Hawkmoon

Posture!! Very important!! Arm shouldn't be fully extended. The arm, at the elbow, should be ever so slightly bent. Keep elbows close and tight to the body. Keep shoulders down throughout the technique. Keep fingers together. Snap your technique, but only at the very last second. Kiai. Concentrating on your abs. Focus. Don't over analysis the darn thing. Use your hips, but not too early, and not too late. Watch your stance. Is it too wide or too long or too narrow. Remember everything that your instructor taught you concerning the "Do's" and "Don'ts". His/her teaching is paramount. Have your arms cross one another towards the very middle, but not to wide and/or way, way outside your opposite side. Break each part down, and in that, be specific without being ridicules; over analyzing. Depending on the style, things start and end at the same time, and with others, it's more of a domino effect. Good luck, have fun, and train hard. Absolutely hit the nail on the head - brilliant post. Perfect! Its kind'a all been said at this point! So I'll one word.. Fortitude! Enjoy your journey it will be rewarding!

Asked to be taught a kata, nothing more nothing less! Odd! To me that's a like asking to be shown how to write but not read, on its own without context its meaningless! Don't get me wrong going to other Dojos and having other Dojos come to you is IMO a great way to learn and expand your understanding of MA, I do wholeheartedly support and promote such things! I was always given opportunity to do this, and even today in the dojo we are arranging visits to other schools to continue doing this. So to a degree this 'imaginary' student is doing just that but has missed the much of the point of going to other schools! Learn a kata. Can I ask does this 'learn a kata' also include the meanings, and purpose of what and why? or Is it just the form the shape that would be taught? 'a' leads to 'b' leads 'c' leads to etc etc...

hmm.... Can't say much about my mental state (as it were) I can say I had one memory one thought in my head and that was to do the stuff I'd watched on TV! I'd watched Enter the Dragon when I was younger and so wanted to do this mystical far eastern fighting thing?!?!.... The fist dojo I walked into was a Judo school, which wasn't what I was looking for but was later directed to a karate school which is where things picked up for me! I watch the first lesson from the kitchen through the serving hatch and pretty much decided this was the thing for me! I was more than happy to come back for more and join in! I wore some shorts and a plain white tee for about a month and then was given a 'Shogun' Silver heavy weight Gi! The other Gi I was offer was a Bronze but it felt wrong, a later experiment with a bronze confirmed my first feeling regarding the light weight suit! In a few weeks sensai worked out I was fast, nimble and more flexible than some of the more senior students, (at school I'd been member of the track and cross country team, and the holder of the full back position in the Rugby team accordingly!) (I can hear the sports teacher now; "Get the ball and run like hell! ) Jeez thats a while ago! LOL!

6/1/14 1st session of 2014! 240 punches 160 knee strikes 10 mins shadow sparing. 80 situps. + 2 min hold @45 degrees (spit across 5 mins) Kyokushin Taikyoku Sono Ichi Kyokushin Taikyoku Sono Ni Kyokushin Taikyoku Sono San Kyokushin Pinan Sono Ichi ...done in Ura . (turning/spinning) 10 min shadow sparring - 1 min spar, 1 min push up, 1 in spar 1 in pushup and so on... 10 min fighting combinations!

Happy new year all!

Thanks, your welcome! IKO?

Congrats sir well done!

no worries! Not to my knowledge or any searching I have done to verify one way of the other! I'll say no but anyone with more detail or better still confirmation of any connection or not please speak up! So you asked if it was any good, you know that much of what you posted is Kyokushin karate...are you up for having a go then?

Well done mazzybear, all! Me, I'm currently 2nd Kyu. March 2014 is set as the next grading date to 1st kyu grading. 6 of us in total were given the news the other night! If all goes well the same 6 are to grade Shodan in 2015!

It is well known and respected 'branch' of Karate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcwObThOxIE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mas_Oyama http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyokushinkaikan The first link is a TV series on MA that focuses on this or that art from week to week, its the video of the week they looked at Kyokushin karate. The second is about the founder, Sosai Mas Oyama. (fyi: see my sig) The third is as good as any source of Kyokushin history! The last ones are examples of Sosai demonstrating his 'karate' Kyokushin karate.

(I shall post first in open honesty..then check see if I was close or just rambling off at a million miles an hour down the wrong route) Thats a me kind a thing to do... ! ...maybe I missed a point here? I read (well took to mean) the need was to restrain the power, to develop control. Edit: phew! (No seriously....its been mad this last couple of weeks so I really was worried I'd gone left when I should have gone right... ) Going over my last few months of knockdown training, hip rotation and so on develop power. So does stabbing type punches (A shock like effect as power is transferred along the punch line) The use of candles is akin to that punch training, however, the use of the pull before impact is a good way to develop control and not go 'rocky balboa' on the opponent.

11/12 whole night dedicated to ren-raku, kihon & kata.

Bushido_man96 ..... an update! I was given clear instruction to focus, the grading is set, I am on the list! Now as a senior I don't expect or actually want (not in a negative way) spectators, it means nothing to me if they are or are not sitting watching. To me its...well...simply...gotta be so SOOooo boring I'd feel bad for them sitting there! I mean its not like a competition where something unexpected might happen over there on that mat or here in the ring. Its all one step arm movement/leg movement. one step new arm movement/leg movement. ....etc Kids as I said I can see good and bad in having parents on the side lines. Not being a shodan yet, (oh! Yeah that was mapped out for me as well, that's planned already for 2015!) to have people come up afterwards and ask why? The geek in me wants to scream 'Do you have any idea what you just watched? Have you any idea how many mistakes there were?' The 'grown up' the student, recalls the alien world of the dojo and simply how amazing/awe inspiring/ it appeared. How everyone was clearly one step away from perfection! Then after a few weeks then months just how regular people made mistake after mistake after mistake, same people some times, same mistake sometimes over and over again. As you stand in the line the little 'fidget' etc that draws your eye to that person...'what was just corrected? Why was it not done correctly the first time?...' How hard everyone worked just to be as good as they were, where I was sure when I walked in a few weeks back they were not trying that hard at all and were just amazing! Now nan or dad asks why? what happened? That other kid over there was worse yet you passed them, why? why did little Tommy fail? (an answer given if given well is going to ensure no insult etc is received, I get this, and it is not my concern here.) My concern is the parent that demands what they perceive as justice no matter what the reasoning, or how bad...just want want want! What then?

hhm......its been hinted at that I need to 'up' my focus/attention in the dojo. Why? There is a senior grade grading coming (June) and the hint is to start preparing for it. (one of the guys 'challenged me' to grade with him which added to the weight of the hints form Shihan!) Not part of my plan just now.......but after being tested last night from 10th to 1st kyu kihon and kata....seems I recall more than I realized I could. Wanted to work on fitness and stamina more than anything this coming year!

9/12 Whole night dedicated to ALL kihon & kata to 1st kyu. (seems I'm to prepare for June grading) hmm...

Going to sound ...a little mad...going to sound a little cliche ..... punch at a candle...the idea is not to hit but to extinguish it! If you hit it you already did it wrong! punch at a board (makiwara) After a while close your eyes, react to the feeling you get at the moment of contact.... the slightest touch now pull back! The candle if hit ..goes out and breaks, after a while you learn the distance and either your arm is extended just before you would hit or you learn to stop/pull it before you hit it. Get that moment right and the candle goes out! The board is the same, you stop or pull before you 'HIT' it and the pull back turns the strike into a stabbing kind of action! power is easy to switch on, good power or best power has some hip and so on are involved. Speed and touch that's control...and that means you need to wake up nerve endings! That touch you get just before the ribs are broken!

WOW! thats a blast from the past! ..not heard his name in years!

100% agree always push, don't back off unless as a set piece or setup to some other thing that you do! (make sure you have another thing 'to do' is always a good thing to keep in mind at time like this) I'll add (a contradiction in terms) back out (not off) when the other guy is unaffected by the attack, its not working so don't run yourself out doing stuff that has no effect! (you may as well get off the mat and give him the win doing that...he's gonna take it from when you when your worn out and can't stop him!) Don't back off, do hold your ground 'that center' created between you and him, always move 'around' your opponent. bouncing allows for quick changes in direction part of what is or is not good about bouncing in the first place https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYNha86CIMc this guys talks...talks a great deal about it and much of it is spot on, his demos are good and he does show some 'tells' when he does this or that. ...but look at the foot work, much of it is great really is! His feet are at least shoulder width apart and much of the movement from one position to another his feet are close to the floor! This is all teh rights things you should do no matter what you are doing in the ring/on the mat! ...now look closer.... watch 'him'! some moves he does has his arms drop! some moves he does his feet are within inches of each other! (to exaggerate for example purposes.) The first 15 seconds, good movement nice spacing clear ground coverage! Great! (Not sure about the 'Ali' shuflfe ..but still!) From 15 to 19 seconds... Feet are way to close imo! Watch his spins the feet come together and if timing is your thing...well hes going down! 2.30 A great section! truly is! Step! Simple as that just step into or out of your opponent! Step! top activity in any fight no matter what or where! Then 2.40...bounce! 2.50 to 2.54....consider his words as LAW!

To me anyway, there is nothing like it the rush the pain (to be open and honest) the use of bare knuckles i guess its as close the street as you can get without going MMA or the street! Go find a club have a go! It can't hurt! (... metaphorically speaking that is!) Visit Youtube just search for Kyokushin Knockdown/training! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4uArYR7nog

ta-da! Moved the sofa, put the disk in, downloaded an 9mb update, and ran through the setup sequence! First impressions! This tracks way WAY better than anything I've used before, I took on the 1min heavy bag session to see how well it tracked! It tracked easily 90% of the punches I threw, it caught every single kick and knee strike! After the minute it awarded me an 'A+' ! (There was a points score sorry forgot what that was!) I then had a go with the focus pads, it tracked very well although I was still able to punch faster than it could 'see' me punch ...... meh! (still very happy with it) It awarded me an 'A'. Very impressed so far! Worth the money at this point of that I have no doubt! The teenager has already asked if he can use it .....I think there a new girl in his circle of friends....

Well done 'AdamKralic'

Well done guys, nice recognition, well done!

To my way of thinking that depends as much on the student as the nature of the ryu and art that is taught! If what is taught and how it is taught is not to your taste then why stay? Makes no sense, as was said once before all you are doing at times like that is making a bad situation worse. If you have done research on MA and this ryu and that ryu and you have spent time watching and maybe even had a go at this one or that one, to then walk into a 'fight club and ..... or walk into a none contact club and 'have an accident' (they do happen after all no matter what style you do!) If one or the other is not for you, why stay? move on find another test it .... The people that walk in to my dojo, all full of beans (grateful that they turned up and are going to give it a try) and never come back..... Yet in other dojos I have work in the people that come in have ago and return as well as vanish never to been seen again....for all of my tolerance and the respect I have come to have for the other styles..... one truth stands out for me........people battles with there pain memory! To me the fix for this means 'conditioning' to break that memory, and well put simple many people really have no desire to push that barrier. I'm defiantly ion the camp that says you must do that! Punch a ball of rope/makiwara board, semi contact fights with knockdown/full contact bouts from time to time to put things into practice and perspective. its not power when you hit this or that board its the repetition. its not power when you hit your sparring partner, its technique. Its not power when you are hit, its how you manage the pain of the impact. If you do not hit or you are not hit....put simply its gonna hurt!

Welcome young man!

No contact is something I've never understood as a means to learn how to fight! As guird says! 'no contact' sparring only serves to enhance speed.....I'm told...... I'm not entirely sold it does that in all honesty! But some do say it helps in the 'speed' department...um! ok! Full contact (or knockdown) from the get go nope, no advantage here either. Moving through the grades in Kyokushin, 'stuff' only got serious at around 4thkyu, and then only in gradings. Full Contact/knockdown only became the point to all that was done in the dojo at 4/3rdkyu, but even saying that we don't fight at full power every time in the dojo! Many kyokusion dojos that I have visited and trained at light at semi/light to semi contact from one session to another! Full power comes in when preparing for a tournament and even senior gradings.