Goju1

Huh? I've done both and found very few similarities. Kickboxing uses no open handed techniques, no grappling, no joint locks, they don't do katas, etc... what kind of karate are you refering to?

Well 1) they do the 'real' Goju katas 2) they stress historical value 3) looks pretty genuine But yeah, go and take a class, meet the people, etc... only way to find out

About 200 students 6th Dan

Interested in your opinions on Naha-Te, which was brought back to Okinawa from China in the late 1800's. Today, this would usually be called Goju-Ryu and refered to as karate, yet all of the kata are essentially Chinese (the 'S' ones) The differences between Japanese karate are obvious, but what would you consider the main differences between that karate and the Chinese style it derived from?

Blade Lee - a) don't go where these people are, period! b) you sound really young, maybe take a few years and mellow out? c) but if you ever find yourself in a position like you've mentioned and you are sufficiently well-trained, your instincts will take over, don't worry about it!

Good post tenkamusou - I agree! Particularly your last point (no pun intended) I am a Higoanna karate practitioner (we train with him fairly regularly, as his Dojo is in our county) and we carry on the tradition as best we can. I always assumed all karate was like ours, boy was I wrong as I'm learning from this forum!

I would say that most of our adult Black belts could hold their own with a Muay Thai/ kickboxer style fighter, in large part because the Goju inside style of fighting eliminates most of their kicking game. I guess it mostly depends on the style, though, and which branch of that style and so on...

I think you got it KM - and in my humble opinion, point sparring is useless, except as a fun game of sorts...

Totally agree - also the Mae-Geri is a great way to knock the wind out of someone, instant fight stopper!

Here is a good one - it gets that nice look in the back without cross over and the perfect little 'cave' in the front knot. http://www.all-karate.com/karate_belt_tie_1.php

Ditto to the other replies, also usually in Goju Ryu, people start to change after getting their purple belt. The kata for that level (seienchin) is quite demanding physically and seems to take one's entire practice upa notch or three. As far as wearing groin protection - YES! No matter who you're sparring, unless you enjoy that kind of pain.

A while back, someone asked for a list of katas - here are the basic Goju-Ryu kata. Do any other styles do these, and if so what is your impression? Gekisai Dai Ichi (Basic kata No 1) White Belt Gekisai Dai Ni (Basic kata No 2) Yellow Belt Saifa (Monkey kata) Green Belt Seiyunchin (Tiger kata) Purple Belt Shisoshin (Dragon kata) Brown Belt Sanseru (36 Techniques) Shodan Sepai (Snake 13 masters) Nidan Kururunfa (Praying mantis) Sandan Sesan (18 stances) Suparinpei (108 Positions) (Master Kata) Sanchin (Three battles) (Breathing Kata) Tensho (Rotating palms) (Breathing Kata)

Yep, the most amazing feat of all!!

Punching and bench-pressing are 2 different activities recruiting 2 different types of muscle fibers, and for all the afore mentioned reasons the fists should be kept close in - the pecs are not as important to pucnhing as you might think. A punch from the outside is much easier to block, also. If you notice, a good boxer will also keep their hands in close to the head.

Yes this is good training! One's Ki or power is weaker when breathing in. This is why breathing katas like Sanchin are so important - you learn to breathe powerfully without showing it. Try this in sparring, don't show your breathing (another reason to be in good shape) and attack on their inhalation.

It is technically possible - being a long time gym owner/personal trainer I have seen pretty incredible things. As a matter of fact, about 10 years ago, a japanese man who weighed only 140 lbs had a record (for his weight class) of 540 lbs documented in competition. The current record is almost 900 lbs!! (by a 300+ lb man)

Sanseru - starts off looking simple, then turns very difficult to do correctly!

Jussi, thanks for the input! Good idea for the project. Your english is fine, way better than my Finish And I know what you mean about the display, I wasn't planning on a public display of these, more of a private thing to remind me of where I've been, what it took to get there, and the reasons for keeping going.

Yikes! Maybe time to frame 'em! Although it never rains here, hehe

IMHO, drilling your basics until they become as second nature as walking is worth more than all the "advanced techniques" in the world! Right on!!! Forget advanced techniques, gimme someone thats done the basics about 100,000 times and watch out!!

Ran across my old belts recently, the white belt going back to '88, and thought it would be nice to display them. I've seen some of the racks on EBay and such, most look kinda tacky. Anyone know any good displays, maybe a small glass case? What do you guys do? Thanks!

Ditto - I always intended to frame them, but now theres too many - folder in a file cabinet

Yeah, I remember when I was testing for blue or purple and I had to fight this new guy, a yellow belt. I was thinkin' this'll be easy hehe - never saw that kick to the head coming! Turns out he had been a brown belt in TKD, we became buddies, but boy was that a humbling experience

No other dojos in Miami? Any style or are you partial to one for some reason? There's gotta be one somewhere! If not, then stay , but make your intentions and displeasure known to the instructor. Just my advice.