guird

I enjoy the feeling of progressing, feeling like I'm becoming a better fighter. I don't intend to compete in kickboxing due to the high injury rate, and I don't intend to compete in karate because the ruleset frustrates me to no end. I would like to compete in grappling, even if it's just on a very minor level. My gym hosts occasional, small-scale no-gi tournaments, of which I've entered one. I do like striking ,and would like to continue training it. Most of the classes for kickboxing have sparring around medium contact. I take the occasional hard hit, but I haven't seen anyone get knocked out or get seriously injured. Sparring only gets harder in the advanced classes where they do prepare for competition. There are a number of somewhat older practioners at my dojo who used to do kyokushin or kickboxing but stopped because they were getting old. I'm still pretty young, so I could always kickbox for a time and switch back to karate later. Or not, depending on whether or not I feel like it at that time. Maybe just agree to spar light, maybe drop striking altogether.

I may choose to stop training karate, as I'm having a lot of trouble making it work together with kickboxing. my kickboxing seems to be holding me back from progressing in karate, and my karate seems to be holding me back in kickboxing. In any case, each one is taking up time that could be used to train the other, and karate has a lot of travel time involved while the rest have very little. If I were to stop with karate it would save a lot of time, and open up slots in my schedule for additional boxing and kickboxing. A few of the reasons they conflict: in karate I am always told to impact my roundhouse with the top of my foot, while in kickboxing I kick with the shin, and I know from kicking the heavy bag that using the top of the foot hurts my ankle joint. The way I move in kickboxing which involves shifting my weight from foot to foot to manage distance and put my weight behind my punches, lifting my heel as I do so to facilitate the pivoting. This is wholly different from the way we move in karate, and being used to moving this way results in poor technique in karate. When I've done a lot of kickboxing, I tend to nearly throw hooks in karate sparring. I catch myself on time, but it's still an annoyance. Hikite seems to be conflicting with the reflex to keep my hands up. I'm told to block mawashi geri with one arm in karate while moving off at an angle. I often fail to move off at an angle on time, so I prefer to use both arms to block. Using only one arm isn't so bad in point sparring, but if I were to do it in kick boxing I'd be hit. Also, since I need to split my time over so many different arts, my progression in them is extremely slow. On the other hand, I do enjoy karate and I get along very well with the others in my dojo. thoughts?

Monday I train karate tuesday I train kickboxing followed by strength training wednesday I train brazilian jujitsu, usually followed by boxing thursday I train karate friday I train brazilian jujitsu followed by MMA saturday I rest Sunday I train either karate or brazilian jujitsu I usually don't have time to go every day, so I have plenty of unplanned rest days. The advantage of this schedule is that if I'm too busy one day of the week, I still have plenty of other days I can train.

It's easier to combine grappling with karate than karate with another type of striking. Your reflexes won't conflict between bjj and karate, since they're totally different ranges.

The main difference between TKD and Karate is that TKD focuses more on kicks. There is also a difference in the way the techniques are executed, though there is also a lot of difference from style to style and ruleset to ruleset. Kung-fu is VERY broad. Generally, the forms are smoother and more graceful than in karate or TKD, but other than that there's too much variety to make any meaningful statements.

It's difficult to judge the quality of instruction based solely on the style. Whatever the style there are some red flags to watch out for, and that applies to both the Gracie and TSD Instruction. e.g. a lot of posturing from the instructor or their students. A disinclination to spar is usually also a bad sign. There's likely further discussion on what to avoid in other threads, as well as elsewhere on the internet. Attend some classes, and if there aren't a lot of red flags and you enjoy it, go ahead and do it. After you take a class, please do let us know how it went. oh, and welcome to KF!

The origin of human martial arts was likely somehwere in Ethiopia. No nation was the first to pas martial knowledge from one to another, that was invented long before humanity. Maybe I should rephrase this as answer as: define martial arts.

As a lot of people have already said, cross-training striking with grappling is a good idea. I don't know about your level of ability. I left a bad karate school even worse at fighting than I went in, but more likely than not that isn't the case for you. Learning how to throw a fast and powerful punch will already give you an edge over someone with zero training. Judo should complement your TSD nicely. It may also be a good idea to arrange some sparring with friends in your free time. I always enjoy that.

People who are interested in training like this should try to approach it a bit more tactfully. If I go to another school, I'll ask if I can train with them, not ask if I can spar someone. If you trundle in and ask for some sparring, it tends to get people's attention, and not necessarily in a good way. But if you ask to train together, then there is more of mutualness about the encounter. I'd build a rapport with a school training with them for a time, and then let them lead into anything to do with sparring, or bring it up after such a time that there is a bit of a comfort level between you and the school. I think that would be a more respectful way of approaching it. You're right, though I do think it is a bit harsh to assume the challenge was hostile. Not everyone is equally good at being tactful, or understands the Martial Arts etiquette.

The way you described it, it sounded like a friendly challenge, not one intended to disrespect. Maybe he just wanted someone to spar with from an outside style. Then again, I wasn't there. incidentally, why don't you have your safety gear in your training area?

Didn't you say that no one has accepted your challenge? So then the reason no one has taken you down is because no one has tried. If you want to test your takedown defenses, spar with someone and allow takedowns. you don't have to allow eye gouges and throat shots to test takedowns. I don't understand what you're trying to say here. If you want to prove to them that they're not training right, putting on some safety gear and showing how easy it would be to stick your thumbs in their eyes should prove your point nicely. Could you rephrase this so i understand what point you're trying to make. If you value your safety and legal security, you should not fight rule-free. just have some friendly sparring, and demonstrate where their deficiencies lie.

Regarding where to look, your eyes should be pointed at your opponent's sternum, but you shouldn't be focusing there. Your peripheral vision should take in the entirety of your opponent. It's a skill to develop.

When I said hard, I meant hard contact during sparring v.s. light/semi contact, rather than linear v.s. circular and explosive vs graceful (like is often meant with hard/soft style). I largely agree with you, but perhaps unlike you I think one of the yin/yang oppositions is realism v.s. safety. Realism genuinely producing better fighters, safety having other benefits. On average at least. Like less down time due to injury? I have to put on a tie and smile at people who want to borrow money every day. Coming in marked up from hard sparring brings a lot of grief from supervisors. Lots of grief. Makes sparring hard for me riskier than just the injury factor. I can endanger my job. It's the only reason I miss my old job in retail management where they didn't care as long as I got to work and got things done. Kyokunshin is well respected not for it's range of techniques, but the contact level at which they compete. The same reason boxing and MT have generally good reputations for producing hard hitters who aren't afraid of contact. That is a huge benefit that a lot of people could do well to receive. All sparring/training introduces flaws for safety. For Kyokunshin, and it's related styles, the "flaw" is targeting/weapons. For most other karate it's level of contact/weapons. You have to pick the flaw, recognize the hole it leaves in your training and how you need to cover it. I agree.

I certainly understand their hesitation. The rules in MMA are there for a reason. There's little point going to prove yourself in a fight if you end up incarcerated afterward, or if you lose and suffer serious injury. If you want to test ideas about specific prohibitions in the MMA ruleset, consider sparring under individual variations. e.g, if you want to test the vulnerability of conventional MMA to eye gouges or want to test your ways of gaining an eye gouge, wear goggles and spar with the rule that you'll count pressure on the goggles from the thumbs as an eye gouge. Or for throat strikes wear a throat protector as is used in some armed martial arts and agree to light/medium contact to the throat. Get big groin guards and spar with contact to the groin. probably best not to do all at once, too much restriction to mobility and peripheral vision and the like. Still, could be a good idea if you want to prove your point.

When I said hard, I meant hard contact during sparring v.s. light/semi contact, rather than linear v.s. circular and explosive vs graceful (like is often meant with hard/soft style). I largely agree with you, but perhaps unlike you I think one of the yin/yang oppositions is realism v.s. safety. Realism genuinely producing better fighters, safety having other benefits. On average at least.

While there are trends (shotokan does tend to be more focused on point tournaments than other styles, though not always), it largely depends on the schools. In terms of fitness, it doesn't matter whether your school is sporty or not, and you can learn some pretty good self defense from a sporty school, while a lot of places claiming 'no-nonsense self defense' are pretty useless. Same thing vice versa of course. The most important thing is that the particular dojo/school suits you. Of course you don't want to go to a place with a low quality of instruction, but there's little point training something you don't enjoy just because it's good for self defense. You'll waste more hours of your life than you're likely to save.

If I recall correctly the forum rules here don't allow for debating the effectiveness of styles. But at the risk of reprimand, here goes. The reason kyokushin is viewed as more effective for self protection has nothing to do with range. A confrontation can begin at any range. It's important to be familiar with all ranges, even if there is one you prefer, since you need to be good at others to get and keep the confrontation in your favourite range. The reason Kyokushin is viewed as more effective for self protection is because the sparring is full contact and has fewer restrictions on what is allowed, thus making it a far more realistic simulation of real violence. I'd have to agree that it is the case that harder=more effective, (though it goes at the expense of safety).

Which chinese art did he do that had groundwork? Wing chun usually doesn't. Also, why don't you like throws and takedowns in sanshou?

I originally chose shotokan karate because it was the only option I knew of in my area. I've grown pretty attached to it. I just enjoy it more than anything else, it really calms me down and helps me manage my stress. in terms of the kata, I like the explosive, sharp movements and deep stances The biggest downside for me is the limitations in the competitive sparring associated with it. I don't think I should have to pull a full hikite or kiai to score a point, and I also think the ban on hook punches and low kicks is a little unneccessary (I have no problem keeping these safe).

Hm, that's a good point.

I'll voice an unpopular opinion. A belt should be given to a practitioner based on their skill level, regardless of age.

very impressive

I'd love to see a safer (as the olympics requires) form of MMA appear in the olympics.

the changes seem minor, but if it starts to look too much like UFC I think it'd be a pity. Some people just prefer taekwondo, despite the more restrictive ruleset. if people want to do MMA they should do MMA, and taekwondo should remain.

Interesting video on kicking such that your lead mawashi-geri, yoko-geri, and ura mawashi geri chamber exactly the same. It certainly seems to work, as this guy had a 23-0 record in full contact karate despite an injury in his right knee when he was young. Edited: earlier I accidentally stated his karate and kickboxing wins as separate, while really they were the same. Professional karate Association kickboxing was full contact karate. I'm not entirely sure if this belongs in the karate section of the forum, but I think it's the best match. Bill mainly trained shorin-ryu if I researched correctly.