northerndragon

September 13, 2008 Anyone here prefer a specific resistance training program to complement their martial art? How about Karate practitioners too? • resistance bands? • weights? (free weights) • Yikes, I'm a victim of advertising: How about the Bowflex? (as seen on this website forum) • kettlebells? • Total Gym? And on that topic does anyone warn against a specific type of training with resistance? My assumption on this is to use complementary training (a-la Bruce Lee) to ''Complement" one's art, not make them look like Arnold Schwarzeneggar in the process. thanks, Eric B.

As for sparring hands: I note that at times I do not bring my hand ALL the way back after executing a punch. This is something I'm working on but in the heat of sparring it tends to "float" between the hip and somewhere in-between. All > great posts.

My fault for not getting back to my question sooner. I see now that there are several talking points which have developed. For me personally I appreciated every one of your responses, in terms of keeping an open mind and seeing what my shortcomings could be, in terms of training, "in Karate". But, I do not see any need to exclude boxing, being that it is a fighting/pugilistic sport/art, depending on one's view. As for the initial post on 'Starting Point' for all punches: My naivete that I will put out there was that I thought different lineages of Karate were all traditional irregardless of how they started their punches. I did not know that Kyokushin was not a traditional art of Karate. I learned via this thread that their higher-hands/starting point is not traditional. That being said, I see now that perhaps my question is directly influenced by tradition. And depending on the lineage and one's own preferences, the 'Starting Point' will invariably vary from style to style. I train with the hand starting point initiated at the hip. Reason for my question in the first place: >I tried recently executing my Oi-zuki or Gyaku-zuki from the higher position one day when training at home. It seemed comfortable that day, but I noticed a drastic change in the muscular response the next day: I was very sore!< This marked soreness I suppose is attributed to muscle-memory getting "tweaked" from a different start position, in this case higher. Lastly: I was interested in the notion of Hanmei ( using the 45 degree angle of the hips ) to generate power (twisting motion) into one's punch. Someone mentioned about the ''Hinge Point'' so my follow-up question is: Were you referencing Hanmei? Or the opposing influence that can weaken a punch? This last part is another topic altogether. kind regards, Eric B.

September 5, 2008 Anyone here have a hard and fast rule about the starting point of ALL their punches? If so, where's it beginning? This question is not about "where" one throws a punch or what "kind", I'm strictly asking what , if any , is the BEST starting point. • Some schools, like Seido, start their punch at chest level: at or nearby the armpit. Anyone practice this way? • Some, like Shotokan and the Shitoryu sensei I talked with, start all their punches at the hip. Specifically directly above the hip, fist inverted prior to firing. Anyone prefer this practice? Sidenote: I'm not asking this question to invite demeaning answers about "why I asked" or "what's wrong with my question" > which I notice seems to occur here on this forum. Granted, the vast lineages and styles of people that visit here and post here, this quandary is bound to happen when someone from one lineage/style addresses another lineage/style's question. I put that sidenote out there just to make it clear, I'm not asking to have any answer evolve into a ''you're wrong'' , ''you're uneducated'' sort of scenario. That being said, I look forward to what folks think is the most efficient starting point, anatomically and physiologically speaking of course. au revoir!

2008/8/5th Quite a few responses on my topic initially posted months ago. Glad it's offering food for thought. My take on this is I agree with Bushidoman_96: One Steps are for a specific purpose. If one reads the first post that I wrote, this One Step scenario happened on just my second of third day of JOINING. No point in taking a full-on strike to the face when your positioned prone/bent-over, letting your partner take ahold of your punching wrist beforehand. Bad scene. Thanks for my back Bushidoman_96. All other points about training, conditioning, respect, and honor I agree with and that could have been the case in any other dojo where one gains this in due time. I've since moved on away from this aforementioned dojo. No hard feelings now. Glad it is such a "hot topic" though for some: just make sure you read the first post.

hmm, great responses. I'd agree that Bruce's speed was his greatest asset. Never gave it any thought though in regards to his mental attributes, until reading Norris' article. The article describes how Lee was always five or six "steps" ahead of his sparring partners, including Norris. Good question, to wonder if Bruce would've easily gone to the ground to grapple. IMHO, if Lee faced a competitive match, at least in terms of speed vs. speed, he might have needed grappling skills to end it on the ground. Either way, I agree with you folks that in their prime, Bruce Lee would've won in kumite versus Norris. BUT, ALL respect to Chuck Norris and what he's accomplished.

Okay, maybe this is an age old topic, but I recall reading an old article about Chuck Norris agreeing to costar in Bruce Lee's movie back in the day. As everyone knows, Lee won their epic battle in the Colloseum. In a real life sparring/kumite event between the two, Who Would Win? At the time of this movie, Mr. Norris was the undefeated World Full Contact Karate (spelling?) Champion. In particular, Norris, in this article, complements Lee emphatically about his mental attributes as an advantageous tool that he used to great effect when sparring. Norris recalls how mentally savvy Bruce was during free sparring and/or training. He remembers it causing much malign for the opposing sparring partners that Lee faced during practice: Lee's decision making was what Norris wished he had during his fighting days, and Norris was already undefeated! I wonder how that would translate in a kumite with Lee vs. Norris. food for thought. peace.

DWX, No, you did not give the wrong impression at all. In reading your post I had the notion beforehand that this lady was someone you were on good terms with. I was merely stating the obvious: it's always unfortunate to injure one's classmate/friend. I was not insinuating one iota about any maliciousnous, nor any intent. Glad your training partner is doing great now. If I had done the same thing I would feel bad too. This is the reality of ''posting'' in open forums. Mix strangers and occasionally sensitive topics in textual mediums and voila: some text gets misconstrued versus having said something face to face. peace.

Dwx, You injured your training partner: That is just awful. Sorry that happened for you, and for her injury. I hope she's healed up. Injuring someone is the worst!! > Especially in training. You owe her big time, a free dinner, lunch. A recall a teacher once said that our dojo partners are like family. She was there to help you learn and vice versa.

Another good book, IMO, is from Kancho Hirokazu Kanazawa - 10th Dan! "Black Belt Karate ~ An Intensive Course". Not only is the editing and writing professional, the photographs actually pay great service to the flow of the text. It's intended as a workbook to help one through an intensive course sotospeak. Kodansha International Publishers, copyright 2006. regards. Eric

Rafael Aghayev! I was just watching some video of Rafael Aghayev, a black belt out of Azerbaijan. That guy came to the Vegas Nationals and laid waste to the competition, from a purely sporting viewership I see how his charisma is contagious. Anyone interested in the kumite, sports oriented clash, should check him out. He's all over the internet.

All responses here were great: glad it provided discussion of a little used, if at all, tournament kicking technique. Dobbersky: I see how, with the Kyokushin practitioners, that this kick has offered kumite wins. Given their reputation, voiced here, and through word of mouth, Kyokushin seems to be the one of the few lineages that uses it at the tournament level. They are tough folks, Kyokushin. Uff-Da, as the Scandinavians would say! LOL For me personally, I see how it's effective when an opponent turns their back, but it telegraphs mightily, by the mere nature of the upward swinging arc. Its speed does make up for that.

Zanshin, Nice of you to reply but you have me all wrong. I did not go into this dojo with any preconceived notion of self righteousness and more importantly, I did not have a preconceived notion of self-knowledge about them that put me up on the pedestal that you insinuated. FYI, the internet research was done purely to establish a physical address in Google as well as to garner phone numbers, which helped me to telephone them for setting up an intro-course. None of the internet data gathered even remotely provided some sort of ''knowledge'' about them. Fish, Surprisingly this blue belt was 42 years old! Odd considering most men that age outgrow throwing blindsided kicks or punches on a fellow class mate, more importantly, on a fellow white belt. I recall how distinctly angered the sensei was about hearing this. He did confer with me that this man was due a private meeting with him before the next class. As this is all in the past, it is amazing how it still solicites replies from folks. Great forum here.

The BB of C, I see your point, in that you like to 'throw it in' from time to time. & I agree because it is such a good kick, even just to use it as a FEINT, drawing your opponent backwards if launched aggressively! It can buy one time when they're up against a "runner" who rushes at his/her opponent incessantly. The BB of C, How or when does your Isshin-ryu Sensei permit you to use it in his/her class?? At free-sparring? I see 'Zanshin's' point that in WKF tournament rules it is considered illegal. It can be devastating. This All Comers Tourney I went to had programs describing the kumite rules, and it was vague as to the intricasies of what punch and what kick were legal > aimed at the head. It listed the head as a potential target. This particular tournament was put on/hosted by Renbukai. The sensei I listened to said that the Jinen-ryu students were using an axe/reverse knife hand (downward arcing) strike to the tops of opponents' heads, which he thought was illegal and was stunned to see it in kumite that day. regards, peace.

To all responses: kind regards and many thanks! Someone asked in the middle of the group of posts, if I had in fact told the teacher. To answer this question specifically, 'Yes', I told him and to put it bluntly, the teacher was hot under the collar. He told me emphatically that there is no contact allowed in any One Steps. He asked me if it was "Joe Smith" (actual name omitted) and when I told him this was the case, he immediately reassured me that he would talk with him in person alone before the next class! The fact that he knew who it was at the outset showed me that this student may have developed a reputation. For Zanshin, I agree yes I've been bouncing around for a bit, figuratively more than literally, as I've only been to two actual dojos. One was the aforementioned Gosoku Ryu and the other most recently was the Shito Ryu. As for researching and studying up on a style, BEFORE actually visiting, I've learned that this process although time consuming actually helps prepare me mentally prior to stepping foot on the dojo floor. The means of research has been internet forums, actual dojo websites, or a phone call to the sensei(s). Surprisingly all have been helpful, if I knew the right questions to ask. After learning my lesson, in hindsight all the experiences have been worthwhile.

2008-5-5 Anyone here readily make use of the Axe Kick in their lineage? I know it's a popular kick in Taekwondo, so much so it's akin to the reverse punch in Karate. I know this question is related to situational parameters: distance, timing, etc, etc. That being said, I have not seen it in use in Karate (of any style) but thought to hear likewise. At a local All Comers Tournament, they had Tang Soo Do , Karate, Taekwondo, among others, and the only practitioners during kumite to use this kick were of the Korean lineages. food for thought. thx. Eric

bushido man96, Funny you should mention it: he verbally stated: [not verbatim] ''Okay, now I've gotten you angry, I can't wait for a good retaliation back.'' or some such nonsensical comment. I did not retaliate, as it would make me look bad to haul-off and hit him in the face and I would probably be kicked out of the dojo. I just shrugged it off later. dobbersky, To answer your question, only the sensei knew of my prior training in a private discussion before I actually joined. I've sort of pooled answers locally in discussions: the general rule that other teachers have offered is a concensus: no contact in One Steps. One teacher offered the opinion that some dojos are catering to the rough-and-tumble macheesmo mentality. to each his own. regards, Eric

Out of curiosity, How different is Shito-Ryu from Gosoku-Ryu? I talked to another sensei of Tanaka's Martial Arts Academy (Shito-Ryu), and I will hopefully "re-gear" as I was given a free trial class. *best to move on from the experience with Gosoku-Ryu and learn from it. regards, Eric.

To all who replied to my question: Thank you, kindly. I will say that this was admittedly, both embarassing, and demoralizing. It took a while to realize that this guy was literally boosting his ego. Granted, I'm a white belt at this dojo, but my martial arts training began in 1989. I have been just recently acclimating myself to the Karate "form" in terms of class, etiquette, lineage, in-class procedure, etc. I've had One-Steps in other Chinese and Taekwondo lineages, so I know that noncontact means no hard hits to the jaw nor hard-choke-outs. I would have thought it was just an isolated incident, but the strike to my jaw was a mere couple mintues before the full-on neck choke. I realized after I posed my question that I might have been unclear. As it happened again: 1-we both partnered up, the One Steps resumed with the sensei stating all the attackers takes his/her ''one step'' with a right reverse punch. The defender is to side step, wrist lock, and execute noncontact punch to body, then carry wrist-lock behind their back to make 'attacker' lean forward and off-balance. 2- we were then instructed to do the same motion again the second time, only this time the sensei asked advanced belts to carry out a neck-choke and beginners to do a push-off (akin to pushing someone to escape). 3- the sensei asked all to look or listen for the tap-out when doing the choke out. I was having to tap-out repeatedly on my thigh, then as the choke got harder, as I was coughing I managed to find his leg! He exclaimed: "You're supposed to tap me, not your leg. I didn't see your tap. But I am ready for your hit, come on, hit me back." *not verbatim but something to those words." I looked around and everyone was tapping whatever they could find. I thought it was a bit over-the-top on his behalf. I did not retaliate and strike back, as I knew it would make me look bad. It was demoralizing to say the least. A bad experience overall. your input has been much appreciated. regards, Eric

2008-4-18th Hello forum members, Is punching or kicking the face of your partner permitted generally in One-Step (choreographed) sparring? I had trialed one free class, and ended up taking two more paid classes at a local dojo: during One Step Sparring, I was the 'attacker' doing a one-step front-stance, plus a reverse punch. Standard. The advanced blue belt did his 'defender' defense, side stepping, wrist locking me as the rest of the class did. Next, everyone as 'defender' was to side step and bring the wrist up. Standard. Only as my partner had my wrist up high, I was now bent forwards. Standard. BUT: I don't know how, but I took a hard strike to the jaw. Mere minutes later the Sensei changed it up and asked advanced belts to sub in the kick/strike with a neck lock. I ended up coughing/choking as I was tapping out on my thigh. He stopped saying that I was supposed to tap ''his" leg. In my position I could not find his leg! The whole scenario was a red flag and I've decided to not return. Is this just an isolated instance? A sign of poor discipline in the Sensei's advanced belts? Should I have said something to the sensei? either way I have a gut instinct telling me to look elsewhere for a dojo, as I don't think being struck in the face was supposed to be par-for-the-course. regards, Eric

John (JohnASE), Yes, I'm relieved to have found it. From the best of my recollection, he is the only black belt in the Dojo, naturally. But he has not one black belt "under" him that is there as a student or assistant. I also am impressed with the speed that the Sensei of this dojo teaches Gosoku Ryu. He's a stickler for proper stances and footwork. On just my second class, he told a student to not bother learning the stances beyond the one (standing) stance if he was to persist not bending his knees. Low, strong stancework is the norm on just my second night. I'm happy to have found it. regards, Eric

2008-4-13th Greetings again forum: Anyone here study under Sensei/Soke Tak Kubota, of Gosoku Ryu? I reside in Alaska, and the other day visited and trialed a class. Great system. Very briefly: I've been training at home by very, VERY humble means: a book by Hirokazu Kanazawa, for about one and a half years. This book: "Black Belt Karate ~ The Intensive Course", Kodansha Publishers. A good, good book I might ad. But I knew that I was leaving out a key part by training via this book: that being a real class. Granted the author intentionally designed and edited his book to be used by folks, at home (or away from a dojo). This book was basically a purchase to introduce me to Shotokan and it has literally done that. I am happy with this purchase. I've read that Sensei Kanazawa (10th dan) is not only a good writer and teacher but I've heard he's very respected as a teacher worldwide. There is one Shotokan dojo in my general community but it's a half-hour's drive away , while I found a much closer Gosoku Ryu dojo nearby: ---> I found this great little dojo taught by a Sensei who has an official branch dojo of Soke/Sensei Tak Kubota. I was impressed, and the one class was enough to keep me intrigued. As for Shotokan, fortunately, the founder of this Gosoku Ryu initially trained in or taught Shotokan, so it does show "outwardly" at least some Shotokan connections. I cannot tell in just one class, so I though to inquire with the fine folks at this forum: ..question: Anyone study at or witnessed Gosoku Ryu ? or have met Soke/Sensei Kubota? His website shows him PUNCHING an iron-beam in his dojo!! ouch! regards, Eric

ninjanurse & others, Good replies. They're helpful too! Your replies were informative: Ninjanurse: it makes sense. Adding news ways to do things, instead of changing old patterns/things when studying a new Art. Follow-up responses and questions: Kzshin & P.A.I. : I do not know if this school is authentic Shindo Jinen-Ryu or not. If you need to see his website, in Alaska, it is Okamoto's Karate. I believe those are good keywords to find in Google or Yahoo, plus Alaska will narrow it down. The website he has states that they teach Jinen Ryu and Tae Kwon Do. Perhaps he's offering a hybrid or sports-mix? You both obviously know more about Shindo Jinen Ryu than I, who is Sensei Konishi? Another subject: Since that time, I have not joined the Jinen Ryu (Okamoto's) and have focused more on the Shotokan dojo in my community, but its proximity is not as close as Gosoku Ryu school, which is just five or six miles from where we live. The Shotokan dojo on the other hand is about a half-hour away ... . Perhaps the Gosoku Ryu is equally viable. regards, Eric

Interesting to read all the great replies. Thanks guys. Shorikid, I liked your point about being able to torque the kick/shift it depending on where one decides at the last second. But to bring it up high, as in a front kick preparation, from the rear foot, prior to this. So many GREAT replies, thanks all! Another tangent: With Yoko Geri ke age (side snap kick), this is a great example I think, of being able to torque the "hips into the kick" as the kicking leg is snapped out powerfully. I notice that the further out-the-kicking-knee is pointed towards the target, whilst the instep is supported on the inside-of-the-base-supportive-knee, that the kick can generate deceptive knee-TO-hip power. regards, Eric

I see now that my question was able to garner much interest! Thanks and perhaps 'GOM' would not mind sharing that info to others? If not: understood. 'GOM', you require a PM to share this info? thanks for the opinions and history with the two Arts. regards, Eric ps: does anyone here use their real names or is it not kosher?