wagnerk

Hi and welcome to the community here

Sorry, can't speak of the quality and wear of the newer Tokaido Gi's (especially the WKF approved ones). Had one in the past, and they were ok. That's were I bought my Topaz one for around £40, the higher versions (while cheaper than store prices) were still a bit more

Couldn't afford that one, but settled for the Arawaza Topaz Gi (see this previous thread). And yes, it is WKF approved

My current one is the Arawaza Topaz Gi, I prefer that to the regular Gi's more because it soaks up sweat better during class than the lightweight Gi's. I did use to have the Adidas Vented Gi (using "adidas's Climacool technology") but while it did improve air circulation within the Gi compared to other light weight Gi (as the one I had was the lightweight version), the Gi still ended up being drenched. Maybe the middle weight or the heavy weigh one would have been better??? But at the end of the day it does depend on how you train and what you're looking for in a Gi (after all what may suit one person may not suit another)

Maybe different is the wrong word I used, it's a different view. Not sure if it's style-specific or due to the instructors differences. While I've trained in independent, JKA, ex-JKA, and SKKIF based clubs, I've only trained in one TSD club so I can't generalise it for the whole of TSD. Not only that but there are different versions of TSD.

I also had/have issues with my knees - cartilage problems, was treated by the GP, Physio and acupunctists. Returned to the MA's (having done several styles of karate, inc Shotokan) and found that the best MA at this moment in time for me is Tang Soo Do, I guess the best description that I can give is a cross between Shotokan and TKD. Personally I ruled out TKD because of the kicks, especially when you go up the grades. As for Koku-Ryu I believe that it is more based on Wado-Ryu, rather than Shotokan karate. Alot of the kata's may be similar (with minor differents), however the applications (bunkai) I believe is different. I'd say have a go at both (at least a couple or few classes in each) and see which one you enjoy the most. Also which one doesn't cause your knee issues.

When I did Shotokan, it was Empi. However now that I'm learning alternative "bunkai" (applications) of the movements in kata's, I'm not sure now...

How is everything going in your new path? Sorry for the delay, it's actually going great. Having done Shotokan and now doing TSD, I can honestly say that those two arts compliment each other, not like two sides of the same coin (eg doing karate, a striking art and Judo a grappling art), but two different views of the same side of the coin for a better understanding. I started off as a white belt in TSD and looking forward to another grading next month. Due to work schedules, I have (currently) stopped my shotokan training, I may go back sometime in the future. However I'm happy with TSD

Glad that you love the art and style That's not bad, you can pay up to £120 for a heavy weight Gi, around the £20 mark for a light weight one. Then the normal annual insurance is around the £20-£30 mark, mouth guard is around £2.50-£5 (for a cheap one), a club tee-shirt around the £10-£15 mark, mitts around the £10-£20 mark, then the rest of the month training. Not a bad price, it sound more than it really is That's a good price, normally it around £3.50 to £7.00 a class in the UK 3rd Dan is very respectful, however him being trained in Japan is irrelevant. I've trained under Shotokan instructors who have trained in Japan, not trained in Japan, who have had Japanese instructors and those who have not had Japanese instructors. They have all had high standards (not saying that they're all like that, but the ones I've come across have). Just keep on training, following the advise of the sensei. You mention your height and weight, but you don't mention your overall heath... You may want to increase your aerobics, eg also do something like body combat/tae-bo or do weights for strength, etc... Also, what association is the club that you affliated with, or is it independant?

Congrats, well done

It could be that he was more irritated with himself. I know that I've gotten really irritated with myself after not performing as well as I know I could (and should) have, especially when I went from my Shodan (while the exam itself was a blur, there are aspects that I remember).

Cool I take it that you're talking about your sensei from when you did Shotokan? Anyway, any particular reason why you moved from Shotokan to Shorin-Ryu? What are the differences and how are you finding moving from one style to another?

Cool, congrats What kyu, grade or level is blue belt?

I'm an 8th Gup in TSD (however I have other Dan and kyu grades/ranks in other arts & styles), only just started in Kyokushin - so from my perspective it's both CV and body conditioning.

Personally I don't know of any legit Shotokan site that you can be graded from (however the world is a big place), if you do find a place like this, the only thing I can advise to do is to ensure that they are affiliated to (or part of) a recognised organisation, federation or association. As for differences in kata, the differences are subtle (eg movements, placements, even timing). Check out, eg Empi: "JKA version" and the " " Or Tekki Shodan, is another example: " " or " "There are other different associations with their variations, however the two that I've mentioned, imo, are the two main ones.

Like I posted here, there are slight differents within the Shotokan karate style. If you want to learn the style, I would strongly recommend learning under an instructor, otherwise you may end up getting conflicting advice from various practitioners, eg movements, placements, etc during kata.

I bought this DVD from Kanazawa Sensei. Excellent DVD. However, imo, there are slight differences between Kanazawa Sensei's "flavour" (eg skkif and the people who studied under him) of Shotokan and Enoda Sensei's "flavour" (eg JKA and the people that studied under him). As for the fighting stance of Shotokan karate, see . Weight bearing 50/50 between back and front.To be honest, I would strongly recommend training under an instructor to get a better feel of the art.

Ouch!!! That's cool, if I'm not mistaken it's based on Kyokushin karate

What, you have to pay £10,000 to do the training programme? Or is that how much you could earn afterwards? What style/art did you transfer to?

It depends on the insurance cover/policy. I've never had to claim in the past, so I'm not sure on the in's and out's if the policy that your club has will cover you if you participate in open competitions (especially if it's against different arts). Cool Same here, apart from the age. That's good, after a good few years out of proper training. I was also prompted for my son (and my lack of fitness). I've only been doing TSD for a few months now, but I enjoy it. It compliments my Shotokan background quite well. I considered Kung Fu (Lau Gar and then Lee Family style), but didn't really get on with it, but found Kyokushinkai. It was similar enough for me to relate and enjoy it, but different enough not to be bored/going over the same ground as in Shotokan. However the physical training is very tiring. Good luck with that. TSD is a great art, personally I wouldn't say that they are limiting themselves as I was always told that it takes a lifetime to study an art (it may be that some of us have compressed lives )

No worries Cool Yes it is (well it was a few years ago... ok a decade ago), personally I was a member of a couple of associations (with/without being a member of their clubs) at the same time. You just have to find the right one for you. However if you're just looking for Martial art insurance, you could just do a search on providers/insurance companies. It depends again on the individual association/club. Cool, what belt/kyu/Dan did you get up to? Are you doing TSD just for your kids or for yourself also?

You've spelt the style as Ishinryu, however there is also Isshinryu or Ishin Ryu. Ishinryu - created by Ticky Donovan (UK), meaning "All of one Heart" Isshin-Ryu - created by Tatsuo Shimabuku (Okinawan), meaning "One heart way" If it's the first one, then I've done (many years ago): Ni-Sen karate which has it's roots in (Ticky Donovan's) Ishinryu karate.

My base art is karate (Shotokan), however due to work, studies, and then injuries, moving... I left and tried other arts, eg Ninpo, Judo, JKD, various style of Kung Fu, etc... However I didn't take to them. I have now started with a local Tang Soo Do club (also Kyokushin) and found that with TSD, it actually complimented my shotokan training quite alot by decoding (as used by tallgeese) kata, as they are very similar across these two arts.

It looks like the style of karate is kyokushin (basing on the emblem on the gi's). However, I can't take the video at face value for the point because: 1. It doesn't give each of the people's history/experience or 2. Rank 3. Rule set they were using The karate guy may literally only have been training for 4 years (eg a new black belt) or not. The karate guy is a first Dan (based on having 1 stripe on the black belt), the Wing Chun guy has no show of rank (he may have been a 1st degree black sash or a 4th, 5th or even a 6th degree black sash). If it is Kyokushin karate (which I believe it is), their rule set is (even in knockdown) is no hits to the head (kicks are allowed) - which I believe is what took the karate guy by surprise. Both guys have their strengths and weaknesses, but it was nice to watch Anyway: "expose yourself to the opposite end of the martial arts world?" A little, I've crossed training in various arts. "Most importantly, are you and/or your students sufficiently equipped for a challenge such as this?" That's a fuzzy question, especially with the words sufficiently equipped . What outcome are you looking for? A draw, a win? The ability to say "No" to a challenge? I've won and lost against people who have studied the same style as me - and the same thing has happened when sparring against people who have studied different styles and/or arts.

I haven't experienced it in Tang Soo Do, as I've only just started it. However I have experienced transfers between different associations of Shotokan karate. Depending on the assoications own rules and by-laws (that you may end up transferring to), they may accept your grade, accept your grade provisionally (this means that at some point they will ask you to re-grade and then according to their system, promote you/demote you or keep you where you are) or they may not accept your grade. Different associations, different trains of thought. You could speak to your instructor, s/he may feel that it may benefit joining a non-polical/non-interference organisation and/or federation, these can be Tang Soo Do specific (for example: World Dang Soo Do Union) or a general martial arts one (for example the WKC or the UK Martial Arts Association). Benefits can include access to policies such as Child Protection, etc... Access to courses such as First Aid, etc... Possibly cheaper insurance for instructor/students, etc... However it can cost and may not be financially viable (eg instructor has found a better insurance deal, already developed his/her's clubs policies, completed the courses that he/she deems necessary, etc). As for competitions, again it depends on the organisation hosting it. Some are closed (only people from certain clubs/associations can enter), some are open (anyone can partake). The main thing is insurance... There could be valid reasons why there is no history of anyone in your club attending competitions, it could be that the "version" of Tang Soo Do that you do isn't sports orientated, but more geared up towards the traditional aspects of defence. Take for example one of the differences between Shotokan and Shotokai. Both are traditional arts, however Shotokan participates in competitions, Shotokai refrains from them because Gichin Funakoshi used to say that there are no contests in Karate. There is no right or wrong, it just boils down to which path they take.