shortyafter

This was a cool and informative video (moreso from watching than listening, but still cool). Thanks.

Hey - thanks for this. It's a good read. You're right that the nerves thing goes way beyond karate... I am an English as a second-language teacher and also a student of languages myself. One of my teaching and learning philosophies is that nerves get in the way of our learning and performance. So I actively try to create a relaxed, fun, engaging learning environment. It's good for learning languages and it's good for karate too. I bet for math too. Thanks! Hey, yes, I must admit I had seen your thread and it was part of the inspiration for starting one of my own. I think it's a good resource, and unlike just saving it to a personal document on my computer, the cool part here is we can get feedback and support. Thanks for the inspiration and for the encouragement. Osu!

Hey mate, thanks! About the minute details - that's a good point. I will keep it in mind.

Hi folks, I wouldn't say I'm taking my karate any more "seriously" than in the past, but my goals, and way of training, have perhaps changed a bit. This is year 3 for me and it's no longer just about getting the mentality or fundamentals down. Trust me, my fundamentals have a long way to go, but what I mean is, it's not just simple things like "that's what an oi-tsuki is" anymore, or the meaning of strong spirit, or these big umbrella concepts that we train with every night. Now it's learning how to perfect these kinds of things, and learning the infinite number of little subtleties. To that end I've been writing and journaling a lot more lately, and a lot of it has been on here. I thought about making this my one and only training diary but actually I prefer to keep my own personal one, where I can keep things that are personal to me for whatever reason. This won't be so technical, but rather more of a discussion format. Tonight went well. My kicks continue to look pretty good. Tonight I practiced on a bag, and, the power is lacking, unfortunately, but the technique is there, the balance is there, the control is there. It's a big change from before. The power will come - I will need help from my CI because I'm a bit lost. But I feel good about this improvement. I'm big on the relaxation thing, like, just get out of my own way and let the karate take care of itself. Tonight I had a chance to do 1 kata and it looked and felt nice. Things sort of slowed down and each technique was powerful, snappy, and graceful. Not perfect. But better than before. My kata always look better when I slow down and relax. But it's funny, even when I try to consciously do that I have a hard time getting there. All I can think is, stop trying to get there and just let it happen. Trying to get there is making me more tense. The natural relaxation, and confidence in myself, are coming... little by little. It's funny too because I can't explain it, but the difference from when I started is so huge. Yeah I could point to a few concrete things, but there's never really been a moment where it's like - "THAT's the night I started doing things correctly". There's definitely been some big a-ha moments but the majority of things has just kinda been a result of time, effort and patience. That's what my teachers have been telling me. If someone is new to karate I would be telling them the same thing. It's really cool. Last thing - my CI emphasizes moving my hands right at the moment of impact, in conjunction with my feet, for all techniques but for example shuto uke. Tonight during my kata I felt how my feet really landed at the same time as my hands snapped. It felt good and powerful. Another cool realization. Anyway, that's all for tonight and as I have more cool or not so cool experiences I will be posting them here. I welcome any constructive criticism, feedback, encouragement or comments. Also want to thank you guys for being here. My current dojo is small and I live overseas so besides my CI I don't really have much like minded people around here. Nobody as dedicated as me for sure (except my CI). I remember I was worried about this when I first started training here but you guys assured me, as long as I feel challenged and my karate is helping me to meet the challenges of life, then it is "real" karate. And I have no doubt now that that is the case here. It's a cool tool guys, so thanks. Now fire away!

That's an interesting perspective. It makes sense to me but it's still nice to know. I have never been in a real fight, and yeah yeah honestly it'd be cool to use my karate knowledge but I know that's just asking for trouble. And well beside the point. I have only ever done one full contact spar, in my Kyokushin dojo, during a belt test. The spar lasted 30 seconds. Me personally, I wasn't thinking about drills or even technique to be honest. The furthest thing from my mind. I see what you mean in that sense. I was having a really tough week, but I had persisted and I had survived. And somehow the stars collided and I was just in the awesome space of "I survived this week, I will survive this fight". I went into it with a totally clear head and conscious. I did very well, in fact I only later found out I had broken my opponent's rib. Wow. From that day on I understood what Funakoshi meant when he said "spirit before technique". To be honest I don't know enough about fighting or karate to opine on what would work for me in a fight and what wouldn't. All I know is the spirit of karate is helping me to advance and meet life's challenges, and as my example above proved to me, that same spirit does aid me in combat. Another example - yesterday I was in the supermarket and there was a real rough looking gypsy family in line behind me. A couple of big teenage guys among them, bigger than me. Now I have nothing against gypsies. But these particular ones did have a rough looking appearance, the kind of appearance that suggests they wouldn't think twice to rob or hurt you. They for whatever reason were kind of in my personal space, I didn't flinch, didn't show any fear, and calmly kept my hand on my wallet and money. The tranquility was real, and I owe it to my karate training. Now, where do drills play into this? Not totally sure. I like to think they help me train my body, teach me how to move my hips, shift my weight, deliver power. The kind of thing that when I have that "a-ha" moment becomes sort of subconscious. And secondly, of course, they help train my spirit. Wax on, wax off.

Hey guys, I'm still not totally clear on the difference but that does make a bit more sense. Sounds like what we do in class is more of an Oyama style. Interesting to know. Thanks.

Great posts by JR and sensei8. Thanks guys. Growing up I was the kid that got picked last for dodgeball, and I didn't start getting genuinely active and then doing karate until my early 20's. For me it was important not just to learn how to fight, but rather how to use my body. I think karate, both technically and spiritually, is very effective at this. As others have stated, the drills teach me things like power, control, resistance, etc. For example, I do zumba twice a week and I like to include that as part of my karate training - it gets me into my body and loosens me up. Then again I'm not JUST doing it in order to have a flexible and responsive physique. I am also doing it for self-defense / fighting purposes. I think, as sensei8 states, an effective CI will teach me to apply my new-found physicality in a way that greatly enhances my fighting and self-defense capabilities. It's all connected... as long as the dots are being drawn correctly.

JR - unfortunately I only train at this dojo during the summers because I live overseas most of the year. At the moment it's difficult to get in touch with him about this kind of thing. I will keep it in mind for the future. Forgive me but I don't know much about Okinawa bunkai. Maybe what my instructor calls "bunkai" is actually something different. We do something called "1-step kumite" and "3-step kumite" which is basically just application of the 4 principal blocks, the attack being a jodan oi-tsuki or chudan. The thing that is specifically labelled bunkai is called "Pinan Bunkai". In this exercise we do various applications of the Pinan/Heian kata. Pinan Bunkai #3, for example, has the attacker doing chudan oi-tsuki. The defender turns to the side and blocks with the shoulder, and follows up with uraken (this is application for pinan sono san). #2, for example, is miya-geri followed by chudan oi-tsuki. Defender blocks the kick with a low block, reroutes the punch off to the side with the other hand, and then clobbers to the jaw with an outside to inside middle block. This is application for pinan soni ichi (the third and fourth motions). And there are about 8 of them like this that I know of. All of this is done by the count, and then done by your own count. I think we have done bunkai for other sets of kata, in the same fashion, though not as commonly. I'm not sure if this falls under the category of Okinawan bunkai or more of a a "punch, block, punch" Oyama style. Let me know.

I'm curious about this -- it is common knowledge that Oyama did not train bunkai? Or where did you get this information from? My Kyokushin instructor trained under Oyama for about a year in Japan and he has always emphasized bunkai, we do it in nearly every class. I wonder if my instructor's version is a modern adaptation of Kyokushin, or maybe just something he personally likes doing. Would be curious to have any more info on this.

Thanks guys for the encouragement!

Sensei8, yes, I understand what you're saying now. That is a great way to look at. Thanks for this.

Sensei8, thank you for your insightful post as always. The part about not rushing kihon struck a chord with me. One question - could you elaborate a bit on what you mean by "appreciation" of my kicks, or in general? I don't quite grasp what you mean and I do know that I tend to down myself. Singularity6, thanks for the encouragement. You do the same!

This was one of my weakest areas but one where I now think I've made the most notable progress. My kick height was real low and just in general really sloppy technique. Falling over backwards, sideways, all kinds of balance issues. Kicking with the leg first instead of the knee. Well this evening we worked on yoko-geri and mawashi-geri. One big thing that helped me with mawashi-geri was making a conscious effort to lean forward instead of leaning backwards (and thus losing my balance). Similar principle with yoko-geri but I noticed a big difference here when I really focused on throwing the knee up first. I wasn't getting head height today but that's OK. I was getting a respectable height for me (chest height more or less) but more importantly my technique looked and felt really good. They looked like real kicks! Not just some kind of sloppy motion of whipping my leg in the air... This is a big breakthrough for me. I attribute success to being more relaxed and focused, as well as stretching and light exercise I've been doing at home. In the past on "days off" I would give myself permission to do literally nothing. Now at the very least I go for a light walk and/or do a light to moderate stretch every single day. My philosophy is the body's gotta be greased up constantly or else it gets complacent. Another thing my instructor pointed out to me was, not to be so tense. Like I said, I've tried to make a conscious effort to be more relaxed but he helped me realize today that I'm still carrying a lot of tension in my body. Mentally I felt more relaxed but I am still holding myself very rigid. Kicking was not so much of a problem but I noticed this rigidity a lot with closed-fist techniques and in kata. Tonight I didn't quite have the opportunity to make major adjustments to this but I could "feel" the rigidity and see how it's holding back my performance. Anyway, feeling good about my karate. Feeling ready to take on the challenges. I'm at an orange belt (Shotokan) and I have already started studying for my green belt exam that will hopefully take place in December. I will do my best to be ready, and more importantly, to improve my technique and spirit each and every day. Thanks folks.

Hi Alan, very interesting video, thanks. Definitely relevant and useful. Do you happen to be the Alan in the video?

Shizentai - great post, thanks! I will have to chug some benadryl before my next class

That's a great post. I'm only 26 and have only been at this for 3 years. I can get head height some of the time but not all of the time. For me it's an issue of, overcoming oneself. Instead of just saying - "I can't do it", I want to work my way up slowly and slowly get better and better. I posted about this recently. It's not about fighting against my body and doing damage, but rather working with it to get the most out of it. Since you're a little older maybe it's different - what you mentioned about straining and doing damage makes sense to me. I agree that that is not a good thing. My Kyokushin sensei told me on day 1 "make it a choice to hit the opponent's head". And it's funny, when I'm just training the kick with a bag I won't get so high. But when we're doing kumite waza and I just forget my technique and make a choice to go for the head I tend to get it. Not always but I get more height out of it than I normally do. I chalk it up to getting out of my own head, and just executing. Maybe poor technique too? I prefer to think it's more of the former, lol. But anyway, all that said. I really liked your post. It's kind of like, at the end of the day, what are we really doing this for? Is it about being flashy or about being able to contort our body in possibly unnatural ways? Or is it something so simple as- "Man can't walk without leg". Really cool stuff. I like it. Thanks for sharing. (PS - is your teacher Japanese or something? Maybe it was just a typo but I saw "man can't walk without leg" and that little error made it so much more epic than totally correct English, lol)

Hi all. This isn't exactly brand new for me but it is a realization that has been even more profound as of late. I've been training for 3 years now and I find that the way I'm accustomed to generating power is through tensing and brute force. If I'm not as strong as I want to be - just give it more grit and try harder. This is almost like my natural, inexperienced way of being. But I've found there's another way. The path of total relaxation that allows me to channel power in an efficient, focused way instead of expending all my energy wastefully. For example, my Sensei gave me a stretching regimen to improve my kicks. I noticed quick progress, but I was out of town for 3 months and continued the same regimen. Every other day, dreading the stretching, and just forcing myself to do it and exerting more energy into the stretch. As you may guess my flexibility did not improve. One day I decided, I would change up the regimen, and stretch from a place of relaxation. Giving my body the chance to expand and grow naturally rather than fighting against my physiology. I would stretch less but in a way that is more agreeable to my mind, body, and spirit. And in just a couple of weeks I am seeing a big difference in my flexibility and the height of my kicks. This, I think, will be true for all facets of my karate. I can remember, a couple of specific times when relaxation took me. One, a kata, where everything slowed down and the kata truly became an art. And, two, my first full contact fight where I had been having a rough week, and I said to myself - "I made it through this week, I will make it through this fight. You have nothing to worry about". My opponent was no match. I only found out a year later that in a 30 second fight I had actually broken his rib. He was a good sport about it and because he continued training at the same dojo is now my Senpai. But that immense power came from a place of total relaxation. So now, I will trust more in that relaxation. But perhaps that's too much effort on my part. I will simply let that relaxation take me. I will allow that to be my karate, I will allow that to generate force for me. Funkoshi Sensei in his 20 precepts talks about "myo" - subtle secrets. I think this kind of thing is what he was talking about. My karate feels more mature now. It's subtle, yes. The average onlooker may see no difference at all. But I see it. It's like, "ah, yes, I know where I need to go now".

Hi all, thank you for the replies. It sounds like most of us are in agreement - kata are important, but they must be "kept alive" through application via bunkai, kihon and kumite. I can jive with that. Sensei8 - thanks for a thoughtful and detailed reply. That makes sense to me. I personally find that kata help me train to use my body effectively. Like, yeah hitting a bag is super important too. But with kata I really get a sense of how my whole body is involved - from my feet, up to my hips, to my breath, to my punch. And beyond. At least, that is, when I'm doing it right - and always through prolonged and persistent training. My CIs guide me, but I have subtle breakthroughs where I really "feel" the lessons they've been trying to teach me. And I take these discoveries with me, outside of doing kata. I think another thing is discipline. It is an art after all. There's a sort of grace that you see when a karateka has mastered a kata. Or even when a novice executes a kata in a better way than they had before. You can see the manifestation of all the effort, learning and growth that a karateka has undergone. And I think that grace is something that again you can take with you outside of kata. It's not just about pounding your opponent, relying solely on brute physicality. Perhaps that grace is what allows you to keep your cool in a self-defense situation, and even take on multiple opponents at once - or better yet, avoid a conflict all together. This is what kata mean to me. Thank you guys for your responses and as you have all suggested I will work to apply this knowledge in scenarios that are more live and realistic.

So I'm sure this is an age-old question but I recently had to pose it to myself after watching this short documentary on Okinawan karate: . Nothing groundbreaking here but I think it was well done, so check it out if you like. (Not necessary to respond to this post)These Okinawan guys are all about kata and talk about how, through training kata alone you are prepared for a self-defense situation. This reminds me of my Shotokan training, and the teachings of Sensei Funakoshi, which are basically the same ideal. I also practice Kyokushin during the summers and just got done doing a month in that dojo. I know Mas Oyama trained with Funakoshi, and I was curious to see what opinion he had of him, and what I found was that he sort of dismissed him for only training kata and etiquette. In addition, my Kyokushin Sensei trained with Oyama and is very passionate about his style. He was explaining that, although sport may have become a bit too important within Kyokushin, the initial principle holds true - only through full contact sparring can we reach the pinnacle of spiritual and physical strength. So what do you guys think? I'm curious to see what opinion more experienced karateka have about this debate. Thanks.

Hi, thanks. For sure! I absolutely want to train both sides. And even in jyu kumite or light kumite I want to be practicing both sides. I guess I was just wondering, like, when we're doing full contact or find ourselves in real life self-defense situation, what reasons would I have to be changing up my stance? You and the others have done a great job answering this. Thanks!

Hi Jesi Boy. Yes, this is quite helpful. It makes sense why someone would want to go toe-to-toe. However, my question is more specifically - when and why would someone switch from an opposite stance to toe-to-toe within a single fight? Just to mess with the opponent? I'm not totally clear. Sensei8, your practical approach is always refreshing. Never looked at it this way. Thanks. Thanks to the other guys as well for your insight. All of this makes sense.

Specifically talking about Kyokushin full contact kumite here, but I suppose it applies to just about any style of kumite. I also do Shotokan, and of course it would be nice to know for a self-defense type situation also. In the dojo we practice all techniques from both stances (left/right leg). However, I am much more comfortable firing from my right side (left leg forward, right leg back). So my question is - what are the benefits of switching stances? Obviously to switch it up on the opponent, etc. And I get there's no reason to train only one side, that would be foolish. But what's the trick to switching up your stance in kumite? Why do it? When do it? I always assumed it was something you just do, but I'm watching some MMA guys and they don't seem to change for anything or anyone. Any insight? Thanks.

Good insight, thanks! My Kyokushin sensei is top notch (he trained in Japan) so he definitely knows what he's talking about. I was just surprised that my Shotokan instructor was so adamant about it yet I had heard nothing in the Kyokushin dojo. Your insight has cleared the reason for that up. Apart from that you seem to be right - we do tend to have a name for just about everything, haha. About the hip thing - in the Shotokan dojo it seems beyond just the name the hip positions themselves are highly exaggerated. My doubt is whether or not they are so exaggerated in Kyokushin. Either way, the practice I've gotten using my hip is good for my karate in any form and I will ask my Senpai's for clarification when I return to the Kyokushin dojo. Thanks again and I welcome any more insight on the topic.

Hi there, I currently live in Spain where I began practicing Shotokan - back home in the USA I practice Kyokushin during the summer months when I visit my family. I've been doing Shotokan regularly for about 8 months now and my instructor places a big emphasis on hip position - hanmi / shomen. Other Shotokan practicioners I have seen also seem to do the same. It's been about a year since I've been in the Kyokushin dojo, but I will be returning next month for a bit. I don't remember the instructor saying anything about hanmi / shomen - at most the instruction was "make your stance wide enough so you can use your hip". My thought was that, in Shotokan the differing hip positions are more exaggerated but as I watch videos of Kyokushin kata I'm not sure - it looks like they are doing something similar to hanmi / shomen. Could anyone offer perspective on this? What are the correct hip positions in Kyokushin kata, and how, if at all, do they differ from in Shotokan? Thanks!

Hi all - Sensei8 posted a thread that reminded of this, and it's something that my CI was going over yesterday - also has to do with some realizations I've been having on my own. My CI was stressing the importance of, when moving with whichever technique or kata, keeping the back foot anchored and only twisting it at the last moment as you execute the punch / block / technique. But always keeping your toes anchored. I've also noticed that a lot of the power seems to come from pushing with the lower body. My untrained bad habit is to try to gain power by leading with the upper body, but it seems I'm more powerful when I really move with my legs and push my weight forward from the bottom up. If that makes sense? With my back foot well anchored of course. This was shotokan. But I imagine it is similar for all styles. And insight / experience / guidance is appreciated. Thanks.