Wastelander

Harkon72, I would say that it isn't just harsh--it's rather short-sighted. If you truly believe that, then you are going to miss out on a vast wealth of knowledge. Following that line of thinking, one must believe that Freddie Roach should have retired the moment he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, because he couldn't properly demonstrate because of the shaking. Cus D'amato never should have trained Mike Tyson, because he was out of shape and old. Chibana Chosin should have given up his rank and stopped teaching when he was diagnosed with cancer that caused him immense pain and sapped his strength. Besides, you may someday be the elderly, injured, out-of-shape one with lots of knowledge and experience, but without the body to demonstrate it. How would it make you feel to have all your years of dedication considered irrelevant by people you are teaching? Do you really think you wouldn't be able to help them improve, just because you can't physically do everything, anymore? There are a good number of teachers who have taught students that went on to greatness, even though the teachers, themselves, were unable to do so.

Oh, for sure! They're a very tough bunch, and they incorporate face punches and grappling in their sparring, too, unlike some Kyokushin dojo. Thankfully, I've never felt like I've been in over my head when sparring with Kyokushin people--except in the fitness department! They can go forever!

Not much that I didn't already know about from having researched and cross-trained with Kyokushin people, before. What I forgot about was the pace of kumite. In our dojo, kumite tends to be done at a more measured pace, and there aren't as many techniques thrown per round. It's been a while since I've sparred with Kyokushin people, so I forgot about how many techniques they throw in such a short amount of time . It was good fun, though!

I think you would be best served by visiting all three schools, talking to the instructors, and watching classes. That will help you make your decision much more than our advice! There are good schools and bad schools for all three arts you list. We won't really be able to tell you if the ones you're looking at are good or bad. I will say that JKD is probably going to cover more material than the other two, so it has that going for it.

I don't understand what you mean by 'power' and 'technique' in this post. Isn't technique about using your body to it's maximum potential to generate power(and move with speed, and keep your guard up and all the other things you want to do in a fight)? If keeping the heel down makes your punches weaker, wouldn't it then simply be bad technique to keep the heel down? How would practicing bad technique allow you to focus on technique? It's not "bad" technique. It's "different" technique. Although I know some people who would disagree, power is not the only marker of an effective technique. I have found that punching from the heel tends to develop short power more than punching from the ball of the foot, so it works very well at close range. In addition, you are more at risk for tripping or being taken down at close range, and having your feet planted solidly on the ground helps you maintain your balance better than lifting your heels of the ground.

Collaborative!

Last week, I had to travel to the Bay Area of California for work. While I was there, I met up with someone that some people here may remember--Evergrey! Her Kyokushin dojo is in Concord, CA, so she picked me up last Tuesday and Wednesday to train with them! http://s23.postimg.org/ns71avu4b/Wah_Dojo_Group.jpg It was a good workout, good training, and good fun with good people! I've been having trouble with motion sickness and fatigue for about a year, and it's really affected my fitness level, but Sensei Wah was kind enough to keep things at a pace I could keep up with. I also got to spar with five of their black belts, including Sensei Wah (who is a Godan, and the chief instructor), which was a great chance to exchange techniques between Kyokushin and Shorin-Ryu .

Typically--not always, but typically--the issue you describe can be resolved by shortening your stance. You only have so much leg to drive your hip with, and if your stance is too long for your legs, you won't have any leg left to drive with. Of course, it is possible that you really do have restricted hip mobility, and my suggestion won't help. I would still give it a try, though. I will point out that you definitely do limit the amount your hips can move when you keep the heel planted. You'll never be able to move them as much with your heel planted as you can with your heel up. Sometimes that's good, and sometimes it's bad.

Welcome to the forum, and welcome back to karate! I believe Shorei Goju is an off-shoot of Robert Trias' karate, and I used to practice Shuri-Ryu, so we have a bit of a connection, there! I'm glad you and your son are enjoying classes. Keep it up!

Since I actively trained and competed in judo for 4 years, and have incorporated it into my karate ever since, I'm pretty comfortable dealing with grapplers. Yes, there are certainly better grapplers out there, but I feel I can handle myself in a self defense situation. My advice would be to become as comfortable as you can in all ranges. Wildbourgman's comments about tuidi are certainly true, but I also highly recommend that you get some training in a grappling art. There is really no true "anti-grappling" method except for learning how to grapple.

The general idea, as I was taught, is that pivoting and driving off the back heel moves all of your weight in the direction of your strike, while pivoting on the ball of the foot moves some of your weight away from your strike. Now, if you stand still and pivot on your heels, and then the balls of your feet, you can tell that this statement is technically true. When you push off your back foot, as you would when punching, it is a different matter, entirely! Both techniques move your weight into your strike--one just moves you farther. The way I see it, the idea of keeping your heels on the ground is based on a self defense context. It is easier to keep your balance and stay standing up if your feet are firmly planted. It's much like a defensive grappling approach to footwork. Conversely, sparring and striking-based sport fighting take place at a much greater distance, and require greater speed and mobility, which a planted stance will hinder. Just listen to any sport fighting commentary, and you'll hear complaints about "flat-footed" strikers that can't keep up with their more mobile opponents. That doesn't mean one is inherently better than another, but they are suited to different situations. Of course, you can always mix-and-match. There are times when you can/should pivot on the heel and keep your feet planted, and times when you can/should pivot on the ball of the foot and lift the heel. Figuring out the feel for when to use each will come with time.

Congratulations to everyone who was nominated!

I do enjoy seeing these drills. I see similarities between this drill and some of the ones seen over in the Wing Chun posts, too. We did a flow drill together, didn't we, Bob? I don't recall what it was called, though. It was kind of like a sticking hands type of drill, I think.Interestingly, you can do this same drill as a sticking hands drill, but I am not very good at it

That's a pretty dramatic height difference, and I imagine it will come with a dramatic difference in reach. Personally, I would get in as close as possible, keep pressure high, and work in the clinch. With someone that tall, their center of gravity will be pretty high, so I would dump them with sweeps whenever possible. That said, collar ties might be tough to get on somebody who is 10" taller than you, though. I've never been at that significant of a height/reach disadvantage since I began training.

Welcome to the forum!

We don't have it posted on our website, but it is on our fliers and we don't try to hide it or run around it when people ask over the phone, via email, or in person. Honestly, I don't really like that it isn't on the website, but I understand why it's done that way.

Yes, the "punches" in the video are really just for flow, since they come smoother, and in a straighter line. The drill can also be done from a more boxing style 1-2-1, although not all of us practice it that way--it's up to the individuals doing the drill. As you said, though, it's really more of a skill-building drill than a practical application drill.

I've found that most people who have been involved with karate in the US for a while have come across, or at least heard of, my Sensei's Sensei--Eddie Bethea, Kyoshi, Hachidan (8th Degree Black Belt) of the Shorin-Ryu Shorinkan. Every year, around this time, he flies down from Indiana to attend the annual Cal-South Shorinkan Camp. When he does, he stays with my Sensei, and teaches a few classes at our dojo. He is a kind, fun man with a lot of knowledge, and if you ever get the chance to take a class with him, I highly recommend it! This year, I recorded the class he taught for our teen and adult students, and I put together this little montage of what he had us working on--if nothing else, you get to see him throw me a couple times During the class, Sensei Bethea had us work on a technique from his Naihanchi Shodan yakusoku kumite (promise sparring) drill. He took a moment to explain how and why he developed them, and I was able to upload that video, as well. The camera was rather far away from him, so it is difficult to hear in places, but I added Closed Captions to the video to get around that issue. I thought it was an interesting little discussion.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum!

Honestly, I was surprised by the move, but I don't agree OR disagree. They decided that what he did reflected poorly on the image they want to portray, and that's really an evaluation only they can make. If I were in their shoes, I probably wouldn't have pulled the sponsorship. Then again, if I were in their shoes, I wouldn't be sponsoring Jon Jones to begin with.

Very cool! I didn't realize that the Netherlands had their own National Karate Day!

Congratulations!

I've tried a variety of mouthguards, including a few different Shock Doctor models. Without a doubt, the best thing I ever did, with regards to mouthguards, is getting a custom-molded one. Gladiator Guards made mine--you order their kit, make a mold of your teeth, send it back, and then they send you a custom mouthguard. It's pretty pricey, but not as much as getting one from a dentist. The nice thing about Gladiator Guards is that they keep your mold on file, and will make you more mouthguards at half the price if you need replacements.

I've been dealing with a strange health issue that causes me to feel motion sick and incredibly fatigued for the past year. So far, I've seen 8 doctors and still don't have an answer as to what it is, or how to fix it. This has made me miss training, and I have had to reduce the intensity of my training. I've also had to cut out weight training almost completely.