Wastelander

We do practice kata, and it is very important to how we teach, but it isn't always part of class because kata practice is really for when you don't have a partner, so if you are in class and have partners you should be spending time working with them. The application of kata is very important to our karate, and we explore it often. Everyone starts off with simple applications the can be learned and applied quickly, and over time we work into more difficult applications. My instructor likes to start off working the movements in the air (extracted from the kata) first, then we move on to non-resistant partner drills with it, then we include padwork, and then move onto resistant drills or sparring. If I'm perfectly honest, I wish we would do more resistant drills than we do, but it gets a bit difficult to do it safely with beginners and teens. Scenario training along the lines of what John Titchen does with his DART program is something I would really love to do. As it is, I can make most applications work against a resistant partner, and my instructor can make all of the ones he teaches work against a resistant partner, but every technique doesn't fit every student so we are open to adaptation and cross-training. We do practice 7 yakusoku kumite sets, because they are required curriculum in our organization. They have a couple good techniques scattered in them, but I find practicing them in their entirety to be a waste of time. Our sparring for adults/teens is medium-contact, all targets legal and grappling allowed, but we have our younger students stick to point sparring. Supplemental drills like kakie, ude tanren, hubud, lop sau, etc., are thrown in on occasion, but not all that often. Hikite is definitely an important technique in our applications, though, so I would like to do more live trapping practice and kakie-type drills.

Congratulations!

Welcome to the forum! We have members from a wide variety of disciplines, so this is a great place for discussing all sorts of things. Feel free to jump into the subforums and solicit advice with regards to your breathing and kime, and throw in your input wherever you feel comfortable!

Weighted lunges and full ROM barbell squats would be my go-to strengthening exercises, and then be sure to stretch after each workout. I found that my kicking height increased as my hip flexibility increased by holding a low horse stance as a combination stretch/isometric workout, so that may help as well.

While I tend to agree with you, what you have written will probably upset a lot of people. Hakutsuru/Bai He Quan has been flaunted as the exotic, mysterious root of Okinawan karate for quite some time, and it has gotten to the point where people will grasp at any connection between it and what they do. I will say that Okinawan karate DOES contain Whooping Crane influences that were introduced by Wu Xiangui\Gokenki in the early 1900's, but that's as close to White Crane as it gets, as far as I can tell. To me, Shuri-Te based karate bears more resemblance to Northern systems than the Southern ones we are always told about. There are influences from both, of course, but I think the Northern influence is stronger.

Welcome to the forum! While those goals aren't necessarily impossible, I think they are a little too specific, and you will probably change your goals as you get older. You may get tired of karate before Sandan, or you may reach Sandan and decide you want to stick with karate for the rest of your life. You may try out MMA/BJJ and decide you actually hate it, or you may like the training but hate actually fighting. All that said, I think that if your ultimate goal is to compete in MMA at a high level, you would be better served by starting your MMA training now. I love karate, and it's a fantastic martial art, but it really isn't geared toward MMA competition.

The closest kata I have to a Shotokan kata is the Shuri-Ryu version of Empi. I used to compete with that kata, with decent success, so I'll say that is my preferred "Shotokan" kata. Outside of that, Naihanchi is my favorite, followed by Seiunchin.

Thanks! I've been using a makiwara with a Shureido leather pad on it up until now, as well as doing my bagwork without gloves/wraps and doing knuckle pushups on various surfaces. I gave this pad a try with light taps while it was on the floor, and it didn't feel too bad, so I figured I would try it out. On Wednesday I took it to the dojo with me, tied it to the makiwara and gave it a try, and it wasn't a problem. I could actually get in a couple more punches on each hand with this pad than I can on the leather ones, even though this one is a rougher texture. I think it's because the thing that really slows down my makiwara training is the bruising I get from my knuckles penetrating through the thin leather pad and smacking the wood every time I punch. The rope pad is thick enough that, even though it's plenty firm, I'm not hitting such a hard surface. I'll definitely be checking my knuckles often while using it, though, so I don't overdo it.

MMA stands for "mixed martial arts." It is a competition format where competitors are trained in more than one martial art, and they fight each other with full-contact strikes combined with grappling. If you search YouTube for "MMA fights" or "UFC fights" you can find some examples. Interestingly, the spinning heel hook kick that you mention has been used a few times recently in the UFC, which is the premier organization when it comes to producing MMA events. You can see them performed at the links below by Edson Barboza and Vitor Belfort, respectively: http://www.themmanews.com/edson-barboza-lands-the-first-wheel-kick-ko-in-ufc-history-gifs/ http://allfightnews.com/2013/05/19/gif-vitor-belfort-kos-luke-rockhold-at-ufc-on-fx-8/

I don't know about those from personal experience, but Hirota does have a good reputation. Tokaido has a pretty good reputation, and it seems to be more popular than Hirota. Shureido is typically the "gold standard" of karate gi.

Since I moved into a house, I've been working on getting things set up in my garage for at-home training. One of those projects is a wall-mounted makiwara, which is still in progress because I'm working out a way to angle it away from the wall. I did get the makiwara pad made, however! Instead of buying or making a leather pad (I do leatherwork on the side, so it would be easy to do) I decided to go old-school and make a rope one. I was wondering what you all use for a makiwara pad, because I've seen a wide variety of creative options! Mine is made with 50ft of 3/8in manilla rope that I soaked, bundled, wrapped, flattened out with a mallet, and singed off the stray fibers. http://s13.postimg.org/isarr68x3/Homemade_Makiwara_Pad.jpg

Welcome to the forum!

Well, I can't see Flickr images while I'm at work, so I don't know what you look like. If you are in the dangerous range of body fat percentage, then I would say you need to gain some weight. Other than that, it's entirely up to you--don't worry too much about "bulk," though. It sounds like you want strength so, if I were you, I would focus on measurable results (how much weight lifted, how many times) and ignore how much I weigh or how bulky I look.

Welcome to the forum!

The shovel kick, or oblique kick, is probably my favorite traditional karate technique that has recently been used in MMA. It isn't a finishing technique unless you land it just right, but it is great for stopping forward movement and causing pain. So far, it's only being used by a couple fighters, but I think it is starting to catch on because it has been showing up in fights more often lately.

Don't worry about the age gap--you can learn something from every training partner. Enjoy your training!

They say that stepping on the mat for the first time is the hardest step in your martial arts journey. I would argue that stepping BACK on the mat after an extended absence can be even harder. The things holding you back are all in your head. You're afraid that you might be thought less of for your absence and current physical shape, or that you'll be called upon to perform in the same way you did before you left. You have to remember that you are not the first person to come back after a long time off, and you won't be the last. They will welcome you back with open arms, I'm sure, and they will help you get back to the level you should be at.

Welcome to the forum! You mention that you have some experience, and we would love to hear about it!

Sorry about that--he said "finalize," not "complete," but they mean the same thing, to me. If you "finalize" something, then you have completed it. Regardless, I do know that there used to be a Shorinkan dojo in Houston, but it has closed. I'm not sure whether the instructor moved, or if he is still in the area, but asking local martial artists may give you a lead. You can check with the Shorinkan, of course, but since they still show the dojo on their website, they may not know.

You could contact the Shorinkan (Nakazato Shugoro's organization) and ask about him. I'm part of that organization, but I've never heard of him. His biography is disconcerting to me because it talks about "completing" his training by studying Shorin-Ryu. There is no such thing as "completing" karate training, and it looks like he may have done all this bouncing around so he could found his own style. I would definitely check with the Shorinkan regarding his credentials and knowledge. Competition records are not really relevant, in my opinion, and neither are movie credits.

Judo is fantastic for staying on your feet, slamming your attacker on the ground if you get tangled up, and defending yourself on the ground if you end up there. Unfortunately for judoka, people don't just grab you and never throw a punch in the real world. The karate that most people learn is fantastic for defending against strikes and hitting people really hard/fast. Unfortunately for karateka, people don't just throw punches and never grab you in the real world. If self defense is your goal, you really need both a striking base and a grappling base that you can work together.

I generally recommend to anyone practicing a striking art to also do some cross-training in a grappling art of some kind. For me, it was judo, and it has worked out very well for me. You said you enjoy your art, your training, and your instructors, so I don't see why you would need to completely drop it. I do think that a grappling art would benefit you, though, because you will learn valuable self defense skills and pressure test them against resisting opponents. Cross-training, while keeping Tang Soo Do as your core art, sounds like the best option, to me.

You may have to ask around at the dojo you do have in your area to see if they know anyone teaching Shorin-Ryu, if you're that dead-set on a style, because they might be teaching out of their house. Then again, they may not be teaching anywhere, anymore, and you'll have to take a look at what you do have available in your area.

Beef jerky will work fine, but it's loaded with sodium, so be sure to drink extra water.

Congratulations and thanks, Heidi!