isshinryuaaron

Welcome to Karate Forums!!

How have you enjoyed Isshin-ryu? We have some new students in our dojo from the Isshin-ryu system. They could not find a suitable dojo in the area and so they decided to switch styles. I'm interested in some of the differences in technique, ie the use of the vertical fist punch. Respectfully, Sohan I am perhaps not the best person to answer this question since I have not been doing isshin ryu for very long, but I will do my best to give you my insights. The vertical punch did take some getting used to, but I now do it correctly *most* of the time. One of the other differences that I am still adjusting to is the quick, snapping kicks. In isshin ryu, they really focus on kicking and then whipping your kick back immediately. In tae kwon do and kenpo (the other two styles I did, albeit very briefly for kenpo), the focus was on putting a lot of power into the kick and kicking "through" the target (in kenpo, even pushing the person back) and not so much about whipping it out and back really fast. As my sensei always says, "In isshin ryu, we want the person to collapse in pain where he or she is standing... not go flying across the room." We also use a very high chamber for our kicks, although I remember one of the tae kwon do places I studied focusing on that too, so I'm not sure if that is a style difference so much as a school difference. Perhaps the most difficult thing for me to get used to with isshin ryu (and kenpo before I switched to isshin ryu -- I studied kenpo very briefly and then had to switch due to class times) as compared with tae kwon do is the groin kicks. I think tae kwon do did me a real disservice teaching me to do high, fancy kicks without ever having to worry about protecting my groin. No offense to the tae kwon do folks, but it took me a little while to break the old habit.

I've been doing isshin ryu karate for a little under a year and a half now (green belt). Immediately before that, I did american kenpo karate for about 8 months (got to yellow belt), but then switched to isshin ryu because the class times for kenpo just didn't work for me. A long, long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away), I studied tae kwon do for about two and a half years (got to purple belt).

Everyone here is so supportive! I must be a really bad person, but I think its a mistake to only box. Don't get me wrong. I think its great to master punching ability, and I somewhat agree with the earlier post that said that any golden gloves boxer is the equivalent of a 3rd degree black belt in terms of how much respect I have for good boxers. However, I do think its a mistake to ignore the other two limbs we have. Our leg muscles are stronger than our arm muscles, and kicks can be delivered from a different range than punches, at different angles than punches, etc. I think that, in order to be a complete fighter, you need to know how to use all of your weapons. Cross said that self-defense was one of the reasons why he started studying traditional karate, and that it just was not cutting it. Perhaps that style was wrong for him, or that particular dojo. And, of course, I hope that what he has learned from his training in traditional karate combined with what he will learn from boxing will be sufficient for him to defend himself in a real life situation should he ever need to do so. Yes, I know. I'm a bad person. I should be talking about how great it is that Cross figured out that he likes boxing better, and that he wrote a letter to his sensei. However, my guess is that at least some part of Cross posted the message because deep down he knows that it is mistake to completely stop training in martial arts and only do boxing. To that part of Cross (if I am right), I hope you keep doing boxing but I also hope that you start training in the martial arts again (be it another style, or another dojo) sometime soon. If I am wrong, I apologize. Either way, I wish you all the best.

Now there is a surprise! Someone with the nickname "lowkicker" who prefers the low kick.

my favorite kick depends on the target... head: roundhouse kick chest: roundhouse kick or side kick stomach: side kick or front kick groin: front kick or spinning back kick But, yeah... whoever said it earlier was right... any kick that lands well is the best!

When I get distracted, I am usually thinking about a work-related deadline or what I'm going to have for dinner afterward.

We use the vertical punch in isshin ryu. I think it works just fine, but I'm having a hard time training myself out of the horizontal punch (since tae kwon do was the first style I did, and they use horizontal)

Other than work on my katas, I think stretching is a good thing to do while not in the dojo. Then again, I'm really inflexible, so maybe just I need to do that.

Welcome to Karate Forums. I would also like to take up that drinking challenge. My major in college was debauchery!

Welcome to Karate Forums! And thanks for all the information about yourself! That was a good introduction, and now we all know to pick on you for being accident prone and what not. Hehe. By the way, my friend Dorothy has a shirt that says "Powered by Tofu" and it has this cute picture of a smiling Tofu. If you're interested, I can ask her where she got it.

Welcome to Karate Forums!!

Welcome to Karate Forums!

Yeah, what he said. That was my second guess.

Welcome to Karate Forums!

Welcome to Karate Forums... both of you!

I live in West Los Angeles. When I moved here (about 5 years ago), I did a yahoo yellow pages search of every martial arts school within 10 miles (I also looked in the regular yellow pages). I then called a bunch of the places I found, asked questions, and I even went and tried a few classes (lots of places will let you try a class or two for free in deciding whether to join or not). I have to admit, though, that I did not look into any schools near Glendale. It is simply too far for me. However, if you're amenable to traveling for your training (i.e., West L.A.), I can recommend a few really good schools. Just let me know.

For a short period of time after the Karate Kid movies, the janitors union at my high school demanded black belts. "What!? We mopped the floors for years! Danielson mopped for like a week and got a black belt! You better give us 10th Dan or we strike!" J/K I think the first and second movies were entertaining, but I didn't really take away a lot of "life lessons" from them. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, or maybe there was nothing in there that was that "new" to me. Perhaps I'll watch them again. I didn't even know there was a 3rd karate kid. Ralph Macchio must have been 35 by then! Shouldn't the title have changed to "Karate Dude" or something? Karate "Kid" 3? C'mon! And yes, whoever said it was right about "The Next Karate Kid." It sucked. Although it did star Hilary Swank. I'd love to see "The Next Karate Kid II" (dumb title, I know) now that she got all buffed out (and coordinated) after Million Dollar Baby!! That'd be awesome! If any studio execs are listening: Make it happen!

It is actually "Sans shoes." "Sans" being Middle English for "without" and "shoes" is well, self-explanatory. Thus, the style means "without shoes." It is a very ancient art, practiced barefoot. My apologies for anyone who doesn't appreciate my bad humor. *Goes and looks for his groin cup* haha

Name: Aaron Current Style/Rank: Isshin Ryu karate, 7th kyu (green belt) I'm also 6'1, and my favorite fruit is the tomato (yes, its a fruit!)

Try to stay loose (not tense up), go for combinations (odds are that your opponent will block your first strike, but if your second strike follows quickly and to a different area of the body, then you might land it), do fakes, and make sure you keep good stances. Other than that, just have fun!

Glad to hear that you went back and had a great time Laurie!!

I wear a white gi... I can't wait until I'm a brown belt because then I get to wear a black gi

I've always wondered what it would be like to spar a capoeira person, actually. Is it effective? Is it not? How do you spar someone who stands on their hands? haha. If there are any capoeira people in Los Angeles, let me know.

Yes, that Isshin Ryu. I am only a green belt, though... so, I suppose it is possible that there will be grappling as I get more advanced. However, I haven't seen the upper belts grappling. So, maybe it is just my dojo (and not Isshin Ryu generally) that does not do a lot of grappling. At any rate, I plan on continuing to use a lightweight gi (I'm in Los Angeles, so I'm usually too warm... and the lighter the gi, the better) unless we start grappling.