Kyokushin

I like black, like others said it's easier to keep clean and I don't have to worry about stains. Of course, I don't get the option. In my Kyokushin dojo it's white and nothing else. In my Chito-ryu dojo it's white until you are black belt. Then you can wear a black gi. Guess I got some waiting to do before I get an easy to clean gi .

Aha!!! You're in luck. A Kyokushin school in your area . (like someone else said alot of us are gonna recommend our styles). You said you liked the idea of sparring. Kyokushin is going to focus on this more. It is also a budo karate meaning you'll get philosophy and such. It's a nice added bonus as it gives you a better feel for what the style stands for and all. You might want to pop into both of these dojos and try them a few times. Actually work out with everyone. Then you can get more of an idea of what you're really looking for. Good Luck! Visit https://www.uskyokushin.com if you want more info on Kyokushin.

Very Nice!!! I think there something wrong with my computer though b/c the clips are playing in slow mode. Funny to watch it that way though .

Yep! I just started it. It's a nice style.

You remind me of my sensei (that's a compliment). My sparring strategy is generally to go in hard and just keep on going. I like to pound my opponent with a good roundhouse and follow up with two or three hard punches. If they haven't countered by then I just keep on pushing them further and further back. If they've recovered from that then I pull out and wait for an opening where I pound them again. I find I've got pretty good stamina and can usually last longer then most people I spar. I don't mind taking a few hits either if I can retaliate twice as hard. Of course if this doesn't work I don't mind changing until I find some tactic that does.

Yes, maybe it would be easier, but we do need to have self control. Even Funokoshi had problems with this (Ever read Karate-do: My Way of Life?) He talks about how one of his masters Itosu had to keep him from fighting one time. I'm not saying you should not defend yourself. If I had to protect myself I would be fierce! I'm just saying you must choose your battles wisely. Hey, I have to put up with a family friend who teases me about my style by calling it Big Chunky Thigh! But I know he's just messing with me. It doesn't mean I should go and take him to the ground or punch him in the face.

Well, remember that Kyokushin is a mix of Shotokan and Goju-ryu. Many of our katas are directly from Shotokan (Mas Oyama trained with Funokoshi). So many things will be the same. If you really like Shotokan I'd just stick with it. Although it cannot hurt to try another style just to be opened up to different ways of performing certain techniques, and also other styles of fighting (I used to think Kyokushin was the ONLY style for me until I was forced to find a new place to train, learned a lot from my new style). Wait till you get to black belt. Then visit a Kyokushin dojo, and after that decide where you really want to go with your training.

Yes, there are, but these tournaments are point sparring. That is very different from Knockdown fighting. So I figured it would'nt be of much help, but maybe I'm wrong.

No, when you do you kata the opponent must always be in your mind. When you strike or block or kick you must tell yourself this technique would end the fight, that way each one has power, speed, and strength. Through kata you can also learn what a certain move can be used for. The ones you do and you think, "What the heck would I ever use this for?" I came to understand many techniques b/c of kata. Yes, if you only look on the surface kata is merely a sequence of moves, but if you take it seriously it is much more.

Just a thought, but isn't one of the points of karate to not get into fights unless you absolutely have to, and then do the least damage neccessary? It seems like a waste of energy just to try and show off to a friend. I hear you about people not understanding, but it's something you just have to deal with. Not everyone is going to like MA the way we do

Alright, I've wanted to enter a tournament for a VERY long time, but haven't been able to quite yet. Specifically the American International Karate Championships (It has Full contact, semi-contact, and clicker fighting). I either want to do full contact or semi-contact. I don't want to enter it w/o being fully prepared as it is held way up in NY. Plus if I fight Knockdown I don't exactly want to be the loser (that's no fun ). What do you guys think is the best way to get ready for this type of sparring besides the obvious of practicing hard?

Same rules apply that I posted in full contact karate. It's 100 rounds with a fresh opponent each time. A long time ago it was required for fourth or fifth Dan, but Oyama found no one was as excited about sparring 100 rounds as he was. So it's voluntary. Oyama decided to start this after being inspired by two people. Yamoaka Tesshu, who was a sword master who completed a 100 man duel and also Masahiko Kimuro, a judoka who completed a 200 man throwing over two days, all against judo black belts, w/o a single defeat. Oyama himself went on to complete a 300 man kumite over three days. Supposedly he wanted to go for a fourth, but no one was able or willing. Wonder why

Telsun I copied this off of the official US IFK Kyokushin website. Knockdown Fighting Knockdown fighting is what Kyokushin Karate is famous for full contact fighting with no pads. Legal fighting techniques include any leg techniques (kicks, knee strikes, etc.) to the legs, body, face or head, and any hand techniques (fists, elbows, etc.) to the body. The fighters are divided into weight divisions, and if there are enough fighters over the age of 32, a senior's division as well. A Knockdown fight lasts two minutes, without stopping, and is won by a single point (ippon), which is awarded when a technique sufficiently stuns the opponent so that he is unable to resume fighting within five seconds. A half point (waza ari) can be awarded for a technique that momentarily stuns the opponent. If no point is awarded during the two minute round, the referee and corner judges can decide upon a winner or send the fight into an overtime round. Because of the stamina and endurance needed to defeat five or six opponents and win the event, it is often said of Knockdown competition that "there are no winners, only survivors."

Well full contact in my style would be no pads and the person wins by knocking out or stunning the opponent for I believe 3 sec. You still have rules to follow. Certain techniques aren't allowed, but it's still really rough.

I think Mas Oyama was awesome. They used to call him the "God Hand" b/c if he hit you, you broke. i.e. He'd kick. You block, your arm is broken. You don't block, your ribs are broken. I think he did a 200 man kumite, but I'm not positive on that. He was definately one of the best. As for his training methods. I don't think everyone could've handled that. He would train for about five hours. No one was done until Mas Oyama was, but if you managed to stick it out. Gosh you were great!

Well Kyokushin is a good sparring style if you have a dojo in your area you could try it out. It's a nice fighting style. Might suit you might not. (O.k. that's the end of my little bias ) Of course the best thing to do is try out all the dojos in your area. And then sit down and really think about what is important to you. Weigh the pros and cons of each place including the dojo you're currently at. Obviously you are not completely dissatisfied with where you are at from what you've said. So maybe you will find out what you've got isn't so bad by visiting other places, or maybe you'll find something better. It can't hurt to try it out. Of course you should always remember, "Nothings perfect!" That said you get out of karate what you put in. So if you do stay where you're at just give your sparring 100% and take it seriously, and that's all you can ask of yourself.

Yep, that's me too. Five years training. I guess that's why it's so difficult to change now, but better late than never I suppose. Things will only get harder the longer I put this off. I will try making up drills guys. The only thing I have a problem with is imagining my opponent. So sometimes I have trouble practicing drills in the air. My parents are opposed to a punching bag so for now I have to deal w/o any equipment. If there are any other suggestions plz post

O.k. I was wondering what's the best way to start trying new things in sparring. I've used a specific style for a long time and it's harder to add things to it than I thought. I know what I want to do, but when I start sparring I just think too long about it and then miss my oppurtunity. i.e. I know to side step a kick, but I always think to do this when the kick is halfway out there and it's too late to get out of the way. It's very frustrating b/c I know what I should do and my body just isn't doing it! Any advice?

Do I ever know how you feel! (Brace yourself I've got a rant here w/ a lot of pent up frustrations behind it.) You just don't realize how great something is until you lose it. My Sensei has been gone for two years and in that time I've hit the biggest MA plateau. Spent the first year being taught by the only senior to me. Arrogant guy with little people skills. His idea of teaching was to work stuff and if you didn't know it or couldn't do it right to just yell at you and ask why not. He left after a year, and then I taught the last people from my style. Do you know how frustrating it is to teach a class of two! And watch your dojo fall apart. The "black belt" was a Shotokan instructor who was out of shape and had lousy technique. All he wanted to do was talk about the good old days. I watched him teach the kids and give them belts they didn't deserve. Plus he constantly bugged me about how he'd give me a black belt. As if I wanted a worthless piece of cloth I didn't deserve. Now I'm finally at a new school where I can learn new things and grow again. I was going crazy with all the politics at my old place. We finally got shut down. My new style is great and I'm really starting to fit in, but now I found out my Sensei will be back for a month in January and a lot more often at holidays and such. Good news for my old style training, but now I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know if I will have the time to train with both of my instructors at once! Decisions, decisions. The lesson of this is. Everyone has tough times, but if you really love martial arts you'll find your own path through it and ultimately no one can find it for you. Good Luck

Well, right now I'm working on a lot of things. I've got my 1st Kyu belt test in Kyokushin to get ready for, should be testing in a month when my Sensei comes down to visit. That means review all the katas and all the techniques. Make sure I know the Japanese for everything. God forbid I don't understand what I'm supposed to do on the test. That would be soooo embarrassing! Plus I'm learning all the brown belt curriculum for the new style I'm doing (Chito-Ryu). So far I've learned seven katas in a week. I'm going to stick with that for a few months and polish them and make sure I get all the little details right so that no one would ever guess that I've done another style. Got a Kyokushin get together to plan. I'm running the class so I've got a full day of training to work out for all the senior ranks. So I'm working out ideas for teaching them new stuff, practicing it, and then rethinking it. Boy I'm tired just typing what I'm working on

Last night I was practicing Muay Thai in my karate class and we were doing a Jab/Reverse punch combo on focus pads. After the first round our partner was supposed to meet our punches with the pads. When I was doing my reverse punch I hurt my wrist. I had proper form on my punch so I don’t know why this hurt. I think I jammed it or something. It doesn’t hurt now, but today it’s been shaking a lot. Not bad all the time (just a consistent little tremble), but quite a few times my wrist completely spazzed out and was shaking like crazy. Actually it seems to shake the most when I turn it slightly to the right sideways or up some. Has anyone else ever had this happen? I’m not sure if I should just ignore this and it’ll go away, or worry about it and be careful so that I don’t hurt it more. I really don’t want something minor to become a major problem b/c I’ve got a belt test coming up soon.

I'm in the Orlando area.

Ain't that the truth!!! Boy the more you learn the more you realize that you don't really know that much. I've been brown belt for a year now, and should be testing for 1st Kyu in a month or so. Brown belt to me has been a lot. I've taught, trained harder, been more frustrated at times. Brown belt is that last step where you really have to brush up on everything so that you can even consider yourself for Shodan, and brushing up isn't so easy when we've learned so many things. As for black belt, well like you said so close yet so far. I think I'll cry when I finally get mine

From what I know there a quite a few Kyokushin dojos in England. Being that that is where the official IFK headquarters are (led by Hanshi Steve Arneil-9th Dan). You might want to go to a seminar before you enter a tournament though. It's best to be really prepared especially if you're interested in fighting Knockdown. Also talk to instructors from other dojos in your area. Watch their class and make sure it's worth your time to spar with the people, and then ask the instructor if it would be alright to come every now and then when they are sparring. It's definately good to spar different people from other styles. It will open you up to many different stratigies and tactics that you can eventually incorporate into your own style of fighting making you an overall better fighter.

You can certainly tell your Sensei your backround w/o being arrogant. Just don't go around saying, "I'm sorry you don't need to tell me that b/c I've already trained 15 yrs. in karate." It is all in how you say something. I can totally understand being good at some areas and poor in others. I didn't do grappling in my other style and it is VERY embarrassing to go from a senior student to a bumbling white belt who doesn't even know how to breakfall! It might be a good idea to even bring up this fact with your Sensei just to find ways to work on your weak areas (I dunno if you solo train, but it's extremely helpful). In the end it will give him a better understanding of your situation and he could help you even more b/c of this.