Wastelander

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine (we'll call him V) that I used to train with when he was a teenager, back when I lived in Illinois, and he informed me that just within the past year he had to use his karate training in self defense. He stopped training shortly after I moved away, so he knows his skills have degraded quite a bit, but he still occasionally practices on his own, and works out with weights to maintain his strength. Those couple years of training came back to him well enough to defend himself, and I imagine his occasional practice and weight lifting probably helped. V told me that his closest female friend (outside of his girlfriend) had been in an abusive relationship for quite some time, and he had been counseling her and being her shoulder to cry on. She was being beaten and emotionally abused regularly, and he had been trying to get her to leave her abuser but she was afraid of what he would do if she did. It sounded as though he had nearly beaten her to death in the past. Apparently, the abuser found out that his girlfriend had been talking to some guy who was trying to get her to leave him. I imagine you can see where this is going. The abuser tracked his girlfriend down, and she happened to be talking with my friend at the time. He walked up to V, yelling and cursing, and got up in his face. An instant later, he sucker punched V in the jaw. The punch apparently hurt quite a bit (not a surprise) but didn't daze V, who returned fire with a single punch to the jaw before trapping the abuser's punching arm and locking it with a standing armbar, holding him down until police arrived. The abuser went to the hospital with a broken jaw and dislocated elbow, and has since been put on trial and sentenced to 10 years in prison for a combination of his domestic abuse and his attack on V. My friend went home with ice on his jaw and hand, but otherwise unscathed, and his female friend is now free from her abuser. V credits his successful response to our old instructor, but the fact that he let the first punch land seems to have gotten to him, and he wants to start training again. All-in-all, his story ended up being a good one. He may not have reacted perfectly, but rarely does any self defense situation go perfectly. I just thought I would share this story with you all--I was quite proud of him for his ability to respond to a real threat, make a traditional technique work under pressure, and restrain himself from doing any more damage than necessary.

I train in traditional arts, but I am currently training for an MMA fight in August. My advice would be to not get wrapped up in MMA as an art unto itself--it's just a ruleset. MMA fighters train in multiple arts that cover all ranges of unarmed fighting, and then they take some time to combine them, so you could do that with what you're training in already, if you wanted. If, by MMA, you mean the most common/popular combination of Muay Thai, boxing, BJJ, and wrestling, then that's a bit different because you will have to find instructors in those arts. In the end, though, you really just need a place to bring all the arts together into drills and sparring under the watchful eye of someone who knows how they work together. If you find an MMA coach who has extensive training in at least one of those arts, and who has experience putting it together for MMA (either as a fighter, themselves, or as a coach) then you have a good start.

John is a knowledgeable karateka with a focus on highly effective, realistic self defense training, and he is also very open to sharing. You may see him on the internet with the username JWT, and he will sometimes jump into conversations on practical kata application and realistic training methods. He has some videos on YouTube, in addition to his book and his contributions to online discussions, so just that in itself provides a wealth of great information. From my interactions with him through the internet, I believe he would be a great person to train with. I'm across the pond, but if I ever do get a chance to train with him, I certainly will!

The vast majority of dedicated martial artists that I am aware of have outlived the average life expectancy, or are likely to do so. I would be curious as to the way he went about his research. I know a University did a study on the affects of Sanchin, and it seems to have the exact same effect on the organs as barbell squats, so that can't be it unless there is a study that shows barbell squats are equally as bad for your organs. Exercise is typically good for you, so the general practice of karate shouldn't be any worse for you than jogging. I could see contact sparring potentially being an issue, but no worse than the hits people take in American football or rugby. The head of my organization just retired at the age of 93 due to health issues that are unrelated to his training, and he still practices a bit even though he isn't teaching anymore. My great grandfather died of a stroke at 93, had several heart attacks and strokes throughout his life before that, and could barely get around his house or garden due to general weakness and Parkinson's disease. If I make it to 93, I'd like to do it in the condition of Nakazato Shugoro, rather than the condition of my great grandfather, if I can help it.

This is a very interesting topic! I actually just posted about this on another forum, because my style is going through something like this at the moment. 1) If your style has recently lost its founder, what's the immediate plans for its continuation? --My style was founded by Chibana Chosin, who died in 1969, and there was a lot of splintering that occurred at that time. The organization I am currently a part of was made to be a continuation of Chibana's style, although it is sometimes referred to as a separate style, much to the disdain of the head of the organization. In that regard, the head of our "style" has been Nakazato Shugoro for a very, very long time (since 1971, I think?). He officially retired a few weeks ago, at the age of 93, and handed over the organization to his son, Nakazato Minoru. 2) In your honest opinion, will your style be fine when your founder passes away? --I believe it will be, and I suspect that Nakazato Shugoro's reasoning for handing it over to his son while he is still alive is because he wanted everyone to get used to the idea before he passes away. Too many styles have had founders or heads die without cementing the next leader in place. That's a major factor in splintering, I think. 3) Will your style, in your honest opinion, splinter slightly or splinter a lot? --So far, no one has broken away because of the leadership change, but I suspect there will be some splintering when Nakazato Shugoro does pass away. Nakazato Minoru looks like he is going to be moving the system in a good direction, but I could see some people who have been training longer than him, or who feel he isn't being true to his father's vision, breaking off on their own. Minoru Sensei is a little young for a Judan and head of a system, and seems to be more interested in sharing kata applications and drills than his father was, so those things might set some people off. 4) Will you want to continue in your style if the splintering isn't kept to its minimal OR will you seek training in another style that's more grounded across the board? --The organization of our style doesn't really concern me. I didn't start training with my sensei because he was part of a major branch of Shorin-Ryu headquartered in Okinawa with a "pure lineage" or any other such thing. I started training with him because he seemed very knowledgeable, and his mindset regarding karate was very much like my own. As long as I can keep learning from my instructor, I will be part of the style, at least in some fashion.

Well, I learned to spar in a dojo that was very structured, so the approach was a little different. We first learned how to do pushing-hands types of "sparring," and then moved on to stationary sparring that they called kime dachi kumite (focus stance sparring), which was standing in horse stance at arm's length from your opponent and doing hands-only sparring. After you were comfortable with that, you got to start doing normal sparring, but you were limited on what techniques you could use for a while. Eventually, you were allow to free-spar, but the dojo I was at only did light-contact point-stop sparring, so control was highly emphasized throughout the entire process. That approach really gets you adjusted to sparring without it being a jarring experience. Of course, that means that my first real sparring session doesn't stick out in my memory. I can't remember who I was sparring with, but I'm guessing it was a guy named Kenny, who would have been a sankyu at the time and was the primary assistant at the dojo. It was pretty uneventful, as far as I can recall. The first time I sparred in competition was a different story, though! I was fighting a guy who was bigger than me, and very aggressive (constantly pushing forward), and I ended up being disqualified for excessive contact when I punched him in the face and bloodied his nose. I don't do that kind of sparring anymore, so I'm comfortable hitting people hard now, but at the time I felt like a terrible person .

Good luck on your test!

I'm looking forward to hearing about your experience--be sure to write things down! I haven't been able to attend any camps, myself, only seminars with individual people, so I enjoy hearing about things like this.

Welcome to the forum! You have quite an interesting mixture of styles--I can't say that I've seen too many people that experience both major Naha-te styles AND Shotokan. I'm looking forward to getting your input here on the forum, and as a bunkai fan, myself, I hope we get to have some good discussions on kata application. Goju-Ryu and Uechi-Ryu applications always interest me, since they are often so different from the way we do things.

Does he give a reason for being against kids who are still growing doing any sparring? If he can explain his reasoning, then that might clear up his point of view for us, and it might also give you something to look up that either supports or rejects his opinion. I know I'm not terribly fond of kids hitting makiwara while their bones are still growing, but that's more for their comfort (just the act of GROWING made my joints hurt as a kid--I can only imagine what hitting a makiwara would have done) than for their safety, as I don't know of any studies showing that it is dangerous.

Thanks for that information! Being from a different branch of Shorin-Ryu, I don't really keep up to speed on the organizational goings-on of the other branches, although I generally know at least a bit about the major people involved. I didn't know that Takayoshi passed away--that is very unfortunate.

Did they really give you a yonkyu certificate "signed" by Nagamine Shoshin? He died in 1997, but I'm guessing that is who you mean? I would be contacting the WMKA Honbu dojo, run by Nagamine Takayoshi, to find out what is going on with that. No one should be getting certificates from someone who isn't alive to sign them. Showing respect for, and telling stories about, major figures in your lineage is not unusual at all. It does sound like your instructor has a case of hero worship, though, and an obsession with mysticism shows a distorted sense of reality and lack of practical experience. Many of the stories you hear or read regarding ancient masters of just about any martial art are going to be difficult to verify. Many times, there simply never were written records about them, and other times those records have been destroyed over the years. Stories that sound too amazing to be true have probably just been added to and exaggerated over time, but likely contain some grain of truth. I try to find multiple sources of the same story, each of which will be a bit different, and try to use the parts they have in common to get a sense of the truth. Personal development and strong adherence to tradition without concern for practicality are perfectly fine, if that's what you want out of your training. That may be what the instructor wants out of his training, so that's the way he teaches. It isn't my kind of karate, but it fits some people just fine, so I can't put it down too much. I'm not sure what you mean by "revealed or superior teachings" unless that refers to things that are kept secret from you--that you are not allowed to learn--until you have reached a certain level. Sometimes that is a skill level, sometimes it is a rank, and sometimes it is a loyalty/devotion level. The first one doesn't bother me much, the second one seriously irritates me, and the third one is definitely cult-like. I can't say for certain whether your school is a cult or not. From the sounds of it, your instructor certainly acts like a bit of a martial arts cultist, himself, but that doesn't necessarily mean he is trying to make all of his students into cultists. That's something you really have to judge in person. Still, what you have described definitely sets off warning bells for me, and I would not be training with them. In the end, though, it's your decision.

We let youth students in our dojo spar with light contact and supervision. Not all students enjoy it, of course, but it does give them a fully interactive martial arts experience. There is some risk of injury, but with light contact and plenty of supervision it is less common (and they tend to be much less serious) than injuries in football. We've had a couple poked eyes, some stubbed toes, and a few tears when somebody gets hit too hard or while breathing in, but that's about it. I don't see how it's harmful.

I know that a lot of people were pulling for Olympic karate, but I was not one of them. I'm quite happy that the IOC decided not to include it. Wrestling definitely needs to stay in the Olympics, though.

Hello Newbie, To really understand how stances relate to the techniques you are doing, you must understand WHAT the techniques are doing. Just because we call a movement "low block," for example, doesn't mean that is what it is always doing--movements can be used more than one way. A low block that is being used to deflect a kick is going to be used differently than a low block that is being used to apply an arm lock, which is going to be used differently than a low block being used as a takedown. Each one needs you to move your body weight a little differently. Stances are simply methods of controlling your body weight (there are some other uses for them, but this is the primary one, in my opinion), and they are only snapshots in time. When you defend yourself, you may not get to take a stance, but when you apply your techniques you will have moments where you shift into and out of stances to make the techniques work. If you have to drive forward to make the technique work, then shifting into a front stance is great. If you need to shift backward to make a technique work, then a back stance is great. If you need to take your weight off your lead leg to kick, knee, or sweep with it, then a cat stance is great. If you need to drop your weight to grapple with someone, then shiko-dachi or kiba-dachi are great. It's all situational, and you really have to become accustomed to the feel of what your body weight needs to do, because you won't have the time (in real life) to choose what stance to use. In other words, the more you train, the more things will make sense

Our curriculum for children is the same as the curriculum for the adults, but broken up into smaller chunks (the kids get "training belts" with a white stripe down the middle between each rank) and they don't learn the same kata applications. We do make sure to teach the kids functional applications, and we stress the importance of self control and when it is okay to use your karate, but we take out some of the more dangerous techniques until they are teenagers.

Well, my left kick is stronger than my right because I made it that way--I'm naturally right-sided, so it took some doing! The biggest key to fast, powerful kicks is having proper form--your sensei can help you with that, and then you can practice on your own (JZ's suggestion of slow motion kicks is great for this, as is Sensei8's suggestion of kicking underwater). After that, you'll need to do some serious impact training. Kicking pads will help you develop speed and accuracy, and kicking shields will help you start to develop power. From there, spend a lot of time on a heavy bag (at least 100lbs, in my opinion) to really get a feel for slamming a full-speed, full-power kick into a body-sized/weighted target. Jumping lunges and barbell squats have also helped me improve my power, but I've never bothered with resistance bands.

Tokaido makes a good gi, but they are at the higher end of price. Ronin is cheaper and still makes a good gi, but I don't know if they are available where you live. You can also check out KI/Mugen, as I know they also make pretty good gi at a reasonable price, and they have a European presence so they might be more available to you. Black Eagle is based out the UK, and I've heard good things about them, so that might be an option as well. If nothing else, there is a company called Gassho that makes heavyweight hemp gi in South Africa that you could try. Good luck!

I think that making your own training equipment is something that just about every serious martial artist dabbles in at some point. I've made sparring weapons out of PVC and foam, myself, and I know a Goju-Ryu guy in Canada who makes all sorts of stuff. He put together a blog called Martial Makers (martialmakers.com) where he collects a bunch of articles on making your own training equipment, if you're interested in getting ideas.

Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you are experiencing pretty standard Kyokushin, from what I know of it from those who practice it. I've trained with some Kyokushin karateka once or twice in my area, and there were variations from what you describe, but every dojo is a little different. The stomach-standing and leg-kicking are normal, although I didn't think sparring with shin pads was terribly common with Kyokushin (not a bad idea, though). Your legs will get tougher as you get more accustomed to taking those kicks, but I will add a recommendation--bend your leg into the kick. Just bending it does take some of the shock of out if and protects your knee, but if you lean into the kick a bit, I find that it helps take out just a bit more. That could just be me, though. And, of course, shin blocks or "checks" a feel a lot better in sparring than just absorbing a kick to the thigh.

On the ground, I typically prefer the scissor sweep or the butterfly sweep, but more often than not my grappling partners are extremely difficult to sweep

Welcome to the forum!

Well, I would keep training with my instructor, but if I had that much money I would definitely be making a trip to Okinawa to train there. Arts outside of the one I'm doing would probably be Silat, Uechi-Ryu, and BJJ. Silat and Uechi-Ryu would really build on my karate, and BJJ would compliment my judo background. Outside of those, Northern Shaolin Long Fist looks fun, and if I can find someone who knows applications to the forms it would also compliment my karate. I couldn't give you a weekly schedule, but I could say that I would be taking trips to Okinawa, Japan, and China to train every now and then throughout the rest of my life, and continue with my sensei but start to cross-train in BJJ, then after another few years I would probably try to focus on Silat for a few years while still cross-training in BJJ, and then do the same with Uechi-Ryu, and then do the same with Long Fist.

Welcome to the forum, and welcome back to the martial arts!

I will preface this with the fact that I'm not a doctor, and you should really consult a doctor about this. To me, though, it does sound like weak hip flexors, but you could also have scar tissue in that area. Don't push yourself too hard, too fast, or you can injure yourself. For now, I would be stretching after every workout (only AFTER working out) and start doing some hip mobility exercises. High knees, outside-shoulder high knees, and leg lifts would be a good start.