Elky

Awesome, i go the Loughborough Uni The Wado ryu club is a university club, is that the one you're referring to? Is the main difference between Kyokushin and Shotokan and Wado ryu? is it just the sparring being full contact? I think i am going to watch the club train this Thursday and get some more information from the instructor. James Kyokushin form's more like a sloppy version of goju ryu with some imported TKD kicks, rather than Wado or shoto (which are fairly similar-ish).

Fighter in the Wind is the peak of karate film-making - anything else falls way behind!

Relax your shoulders, don't tense your arm until you have to, launch the punch with a good hip movement.

I definitely disagree with this. The Gracie's have been fairly popular in the martial arts community for many many years. Their family, methodology, and their fighting records have been around for a very long time. Depends what circles you move in. I've still got no idea who's who in Ultimate Fighting or Vale Tudo because I don't watch/follow it.

I'm told that tangsudo is just Koreanized shotokan, it's more shotokanny than taekwondo but not as shotokanny as shotokan I believe they practice a kata called balsae which is the Korean version of bassai dai.

You should be less concerned about what Bruce Lee could do. Bruce Lee was an exceptional character - we ordinary folk are very unlikely to reach his standard - sad but true. BTW - you've been training in karate for 8 years and you use the low stance in fighting? DAMN, your teacher must be on another planet dude. On the plus side, if you take up a new MA, your karate training should provide a good base for you - most people who move on from karate to a new art find that it's provided them with an advantage.

I'm a beginner at the japanese language so you might not want to take my word as gospel. But I think those definitions are right.

Renshi is "master of himself" and is generally a high level teacher or one who has mastered an activity. Sensei is "forerunner" and means one who is more educated than oneself in scholarly matters - usually used for someone teaching you a skill, although all people educated to higher level than yourself in arts or sciences is "sensei" to you. Sempai is "senior" and is one who is (usually) older and holds more experience than oneself in an organisation or activity (to them you are "kohai" or "junior")

Cigarettes are probably harder to get off, so well done Kez! Well done mate. You're a star. Keep up the good work!

It's not physiologically addictive but that doen't mean it isn't habit-forming to some degree. Habit is a difficult thing to break, especially if you're in the same surroundings and with the same company that you always smoked with before. Yes, martial arts are a good way to give up - they'll fill some spare time in the evenings, take your mind of the ganja, get you away from the people who smoke it and give you a change of scenery. You'll also have more incentive not to smoke anything to improve your athletic performance.

He just wants to play around with some kata - I say go for it - experiment! I've always quite fancied learning some of the goju kata like tensho, sanchin or suparinpei just because there's nothing really similar in shotokan. Besides what can go wrong, he's just taking some kata that he doesn't really understand and changing bits so they suit his style - it's what Gen Choi did to create Taekwondo and that worked out Ok for him!

Don't spar like you're in a tournament - spar like you mean it (but show control)!

Try and relax. The reason most people hit too hard in light exercises is because they're nervous. You've stated that kids don't really hurt you when they hit you, so treat it like the game it is and don't worry about winning - just dance, tag and enjoy.

Well done to the lad.

Hi Dan, most important bit of advice is don't worry about it - no-one can do side kicks and round kicks to start with for the simple reason that they're difficult! A lot of brown/black belts can't do 'em particularly well either. So just keep trying and don't expect miraculous improvement.

I agree. A school i used to attend had a policy that if you were ever involved in a situation, self defence or otherwise, you would be suspended from training for 1 month minimum. Even if you were protecting yourself. What a joke. A few people have suggested to talk to the instructor and see if some things can be added to training. That to me seems like people are trying to make karate fit every situation and be good for every aspect of your life. Sure, its great for dicipline, making friends, learning an art etc. But if you havnt been learning effective self defence up to this point, dont expect much to change in the near future. I was talking about his academic school, not his karate club

He lives in Britain

I think you might be underestimating how stupid schools are when it comes to bullying. Their rules are likely to say that his only permissable course of action is to allow himself to be beaten up and then lodge a complaint with his teacher who may decide to chat with the offenders about how it's important to have respect for your fellow pupils. Most schools (as far as I know) have "no violence" rules which do not distinguish between the instigator and the defender.

'It always makes me suspicious when people mangle languages. "Kwon Shu" sounds like korean or maybe cantonese? "karate" is Japanese. Why not pick a language and stick to it? Either Kenpo Karate or Chuan Fa Kong Soo Dao or Kwon Shu Dang Soo Do? Or just "Super American Karate" or something?

Therein lies the problem - if he's essentially a good kid he won't want to fight even if he should because, as a kid, you're told constantly that fighting is wrong. Young people need unambiguous guidelines because they don't understand grey areas and subtleties - they're too young. If you believe that the right thing for him to do is to kick the crap out of bullies when they try to pick on him, tell him exactly that! Say "Ryan, if those guys try to hurt you again, you have every right to hit them - you're just defending yourself and I'll make sure that you don't get in trouble with the teachers". If you believe he should not fight, you need to tell him that too ("Ryan, I know those guys tried to hit you, but don't make yourself as bad as them, just try and get away and tell a teacher") If you do what most parents do and say "OK, you're learning karate but you're never to actually use it. If you get bullied you can defend yourself but you're not allowed to hurt the bullies" then you get get one confused kid who doesn't know what he is or is not allowed to do.

Post it anyway - it'd be good to take a look at what information is there. We might recognise your instructor or recognise something in a picture to help you out.

Doesn't sound like you do Japanese karate. Might be Tang Soo Do - Korean karate - or just some style that your instructor's made himself from various other styles. The names "Hwarang" "Dan Gun" etc are Korean words, not Japanese. But Taikyoku and Heian are Japanese words. Sounds like a mix-and-match style. Does your school have a website you could link to here and we might be able to help you out further by looking at the site.

Only kyokushin derivatives. Most styles permit face punches as long as you're wearing padding or show control

Front hand jab feint followed by rear hand punch with your full bodyweight behind it. The number one karate tactic!

She sounds a bit strange. He sounds a bit strange too. I would wait until the next lesson and beat her in the head relentlessly since she's insisted on limiting your target areas. Or alternately, every time she hits you in sparring, shout "stop punching me in private places!" at the top of your voice. (Edit: in this litigation-friendly age, I would like to point out that I am not seriously advocating beating a girl in the face for revenge)