Dobbersky

Thank you guys, the common census is that a white belt is definitely must when attending other schools. Would wearing a white belt with a black tab(s) be ok as this has been suggested too (for example a 2nd Dan would wear a White belt with 2 black tabs)

Sensei8, excellent response, I suppose it is down to the individual. I suppose in years to come, when I've passed on and someone is searching for lineage, it will stop with my Sensei for Ashihara, I can't find his instructor as he moved to Australia, I know he's called Steve/Stephen/Steven (surname I can't recall) and is/was a senior rank in one of the Shotokan Orgs from there as he moved back to Shotokan. My Wado will be back to Japan and my Tang So will go back to Korea But will the style be separated into 3 sources by then or will it be considered as 1 style? With no need to worry who I trained with?

I wonder where the importance of lineage comes from? I see from various schools where x comes from y which comes from a, b & c. Now I looked into mine and there is a gap from my sensei to Ashihara, namely due to I no longer communicate with him. But my Wado and Tang Soo lineage is proven direct to the founders. Does this mean I'm not a genuine Ashihara Karateka? I know I'm not NIKO registered but then my Karate, although Ashihara to the core is not pure. Too much has been added or removed. Even the likes of Modern Martial Arts like Krav Maga have Lineage to older arts! Does not having a lineage spanning centuries not make it a good martial art? Does it mean that it makes the school a McDojo?

To me my list is both Long and Short God - need I add why, Amen My Father, he gave so much to us growing up. I hope I can be as good a father to my children as he was to me My Grandad, because he was a boxer and knocked out Eamon Andrews Irish Champ, but it wasn't a Championship bout. My Uncle because he claims to be something he isn't (a 4th Dan Jujitsu Champ) and I don't want to be like him My Levie, she gave me love and accepted me for who I am My best Mate and assistant instructor Alan, who without him Black Tiger Karate wouldn't exist My students, who's loyalty is amazing. Oyama Sosai- Founder of Kyokushin Ashihara Kancho - Founder of Ashihara Karate and Direct student of Oyama Sosai and teacher of Ninomiya Kancho, who founded Enshin

Awesome thread!!! There has been a lot of opinions on this thread by some really experienced Martial Artists but what I must add is that comparing Kyokushin to other styles is like comparing an apple with an orange. JKA WKF etc type of Kumite is nothing like knock-down. I had several "point-scorers come to my dojo, to spar "knock-down stylee" (one was a world finalist and got more trophies than you could shake a stick at) but he a 4th Dan got Outclassed by 3rd to 2nd Kyu brown belts in the type of sparring we do (I am popping to his dojo to try his type of sparring and I am expecting to be outclassed there too) I was also sad that Ashihara was not mentioned by the threaders (Semmy Schilt K-1 World Champ) is an Ashihara Karateka. Note, the KK4 to MT1 was between Japan and Thailand Now I can't speak about Kyokushin but Ashihara and Enshin Karate work so much on kata application. The kumite is Full Contact Knock-down with grabs allowed as well as Kyokushin rules. Also, I trained in Muay Thai before I took Ashihara and there is no difference in the levels of training and determination of the fighters. I would not say one is better than the other as there are only good fighters. With regards to Stamina, I have only ever heard of 4 styles of Martial arts that do 50- 100- 200- or 300-man kumite, them being Kyokushin, Ashihara, Enshin and Kempo Karate. Osu Anonymous One, is the style you study similar to "Shotokai" as I was tols after Funakoshi Sensei passed his Karate only split into "Shotokan" and "Shotokai" but no mention of Chibakai (sorry can't recall the name of the school)

I believe that in the US, you can actually purchase a Camouflage Belt or a Pink belt, I'd love one of each, at 320cm lol, anyone want to send me them?

Good Luck my friend, I too am grading in October so I feel your anguish

Well done, enjoy your new training syllabus

There is a Shotokan Dojo in Denton just around the corner from the Sainsbury's there. If travelling is not an issue for you there will be other styles etc that might be good for you. What did you earn you Dan grade in?

Totally agree, This is why Western Martial Artists when founding styles should get the name they have decided on checked out with several sources first before having it "written in stone" Excellent responses by everyone on here too I suppose the above can be greater emphasised as when you go for a Tattoo in "Chinese" or "Japanese" or another Asian language and they tell you its your name or it means peace or warrior etc. But it actually translates to "donkey", "Supermarket" or "Beef Chow Mein" etc

Do you mean Manchester UK? If so I searched for many years for a Goju School in the Manchester area to no avail. I took Wado instead. If anyone knows of a Goju school in Manchester then please not me know (note this does not mean any Goju/Shotokan schools like GoKan Ryu, Red Tiger, Black Panther etc)

All, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all my students who graded on 26th May 2011. As this is a thread it will give All Instructors a chance to publicly congratulate all their students on gradings etc. 1st Kyu Stewart 3rd Kyu Mell 5th Kyu Dave 6th Kyu Aarla Jessica Brandon Thomas 7th Kyu Lucas Abeni 8th Kyu Amanda Liam Spencer 9th Kyu Chanelle I'm so very proud of you all OSU

Excellent thread guys, good responses but tends to be more bias towards Shotokan. I teach Ashihara Karate (A Kyokushin OffShot) Knock-down Karate and I have visits from other karateKa from different styles, includding Shito Ryu Shotokan Etc, One was a WTF World Finalist and won many Championship in Kata etc. I've also had One from the Army Karate Team too, this to make a point, they were unable to cope with the level and type of sparring we do. Thigh kicks and level of contact being the issue. Now not one said it wasn't technical or that we were sacrificing things to improve our contact because I work so much on Bunkai and Kata. Now I did say to the WTF Champ that the chance was that sparring the same as he did I would probably feel out of my depth to as I'm used to continuous sparring not stopping at a strike. The kata that I teach can be used in sparring and I've even used Pinan Sandan to beat a Shotokan guy at his own club sparring. Try it, it works!!!! To me there are 3 levels and I've moved on from my younger days and find that everyone SHOULD have experience of all levels of sparring as to know all 3 would help in all 3 so it would be a win win situation.

I think Closing the Gap is a valid Technique. In a majority of Martial Arts use this technique (called Irimi in Japanese) as part of their training. If you take defence again the drawing of a sword, if you stay away the swordman has the time and chance to draw his weapon. Same as with other weapons. In most self defence situations, the LAST thing on the mind of the ATTACKER, is the VICTIM, lunging forward for the counter-attack. Now looking at Capoeira, its a really good art but not seen it used properly in a Self-defence situation. In Knockdown Karate and Muay Thai we always forge forward, as striking whilst Backing up can be quite awkward when you don't know where you're going. Remember martial Arts are for protecting oneself, and moving forward is in every Kata, Form in 99.9% of them.

TSD, we don't miss understand you just assisting you as you asked. If you don't want MMA I'd recmmend this one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daido_Juku Daido Juku literally translated means "School of the Great Way". It incorporates techniques which were not present at that time in full contact karate styles. Azuma, being a third-degree black belt in Judo as well as a 4th-degree black belt in Kyokushin karate, recognized the potential for a hybrid martial art. These would not be restricted by the boundaries of a single style but would use techniques from various martial arts, namely, at the time of its creation in 1980, Judo and Karate. In the late 1980s and early 90s the style began to incorporate various techniques from muay thai, boxing, Jujutsu, sambo, submission wrestling, and other martial arts, fine tuning each technique for use within the Daidojuku style. One of the fundamental goals of Daidojuku being the creation of a versatile and realistic fighting style without compromising safety, Azuma created a style which incorporated various offensive as well as defensive techniques which includes punches to the head, elbow strikes, head butts, judo throws, jiu-jitsu jointlocks and other standup and ground fighting techniques. wish you luck finding a place that teaches this. If you are able Get yourself a position as a Uchi Deshi (Live-in Student) in Japan if your single, young enough and you got no ties where you are, grade to 2nd Dan in Japan then open your own school back home when you return.

Some of the most disciplined martial artists in the world are MMA fighters. We're geared towards self defense, but we are never more disciplined than when someone is preparing for a fight.I may have used the wrong word there "disciplined". I won't edit my post as I can get an extra post to push me closer to the next grade on here. What I meant by disciplined, Karate is a life-time's study as well as Judo or Jujitsu. Now there are some excellent MMA gyms around the world that would be able to teach you all you need to know inside and outside the cage, but maybe it was the the way the original poster, stated he wants to learn various styles and pick up a few things to help him in the ring. and that he's completed his judo training. I am karateka but Judo has more than 2 lifetimes worth of study. In Judo aswell as Randori waza, you have 7 official kata to learn too which could be used in the cage. Now if you want a core style that is your basis, then karate IS an excellent but its not a 2-3 year excusion to pick up a few techniques. Semmy Schiltz World K1 champ is an Ashihara Karate fighter it hAas no long stances or traditional kata in this style - everything taught could be used in the cage as long as the rules allow the variuos techniques. It is possibly a style you could study for a lifetime and also it would give you access to Daito Juko competitions

Now there is a concept with which I am unfamiliar! A lot of what you get out is determinted by what your intention is in the first place. If you are just looking for another quick black belt and a few moves for your MMA then I'm not so sure that you are going to get much more from Karate than you are getting from your Kickboxing. For me, Karate is an all-consuming passion but I have known quite a few people try it for a couple of years and dismiss it as "useless" or "not realistic" and go back to Kickboxing, MMA or Muay Thai. It is sad because they have only scratched the surface, you never complete training you just get to a point of stagnation or lose interest which is more to do with the self than the art. I hope that you enjoy your Karate training and never feel that you have completed it Great Post! Agreed, this is a great Post Traditional Martial Arts be it Karate, Judo, Jujuits etc are a lifetime's study getting to First Dan Black Belt is Just the begining, Did Machida stop karate when he got to 1st Dan - NO, Did GSP stop when he got to Black Belt - No. Respectfully if all you want is to collect Blackbelts, just carry on with you MMA training you're already doing and order the Blackbelts and Certificates off Ebay. I hope you find a style that you will stick with for the rest of your life.

I would say Kyokushin would be better for this than other styles GSP is Kyokushin fighter. A black belt in karate in any less than 3 1/2 years is a bit dubious If you want karate, remember it is NOT MMA so it is more disciplined etc Good luck on your search

All Question, If you are already a Dan grade in your own school or current School and you wish to cross train or attend another school, what belt would/should you wear? I carry a separate bag for "visits" with a Plain Black and a White belt in it. Now in my school attending black belts are asked to wear their Belts, but other schools have insisted I wear a white, especially when the Instructor is a lower grade than I am. What are your thoughts and rules for visiting Dan Grades?

All I have seen a few posts and threads in the last few years on martial arts schools names and wondering how and where do they come from. Now some that come to mind is Go Kan Ryu, which can be translated as "Rape School" (Please no discussions on no it doesn't yes it does etc as this is not what this thread is about) and Zen Do Kai can be translated as "Meditation Way School", mine is Black Tiger Karate (because I have a tattoo of a black tiger on my arm!!!) What other schools, from all areas, have strange or unfitting names, this could be Japanese, Chinese, Korean Vietnamese etc. Note, I am not here to cause offense, just to find out What? Why? and Where? thanks Ken

TSD, Google is your friend If you want full contact try Kyokushin, Ashihara or Enshin Karate. I'm based in the UK so not aboe to assist

totally agree with you there, Ju Kan Ryu would have been a more fitting name. The thing is GKR IS the McDonalds of the karate would. you get what you pay for, JUNK food!!! Non Contact Karate should NOT be marketed as a realistc Self Defence method, as if one GKR BB gets beaten up "defending" themselves then the press make it look like its ALL styles of Karate not the Non Contact stuff. This is why Karate has been considered as the weak style for many years, because of McDojos and Belt Factories like this one Sorry to rant on but my students have to put so much into there training and WHEN they earn there Black Belt, they will have put many years of hard work, blood sweat and tears, not like they do in these GKR etc schools

Never really paid much attention to belt sizes. we have 3 sizes (in Centimetres) in the uk 250, 280 and 320 mainstream although 230 and 340 are available. For me and my students it more on waist sizes and about 6 to 12 inches hangdown on each side, Kids well even the 230 looks huge on some of them.

go through the latest NAS results - in australia or the UK and you will see that GKR students regularly achieve outstanding results.... http://www.nationalallstyles.com.au/media/nas/pdfs/tournament-reports/nationals/2010/national-titles-2010.pdf Respectfully, America has the World Superbowl for Football, not too sure about other sports, But how many Non American Teams take part??? Yeah sure you can get a tournement and call it all styles but its up to the organisors what clubs etc they invite. Now if this is genuine and some GKR fighters do win, just ask yourself are they pure GKR stylists or have they been bought into the "family" from other styles. There are a few "offshots" of GKR in the UK now and they practice a "Shotokan/Goju Karate" but the good ones that I've seen are originally from a different style and looked at the money side of the business rather than the art!!! You Tube is full of examples where you can compare a GKR stylist against another person from Shotokan or Goju Ryu performing the same kata and being completely outclassed. the best is a female GKR 2nd Dan performing Bassai Dai and being outclassed by a brown belt from Shotokan. Kancho Sullivan can be seen being outclassed by a lower blackbelt in sparring although its "Non Contact" OMG how would Non Contact help someone defend themselves in the street.

Orgo, my friend Knockdown Karate is quite small on here, I think there's about 5 of us. If you want a wider audience, Kyokushin For Life will be a starting point OSU!!!!