Xuanlong

Xuanlong, Welcome! What lineage/Ryuha of Goju did you train? I'm also curious about your preferences with respect towards IOGKF and Jundokan? Chris Sorry for the very late reply I did Meibukan Goju on the 1-to-1 classes, But I'm not a fan of Kobudo weapons training anymore I just want to focus primarily on weaponless martial arts now, so I'd prefer IOGKF and Jundokan, than Meibukan which has a focus on added kobudo weapons training. And the Seigokan would have been nice but the the only instructor in that place was a shodan with majority students being under aged kids, comparing with Kyokushin Karate that I later on chose with an instructor of both Shotokan and Kyokushin Karate 4th Dan rank, with more Adult students in his classes. Had there been an IOGKF/Jundokan/Seigokan with the qualifications equal to the Kyokushin instructor and a dojo with adults rather than a majority of under aged kids I would have picked those goju ryu's first than Kyokushin instead. the KK dojo is full of sadistic masochistic pain lovers , for KK practitioners its perfectly normal to be banged up training in it lol new guy or not , oh well no pain no gain, however I did mention I would pace it, as too much pain is no good gain as well, Osu!

Prices are current of the MAs I am currently training in: I take 2 martial arts at the moment, Kyokushin Karate and BJJ. $ 20.00 USD for 2 days a week training per month on Kyokushin Karate (2 hours a day) T and TH $ 60.00 USD for 3 days a week training per month on BJJ (3 hours a day) M and W and F

absolute favorite: Sanchin

in our kyokushin dojo its listed below, the requirements to grade follow the IKO1 2011 international syllabus, except for the provisional black belt shodan-ho is the only one that different from the international syllabus, some kyokushin dojos alos use it, but for the most part use the international syllabus as the basis. Mu-kyu (White Belt) 10th kyu (Orange Belt) 9th kyu (Orange Belt with 1 stripe) 8th kyu (Blue Belt) 7th kyu (Blue Belt with 1 stripe) 6th kyu (Yellow Belt) 5th kyu (Yellow Belt with 1 stripe) 4th kyu (Green Belt) 3rd kyu (Green Belt with 1 stripe) 2nd kyu (Brown Belt) 1st kyu (brown Belt with 1 stripe) next is provisional black belt without stripe called Shodan-ho after are the proper black belt dan grades. shodan - black belt with 1 gold stripe nidan - black belt with 2 gold stripes sandan - black belt with 3 gold stripes and so on counting in japanese with a dan appended at the end, black belts with a gold stripe reflecting the number count to how many the gold stripes would be on the belt to indicate rank til 10th dan though I know only Sosai Masutatsu Oyama is reserved to have this rank and no one else, that is pretty much the order of belt rank progression in our IKO1 Kyokushin Dojo and Nationwide.

Osu! my first post some background info about my previous exp in MA, I've been reading this forum for awhile, had to also read all the stickies and such, I registered earlier too but didnt get to post my intro yet. I recently got back to formally training Martial arts after a long absence from it, Im currently practising Kyokushin Karate under the IKO1 Shokei Matsui Group. I also do BJJ under a blackbelt with Rickson Gracie lineage. Started only early this year. I practise some boxing exercises and hit the bag work in my practise /or personal Gym area in my home, along with Katas and Kyokushin striking techniques. My first martial art was shotokan karate, I started in the 1st grade elementary. I would train in and fight in Karate for most the following years, til I finally was able to diversify during my teens of which I took to training in Aikido, Yang Style Taiji Quan, Western Boxing, Filipino Arnis (Escrima/Kalis), Kobudo weapons (nunchaku and staff), and later on in my senior HS year, BJJ from a friend that transitioned from japanese jujutsu to BJJ under Carlson Gracie Lineage, sometimes I would be able to spar with Judoka in BJJ as well but I never formally trained in it, judo I mean. (To be honest I never really used much aikido in sparring or real life events successfully except for some of their basic techniques, and Taiji as well, they just gave me some other skills and benefits to supplement my other MAs, for aikido tolerance for more flexibility on wrists and hands, going with the flow, and the rolls and break falls also very useful in jujutsu/judo/wrestling/sambo, however you can learn that in other MAs anyways, with Taiji its mostly relaxing and a good light exercise, for stretching & overall mobility, it can be tiring too especially the low stance forms, done right. Just as in Karate kata can be if you do it right repeatedly. But for the most part do not recommend Aikido for self defense for most people especially if its your only MA along with Taiji Quan, some exception maybe for yoshinkan aikido or other hard styles, but I'd recommend koryu jujutsu better or gendai budo jujutsu like Judo and Small Circle Jujutsu, IMHO) Later on in my college years I did Kendo and some Iaido (MJER/Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu) and would train seldom or once in awhile in BJJ. Then the time came when finally I was too busy pre-occupied working alot concentrating on career and business, I could no longer do most any martial art except for some practise alone and the rare match ups. My Jujutsu friends tried to get me back into BJJ in 2008 but only for a brief time, schedules and other reasons. Fast forward now I'm 31 years old at 5.6 ft tall pushing 180-190 lbs yes im overweight, have stress, and would like to get fit and get back to martial arts, I picked kyokushin and BJJ to balance out my skill sets in 2 ranges of hand to hand combat. I've been dieting, exercising, stretching and working out gradually and doing KK and BJJ. I'm looking to really dedicate myself to MA for awhile and gain better health and increase my sanity points to aid me from general anxiety and stress. I did get interested in Goju ryu and wanted to train in it, it has full contact sparring called irikumi go for advanced levels, the kata was interesting and so with its philosophy and close in fighting preference, practised some of its kata and trained abit with some instructors under tutorial per day 1-to-1 classes, I never signed up officially, the nearest Goju Ryu Dojo for me only has a 1st Dan instructor, and the other instructors in goju ryu were either too far or asking for prices not reasonable enough for me to sustain training regularly alongside BJJ, and kyokushin karate had an instructor in my area with a 4th Dan rank in both Shotokan and Kyokushin, and was more mature in age and had more experience obviously, so picking kyokushin among other reasons was more feasible, the fees are also very affordable, bout 19 USD per month 2 days a week and then I do my BJJ for 3 times a week the days I dont do KK, it really fits well. I can actually do 3 days a week KK adding the intensive class day on a weekend making the fee climb to about 33 USD a month, but I havent done that in a few months 5 days training with KK and BJJ is plenty enough, for now for me atleast and feel it as such. The Goju-ryu around me were mostly Meibukan and 1 Seigokan, if I had a choice and went with Goju ryu, and was available I'd go for IOGKF or Jundokan but none around or even near me. Anyways it works out fine KK is descended partly from Goju-Ryu and has Full contact KO kumite atmosphere and not just for advanced levels even low levels. I'd given thought to try KK offshoots like Daido Juku or even Wado Ryu that pretty much includes Karate with a judo or jujutsu fusion, except Daido Juku is one of the rarest schools to find outside Japan and Wado ryu clubs are too far from me. There are many people who ask me why do I choose karate, when MT is around, and I do respect MT, but I have a karate background, I enjoy doing some katas and see some benefit in it, not like some other people who think its absolutely useless, but i believe in coupling that with full contact live sparring with a resisting opponent and not just kata practise alone. Also I've successfully used Karate Techniques especially knocking out people with strikes like shuto/tetsui to the neck as I was taught to use for self defense, situations outside the dojo on confrontations i mean, even before I could diversify my skills in other effective MAs like Boxing. So I know it works. But I dont think point sparring touch light contact and no contact, will be beneficial to training realistic, as the sad state of most karate styles practise, and the dodgy quality dojos and mcdojos really dont help the reputation of karate. For some reasons Most Karate Styles and Aikido Soft Styles are a favorite of dodgy quality dojos or mcdojos. A good number of my friends/peers have also been fellow martial artists, though sometimes they trained in other arts, this is good as i get to cross train and learn somethings I dont formally study or train in. I have experience sparring in dojos, amongst peers and other acquaintances and have had my own real fighting/confrontations be it for peers, pride, good reason or just self defense, I generally avoid hostility these days though, for many reasons, and to save myself from hassles caused by aftermath of such physical conflicts, and Psychology tactics are interesting to, when you can diffuse a potential fight, its kinda cool, but got to still be able and prepared if things go sour. I do also have some criticisms with KK but for the most part love the full contact training, and much respect to Sosai Masutatsu Oyama, and all who study and dedicate training hard in KK and its offshoots or other legit effective MAs. BJJ is a great workout and combination with KK is intense in body and pain management training, as of this writing I had to take a break this week, from both because of multiple injuries sustained from mostly KK training, my abdomen is mostly in pain, right hand, my left foot, bruises in many areas and muscle pain in general. I hope that is a decent enough introduction. Ah the gut pain is the worst, than all the others combined, writing this keeps my focus away from the pain, oh well no pain no gain. Anyways, there ya go! Thanks for reading my intro! Osu!