Bloke

Its used to strike the throat and then grab you can alos use it to grab the wrist and turn it into a series of locks very nicely.

Osu - I do kyokushin.

Try Daido Juku

Actually there is quite a bit of punching in that clip but its a KO highlight reel and most KOs come from head kicks in Knockdown.

In Kyokushin we use the knee in sparring and competition. We use it to the legs body and head.

I cannot find any sites for Seido Kai Kan outside of Japan. There must be some dojos outside of Japan as Both Andy Hug (RIP) and Michael Thompson switched to Seido Kai Kan in the Aftermath of the 5th World Tournament in 1991. I will keep looking and see what I can come up with. Kazuyoshi Ishii is also the Founder of K1.

That Seido dojo in Chiswick is an offshoot of Kyokushin - Seido is Kancho Tadashi Nakamuras organisation. Seido Kai Kan was founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii and is also an offshoot of kyokushin

Ademir Da Costa - From Brazil - trained under Shihan Isobe and fought at the 3rd and 4th World Tournaments. His fight against Michel Wedel of Holland was one of the best of the tournament. I think he now has his own style called Seiwaki. Michael Thompson - for a heavyweight his speed and footwork were amazing as seen in the 1987 world tournament fight against Kenji Midori. Midori seemed surprised at Thompsons speed and agility. I will endeavour to add some more over time - this is an excellent thread. Osu!

Paul Weller.

Superfoot Go and train with Hanshi Arneil. You wont regret it. His attention to detail is incredible and at over 70 he still trains regularly and flies all over the world doing seminars. He was the first man in Kyokushin to do the 100 man Kumite and was actually adopted by Mas Oyama. Instructional videos are a good point of reference but when you need to ask a question you need a good instructor on hand to answer them. And you wont find very many much better than Hanshi Arneil. BTW He is hosting the IFK World Knockdown tournament at Crystal Palace on Saturday 8th October if you can get a ticket its going to be a great day. Osu!

Sensei Mike There is a great site (completely Apolitical) called http://www.kyokushinresults.freeserve.co.uk/ It contains the results of Kyoksuhin Knockdown tournaments regardless of affiliation. You should check it out. Osu!

SenseiMike I can understand your concerns about Kyokushin Dojo sparring but believe me in almost 20 years of training I got caught in the face hard enough to cut my eye only once. We can go hard to the body and legs but for safety sake head kicks are pulled - dont get me wrong - you may get dropped and you'll definetely know you were hit but other that that there should be no outward signs of injury. Osu!

Yes that is what I have heard. Without delving into the political situation too much it seems that Kancho Matsui is promoting the Ichigeki tournaments more and more. This may be in connection with having lost a recent court case but that is purely speculation on my part. Getting back on topic I would like to know who thinks Kyokushin is not known for its infighting (except Politically ). One of the criticisms leveled at knockdown is that after a couple of rounds you would see two fighters head to head slugging it out in a battle of spirit. Is that not infighting? Of course that may have been true in the early days of knockdown but it has been refined so much as have training methods that we can still see good close fighting without fighters leaning on each other. Lastly World Oyama Karate is an offshoot of Kyokushin and they have very similar knockdown rules - one of which is that you cannot make contact with the face or head with any part of the hand or arm.

Kyokushin Knockdown fighting has evolved over the years. In the 70s a lot of non japanese karateka were only competing in Sanbon Shobu rules. With the advent of knockdown worldwide a lot of the early fights were still fought at range moving in and out. The Japanese fighters tended to get in close and work from there constantly moving forward and pressuring thier opponents. In the 80s Knockdown became a lot more technical. The japanese adopted dome of the foreign fighters attributes and vice versa. In the 90s it has become much more infighting (so whoever said that was a weakness of Kyokushin is wrong). Most of the infighting techniques would be shita tsuki, Kake tsuki and hiza geri. I know in the past that hit and run fighters suffered at the hands of Japanese referees as they considered moving forward all the time to be the correct way. But look at the likes of Michael Thompson and his fantastic footwork. He would move in and out and score setting up his opponent for a knockout. As for Kyokushin giving up traditional teachings and focusing on K1 I have heard similar things but only in connection with one Kyokushin group and only in Japan. The rest of the world still follows that traditional path. Osu!

In our organisation it is mandatory two years from shodan to nidan and then three from nidan to sandan and so on. After Sandan grades are awarded to individuals based on work they do for the organisation (national and international), and for diligent training. Shodan actually means beginner grade. Sosai Oyama used to say that one becomes a beginner after one thousand days training and a master after ten thousand days. As for what comes after Black belt - besides the next few dan grades - time to perfect the techniques you have only really scratched the surface of. Maybe you will want to get involved in teaching in your dojo, training and coaching fighters- the list as as endless as the limits of your imagination. After almost twenty years training I am still finding new things to learn. Osu!

IFK - Hanshi Arneil

Mine are Tensho and Sushiho. It will be a great pity if kata are abandoned as there is some much to learn from them Osu!

We use Clicker rules which are similar to Wuko or nihon shobu except direct punches to teh face are not allowed and the fight is not stopped for each point. They are counted by the referees using clickers and the winner announced at the end. Thats a very simple explanantion of those rules - there is more depth to them than that. Most often though we will spar knockdown rules - punches and elbows are allowed to the body and arms and kicks are allowed to the legs body and head. We usually go 20% in the first week of training and build up to 80-100. Osu!

Its also worth knowing that in many styles the belst colors differ. The only constants are white, brown and Black. Blue in one style may be lower or higher on the ladder than in another. Osu!

SenseiMike Even if there are no Kyokushin schools near you there may be one of its offshoots - such as Seido, World Oyama Karate or Ashihara. There are more but those are the biggest 3 as far as I know. Try contacting thme via email and they may be able to help your query regarding legalities. I understand you are in the US so you have a State Law and Federal Law issue to overcome. This type of fighting is definetely legal in some states as there have been knockdown tournaments in the US for years. As regards the bare knuckle thing I'd suggest you try it first. In this type of fighting it is bare knuckle but punching is only allowed to the body and arms. With proper conditioning it should not be a problem. The big issue is going to be the low kicks to the thighs. Every fighter I have encountered who does not train for these finds them difficult to deal with. And the pain is something new. Many of them bring there hands down to block as they dont know how to block with the shin and a seasoned Knockdown fighter very quickly learns to switch up to the head resulting in some spectacular knockouts. Osu! PS Let us know how you get on

I fought a Knockdown tournament about 10 years ago and the one second grab was allowed with one hand. The number of knockouts from Hiza ganmen geri was incredible. But it was the first time it had been tried in a number of years so many people wre not prepared. Osu!

SenseiMike Those are pretty much standard Kyokushin Knockdown rules. They are legal in the uS as almost all kyokushin factions host annual tournaments which include knockdown sections. As regards you hosting yourown matches under these rules - I would suggest contacting a Kyokushin group or any of its offshoots and have a word with their chief knockdown referee. Go along to one of their tournaments and see what you think. Osu!

Superfoot The Damawashi-kaiten_geri is known as the roll kick, wheel kick and I once heard it called the rolling hill kick. The first time I saw it used was in 1988 and it was used to great effect. Then a lot of people started using it so more peple were wary of it. It became something of a desperation kick by people who couldnt do it properly. As to when to use it - well personally I wouldnt but its like any technique - when the opening presents itself. Sorry I have no more info and I have no idea where its origins are. By the way there was a Kyokushin fighter using it in the 1987 world Tournament - I think it was an Iranian called Munir Mossen (Sp?) and he performed it so well that after he delivered the kick to his opponents face he landed on his feet in a low crouch position, stood up and walked away from his then unconscious opponent. Osu!

Mine came as a response to Lad culture which was around in the Mid 90s in Ireland and England - lots of lager and rowdy begaviour and a particular dress sense - Anyway a friend asked me if I was a Lad and I said no but that I wasnt a Man either - I was just a bloke - hence Bloke.

Men and women spar with each other in the dojo I train in and we fight knockdown Karate. As long as you are sensible it can be extremely beneficial to both parties. Osu!