Should a Karateka know other Martial Arts?

[Luther unleashed]

In fact as I wrote the above message, I realized that to me I'm so far from being one to say don't learn different styles until... that my style has a base art, and integrated or secondary art throughout the whole system. As an example I teach tang soo do (primary art) and kickboxing (integrated art) to 1st Dan black belt. We then do tang soo do (primary art) and Tae Kwon do (integrated art) to 2nd degree black belt. The integrated art switches at every black belt level, while the base stays consistant.

A student in my place studies 2 martial arts from the beginning and it has never felt like it's getting in the way of something. I personally believe that it, not only ads to their abilities, but also I feel it opens the door to open minded learning.

[Hawkmoon]

Hi Guys,

I've been doing karate now for just over a year and I've just been graded to Purple belt a couple of weeks ago, now that I've got a basic grasp of Karate, I feel like I should be exposing myself to other Martial arts while continuing that.

The reason for this is because when/if I get to Shodan, I'd like to be able to say I have experience with other Martial Arts, speak about those arts, and could help any students from that kind of background a bit better.

I particularly like the Idea of Aikido, I realise Karate is a mainly striking art so I feel like the throws, locks etc would really help just from a self defense point of view.

Does anyone think it's a good idea for a Karateka to learn/know about other arts? I'd be interested to know what other people's experience of this is like.

In short yes!

I found Ju-Jitsu worked well with Kyokushin, as I consider Aikido to be equally complimentary!

Some of the guys in the dojo mix arts as well, one guys dose Kyokushin, Kickboxing and MMA, another does Kyokushin and BJJ, me I'm to old to roll around on the floor its takes an age to get up of after a sweep now'a'days let along going to ground on purpose!

[Kyonovice]

Something that I have been considering since starting my Kyokushin journey, maybe western boxing could be of use. I have noticed some similarities in the punching and am thinking I could investigate this a bit.

Seeing as this guy's kids https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takaloo goes to my kids school, I might ask him for some hints and tips on power generation etc and see if I can use it...

[JR 137]

I've never formally cross-trained. I wrestled throughout elementary school and high school, then assisted in coaching it at the high school during college, and on and off afterward. Coaching wrestling is very hands on; I was on the mat a lot with the guys.

We had a martial arts club in college. We had guys from several different arts take us through a class, so to speak; we'd all take turns running class. Just about all of us had at least a few years' experience in our art. Those of us with a good amount of prior experience would get together and spar. It was pretty heavy contact, depending on who you were sparring. We had a great time, and I don't recall a single problem.

We also had a boxing club in college, run by a pro (low level) boxer. It wasn't long lived enough to get to the sparring level, but we did a lot of movement and bag work - heavy bag, speed bag, the small speed bag looking one that bounces right back at you, and focus mitts. Learned a ton about movement. A few of the people in the club boxed at the teacher's gym.

But my all time favorite cross-training was started by a few guys I used to work with when I bartended at a restaurant. It seemed like the kitchen was crawling with MA guys. We had an American Kempo black belt, two TKD black belts, two karate black belts, and me who was a Kyokushin offshoot black belt. We'd meet up at the Kempo guys house, take all his living room furniture outside (he had hardwood floors), and spar. Most of the time we'd wear boxing gloves and go full contact except elbows and knees to the head. The group grew to about 10 of us on most days beating the hell out of each other. A couple of guys with zero MA experience and thought MA didn't work (my idiot brother being one) would come and spar too. Some friends of ours from our dojos would come by once in a while too. It was right around the release of the movie Fight Club, so it got named Fight Club. No one got injured, and no one ever got out of hand. I leaned the most from that group of guys, other than my sensei. When it wasn't our turn to spar, we'd talk strategy, tell each others' telegraphs, and give each other pointers. There was no hierarchy; it was a bunch of guys saying 'try doing this' or 'how do YOU do that.' No egos, just a bunch of guys in their early 20s having fun and mixing it up. We had a great thing going for a solid year or so. It faded out as guys left the job, moved, stopped training, etc. I really miss that group. I ran into the Kempo guy a few years ago and we briefly reminisced about it. He had a very eye opening comment about it - "Why did we always bring the furniture outside instead of just sparring outside?"

Sorry for the trip down memory lane.

[JR 137]

Something that I have been considering since starting my Kyokushin journey, maybe western boxing could be of use. I have noticed some similarities in the punching and am thinking I could investigate this a bit.

Seeing as this guy's kids https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takaloo goes to my kids school, I might ask him for some hints and tips on power generation etc and see if I can use it...

From my brief experience with boxing (see my previous post), boxing will teach punching and footwork (can't truly punch without proper footwork) better than anything else out there. You've got to alter the stance a little bit for kicking, but that's where the solid base in karate comes into play IMO.

[Kyonovice]

Something that I have been considering since starting my Kyokushin journey, maybe western boxing could be of use. I have noticed some similarities in the punching and am thinking I could investigate this a bit.

Seeing as this guy's kids https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takaloo goes to my kids school, I might ask him for some hints and tips on power generation etc and see if I can use it...

From my brief experience with boxing (see my previous post), boxing will teach punching and footwork (can't truly punch without proper footwork) better than anything else out there. You've got to alter the stance a little bit for kicking, but that's where the solid base in karate comes into play IMO.

In that case, I may well be approaching Mr Takaloo (Takliobeshi) in the playground tomorrow then

[Lugh]

I'd say go for it. In my opinion a grappling art like Judo or Jiu Jitsu would make great supplementary training to your experience in a primarily striking art. As far as dabbling without having a solid base art, grappling would be something different to where you wouldn't have to worry much about bad habits, however dividing your time between two gyms and styles could hinder your progression in your base art if you wanted to wait until you at least reach a significant rank first....

But other than that, I'm all for cross training.

[sensei8]

I'd say go for it. In my opinion a grappling art like Judo or Jiu Jitsu would make great supplementary training to your experience in a primarily striking art. As far as dabbling without having a solid base art, grappling would be something different to where you wouldn't have to worry much about bad habits, however dividing your time between two gyms and styles could hinder your progression in your base art if you wanted to wait until you at least reach a significant rank first....

But other than that, I'm all for cross training.

Solid post!!

[Kanku65]

I'm all for it!

I waited until I was brown belt before I began trying new arts.

Tried bjj and it just wasn't for me. Now as shodan, I recently tried aikido and loved it! I plan on beginning some serious training as soon as I get my ducks in a row. I've currently reached my absolute maximum of what can be fit into a single week, so I'll have to wait until next college semester, but I think about it a lot.

Anyways, yes! In my opinion there are only gains to training in multiple styles! Whether it be 2 striking styles or 2 grappling styles which contrast one another to create harmony, or an assortment of styles such as one grappling and one striking to balance one another harmoniously. Never stop learning.

Of course I believe it important for one to gain a firm foundation in one style before beginning in another, especially when it involves 2 striking or 2 grappling arts.

Purple belt is definitely a solid foundation. Green/blue even.

Without sensei's permission, avoid use of your new style in your old dojo, or old style in your new dojo! Especially in sparring/rolling scenarios where a technique may be completely foreign and unexpected! Metaphorically this could be compared to religious blasphemy or less extremely, walking into a Starbucks, and sitting down with a cup of Tim Hortons coffee in your hand.

[ShotokanGage]

I'm of the mindset that cross-training shouldn't be started until you (not the OP personally) have a strong foundation of your base MA. In karate, it's typically black belt. I fully agree cross-training will make a person a better MAist. But without having a solid understanding of the foundation of the the base art, you might be selling yourself short, undoing what you're learning, etc. 1 year of any MA is just scratching the surface (yes, same can be said of the typical 4-5 years to shodan). You're past the very basics, but you're still a beginner in a lot of ways. You've gone from crawling to walking unassisted, and it's not yet time to start training to sprint with Hussain Bolt.

I respect those who disagree. I'm not 100% sure that what I've written is the best way to go; it's my opinion based in not seeing it enough times to have a definitive yes or no. And everyone's abilities and learning curve differ. However, I don't think other MAs will disappear any time soon.

I agree with this! I have been training Shotokan for coming up to 5 years now - I am of Shodan ranking, and I currently would not consider going to another style or to cross-train. I do not feel as though my foundation in Shotokan is anything to brag about, and I know I have a long way to go before I can start considering myself to have a solid understanding of the art. Thus, I couldn't imagine going to another style and learning moves that may differ in practice from what I already know, to confuse myself and take away from what basics I do know.

I also feel that I have so much more to learn from my instructor; I could quite easily judge him to be one of the best teachers I could ever possibly come across, so to limit my training time with him would be a hinderance to my own journey.

I am still very young, at the start of my MA journey, and I have a long long way to go. I would love to try other arts, Aikido interests me very much, but I want to get as much out of Shotokan as it can offer me, as I feel I am on the right path with it at the moment and I know my instructor won't last forever. Perhaps in the distant future I will try an alternative art, until then I owe it to my sensei to give him my all so that he can guide me to my potential.