Meguro

Fighting Black Kings, despite its 70's blaxploitation title, features Kyokushin luminaries who go on to found their own karate organizations. Among those represented in the film and not yet mentioned in this thread are Tadashi Nakamura, Shigeru Oyama and William Oliver. Tadashi Nakamura and Shigeru Oyama were running the US Kyokushin operation in those days. Can you imagine training in a dojo with those two intructors? Either one of them could have taken the reins of Kyokushin after Sosai's passing, if they had not left to find their own way. William Oliver, who followed Nakamura to Seido, eventually left Seido. Sadly, he passed away recently in his own dojo.

Anyone one out there practice these Filipino martial arts? Don't know much about them myself, but they seem very applicable to contemporary emergency situations. You may find yourself really needing your bo or nunchaku, realizing too late that you don't carry these things around with you all the time. Whereas with Kali training, for example, you might be able to defend yourself with a rolled-up magazine, umbrella, or two nice rattan sticks you happen to keep in your back pocket.

That's a pretty good synopsis, Superfoot. The only other thing worth mentioning, in terms of "evolution'" is that since the death of Oyama (and even before), Kyokushin has splintered into a number of different groups, not to mention Kyokushin-ish styles whose founders were former Kyokushin karateka: Ashihara, Enshin, Seido Kaikan, Daido Juku, World Oyama and Seido Karate to name a few. Good luck with the ITF TKD. I also started out with ITF. Years later I made the switch over to Kyokushin.

Perhaps everyone's confusing IKO 1 with Seido Kaikan (not to be confused with Nakamura's Seido Karate-both Kyokushin spin-offs). Seido Kaikan is the promotor of K-1, you can find picures of Bob Sapp in dogi doing their beach training. Seido Karate is a kinder, gentler version of karate.

Thanks god for that. It will be a very sad day, the day, when a great fighting art such as kyokushinkai karate is turned into another kickboxing style sport, to fullfil some shallow commercial agenda. Osu! A little of topic but, knockdown tournaments serve several functions, the most obvious is to draw attention to the art by highlighting the organization's most talented fighters. It is little understood by most outsiders that all Kyokushin instructors are or at one time were themselves competitive fighters, much like all Marines are riflemen first and foremost. In this way the fighting spirit you noted is not diluted by diletante karate intructors who wax on about poetry and kata yet can't punch through a wet paper bag. The tournaments promote the art as well as cultivate the organization's people and ethos.

Yes, the competition area. No points scored off the mat or when the opponent is on the ground. Shita-Tsuki is like a a boxer's upper-cut, but your fist is driven forward into the mid-section not the chin. Other kyokushin close-in fighting techniques include gedan mawashi geri, hiza geri, and kagi tsuki, as Bloke mentioned. Close-in is where many Kyokushin karateka live. It would be a big mistake to assume we can't fight inside.

It appears that the rule you high-lighted refers to stepping out of bounds after an attack(illegal), as oppossed to stepping out of range(legal).

Because the op mentioned he was going into Marine basic training and afterwards might find himself in Iraq. I train every day and compete in knockdown tournaments. This doesn't make me a warrior, just a guy with a hobby. Look, I'm all for training hard Bruce. You and I have no quarrel here. But hoping to get something out of a few months of Krav Maga and "x" when the enemy is pointing an AK-47 at you indicates some kinda disconnect with reality. If I had six months before basic and possibly getting shipped over to Iraq, I wouldn't spend that time in a dojo.

And Bruce Lee died in his 30's. Look Bruce, you have a generous interpretation of the word warrior. Mine is far more strict. While you might find your daily life war-like, real warriors are patrolling in combat zones or walking a beat in Detroit. You might like to cultivate a warrior spirit. This is fine if it works for you. Life can be a struggle. However, struggling to get good grades in school, or a promotion at work is different from struggling to stay alive when you're surrounded by people who intend to kill you. The op stated he was short on funds and in a short time was headed for USMC basic. What might be in store for this individual, could be worlds away from our sheltered existence. I wanted him to be fully aware that the enemy he faces would not think twice about blowing his legs off and dragging his corpse through the dusty roads of wherever the Marines are needed. The op would benefit more from improving his combat shooting skills or buying a good bullet-proof vest than what he might derive from a couple months of Krav Maga and Judo.

Ok but don't forget that he was a 2 time World Sumo Champion in Open Weight, and a 3 time World Sumo Champion in Teams Competition. And yes that man is HUGE! But he wasn't a yokozuna- just a big fat guy. The really good sumotori, imo, are the smaller athletic types like the current champ Asashoryu, and Chiyonofuji, who goes back a few years.

Dont really understand your point. Conditioning the body gives you a psychical edge!! What don't you understand? The greatest threats to marines in Iraq and Afghanistan are posed by mines, ied's, and rifle fire, not drunk guys in bars getting in your face. Marine basic training and being in the military will give the op enough exposure to MA's without him spending his hard-earned cash on any pre-training. Running, push-ups and sit-ups cost the op nothing and will get the op in shape for basic where he might learn something useful-like how to stay alive in combat. With the money saved by not studying krav maga or anything else pre-Marines, the op can load up on ceramic plates to upgrade his body armour. Joint locks, chokes, kicking and punching are for pretend warriors like you, me, and everyone else who hasn't put on a uniform and carried a gun.

If you're shipping out to Iraq or Afghanistan with the marines, do what was previously recommended: lots of running, push-ups and sit-ups. Save your money, by not taking any martial arts classes and put the money to good use: buy extra armour plates for your body armour!!! Good luck!

Sosai Oyama's stunts have made it into Kyokushin legend. The thing with the bulls, well it demonstrates Oyama's promotional skills as much as his karate. What impresses me are the less god-like things Sosai as well as other Kyokushin karateka do, such as the 100 man and in the case of Sosai Oyama 300 man kumite. Practitioners of other styles often wonder how anyone can fight knock-down format 100 times. From watching Matsui Kancho's 100 man kumite, the trick is to knock-down/knock-out your first 50-60 opponents quickly.

Wasn't the initial question about karate and boxing and not about individual merit? Take ten average guys, of equal strength and ability, send half to a boxing gym and half to a dojo. At the end of a fixed period, say 1 year, throw them all in a pit with no rules and see which guys emerge. Remarkable individuals reveal nothing about a system. I personally have no stake in the outcome. It's my impression that the average boxer is a better conditioned athlete. This is important, and will no doubt have an influence on the outcome of a match. Still, boxing vs. karate is comparing too dissimilar things. A more interesting comparison would be boxing vs. muay thai.

It was a cheap shot. I wouldn't allow this person another opportunity-which means never taking it easy on this guy again and also never letting your guard down. Kick his butt at every opportunity- but do it honorably. No cheap shots just good technique.

What is it you want again? You're a 20 yo newb but like knock-down fighting. So join the fighting team. Virtually all kyokushin dojo's have seperate classes for competitors and regular students. Get into the class for competitive fighters. Once in this class you'll notice that there is no ego about rank. It's all about the fighting. I know many fighters who are oblivious the color of their belt. Only when they start winning consistently are they encouraged to at least get their shodan. If you're already taking the team-fighters' classes you've probably already noticed that your conditioning and fighting skills have improved markedly, while your knowledge of kata and bunkai have received less attention. Is this your objective? I guess the question is, what do you want from karate? Is it a hobby or a future profession? If you want to run your own Kyokushin dojo, you will need to make some kind of mark as a competitor-something easier said than done. If this isn't in your cards, consider other careers and keep karate as a hobby.

Relax. There are knockdown fighters in their mid-thirties competing at the elitest levels of Kyokushin and it's numerous spin-offs. I train with guys in their mid-40's who are actively competing, although by this age you're required to put on the pads. These old timers still kick like mules and their punches haven't lost any knock-down power.

Surely you don't expect Ninomiya Kancho to be happy about you setting up a Kyokushin dojo in his turf? Since you were a former student, albeit for a few months, he most likely might feel a sense of betrayal. All businesses must deal with competitors. Competing with a Kyokushin dojo in Denver might be particularly irksome to Ninomiya. On the other hand, his grip on the karate community in Denver might be so complete that you might find difficulty in establishing a business of your own. This is all obvious to you, I'm sure. I wish you the best of luck. Osu!

Karate belongs to whoever is practicing it.

The more I communicate with practitioners of other styles of martial arts, the more circumspect I've become regarding the different styles out there. All styles start with the same raw material, the human body, and through various training regimen spit-out a product conforming to its own ideals. It is not my impression that the Shotokan ideal is to produce stone-cold killers. Shotokan karateka are steeped in tradition, have a lot of technique and vocabulary to master, and talk an awful lot about the stability of their stance and correct form. These are not bad things, and may in fact turn out a nice combination of martial artist/scholar or the odd killer-karateka. Then there are styles like Muay Thai, or BJJ, Kyokushin that emphasize knocking-out, tapping out, or knocking-down your opponent. With these objectives in mind, training regimen are different, as are techniques, and in the end, product. Of course I generalize. If you compare karate to the automobile market, there are cars that excell in straight-line acceleration, others in handling, still others in high mileage. Rarely do cars excell in all things. Karate styles are the asme way. Of course with cars there are plenty of after-market tuners that'll turn Honda Civics into Porsche-killers-this is where cross training comes in. My two cents.

I'm not so confident that Kyokushin is the swiss army knife of karate. The limited grappling skills you might pick up occassionally in a kyokushin dojo, can't compare to what a judoka, wrestler,jj stylist do on the mat day to day. I saw Shihan Bobby Lowe break a river rock while standing on a couple dozen raw eggs. It was impressive, if not a little bit messy. Osu.

I suppose if you're gping to be facing off against someone with grappling skills, then you might find the need to augment your training with grappling. For most self-defense applications, more punching and boxing training with headgear should be sufficient. I'm not advocating going the BJJ route, unless you're a grappler at heart. If you're primarily a striker I think the Daidojuku route is the best approach.

The rolling kicks described above are best used in a tournament setting, where a referee can stop your opponent from attacking you while you're rolling or lying on the mat (if you didn't knock-out your opponenet). Currently, there's a competitor in the Shin-Kyokushin (Midori's faction), by the name of Tsukamoto, who uses the rolling kick to great effect. Usually, the opponent is advancing or chasing Tsukamoto, whereupon he'll back-up just enough to roll forward at an angle to the advancing opponent and knock him out with a heel to the face. I've also seen the wheel kick you describe. I can't qualify it as an improvement on the rolling variety. You really need the mat to cushion your fall 'cause you're basically landing on your back. Seems like a lot of effort to me when a well timed jodan mawashi geri is just as effective.

Your dad may want to find a longer but somewhat flatter way home. Big hills might prove too discouraging for a beginning cyclist. Aodhan brings up some really good points. Up to 40% of traffic fatalities (in Japan), are when pedestrians and cars meet. With this in mind, your dad would want to be visible to car drivers and always wear a helmet.

If your hand is still giving you pain, have a doctor check it out to make sure everything is ok. I've got a matching pair of "big" knuckles acquired during board breaking demos, not makaiwara training. After twenty years, they are stlil enlarged, but have not caused me any pain nor have I lost any dexterity. I worry that arthitis might be a problem down the road. I'll let you know in another twenty years. btw, I do lots of knuckle push-ups and when I have the urge to hit something, hit a heavy bag if a training partner is unavailable. If you want to train with a makiwara, do it under proper supervision or don't do it at all.