gatorgrasshopper

When I think of kuzushi, I am still thinking of my opponent in an upright grappling mode vs ground work (where I am personally at in my development). For me, I look at my standing opponent in terms of a vertical and horizontal plane and my goal is to get them off of those planes and then maximize the outcome and sustain the movement if my move fails. The only way I can personally learn kuzushi is via through sparring, judo throws and aikido. It is a feel thing for me supported with known techniques to initiate it or finish it. When I think of ground work/grappling, as a noob, I go back to my wrestling days as a kid. I don't view the moves in a kuzushi method, I view each move as a "chess game" move: set up move, guard against the counter move and go for check mate. String together know series of moves to work toward pin or submission. I can't visualize ground work in the same terms as getting opponents off balance in a standing environment and that form of kuzushi. I hope this is in line with what you are asking. My take being honest as a noob in JJJ.

I agree on your belief in study of contrasting styles. For me Karate and JJJ are different in approach and delivery and that is why I am studying both. It just makes sense to me. On the martial arts protocol/manners of training in 2 dojos...I am curious still to hear from others. I will likely keep my cross training a personal fact to myself to avoid complication.

Just curious how many of you study at 2 different dojos within the same week, etc? If so, does your sensei know you? Are there any problems in regard to this, dojo loyalty, etc?? Just curious as to your approach and how many are doing it. I am currently studying 2 forms under different dojos but I have not been transparent about my cross training with my instructor or class mates. I divide my week up as equitable as possible between the instruction time/class hours.

I study JJJ. I am a noob but for me we learn the art of the take down (Judo), the art of locks (Aikido) and the art of wrestling to submit/choke/pin (JJ). The reason we study ground work is in case we get taken to the ground, but our objective is to get off the ground as quick as possible (or finish it on the ground if that is the needed tactical play call) BJJ'rs prob have a much better ground game, etc. JJJ'rs have their own advantages and the versatility provides options. In a real world conflict, I don't think a JJJ or BJJ'er would go strictly into sport mode, I am certain, knees, punches, elbows or anything else that can be used would be in combination I don't think either style should serve a student as a stand alone method of MA.

THX guys...much appreciated. Well, good news I believe. It is day 2 and I have nominal swelling. My daughter, who is a nursing student, looked at it last pm and believes I got a dislocation vs a break. I did hear a pop and it was sideways...and I did pop it back into place. I am going to continue to buddy tape it and be very careful, but hopefully this expedites my healing time. Being careful in case it was indeed a break.

Broke my pinky toe last pm during some JJJ training while being the uke...my friends shin won the battle against my toe . Reset it, iced it, buddy taped it. Nominal swelling and brusing so far. I am going to give myself a mandatory 3 day break from activity. How many of you have had this injury or can offer guidance of when I can/should be able to go back to working out? I do karate and JJJ. Any advice? THX

You may not want to do anything like this, but you have to remember that there is another guy in the fight, too, and he might want to. So it would be a good thing to learn a bit about it, like MasterPain mentions in his post. I do in my JJJ class...it is really a mix of Judo, JJ and aikido. We practice take downs and locks/pins, etc. It is a mix and not as focussed on the ground as a BJJ viewpoint. The aim is to be able to take action if the fight goes to the ground, but it is not focussed on that. A BJJ'r would have the upper hand if we competed and went to the ground for sure but I think my JJJ and Karate (and MMA light training) at least gives me a few tools on my belt to defend. My allusion on UFC/tapout was to the thread topic and the current crop of folks that see MMA as an end all beat all approach.

Let's not dismiss MMA as "just a sport" just yet. Let's look at what the sport has shown over the years. First, that grappling is a range that many arts ignore, to their own peril. Any decent collegiate wrestler can take you to the ground, break your arm, choke you unconscious and KILL you if you don''t know how to defend takedowns or get back to your feet. Remember that a tapout means "please stop before you dstroy my limb or neck." So, for a self-defense minded person, to ignore grappling is to bury your head in the sand. Case in point: chuck Liddel is known as a knockout artist. He is also a great grappler. If not for his ability to use grappling skill to keep the fight standing, he'd be known as that guy that keeps getting taken down and tapped out. There also tends to be an attitude from the MMA crowd that traditional martail arts are not combatively efficient. This stems from their lack of experience with weapons. Aikijutsu is not much use against a boxer, but it is awesome against someone swinging a ball bat at your skull. What I'm getting at is that you have a good view on using what works, just don't let the style-specific sycophants ruin your view of any art. If you can stay objective, most arts have something to offer. Yeah, I get it MP, I wrestled, etc and loosely study MMA striking/kicking and I think they area all valuable. I also study JJJ and....I also CCW The thread is about the modern relevance of karate. My vote is that is definitely relevant...just currently overshadowed by MMA/UFC and the tapout culture. I think BJJ, etc is cool personally but I also think Karate can be excellent IMHO if a student is practiced and seasoned. Striking/kicking/blocking...all valuable. I personally have no desire to go toe to toe with a group of momo thug's. If I believe my life is truly endangered, I want to create distance, secure cover and concealment and use alternate means of defense if needed. Karate is one authentic means for me to do that. My 2 cents for this thread.

For me, plyometrics. I am not a young buck anymore. I did not do plyo when I was younger/dumber and took things for granted or thought I knew it all. Many mid aged athletes use plyo as a way to fend off the aging process, enhance balance/core muscles and try to enhance fast twitch muscles. It also will work push your cardio/endurance. Do some research on it.

This is my first post and I am relatively new to martial arts. I am a primarily a firearms/tactical guy but I wanted to enhance my basic self defense skills so I took up Karate and JJJ. That said, I want what I feel is valuable to me in the real world vs sport/competition for my investment in time and training. I am the noob that chose karate over the 2 MMA gyms in my area. To me, karate is absolutely a valuable skill with modern value. I think an advanced student could absolutely use it for defense. That said, I am also taking JJJ as a competing/complimenting style as it differs in usage and results. I also toy around with MMA informally but that is more for cardio and basic cross training. I tell you this as I am a "new" student and I did my homework prior to entry into MA. MMA is all over the media and cool to the masses, but in the real world it is impractical. I have no desire to roll around on the ground trying to lock/tapout some thug/mugger. Nor do I have a desire to be a wanna-be cage fighter. I want survival and or an ability to escape harm. I love the strikes/kicks/kata in karate. They are of great value in my approach/belief of personal defense. That said, I would not hesitate to blend anything I have/know (karate, JJJ, MMA or raw violence) if needed.