vicotto

I didn't see any mention of age! KYOKUSHIN Is not for the older folks. I'm 55 yrs old and I'd be out of my mind to jump in a ring and subject these old organs to those devastating barrages of body shots. I've found my niche in Shotokan because of there core philosophy...kata. Funakoshi in his teachings gave little credence to fighting. His philosophy was about improving the inner man and avoiding fights at all cost. And that made my decision so much more easy. Now, if your young and you find pounding someone to a pulp fascinating, than Kyokushin is the style your looking for. It's as macho as you can get.

Who do you consider to be the top three, non Japanese, Shotokan fighters of the twentieth century? Mine are... 1) Frank Smith 2) Frank Brennen 3) Lyoto Machido

I,as a brown belt(35yrs ago)decided that I couldn't muster up the nerve to show up with my brown at my new dojo. Out of respect to all my fellow students, I started from scratch! I believe I've gained my Sensei' s and classmate' s respect. Humility goes a long way in Karate way.

Thank you gentleman for your input, I feel better, now that I know I'm not approaching this incorrectly. In all honesty, I enjoy and admire Karatekas who perform there kata at lighting speed and perfect accuracy, but I'm also a realist! Leave it to the young'ns.

I'm 54 years old this week and half way to my black belt in Shotokan. I, along with my Sensei have noticed that I'm pretty darn good in performing kata. My concern is...because of my age, I can't perform a kata at the blazing speed that seems to be the norm nowadays. Will that put me at a disadvantage when being judged? I see videos of Karate masters from 50+ years ago and they seem to have a much slower pace than now...what gives?

NO WAY! I'll be 54 next week and half way to my black belt in Shotokan. In my dojo, my Sensei tells me I'm his best student. Half the students in my class don't like me because I'm always showing them up...so sorry, I'm giving it my best 'cause I don't know how much longer I'll be on this earth.