pers

It all depends on the instructer .In my own experience shotokan has the most powerfull form of kicking .but it won't happen over night ! it takes maybe twice as long as learning to punch effectively to master kikcing ! but good instruction and years of dedicated training could help reach that goal. by this I mean becoming so good in kicking that you would feel confident in delivering a knock out kick ! not talking about how high one can kick or how beautiful it looks but how it can deliver the finish ! shotokan can teach that to great effect if one is lucky enough to find a master who could teach it ! Having said that I am sure there are other masters from other schools of karate who are equally impressive . I have heard shorin ryu is very simillar to shotokan and has the same roots .so it is important to meet the right guy rather than the style !but I am glad I chose shotokan for sure !

Karate helped me in soccer tremendous amount ! I played as a goalkeeper since the age of 8 . I started Karate at 24 ,I stopped playing football at 26 and concentrated on karate .After gaining black belt at 32 I returned to playing in goal again and to my surprise not only My goalkeeping haden't deteriorated but I was kind of surprised of how my agility had improved and my reflexes and timing were kind of amazing to me and other players ! Please let me remind you that I never like to compliment myself to any one and other players never knew then and even now that I did karate . I am saying it here simply to say how valubale karate was and is to me,and how it can be used as a root preparation for any sport . I like to add that I remember using karate kicks on number of occasions when I was playing in park games in my 30s . I scored a goal once with a low jumping ushiro geri from a low corner kick, that somehow from where I was standing as a forward behind the six yard line I could only hit the ball with my back to the goal ! and antoher time I went to kick a high ball which went directly behind me with a mawashi geri but i diden't see there was a player from opposition who headed the ball first and instead my jodan mawashi geri (high round house house) landed on his forehead and knocked him clean out ! fortunately he came round quickly enough and I apologised to him ! but to be fair ,if any body desereved that kick on the pitch it was him ! but it was pure accident ! I used round house technique a lot in shooting the ball.

lovely kata and most of you gave perfect advice on performing the kick . as some one else said this kata should not be rushed .it takes a lot to perform it well and understand it in whole .I still think I can improve on it every time .learning it bit by bit is best like all things .

ask your instructer for the exact requirements of your club ,you are about to enter on to a platform to aim for black belt .that means starting to learn how to put all those basic techniques together ,making them sharper and sharper . as one starts to sparr more and more with black belts at this stage ,one learns how to relax more in order to try to score or get away .the rate of losing to opponents in sparring is high at the beggining but gradually it should improve . my advice is practice your basics ,punches, kicks ,blocks .first slow with tension and correct form and correct stance with deep breath , a number of times .while you do this you are teaching your brain the way it should be done ! while you are doing this slow with tension in your body you sould cociously think of the technique and at the end ,feel the target penetration ,do not hold your breath ! very important . then do it as fast as you can emphasising on relaxed body until the last instance and a short kiaie . the more you can relax your body until last the faster you can move and this will help you a lot when as a brown belt you constantly sparr with black belts and seniors ,it will also save a lot of pain ! it is important to realise and not to give up ! as you see in my signature ! it is what my sensei used to say when I had to face him in free sparring after half an hour of sparring and changing partners with the whole club , I knew there was no way he will go easy when I just wanted to collapse from fatigue ,he used to say don't giveup ! no matter what ! I hope you find my post useful and good luck ! don't forget to practice tekki shodan ,kiba dachi is very important part of it ,practice them as much as you can especially the stepping .

To do this you must train one punch, one kick and forget all sport technics that karatekas are got used to. And to be able psychologicaly to cause injury to your opponent. I would rephrase that to each technique must be intended as ippon ,it does not mean not using combinations .there is great emphasis on multiple techniques each as equally strong and fast .it is not always possible to achieve ippon , therefore multiple attacks to diferrent parts of body can achieve this ,idealy one should not let the opponent especially as skilled as BJJ to settle down to carry his attack. as if he closes the range and gets his grip on ,chances of survival for karateka lowers dramatiacaly ,however karate has techniques that can be used in that department also but the odds are in favour BJJ by now.

Karate versus BJJ ? Depending on the level of competency by both sides ,I would say that in most cases karateka has to keep his distance and must find an ippon technique to knock out the BJJ ! I know it is not easy ! especially against a well trained and conditioned BJJ and if he gets the grip on the karateka he will have the definite advantage but it all goes down to how the karateka has developed his technique in training .if he has good technique and timing he always has the chance of smashing his front kick to his face as he is comming for a take down ,or by taking the inititive and attack first by trying a barrage of techniques that CAN cause damage it is no use to simply tap the the guy as you will just make him more angry without hurting him ! so basically karateka must finish the fight with a knock out technique or more than likely he will be in trouble !

No ,I haven't train with him before but have read some of his articles and b.t.w where is this course being held ?

I agree with most of your post , but like to add that one of the main reasons for karate emphasising on hand techniques is the question of balance ,in a self defence situation or competition with a kicking technique you only have one foot on the ground and are more vunreble . karate has more emphaise on self defence than t.k.d (close quarter self defence ) t'kd is more competition and sport oriented (nothing wrong with that ,I enjoy watching them) but are t.k.d hand techniques equally good as karate ? I doubt that ! I must add that kicking is my favourite but it takes twice as long as hand techniques to master ,mostly because of balance .to make ippon with a kick takes years of practice .

I changed club at brown belt level ,my instructer accepted my level and I was allowed to train .But I noticed that my quality was much less than other brown belts .infact I could only compare my level to a green belt in the new club ! therefore I spent the next 5 years doing the basic class first and then the brown-black belt class ,a long and very hard training eventually paid off as my fundemental techniques imroved once I learned to ignore what I had previously learned and learn the correct way . After 5 long years of double class I managed to get shodan. what I am trying to say here is if the instructer in your new club is good and the club is quality then forget about what grade and belt you already have and put your fate in the new instructer . Had the club and the instructer I joined as a brown belt belong to any other style of karate ,I would have still joined them ! as it was the quality that was evident from day 1 that hooked me to the new club not the style !

It took me 8 years to reach shodan(1st degree black belt) ,a good few years of those 8 years I spent re-doing the basics by forgeting the wrong moves I had previously learned and learning the correct way ! but it never bothered me.The important thing was the place I was training and the instruction !and I never asked my Sensei about the time for my black belt grading ! ,as a brown belt I did two classes of basic and then the brown-black twice a week for 5 years to reach shodan ,but the thing is even after shodan I continued with the basic class until few years after nidan(second dan ) and they were the best training form for sharpenning your techniques .

Hey good luck man and let us know how you get on .

Shotokan is a complete martial art form ,all aspects of self defence are there in the katas ,what is necessary is a good master to show and teach them ,so it goes down to quality .shotokan being one of the biggest has grown thin and it is harder to find a good club but it is worth the effort ! marching up and down is the tip of the icebirg and those who never go beyond that stage certainly miss the bigger picture.

I have read the whole clip here and so many people have helpful views to share. I have practiced JKA Shotokan for 38 years. In my limited experience, I know Shotokan have forked into two major roads: sports and traditional SD. Most schools have travelled the sports route and many who went this way have realized that in the end their Shotokan karate has been defanged, enmasculated and become mere entertainment. In both sports and SD Shotokan karate, the kihon practice remained more or less fundamentally similar in training. However, in kata, sports Shotokan has emphasized mainly or exclusively solo kata, where these formal exercises are done by oneself or in unison with others, but demonstrates fighting only imagined and not real opponents. On the other hand, SD Shotokan karate, which is a minority group in the Shotokan world, has insisted on bunkai and oyo training, practising these formal kata with actual opponents, advancing training from cooperative to uncooperative or free-styled training partners. Finally in kumite, sports Shotokan engages in non-contact tournament sparring or what is derisively known as "tagging" competition. On the other hand, SD Shotokan karate, also a very small minority, practices full-contact sparring rather games of tag. So, Jion, if you want to actualize or upgrade your Shotokan training to a much higher level, without abandoning or corrupting your Shotokan style, (which I presume you love above all else like yours truly) by grafting or creating a hybrid style with other karate or martial arts styles, then you should go the SD Shotokan route, rather than the sports route. Your choice, buddy. Shotokan karate offers both possibilities of skill development. You need not be limited by your own formal training, if it taught you only the sports type. You can plan and manage your training henceforth to achieve what you want to achieve with your karate. Find the right Shotokan karate school that teaches SD rather than sports. If you don't find one and you are already a Shotokan blackbelt, create your own training group with your BBs friends. If you are not a Shotokan shodan, you may want to finish it first and then go on your own training for further self-development. The practice of and training in karate ends only when life ends, IMO. In the end, it is not the dojo, karate school, karate style, nor the instructor or organization that will make you the karateka you want to be, it's how you make your karate work for you. Well said ! as someone with 38 years in shotokan you are 17 years my sempie ! so respect to you and OSS !

Dear jion ,I see the point you are making and to certain extent I agree with you ,those who bash shotokan can not see further than their nose ! the problem is that shotokan is the most popular style and its growth has watered down the quality as so many self claimed masters with only a minimal exposure to the art start teaching ,and to the novice who only look at their flashy certificate and bleached belts they seem like the ultimate ,they do the most damage to the style ,this exist with other styles as well .in the last few weeks Eurosport has been showing kyokoshinkaie competition and this looked liked anything but karate ! compare this to JKA one ippon cometition and one can draw the conclusion .let the bashers of shotokan expose their complexes by bashing shotokan ,when it comes to the crunch you know what works and what doesen't !! Having sais that there are other styles of karate that work very well when tauhgt properly by a bonofied instructers just like shotokan . your's in shotokan OSS !

It seems to me you are generelising the schools of shotokan ,if you are not getting what you want from your school then look somewhere else ,as a shotokan student for 20 years I am very satisfied with the instruction I have had and feel very privilaged to be taught by my instructer ,even after all these years he can still show a new aproach in a kata like hien shodan that amaze us and open our eyes to a diferrent aproach of looking at it ! there is nothing wrong with cross training once you have got the fundementals right ,but if things don't work the way you want ,don't blame shotokan but look else where for the problem . I suppose you can say this for shotokan and other styles and compare them to wines ! there are types of grapes like chardonnay but the quality can be very diferrent ,you can pay £5 for a bottle of chardonnay or £100s ,so can you say the £5 chardonnay is the same quality as the £100 one ?

Cat stance is meant to be a transitional stance, not a permanent fighting stance.The idea is to "coil the spring" on the supporting leg, and moving in with power and speed. So this also means that body position is extremely important when utilizing this stance. Using the principles in Tai sabaki, and staying in just outside the line of force of your opponent can result in a "flowing counter" that can easily destroy your opponents balance. But this slao requires the 90/10 weight distribution. I'll add another comment here. Some older texts differentiate between the 90/10 and 60/40 split and do not consider them the same stance. It would be worth investigating both distributions and the best way to use them. In fact the 60/40 split is the direct ancestor of the longer backstance found in some styles. Last, the back posture is extrememly important. Over balancing backwards with your upper body makes you vulnerable. leaning forward, does not transfer the weight correctly, and heaven forbid you should have a straight lower back. The physiological problems with this are numerous and it steals power from the supporting leg. You are spot on with this post , in fact all stances should be treated the same ,especially the cat stance . One should always have a posture to be able to move freely in any direction he wants ,Cat stance in basic form and in kata can improve the wiethg distribution and one can find his own range by practice acoarding to his body type. but that is exactly what basic training or kihon should do to prepare the karateka for the free form, training in cat stance in basics and in kata should prepare the student for that instance one second that is needed to be in it .

Well this really doesn't seem fair since it's really a loaded question. Thoughts that come to mind are that the style is a very popular style of karate. With this in mind, as a style becomes popular there is tendency for the style to get "watered down". Now, I'm not saying that this is or isn't the case, but it does happen. So I'm sure that there are many bad instructors and many good ones. It just gets harder to find the good ones when a style gets very big. As far as techniques, for me, the little bit I know about the style it really isn't a good style FOR ME. The stances just don't work well with my body shape and size. . You are right about the style being watered down and in my opinion that has formed your opinion about the stances and not being suitable for you . It is getting harder to find a good one as the numbers grow . In my opinion if you really find a good master teaching in a good club regerdless of style GO THERE ! I trained in shotokan or shall I say continued to train in shotokan simply because the master I found after moving town was doing shotokan ,if he did wado Ryu or any thing else then I would have done that . you see the name on its own doesen't do miracles ! its hard work and good instruction that is what counts ! otherwise shotokan is as good as any if not better than any other fighting arts ,its the person doing it andthe master who taught him !

Basic block does exactly what it says on the thin ! BASIC BLOCK ! so why do you want to use a basic block in the most advance form which is the free sparring or kumite or out side to defend yourself ?! Basics are designed to walk the student throught the technique ,the mechanics of employing the joints and muscles of your body in harmony with correcrt breathing to produce a good strong technique. One of my favourite form of exercise is basic one attack sparring ! done with speed and power and doing your best to hit your partner as your try to blast off towards him ! ,both sides have a great work out .I have many memories from early days when I had a lot of problems to the later years when I could make a few of my own (pay back ! ) like every thing else you can always improve on it but it is these basic trainings that prepares one for the next stage .

Personally ,I woulden't worry too much about this , I trained Jka style shotokan and I think what matters most is how close is the quality of training to jka which spread shotokan in the world by sending her elite karatekas like Nishiyama ,Kase ,Enoeda,Kanazawa ,Shirae and a few more ... , karatekas who originaly learned from these masters are now in their third decade of their karate and the generation after that who learned from them and so on .there are many good shotokan schools and instructers out there but there are also so many poor ones ,like any other style .it is most important to know which is which so you don't end up in the latter ,how many colour belts and in which order is of little importance.

I never had the privilage but would love to meet and attend one of seminars . I remember reading one of his interviews and he was describing how karate should be hard in the centre and soft on the outside ,it took me a good while to really appreciate what he meant !

I agree with what you said about Taiji Kase sensei ,I had the honour of training under this great sensei for just one session back in the 80s in crystal palace in London and he was a true master ,master Kase like master Enoeda were never bothered with their dan grades after master Nakayama passed away ,they were at such a high athourity and hold respect among karate world that never felt the need ,both ranked as 8th dan JKA although master kase was senior and a direct student of master funakoshi . master kanazawa is in the same par as them but he left JKA in the 70s and his grade is from his own association but he is also a great master of shotokan and a great example of how shotokan can help you be so healthy and young in your senior years .

Yes kata is agreat work out .something you can do anywhere . and just a like a good book ,it gets better and meaningful with repetitions.

we are not under any japanese sensei 's organisation ,the standard of each school varies due to instructer's ability . basically in our school we emphasise heavily on strong basics to bulid a powerful foundation. once this is achieved then it is easy to adapt to other concepts and ideas .one should have an open mind to training and learning ,not dismiss something if it is not in your sylabus , if it works use it ! but training in basics also needs a good instructer ,I myslef suffered as a result of sloppy basics and had to forget my basics which had got me to brown belt level and re-learn the correct way in the new dojo. we nearly always go back to basics to condition our techniques and sharppen them .the aim is to have a strong root but with flexible branches like a tree .one of still my favourite form of kumite is the basic one attack ,when done with speed and power it is the ultimate test finding out if one's basics are good or not .

we have diferrent typse of sparring ,dojo kumit or randoori includes all techniques and targets ,take downs grapples and basically is a rehersal of street fight with control. but to bulid up to randoori which is the most advance form ,lots of semi-free one attack is done where the attacker declares the technique and attack in his own time with speed and power and aims to make contact ,the defender can evade or block and then counter with control .there are other variations like the initial attacker would then evade or block the counter and counter himself ,this would greatly improve ones reflexes. in karate learning to sparr is learned in stages and grdually bulid up to randoori type.