Th0mas

Actually, based on that formula the better at kumite you are the worst your kihon is... Welcome to pedants corner...

The question only makes sense if you view kata and kumite as two separate disciplines... Which they are not. Sure if we are talking competition then ok, if that is your thing, as in that case kata is a performance "dance" and kumite is a ritualised duel set within in a narrow rules base. However for the more pragmatic types out there kata and kumite are completely intertwined. If you say you are better at kata than kumite then you've kind of missed the point. Kata and the associated drilling of techniques are directly relevant and applicable to kumite.

I agree with you most of the time tallgeese...but not this time. Shorin Ryu is pretty much a defensive art..meaning we defend, look and create openings and opportunities, then attack..or rather, counter strike the opponent. Guys that flail their attacks at you and ggressively attack are PERFECT fodder for us. My way anyway...I'm a very defensive fighter, preferring an aggressive opponent. As always,, this would be much easier to demonstrate than it is to describe...but we can't have everything, right? lol Apologies up front, I don't know you so take this as a comment and not a personal attack.... But that sounds like a strategy based on a dojo kumite "reinvention" of violence. In a martial duelling situation where you are psychologically ready for combat in a location and situation that warrants a counter striking strategy there is nothing wrong with your approach. However in a social violent encounter where at the onset you first have to deal with the raw aggression and personal shock of being assaulted that is not a good tactic. Mainly because from the get go you are on the back foot and giving your attacker the momentum. Personally I am a fan of crashing, controlling and dominating... On my terms not theirs. As Iain Abernathy likes to say "my go, my go, my go ... Finish and escape.

Patches = targets

Here is something very practical that I use with my students: When training in the dojo, imagine three points on your body, your forehead and each shoulder. Now focus on keeping those three points relaxed when performing techniques and you will find your natural tension is significantly reduced. Hope that helps..

Common mistake for a beginner is to concentrate on the blocking techinque... Focus on your movement instead. If it is ippon kumite then don't forget to shift off at an angle... Ippon kumite is not realistic, it is a training method for learning good body mechanics, treat it as such. Use the practice to get it right, don't worry about your speed at this early stage.

If you are getting a pain in your hip, be careful especially when kicking the air at speed.. None of us is getting any younger ... I am assuming you refer to side thrust kick rather than the side flick kick, you didn't specify. Critically a common mistake is to straighten your supporting leg when trying to get height to your kick, without the necessary flexibility that will put extra strain not just on the hip joint but also your supporting knee joint. The trick is actually to bend the supporting leg, this reduces the tension caused by the torque as you twist. It is also a timing issue, but that is impossible to demonstrate with written word. Keep the kick low, at your grade nobody is expecting you to be super effective at jodan. A good low kick is much better than a awkward high kick when grading.

That's because ( in most cases) each kamai position represents a different functional application or combatative principle. There is some degree of stylisation, and some believe that it is related to Chinese salutations... but personally I don't and make the assumption that the opening movements of the kata set the context for the rest of the kata, usually with the kamai representing the end position of the first movement at initial engagement. For example, in Empi the kamai is a natural position to be in once you have applied a wrist lock off a left handed grab from your attacker..In Tekki shodan the kamai position of having your left hand over your right, applies to having your right hand grabbed by your attackers left. In both examples the kamai position puts you in the right place to apply the next motion effectively - in Empi a dropping arm lock, in Tekki a take down.

There is another point worth considering, irrespective of whether your dojo's main focus is competition (and they should clearly set the context between tactics that work for point scoring vs those for self defence or the "art" ) that show boating for a point is a very bad habit to get into. It sets the wrong mindset, and if it becomes habitual, you'll do it when it is not only inappropriate ( like in a continous fight completion) but also down right dangerous, such as a self defence situation. There is a big enough challenge with normal practice of kumite ( such as with 1-step ) to break the habit of stopping after you have countered with your "killer blow" without having to unlearn stupid sport behaviours. Karate should be about, taking control and then dominating, dominating and dominating until your opponent is defeated. This is a flow that has to become habitual.. Stopping to show the judge that you have scored is massively counter productive. My advice is don't do it. Being super aggressive and relentless is much more effective psychologically both in self defence and also competition. Anything else is just martial art movie stuff...

That is true, but only if the contex setting is correct (dealing with the reality of real combat not dojo kumite against karate style attacks) and a basic understanding of how to interpret a kata's structure... For example that you move in relation to your opponent standing in front of you, not in relation to attacks coming at you from the four compass directions etc. Not forgetting the range, i.e close, and all that that implies.

Apologies if I have taken your comment out of context, But Yes and no. Your response worried me, as it should be irrelevant whether you practice Wado or shotokan. It reminds me of the old debate about form over function. The length of stance is a stylised thing, the function of shifting stance should be the same for both styles ( except for a few rare cases where the emphasis is different (for example, cat stance vs back stance, where the intention is to kick off the front leg rather than dropping your weight backwards). When I am in the dojo and part of a class I am not instructing, I try not to focus on the stance, but focus on the movement. This is a conceptual thing that you should always keep in mind when training, especially during the "kihon" or formal line training phase of a training session. This is less important in partner training, which is much more outcome focussed, as you have a real target to overcome with less chance of over emphasising the "look of the thing" which is a common problem when practicing air techniques It's all about context. You might train in a style that practices long stances or short stances but it is how you apply the motion that is important. Great foot work and blocking technique is essential at long range but pretty irrelevant at close range - crash, control and dominate - should be the priority in this case. Drive through your opponent, use your body mass for unbalancing and disruption. The value of stance work focussed on the movement really becomes obvious at close range. Some karate styles seem more geared to this, such as goju, but as a shotokan guy, I feel the need prioritise what I do away from Shorokans natural tendency to think of fighting as a long range thing. Apologies for the diatribe, I may be teaching you to suck eggs, but I think it is worth labouring the point for others. Cheers Tom

Nice video, thank you for sharing. Although in principle I agree with the thread title, I think kata is slightly more holistic than that. In essence the two of you have a high degree of experience and knowledge of the fundamentals and are able to apply the fighting principles that you have learnt through kata and other aspects of your training. I would not expect someone who has not gone through that journey to be able to apply the movements in the free form way you have demonstrated. Outside of muscle memory what the structure of kata practice brings is an understanding of HOW you can apply techniques to a given context. I look at Kata as a type of "lesson plan" which demonstrates fighting strategies and tactics for dealing with real civilian self protection with a set of techniques to provide examples of how the principles are applied. This is essential to enable the student to transition from learning the techniques for a given situation to start developing a set of fighting tools that they can apply to a broad set of circumstances. For example, first learning the fundamentals of how to apply an arm/shoulder lock from a wrist grab using the gydanberai movement. Then learning how to apply the same principles of body mechanics and mechanical advantage by shifting to the outside of your opponent for a wide variety of situations as you very nicely demonstrated in your video. Personally I believe good kata practice ( which includes solo, partner, free flow restistance, and fighting practice) produces a really good training framework to develop these skills. Cheers Tom

I think conceptually you are making a mistake and I'm surprised no one else has picked up on this. The principle it to move and shift your body mass to maximise power into your techniques and/or apply mechanical advantage from gripping range. Basically stances are an end position of a motion, not something you should stand in. Think of them as a freeze frame of the follow through position. Front stance is about dropping your weight forward; horse stance, dropping your weight down etc. Learning good form for stances etc is important, but don't lose sight that they are there to improve movement.

Okay - because it is difficult to compare what Lyoto did with what Frank did, I will make the assumption that the comparison is not between them but within their own field of expertise 1) Elwyn Hall (He may not have been the most successful international competitor - but just a fabulously dynamic fighter to watch and train with) 2)Frank Brennan (Very very impressive) 3) Not sure here - Not Lyoto as he is 21st Century - maybe one of the SA boys (really strong fighters) - Dave Hazard Maybe? For me it isn't always about the winners - as the competition scoring was always very suspect anyway - but those who show really dynamic karate and inspire me to try and emulate what they do.

Hi Muttley Whereabouts in Kent are you based? Cheers Tom