Age-Uke

IMO One should be looking at them in no different light than say, someone who runs a 5K, then a 10K and finally a 25K. Impressive .. physical.. mental.. But I'd slow my roll when thinking of them in some "super tough guy endeavor" There are no headshots I.e. Uchi or Zukis Waza in Jodan, only Geri Waza is allowed. I find that kind of Kumite suspect. (for obvious reasons) 30yrs of MA & Karate, I think putting on the wimp guy pads on and going all-in with Jodan, Chudan and Gedan on the books are much more institutional. I don't know what the rules are to 20. 50 or a 100 man Kumite challenge but it obviously there is a time limit the opponent can stay in. Nor have I ever seen the opponent attempting to really hammer the person doing the Kumite challenge. (Thus making it a quasi full contact Running man's game of tag)

What are you doing wrong? If your feet hurt after kicking a bag your technique is bad... stop and get some coaching, something.... If you are a Karateka there isn't a zuki, geru, uchi etc that should be hurting when you strike a bag bar handed (no matter how hard) ... no gloves, no wraps no etc... (same goes for your feet and shins) If the bag hurts, leave it alone till your technique and conditioning get to a level where you can go full tilt with no protection.

there is a white belt and a black belt.. no more are needed

I agree 100% Kata is the soul of Karate. But people take that message in the wrong direction, I was taught and still follow a very traditional Shotokan Karate, only Funakoshi Osensei original Kata are my staples. Myself personally, I haven't found a need for any more. Learning a Kata that wasn't founded in reality? IMO Big no no... People get caught up in learning kata, thinking that is or leads to mastery. We know it does not. (or should know) When people understand THERE IS NO BASIC KATA, they should understand they should be doubling down on their Kata Bunkai to learn Oyo (Omote, Ura or Honto) doesn't matter, as long as it's effective. Just like a judo-ka or jujitsu-ka (who have never wavered in the prowess means everything ) they better be breaking their kata down application by application, drilling the Oyo and ramping up the force and resistance.. Just like Judo... just like Jujitsu. That's why those arts are as effective as they are

This is going to sound like I'm trolling... but I'm not. Bruce Lee: when you actually look into him. Ya end up questioning everything about him. At 5 foot 3 inches... weighing at his bulkiest at a whopping 115lbs his ability to knock anyone out let alone an average male was extremely small (like 5%) A female light welterweight boxer (132lbs) would have gone toe to toe with him. Joe Lewis (the kickboxer) in an interview (it's on Youtube) said he once saw BL extend a barbell with 70lbs "free weights" horizontal and hold it there.

I'm going to disagree This is so much you have to internalize. You have to be shown, then discussed I specialize in teaching Kumite I could talk about it, but unless I'm in front of you teaching and showing (physically) you are not going to grasp a lot from my words alone. Kumite is doing, not talking (especially on the internet) Case in point if you haven't mastered MaaI and Hyoshi (timing and distancing to the point you can control both against an opponent... You can talk and talk and not gain a whole lot.

Not a lot of advice one can give on kumite through words. But there are a few. Invest in loss: Sparring and tournaments are two different animals and should be treated as such. It's best to practice one thing till you get it, not caring what the sparring outcome is. Getting dominated sparring all night is worth it if it leads to you mastering a specific technique or strategy. This way you don't get discouraged but take away a positive from every experience. When you see karate-ka who spar over and over... get to a certain level, and never progress beyond that point.. its because they are not doing the above!

Or maybe we start looking at Karate without the Western MA goggles. IMO We (Karate-ka) keep trying to pigeon hole Karate into Boxing Maai & Hyosh (distancing and timing) Anyone who has boxed knows the distance is much closer, one is not looking to block or shield, the distance is closer, it's slipping, parring while vying for control over the Maai and Hyosh. The majority of Karate-ka I see are fencers attempting to knife fight with a rapier because the only people they have effectively seen fight are knife fighters. The distancing and the timing not to mention the tactics and strategies are indeed different. I always point to Uke waza to demonstrate the difference between western boxing and Karate. I see on the internet people say traditional Uke waza is not practical or effective and then they go on to demonstrate why they believe 99% of traditional Uke doesn't work. IMO Their Maai and Hyosh are usually grounded in Western boxing. The second issue I see is that 99% of these people only have a kihon understanding of Uke Waza. (My guess is.... having a boxer's understanding of the dynamics of kumite they do two things: I) Only look at an Uke application from a position related to the distance and timing needed to be effective at boxing. & II) based in that premise... disregard the technique assuming its a flowery hold over of antiquity and never invest in it, believing its a low percentage application at best. I'd love to see a sport that promoted karate's tactics and strategies.

I think the debate sizzles out to "who's has the better prowess" I always look at MMA as the gold standard. The thing to remember is that both arts have been tested at the highest levels in MMA. Granted there was some supplemental training going on, but... GSP trained I believe he still does) in Kyokushin. Lyoto Machida trains Shotokan and won the light heavyweight championship and contended the middleweight belt. His brother (using Shotokan) has also done really well. Karate as a whole has proved itself.

What do you think? My opinion: (I'm biased due to being a Karate-ka) I like it. Being burnt out on the UFC and turned off by the thug behavior, Karate Combat league seems to spark a lot of interest in me (I always liked K-1 kickboxing) Buried way down in the comments someone brought up " I'd like to see more Karate techniques and less Kick Boxing" I agree. And that's where the Karate as a sport suffers to separate itself from other sports disciplines. Every time they start a league like this it ends up de-evolving into a form of kickboxing. Leave the gi top on and allow grabs, pulls etc. ( Hiki te ) And I'd even be ok with some form of Bogo equipment if it allowed open hand striking like Shuto Jodan Uchi or some form Uchi Waza and Empi waza. Make the ruleset to promote Karate Kihon waza. Kendo is a great example of this. To win a match not only do you have to fence well, but you also have to Kendo well. It's not all about just hitting your opponent with a shinai, but executing legit Kendo techniques. Force the Karate competitors out of the boxing stances by designing a rule set that awards execution for Kihon waza. All that said: Huge accolades to Rafael Aghayev. For years I've watched the WKF and was always on the fence. I saw serious skill, but the point system I always questioned. I now stand corrected! Rafael Aghayev "That's a Karate-ka" He reminds me of Chuck Norris

I've never read anything about Oyama and Funakoshi But I have read about Motobu Chōki and Funakoshi having differences

I've seen some old school Shorin Ryu practitioners do yoko mae geri with the toes and that's some serious training! I've never seen in Shorin Ryu-ka do a maewashi geri with the toes. That would be impressive to see done with authority. (and like yoko mae geri with the toes... would be a serious effective SD technique. )

I'm going to agree with those who said it failed to distance itself from TDK. To many TDK is Karate And IMO although not Japanese Karate (or Okinawan) it is a Karate (ie a Korean Karate) I also concur that Karate's inclusion into the Olympics was just supposed to be temporarily caused by the host nation (Japan) After 30+ yrs of Karate, I'm still on the fence on "Sport Karate"

Ikken Hissatsu - One fist, certain death. To the Chinese, the word "fist" or "Quan" means many things. It can mean fist but also applies to the whole body as a weapon or attack in general I'd wager that Kenjustu phrase is older than we think. I agree 100% with the original post. So I've always interpreted Ikken Hissatsu to mean "One attack, Certain Death, or Certain Victory" The attack = plural or multiple if needed

When we really think about it: all the "who's style is original stuff" doesn't mean anything. In the mid-1800s when Karate (To-Te) was becoming known to the outside world there was Naha-te, Shuri-te, and Tamari-te and in all three regional styles, there were differences among themselves.