Switching from shotokan to ShorinRyu ?

[goedikey]

Hello,

 

I have been doing shotokan for a little more than a year and am currently green belt. I understand the style and philosophy very well. I have put quite a bit of energy in my practice.

 

Now i came across this shorin ryu school and went to take up a class to try out. Its very interesting and much more relaxed than Shotokan.

 

I am having problems in my regular shotokan classes because the fighting is unprotected and under very high pressure. it is required to control the moves but the escalatino is really intense... I also feel there is a gap between my Shotokan teachings and the real fighting situations too.

 

This is acceptable for more advanced grades who are able to take the heat but for a beginner like me, not too great.

 

I feel that Shorin Ryu is the roots of modern Karate and has a lot to offer.

 

The sparring is padded so maybe a good way for me to get intiated to learning my distances and such before getting bashed at my shotokan class;-))

 

I have discussed this issue with my Shotokan sensei and there nothing much that he is willing to do that could change the curriculum. Although i do agree that the sheer pressure and stress during the fights would probably resemble a real fight.

 

So is it worth it switching for a little while ? A few months in order to get more at ease with fighting ?

 

I really really like my Shotokan classes but the free Kumite is really nervewecking unless I have more solid grounds for fightgin.

 

Thanks

[Shorin Ryuu]

I am incredibly biased and do not like Shotokan as a style. Therefore I would advise a switch to Shorin Ryu. However, seeing as you are not me, I would recommend you try out the Shorin Ryu (what style, teacher by the way?) for a little bit and see how it goes. If it doesn't "click" for you, then go back to shotokan, if it does, then go to Shorin Ryu.

 

You can email me on via my profile to see my gripes with Shotokan, but I don't want to do it in the forum (sometimes I am too blunt and it may offend people).

 

Edit: I wouldn't have recommended the switch if the only thing you were concerned about were the sparring methods, by the way (maybe I would have, I don't know ).

 

If anyone else wanted to email me too, that is fine, but I will be very candid.

[cathal]

I'm not familliar with shotokan fighting being unprotected. Is the dojo a member of JKA? If it is, its against regulations for beginners to go unprotected.

 

What do you mean by under very high pressure?

[Kaos666]

i am a proud shotokan karateka... seen other styles, liked them enough to try, but loved shotokan... loved it for the unique classic feel it gave me

 

as for you sparing unprotected, weell that is trule not legal under JKA rules. In our school we need at least sparring gloves... but somethimes if someone forgets the gloves, it is made clear that that is not proper behaviour and that sparring without protection is on their own risk. No gloves, fine you can still spar, but if ur hurt noone is responsible but you.

 

And what do you mean by pressure and "escalatino is really intense"...

 

i understand control, and am grateful for it because it teaches you to control your body. Also, as for the real fighting situations... well, no MA will teach you completely how to handle those... you have to take what you learned and adapt it

[G95champ]

Well Im the other way.

 

Shotokan teaches you to do it picture perfect then when you stand up and go for real you will be so fast and powerful its unreal.

 

Shotokan came from Shorin Ruy so the change should not be hard.

 

Just dont look for the simple way out. Hard training is good. The harder you train the better you will be. Bottom line style dont matter.

[P.A.L]

Welcome to Shorin ryu, and say goodbye to Kokutsu-dachi and Kiba-dachi.

[goedikey]

Thanks all for your replies !

 

Just to set the record straight: no one gets badly hurt in our classes !

 

The Sensei asks us to give decisiveness in our shots. There are a lot of people in the class (30-50) plus spectators and that makes fro a lot of pressure...everyone becomes silent and watches as each fight goes on.

 

And no, its not under the JKA. It s a traditionnal school and its being ran by a very competent and experienced sensei. Probably the bestt

 

I like the Shorin Ryu because it has somewhat of an intermediate step between real life sparring and kihon and is based on the roots of Karate.

 

Anywhoo, I still think that my Shotokan is truly great for someone who is able to stand confidently, unprotected in front of an 6 foot tall mofo and start a fight but I am not that confident yet.

 

Ill give Shorin Ryu a try for a month, just to see...unless someone has other suggestions.

[Ti]

Our shotokan dojo recently began some shorin ryu.

 

It's a bit different.

 

The stances aren't as PLANTED as shotokan and not as wide.

 

It offers more free movement to the "stiff" style of shotokan

 

To be honest alot of the stuff taught to me in shotokan , I throw out the window during sparring just cause some movements are too stiff to effectively spar.

 

Doesn't mean I throw out all my shotokan training out the window, but some things they teach you in shotokan really have no use in fighting.

 

I noticed the shorin stuff is more applicable to fighting cause it isn't as stiff.

 

just try it.

[aefibird]

...just as an aside... if your Shotokan training movements are too stiff for you to spar with comfortably then you're possibly not training correctly in them.

 

I've never had a problem with applying my Shotokan training to fighting, whether that be point sparring, free fighting or 'street' self defence work.

 

A stance isn't something a karateka should get stuck in - it's just a position of the body. Stances are moveable not static (yes, even in Shotokan! ).

[pittbullJudoka]

I began my ma training in Shorin-Ryu and I loved it the contact and intensety were increased slowy were i was.By the time i ended my training my sensei would let us get pretty vicous because he wanted us to learn to fight in a real life situation and not point sparring but we were well padded.I can not offer an honest opinion on Shotakon because I'm not firmilar with it's practices