Freestyle Karate< some feedback needed.

[rhilllakefield]

For the guys involved in Freestyle Karate, what is it like?

There arent many options in town for Karate, and I tried a Freestyle club last night.

It wasnt bad at all, the Sensei was a nice guy and seemed knowledgeable. It just seemed a bit too light and friendly compared to what I'm used to.

For years I've trained in traditional Karate, Kyokushin, and now Ishinryu, and its hard to take things seriously with such a light heartedness in the club.

Does the intensity vary from club to club?

Thanks.

[Dobbersky]

For the guys involved in Freestyle Karate, what is it like?

There arent many options in town for Karate, and I tried a Freestyle club last night.

It wasnt bad at all, the Sensei was a nice guy and seemed knowledgeable. It just seemed a bit too light and friendly compared to what I'm used to.

For years I've trained in traditional Karate, Kyokushin, and now Ishinryu, and its hard to take things seriously with such a light heartedness in the club.

Does the intensity vary from club to club?

Thanks.

Wish you lived near me, I practice Knockdown Karate!

FreeStyle is OK for most as its ethos is it doesn't draw loyalty to any of the styles although some clubs the Instructor trained themselves in a Traditional style upto varying levels.

Freestylers tend to not have to worry about Kata etc and tend to look at WKA & WUKO rules for their sparring etc. If the Instructor's good they will draw what you need and assist you with it!

[rhilllakefield]

Thanks, yes I totally hear what you're saying. I started in Kyokushin years ago until my instructor moved away, and I still miss it!

I'm still debating on driving 1.5 hours to train at the nearest club.

I'll see how it goes, but non-traditional Karate isnt as appealing as Id hoped, for me anyway. Just as a personal prefference.

[wagnerk]

I did freestyle karate for a couple of years, it was ok. But not what I was looking for, but did stick with it for a couple of years.

...Does the intensity vary from club to club?...

It does vary club to club and instructor to instructor. Some (like some kickboxing clubs) offer relaxed and informal training, others are more structured (like traditional training).

You can get some freestyle karate clubs/association that can/will only do semi-contact, light continuous and some will be knock-down and/or full contact.