wagnerk

These were/are the prices that I pay/paid Currently: Tang Soo Do: £20 per month for all classes (the first 6 months it was £10pm) as the association is a non-profit one. The price also includes all gradings, membership, insurance, a tee-shirt, etc. In the past (all within the last 15 years): Ex-JKA Shotokan: £5 per lesson (1 1/2 hour lesson) JKA Shotokan: £3.50 per lesson (1 hour lesson) Shotokan (based on skkif): £3.50 per lesson (1 hour lesson, but if you're a higher grade you can participate in the lower classes for free as you'd also be helping out). Shotokan (independent club): £3.50 per lesson (1 1/2 hours lesson). Judo: £3.50 per lesson (1 hour lesson) GKR karate: £6 per lesson (1 1/2 - 2 hours lesson) Ninpo: £3.50 per lesson (1 hours lesson) JKD: £5 per lesson (1 1/2 hour lesson) Kick boxing (American): £5 per lesson (1 hour lesson) Kick Boxing (English): £5 per lesson (1 hour lesson) Kung Fu (Lee Family): £3.50 per lesson (I hour lesson) Kung Fu (Lau Gar): £3.50 (I hour lesson) Tai Chi: £30 for a block of X amount of weeks - forget how many though. Ni-Sen (Ishinryu) karate: £3.50 per lesson (1 hour lesson) Though are the ones that I can remember. Membership, gradings, etc were extra. What I've learnt over the years with the martial arts is that you don't always get what you pay for (alot of people think that the higher the price, the better the art or teaching - not true!). While I don't mind the instructor/sensei earning, I do expect good quality teaching and practice

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.