nago

Most of the time they dont actually live in their instructors house. Most dojo with uchi deshi have small rooms, real small, built on for them to sleep. They dont have to clean the dojo that is left to the kyu ranks. They teach most of the classes though. If your "uchi deshi" you are expected to be the best and toughest one there.

In japan "full contact" tournaments refer specifically to the Kyokushinkai style of fignting verses a point system of fighting. Although there is no punching to the face in kyoshinkai you wear no pads and strike as hard as you would like. These tournaments are becoming more and more popular each year here in okinawa. It calls for a strong chest and tough legs.

Just remember it is the quality of what you know not the quanity. Some people try to learn so much they never seem to master the simple things. No matter what system you study it has everything you need if you learn it correctly. I would much rather face someone who does 100 techniques once a day than someone who practices one technique a 100 times a day.

In all of martial arts in japan/okinawa it is called uchi deshi. These people train everyday except Sunday usually. They live and breath karate. It is still very big in the kyokushinkai systems here in Japan. I know a couple in the Maki dojo system (offshoot of kyokulshin).

Kicking in the legs in Japan and Okinawa is expected. I have never seen a tournament where this would not be allowed over here, but used much differently in different tournaments. In full contact you are trying to hurt your opposition in sport Karate it is mainly used to break someones balence before you try and score. In both cases it can be very effective.

Thank you. I visited Nagoya about 3 years ago. That is the only time I have been there. It is a pretty big city, but a much more enjoyable place to be than Tokyo. If you ever get the chance you should visit him there.

I have been living and training in Okinawa since 1986. I study Uechi-Ryu from the Uechi family here. I speak fluent japanese and a good bit of the Okinawan dialect. I have spent much of my time here living in and studying Okinawan culture. I enjoy speaking with others from around the world about martial arts.