. He sounded like he knew what he was doing. And I was completely agreeing with him. Until he demonstrated several Karate punches. He punched like an Karate practicioner after 3-6 months of training. All arms. His gifted athleticism was impressive and covered up his poor technique to the untrained eye. To be frank, his Karate punches sucked. Anyways, the point is that one has to become a novice to learn. Glad that you volunteered to wear a white belt and started from the beginning.

IMO, there's no real difference between a vertical fist or horizontal fist in any straight punching because your arm is only roughly 80% extended when you make contact with a target. And when arms are 80% extended, they're more or less vertical. Criticisms of horizontal fists fail to appreciate that contact is not done with the arms 100% extended since that would be "touching" and generally reserved for tournament sparing. Hooks are better with a vertical to protect the later two knuckles. However, I think the Kyokushin school teaches the safest hooks with an "inverted" vertical fist.

But all styles don't use kata as a training tool. Lacking kata isn't going to cause an inefficiency in learning. Could you give me an example?

Personally, Kata is the only place where I get both striking, locks & throws integrated into one system where they compliment each other. It's where one uses strikes to wear an opponent down before tossing him, and where one uses the toss to shock him into lowering his guard for a finishing blow. Kata has allowed me to understand the dynamics from the beginning of a confrontation all the way to the end when I'm supposed to be standing over my attacker and finishing him off. For the first 15 years or so of Karate, I avoided Kata training like a root canal. And looking back, Karate was simply a system of punches, kicks and sweeps. Nothing more. With Kata training, it's actually a lot more. Interesting enough when I started Judo, I saw the same thing. Prior to actually getting into Kata work, Judo was just a system of throws and submissions. Judo Katas showed me the use of strikes to assist throwing and submissions or vice-versa, to finish with a strike. I think that if you take Kata out of a martial art, you end up learning only what your instructor promotes and know. If you learn Kata, a reasonably intelligent person can actually learn more than what the instructor is willing or able to teach.

Try bicycle inner tube training. https://www.thejks.com/Docs/Articles/Tube%20Training.doc

I'm unsure why people are so against Kata training and treat it as though one must surrender "modern" training to do Kata training. Personally, I do Kata, Kihon, Kumite. And in between that, I also use the heavy bags, hitting mitts & bicycle tube. Outside of that, I also weight lift and run. I don't do it all on the same day of course. But I like having a lot of variety because variety is the spice to life.

IMO, here lies the greatest benefit of Kata. To strive to achieve artistic perfection, one has to repeat that pesky Kata thousands of times. Resulting in repeating techniques tens of thousands of times.

I think that one can learn 80% of Karate. And it would probably take longer to learn Karate without Kata.

Using an elbow to break uke's balance before a throw is interesting isn't it? It's so tempting that I suspect that Judo referees are instructed to look for the infraction during competition.

I try to use more forearm than actual elbow when doing an elbow strike. I've actually knocked out my randori partner once in a judo session by accident. On the other hand, I've also been able to give my self a black eye when I accidentally punched myself in the face while executing an upward elbow strike. (Don't snicker, you've all done it before). Not particularly proud of either circumstances.

You need to: (1) stretch your hips and lower back out as well as your legs. Splits are nice. But there is alot of hip muscles involved in actual kicking. You can stretch these hip muscles out practing the stances. Do it slow. And do it a little lower than normal. (2) take it easy. You have had only 10 lessons.

I was under the impression that once upon a time, there was only one kata with hundreds of movements. Then someone came along and broke them apart for easier learning.

IMO, leg strenght is key for karate. Quads, Hammies, calves, frontal calves, feet, ankle, groin, outer hips. They probably matter more for Karate than upper body. It seems like those are the most injured muscle groups for karate practicioners.

Center of our matted work out area is a 2x2m square. We've worked in that area with the rest of the class gathered around to keep everyone in and used a very wide range of techniques. We've sparred with a spare belt strapping you to each other at about arm's length. You really have to keep pressure on and work on that sensitivity or it's just rock'm sock'm robots. That's really good. Of course, I'd cheat and use the belt to my advantage.

What I'd like to see that I can't find in any dojo is kumite starting and staying in a 3 foot area at roughly 25% contact. And it should allow non strikes such as arm locks and throws. But it needs to be done under close scrutiny with immediate feedback from instructors who has a better view of what is going on. Instuctors should be instructing, not participants.

Apprantly, most Karate schools agree with you. So in addition to the front kick, they teach one to do a side kick the same way you just did. By mimicking a front kick, but pivoting on the ball of the foot and delivering a side kick at the last second.

When kicking with your left leg, you are pivoting on your right ball of your foot. That's why you're rotating your right foot. Under Shotokan/Shito/Itosu standards, you're supposed to be pushing off of your supporting leg, particularly the heel (not ball). So plant the right supporting heel. Then push off of it when you're kicking with the other leg. That should straighten the right foot out. And if it dosen't, don't worry. It doesn't really matter. What matters is that you're pushing off of the heel in order to maximize moving your weight into the kick. Hazard's foot is facing outward because he's old. And the hips aren't as flexible as they used to be. (Thank goodness, this forum is anonymous).