washjeff09

I really liked your whole entire post. As far as some kyokushin dojos adding new things, I know that at my dojo we have a pretty big grappling, submission curriculum. Obviously, normally we prefer to stand up fight, but if the fight goes to the ground, at least we're not clueless as to what to do; however, other than this grappling, we are pretty much traditional Kyokushin: the kihon, ido geiko, and the kumite. OSU!

Just like everyone else said, I also agree that the best thing to do is to be straight forward with the instructor. Don't hide any of your physical ability, and clear your mind mentally to accept the new instruction. I'm assuming that since it's your idea to start training in Kyokushin, you will be accepting to new techniques and theories, which going from TKD to Kyokushin myself, I know there are many. For example, my roommate was looking to train in MMA. He was a fairly experienced boxers but had no all around stand up fighting skill. I suggested that we go train at a nearby Kyokushin dojo near to my college. We went there, and he demonstrated his boxing ability, and he tried his hardest to follow along with the kihon and the kicks and such, but he didn't open his mind at all to the Kyokushin style. He was so boxing biased, he refused to try and understand what we were doing; consequently, I dont think he got much out of the class. I remember a long time ago, a brown belt in Shotokan came into our dojo. He was very, very Shotokan in the way he fought, and he didn't hide it at all. He kept training and eventually he turned into a very well rounded karateka. He's now a nidan in our style. So what I am trying to say is don't hide your ability, and open your mind to all the new things you can learn training in Kyokushin. Have fun and good luck! Osu!

Thanks for the info. I never really thought of it that way; however, even besides the kumite factor, it seems to be like some schools out there could do a little more to stay traditional and avoid the criticism. For some reason things like 20 different belts with the many charges that go along with them bothers me. Then I look at some of the black belts, whom have trained for 3 years exactly, and some are good, some are terrible, and some are just in between. It just shows they were shoved along the "belt line" for the same amount of time till they reached thier shodan. Your right I don't have as much experience as many here, but besides the kumite, it seems like the other issues I mentioned could definately be addresed and I do think that would help somewhat. Osu

I second that!! Osu!

osu! I very much agree. I haven't trained as long as some people here (maybe around 9 years since I was five, and I'm 19 now) and I haven't trained in as many styles (TKD 3 years, then Kyokushin), I can sense that transformation. In a way and this is just my biased opinion, Kyokushin is one of those styles that would be hard to "water-down." It just seems logical to me, that to fight hard full contact kumite, one would have to train hard, and that if you're going to fight hard contact kumite, it would be hard to water down the training unless you want to get beat senseless!. But whenever I visit some of my friends' dojos, or training styles, it just seems like I see alot of unwarranted Black Belts, alot of belts in general (many colors with plenty of charges), and alot of colorful, fancy gis. Obviously to me in Kyokushin, you can have all the trophies in the front window but if you can't bring it in the ring you're not going to survive. I know that there are many styles in general that train the old fashioned way, but there are quite a few that are very generic expecially in my area.

Well the reason I posted this though is to show that I don't think that extremely young black belts are a good thing. First for the holders themselves, and for the art. Of course I'm not really one to judge but its just my opinion, and I used myself as somewhat of an example. Like I said though just an opinion and nothing more. As far as myself? Don't get me wrong, the only thing I'm trying to say is that I wish I had never took such time off, because for one it's not respectful to my dojo and two, for my own good. I believe if I was older I would've never just quit cold turkey like that. I think that's proof that at the time I really just didn't understand as well as I thought I did. I do use this to motivate me. I'm starting to contact my senseis and shihans again, and I know that if I train hard, I can get back to where I once was, and hopefully with my added size and strength, be much better.

I do think that the black belt in general has lost some of its value. I look at the 10 year old black belts and I shake my head. Yes of course they think they worked for it and its great that they tried their hardest, but I don't think they have the maturity to understand what it really means. The only places I see these young black belts are the mcdojos. Some of these dojos I see seem to have dozens of belt colors with increasing charges on the rank. I see these young black belts and I see the money just being sucked away from their parents. I also don't agree with young black belts because in a way I was really young when I achieved my shodan at 15. I was the youngest in the association to have received my shodan. I studied kyokushin for 6 years before testing; I passed all the grueling requirements of a kyokushin shodan test such as the tameshiwari, and the long full contact kumite sessions. I felt I was mature enough. Physically I was capable. Yet looking back I don't think I really quite understood what really holding a shodan is all about. Why? After receiving my shodan I took a break: A very long break. Even at the time I knew that the shodan was the beginning to truely training in my art, yet for some reason I gradually stopped. Highschool stuff started to interfere, and although I had some legitimate reasons such as no car and we moved, none of these exscuses should explain my break. I think if I was mature enough, there is no way I would take such a long break away from training. I'm now 19, and I am just starting to train again; however, now my passion is just as strong actually I believe stronger than before. I look at my shodan and I remember how hard I worked for it, and it really just inspires me to train, and to be my best again. Kyokushin karate gave me the qualities that make me who I am today. I really wish at the time of my shodan, I could appreciate it as much as I do today, because it would be that much more sastisfying. I think at that time it was more like "sweet, i got my black belt " even though I know I never really ever thought that way explicitly. I just wish that maybe I was a little older where I could really understand what being a shodan means. Did I work hard for it? In my mind of course. Even then I knew at the time how hard it is to obtain a shodan in Kyokushin. Physically I deserved my belt, and I was mentally tough enough to push myself through my personal limits to pass. Yet like I said I really don't think that I really quite understood what was going on, because i was too young and thats at 15. 10 year old black belts? I just don't think its right.

exact same

Exactly. I was just discussing this with my shihan. One of my buddies who doesn't practice karate was asking me what the point of kata was. I couldn't give a good answer so I talked with my shihan and he told me, when he's at his best in kumite, he's also at his best in kata. From what I understand, kata helps with the karateka's balance and flow during kumite, obviously two important aspects. In my own training and in the training of others I have noticed this too. For example, I see excellent boxers come into the dojo, and they think they can fight well, but they look horribly awkward and they end up getting beat up pretty bad, their kata seems to match their fighting style which sometimes seems very rigid. Once I start to notice their improvement in kata, I also seem to notice that their flow and blance in kumite is much better. Sorry to go off topic there.

I used to train in TKD at the very beginning of my training. TKD gave me the foundations for good high kicks. However from seeing quite a bit of TKD studios around my area I must say that there seems to be a ton of studios out there that are there for the showbuisness and money. Things like eight year old black belts, and people, who definately do not have the skills to test for the next level, being tested. I remember at my studio, it seemed like each year a new belt was added, of course with the additional charge per testing. I remember how people were tested on the basis of time and not ability. It just didn't seem right to me. This is when I switched to Kyokushin. It just seemed to me that the kyokushin dojo is all about hard training, determination, and the physical strength that I was looking for. I know this is not just Kyokushin, but that there are many other dojos that still are true, but to get to the point, I do notice that styles are being watered down and dressed up, and it seems like good karate dojos are deminishing.