Newbie looking to get back into MA

[Bartrum]

First off, as I am new and this is my first post I would like to say hello to everyone.

I'm looking to get back into martial arts after a lay off and was wondering if anyone knows anything about this association?

http://www.cmaauk.com/

The club I am looking into are affiliated with them so I am just trying to make sure they are a credible organisation and club..

http://bristolmartialartsacademy.com/

Any help or advise will be appreciated,

Many thanks in advance

B

[DWx]

Welcome Bartrum

Sure looks like a nice facility from the photos on their site. Not so sure about the actual Karate watching one of the videos but you can't really tell from these things. Best thing to do is just to go along to a class and try it out, see if you like it.

That association name and logo seems familiar to me but I can't remember where I've seen it before..

[StrangeBacon]

I dont personally like the website, it reminds me too much of those bodybuilding scam sites from the layout, however the facility looks very swanky

Like DWx says check it out and see if you like it, the logo reminds me of the Kobra-Kai from The Karate Kid so maybe thats where you remember it from

If they're worth their salt they'll offer a free taster session, check them out and see what you think

And welcome to KF!

[Bartrum]

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

I will be checking them out before I make a decision, I just wanted some 2nd opinions as my Karate knowledge is limited coming from a TKD background.

The other club I am looking at is this one...

http://www.japanartscentre.co.uk/

I'm not so sure about Wado though. If I was going to go for one of the more traditional styles I think I would prefer study one of the Okinawan styles like Goju or Shito. That said, I don't have the choices available so beggars can't be choosers and as I said before my Karate knowledge is limited so Wado could be perfect for me. Best to go and see for myself.

Thanks for the help. Advice is always useful.

[StrangeBacon]

I'm not so sure about Wado though.

We recently had a guy join that used to do Wado-Ryu, now i dont have personal experience with it but he was very profficient with his wrist locks and joint manipulation style takedowns, it actually has alot in common with Jujutsu in that theres alot of balance, leverage and momentum work as opposed to the more traditional karate styles that focus on developing power, strength and speed.

It comes down to what you think will suit your preferences most and what you want to get out of MAs.

If anyone has anything to add to that or feels i've missed the point somewhat with the styles, feel free to correct me, just fishing off the top of my head here

Hope this was helpful

[Bartrum]

Thanks for the info on Wado, I will check the classes out.

I've found a couple of other clubs in my area teaching 2 more styles. The first is Shukokai Shito-ryu and the second is Shotokai.

Having tried to do some research on these styles I can see why the best course of action is to just try out a class. The politics of Karate is crazy! If anyone has any info on either of these styles feel free to enlighten me.

I'm now thinking that I should just pick the club that I like the best rather than try to choose a style I like.

[StrangeBacon]

I'm now thinking that I should just pick the club that I like the best rather than try to choose a style I like.

I've said it before somewhere but most styles of karate have their small nuances such as more punches, more kicks, different stances ect, but at the end of the day a kick is a kick and a punch is a punch, some are more focused on modern day combat techniques and some are more traditional.

Shito-ryu is an interesting one, its got elements of Shotokan such as the long stances and bits of Goju-ryu, i beilive you spar alot too.

Best thing, as you said is to try some out and see what you like the look of, most websites will say their style is the best and will give you 10000000x more self confidence and insane powers ect which is logical because that sort of stuff attracts people to the style, they've got to make money somehow afterall.

More important would be finding a club you like with friendly people you get on well with, you're far more likely to stick it out and progress well.

Good luck Bartrum

[Bartrum]

Many thanks Bacon, you've been a great help. I'm glad I found this site now.

I have one more question before I start making my way around the different clubs and I'm going to give a bit more background info. I used to study TKD (ITF) and had a great instructor who focused more on the applications than sparring (which I prefer) and I loved going to classes which I did for quite some time. Unfortunatly this instructor had to leave the club and was replaced by an equally good instructor but this one focused more on sparring and I found that my enjoyment in the art took a dip and I evetually left.

I am looking into Karate now because I have a minor knee problem which I don't want to put it throught the dynamic kicks of TKD or competiton sparring. This is why I trying to research styles of Karate, I am wanting a style that focuses on Kata and applications more than sparring and not a sport style.

So to the question, is there such a style or am I wasting my time. Is it just a case as with my TKD experiance that its not the style but the intructor/club that determines the sylibus.

Many thanks again for all the advice

[StrangeBacon]

The instructor is going to influence the syllabus to a certain extent, he'll have been taught a certain way and he'll teach others the way he's been taught (most of the time) it might not nessessarily be the best way but its the way he knows, so yes things change with instructors.

Regarding a style with more kata than sparring, again that'll come down to the instructor most of the time, i believe theres more sparring in general nowadays due to competitions and the rise of MMA.

Im not 100% sure which styles focus on kata and the arts side more, i know mine does and we dont compete but we arent a mainstream style like TKD and its iterations.

Like i said before go round the schools, do some research on them and speak to the instructors about how they run their dojo, you might find you like Bunkai, which, if you dont know is using a kata against real opponants so you can break it down and see how each section is intended to work, kata analysis i suppose you could call it.

I personally like that because it shows you the applications of what you're learning but puts a small element of the contact in there too so you're learning about strike distance and placement of techniques too, im not a massive fan of sparring either.

Hope this helps

[Bartrum]

SB, it helps alot, many thanks again. Sound like your style is exactly what I am looking for. I like the sound of Bunkai, it has been added to my list of questions for instructors.

On a slightly different topic, has anyone come across or does anyone have any knowledge of Karate 'Jutsu'? I'm interested to know what the major differences are compared to Karate 'do'.

I assume its along the same lines as Judo/Jujitsu, Kendo/Kenjitsu, Aikido/Aiki-Jujitsu and so on but what are the main differeces when it comes to Karate.

Sorry if this is not the correct place for this post.

B