G95champ

Kirves you said it perfect.

Its also called no social life. LOL They start training very young and don't leave the temple. They don't have tv, psk2, cars, grils, internet, and other things to take their mind off of training. You learn to flip, spin, jump, split, etc when your young your body will be able to do it a long time if you keep training. Hours of prayer and meditation lets you relax and be able to control your emothins. Anyone who wants to cut their ties from the 21st century can prob. reach this same state. Its all about what is important to you and how much you are willing to pay for it.

Bare kunckle boxing was something that sort of grew out of the 19th century. If you look back to the achient Greeks and Romans where boxing first came from they covered their hands in a leather wrap to protect the hand. Anytime I have saw the (bare kunckle fighteres) in film they always stand with their DUKES up. You know the stance I am refering to. I would think this is so they can have a better shot to the chin because they would not risk hitting a guy in the forehead and breaking his own hand. Again I really know nothing about it.

The Kenneth Funakoshi kata videos as sold in Century and Panther are good. However their is very little dialogue in them so if you don't have a understanding of the kata then its hard to learn just from the video but they are excellet to help refresh and aid in learining at home. Goju's Sanchin and Tensho are Shotokan kata under differant names I think. Well I guess they are Goju kata under Shotokan names. LOL. But anyhow. Is Sanchin our Sochin??? Check out 24fightingchickens.com for Shotokan kata history.

On the spinning round kick.... A spinning thrust kick can be very effective in a fight and in sparring. Unlike most spinning kicks it is thrown at close range and even if it is blocked it is so powerful it usually knocked the person backwards. I love this kick. In fact I consider it my best techinque.

More or less. However Shotokan's focus in on the hips and throwing them with the punch. Its not just a cross....

Although Im in the US Im all for the right to bare arms. The only problem with guns and death is its so quick. I mean a person may think about killing himself but its hard to stab, hang, jump, etc. Its not hard to put your finger on a trigger it happens to fast. So maybe you save a few people every year that chicken out with gun bans. I say don't bad the guns but make it hard to get the bulletts. I mean really how many bullets should a person have at one time? If you want to shoot, go to a range and you buy bullets there and what you don't use stays in your locker. If your going hunting, what a dozen or so should be enough. If you need more than that you don't need to be hunting what your hunting. LOL. Just my answer to a big problem.

I have saw the name before in passing however I had no clue who he was. Your point you made about being able to spell Shimabuku is the perfect reason why Lee will always be on that list. Because everyone knows the name and its simple. Your right this topic has went off topic LOL

Norris does TSD but was a student of Lee's as well.

That just depends on who you talk to. Bruce Lee is one that will be on everyones list. The others will greatly depend on the style and system you are related to but I think most will agree they have heard the name Funakoshi even if they don't know anything about him. If they have any time in MA's at all.

Two obvious choices. Chuck Norris - Again he was a many time national champ. He brought MA to the pucblic in movies and on tv. He does not use movie tricks like many other stars his stuff looks like moves you and me can do and use. He is a good guy. He still teaches classes. He has advised many school boards and gov. bodies on the good qualities of MA in after school programs. Hellio Gracie - Without doubt he and his family changed the way all MMA will train. In 93 as Royce (the weaker, younger, slower, lower ranked) member of the family dominated the UFC everyone set up and took notice. Since then ALL MA have took a deep look at how they teach sparring and ground fighting. They have opend schools arround the world and won many many titles. IMO Norris helped finish a lot of the ideas that Lee started but could not bring to the public with his death and The Gracie Clan has had the greatest impact on MA in the last 20 years.

Sounds like you are one of those guys who would fit another style better. Shotokan or a traditioanl karate would prob. fit your build better. Not to take a shot at TKD because its a great art but most TKD schools I have seen seem to focus on point fighting and not SD and street effective moves.

Amen to that Sho-ju Shotokan does not train you for any sort of event fighting. It can be applyed but in general Shotokan is a street effective style. Most fights don't go but a few hits in all reality. Shotokan will never be as good at TKD in point fighting or MT in full contact much less BJJ in the UFC because thats not our focus. We do a bit of each but don't focus on any. What we do focus on is power blocking and power attackes to end things quick. I don't consider myself a great teacher or a really good MA for that matter but I and several of my students have ended things in one combo when being attacked. Shotokan teaches reaction. Its not flashy by any means but it is very effective.

Very powerful move. Yes its shotokan's trade mark move. When working basics its almost always our last move so it gets more work than most basics. At our old club we had some of those wall mounted punching pads. I don't know what you call them. They are spring loaded. Well anyhow we would work on them. However its all about the hip and how far and fast it can drive the fist.

Welcome

I would be shocked that any school taught that slow. What are your options?

I reopen my into thread every so ofter for my personal reccords and this is the case again. This is my 2000th post at KF. I have been here for a year and three months or so. Thanks Pat for the site. I hope to be arround for another 2000. Heck I plan on being here for many more than that.

Lee has to be first. Because the impact he had on MA's growth in the USA and arround the world. Was he the best fighter? No. Was he the best at kata and weapons? No. Was all of his ideas right? No. However he was the or is the ICON of MA. You say Bruce Lee and everyone reguardless of the country you live in knows your talking about some kind of MA. Thats why Lee is number one. That is also why I say Norris in number 2. However that can be debated much more than Lee. Lee is the reason we are all in MA like it or not. Despite the efforts made by the JKA and other MA groups to bring MA to the USA and the world after WWII it would not have been done if not for movies and tv. Lee happend to be the poster child for karate/kung fu as we know it.

Both are excellent choices. Funakoshi worked closely with the Judo schools in Toyko and lots of Judo like moves are in Shotokan because of it. So it may be a better fit for you karate.

I think most people are intrested by MA reguardless if they train in them or not. Sort of that idea about something MAGIC or UNKNOWN. LOL. People always will make jokes and talk about things that are differant to them. Be it MA, race, religon, policy, laws, music, clothes, money issues, etc. However I do think on the whole most people wish they knew MA in some form or another.

I think Lee realized that MA takes on the form of the person using it. All styles are good. All styles focus on a certin part of MA. I am a firm believer the deeper you get into a style the more a style becomes rounded. I teach and veiw training like this. White to Black Belt you learn the moves that makes upyour given style. First Dan to Fifth Dan you make your style fit you. Fifth Dan and up you Loose your style from a over all view because now you have discorved a lot of those hidden moves and ideas and you can adapt to most situation. I have came up with this reasoning through much reading and studing of the Shotokan kata.

Yeap Like they say in Football thats why you play the game. Sometimes the weaker team wins because of suprise, the other team did not get ready, luck, bad timming, weather, etc.... Same is true for the streets. Usually they guy with the better jaw will win.

What other kata have you done??? Hein Nidan has the same back stance and knife hand sequence as Shodan does. Sandan, Yondan, and Godan all feature backstances. Just my advice but unless you feel good about the kata don't test. No shame in waiting make sure you can put your best foot forward when testing don't accept for OK and hope to just slide by. I would assume the backstance is a big part of your basics as well durring the test. Again work it as much as you can. Don't be afraid to work it. At the same time like I said if you don't think your ready then wait.

Go as hard, and as fast as you can. When you test you show max effort don't just do the motions.

Kata - Wankan Its a very short and simple black belt kata in Shotokan most don't do it very much. However I tend to like it, I guess because it is short LOL. This will make me 21 of the 29 kata we practice.