Capella

It is a fun movie to watch. I really enjoyed it. I already knew about the suffragettes training in jiu jitsu/bartitsu, and was pleased to see that they picked it up for the movie. And they did not go over the top too far with it and kept it relatively realistic (in movie terms, that is). In my spare time I write novels (nothing published yet, though), mostly historical fiction and fantasy. I studied history at uni before I became a software developer, so I am always eager on researching and getting the details right and I am obsessed with female fighters from different periods of history.

Rotating punches are stronger and have a bit more reach. But they telegraph like crazy because the shoulder comes up. I prefer the vertical punch (we call it tate tsuki) for short punches in the in-fight, that are more sneaky than overly powerful. For example to the solar plexus. They deliver slightly less power, but since they are fast and harder to see coming, it is easier to be precise with them. When I am coming in with a long punch and want to cover distance, I usually use the standrd rotated ones.

I think, what it comes down to is to learn to calm yourself and control your breathing and heartbeat under physical stress/tension. It really isn't all that esoteric. And yes, I think it does have a great potoential both for your health, but also for your general resiliance in life.

Yes absolutely. It is even encouraged. Everything that makes you a better fighter and challenges you is good from a Kyokushin point of view.

Physical fitness, mostly. Fun. Making friends.Self-confidence.

In spring we had a period in Germany when indoor sports were still banned, but doing sports outdoors in groups of up to ten people (keeping a 5' distance from each other, no physical contact) was allowed, and we met in one of our member's backyard for traiining during that time. It wasn't too far from where I lived, so I usually combined it with a short run there and back. It was a bit strange to jog thourgh the neighbourhood in my gi, but there was also something very archaic and empowering in training outside. It felt very much in the kyokushin spirit (also, we were all very happy to be able to train together again at all, we had all missed that so much). At the moment, COVID-19 numbers in Germany are rising steeply again, and we all fear a second lockdown. I guess in winter it would be a lot harder to train outside, not only because of the weather, but mostly because of a lack of daylight.

In Kyokushin (at least in the organization that I am part of, the Kyokushin world is quite divided when it comes to organizations), the highest rank you can actually test for is the 3rd Dan. That's where the official curriculum ends. Higher dan ranks are awarded for special accomplishments, which can be either athletic in nature, like winning at international tournaments etc. or more "buerocratil" like heading a national organization etc. The higher the ranks go, the more important that political/buerocratic aspect becomes. Mas Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin, held the 10th Dan, but he never promotd any of his students to the same level, so since he died, the highest rank has been the 9th Dan.

Welcome PerKr. My story is a bit similar to yours. I trained some GoJu Ryu karate in my youth, and then later some Judo and Shaolin Kempo, but then completely dropped out. I did try some Aikido at some point, but did not really like it. I picked up Kyokushin karate a year ago at the tender age of 48. It can be a bit tough sometimes, knowing that no matter what I try, I won't ever be able to keep up with all those 20 somethings, many of whom started Kyokushin as kids. But I decided, I don't have to be better than them. I just have to be better than yesterday. I hope you find a place to train that you like.

In the first season, they said that the audience was "invitation only" and made it sound like a bit of a VIP event. This time around the audience seems a lot more generic, so yes, probably just crew dressed up. It is exactly the same people in all the events they showed so far, so I suspect they filmed them all in one go. Plus very cirngy green screen technique for the background. I guess this is mostly due to COVID-19, though. I hope they go back to a bit more of a live event feeling for future seasons.

How does the Karate Combat promotion generate income? They don't have much of a life audience, so I guess ticket sales can't be a big factor. All their fights are watchable on YouTube for free, so it is not via any pay-per-view contracts or the like. Of course, YouTube vdeos with a large viewership can generate some income through commercials, but from what I gather from various influencers, it is not really that much. The Karate Combat events are very well produced. I do not know how much the fighters earn, but it must be at least enough to cover their costs of flying half way around the world for some of them. This year's season is a bit fuzzy on where the event was actually held, probably due to COVID-19, but in the past they rented amazing venues in different countries for it. And Bas Rutten and Marshawn Lynch won't work for free either. There is definitely a lot of money in this. Where does it come from?

I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but the best thing you can do as long as you don't have a teacher is to build up your strength, stamina and flexibility. Trust me, once you start with Kyokushin, you will be happy for every bit of work you put into that. If yuu do have a Muay Thai gym in the city where you live now, and you can afford it, taking some Muay Thai lessons would be a great thing, too. It is probably the one non-karate martial art that comes closes to Kyokushin as far as fighting style and technique is concerned.

Ooooh, nice. That's a lot quicker than I dared to hope. Thanks for sharing.

You are right about the organization not wanting Kyokushin fighters. Or at least not a fighting style that resembles the way that Kyokushin fighters usually fight. Bas Rutten (who ihas his roots in Kyokushin after all) even said so in some comments in earlier seasons. The ruleset of Karate Combat does everything to ensure that fighters are relatively far apart and come in for fast attacks before separating again. The reason for this is that they think that this kind of fighting is more attractive for the viewers. And they have a point there. Kyokushin fights are relatively unspectacular to look at, despite their aggressiveness, because so much happens at close range.

Halloween is not much of a thing in Germany. November 1st is a public holiday (All Saints Day) in the Catholic parts of Germany, and Oct. 31st in the Lutheran ones (Reformation Day), so some younger people use that opportunity to throw a party, but since this year those days fall on a weekend anyway and because of the whole Corona thing, I don't think much of that is going to happen. In the region where I live we do celebrate St. Martin's day, though, which is on the 11th of Nobember. Normally, there are lantern parades with an reenactment of the St. Martin legend (basically a soldier dude come home from war, sees a freezing beggar at the side of the road and then cuts his own cloak in half to share it with the guy). There are a lot of traditional songs that go with it. And after the official parade is over, kids go from house to house in groups with their lanterns and sing those songs in exchange for candy. So it is a bit like trick or treating, just "nicer". I really loved doing this as a child. This years most of the official parades have been cancelled, and I don't suspect many children to go from house to house either.

Hi Alan, thanks for the link, what an amazing collection of push-up resources. And you are right about the baby steps, of course. It is just tough to keep that in mind when you are constantly training with guys who are a lot stronger. Especially since push-ups are often thrown in casually, like as a discipline measure. I have no chance of doing them in proper form in the tempo that they are counted out, not even on my knees, and I hate shrugging out half-a**ed ones. It usually is a stark reminder just how much stronger than me everyone else in the class is. I am slowly getting better at it though, and the personal training sessions are a great help, not only physically, but also mentally. .