Hohan-1

Hell, BB may not even be the beginning for most MAs. Fighting skills and philosophy are experiential and singular.

Our dojo only has 2 ranks: White and Black Belt. Originally there were no ranks or gis in Okinawan Karate. Kyu ranking comes from Judo, and is used for money making.

As a ring sport Muay Thai is good. As a street fighting art it is nominal. I grew up in SE Asia and had the pleasure to spar, train and befriend many real Thai Thai Boxers. They were for the most part humble and extremely tough. The truth be told though, they were no more successsful at dealing with an experienced street fighter than the average Shotokan or TKD guy. The cats with street fighting experience, regardless of lineage or style, were good reality fighters. Period. How many of you guys have seen a Thai Boxer in action against a street fighter of the same height and build? I'm talking, how many of you have even seen anyone fight on the streets for real (as an adult)? Everyone likes to believe that they have the panacea for self-preservation. Muay Thai wasn't invented for street fighting. It is a sport just like 98% of MAs out there. Some are more effective sports than others. That is it. As for BJJ. When have you ever seen a GJJ/BJJ guy fight for his/her arse on the street? C'mon now. Fighting on the street is fast and unpredicatable. Pulling guard or chess-match fighting is a prime no-no. Do what you want. Train how you like. Become well-versed in all aspects of fighting. Be prepared for chaos. Know your intent for training. Be honest with yourself. The Okinawan masters taught a method of SD that is relevant to the club, drunken culture of today. All the newer stuff is for newer "fighting" with rules and refs. What reality fighting takes place spontaneoulsy, with someone getting stole from behind with the corner of an ashtray to the occiput or a sucker punch around your girlfriend? None. Street fighting styles are not MMAs styles. NONE. None are ring sport oriented styles. NONE. The only ones left are some Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian and Okinawan arts. They were made for war and brawls. Not sport. Just for kicks look up some old Muay Thai matches from the 80s, 90s and recently. You will see how it has become more kickboxing oriented. Ask the Chief of Police of Bangkok why he practices TCMAs and Okinawan Arts for his real life confrontations in a 3rd world country. Don't be duped. You guys could never be Bas Rutten, Rickson Gracie or Royce. Get real for the reals. Do you and let them do them. 'Nawmean? Have a good one, especially TJS...

Hi! This is my first post, and I'm happy to be here. I've practiced many MAs for over 2 decades, with my core system being Shuri Te (Shorin Ryu). Let me jump right in... Originally Karate Jutsu was for self-preservation. There was no sparring and it was meant to keep you alive and able to support your family. Interestingly, just recently the majority of the Okinawan Masters have decided that kumite (sparring) and Okinawan Karate are not really compatible. Therefore they have decided to eliminate it from the more traditional competitive formats. Sparring is from Judo Randori, and it is a 100% Japanese concept. All karate was originally Okinawan. An Okinawan family without a male breadwinner (females did not/could not have an occupation) would be destined to poverty, starvation and possibly death. For this reason karate was a serious thing. It wasn't a fun-time, slap-tag game. That was the Japanese's influence/contribution (Karate-Do). Everyone should thank Miyagi and Funakoshi for making karate popular worldwide, but it was a mixed blessing as the Ryukyuan aspects were replaced by Nipponese ones. Osu, hahaha! Things change and most karate is the latter type. It is a philosophical way with few of the precepts (such as "Sente" or strike first) of Toudi. If you think that the local McDojo (98% of karate) will teach you how to fight trained combatants such as Wrestlers, Thai Boxers, BJJ guys and MMAs cats then you are dead wrong. Even its original intent was far from that. It was not meant to be used against pro athletes or fighters. It was for defense against the common street thug. These are things a karateka has to come to grips with. Many of the older Masters, Hohan Soken for example, espoused training (cross-training) under more than one style and teacher. That was something he did after learning his family system for many years. This is especially true for those who are BB level already. The newer sensei/shinshii frowned upon this. That's why very few people will ever be true Masters. Karate like life is what you make of it, how it is presented to you and only as effective as the one practicing it can be. Bye and talk with you guys soon enuff!!