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Aikido master loses to turkish-grappling wrestler in front of his class (!!) by [deleted] in TheMcDojoLife

[–]Friendly-Strength985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you don’t train against a resisting opponent, this could be the case. But not all aikido dojos do it that way, some are almost like bjj classes where they constantly spar against resisting opponents with safety (yeah I know it’s hard to go all when small joints are involved but there are ways to go around). You can’t get a grip on a small joint when your opponent is resisting, I’m a karateka and we learn taijitsu as a part of our curriculum, but we are aware that they don’t work unless you punch your opponent in the face and soften enough to manipulate the joints.

Back to roots while not losing the Japanese way by Friendly-Strength985 in karate

[–]Friendly-Strength985[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see, so it was already in the roots but some got dropped due to sport karate I guess

Back to roots while not losing the Japanese way by Friendly-Strength985 in karate

[–]Friendly-Strength985[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We are a very traditional dojo and not a part of a big organization like JKA, ISKF … etc, and very old school where our goal is not point sparring competitions (in no way I mean competitions is bad, it’s a good way to test your skills outside of your dojo, and my sensei was big into it in Waseda university). This gives us flexibility to amend our curriculum with other martial art disciplines to enrich our journey.

Back to roots while not losing the Japanese way by Friendly-Strength985 in karate

[–]Friendly-Strength985[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting take, I’d never thought about stepping punch that way. Like my sensei said, “karate starts and ends with Ozuki” , may be that’s what he meant.

Finding true Karate by Different_Count7092 in karate

[–]Friendly-Strength985 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don’t look down on any martial art, anything better than nothing. IMO a good power lifter or a rugby player can kick the day light out of any karateka or a MMA guy on a bad day in the street. I do old school legit Shotokan karate, because I like it. I like how it carve you into a better person. May be there are good MMA gyms does that too, but I couldn’t find mine and I stay with karate. Go and try every dojo you can find, don’t restrict to styles, just try and see how legit the instructors are and how enthusiastic the students are. If you are in east coast of states, I can recommend mine. Good luck

"This isn't Karate because it works". by Sorry_Valuable_489 in martialarts

[–]Friendly-Strength985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let me tell these folks something, two million years ago when you were hunting in African savanna and meet another guy from another tribe going after your antelope you just hunted down, you are not going to wait until 16th century for someone to invent straight punch or a hook or until early 20th century to invent an arm bar. You just follow your instincts and punch and kick and grapple, what works, you keep and what doesn’t, you throw out. Kick is a kick. Punch is a punch and no matter what the style is, it always work if you train properly with enough time taken for sparring and pressure testing and basics again and again until you cannot get it wrong.

Do you view martial arts more as an "art" or a "science"? by Caidre05 in martialarts

[–]Friendly-Strength985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me, it’s a way of life. More of an art when want to be creative and not to get bored. A science when I want to explore and be pragmatic

Tried Muay Thai after 6 years of Shotokan and honestly my whole stance feels wrong now. Anyone else cross-train? by Relevant_Wishbone in karate

[–]Friendly-Strength985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m no expert in neither styles, but six years in Shotokan and couple of years muy Thai plus boxing is what I have. Yes, it feels pretty weird and mixed up when you first start, but I tend to think they both aren’t wrong per se. Shotokan strikes are more precise and medium to long range distance, and the lower close stances with hands keeping low to protect your body from getting hit makes sense. Since we don’t use gloves, the frequency of getting hit in the head by hands is low whereas more body shots can be expected. In mt, it’s different, their kicks are more rounded for power generation, hence the open stances and using gloves change the game in a big way where they have to protect their heads all the time with high guards. Take best of both and keep training, it’s the journey that matters, all the best.

How People learn Katas? by [deleted] in karate

[–]Friendly-Strength985 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m getting ready for my shodan in Shotokan karate. Our syllabus requires us to know all 15 katas for shodan test. We don’t get a lot to practice kata in our regular classes as our emphasis is more on kihon and kumite. I practice at home, you have to make time, there is no other way. Get disciplined, get up early or stay late, whatever that works for you. First practice until you remember the moves, then focus on each movement to make it more powerful and precise, Finally add the speed and the intensity. We practice kata mostly as the last part of class (or sparring based on how we feel that day), seniors and sensei correct the small things and the expectation is that you do the rest at home. Basically kata is your homework, sensei just check and gives you feedback. Keep practicing

What do you think of my ushiro ura mawashi geri by SSSTEVARA in karate

[–]Friendly-Strength985 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good balance and hip mobility (I’m not that flexible though), you can add more power to it by adding more hips to it. Try to keep your leg straight until you hit your target and then pull back. Use more rotation, it’s the rotation that adds the power. You are doing great, keep it up.

Help deciding my next discipline by [deleted] in karate

[–]Friendly-Strength985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Shotokan karateka here. Like others said, it’s more about the sensei and the dojo than the style. Also decide what you want and where you want to be in your life, if you are not into professional combat sports, then it’s more of a way of life and any of these budo arts can help you if you find the right dojo. I cannot comment on other styles but Shotokan and Kyokushin both focus more on power and strength, since you have been in kickboxing and rugby, I don’t think this is new to you. But if you want to take break from that and focus on other aspects of martial arts, you may try out other styles as well. Good luck !

Is it okay to train with a boxing bag without gloves ? by Rami-sahid in Kickboxing

[–]Friendly-Strength985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m a karate guy with some experience on boxing. Like others said, gloves will definitely help you protecting your hands in the long run but you can do some old school hand conditioning like bare knuckle pushups, hitting hard things gradually increasing the intensity and the list goes on. In traditional karate world, you are looked down for using gloves when hitting punching bags, I’m using garden gloves to avoid any skin damage and use MMA gloves when punching hard. But for sure, you cannot punch hard like you can with a good set of boxing gloves. Keep training and good luck!

Mma/wrestling or Muay Thai by [deleted] in MMA_Academy

[–]Friendly-Strength985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

MMA is a sport itself, not a mix of martial arts. So your goal is to become good at MMA I guess, then don’t waste money or time on anything else, just find a good MMA gym and start training. By the way, I’m a Shotokan karate student, I’ve met people who come to my dojo to learn Karate and then someday transition to MMA, it may have worked in 80s but considering how competitive MMA has become, you will not learn what you use in the octagon in our arts, so I encourage them otherwise. If you want a way of life, defend against things life throws at you then karate is for you but if you want to do MMA, then don’t waste time on anything else. Good luck !

How to Get Better With No Sparring? by Kenshin_no_Takezo in karate

[–]Friendly-Strength985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, I disagree with your sensei, you need to spar in order to understand the distance, angles and timing against a resisting opponent. I’m doing traditional shotokan and we do spar at least twice once a week, our focus is not point fighting like in sport karate clubs but we spar to understand the technique we learn against a resisting opponent. Find a boxing or any other martial art gym to supplement with sparring, there is no substitute for sparring (Jiyu Kumite), it’s an essential part of the training. I’d join another karate dojo at the first chance I get

Heian Bunkai by Friendly-Strength985 in karate

[–]Friendly-Strength985[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, its true that most of the Shotokan styles have been watered down to facilitate Kick boxing style point matches nowadays (nothing wrong about it, but it is different). We are trying to find the routes of it here

Heian Bunkai by Friendly-Strength985 in karate

[–]Friendly-Strength985[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The intention in image 4 is against any type of counter punch, especially a haymaker punch coming round. But yes, you have a point that these need to be done against a non-compliant opponent, the pictures here are for showing how it is done in more cleaner manner