How well does Karate compliment Kickboxing?

[inAbsentia]

Hey all,

I just realised there is a Karate Dojo opening up very nearby...

Would Karate be useful in conjunction with Kickboxing? If so how+why?

Also how much do the different styles differ from one another? I think the one I'm thinking about is - Makoto Ryu Karate-Do.

Cheers

[tenshinka]

I've never heard of Makoto Ryu...Of course, I have not heard of alot of things...

Anyway, as I have said over and over, it NEVER comes down to which are you choose to study, but rather how YOU choose to study it.

Take what you will

[inAbsentia]

But provided I trained well, would the techniques I learn in Karate be beneficial or detrimental to kickboxing?

[cross]

On the surface, most of the the techniques are so different they appear to contradict each other in terms of application. However if you look at the principles, there is alot of common ground and you should be able to pick up some useful skills from both.

[joesteph]

Would Karate be useful in conjunction with Kickboxing? If so how+why?

Will you be learning joint locks and takedowns at this dojo? These are not, to my knowledge, taught in kickboxing classes. You will be introduced to kata, or "forms," in the new martial art, as well as sparring (contact or non-contact depending on the dojo), in which you will apply your skills to a moving, rather than stationary, target, and that moving target (your sparring partner) will not be limited to linear motion, but circling will enter, too.

There is a caveat here, inAbsentia, that karate involves a commitment to the art. If you mean by "in conjunction" a supplement to kickboxing, I don't see that workng well. If you mean a true commitment to studying the art, which takes time in the dojo and often practice at home, then so long as you have time for both (like taking a "double major" in college), then don't hold yourself back.

If you have the time and the desire for both, go for it.

[tallgeese]

It depends is really the best answer I can give you.

If you are talking about learing or doing more punching and kicking to augment your kickboxing training then your probibly not going to get much out of it. You alreay do tons of reps with that sort of thing from a highly contact oriented worldview so to speak. Combativly, you're probibly not going to get much on that front, espically if you are doing a MT style of kickboxing. If it's a western version, you may be able to take away some extra weapons such as knees and elbows.

Now, if it's an art that deals with some of the shortcomings (not a slam, I think we all hae shortcoming in what we do) in kickboxing, say takedowns, ground work, joint position tactics, then cross training will likely be of great value to you. If you have a desire to study wepons, then it could be a good thing. Depending on what weapons you want to learn and what weapons they teach. So on this front, it could be a very good option.

A bonus could come from it if it is a school that emphsises self defense skills. This is almost as much mindset as physical in nature and some ma schools really shine here. It is a big difference between training for sd and competition. Neither is bad, it's just different. If that's the kind of thing you are looking for, like eye poking, hair pulling, throat grabbing stuff, then you might find the time well spent. Again, depending on the school.

The best bet is to go check the ma school out and watch a few classes to see if your interested. If you are, then I'm usually the first to say cross train if you have the time and coin. This just makes you a more well rounded fighter.

[bushido_man96]

I think that the Karate could help with Kickboxing. What you will have to look at is what your Kickboxing rule set is, and then take what you learn in Karate and adjust and apply accordingly. If you don't kick well, then take the time to hone the kicks you learn through Karate. Then, take them to the ring. Learn to put together the combos of hands and feet. Karate's footwork may also lend itself to the ring. Its all about taking the time to research it and then apply.

[TraditionalDan]

Karate will help with kickboxing. If the karate dojo of your choice doesn't involve a lot of sparring/contact sparring, then kickboxing will also compliment your karate.

[moriniuk]

I would suggest that kickboxing could possibly help with karate sparring. But I would say that karate would be detrimental to your kickboxing. The hand techniques are different and I wouldn't want to try to land karate type punches in a kickboxing bout.

The kicks are basically the same but karate generally uses a more static fighting stance.

This is very general as it all depends on the quality of training. A lot of kickboxing classes seem to concentrate on fitness from what I've seen. One that I trained at didn't teach any defence techniques! It was all padwork.

[joesteph]

A lot of kickboxing classes seem to concentrate on fitness from what I've seen. One that I trained at didn't teach any defence techniques! It was all padwork.

I know what you're saying, Moriniuk, about fitness and padwork, but not self-defense techniques. There are quite a number of cardio-kickboxing classes in my area, and my karate is non-contact, so I was looking for a place to blast away at heavy bags and similar full-impact targets. There is a place I can drive to, but the sessions are "boot camp" in style with its exercises before hitting the targets, which is not what I want, and yet there are testimonials to all the weight that both men and women lose while working out there. The sessions are an hour long, which I discovered to be too much for me in terms of cardio, just as a cardio-kickboxing class was the same amount of time, but a half-hour would have been plenty.

I would love to find a place that concentrates less on the exercises and more on the blast away at full impact, both in kicks and punches, and once a week would be fine for me as I already take karate.

Incidentally, during karate class tonight, we not only did work we needed to practice for our upcoming test, we also did self-defense blocks and punches, was well as takedowns. Perhaps tomorrow we'll be doing joint locks again. This is where karate can supplement kickboxing--doing what you would not be doing in a kickboxing class.