Hawkmoon

I so get and agree with you here. To add, to me there is an extra aspect we need to consider and that is the ideology that drives the practitioner, i.e. a cultural element/effect is to be expected. Kata is a good thing, however to a degree Bruce and Sosai have a like mind set here, if the kata serves no purpose why do it at all? Why swim on dry land....etc etc. Hence I say ideology! Kata is meant to show/teach (bunkai) how to defend or attack, (normally both) an attack form an imaginary assailant. Hence, in Kyokushin if the Kata does not support Sosais' karate he dropped it. (A thread where I explain why we have a Kanku Dai kata but not the Kanku Sho kata as well.) I would offer into the conversation that Bruce Lee took a more direct view about kata, to promote his other view that to fight and fight well you have to fight! A view Sosai promoted as well. Kata in this mind set is seen to be a dance, a play fight after all the attacker is imaginary! Kata competitions, are amazing to watch, the movement is graceful, well performed, the team kata is amazing, of this there is no doubt no doubt at all. Yet there is no modern day application, MA as taught today is not a life or death lesson to learn...its sport (to take a simple and generic view of MA overall) We do not learn these skills to serve the local Shogun, or after a past event wander the land as a Ronin, we go to work, drink coffee go home watch TV, and maybe watch Football or Tennis etc etc. So as I said earlier, TMA to me is a victim of its own self worth, arrogance. Respect is whatever the two persons involved accept is respectful. If one side is not prepared to allow for mistakes, if one side not accept the other does not know all the bits and pieces 100%, and does as a result get upset and angry.

Welcome, and good choice. What is the name of the MA have taken up?

Good questions, I especially like the second (two fold) point you raise. I met up with an old instructor earlier this year, I quiet literally bumped into him! anyway! he still teaches, and still runs 'the old' club, and proudly explains some changes that have come to pass in the last couple of years! New 'colors', new ranks, new stance, new friends clubs and now that its, its own new independent organization,! (The changes stem form some break down in relations with the AMA/AKA and one of the black belts, no idea about detail,that's not my bag) The basics of the break down stem from a loss or lack of respect. The club then as now considered itself a TMA, not affiliated with the parent (as it was then) IKO organization. (There is also some history to that which I don't care to understand or become involved in, then as now I just want to train) Now the club the black belt runs carries the old name, and is run out of the old hall. My old instructor has also retained the old name and uses a new hall, in all easy enough to understand, until you learn both are not interested in the other. (Reminds me of a thread in the forum where we discuss the shorty surrounding what we have different styles and Ryus of Karate) Each has a clear dislike for the other. (Oh ! I do so love politics in sport!..makes me feel warm and fluffy inside ) As both are TMA, there is a 'pride' element to the situation, but anyway back to point, my old instructor...we were talking about the old days and a visit we had form another club, not a Karate club, a ...Chinese art is all we could recall of them, but the visit was remember as at the end of the session, things had gone bad and one our senior grades was now sporting a broken nose! In short it seemed the visiting school had expected we would honor all there codes of conduct, which we had no experience of and from that had insulted them, and so the visit fractured more and more through the session, and...'bang' no respect. To add to the mix here, sometimes I feel some people 'create' situations to then take a position against or stand upon! TMA is a IMO a victim of its own self worth or pride, when it assumes respect is respect no matter who or what and that respect is what TMA says it is, rather than accept that the other thing is different and not TMA.

Short answer " yes!". It will come in time, as mentioned here practice practice practice! p.s. well done for taking plunge, enjoy the adventure! Welcome to MA! & karate!

Yup the next Terminator film! Terminator: Genesis! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1340138/ A film set after T3 before Salvation.... ...and Arnie is a human in this one...apparently! So the story goes: A film set (maybe partially in London, maybe not) after T3, Sarah Conner survives, she does not die of leukemia (in the TV show and current film series she died somewhere between T2 & 3 and long before 'Salvation') One of the suggested many plot failures of this story being a planned reboot to the franchise! (Me, I'm still trying to work out what happened to 'I'm batman' Bale doing one more Terminator film. He was reportedly to reprise his role as John Conner in another Terminator film after he finished the last Batman film....) Confused...you will be after this episode of soap! Still, for all the craziness, I like the series, so maybe we get to see the moment the story comes to life...when Skynet invents time travel and sends a terminator to kill its mortal enemy! ..or sends plans and such like forward to create a NWO!

...well that explains the 'weakness', in that leg! You have over time, without realizing, been compensated for the damage with the way you do things, by things I mean walk, jog, play football, run and such like. Now you do MA, that 'habit' that teaching (that muscle memory) controls how you use that leg, its become habit, its become normal to you to do all these things to not load or impact that leg! The simple answer is you need to relearn how to use the leg the same as the other one, basically you need to work it more to build it up! One of guys here at work went to a sport therapist because his knee would hurt after a run, they worked out it was his weaker leg, so that had him do exercise specifically on that leg to build it up! Once his quads were built up to match his other leg his knee pain went away. Go get yourself checked out see what they can offer you and the weaker leg! It can only help no matter what they say!

3/2 ...a 'Mock' grading! All kihon All exercise All kata All Ren-Raku All ippon/sanbon kumite from 10th kyu to 1st kyu! (I kind'a ache this morning!)

hmm... Kyokushin, if you do the numbers thing is 4yrs. That assumes a minimum 2 sessions a week, 1st time pass rate on past gradings ability and 100% attendance! From 4th kyu onwards its all knockdown so there is a measure of ability involved as well. The period between 1st kyu and Shodan is 12mths 100% (or high 90%) attendance! Shodan - first degree (fist grade) IMHO should be earned not by attendance but by effort and education/learning 'Bunkai'! TO simply do as told, copy as seen, and repeat parrot fashion.....no context, not application, no experience! ....sorry I'm seeing Neo in the Matrix ... he known Kung-Fu!

That's good way to look at this, yes, I'll go with that! Mix a 'wind up mechanism' with a radio and you have a 'clock work radio, new device! The fact its a mix of two established technologies is merely its beginnings its foundation, how it is taught and how it is practiced is what makes this or that modern or traditional!

Inspired from some searching on YouTube off the back of this vid: Conditioning 'stack'. A stack of used tires as high as you wish (suggestion; as high as you) 1. Tie them together so they form a cylinder. - (Ropes passed through the tier walls, fixed to the top and bottom tires and so holding them together) 2. A 4 inch post (as always) sits in the ground and used to anchor the stack to a position. 3. Fix the tiers to each other. - This needs to be good and not to tight and the fixing of the 'stack' to the post should be relaxed but not to loose! I'll suggest some movement to be more 'real' when contact is made. Once it moves an inch or so in the stack, no more than 6 inches on the post, simply punch and kick the stack! The idea is to allow the 'stack to flex' to be more real and still (I get they are tiers) offer some resistance to your attack! Look at this video, at around 1.47 you can see a tire stack! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L5MUMpAU7k This is the idea!

One of the Dan grades waves his arms around, and even doubles his strikes off the back of the waving! Think along the lines of a boxer messing with his opponents view as he moves in with a double jab... no matter what the strike. He doesn't jump about to much hes a bit older and clearly a heavy weight! Many of us are adopting a fluid motion to deal with him and his double tap taps and waving. Another Dan grade is all jump in and out, but he has a massive tell when he comes in....he grimaces! ...and we evade! In both cases we were so focused on trying to deal with a single point of this or that we overlooked the bigger picture. If it helps, study him for a while, see if he has tells, and if he does act upon them and get into him and spoil his game plan! good luck!

Then allow me to direct you to 'this is karate' & 'Vital karate', both well worth the investment! If you like these and have that sort of spare cash then sure go after 'Advanced Karate'. Enjoy!

Generally his books are 'not that common' to rare to very rare. One thing about Sosai was when he gave Kyokushin karate to everyone, it and so he basically became an overnight sensation! The result of this new found fame was for many years (like most karate masters) he was a highly rated highly sought after celebratory, and with that his works were prized! Since his death there has been a certain resurgence in his books and so forth so prices are rising again! AS I mentioned I got lucky years ago and found 'Vital Karate' on a market stall, I will add 'This is Karate' and 'Advanced karate' to the pile one day. First will be 'This is Karate', I think its more in fashion as it were!

hehe! Well with your chosen art of Kyokushinkai Karate I'd offer you look into things by Sosai Oyama himself initially, get to grips with his teachings. Consider:http://www.amazon.com/This-Is-Karate-Masutatsu-Oyama/dp/0685221385 He also wrote: Advanced Karate (Rare as books go and will cost you a small fortune!) http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Karate-Masutatsu-Oyama/dp/0870400010 & What is karate http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Is-Karate-Masutatsu-Oyama/dp/0870401475 & Vital karate (I have a copy of this one, from a market stall, cost me 50p- about 30c at the time) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vital-Karate-Masutatsu-Oyama/dp/0706317874 His book "This is Karate" is a good read a nice insight to how he taught and observed the body and how it works and so on in a fight! If you get a book get this one, as to other reads any of the list you offer is well worth a read, of that have no doubt.

GKR came around a few years back door knocking on doors 'selling' there system. At that time I'd never heard of them, so I was happy to chat with him to find out more about them and what they offered. The alarms bells went off in my head when I added into the conversation by own background in Kyokushin, this clearly made him happy! I was promptly offer the opportunity to come and teach ! ...after I paid him the joining fee and signed up for a 3 mths of lessons to earn a black belt, all up front first of coarse!. He was polity sent on his way. (seriously! polity no insult no harm, very civil!) He went on his merry way! My son lives a few doors away and came over a week or so later, seems his had found some paperwork and credit card payments made to something called 'GKR' and he wanted my view on it all. I could not honestly offer any good or bad comments as my only experience was an overly excited caller at my door. His missus took teh children to the training hall, and were asked to sit to the side to watch the class. Afterwards they were asked if this was the sort of thing they were looking for? she replied yes, with all her 1 hr or experience of MA! They went back and for three months they did what they did. The kids coma over to me to show off there new skills, all full of beans and proud of what they had be taught! I was happy they were happy, proud even that they had developed the courage/confidence to show off there new found skills. We spent about 30mins doing stuff, before it was time for dinner. My son came back later and explained they had learned more with me in 30 mins than they had with GKR in 3 mths!

Stick with it a while, you'll see it. Sperki, Just wait. You will eventually run into the guy (it's always a guy and usually under 30) who thinks, and I quote, "That karate crap don't work in a fight". And when they come in to train, whether they say it up front or just harbor the thought, they are waiting for a chance to jump in with the instructor and "fight" when sparring. And, if the instructor doesn't lay a beating on them, with all the attached bumps and bruises, then they can't really fight and have nothing to teach them. I'm in a small town in the Appalachian Mountain region and it's common enough. Most guys get into a few scraps as teenagers and think that makes them a pretty good fighter. Most won't train. Those that do, about half start with the idea above and of that half most think after 6 weeks of training they've learned it all. As an instructor you have to keep your head on a swivel and be on the look out for that sort. It's always on the lower belt to ask for lighter contact. Unless they are blasting away at the higher belt and have to be told to calm down and ease up. You get what you give, and many times when you're really into things you don't realize how hard you really are hitting. That's more likely for lower belts. Since you don't want to blast them, sometimes the upper belt needs to remind them to ease up. We usually follow the second or third warning to back down the contact with, "If you don't, you're going to get hit as hard as you're hitting." If you want to hit someone hard, expect to get hit just as hard. I've met more than a few lower belts that thought sparring with uppers meant they could go all out and it was cool and they wouldn't get hit back with the same force. Sparring can be a fun and exciting training experience. However, everyone has to be on the same page as far as contact, have respect for one another and know that it's just sparring. It isn't a fight, you don't have to win and you aren't going to die from the experience. A very solid post!! It's also the lower belts that will tag the upper belts...stop...go wide eyed...then say something like..."Ohhh, I got 'cha"...then they prance about as though they did something unbelievable...when in reality...the upper belt is controlling the sparring intensity instead of thumping and dumping the lower belt, and that's because that type of attitude from an instructor just doesn't teach the lower belt very much, if anything at all. Top post! There are three guy in our dojo who are just this kind of person. (I'm tempted to ask, when did you visit the dojo?) 2 our high grade (Not Dan grades, but high grade) one of them was screamed at a few night back to allow the new guy, with all his 5 lessons under his 'belt' out of the corner! Not bad for a session where clear instruction was given to work back and forth with each other to explore attacks and blocks. Same guy different night, screamed at again to go lighter on the other person, also not bad action on his part considering they were a lower grade and again we were to work with each other on a set sequence! The other senior grade in a 'light' sparring session was stopped cold for catching his opponent hard in the head, both were told off, one for lack of control and to much power the other for lowering his guard. The third guy is interesting, he is lower grade, and has on more than one occasion used his lower rank to excuse his actions......I say interesting because he clearly thinks we see low grade so 'must see low ability', he must think we are blind and not see an off duty heavy weight prison guard! New guys do catch you hard on occasion, new guys do love it when they get the upper hand, or the win in that sparring session. We were all a new guy once, its a great feeling and a massive boost to us and our ego come the next session. (maybe this is unique to a Kyokushin dojo) About 4kyu, 'the gloves' come off senior grades exchange 'views' equally, unless told to keep it light. as a 4 kyu you are the lowest senior grade ! Humility, Patience, should be observed and shown.

29/1 100 pushups . (3 sets- 2x30 - 40) 50 sit ups. 20 mins free (light) sparring. Rest of session kihon. - 10th kyu to 1st kyu

I'm glad I'm in the UK hiding in anonymity the forum offers! Much safer!

Started @ 19.30 Class no2 Finished @ 22.30 Class no3. (officially 20.30 till 22.00) (Class 1 is for the juniors 18.30 till 19.30) You'll be amazed at how quickly 50 or 100 punches or kicks can be be done when the count and rhythm are working well!

ahh that's who it is! yes that's him!

27/1 We had 5 black belts in so ... Strikes 150 - punches oi Tsuki 150 - Gyaku Tsuki 50 - Jodan Shotei Uchi 50 - Chudan 50 - Gedan 50 - Shuto Sakotsu Uchi 50 - Shuto Ganmen Uchi 50 - Shuto Hizo Uchi kicks 50 - Hiza Gammen Geri 50 - kin geri 50 - mai keage 50 - yoko Kearge 50 - uchi kearge 50 - osoto kearge 50 - Gedan Mawashi Geri 50 - chudan 50 - jodan 150 pushups (5 sets of 30) 150 sit ups (5 sets of 30) Finished the session with 1hr free (light) sparring.

Well JCVD made a film, 'Kickboxer' in this film he kicks the hell of of tree and 'wins'! Here's a real kickboxer doing just that....! Wow! Never going to be a thing I do...ever!

Legs - issues: No, maybe no more or less than say a Rugby player. Way WAY less than the none contact sport we call Football (Soccer)! Heart conditions : No, there are hundreds of thousands no millions of Full contact/Knockdown fighters in the world living perfectly normal lives! many are very happy and well past retirement! To anyone and all, if you find yourself in a tournament with idiots that think punching the heart is fun, walk away call the authorities anything, this is not "Bloodsport", that's Hollywood people !

Awesome!

Looking Good! my friend , looking good! Building your stamina, will come from building your general fitness, one follows the other. You'll be fine! Steady build up no rush, just focus on the task at hand the rest will come naturally, and as always enjoy!