JR 137

Please let us know how it goes. I'm a big fan of Ashihara and his approach. From what I understand of Ashihara, it's very similar to Enshin (Ninomiya of Enshin was Ashihara's top student), but there's less emphasis on throws. They both do the "fighting kata." I've heard they are similar, but they're not the same. Reminds me... did you check out the Enshin dojo? I think you said you were going to, but I think remember you saying it wasn't close to you.

You can be fat and fit simultaneously. It depends on how you define "fit." VO2 Max is a great indicator of fitness - maximal aerobic capacity. I know many "fat" people who are very good athletes. They can easily keep up with people who "aren't fat." With a BMI of 33, I'm "moderately obese." My senior year of high school (1994), I wrestled at 177 lbs. According to BMI, I was "overweight." Trust me, I wasn't overweight at 177. I was at 8% body fat - we did body fat testing to know how much weight we could safely lose. I was told to stay at 177 because the next weight class - 167 - would be too much to lose for me. Sorry for the tangent . My point is body fat percentage is far better. BMI is great for populations, but not for individuals. Have someone who knows how to do body fat percentage properly check yours. Those scales that you can buy that calculate it by sending an electrical impulse through your body aren't accurate at all. I read an interesting article in Men's Health magazine a while back that said it's actually better to be thin and not exercise than "fat but fit." They talked about blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, etc. Men's Health is a great magazine. They don't say anything without citing legitimate scientific studies. It may be watered down for laypeople to understand, but they're pretty legit. They also publish Women's Health and Prevention magazine. Here's a link to the article... http://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/obesity-and-exercise

As hammer said, "running cardio" isn't the same as "karate cardio." Running (distance running) is highly aerobic, while karate is highly anaerobic. They require different biological/metabolic process to produce energy to keep you going at it. Aerobic training will shorten recovery time and should be done, but it's not the be all, end all of conditioning for karateka. Not even close. If you really want to gain endurance for karate, do interval training. You'll see far better gains, and quicker too. Interval training is alternating high intensity exercise and low intensity exercise. So if running is your thing, you'd jog for say 2 minutes, all-out sprint for 30 seconds, and repeat for however long, such as 30 minutes total. The key is to get your heart rate to near maximum during sprints, and get to near that alleged "fat burning zone" during jogging. It doesn't have to be running; it could be any physical activity. The most important thing is to keep track of your heart rate. Either something like a Fitbit or a Polar heart rate monitor makes it easy and effective. The better you monitor your heart rate, the more effective it'll be. There's a ton of information out there on interval training. Experts will argue times, but they're all in agreement on interval training. It's pretty much a universal recommendation, unless you have some medical issues. All I know is I did a ton of cardio, like running, elliptical, rowing, etc. I hated it, and quite honestly I felt like it didn't do much for me. Interval training has worked quite well for me.

A lot of it depends on where you are in life, how much free time you have, your finances, and what's available locally. Before karate and in between karate stints, I wrestled and I coached it. Does that count as cross training? While in college, we had a martial arts club. Run by students, we basically took turns informally teaching each other stuff from our arts. Karate, TKD, aikido, Japanese jiu jutsu, and Wing Chun. We met up once a week and worked out together. There were a few people with zero MA experience, but the rest of us had been at our art for several years. That was a fun time. It probably wouldn't have been possible in any other setting. I also participated in the boxing club on campus. It was run by a former low level pro. Three guys competed (they went to his gym too), I spent most of my time working with those guys twice a week. The rest were women who wanted the cardio workout. I learned quite a bit during that - footwork, head movement, and boxing punching mechanics. That was easily the best cross training I've done. I also worked out at a Uechi Ryu dojo while in college. They had open mat night once a week, and that was the only time that fit my schedule. Talk about a bunch of hard-nosed, no nonsense guys and gals. The body conditioning and Sanchin training were awesome. I didn't do any of those things at the same time. And I didn't do them for the sake of cross training. I was still active at my dojo, but my schedule made it hard to get there once a week. On a good week I'd go twice. I was an hour and a half away when there it wasn't snowing. Going to school in the Berkshire Mountains in MA, that hour and a half quite often took longer. Having those things available and affordable (the only thing that cost anything was Uechi, which I gave them a few bucks every time I showed up) was a blessing. They were great opportunities to get different perspectives. But if I could've made it to the dojo every night, I'd have gone there instead. I guess I'm too much of a perfectionist. I'd rather perfect one thing than split time doing something else. If I had those opportunities now, I'd still go to the dojo instead. I'd feel like why am I learning something else when I still have a ways to go with my art. Time spent elsewhere could be time spent working towards that. I know, doing other things can make you better at your main art. It can make you more well rounded. I get it and respect it. It just isn't the way my brain works when push comes to shove. I'm also not in the same place I was 20 years ago. Wife, young kids, career, etc. I'm lucky to get into the dojo twice a week now; there's no way I'm cutting back on that to cross train. Maybe when the kids grow up and aren't so needy and I've got some time on my hands and some extra money I'll take up Judo. But that'll be alongside karate. Then again, I'll probably just go to karate more because the way my brain works when push comes to shove.

Congratulations Allan. Well deserved!

Thank you for all that you've done for the forum over the years. I hope to see you here soon.

Great question. First up, for those on FB, here's a link to the video of the event from my wall: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.mogdansknezevic/videos/10155297878844025/?pnref=story So in short, I was really happy that the bout went as well as it did and I had a great time. I ended up losing 8 minutes in to a heel hook. So it didn't go my way, but there were some great moments for me as well. Coming back into it after a multi-year lay off from competition it was probably better than I should have done. The stand up went just like I'd hoped. I was able to maintain footing and force the guard pull on his end. His guard was tough, as expected and I was able to keep posture and frustrate some of his go to movements. All good. On the down side here, I was a bit passive on the pass but I kept reading sweep at each effort. Still, should have worked it harder. At minute 8 or so he is able to get me moving. I knew there was no way I wanted a skilled guy like him taking position so I shrimped hard and force some movement. I took some ground here and threatened a reverse heel hook but he cleared it well and we started scrambling. I tried a knee bar that go shut down early and we rolled up on each others legs. I started for a straight ankle lock and he beat me to the punch with the heel hook. I liked how I was able to move in this sequence, but I know that it's a strength of his and not mine. I should have tried to get my knees clear and get to a neutral position rather than keep playing a game that I knew he was superior at. So, some big learning points. That said, he is a killer, and I was very happy to go the distance I did with him. Not to mention, the intensity and volume I put into this camp threw my jiu jitsu ahead by far more than the five weeks I spent getting ready. That's great as well. Finally, I'm excited again. I think we all go thru phases where we get complacent. I had been there for awhile. This really got me enthused to be on the mat again. For that, more than anything else, I'm grateful. Bob had asked if I'd compete again. Probably. But I think I'll do some smaller venue stuff for a bit. Lower key tournaments, etc. But, I'm certainly glad I did it. I'm glad things went went well. I didn't watch the video yet, but I will when I have time. Your acknowledgement of what went well and what didn't shows you're a classy guy; you're not making excuses, nor are you saying "he got lucky" explicitly nor implicitly. Something that really hit home for me here - training for competition really elevates your training. I'm not a fan of most karate competition. I participated in our organization's 40th anniversary tournament last year. I was a bit frustrated by the way the point fighting turned out for me. But those are frustrations inherent to point fighting - punches land that don't get called, some don't land and are points anyway; the referees can't see every single thing. And sometimes what I feel landing (for and against me) feel clean, but maybe they really aren't. But that's how that game inherently goes IMO. But back to my point... In the several weeks I ramped up my training with specific goals in mind, my ability increased a lot. Far more than any other period. Since then I've regressed in some areas. Why? Because they're not a priority. When you're training for competition, you can't ignore your weaknesses. If you do, you're going to be done very quickly. You can't put off getting in better shape; you'll run out of time. If you prepare right, you eliminate the nonsense and excuses, and you don't keep doing what you feel works while telling yourself you'll work on your weaknesses later. And you significantly increase your intensity. When I was training for that tourney, I wasn't training to win it, per se; I was training to get better. The important things improved tremendously - speed, reaction time, getting inside, getting outside, flexibility, and power. Almost a year later, and last year's me would beat today's me. Competition forces us to be completely honest with ourselves. I see that more than anything else in your post. Thank you for posting it.

Welcome aboard. I agree with what everyone else has said. With that, I can tell you the most frustrating thing for me is learning something new and not being able to practice it outside the dojo. When I first started out, I'd practice stuff at home that I had just learned. When I went back I'd realize that I practiced it wrong 500 times, and it would take me 1000 times to undo the mistakes. Happened quite often during my first several months. I gave up practicing what I didn't truly know and focused on refining what I did actually know. If you've got it physically memorized, practice it away from the dojo. If not, do something else like hitting a bag.

Your profile lists capoeira. Is this what you're currently training and referring to?

Pick the better dojo. The only way to find out which one is the better fit for you is to visit both. The instructor, students you'll train alongside, and training methods are usually far more important than the style itself. There are stereotypes in both styles as Wado Heretic said, but they're not true of every single dojo. Let's say Kyokushin as a whole is the better fit for you; it doesn't mean that the local Kyokushin dojo isn't filled with kids that think they're Ninja Turtles, isn't new (or on its way out of business) and only has a couple of students, the instructor isn't a person who doesn't know how to effectively teach, etc. Kyokushin is a great art. While not a complete fighting art in the sense that it doesn't contain much, if any grappling, ground work, and throws; it is highly effective and honest IMO. The training methods are pretty tough and a ton of people don't stick around for long. Bare knuckle isn't very easy on the body. Body conditioning (where you're repeatedly hit to toughen up) isn't something that everyone enjoys. Or at least not for years on end. I started out in an organization that was Kyokushin in all aspects but its actual name. I loved it. I was also between 18-25 years old. Going on 41, I've "been there, done that." I think it's a great way to train while someone's young and can recover from it. I think everyone who's serious about MA and self defense should train like that for a period to sort out what it's like to actually hit and be hit. To separate truth from fiction, in a sense. Barring extreme examples, no one can honestly say one place is better than another for someone else.

Do you mean electric rather than electronic, i.e. electric muscle stimulation? Like when the guy playing Bruce Lee in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story had the machine attached to his pecs while typing and said "it's like doing 500 push-ups." If that's what you had in mind, or a modern day version, the answer is yes they work and no they don't. Yes - I've used it in the rehab setting (specifically pulsed DC and Russian stimulation) to help reduce disuse atrophy. It helps, but it's no miracle by any means. It reduced the atrophy, but didn't eliminate it. No - It's not going to build up muscle on its own. Doing 10 push-ups everyday will build far more muscle mass and strength than having one on for an hour. It doesn't recruit enough muscle fibers and motor nerves to really be truly effective. The contraction may feel stronger and may actually be stronger, but stronger in a significantly smaller area. There's no such thing as a free lunch. And there's no substitute for hard work.

Welcome to the forum

This web page has an image about a quarter of the way down... http://karategiblog.altervista.org/2012/07/consigli-su-come-scegliere-la-vostra-taglia-per-i-karate-gi-shureido/

I think he's excellent from a technique, athletic, etc. perspective. Easily as good as I've ever seen a kid that age do. Better than a lot of teens and adults in their prime too. But can he use them when actually needed? It's like people hitting a heavy bag. Working a bag flawlessly doesn't mean you know how to fight; it means you can work a bag. I mean no disrespect to the kid. I'm genuinely envious of his abilities. In the end, black belt or not depends on the standard the individual holds. If it's based on drills, kata, kihon, and the like, then yes, a JUNIOR black belt. If it has a self defense component to it, the jury's still out (not that I'm advocating making him defend himself in any manner). I'm not a fan of junior black belts. They should use a different color IMO - either camouflage (representing all the colors of the kyu system) or gray (almost black). But I don't get to decide, which is nice.

Ever consider Judo? You mentioned wrestling. I may be wrong, but what I've seen of Judo is more standing than wrestling and BJJ. From what I've seen of the three, Judo makes the most sense to me - heavy on throws, some chokes, and some joint locks. Seems like the best compliment to a striker - when it gets too close for striking, throw them to the ground (they like saying hitting with the entire planet) and choke them out or submit them. If I have the chance and itch to start something completely new one of these years, it'll be Judo. I had more than my fill with being on the mat constantly during wrestling. BJJ seems to be even more on the mat time to me. And my favorite part of wrestling was throws.

Sounds like you have a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell.

Happy birthday, Mo!

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum, Karate Guy. I just did a quick google search of "Tucson AZ Martial Arts" and a LOT of places showed up. I didn't look at any of the individual websites, but just going by the number of places, I'm quite sure you'll be able to find what you're looking for. The best advice I can give is make a list of places that are geographically accessible, the schedule works for you, and you can afford. Visit as many of those as you realistically can. I'm a karate guy too (no pun intended on your user name), but it may not hurt to look into a few other styles - I think a saw a few Judo dojos and several BJJ dojos. The most important things, as I'm sure you found out back in the day, are the teacher, how he/she teaches, and who you'll train alongside. These things will make or break your experience. I too took about 15 years off from training. Life happened, and when I came back to the area and was able to train consistently, my former sensei moved the dojo too far away for me to pick up where I left off. When I started looking around, I think I was too hung up on reliving my past MA experience. I initially compared everything to it. When I realized that was impossible, the choice became easy because one place really stood out. It felt like home. To be honest, my current teacher is a better teacher than my former teacher FOR ME. They're different, but I feel like I've improved more under my current teacher than my previous one. I think my former teacher was better for me during that phase of my life though. I miss the guys I trained with; we were college aged guys who hit hard and tried to outdo each other, only in a positive way. We pushed each other and made each other better. We fought with each other instead of against each other. Being 40, I won't find that again. But at 40, I'm probably too old for that too. The people I currently train with are just as good, but different. At this point in my life, they're a better fit for me. I guess the moral of the story is don't look for your old dojo; you'll never find it. Even if you move back home, it'll be different. Also, don't judge a dojo by its website. MAists typically aren't the best website-ists. I've seen so many horrible websites for great dojos, and vice-versa. If I relied on websites, I wouldn't step foot into either dojo I've trained at, and I'd easily be at the local McDojo. Websites are typically good for location, schedule/hours, and sometimes prices. And in extreme circumstances identifying questionable credentials. Visit a bunch of places. I'm sure you'll find a place that feels like home. You may have to look at a lot of different places, but you'll find it.

I've read your post three times now. And I'm at a loss for words. The only thing I can say is fight it with everything you have.

Perception can also work against you, focusing too much on the here and now, and forgetting about the past/karateka's history... We have a yondan at our dojo who's at least 60 years old. Closer to 65 than 60. He walks like Quasimodo. Picture Quasimodo doing kata, kihon, kumite, etc., and it's quite close. One couldn't help but possibly ask themselves how anyone would promote him to yondan. By all accounts, this gentleman was quite good about 15 years ago. He wasn't Bruce Lee, but he was far closer to that than Quasimodo. 2 major car accidents and a few spinal surgeries have severely effected his movement. He was promoted to yondan a few years ago, which was after his physical impairments. So assuming he was at his peak at sandan, should he have remained at sandan? Should he have been re-evaluated and ranked according to his abilities? Those are rhetorical questions, not aimed at you guys. I'm pretty sure I know how both of you would answer. I know you wouldn't think about demoting him. I'm quite sure you'd have promoted him to his current rank as well, due to him living the expectations of that rank. But if he were wearing a white belt and came from another system where you didn't know what rank does what kata, or better yet had him do kyu level kata, you wouldn't think he's a yondan. He usually looks he's at the stage where he just finished memorizing them and is now working on actually doing them. A big part of respect is showing respect for where the person has been. Perception doesn't accurately show that. Sometimes, the floor doesn't fully show it either, unfortunately. Edit: I may have sounded if I was being critical of the original intent of the thread. I completely agree with what's been posted this far. I was just giving another side of the perception viewpoint.

Great to see you again, Lex!

A few systems/organizations don't consider the white belt a rank. Kyokushin calls white belt mu kyu - "no rank." 10th kyu is orange belt. My former organization made us earn our white belt. Students had to successfully go through 3 private lessons in which things like proper etiquette/protocol, basic stances, punches, and blocks, how to turn (mawate), etc. were taught. The final part of it was the student had to be able to recite the first sentence of the student creed without any help. Basically, the student had to show they were capable of being on the floor without needing someone right beside them the entire time, and had to recite the line "I will develop myself in a positive manner, and avoid anything that will reduce my mental growth and physical health." My current dojo just gives the white belt with the uniform. I used to think the way my former dojo did it was better, but seeing several new students join and stay around, I don't think one way is inherently better than the other.

Happy birthday Noah!

So cool! This is what I did in my former life pre-cop! I spent about 6 years out of college being a trainer before moving to LE. I miss hanging out in a college training room. It's the only work environment where I felt 100% comfortable being myself at all times. I said and did so many things that were completely acceptable there, yet no where else. If it weren't for the horrendous hours and dismal pay for the number of hours, I'd have stayed with it until I died. How many people sit on the court during basketball games at places like Maryland, Georgetown, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, etc.? I made it a point to shoot a few free throws at every venue. It was one of my little things.