yamesu

I agree with Charlie, If its a legitimate Kyokushin dojo, then your almost assured to be getting good training (i said almost). And let me tell you, the road to a Kyokushin Black belt is definantly not an easy one, nor are they handed out to the undeserving. Osu.

By the way, do you mean short sleeves as in, just above the elbow, or as in, at shoulder height, DBZ style? Just wondering.......

Id just take the sleeves up myself........ Kyokushin usually have gi's mass-made for them, with sleeves around elbow length and the Kanji already embroided. You prob' dont want that though. Osu.

Anyone who only trains to succeed "in the ring" and nothing else would definantly be lacking in many self-defence aspects IMO. This is only my opinion, but tournaments, (legal ones anyway,) must have rules in place - This not only protects the fighters from injuries like blindness and spinal damage, but it also severely limits the amount of techniques one can execute, and hence effectively takes away from the pure reality of violence. Having weight divisions certainly limits availability of opponents. Kyokushin, as well as some other full-contact org's have open-weight divisions. You may want to check this out. When there is rules in place, there is less options. I think a strike to the eyes is quite devestating, but where can you find a partner to train using this on effectively before they go blind...... In this respect, are all MA 'lacking' something? NB; My post is entirely opinionated, and not in any way meant to offend anyone. Please dont go poking people in the eyes either.

Nicely put stonecrusher.

Jay, i will PM the references to papers and books, on the above subject to you through this site as soon as I find the exact ref's. (I know its definantly in one of three books, so ill have to sift through them.) By-the-by, are you currently studying science? or are you a practicing/retired bio-physicist or something? As most of the research conducted in these fields, (to the best of my knowledge,) was quite unconventional at the time, and there was also people like Yuri Geller appearing saying and doing things which went against classical scientific views, most straightminded scientists thought it a fallacy, or decided that time was better spent researching other fields. Nowdays this sort of science falls into fields of "Para-psychology" or "Meta-physics" or some other hokey sounding name, and most scientists avoid researching in these fields. As WW said, what really matters is what YOU BELIEVE. Cheers.

It is also interesting to note that scientific studies (1970's) have shown that an increase percent in the oxygen content in the atmosphere surrounding a human being causes predictable fluctuations in the electrical charge running across the outside of skin membranes. This is thought to be caused by th increase in ionic charges within cells, due to an increase in body-oxygen-content. I havent heard of any research being conducted in this field since. But me thinks that more research needs to be done on this...... I can provide the references if anyone is interested. (May take me a bit for me to fish out of my books.) Cheers.

Excellent post WW. There are stories of yogi whom have lived off nothing but the prana of the universe for many years healthily and happily. As a collective race, human beings could well benifit from refinding/relearning things we have forgotten over time through lazyness, ignorance, and technology!

land left leg forward, proceed to spin clockwise 180' into cat stance right foot forward, left knifehand upper block, right 4finger spearhand to neck.

Nice words Tommy_P and above posters, but consider this; when you step into your instructors dojo, your spending your own valuble money and time to gain sensei's knowledge. If your sensei wants to teach you about the purity/intensive-depth of the style, then Im sure the last thing he wants to hear is about "how at this other dojo.....such and such.....etc....." or even have his/her teaching contradicted, regardles of its validity. You train under people to have their knowledge passed onto you, no? So go to other classes if you want, train in different styles, but try not to brag or go on-and-on about your 'other' places of training, as people(especially instructors) can take this as egotism, and may get offended. IMHO, just keep attending classes and gaining knowledge. Knowledge is power, but the most powerful thing a person can do with knowledge is pass it on. As previously noted; there are no stupid questions, if a question cannot be answered by one person, then surely it can be answered by another. This does not however belittle the first person, it is in essence drawing the same water from a different tap. Just my opinion. OSU.

Im with niel0092, my BB test was reasonably hard, but nothing that I hadnt worked towards, and prepared myself for. I give it a 7 because of the mental determination involved. In comparison to some finals at university, (calculus-differential equations,) MA gradings are a walk in the park. Osu.

Sanchin and Tensho. (the "one hit one kill" kata) Kanku is also sweet, as is Sepai. Osu.

Im glad you decided to take the classes. IMHO, yoga will help with everything from releasing muscular, emotional and mental tension, to building strong determination and will power. Perhaps even more-so than martial arts, as practitioners of yoga tend to humble themselves (focus inward instead of outward), as opposed to building ego as so many MAist's tend to get caught up in. I hope you enjoy the classes and find reason to practice yoga regularly. It will definantly help with injuries, and will in fact, help to build a body more resilliant to injury and disease. It will also build extremely defined pure-function muscle on ones body. From my experience taking yoga, serious practitioners usually live through and past their 90's, quite happily, healthily and self-sufficiently. Good Luck.

There is a saying in ChoyLiFut; The long staff is hard to master, but the 3-section staff is 3 times harder. It takes years to learn to properly manipulate, as it encompasses so many various techniques from striking to trapping and even grappling/throwing.

Good advice from the above posters. First we learn a move, then we learn to apply the move in a set way, finally, we learn to adapt that move to any given situation. This is the concept of "Muso-Uchi", or, striking instantaniously, when attacked. The proper study of kata, and applying it to one-step-sparring is a fine way to set the building blocks for this, but it is not the be-all-end-all. OSU.

Boxers punch each others head numerous times. In a boxers career, how many times do you think they have been hit in the head? Definantly more than just a single time.

ISKA is almost like this, exept competitors pay their own way. They have full-contact, but it is with gloves. Osu.

IMHO, the most important thing in fighting is: Distance and Timing, Distance and Timing, Distance and Timing. Im only 5'11", built more like a gymnast than a weightlifter, but i can drop guys a LOT bigger than me just by positioning myself correctly. Distance and Timing.

Agreed. A single bare knuckle punch to the face can kill. One of my mates sustained a fractured skull from a single punch to the face during a drunken brawl last year, id post the photos, but i think he may be a bit embarassed. Gloves keep people from claiming insurance or even going to sue the representative organisation. Got much more to say but ill stop here, Osu.

I kick a heavy bag (60-80kg's) with my instep's and shin's daily, this helps to prepare the shins for hits to the muscles/skin, and helps to show oneself how the body reacts to a full force kick impact. Just get a heavy bag and proceed to roundhouse kick. This way you can kill to birds with one stone and practice your technique while strengthening your shins and feet. Osu.

Hehehe, I told you that my response would cause a bit of a ruckus. As much as the above posts are.......(suffice to say at the least,) .........interesting, It seems that more and more people are willing to bag on Kyokushin without wholeheartedly doing the research/training. My advice to the original poster of this thread, stick with the original texts. An autobiography would be quite amazing, but ive never seen one, in Oz or Jap. The most ive read about OyamaSosai's life prob' comes from the series of books, "What is Karate?" "This is Karate" and "Advanced Karate." Absolutely priceless books if you can get your hands on them. I dont know who John Blooming is, but I do know Shihans and Senseis whom trained with OyamaSosai in the 60's and 70's, (much more respectable/wise persons than internet-peeps, and those that would write internet-articles,) who will all vouch for MasOyamaSosai's prowess, his feats, and his awsome strength. To other (more nieve) members of this site, please try not to reference articles off the internet, most of it is utter *. Thats why Universities wont allow references for scientific journals, etc to be from the internet. Anyone can write anything. Does not make it a bar of truth. OSU.

ooppssss.... link didnt work, just go to amazon and search for "oyama-legacy" Osu.

The biography of MasOyama Sosai is NOT an autobiography, but was compiled after his death. Its title is "Oyama-The Legend, the Legacy." and can be found at Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/103-5124217-4741430 Osu.

Get ready for blisters on your palms, and to fall in love with your Shinai. At Kendo schools ive been to, repetition is key to mastering techniques. Much the same as most other MA's. Determination is essential, but as your already a Nidan, Im sure you wont have any trouble. Good luck.

At 15 a persons bone structure has not fully developed yet. Bones are still growing. Even doing push-ups on ones fists at too young an age can lead to problems with wrists, flat-knuckles and such later on in life. Teenagers are, for the most part, quite arrogant as to what is best-off in the long run for them. (I know I was.) But as 'cool' as breaking seems, it can be extremely damaging if done incorrectly. I only try to get the message about the bodily damages of breaking at too young an age, because I dont want people to look back when their 35, and their bodies are decrepid because of this very issue. Osu.