SenseiMike

I'm guessing they do a lot of point sparring in Japan too then. My signature is from a conversation that took place between myself, an ITF instructor and a WTF instructor. It expresses my philosophy that the MA's are fighting arts and should be trained as such. No I don't see myself as a "grand master....blah...blah...whatever" I think you are reading too much into this. But I think if more karate students trained in a way that resembled real fighting, then you'd see the style as more competitive in that arena. That's all I've been saying.

Good points both of you, I see deffinately what you mean. I guess I am taking it to personal, but it does put a lot of hardship on me to cancel at the last minute, refund the tickets that I pre-sold, cancel the trophy and tee-shirt orders, etc... But I do see what you mean.

Yes, but isn't that fighting dirty? I'm not saying training grppling is bad, just that I think staying on your feet is better in a nasty situation where you could face multiple aggressors. A standing submission tho, in which you retain more mobility, is probaly a better option. but thas imo, which doesn't really matter

I learned them from my sensei, but they've been further refined by my good friend Adam who holds a black belt in Ju Jutsu. Nobody is take down proof, but we're a heck of a lot harder to take down than most.

I have the upmost respect for BJJ, I never meant to imply that I don't. I feel that karate is poorly represented these days, and if it wasn't, then you'd see Karate guys put up way, way, way, much more of fight. If you're from the school I'm thinking of, then nope, never been in there, but I shop @ wal-mart and generaly avoid the mall all-together, didn't know you guys moved untill Cliff told me on the phone. I do think that purple belts in bjj should fight at black belt in my tourney because of the time in rank requirement in bjj. Most of the schools I invited, a black belt would have about 2 years experience, maybe more depending on dan level, but between 2 and 2.5 years is about average in karate, tkd, etc..

No, I'm not a national level coach. never claimed to be. All I said was that if karate hadn't fallen into the it's present state of glorified point sparring and instead had retained it's fighting heritage, then you would not see karateka beaten so easily when they do fight in mixed style competition.

Well, that clarifies alot. I have to ask, how politically/socially connected are you with the instructors of those schools? You need to apply marketing 101 on these people. The question, I am sure they ask themselves, which is either the deal breaker or maker is... "What's in it for me?" If you can show something that answers that question for each instructor, I think you will find the resistance start to disappear. That's a good point, I advertised the tournament to the schools as a local event, a way to showcase different styles in a venue that would attract spectators, and create interest for the schools in our own area. I would understand a simple "we're not a fighting school" response, but it's the way in which the other instructors are handeling it that upsets me, Instead of (with a few exceptions) just coming out and saying that, most are simply sweeping it under the rug.

I founded mine on 3 simple philosophies that I'm proud to say my students carry with them everyday: 1) No school should ever charge more than the average student can pay. 2) The instructor may the teacher, but he works for the student, as the student is the one who pays the bills, the teacher should strive to be accesible to the students at all times. 3) Karate is a fighting style, not an aerobics class, not a point based game, and it should be taught as such. My guys not only understand this, but they carry it with them, and those who I turn into a teacher, will opperate there schools that way too. So, in reguards to the last post, those are the beliefs are what The Rising Sun Dojo were founded on, and more than anything else, they are what matter at my school.

Can you explain to me the difference between a "knock down tournament" and "modified full contact" please? Knock down means just that..know them down or out. What is modified full contact? Isn't full contact the same thing? Somebody tells me we're fighting full contact, and you're dang sure right that I'm going to put them under as quickly as possible. yes i can, actually very easy to do so. Full contact, as was clearly stated, is fighting in FULL GEAR, kyokushin knockdown is bare knuckle. My tournament was designed for the l"non hard core" student to feel comfortable. but let me rephrase this better, It's not the students who aren't interested, it's the instructor's discarding the information instead of passing it down. Yes, I do know that for a fact, as I've talked with many students from some local schools via mutual friends. I refuse to disrespect the teacher and address their clss myself, but the guys just don't want their students coming to my tournament. I have my own beliefs about this, mostly about the competition between schools here.

Nobody should ever have to change relegions, but some people's strict faith may limit the scope of abilities. Not meditating is fine for physical chi, but meditation is needed for the higher levels.

Nothing wrong with that. Not all Shotokan organizations are sport oriented. Some teach point kumite and some don't. I'm a Shotokan stylist and when I was coming up through the ranks my dojo sparred both hard contact and point sparring. We also practiced bare knuckle kumite. These days the organization leans more toward competition but each branch dojo is free do teach pretty much how they want. I am not a "sport karate" type of guy and don't teach that kind of thing. I prefer no safety equipment (foot and hand pads) and hard contact and I'm not a stand alone instructor. I think people confuse systems and personal preferences. Kyokushin isn't any different than Shotokan or Goju or anything else, as a matter of fact it's made up of both styles. What is different is the way the particular organization chooses to run it's training/kumite/competition. Same techniques, different way of practicing them. The individual is free to practice however he likes though. When you really think about it, if your system or organization is entering competition, no matter if it's light contact or knockdown, it's still competition. that makes what you're doing a combative sport. It's geared toward competition. Some traditional Okinawan schools never compete at all and there are Shotokan schools that don't believe in or practice that way also (Shotokai). These schools practice only realistic applications of their art and it cannot be practiced/performed safely as in competition. Even knockdown is not true technique otherwise people would be getting seriously injured and /or killed. I don't see that Sensei Mike is doing anything but practicing his Shotokan as it is ment to be practiced. I think the competition folks, no matter the style, are the ones doing "something different" a modern morph/modification of the system. Tommy wow, that was really nicely said. really nice

It wasn't a knock down tournament, The rules were clearly stated, standard free sparring rules, moddified for full contact. The judge applications went out long before the competitor applications did. I refused to take any part in judging or as a refferee. The only response i got was "we don't fight full contact", over & over again.

I've spent months organizing a full contact tournament here in town, and not one of the local schools here is willing to send even one competitor. It's not knockdown, I'm requiring a full set of pads to be worn in every fight. But I just can't belive in a city with as many MA schools as mine, not one would send a single student.

To tell you the truth I think submissions on the street are not a good Idea, If i'm at a bar, my buddy picks a fight with you, you put him in a submission, it has effectively "locked" you up as well. So I'm just gonna pick up a bar stool and hit you in the head with it really, on the street, fighting dirty is a much better bet.

My school's like a freaken hot-box in the summer so we're all cover in sweat. If it goes to the ground it usually ends up in a ground in pound as the sweat makes us to slippery for any kind of lock. However a good choke should still work, I can work my fore arms in there pretty good no matter what.