Kon'nichiwa -Hello

[gunner]

I just joined and have been lurking around the forum reading. Really interesting topics and responses.

Anyhow, I started messing with martial arts as a teenager. I didn't take formal classes until I was 23 and joined a school that taught TKD and Blue Dragon Kung Fu. After a couple of years, I suffered a bad injury and had to quit to rehab.

Well a lifetime went by and I got married and had children. I was always lifting weights and working cardio then the kids went off to college and I was experiencing knee pain. I began stretching the ligaments in my leg and the pain went away. I started thinking I needed to get more limber so I joined the Karate school around the corner.

I went in as a white belt and moved through the lower belts quickly because the katas and basics are very similar to TKD. I just made 1st Kyu after 3 years. My forte is sparring but I'm good at kata and weapons also.

Sorry this is so long.

[Nidan Melbourne]

Welcome to the forum Gunner! No need to apologise for a long post.

What style of Karate are you learning at the moment? I currently do Goju-Ryu.

Is there any particular form of Kumite (Sparring) that you enjoy?

[gunner]

It's basically a Kyokushin style, but as I understand, the term kyokushin is trademarked so for legal reasons the grandmaster can't use the name. He was taught by Hulon Willis and he was taught by Mas Oyama.

We are very traditional and the style requires weapons training. White belts to 4th kyu learn staff, 3rd kyu tonfa, 2nd kyu Sai and 1st kyu Kama. Black belts usually start sword but some choose to learn the Master Staff form.

As far as sparring goes, I prefer continuous sparring but point sparring is also practiced because so many tournaments only have point sparring.

[JR 137]

Welcome again gunner.

It's interesting how a Kyokushin offshoot added the weapons your instructor added. I haven't heard of many Kyokushin schools using weapons until shodan at earliest. My former school which was Kyokushin based started bo exercises at 3rd kyu, and the first bo kata at 2nd kyu.

Kyokushin usually does Kanku at 3rd Dan or so. Do you know if it's Mas Oyama's style of Kanku or the more traditional Shotokan Kanku Dai?

There's absolutely nothing wrong with your instructor changing things up from the way Kyokushin is and was taught at honbu. One of my biggest criticisms of Kyokushin's syllabus is there's too many beginner type kata at the kyu ranks. Last I knew, kata like Saiha (or Saifa) and Tensho were shodan kata in Kyokushin, whereas they're usually 3rd-1st kyu kata pretty much everywhere else, sometimes earlier than that.

Sorry for my rambling.

[gunner]

We learn the 3 basic katas as white belt. We begin the pinans at yellow belt. At 3rd kyu Empi, 2nd Kyu Naihanchi Sho, and 1st Kyu Kanku Dai.

I think we share a lot with Shotokan but I'm not an expert so I can't say for certain. I do know our pinans are almost exactly like the pinans taught by Gechin Funikoshi. In fact, his book "Karate Jutsu" is one of our reference books.

[Wastelander]

Welcome to the forum!

[Zaine]

Welcome to KF. It's great to have you!

[gunner]

Thank you!!

[Bulltahr]

Welcome Gunner. Good to see you posting!

[sensei8]

Welcome to KF, gunner; glad that you're here!!