andym

You are right in that playing at striking will not work, but from my limited experience a lot of karate guys can never really strike full force as they could injure each other. The problem then is that you would never know if the strikes would work if you ever needed to use them. With my even more limited experience of BJJ, rolling with other guys is completely different. You don;t play, you really try your hardest to submit them, which is much harder than it looks and I honestly think that after a few years of training you would know that it would work as you are sparring against real resistance. That's just my opinion so karate guys cant really hit full force because they might injure? yet kickboxing, MT, sanshou and boxing do practice full force... how about the more likely answer is that most people here think they train in an effective art or manner and really don't. but nope, no one will admit it. I don't imply that 'karate guys' can't strike, or that karate is ineffective - which is your implication. Sparring is playing and within karate the culture of non-contact free sparring has become dominate. So, when a visitor to a karate club wants to 'spar', there is a cultural difference. We're going way off topic here though and later I'll start a more relevant thread.

Goju Ryu Karate-Do = everything !

As to the video's I'll repeat part of something I posted a little while ago on this subject.

For your edification.... http://mfma.weebly.com/about-us.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpfEIAlVKoc&sns=fb

I still class myself as Christian, not a very good one, but....The non-violence of 'turn the other cheek', is better in some circumstances. We call it 'De-escalation' these days. But it's all relative to circumstances. Sometimes action is necessary : remember Christ's cleansing of the temple. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleansing_of_the_Temple

Peter Urban promoted himself to 10th Dan back in the 1960's.

Totally impractical 'Dojo Wasa' point scoring, mere tricks.....and yes I'm so jealous and wish I could do it ! Tremendous skill.

Does maturity and experience not enter into your process ? Plus, all of those I have encountered holding excessive grades are lacking in skill and most are SELF AWARDED grades !

STATISTICS : A scientific friend of mine published a graph showing the correlation for rise in autism and organic food consumption. The graphs match ! So obviously.....he 'd done this to show the supposed link between autism and vaccines is a result of poor science and statistical manipulation.

Been watching the tennis...is it too hot ? Not a problem we'd have over here in GB. But a question to the rest of the world. When is too hot or too cold to train ?

How old are you ? And one of the key points - relax. Sounds daft, but are you trying to put too much into the kicks, power wise, while still learning to apply them ?

One of the big things women and smaller people have in their favour - surprise ! The bigger and strong don't expect a fight back, they are over confidant. Cats and dogs, most dogs are bigger than cats and love to chase them....right up to the point were the cat stops running. Suddenly the dogs usually don't want to know and decide to trot off somewhere else. One technical point to do with this type of situation : accuracy is king.

Congratulations , late I know , but....

Nunchaku are an advanced weapon for my school that is learned right before Shodan. The children class never touches anything other than a bo. So I also cringe at that. I'm in agreement with you guy's. Kids of any grade should only be allowed to use the Bo and Bokken : that's my opinion and we did it at the Dojo I come from.

Hello and welcome to the forum, and congratulations for not letting age be an excuse to starting. From the brief club/training outline you've given , it seems a good club.

Not often enough !

Yes, happy birthday to the pair of you.

Hi again, here's something from my very sporadic blog that is very relevant to this subject. http://andyskarateblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012_02_01_archive.html Tuesday, 7 February 2012 MMA TROUBLE. Could have been in trouble at work last month. For the first time in eighteen years, outside of the martial arts, I’ve had to hit some one ! Until this January 2012, I’d not needed to hit anyone outside of training. I’d always managed to sort things out by other means. At work I’m very quiet , most know I’m a Black Belt of some kind, but I don’t talk about it unless asked and don’t show off. Too a large extent, hardly any one at work knows I’ve had nearly ten articles published in martial arts magazines over the years. A couple of years ago one of the guys there started M.M.A. training, he’s in his twenties. Recently he’s been tormenting me at work to wrestle with him. I avoided this until December (2011) , when he grabs me ! I don’t want to play and don’t resist, so end up on the floor. He thinks he’s God’s gift. I point out I didn’t join in, resist or try to stop him, no he’s not having that. I point out , how open to counter strikes, he was. No. he’s God gift. Anyway, it happens again, he comes tormenting me, again. He wont be told, again. I avoid him, but it’s know good, he wont be dissuaded. He grabs me, again. This time it’s get off or else ! He wont let go, so…. Or else, a light slap to the groin. A little ‘bell ringer’, just to show he’s the looser, and really don't want to play. At this he looses his temper ! Pulls me around and tries to drag me face down on the floor and apply a choke - ala Gracie. I stop this - I strike! Right palm heel to left floating ribs, check mate. He’s on the floor now, gasping for breath. Lucky, NO broken ribs or I might have been in trouble ! That’s the way things go these days. So for the first time since 1994, I’ve had to strike someone. The first time in 18 years I’ve not been able to stop a potential combat situation, becoming combat ! The MMA guy later complains, what did I hit him for, he was only messing about ? Telling. This raises some interesting points : What happened wasn’t up to me - he wouldn’t be talked out of it. That you can ‘play’ at wrestling and it still works. If you ‘play’ at striking, it will not work ! Has this lead to the currant view that grappling / wrestling will always win ? Again the currant view is. ’Fights will always go to the floor’. He tried and failed to get me down. In MMA , they are punched in training as the wrestle, they are familiar with it. But, this is with mitts on ! Has this lead to a under appreciation of striking ?

This is the ultimate aim.....what is your primary aim ? As my Sensei often says. "Karate is about fighting, but it's much more than that !" In answer to njd's question. I'm a student of Goju Ryu Karate-Do, studying with Sensei Tony Christian in Wigan Lancashire , GB. I've been with him for 35 years out of the 40 I've been training. I'm currently graded as a 6th dan. And I don't have a Dojo or teach , apart from helping friends, covering holidays etc.

To xnovak1023 : just for info, it was not an Aikidoka, but a Karateka who caused my injury. While being taught Tui-te. Karate's version of Chinese Chin-na, which has many similarities to Aikido.

Interestingly, I dealt with this in my answer : But this may be only in Britain, as many MMA coaches come from a TMA background Perhaps it's an issue of the aims of the specific club ? TMA can and does teach high effective self defense, but in a stylized and long winded way. It's methodology is based on a gradual learning process. In Karate this should never be the case ! Is this part of the problem ? In TMA, it should be just the same as in BJJ (it always was and is the case over here in GB - excluding the McDojo's) : If you are not good enough you will never become a black belt. It must be fully understood the the aims of TMA and MMA are very different. A cage fight is a false example. Yes a TMA practitioner has problems against a MMA practitioner. It's the old chestnut of the difference between contact training and non-contact training. One last point from my own experience. I'm 54 and fit enough and able enough to visit MMA clubs and win respect for my ability and fitness among the young MMA students. There coaches are often younger than I am, but most no longer part take in the class as such, but purely coach. Why, on both point ? Injury. MMA is a young persons game, the level of training and the injuries involved in competing etc, means it is unsustainable as a training method longer term - unlike Traditional Martial Arts. Which at 54 I am still heavily involved with on a near daily basis. This gives me a level of conditioning that allows me to dip into MMA, but that is all, dip in and out. Regular involvement in MMA's training methods would end my martial arts training due to injury - full stop !

Links not working.

One reservation - injury ! I'm currently limited in my training after having the wrist tendons of my left hand sprained doing just that. All in all a good quality demo, far better than many I've seen.

And that's with mats......

Sorry to correct you, but Tegner published his book 'JUKADO' in 1968. Sorry can't post the picture of the front page on here.[/img]http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-Tegners-Complete-Jukado-Defense/dp/B000J33VOA