A. Orstrom

We use all three, depending on the situation. As a general rule, the lower the kick, the more shin. Gedan and chudan mawashi geri are almost always with the shin if possible. We do use chusoku (ball of foot) for fast snap chudan mawashi geris though. A fast one to the side can be devastating, and is popular among some of our fighters. This is, of course, how we tend to do it in the dojo I train in, it differs from karateka to karateka and dojo to dojo.

I remember reading that one of the most decisive factors for getting to the step on the evolutionary ladder we are on, was that we began to eat meat. Until then our energy intake wasn't sufficient to uphold a brain of this size. I love vegetables, but I would really miss meat if I went vegetarian. That being said, I have seen healthy vegetarians that seemed like they were in great shape.

I have heard that Shihan Midori (president of Shinkyokushin) once said: "Whatever you do, you have to do it 100%. If you train, train as hard as possible. The same goes for drinking and partying" (Quoted freely from memory. My sensei who have met Midori told me the story) I don't drink too often (about once a week or so) but when I do I drink hard

In kyokushinkai 6th kyu is a yellow belt.

Osu! and congratulations!

Actually I think it's a bit sad. True, his technique and power is awesome, but I can't help feeling sorry for him. His motives for fighting goes beyond our own; figthing is, as Sohan mentioned, a necessity if he wants to break free from the bondage of poverty, and there are many like him. He has a hard life ahead of him, something I wouldn't want to wish on anybody. I'd rather have them playing console games. I hope he does well, but I fear for him; many a young fighter has been beaten senseless in the ring with older bigger boys.

I feel that MA provides benefits for most other sports. You will benefit from the balance that taekwondo has given you in both wrestling and football for example.

Osu! and good luck to you. The butterflies are there to keep you on yur toes, they're your friends. Relax, you'll do just fine. Report back and let us know how it went.

I have always been fascinated with Japanese culture and history. Aikido and Karate came as a result of that. That, and I loved Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles when I was little

Very well-written and informative article. I'm not the 'Over 40 crowd', not even the 'Over 25 crowd', but I found it very interesting and relevant none the less. By explaining how the body reacts at later (in my case) stages of the life, you help others to maintain their body and do something about it in time. (One small point though; your calculation of the calories needed to maintain my weight had me confused. It took me a minute or so to figure out that you (of course) were talking lbs. x 15, and not kilograms x 15. I live in mainland Europe, so this is not a matter of course to me. Perhaps you should consider editing that in?) But, as I said, great article. I really enjoyed reading it. Regards A. Orstrom

I avoid most artificial sweeteners for a couple of reasons: 1, Many of them (saccharine included) has a horrible aftertaste that lingers forever and makes me thirsty 2, I prefer to eat as few additives as possible. That being said, I believe that there are two types of artificial sweeteners (I'm sure Sohan can confirm/deny/explain this); one, like saccharine that stays in its original form, and one that turns to sugar in the body. I can't remember which are which, but they do taste differently. Can you help me out here Sohan?

*edit* Disregard this post, I missed that you were feeling better.

I took creatine for a while, but the frequency of my migraine attacks rose so I stopped. I haven't tried it since, and it could just be a coincidence, but I'm not going through that again, I'd rather stay away from it.

I competed, although in a later (and a bit more advanced) tournament. The rules were the same, but it was the Danish championships. As I feared, I got my ... kicked (pardon my french) very quickly, but my opponent went on and is now the new Danish champion, so I'm not too hurt It hurt as hell when I was in there, I had ice on my arm for three hours, and my neck hurts from a solid roundhouse kick to the head, but I'm proud I participated and the entire day was a great experience. One of the others captured the fight on video, so I am looking forward to watch it and learn from my mistakes. I will definitely do it again, although I will compete in the other tournament next time.

I am looking for MA games for PC. I used to play Street Fighter 2, International Karate+, Mortal Kombat etc. and loved them, but it seems like these days the so-called 'beat 'em up genre' is only available on consoles like XboX, PS2 etc. Is it really true that you cant get any MA games for PC?

Hi all, I'm looking for some inspiration, so I was wondering what your favorite Karate movies are, i.e. movies containing actual karateka, doing karate not just MA films. My favorite has to be 'Showdown in Little Tokyo' http://imdb.com/title/tt0102915/ Turns out that Dolph Lundgren is a 3rd dan Kyokushinkai karateka. I noticed this by chance when I got to meet Shihan Brian Fitkin and bought his book where he and Dolph are pictured. No wonder I always thought that Showdown in Little Tokyo had some real nice karate moves. So please, broaden my horizon, what movies have I missed?

Perhaps you should make your teachers or the school staff aware of your situation. If you manage to convince them of the problem, great; but even if you don't, they will still remember the talk you had if something should happen. The zero tolerance approach is, IMHO, based on good intentions, but is rarely the solution. I hope this helps

Ahh, that's it. Thanks for clearing that up, I knew it was something like that

Sunlight will bleach a belt more than you would think. Perhaps that's what happened. Anyway, thanks for all the great replies. I, however, have not changed my mind; my belts will not be washed, ever. Call it tradition, legend, superstition, respect, stupidity or anything you like. I like a bit of all that

In my Aikido days we used "hai", in my kyokushinkai class we use osu. Osu is, as far as I understand, a variation of the verb "to push" signalling that the student has understood and will do his best to comply/excel. In about half a year I will hopefully be studying japanese at the university and then I'll get back to you

In our dojo we allow people to try out for a new grade until the 5th kyu test. If he instructor doesn't feel you are up to it, he/she will tell you, but you get to try anyway. 5th kyu and above need the go ahead from their instructor in order to try. This seems to work pretty well, people are satisfied, and everbody knows that failing is a very real possibility. This makes them try hard and consequently take their grades seriously afterwards. Last time I graduated, it was the first time (out of my 4 graduations) that everybody passed. Usually one or two will fail.

Wow, reading this thread makes me feel really lucky that I live in a country with free health-care. Get insurance as fast as possible, you never know.

Hello all, I am considering competing in my first tournament, scheduled the 8th of April. The tournament is the closest thing to a "beginner's tournament" we have in Danish Kyokushin karate, and it is targeted at 9th through 7th kyu. In order to graduate later on you have to have competed in a certain number of tournaments. The thing is: I have not been training in our kumite classes as often as I should have, and I don't feel quite as up to it as some of the others on the kumite team, so I am a bit apprehensive of competing. BUT I am 7th kyu now, and this tournament is held once a year only; in a year I will most likely be at least 6 kyu. (I will probably get to compete, but I will be out of the target group) I am having a hard time deciding what to do, here are my thoughts: 1, I will do my utmost until the tournament and compete. I will try my best, most likely losing the first fight, but I will have learned what it means to be in a tournament, overcome some of my anxiety and I will have gained practical experience. 2, I will train hard with the rest of the kumite class but I will wait until the next tournament. I will then be able to compete when I am 100% ready (or as ready as you can hope to be the first time) I must admit that I am leaning towards the first option. I want to get out there and try my best, getting some practical experience and experiencing what it is like to compete. I have asked my trainers and the first said I should train hard until the deadline and then decide. The other said that I should definitely do it and just take the inevitable beatings in the first round. What do you think? I would like to compete, but I would also like to have a good first-time experience with tournaments. Besides, I want to be worthy of representing my dojo. I would really appreciate your input. Additional info: The competition is semi-contact. All kicks/punches to the torso, roundhouse kicks (not full-contact) to the head allowed. Points are scored by shaking or knocking the opponent down (torso) or by scoring a clean hit with a mawashi geri to the head. First point wins the fight

I agree completely. I'm very happy with mine so far