AllI have to says is OUCH!

[NightOwl]

I noticed a lot of punches to the head. Why has that fallen out of fashion? It seems to have worked for those guys just as well as their kicks, and I think that it is a sham that the majority of Karate dojos don't allow it in sparring anymore. This is the real deal, and if you are looking to tie in Shotokan with the UFC, you're gonna have to train like these people did.

[daizyblackbelt]

I noticed a lot of punches to the head. Why has that fallen out of fashion? It seems to have worked for those guys just as well as their kicks, and I think that it is a sham that the majority of Karate dojos don't allow it in sparring anymore.

i've never known a dojo to ban punches to the head. My experience isn't all that diverse, but everywhere i've been the head has always been a target. We don't allow younger and less experienced students to attack the head in a friendly sparring match, but i know a lot of headhunters who pretty much only go for the face.

And i agree with bushido man, it seems to be that they should have their hands up more.

[obiwansbane]

I noticed a lot of punches to the head. Why has that fallen out of fashion? It seems to have worked for those guys just as well as their kicks, and I think that it is a sham that the majority of Karate dojos don't allow it in sparring anymore.

i've never known a dojo to ban punches to the head. My experience isn't all that diverse, but everywhere i've been the head has always been a target. We don't allow younger and less experienced students to attack the head in a friendly sparring match, but i know a lot of headhunters who pretty much only go for the face.

And i agree with bushido man, it seems to be that they should have their hands up more.

throwing punches to the head has not been banned... but making contact with those punches has... by MANY dojos... because nowadays u can sue for basically anything, and no instructor is willing to lose that much money over a simple strike... and every open style tournament ive been to has always had a minimal head contact rule, where if the head snaps even slightly on contact, u get an excessive warning. I think that this world is starting to raise a bunch of whiney babies... there should some limits on who can and cant take the martial arts... those who arent going into it seriously and to properly learn to defend themselves... and arent willing to go home with bruises in the name of bettering their technique, should not be allowed to train until they realize what it truly means to need to defend ones self...

this has also givin karate a TERRIBLE name over the years... when i tell people i have my blackbelt in karate, they arent impressed... why? because karate as a whole is seen as one giant mcdojo by the outside world... and those few (ok thousands but it seems like a few) who truly have learned what karate is and what it means to defend themselves using karate, are outnumbered 10 fold by those who claim to have a black belt, but would be out of a fight after the first punch.

mods i read this over it should be fine but i tend to get carried away... if i broke a rule please let me know and give me an opportunity to edit my post

[baronbvp]

One of the last times I sparred in shorin ryu, I threw some great punches to my opponent's head. It was light contact, but the sensei stopped the match. He and the student (who was way more advanced than me) asked why I was throwing punches to the head when that was against the rules. Nobody has ever mentioned it to me before even though I had sparred quite a bit. I was totally unaware of that rule and asked what could possibly be the justification. It was as you said. I sparred one more time with no head strikes, and it was just too tame.

That's why I left karate for Muay Thai, which I like better. If you can't train to throw and defend against punches to the head, you aren't training to fight.

[NightOwl]

I noticed a lot of punches to the head. Why has that fallen out of fashion? It seems to have worked for those guys just as well as their kicks, and I think that it is a sham that the majority of Karate dojos don't allow it in sparring anymore.

i've never known a dojo to ban punches to the head. My experience isn't all that diverse, but everywhere i've been the head has always been a target. We don't allow younger and less experienced students to attack the head in a friendly sparring match, but i know a lot of headhunters who pretty much only go for the face.

And i agree with bushido man, it seems to be that they should have their hands up more.

throwing punches to the head has not been banned... but making contact with those punches has... by MANY dojos... because nowadays u can sue for basically anything, and no instructor is willing to lose that much money over a simple strike... and every open style tournament ive been to has always had a minimal head contact rule, where if the head snaps even slightly on contact, u get an excessive warning. I think that this world is starting to raise a bunch of whiney babies... there should some limits on who can and cant take the martial arts... those who arent going into it seriously and to properly learn to defend themselves... and arent willing to go home with bruises in the name of bettering their technique, should not be allowed to train until they realize what it truly means to need to defend ones self...

this has also givin karate a TERRIBLE name over the years... when i tell people i have my blackbelt in karate, they arent impressed... why? because karate as a whole is seen as one giant mcdojo by the outside world... and those few (ok thousands but it seems like a few) who truly have learned what karate is and what it means to defend themselves using karate, are outnumbered 10 fold by those who claim to have a black belt, but would be out of a fight after the first punch.

mods i read this over it should be fine but i tend to get carried away... if i broke a rule please let me know and give me an opportunity to edit my post

Right. It's really is a shame and it has watered down these fine arts from what they once were. Any untrained fighter will throw punches, and you gotta know how to deal with them. Plus, you are denying yourself a great tool: your hands.

[obiwansbane]

the big issue nowadays is taking hits... you can have flawless technique... if you cant take hits, your body goes into shock, your techniques become useless... the more you sweat the less you bleed... i read that somewhere and i think its an awsome saying... push yourself to the limit, make your body be comfortable where it thinks its time to give out... whiny students really used to bother me as a high belt, cause i could tell them to stop but not much else... im scared to really open my own school one day, because i know that i will have obsolutely 0 tolerance for whining or complaining about pain... because not only is my student injured, my reputation is injured along with it... how can i train kids, and tell them that these skills will help them defend themselves... when they arent learning anything practical?

knowing karate gives some kids a big head, "ooooh i know karate i can take you"... no u cant.. any good street fighter whos never trained a day in his life, but has grown up taking hits, will completely own the blackbelt whos never taken a proper hit... flukes happen.. the punch will land eventually, and when it does, the fights over...

if i ever picketed over something, it would be martial arts school that dont raise their students in a way that would actually allow them to fight back in some way and have a chance during an actual street fight

[daizyblackbelt]

I personally loathe getting hit in the head (who doesn't?), but it happens. No matter how good you are. It should be expected that you're going to get hit, and if you do, you deal with it. Get up, roll with it, take it, stumble backwards with your hands in a covering guard; whatever is appropriate for how you got hit.

I've had my nose rearranged by a punch with those WKF approved inch and a half padded sparring gloves. That was a hard punch.

What bothers me is when the rules of the tournament say light-contact and you see people getting drilled and none of the judges do anything about it. That's the only time that I "whine". but that's always been a problem with judged sports, whether they be ice-skating or martial arts.

I personally pride myself on my control. I can throw a full speed punch to the face while attacking and my opponent's nose will mostly feel wind. but recently, I've noticed myself going for slightly heavier contact. I've become very disenchanted with point sparring. It's given me many things (speed, agility, patience, etc) but i'm looking for something else.

[baronbvp]

A huge problem is that everyone trains to stop their blows to avoid the hard hit. Then, when the chips are down in a real fight, all of a sudden you aren't punching with power. That's why I like to picture punching the brain and internal organs when I strike. Aim for that point several inches inside the body.

[bushido_man96]

A huge problem is that everyone trains to stop their blows to avoid the hard hit. Then, when the chips are down in a real fight, all of a sudden you aren't punching with power. That's why I like to picture punching the brain and internal organs when I strike. Aim for that point several inches inside the body.

Good points here, Baron. That is a problem with 'letting up' in sparring. Nice analogies, too!

[baronbvp]

Vielen Dank, mein Freund! (See? Those German lessons are paying off.)