JohnnyB

I disagree with the statement that years or training in a traditional martial art that gives you some self defence tools can help you fight in the cage. Many TMA are not made to counter the popular combative martial arts like Kick Boxing and Muai Thai. That's the main reason these 2 are the top striking art choices for MMA fighters. Unless of course you start changing your TMA in a non-TMA fashion so that you incorporate stuff that actually work in the cage.

You should definitely start your Martial Arts journey. Karate is the best thing that happened to me last year, where i found myself overweight at 95+kg with little endurance and self confidence. After taking some extra gym courses on top of my Karate lessons and getting rid of some bad eating habits i started to improve. Later when i started the Herbalife nutrition plan my body changed dramatically and i feel a totally different person, full of energy throughout my day. I'm holding steady at 80kg now with increased muscle mass and i'm planning to lose another 5kg to be closer to my ideal weight. I only know it will take a few more months but i know for sure i'll get there. Nutrition is everything, but without Incentive derived from my urge to get better at Karate none of all these would happen to me.

Sensei Kanazawa on his earlier fights against a stronger opponent, shared that he used a combination of Mae geri to the knee immediately followed by Mawashi geri to the head which knocked him out. Of course he never practiced mawashi geri jodan in front of him prior to the fight. The surprise element makes a big difference.

Sensei Murakami revealed that his instructor (Sensei Tsuyama) made them practice only Mae geri and Yoko geri-keage, stating that if you master those 2 techniques then your Mawashi geri would automatically improve. How do you judge this statement?

For sure my Kata experience so far is limited to judge the total aspect of it. However from what I've seen, there are quite a few inefficient, archaic techniques that just don't work in modern confrontations between Martial Artists and sometimes even against untrained people. For example: haiwan uke: square side block (Heian Nidan) kakiwake uke: floating x block (Heian Yondan) In fact almost everything that is using 2 hands to block in one specific height leaving you exposed. Not forgeting the all time Kata favorite Nukite attack targeted in the solar plexus. Seriously If i see this attack used in MMA just once, no matter the success of it, I'll shut up and never trash Traditional Karate ever again!111 I do understand the mental and physical training that Kata can give but timewise, I would choose something a lot more realistic/efficient for my MMA training.

Basically you would need to take the 'traditional' off karate, to make it into MMA or else it wouldn't stand up to the challenge. I am not talking only about crosstraining but also the abandonment of many Kata techniques and traditional drills that are not effective in an MMA rules enviroment. After some logical thinking and research, a serious Karateka should know what works and what doesn't, so it comes down to eliminating techniques that are not effective and perfecting the ones that can make you win fights. Also the MMA Karateka (again like Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva) should be a master of Tai Sabaki and have the advantage in the tactical and mental game of the fight.

Lyoto Machida is a very good example for Karatekas wishing to enter MMA competition. His qualifications are: 3rd Dan Black belt in Shotokan Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (under Walter Broca) Black belt in Judo Before entering MMA he also competed in Karate Tournaments proving he had decent athletic condition. The main controversy here would be the rarity of a MMA gym to train you on the skill sets mentioned above since its known that the Machida family own a dojo/gym. Myself, I would love to see an MMA fighter coming from a Kyokushin (or other full contact Karate) and BJJ background. It would be more aggressive and satisfying to watch.

Just came in to link another of my favorite articles written by 'cymry' regarding kicks in self defence situations. https://www.karateforums.com/low-kicking-below-the-belt-vt11102.html Awesome read.

Enigma remix album!

If they only practice for tournaments I can understand your hesitation. Many knockdown dojo do train with gloves and allow head shots in dojo sparring nowadays. Yes, that's what i'm looking for, full contact sparring with sparring gloves and headgear. Even in the one step kumite drills we do at my kyu rank we don't wear any sparring gear. How will I ever commit to do a full contact attack to my sparring partner like this? This situation is killing kumite aliveness and is a waste of time instead of skill improvement. I find it very frustrating that only Kick Boxing, Muai Thai and ''MMA'' gyms practice full contact sparring with protective gear. Why? It's mid 2012 and sparring gear is available everywhere, why not use it to enhance your training? 'If your Dojo is teaching you to fight according to tourney rules ask them for your Happy Meal you've got a McDojo.'

I did some searching these days and found a few Kyokushin dojos. I pmed the instructor of one (all dojos in same federation) and found that they practice by tournament rules aka no punches to the head. I'm dissapointed really. I guess I'll stay with Shotokan until Xmas and see.

the thread should be : GT5 vs Forza Motorsport 4 in which case Forza wins hands down! i was always a PS2 fan but since they started watering down the quality of the Grand Turismo series i got dissapointed.

Welcome to KF! I am also in the phase of transitioning from Shotokan to Kyokushin since we get no sparring at my Dojo. But hell u sound like u had a tough time in your first KK training sessions..! I'm looking forward to some BJJ training too in the future if I manage to find more free time.

Myself I prefer lightweight Gi's that breath best. I just love my Adidas Training K220 with the ventilated sections. Of course I live and train in Greece where summers are crazy hot. I would consider wearing a better looking heavier gi only for examinations and shows. For Kumite I have no idea yet cuz of my rank.

When they say calorie deficit they mean a small % of your total daily plan so that it adds up in a weekly total. Example: Your body needs 2000 calories per day in idle state. If you can eat say 1850 calories per day that will sum up -1050 calories per week that if continued for 1-3 months will result in weight loss. (with the exception of hormone and thyroid related medical problems) When i started Karate last November i was 95kg. When I started a nutrition plan combined with exercise, by Summer I lost -15kg and improved my endurance and self confidence.

with every Dan they go up a weight class?

My doubt in my Shotokan Dojo started after studying lots of articles about Karate training and reading the views of many respected martial arts forums members. Yes the techniques taught are highly effective if mastered and performed by a reasonable athletic person, but really do you believe that the average person needs 3+ years to master the ~10 most common punches+kicks you would use in free sparring? There is a mix of athletic and non athletic people in my dojo but that is not the point. The point is that the dojo does not spar at all except once a week in what they call 'Competition Class' that is light point sparring and only black belts allowed from what i guess. I wouldn't mind going full contact on a friend as long as he is too and we both wear prot. gear. In kick boxing they start sparring usually after the 3rd month. Why in Shotokan we have to wait 3+ years?!

To me it's more 'Marriaged Martial Arts' than Mixed. Mixed is more catchy though. MMA gyms are the new trend that many people choose in favor of TMA dojos. Depending on the instructors employed in the Gym results may vary a lot! As with any MA school/dojo/dojang the same McDojo approach must be taken before commiting. I would advise taking it slow instead, establishing a solid base in one MA before starting another to complement the gaps of the first. If not... all the MMA fights would be very dull, with fighters of quite similar skill sets fighting against each other while there are so many MA combinations that can be 'marriaged' to create a very interesting individual fighting style for each fighter.

Tai Sabaki is a huge chapter in Karate. fujicolt from the OSS (Our Shotokan Studies) forum has written a very comprehensive guide about all aspects of it. here's the link: http://ourshotokanstudies.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=articles&action=display&thread=172&page=1 One of my very favorite Karate articles. Osu!

First of all I'd like to thank you all for you input. I am still troubled and have not decided what to do yet. All the Kyokushin Dojos are >10km from my house and gasoline prices are very expensive nowadays. If i choose to stay with Shotokan I'll need to find a sparring partner to practice out of school. I feel confident in my stances and techniques and i should test them under real opposition. With the use of protective gear i don't see how is that gonna do any wrong. I could try to find another Shotokan Dojo that practice full contact kumite but i don't have my hopes high really. Most dojos in Athens take the traditional way of Shotokan way too soft and this forces me to look at the Kyokushin 'other' side of Karate. Ideally i would be looking for a school identical to the one evergrey is so lucky to have. Full Contact with strikes to the Head (protective gear on) but also focus on the Traditional side of Karate with practice of Katas and Kihon. If only i was so fortunate...

Yes its about 1 year of training that I have developed muscle memory in Shotokan forms. However i have no idea how my stand up kumite is going to look since I have never done any..! Was having flashbacks of evergrey's stories about other Karate Styles joining their open tournaments where only few managed ok but many others quite bad and i don't want to find myself in this position really.

I find the lack of sparring in my shotokan dojo disturbing. I don't feel like doing 1 step kumite drills for 1 more year while paying for belts and exams. According to our curriculum we do Jiyu kumite only after 2nd Kyu and even then its light point sparring. Really if I spend all this time training I would like to practice them in a mean other than thin air. Don't get me wrong I respect the art but I would like more aliveness in the dojo. There are few decent looking kyokushin dojos in Athens so I'll be looking to do some tryouts starting from the closest one. As I currently have 6th Kyu in shotokan do you think it will take me lots of time to reach the equivalent grade?

Sounds very interesting. Although i would presume that most MAs teach you knife defence against a foe with no particular training in knife attacks.

I'm 28, i started Shotokan last November and im still struggling to do a Jodan Mawashi Geri. So far my flexibility has improved so I can kick at shoulder height. I believe i'll get there soon but it requires a lot more dynamic+static streching drills.

anyone seen this? dunno if its posted by someone before but it sure makes me wanna go out and buy a cup right now! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3-RfOTlaQw&feature=related