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I trained with a school that did more old school taekwondo for many years. We didn't do doubles and triple roundhouse kicks that olympic tkd is known for. Jump kicks were all just the basic kicks with a jump. Most complicated spinning jump kick was a jump hook kick. Sparring was rough. Punches to the head and face allowed, attacks to the groin allowed.

Oh ok I see what you're saying now. Yeah removing all those aspects would be really sad and you definitely would lose a lot of what makes the art what it is.

Well said! I understand what you're saying and see your point if we're looking at it as a whole, but I wonder if maybe there isn't something positive to be said about outliers who see the pushing of their physical limits and chasing after techniques for the sake of maximizing power, speed, balance, and efficiency just for the sake of loving progression within themselves as martial artists. The world is a different place, and everything down to our diet has made it easier for us to explore our limits. Why not drive karate, and specifically kata, forward to see the pinnacle of human ability? Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's like saying modern-day body-mechanic science, access to coaches, training facilities, modern diets, equipment, and surface areas make Usain Bolt and modern Olympic sprinters as practicing a different sport from sprinters from over 100 years ago because their sprinting techniques were based on the environments they trained in back then. Am I reading this wrong? I don't compete anymore, but I'm still super passionate about kata. Bunkai is important to me, but equally if not more important as my ability to throw my techniques like the top level competitors in the world even if I never get close. I'm constantly trying to improve my speed, balance, focus, and power. I train and drill because this is my martial arts journey and what matters to me. Now, did competition karate create this drive in me? I don't really think so, but competition karate definitely set the bar for what I see as possible in my body. Is it wrong to try and chase after what my body is capable of instead of learning what works for someone at more of a disadvantage in a physical altercation? The practicality of combat application is something that I've always had a bit of an issue with when it comes to karate schools in general, but that's a whole nother can of worms lol.

I see what you're saying and I get that some people might see modern karate as straying away from traditions and cultural heritage, but I guess what I'm thinking about is what aspects of modern karate they're straying from and how much it really identifies a culture? Like I said earlier, I think American sport karate is a totally different martial art from Japanese or Okinawan karate. But I'm having a hard time seeing why someone who's dedicated to Okinawan karate would find it disrespectful of their culture to emphasize the parts of kata that Japanese kata competitions focus on. I think that competition kata elevates the kata scene and really showcases the maximum potential of the human body. Now, when it comes to fighting I guess the idea of point fighting being a game of tag that dilutes the old warrior spirit of traditional karate, I can see that, but point fighting and practical combat applications are two completely different elements of the same activity. Like floor exercises vs balance beam in gymnastics. What do you think? Would love to hear what aspects of modern karate you think puts old traditions at risk.

That's kinda silly. However, I do see American sport karate as a different animal from Japanese and Okinawan karate. I remember coming up in the early 2000s when tricking first hit the scene and how American karate schools were making gigantic changes to traditional kata (yelling on every other move, ridiculous stances, etc.). The same argument could definitely be made when comparing Okinawan kata from Japanese competition kata. It's close, but different. Aesthetics clearly play a big role in the Japanese presentation, and if I'd have to pick a side in that tug of war, I'd say I prefer how the Japanese kata look despite training at an Okinawan karate club currently. Well, I guess bottom line I'm seeing, and correct me if I'm wrong, is it'll be alright to use a black uniform as long as I'm being respectful of the source material.

Really love hearing about people going back to interests they enjoyed in their childhood. I'm glad you had so many resources around you as well! Best of luck to you on your journey and feel free to reach out here if you have any questions about training ideas or just want to talk about cool stuff you discover along the way!

I see. My shorin ryu school does weapons but all they wear is white. I used to train at a school where gi color could change depending on rank. At brown belt you could wear black if you wanted. I always loved how black gis look. But my favorite was always black pants with white top. I wasn't sure if it was disrespectful tho, because I heard that there was even underlying messages with the color of stitching on black belts. I'm currently working on a big art project with some friends and I want to make sure to stay respectful of all martial arts cultures we're showcasing in the project and didn't know if there was something I didn't know about gi color meanings. Thanks for the reply!

Can you elaborate on the protest reason? Why are Okinawan karate practitioners protesting modern karate? What is it about modern karate that they're protesting? I'm working on a martial arts related art project with some friends, and for practicality's sake the black gi just works better for filming. The project is a bit of a tribute to many martial arts cultures, and we didn't want to offend Japanese karate by displaying a black gi.

Karate schools often have strict "white gi only" policies. A lot of modern karate schools allow for colors and different styles similar to karate allow colors as well. I've tried doing some research and I'm getting conflicting views everywhere. Ultimately, does it really matter? Is wearing a black gi for example considered "disrespectful?" Of course if your school doesn't allow it then those are the rules, but does wearing a black gi have some kind of meaning outside the school? I've seen a video of Rika Usami wearing a purple gi, and there are tons of high level karateka who wear colored gis. Even the Seishin brand sells a black version of their gi. So, is there something sacrilegious about wearing a black karate gi?

OKCD is pretty great. The people who train there are super friendly and it's a very traditional school. Hardly any emphasis on sparring though. I ran a couple of the once-a-month sunday sparring sessions and it's a good group to train with. They've dialed their classes back a lot since pandemic, but I think they're on their way to operating like normal again.

You're from Dallas! Wonder if we trained at the same Shorin Ryu school. OKCD? I think that would be super fun to get a bunch of people together. Hard to organize though.

I'm a HUGE kata fan. Even before I started training karate and did mainly taekwondo I absolutely loved all things kata from all styles and all countries. Seeing a practitioner on their own just mastering movement, power, balance, speed, it still gets me just as excited as it did over twenty years ago when I first started training. With the large number of styles in karate, what would be the best way to learn kata outside of your given style? Many people are limited by geography, and trying to learn a kata off the internet is possible, but it'd be so much better to learn and ask questions from someone who truly understands it. I'd love to explore Papuren, Nipaipo, Anan, and the Uechi-Ryu version of Seisan specifically. I train at a Shorin Ryu school and their version of Seisan is VERY different from the Uechi-Ryu version.

I got my 1st degree black belt in taekwondo 2000. I never ranked up and never stopped training because my only reason for getting that rank was to compete in black belt division. I wasn't about to drop $400 for a stripe on my belt. As I've gotten older I started training in Shorin Ryu and started over at white belt, but don't intend to go for any stripes after shodan unless it's free, and I did brazilian jiu jitsu for 8 years and didn't really care much about the belt in that style either. If a martial artist sizes a person up by their rank, or treats a person differently because of the color of their belt, then they don't get it. I've been training consistently since 97 and I can say this without hesitation, belt rank has NOTHING to do with skill.

no i'm not.

quit criticizing how other people fight. who cares? if you fought someone who kept their hands down, do you think u could win 100% of the time? if not? why... then that answers ur question.