Objective advice

[Fenris-wolf]

Hey there.

My little brother (as in, 6) wants to start karate and as a. I'm the only one in the family who's done any martial arts and b. I want to do some "bonding activities" with him, I'm going to find him a dojo and take him if I can.

The problem is, there are SO many disciplines of karate, and (no offence) so many bad dojos. I am not sending my little brother anywhere where a 9-year-old has "earned" 1st dan.

Now, my mother's relationship with her partner isn't fantastic and you definitely notice how it affects him. ie: He is very defensive and often over-aggressive; I'm actually a little afraid of him turning into a bully so discipline is the name of the game for me.

Now, I live in Wellington NZ, so no one here's going to know which specific dojos are good, but I would imagine I could get a [semi] objective overview on different styles.

What would be good in terms of actually learning realistic fighting techniques as well as all the pretty stuff like kata? Which styles are known for consistancy (as in, Judo is pretty much the same everywhere, is there anything like this in Karate)? What styles put a strong emphasis on respect and discipline?

Any advice you could give me would be great. Thanks all!

[kreza]

Hey,

The only style I've ever stuck to is shotokan karate, despite trying judo, wing chun + tkd. At our club respect of others is paramount, and the instructors always make it clear to the younger kids that what is taught in the dojo remains within the dojo.

That said, all clubs WILL vary slightly, and I suspect that no discpline is entirely consistent. I suggest you shop around a bit - have a look at which MA clubs are most convenient to get to, and turn up for a lesson or two at the ones that looks the best. A good sensei will be happy to explain to you what the focus of training is at their club.

I have found shotokan to have very strict discipline so far, and would recommend it to anyone regardless of age. We have no nine year old blackbelts at our dojo!

So that's my (rambling and vague) advice. Just one small thing though, don't be so quick to discount kata as unrealistic and pretty! Plenty of bunkai buried in there (both good and bad) should you wish to look.

Good luck on your search.

Kreza

[Fenris-wolf]

Haha! I should have known I'd get that reaction to comment about kata - I actually happen to respect kata very much (and are fairly opinionated about the fact that a lot of people seem to lose track of the fact that "originally" it was only one aspect of a very seriously used martial art and no less important then anything else), and my introduction to MA was in fact in Seido Karate and I enjoyed kata very much. Each to their own, though.

Anyway, thanks - you're right, I probably should shop around, just not quite sure how to ask "So... Can you buy belts at your dojo?"

Will have a look at Shotokan - the only styles I really know anything about are Seido and Kyokoshin. Goju Ryu looks promising, but it's hard to tell from a website.

[kreza]

not quite sure how to ask "So... Can you buy belts at your dojo?"

^^^

[powerof0ne]

Shotokan, Shito Ryu, Goju Ryu, Wado Ryu, Shorin Ryu, Ryuei Ryu, Kyokushinkai, Ashihara, Enshin, Seido Juku, Seidokaikan, Shukokai(shito ryu to some ), Judo, etc. would all be arts worth checking into for your brother. Actually, the more I think about Ryuei Ryu might not be good for your brother's age.

Anyhoo, some people don't know of this but there is full contact goju ryu competition that is similar to daido juku competition. So if your thought is your brother sticking to it and possibly getting into more full contact the goju ryu dojo he might train at might afford him that option. In fact, if I remember right I think their is a big goju ryu organization in NZ that was at first a Kyokushin dojo but switched "back" to goju ryu(Oyama first taught his style as goju ryu).

For Kata(I'm obviously biased), I'd reccomend Shito Ryu seeing as we have a huge selection of kata to choose from in shito ryu. I wish you luck finding out a good dojo for your brother but you're a muay thai practitioner so you should be able to tell what's effective and not.

[Charlie]

The New Zealand Goju-ryu organization (still headed by legendary Kyokushin fighter John Jarvis?) appears to be a very good organization. The website for the Wellington dojo is at: http://www.karate.org.nz/dojos/wellington. I don't know if they have children's classes but I don't know why they wouldn't. If that link doesn't go directly to the page, you can click on the "dojo directory" on the left and find Wellington listed in there.

[Baltic]

Kyokushin, Daido Juku (I don't know if you have any dojos there), Ashihara, Enshin, Shidokan and etc. These would be the best choice for your brother - hardcore enough and still has more or less traditional training. So your brother would learn to fight in full contact and ranks wouldn't be achieved so easy.

[Charlie]

There are Ashihara (NIKO) and Enshin dojo in Auckland, but not Wellington. There is a Kyokushin dojo: http://www.kyokushin.org.nz/. If you do end up investigating the Goju-ryu school, please let us know how it is. I'm interested in John Jarvis because of his history with the early Kyokushin masters.

[Fenris-wolf]

Wow, that's an awesome response! Thanks.

Yeah, the Kyokoshin club is near where I train - we actually spar with them sometimes, but I find the lack of punching to the head frustrating. But a. he's SIX, and b. I'm kinda doomed in that area with karate. *shrug*

Leaning towards Goju-ryu at the moment, will definitely let you know what I think - will do some proper investigation after the weekend.

[Mike Flanagan]

TBH I think many karate dojo are not that good at teaching realistic combat skills, but the Kyokushinkai and Goju already mentioned sound better bets than many other systems.

But hey, the kid's only 6 years old. The discipline and technique of just about any karate style will put him in good stead for learning something more practical when he's a bit older. Right now I'd be more concerned with ensuring its a good safe club with a capable and responsible instructor - and you sound like you're qualified to judge that for yourself. So just go and try some dojos out yourself beforehand and see which one has the right feel to you.

Happy hunting.

Mike