JR 137

The martial arts always seem to lag behind when it comes to changes in what we know about exercise physiology for some reason. I think it has to do with such a reliance on tradition, and many teachers doing what they were taught and passing down what they were taught to the next generation. Exercise physiology has really exploded over the last 20 years. So many old-school things have been proven counter-productive or outright wrong, yet we continue to do them. Another example is crunches. They don't strengthen the abdominals much. They're a highly inefficient exercise compared to so many other things, yet they're done religiously in MA. Instead of having students do 20 crunches, have them hold a plank for 20 seconds. On the flip-side of that, a lot of old-school stuff that gets forgotten actually gets proven to be highly effective too. Squat thrusts, aka burpees are a great exercise that used to be as common as push-ups have made a come back because they're a great exercise. Mountain climbers too. Traditional MA teachers need to keep an eye on the rest of the fitness industry and exercise physiology. If you're doing scientifically backed stuff (from a credible source, not fly by night personal trainer mail order certifications), it can only help your students. I am biased having a background in sports medicine and working with NCAA Div I athletes for 15 years. Rant over. On a strength and conditioning related note... Why is it so much harder to do 10 knuckle push-ups on the hardwood floor than 30 on my palms on my carpeted living room floor?

I've read about this in a few different places. The main argument (I think anyway) is what rules will be followed? There's so many different ways to compete and point systems. I think karate's best shot at success at this level is knockdown rules. WKF or other point fighting rules would be too close to TKD to the untrained eye. Add to that that more and more people question TKD and Karate's effectiveness (seeing MMA as the truth somehow), and I think you'd have to go knockdown. I'd also much rather watch knockdown than WKF. I have little interest in point fighting, so probably would watch a round or two at most.

Believe it or not, static stretching is very overrated. It's best done after activity as part of a cool down. It has been scientifically proven to decrease performance in runners when done before exercise. Yes, we're not runners, but it should be studied IMO. If you watch professional athletes warm-up, you won't see them do static stretching at all. Not since probably the late 80s - mid 90s. Static stretching is along the lines of touch your toes and hold for 20 seconds. Dynamic stretching is far more beneficial. Dynamic stretching is stretching while moving. Front stretch kick (Mae keagi), side stretch kick (yoko keagi) are some examples. Your important flexibility gains are going to be had this way. Not sure what your dojo's doing. Mine does a lot of static stretching, but we do a good bit of dynamic as well.

Even if you think "boards don't hit back," there's still a lot to be learned from breaking. The people who don't do it are missing out on what I think is the most important lessons learned by breaking... Block everything else out of your mind, concentrating only on the task at hand Visualize and practice proper technique several times before acting Visualize accomplishing the task The boards won't break themselves; you have to act At the right moment, fully commit without any hesitation; the slightest hesitation won't accomplish the task Don't just strike the surface; punch through it with a full follow-through Following these principals is metaphorical for any difficult situation in life. So many times in my life I've thought "punch through it!" I do think people get a bit carried away with breaking though. It's like everything else - you need a balance all aspects of your training. Also, punching bags "don't hit back" either. Do these people think there's also no value in hitting any type of bag or pad too? Or do they give the idiotic answer of "it's not the same thing."

Amen! Or, I mean, Osu! Whatever the origin, whatever the true meaning, it's hard to deny how uplifted a class becomes when you've got 10, 20, 30, 50+ Karateka shouting "OSU!" in unison. I find that it promotes positive spirit in the training grounds. Absolutely. One of those things that it doesn't matter how much you explain it, you can only appreciate it by being part of it. That spirit in training is very contagious. It's like jazz - if you need someone to explain it to you, you'll never get it. Not that I'm a jazz fan.

I think it's that military-like discipline that Kyokushin tries to ingrain in its students. Trickled down to the spinoffs, Seido included. It annoyed the hell out of me for the first few weeks, then I didn't really care after that. I took (and still take) it as basically saying "Yes sir/ma'am" and a bit more. It's a dojo thing, nothing more IMO. People get hung up on things. It only gets as annoying as you let it get. Lots of things annoy me about other systems/schools. Why is there a "Black Belt Club" at some schools? Doesn't the belt say it? Why wear a patch saying it? Again, doesn't the belt say it itself? What's the point of some schools' wearing patches that say things like Sensei, Master, Expert, etc.? Doesn't the belt and the practicioner's abilities say it? Multi colored gis? I could go on and on. Other questions with no answers... How do you throw out a garbage can? How did the guy driving the plow get to work? Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

The Russian Kyokushin Karate Federation awarded him an 8th dan about a year after the WTF's 9th dan. It was reportedly for spreading/promoting Kyokushin in Russia. Honorary ranks are paper ranks. They don't mean much, other than "thanks." Not sure what the etiquette would be if he walked into a Kyokushin dojo, let alone to train. Does he line up as an 8th dan? Does he spar with other 8th dans? I'd love to see him spar a few high ranking Kyokushin guys bare knuckle. How'd it go against Kazumi Hajime? EDIT: Didn't realize Kazumi Hajime left Kyokushin.

Yeah, a bit of an old topic, but I just read through it... There's really no happy medium between full-contact/knock down karate tournaments and the barely make contact/point "fighting" tournaments. If you watch tournaments like Kyokushin tournaments, it seems to me like it's all about who can take a punch/kick better. Not a ton of defense, just two guys trading blows and the first one to buckle loses. The competitors get so used to no head punches that they keep their arms at lower chest/waist level the entire time. The knockdown format is far more realistic IMO, and I fully understand and agree with why I think they're not allowed to punch to the head, but it gets too unrealistic for real applications. Knockdown tourneys allow sweeps and a non-contact follow up. Most point fighting ones don't. I think these reasons are why Enshin and Ashihara karate were started. They allow hands to the head and throws as well, from what I understand of them. At 39, I'd like a medium contact non-point style tourney. Allow sweeps and throws, and penalize for excessive hand dropping without allowing for excessive head/face punches. I've had enough concussions in my younger days. I guess if I could figure out how to make those rules a reality without it being a complete mess, I'd have a huge circuit and tons of money. Someone would've done it sooner though.

I thought it was a Kyokushin and spinoffs thing too, but I think it's a Japanese karate thing. I think Kyokushin and its spinoffs use it far more than others, but I don't think Oyama was the originator of it. The Okinawan school karateka that I've been around use Hai almost as much as Kyokushin guys use Osu. Nidan Melbourne - nothing wrong with Hai at all. Nothing wrong with Osu either. But hearing the same thing 1000 times in an hour or so workout gets annoying. Even "free beer when we're done." That one would take far longer to get annoying though.

My current school (Seido Juku) and former school (Kyokushin offshoot) say it a lot. It really irritated me at first, but I don't even notice it anymore. There's some people who are annoying with it by using different tones with it, but other than that I'm over it. I worked out with a few guys from Taika Oyata's Ryu ate system. They Hai'ed me to death. They thought the Osu was annoying, I thought the Hai was annoying. It is what it is.

It's from the movie "The Last Dragon." A must see 80's cult classic.

I thought they were different, like Heian Nidan is close to Pinan Shodan or something. Our style has us learn the Pinan series but I have previous experience with the Heians. The Pinan Shodan we use is very similar to Heian Nidan but that's all: there are several important differences such as we have foot stomps and the reinforced block facing away from front is slow and reinforced plus other differences...One main difference between Heian Nidan and Pinan Shodan is that when coming forward, Heian uses back stances and (at least our) Pinan uses catfoots. You bring up some good points. The differences are due to different schools performing them, not the name. There's variation from school to school, some subtle, some not so subtle. But there's no distinct techniques in Pinan 1 vs Heian 1. Pinan is the Okinawan pronounciation, whereas Heian is the Japanese; Pinan and Heian have the same Kanji characters.

Think Pinan 2 Migi Hajime is tough, my instructor performed Koryu Gojushiho in Migi Hajime in a tournament a while back. That kata has 54 counts. Most counts aren't 1 step and hand movement. YouTube Koryu Gojushiho for an interesting kata. It's not like the Shotokan Sho and Dai versions.

I'm from a Kyokushin off shoot - previously Budokai and now Seido Juku. Ura in ura kata has been a 360 spin before a straight step. we call starting to the right Migi Hajime. Not to downplay it, but starting reverse side shouldn't be that difficult. Just take your time and think about what you're doing. If you've done the kata enough times to easily perform it regular, you should be able to break down each part and do it opposite side. Practice the opening parts several times (right up until after the side kick/backfist/shuto block combo). Get that part down, then do the movements up the middle several times. Get that down, then move on. The hardest parts will probably be remembering what direction to turn on the top and bottom of the I pattern. 3/4 of the moves are done on both sides in the kata. 7 out of the 20 moves are the shuto block. The opening movements are the same on both sides. The end movements are the same on both sides. The only different parts that aren't mirrored in the kata are the side kick/backfist at the beginning, nukite at the first kiai, and the 3 steps on the way back down the I pattern. It'll takes some practice, but do it in parts - the bottom of the I, the middle, the top of the I, the way back down, then the bottom of the I. Repeat each part, get it down, then do it a few more times before moving to the next part. Yes, you only have a week; but if you keep at it, you'll have it down well before the week is over. Good luck with it. If you're stuck on a part, we can probably help. Sucks there's no video floating around. Maybe make one once you're comfortable with it for the next person?

Even better - All the hiean kata in ura and you don't have to fast forward through the video to find them. A simple google search of Pinan Kata Ura brought this up; it was the second result: Kyokushin does some different hand movements, but it's the same kata. Do the movements you've been taught, but use their steps.

13:24 of the video I posted above. Pinan Sono Ichi Ura, also called Pinan Shodan, Heian Shodan, Sono Ichi, etc. Some schools switch 1 and 2, Shodan and Nidan, Sono Ichi and Ni, etc. If your school does, it's the next kata in the video. All that wasn't so hard, was it?

Heian and pinan are the same, just different pronounciation. The kyokushin video should have all pinan kata regular and ura in it. Fast forward through what you don't need. I think it's toward the end.

The way I've learned ura kata is you only spin before you step straight. You don't spin on turns in the kata. YouTube search kyokushin kata. There's a long 45 minute or so video. I think it covers the pinan series in ura, but I could be wrong. Keep in mind different systems do things differently.

What if you can't hit back as hard? What if hitting back as hard makes them go harder? Makes them go harder than you can go? It's not a problem only when you can hit harder than everyone else in the dojo. I have the mentality that I'm there to learn, not to get beat up on. I'm all for solid contact, but there's a very fine line between enough and too much. Everyone has their limit. Knowing classmates' limits only really comes from experience sparring with them. I haven't had anyone hit me too hard consistantly. If I did, I'd ask them to ease up a bit in private, in a non-confrontational manner. A little bit of humor goes a long way. If that fails, I'd speak to the CI. If I was hitting someone too hard, I'd definitely want to know it. We're all there to learn from each other.

Good post and a point of view that seems to be less and less for younger generations. My first time around I was 19-25 years old. I'm 39 now. It's honestly so much more rewarding now. I'm an 8th kyu and will test for 6th. No idea how long it'll take to test for shodan (average time for someone with no experience is 5 years), and I don't care too much. I'm having a good time and improving at a good rate.

That movie never gets old. Being the Shogun of Troy, NY and telling people to "kiss the converse" is another goal, but the glow tops it.

Everyone's motivated differently. It comes down to why you're training in the first place. Looking back, my first time around, I was motivated by belts. I guess I wanted to fit some mold of what I thought each belt represented. I was proud of getting each belt, especially my black belt. A moth or two after earning it, I started to realize that my motivation for it wasn't really accurate. I built up some standard in my head and was constantly looking to get better as quickly as I could in order to earn the next rank. This time around (after a 14 year break), I don't care about rank much. I started at white belt all over again (different school, very similar curriculum). I liked the promotion test itself for what it was - being taken out of my comfort zone mentally and physically - but I didn't have this huge rush of pride or accomplishment when I got my new belt. I'm motivated far more by the process of improving. I'm motivated far more by improving than by getting a new belt. My CI told me I was testing again in the promotion in two weeks. I was greatful that I'm allowed to go, but more so for the test itself than for the belt. Honestly, if I was tested every 3 or 6 months or every 3 or 6 years wouldn't make a difference in my day to day training at this point. I'm not there to chase rank. I'm there to get better. I have no issue with people who are motivated by rank. Whatever keeps you in the dojo and prevents you from just going through the motions is the best thing.

Luther - The concepts of respect, focus, etc. are more important than techniques at that age. Obviously the techniques are important, otherwise they most likely would be doing something else. When I did my master's in physical education, we spoke a lot about the "hidden curriculum." The things the kids were learning that weren't written down and being officially assessed. Stuff like properly waiting their turn, raising their hand to speak, how to act when they win and lose, etc. At this age, you can consider promotion tests as part of the hidden curriculum. They're learning how to block out the distractions of a crowd watching them perform. They're learning that their parents will (hopefully) still love, support, and be proud of them even if they don't perform to what standards they've built up in their heads. They're also learning that they can't control someone else's actions nor reactions, only their own. As adults, we even have a hard time with that one. Yes, they need to learn how to act when they fail. But failing for the first time in front of 30 or so adults and all their classmates? It's a tough pill to swallow for an adult to not pass in front of an entire class and 30 spectators (including immediate family), but for a kid? It'll destroy all self confidence. Isn't that what your really trying to build up at this point? You did the right thing. If they don't master the requirements for the new rank by the time the next test comes, then they don't test until they have. Not the end of the world. Far better than failing a test in front of everyone. This test isn't like a test at school where their grade is written on a piece of paper and only the student and their parents are supposed to see it; this test's grade is revealed to everyone who's there. If the point of the kids' program is to get them ready for the adults' program, the testing and ranks don't mean that much; it's the process. Just my opinions. Some will look at kids' programs as another way to entertain their children. I think that's a side effect. A very good side effect, but not the actual intent.

90% of fights go to the ground.

I constantly try to achieve "The Glow."