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Some of the kata are similar to one another. They are there to develop specific habits and some of those concepts are repeated as you progress through the ranks. Others are not the same at all. It just depends which kata your system teaches. The kata you will learn may or may not be similar to TKD forms. That depends on which system of TKD you were learning. I've seen TKD that has all of the Heian kata. Then I've seen TKD whose forms are not at all like those in Karate. Anyway, good luck in your training. Welcome to the forums!

Chances are good that if you have the longest legs, you also have the longest arms. That is a huge advantage. Lift your leg as if to kick and quickly plant into a deep front stance with a long low reverse punch. Start using your arms with your long stances and you could become extremely difficult to deal with.

Good explanation, James. Yup! I agree 100% also. Overall, the type of instructor you have influences when you begin to learn to use them in a "soft" manner. Often they are taught as "hard" at first.

This has been a very enlightening thread! Thanks for all the info everyone. James, welcome to the forum!

Excellent website. Nice suggestion on the book! Thanks.

I'll start off by saying I am not a Goju practitioner. I must admit, then, that I will not be able to answer for Goju specific methods. I can, however, point out that ease of remembering the kata does not translate to the complexity of the kata. Afterall, you can train a monkey to perform kata. But all they would be doing is repeating movements. Understanding kata is about knowing everything that kata is supposed to teach you. From body dynamics to bunkai to new techniques. So, performing a kata and knowing a kata are two completely different things. I think this is an interesting question. I think it comes down to too many instructors teaching before they know enough about their style. Therefore, others who are uninformed/ misinformed are promoted before they should be.

I agree here. The practice of martial arts techniques is to change old and inappropriate habits into proper habits. You fight as you train. Therefore, if you train incorrectly, you WILL handle yourself incorrectly. You need to ask your instructor how you can best fix your kick. I think this is an excellent point also. It's possible you just haven't developed a basic range of motion that will permit you to do the technique properly. Ask your instructor what to fix on your kick. If he/she says it's fine, then it's fine. In general more instruction will come as it's necessary. That doesn't mean don't ask, just that good instructors often have a method to their madness.

That's good info whitematt! Thanks for the book.

That's a great idea. You could even try to submit it as an article! Marie Curie is right. There are no federal laws on this. Your best bet is always going to be to contact someone locally. A judge would probably be your best bet as they have a strong knowledge of precident set in the past. btw...welcome to the forums.

It has a half tang. It should be ok for competitions. It's probably going to be difficult to find an aluminum blade with much more than a half tang. This is because it's more cost effective to make a blade this way when it doesn't have to undergo the rigors of cutting.

No way! I wouldn't want to see Benny killed! Rickson would rip him into pieces and feed them to his dad for fun. Benny was a great kickboxer, but he couldn't hang with the likes of Rickson Gracie...most people couldn't. The guy's a freak of nature. Besides, he said he won't fight for less than 1 million.

The Arnold (Schwartzneger) Classic Fitness Festival is held in Columbus, Ohio each year. It includes every fitness venue you can imagine. The most recent UFC was held there this year. Here's the website: https://www.arnoldclassic.com

I didn't get to go down. But everyone tells me it was gigantic!

Woo Hoo!!! Great job! Sounds like a great turn out. I'm glad to hear you did well. Since we're talking about tourneys, we had a competitor go to the Arnold Fitness Fest and get first in his division (Master's Blue Belt). I guess it was an absolute zoo down there.

I could be wrong, but I think I met Mr. Sullivan. Find out if he was ever associated with the International Jujitsu Federation. I competed at the North American championships under the federation and his face looks extremely familiar. From what I remember, he is a nice guy who really knows his stuff.

Wow! You're hosting a submission tourney on the same day as the Arnold! That's a surprising choice of days. Well good luck. I hope it goes well for you.

If the opponent is larger than you it's always a good idea not to be underneath them. That means getting your hips away and using the open or butterfly guard. Once your guard is good you will find that you flow from closed to open to butterfly to spider in a seamless fashion. It will just depend on what your opponent is doing. Just keep practicing your hip movement, never let the oponent control your hips or head and you can usually escape anything.

No. That's what BJJ is all about. Everyone has different body types. I'm pretty average size and there are people who have short legs that can't close guard around me. Those guys need to utilize their open guard more often.

I agree here. Many times what appears to be speed is expert timing. That's something that comes with experience and practice. Speed is just one component of the whole picture. Just be sure not to forsake the other important parts just to be fast.

I usually agree with just about everything you say. But keep in mind that Brazilian Jiujitsu has every take down that Judo has. The link below is of Rickson, Roion and Royler at a Judo club in 1987. This was the school of Howard Nishioka who is a legend in the sport (Rickson, of course, beats him a couple times). My point is that it's a good school and they all hold their own. Howard is even heard saying that Rickson and Royler could represent their country or the US in international Judo competition easily. While Royler's take first take down in the video was a little sloppy, the second one was text book. Watch how he hooks the leg and rolls through with it. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1015797790370952500&q=royler+and+rickson&hl=en Thats an insult to anyone who's a judoka in Brazil. After Japan, I would say that Brazil probably has the best Judo fighters. Brazilians are very skilled at Judo, and Rickson and Royler, while having good throws, are far from being able to compete at the olympic level with their judo counterparts. I think anyone who grapples regularly in any grappling system would not be offended to be compared with Rickson Gracie. He's won world level competitions in Jiujitsu, Sambo, and a national championship in Wrestling, not to mention being one of the best MMA fighters that ever lived. He's a freak of nature when it comes to his ability feel and sense a person's movement. Maybe not now, he's getting older, but in his prime there's no doubt that if he wanted to compete in Judo, he would have been great at that too. He's a natural athlete, he has the stuff that can't be taught or learned. I seriously think you're underestimating the takedown capabilities of the Gracies. Remember that they learn the complete system, they don't just focus on the sport ground aspect that many schools are shifting toward.

Sorry my friend. Only you can know if it's right for you. Kyokushin will certainly get you into shape though. If that's what you want. It's full contact and, in my opinion, a very solid karate system.

I usually agree with just about everything you say. But keep in mind that Brazilian Jiujitsu has every take down that Judo has. The link below is of Rickson, Roion and Royler at a Judo club in 1987. This was the school of Howard Nishioka who is a legend in the sport (Rickson, of course, beats him a couple times). My point is that it's a good school and they all hold their own. Howard is even heard saying that Rickson and Royler could represent their country or the US in international Judo competition easily. While Royler's take first take down in the video was a little sloppy, the second one was text book. Watch how he hooks the leg and rolls through with it. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1015797790370952500&q=royler+and+rickson&hl=en

You're right about most of that. But what's up with the beginning where the instructor just stands there with his hands down and lets Royler take him down. That's just dumb. I mean, Royler would have got him down eventually anyway. But come on. At least look prepared for the fight.

I just get annoyed by the improper use of language. Which is what you are doing by referring to all black belts as Sensei and all brown belts as sempai.

This video, which features Royler Gracie destroying some guy is worrysome in many ways. 1. If you are going to fight someone, pick up your hands before the guy rushes you and takes you down. 2. If your opponent takes you to the ground. Don't just roll over on your belly. EVER! Take your beating from where you can see it coming. 3. If all you've ever studied is Karate or TKD or Kempo and so on...Don't make your first attempt to prove your art against ANYONE with the last name GRACIE. I don't care how good you are, they will bleed through every poor in their body before allowing themselves to suffer defeat to virtually anyone who challenges them. They're mean like that. Here's the video. Royler Gracie vs. Some Kempo guy. If you don't like watching violence, don't watch the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naWEbPDz80w&mode=related&search=