kenpo_fighter

it is unfortunate that kyokushin in popular worldwide & not in the US. it's mostly because the modern american society doesn't believe in taking a beating in order to give one. that's why there are all these blackbelts walking around that may do good scoring points, but will suffer a painful defeat on a dim lit street corner. it is also unfortunate for this huge rift in the kyokushin organization. the one & only mistake oyama sensei before his unfortunate passing; not naming a successor.

well, if the article is really true, then "oh my god!" but, even in the article is fake, the story is not too far fetched. especially when you have "backwoods" americans who think that martial arts is all the same and oriental people are all the same. i guess that would make americans, british, russians, even nazi's all the same, too. not to disrepect the korean fighting arts (in their original forms), but a u.s. taekwando national champ wouldn't last 2 seconds on the mat with an average kyokushin fighter.

Japan! you're sooo lucky. i grew up in japan on a u.s. navy base, courtesy of my father. i lived there for 16 years. i was very fortunate enough to begin my karate training there. i sure miss home! if you're looking for good places to visit, as far as "pilgramiges" are concerned, if you're gonna be in a Kanagawa Prefecture, the shrine in Kamakura is a good one to visit. it's a park around a big shrine. you'll have to make a day of that to really take in the place if you're as much of a martial artist as i'm reading you are. there, they have the "big buddha". the thing is enourmous. i saw it for the first time when i was in 3rd grade on a school field trip. it was quite a site. if you're going in october, you might want to see if they still offer hike trips to climb Mt. Fuji. that is something every serious martial artist should experience. if you really want the "zen" experience, this is something you should really try. i climbed that bad boy 3 times. once when i was 14, again when i was 17, & the last time when i turned 20. it's really something to watch the sun rise when you yourself are above the clouds. Also, try and see if you can take a ferry to Chiba. it's on the other side of Tokyo Bay from when Tokyo itself is. there, they also have a shrine built in the mountains with a fantastic view over tokyo bay. you take a cart-lift all the way into the mountain. no hiking required. and finally, something for the whole "japan/martial arts" experience, try and take a tour up to Nikko. you know how they do re-enactments of the civil war battles or colonial town set ups? japan does the same thing. they have an exact recreation of a japanese village in fuedal japan. the locals dress in kimono's appropriate for the time. theres little shops you can visit & has all kinds of live shows. the best is the ninja demostration. looks like a scene out of a real good ninja movie. that is something you really should see. any tours & travel office can help with that info. hope this helps.

sweet! yeah, if you could pull up his number or list how to get in contact with him, i'd really appreciate it. Thanks, man!

Thanks to all for replying. to: pitbull, sure. a MMA style tournament would be great. where exactly in KY?? and what's the name of the tournament? is there a website i can visit as far was weight classes, entry fees, etc? to: sevenstar what are the names of the tournaments? what part of memphis? i'm only a 2hr. drive away from memphis. also, any info. on who i can get in contact about those tournaments as far as divisions, weight classes, entry fees, etc? to: saotome yeah, i competed in a "open tournament" this past february in Chattanooga hosted by a taekwando school. was called "Final Battle 2005". They said on the brochure "all styles welcome" "full contact". but, when i got there, absolutely no punching allowed. well, they said i could punch to the body, but i laid about 5-6 punches in a flash as a counter to a wheel-kick, and not a single one of them counted as a point. nothing but kicks & more kicks. and the kicks that i clearly landed didn't count for nothing. they almost threw me out of the tournament for excessive contact. totally sucked. Thanks for the info, people!

Greetings. I am Moosh Liman., Oom Grand Am of Advil. haha! that was kinda fun.

Does anybody know of any Full-Contact Karate Tournaments in or around the Tennessee area? Am looking to get back into the tournament circut. Absolutely no Taekwondo tournaments! When they say "full contact", they don't mean it. Any and all help or info. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

It seems to me that you're looking too much into kata as far as it's use in a real fight. I, too, once shared that point of view about kata in the infancy stages of my training. One day, I asked my sensei " I know it's required for rank but, what is the real purpose of kata? A real fight is not choreographed. How is a choreographed routine going to help me in a fight?" He broke it down to me like this. Compare your martial arts training writing, as they are both forms of communication & expression. basic movements such as punches, kicks, blocks, etc. are like learning to read & right the alphabet. when you master how to punch, block, & kick (read & write letters), then you start putting them into techniques (sentences). After a while, you're able to perform & create your own techniques (paragraphs). before you know it, you're able to create your own theories and modify your own techniques (ofcourse without jeopardizing the underlying principle). Basically, kata's are like writing practice sentences. they're mini practice fights. so, that when & if you have to take on multiple adversaries, you can fight in a realm that is familiar. also, kata is a great way to learn how to focus your mind and thoughts on the objective at hand instead of filling your head with the clout & stress, not to mention is a great way to burn calories.

Great read AnonymousOne! I currently train in kenpo & Aikido. Formerly a high school football player & wrestler, i hated runing with a passion. I'm currently 25 yrs. old, and have been back in the martial arts for a year after a 14 year long abscence. But, reading your inspiring article, makes me want to go out right now and run some laps around my property. I'm gonna do so later today. Great article! kenpo_fighter

i failed 2 times before i passed my shodan test in kyokushin karate. due largely to the fact that i didn't break all 3 boards in the board braking part of my test. now that i look back on that experience, i think my sensei was right in holding me back the first 2 times i tested. it forced me to dig deep within myself and give more when i didn't have anymore to give, a lesson imperative for any true fighter to learn.

i currently train in 2 martial arts styles and have done so for the past year. i train in both kenpo & aikido. as far as my training regiment goes, i usually do about an hour for each style every day. but, there are some days i'll do strictly aikido and do kenpo the following day. in the intrest of not running out of gas too soon, i'd probably recommend alternating your training regiments. alternate a day for one style and come back the next day with your other style. of course, it's nice to run training sessions where you incorporate both styles you're learning. in my training, i'm learning to incorporate aikido entering moves followed by kenpo striking techniques. has been really fun and enlightening.

striking your punching bag will help build callis's on your knuckles and risk injury to your wrists. i read in bruce lee's fighting method manuals, an effective way of "body conditioning". take a regular pail, fill it with sand, not dirt. and begin punching the sand. eventually, you build up to posting a 2x4 in the ground, wrapping the top part in rope and begin using harder strikes and build up the bones in your hands and knuckles. same practices can done on your shins as well. So do u think punching my punching bag bare fisted will help me start that process?Or should I just start hitting hard stuff all the time?

i'm torn between 2 legends. Masutatsu Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin Karate, which i trained in for 5 years and got my first shodan rank. i did my own research of the claims made about Master Oyama about the 300 man kumite & knocking out bulls with his bare hands and chopping their horns off. These claims are legit. i saw it with my own eyes in video clips. the principles and values i learned in my 1st dojo, i still carry and practice. the next would have to be Bruce Lee. Another "real" fighter. The man was outspoken, cocky, & a bit arrogant and had the talent and knowledge to back it up. he helped breakdown barriers between oriental & western both racial, pychological and opened eyes, minds, & hearts while doing so. he was able to spread the beauty of not only his art but, all martial arts in a time of racial discrimination.

i would have to agree that "gymkata" was the absolute worst martial arts movie; if it could even qualify as a martial arts movie. although, i did enjoy the kama weapons display at the beginning of the movie. and the chick who played the princess was pretty hot. she's filipina.

There's gonna be a MK3 movie?? kenpo_fighter

lonekimono, you've a very impressive website and alot of good information. but, i must repeat that the form of kenpo i study is not that of master parker's or the american kenpo which he founded. they're all forms of kenpo and come from the same source, but just like any language, they all have they're own "dialects". please go to my school's website and check out master tracy's website as well. the site can better explain my point. https://www.kenpo-karate-jacksontn.com https://www.tracyskarate.com theres's a link to the family tree and where my kenpo roots come from. please share your thoughts. kenpo_fighter

you're right, lonekimono. i did forget that Emparado and Parker both trained under Chow. that was in hawaii, wasn't it? I forget. Martial Arts Geneology is not my strong point. I'll get it down on paper one day. It'd be a good thing to know exactly where my lineage came from. Anyway, I do not train in the American Kenpo system, which Master Parker founded. I train in the original form of kenpo.

yeah, i'm also a BIG fan of the Tekken series. i've got all 4. am still waiting for another paycheck to roll around to get tekken 5. but, you gotta admit that without classics such as "double dragon", "street fighter II", & "mortal kombat", the tekken series and all the other martial arts game "offspring" wouldn't be where they are today. stand on the shoulders of giants to see what lies ahead.

my appologies. my mistake. i meant to say that Oyama studied the korean fighting arts during his time in korea. i forget if it was tang so doo or another korean dicipline. was multi-tasking at the time i was writing. hehe. my bahd! kenpo_fighter

my lineage goes back to J. Mitose to W. Chow to Emperado to E. Parker to A. Tracy to J. Green (my sensei)

1 real katana blade (designed by Paul Chin) 1 practice Iaido blade 1 shinai (kendo stick) 1 boken (wooden katana) 1 pr. escrima sticks (homemade)

oh my god! a karate dojo with absolutly no kumite?! that's unheard of to me. coming up in the ranks of a kyokushin karate dojo, kumite was about 50% of what we did. and we sparred WITHOUT pads. kids ranging from about 7+ didn't have sparring equipment. kata was an integral part of our training, but it was soley in place to aid in technique development. even my sensei used to say in class "kata will not save your buty in a real fight". we trained old school, too. bare-knuckle push ups on a hardwood floor. our dojo didn't have air conditioning. so, it was inferno hot in the summer, and arctic cold in the winter. we would even kick the solid wood pilars that held the dojo up, all sorts of body conditioning exercises. i've always been a strong believer in the philosiphy "you fight how you practice". if you train as is you were really fighting, then, the real deal is nothing more than a workout.

in no particular order: eye of the tiger (survivor) (phew! i thought i was the only one) in the end (linkin park) numb papercut rocky IV soundtrack MI:2 Theme song (limp biskit)

for me, i'm old school. it's between "Double Dragon" on the original NES, the original "Mortal Kombat" & "Street Fighter II" on SNES. Gotta love the classics!

Starting all the way from the arcades, to your very first game console, to the game console you play today, what is the best martial arts video game you've ever played and why??