How Long Have You Been Studying Martial Arts?

[GOM]

21 years here. I still train under my father but have also been teaching for around 10 years.

[isshinryuaaron]

I've been doing isshin ryu karate for a little under a year and a half now (green belt). Immediately before that, I did american kenpo karate for about 8 months (got to yellow belt), but then switched to isshin ryu because the class times for kenpo just didn't work for me. A long, long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away), I studied tae kwon do for about two and a half years (got to purple belt).

[greenbelt_girl15]

Cuong Nhu-2 1/2 years

Karate- 1 1/2 weeks

[Sohan]

I've been doing isshin ryu karate for a little under a year and a half now (green belt). Immediately before that, I did american kenpo karate for about 8 months (got to yellow belt), but then switched to isshin ryu because the class times for kenpo just didn't work for me. A long, long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away), I studied tae kwon do for about two and a half years (got to purple belt).

How have you enjoyed Isshin-ryu? We have some new students in our dojo from the Isshin-ryu system. They could not find a suitable dojo in the area and so they decided to switch styles. I'm interested in some of the differences in technique, ie the use of the vertical fist punch.

Respectfully,

Sohan

[IcemanSK]

I've been training for 24 years. Taekwondo, a bit of Hapkido, Kickboxing, boxing & a bit of Kang Chuan Do Karate.

[bushido_man96]

13 years of taekwondo in two different associations. Like them both, too. Still practice my old forms every now and then, just to remember.

[ninjanurse]

My journey began 29 years ago....and what a journey it has been!

[patusai]

Since 1971. There has been a break or two in there,

[Holland]

As a child I did two years of Taekwon do...but I do not count that.

I took Isshinryu from 1988-1995 actively...got sho-dan etc. Then our dojo closed and I worked out on my own and some at a shitoryu school.

In 2001 I started traveling to Tarboro NC which is about 2.5 hours away and have since been promoted to Ni-dan and san-dan.

All in all a bit over 11 years active...16 if you consider the semi-active years.

[isshinryuaaron]

I've been doing isshin ryu karate for a little under a year and a half now (green belt). Immediately before that, I did american kenpo karate for about 8 months (got to yellow belt), but then switched to isshin ryu because the class times for kenpo just didn't work for me. A long, long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away), I studied tae kwon do for about two and a half years (got to purple belt).

How have you enjoyed Isshin-ryu? We have some new students in our dojo from the Isshin-ryu system. They could not find a suitable dojo in the area and so they decided to switch styles. I'm interested in some of the differences in technique, ie the use of the vertical fist punch.

Respectfully,

Sohan

I am perhaps not the best person to answer this question since I have not been doing isshin ryu for very long, but I will do my best to give you my insights. The vertical punch did take some getting used to, but I now do it correctly *most* of the time.

One of the other differences that I am still adjusting to is the quick, snapping kicks. In isshin ryu, they really focus on kicking and then whipping your kick back immediately. In tae kwon do and kenpo (the other two styles I did, albeit very briefly for kenpo), the focus was on putting a lot of power into the kick and kicking "through" the target (in kenpo, even pushing the person back) and not so much about whipping it out and back really fast. As my sensei always says, "In isshin ryu, we want the person to collapse in pain where he or she is standing... not go flying across the room."

We also use a very high chamber for our kicks, although I remember one of the tae kwon do places I studied focusing on that too, so I'm not sure if that is a style difference so much as a school difference.

Perhaps the most difficult thing for me to get used to with isshin ryu (and kenpo before I switched to isshin ryu -- I studied kenpo very briefly and then had to switch due to class times) as compared with tae kwon do is the groin kicks. I think tae kwon do did me a real disservice teaching me to do high, fancy kicks without ever having to worry about protecting my groin. No offense to the tae kwon do folks, but it took me a little while to break the old habit.