hammer

Made it through...had it easy, very small tournament so only one fight against a pretty well matched opponent. Still lost by decision but we first went to a draw and fought an extension round. Still have a ways to go on the mental preparation. I was able to be more aggressive this time, but I wasn't to the point where I could capitalize on opportunities to really dominate the fight. Can still improve on the cardio as well... Ribs will be sore for a while (opponent's go to move was a quite effective shita tsuki), but I otherwise feel fine.

No music in class, even during our fighters training. Might not hurt to have something during bag work but I don't miss it. On the rare occasions I spend time on an exercise bike, I watch a bit of TV, but I don't even listen to music while running...find it upsets my pacing. I've had recommendations to listen to some music to get into the right mindset for when I fight in a tournament this weekend. Not sure what I would listen to, maybe some heavy/classic rock or epic classical.

We don't do Ushiro mawashi geri that often in class, but that kick and defending against it is something that is a part of Kyokushin (at least at the dojo I train in). The Kyokushin fighter in this case should of at least had his hands up to block the kick...and if he were fast enough (which some practitioners are) he would have moved with the shoulder turn as well. In addition, what was with the Kyokushin fighter's hands going up and down? All the Shotokan fighter had to do was wait for the Kyokushin fighter's right hand to go up and then execute the kick as his hand was going back down. I would not have had the speed to defend or evade that kick though...

So I decided (against the voices in my head!) to give semi-contact another go in a few weeks... Main hope is that I go into this a little more prepared mentally. Think I have been getting a lot of good training in being more "technical" when fighting...it's a matter of applying it when I'm getting full contact fists, feet, and knees flying at me. Conditioning and intensity had to take a back seat for a few weeks due to a broken toe but that appears to be healed well enough for now. Think my cardio and strength is about where I can have it...and if it isn't I'll have to work with what I have.

In the dojo it's full contact but knock down & punches to head are not allowed if that makes sense and for sure it's sort of light sparring to minimize risk of injuries. Got it...we have different levels of contact, most times we go on the light side but we are in training for another tournament so we have been dabbling in medium to hard contact recently. Was wondering because the level of effort really ramps up when you go hard.

Out of curiosity, what was the contact level? FWIW there's a tall thinner person in my dojo and I'm still trying to figure out the best approach. I used to try to go in close to avoid his kicks...he has a very fast downward roundhouse that he can change levels of on the fly. Only problem with being in close is that he is also comfortable with knee kicks as well.

Where I train the sensei does like to wait a few weeks before introducing students to kumite. In addition, the more experienced students are told to go light which would not involve actual contact to the head. Fortunately in the adult class many of the students (including myself) don't throw very good high kicks, so the situation you mention would likely not happen. That said, one needs to go into sparring easy, especially in a style like Kyokushin where it may not be uncommon to go medium to hard contact. It doesn't do any good to scare a student off...

Square knot with back overlapped. Used to go with the back crossed (quite some time ago) but the overlap looks neater and doesn't come loose any easier.

The dojo I attend in NH is $90 for 2 classes/week (I can go to 3 but the third class is not open to junior students or kids). Personally I would be OK with up to $100/month for 3 classes/week. Tournaments and other special classes (which are entirely optional) can add up to a lot more...mainly because of the travel/lodging costs.

Best of luck...sounds like you are well on your way.

I'm 2.5 years into adjusting my retracting hand, in TKD it just needed to be between the armpit and belt, but in Kyokushin it needs to always be closer to solar plexus level. When I pay attention to it I can keep it at the correct level, but if I'm concentrating on something else it wanders down...

Not that I do kumite in Kokutsu-dachi, but I've wondered if the differences in fighting (Kyokushin allowing leg kicks) has anything to do with the difference. In TKD I used to do an L stance which is more like the Shotokan style of Kokutsu-dachi. I'd agree that it is easier to stay in that stance than in the Kyokushin version...but I would never fight in it because it leaves the inside of the front leg way too open.

Good luck!

Do not ever use smelling salts to wake up an unconscious person! Why not? When someone is woken up this way, their head moves very sharply when they come to. The medical field learned the hard way that unconscious people with a broken neck were significantly worsening their condition being woken up this way. When someone is unconscious due to trauma, you have to assume their neck is broken until it's ruled out by X-Ray or the like. When someone is KO'ed, they often hit their head on the ground too. This can and does cause neck fractures. While I'm on a roll, never remove a helmet, head gear, etc. from an unconscious person either. You can and will move their neck while taking it off. Only remove it if you have to perform mouth to mouth and there's absolutely no other way, as in they have some sort of face shield that can't be cut off and they're not breathing. Sorry for the lecture; it's the former sports medicine guy in me. Good to know...I wasn't involved in helping out but fortunately they both came to pretty quickly and there were no signs of neck injury. Neither one left to go to the hospital right away but I learned later that one did suffer a concussion.

Agree that knockouts (or any real physical harm) during demos are definitely a no-no, but what about full contact kumite in class? Have seen a few instances during testing where the smelling salts were needed (fortunately not on me)...but I guess I just see that as part of learning a full contact style...

The usual advice I've read here is to think more about the school and less about the style. Go to the school and see how well it matches up with your training goals.

Agree...leave the point sparring to TKD.

To paraphrase an Eeyore quote... Days...Weeks...Months...Years...who knows. I'd like to think that MA is a lifelong pursuit for me but in all honesty I don't concern myself with it. I just train...

Congratulations!!

Not sure how far this one is for you, it's in Ashland MA. http://marubashidojo.com

Just got promoted to 6th Kyu in Kyokushin.

I was in the 35+ category, 5th kyu and below. Felt my physical fitness was pretty good (can always be better) but the toughest part was mental/conditioning. Tough to find a balance between getting used to taking a hit and avoiding injury during training.

A cup and a mouthpiece are typically the only protective gear allowed in Kyokushin. Depends on the type of kumite. I just participated in semi-knockdown a few weeks ago which required a helmet, hand pads, and shin/instep pads. Full knockdown was as you stated, only protective gear was a cup and mouthpiece. FWIW this was my first time and I'll be 52 in a few months. Lost both fights and I'm still recovering but I'll be fine...

Well, I survived... Lost both matches but I lasted through each of them. Being told about the intensity and being on the receiving end of it are two different things...I've gone hard for a test before, but it's different in the tournament setting when you and your opponent are intentionally trying to cause pain to each other. Think my physical conditioning was as good as it could have been, just need to be more mentally prepared the next time I get in the ring. On the plus side, I won 1st in kata in my ring...

I train at a small dojo, both in numbers of students and space...for the adult class we usually have 4-6 students and in all honesty if we had any more than 8 it would get too crowded.