EvilTed

So I got an MRI of the knee that's been bothering me for like 6 months or more and the Doc says I've split the meniscus. I'm scheduled to go for surgery in around 10 days but now I'm worried because an Orthopedic Surgeon at our dojo tells me that the risk of infection is high with this type of operation and if it gets into the bone (I forget the technical term for it) it's a real bad thing What should I do - get the surgery and say to hell with it or take the pain for the rest of my days Osu! ET

It depends upon the level of sparring. We tend to wear shin guards and/or hand guards when sparring. Sometimes chest protectors if we have broken\cracked ribs and don't want to get them messed up again before they heal For tournaments we aren't allowed to wear anything since it is Kyokushin or World Oyama tournaments and this is the rules for knock-down. Some insist on groin cups and mouthguards but most don't. The kids and juniors compete in semi-knockdown and they must wear head gear, shin guards and hand guards. Again, some insist on mouth guards and groin cups too. I have two Isami heavywieght gi's. These are the best available in the world and the ones used by Kyokushin and World Oyama. http://www.isami.co.jp/english/index2.htm For protective gear, I get all mine from Fairtex. They make incredibly high quality stuff. https://www.fairtexgear.com The shin guards are great! Osu ET

We do two-man drills and two-man pad work every lesson ET

No we agree. I think all animals are sentient beings and should be treated with respect, not beat upon by humans. I like the video for everything else, not the bear part. I only mentioned this as it is such a 'stand out' part of the video that anyone who has seen it would remember it. Osu! ET

A Kyokushin derivative only in that it's founder, Tadashi Nakamura, was once a prominent Kyokushin exponent - at one time the youngest to get a black belt at 19 and also one of the first to do the 100 man kumite. After Nakamura broke from Kyokushin and pissed off Mas Oyama and was gunned down in a Brooklyn parking lot he went soft. He got all Zen and said the reason he quit Kyokushin was due to the brutality of the training and little care or thought for students health or well-being in the organisation. Well, it didn't seem to bother him too much before now, did it? There is very little contact in Seido Juku until after green belt and then it is light and they only ever compete in semi-knockdown. They are pretty far removed from the original Kyokushin ideals. If you are looking for 'real' Kyokushin in the UK, you should search for schools affiliated with Steve Arneil. Steve is the head of the International Karate Federation, was adopted by Mas Oyama and was the very first' to do the 100 man Kumite, which he did in one day. http://www.australiankyokushin.com/kumite.shtml He apparently took meticulous notes while he was training with Mas Oyama and stays true to the original Kyokushin ideals. The only thing Kyokushin left in Seido Juku IMHO is they say 'OSU' all the time ET

They diluted the Kyokushin rules IMHO. Now there is absolutely no grabbing or pushing. They used to allow a momentary grab as part of another technique as well as pushing. World Oyama Karate still do it the old way ET

Has anyone seen the video 'Strongest Karate Vol 2" ? This is a Kyokushin Video from the 70s where Willie Williams fights a bear (and I feel sorry for the bear). What does show that is of particular interest to me, is the American Kyokushin experts of the day - basically the founders of World Oyama Karate training in New York and Alabama. Some of the training looks absolutely insane! This has got to be my favourite Karate video of all time ET

This highlights what is wrong with the Kyokushin organisation today. There are too many 'branches' and it has been diluted - to the point of not being Kyokuhsin at all in this instance. If you want a hard full-contact style (and by hard I don't just mean hard fighting, I mean hard training) then you should quit your current dojo. Talking to the sensei will not help if it is apparent that everyone is the same and there is no sparring. We gave a karate demonstration in Japan Town San Francisco on Saturday. A 7 year old green belt was breaking boards in front of 400 people and couldn't do it. Sensei wouldn't let him quit and ended up holding the board for him until he broke it on the 5th attempt. Later in the demonstration, sensei put a baseball bat across two chairs (I held one end and another 3rd kyu the other). He attempted to break it with a knife hand strike. It didn't break. He kept hitting it, harder and harder until it shattered into pieces. Later as we were changing I noticed his wrist was swollen up like a balloon and he was icing it. That is the true Kyokushin spirit. There is no concept of 'quit' Osu! ET

Wasn't he almost assasinated in a Brooklyn parking lot too? Maybe this is the same story/event, but the one I heard was Nakamura was shot three times and left for dead. Oyama was a rascist prick as well and allowed both Andy Hug and Willie Williams to be 'beaten' by Japanese in their respective fights. Hug was also knocked out by Filhio after the end of the round and when he turned to Oyama for his decision got the thumbs down. Andy Hug never forgave him and left Kyokushin soon afterwards. Willie Williams left Kyokushin with Shigeru Oyama. ET

"Sparring IS NOT fighting" Yeah, right, until the first hard blow lands, that is We had a guy visiting from Kyokushin, Japan last week. He broke his pinky finger on someones elbow on the Tuesday night and was fighting again with it strapped up on Wednesday. ET

In World Oyama Karate, like it's Kyokushin brothers, we spar from the frist day in the dojo. If you don't feel like sparring or you are injured, there is no problem, you can sit out. If we injure our legs or toes and can't kick, we spar with punches only. The point being, we spar EVERY lesson. Sparring and two man drills are essential in Karate in my opinion. Without them you may as well study Tai Chi. Karate is a fighting art, remember. Osu! ET

Ahhh soooo Grasshopper.... Seriously, this reads like something from the script of "Kung Fu" I don't know how many "real" fights you've been in, but every one I've been in, the humanity of the opponent did not even cross my mind. It's always down to "fight as if your life depended on it and do unto others as they would do to you. Just do it first !" ET

and what about Kyokushin and it's derivatives? We do lots and lots of two man drills, bag work, full-contact sparring as well as kata ET

Well I saw a Doc and he thinks it's tendenitis or worse, an MCL injury. I've been on Naproxen 500mg for a week or so but it doesn't help much. I had unforgiveable pain driving home tonight It hurts driving more than anything since it is my right leg and constantly under tension. Never seems to hurt doing karate? Anyway, the doctor said to take the pills for 10 to 15 days and if it doesn't get better go see an orthopedic surgeon. I was told that it's better to have surgery since it heals better. This sounds like crap to me. Surely surgery is the last option? ET

We do 'gehon-geri' faster and faster until we nearly pass out mae-geri mawashi-geri ushiro-geri mae-geri mawashi-geri ET

So my fractured foot is healing fine but now my right knee is starting to go out bad I get a burning pain on the inside of the knee, roughly 1" diameter. It's been getting worse over the last 6 months but now I can't drive easily for the pain and need to wear a brace to be able to walk on it or train. Should I quit training for a while or take supplements and suck up the pain? If there are good suplements for knees what are they? I've heard gluocosamine is good but maybe it's a bit late for all that and I need to go under the knife? Thanx ET

I asked my sensei about this. He says the easiest way which has the least risk to you is to push them hard on the shoulder with the palm of your hand. I like it ET

Hey Uechi kid, Where do you study Uechi Ryu in NorCal ? ET

Well I doubt many people are strong enough or would react in such a way as to be able to grab you with one hand, so figuring they have grabbed you just after impact with both hands that leaves one of too choices IMHO because you would have thrown the roundhouse from distance and be shin-facing your oponent. This makes it extremely difficult to quickly get close so I think you have one of two options depending upon your size and speed. 1) As already mentioned, leap up with the supporting leg and knee to the head or hook kick 2) Since you are already in half a scissor kick go the full way and sweep to the ankle of the opponent twisting your hips and grabbing your opponents head or clothing pulling them in the direction your trapped shin was facing and downwards. I prefer #2 since I am 200 LBs and can low kick pretty strong so both my weight and power would make this relatively easy. You also have to take into account that anyone grabbing your leg isn't going to be hanging around to wait for you to do something ET

Perfect - that's exactly what I was looking for! Thnx ET

Muay Thai follow through with their high roundhouse kicks whereas Kyokushin is executed with more snap. We all know that K-1 was born out of Kyokushin and Muay Thai so maybe the low kick came from there? We have several Muay Thai fighters from Fairtex that cross train with us in San Francisco. There is not a hell of a lot of difference between our styles. We both do a fair amount of knee kicks, low kicks and in-close punching. Osu! ET

Hi, Does anyone know when low kicks were brought into Kyokushin? We have a guy in his 50s who joined our dojo who did Kyokushin in the 60s and he says that there was never any low kicks. This is confirmed by watching early videos too. Does anyone know when the ubiquitous Kyokushin low kick was introduced and where it came from? Thanks ET

Hmmm, I've been either more unlucky than most, more clumsy or both Lets see in 18 months of full-contact karate : 3 broken ribs on lower left side. 1 cracked rib next to left collar bone. Two broken toes on right foot. Most recently a fracture in my left foot from (nearly 5 weeks ago). All from sparring. Numerous sprains of the thumb almost daily Continuous sprains, pulls, sore knees (my right one is getting close to needing surgery I think) Most guys in the dojo are injured somewhere on a weekly basis. Osu! ET

Aefibird, I went to Sheffiled Hallam University - graduated in 1994 Isn't there a Gojo-Ryu club at the University? They'd definetely teach you tonfa. ET

World Oyama Karate also produce excellent books and vdeos. I find them both to be an invaluable addition to training in the dojo. For one thing, the more advanced katas are easier to learn from video and 'correct' in the dojo. I see the On-Line course as an extension of this. It's not supposed to be a substitute for real training - it's an enhancement ot it. You still have to go to the dojo and untertake the promotion test to get your belt. I have a poromion test next Saurday. It's going to be tough as hell. I have had a fractured foot for the past four weeks and been back training for the past week. I have five consecutive 2 minute full-contact fights at the end of a 2 hour + promotion test. There aint nothing fake about that Osu! ET