crazyjoe380

First i found alot of Moves that would be usefull in a street fight..
some of the moves for example


the reverse punch..

you put all your weight on your front leg just like any punch..except you other hand is on your side.. the priciple is that your fist will be lightning and real strong that you dont have to have your other hand up because it's going to be shot also.


on this not.. i would modify karate .. any punch or kicks that would explose you .. i would just block or adjust the position..

THIS IS FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO COMPARE STYLES.. LOTS OF READIING.. DONT COME IN TALKING SHIT.. JUST DROP SOME GOOD POSTS FOR SOME GOOD DISCUSSIONS.. (I CAN'T SPELL)







here are the Terminology of Karate..



TECHNIQUES & STANCES

DACHI: STANCE
Fudo-dachi: Rooted stance
Heisuko-dachi: Informal Attention stance
Jiyu-dachi: Free-fighting stance
Kiba-dachi: Straddle leg stance; aka "Horse stance"
Kokutsu-dachi: Back stance
Mae-dachi: Front stance
Niko Ashi-dachi: Cat stance
Sanchin-dachi: Hour-glass stance
Zenkutsu-dachi: Forward stance

TSUKI-WAZA: PUNCHING TECHNIQUES
Age-zuki: Rising punch
Awase-zuki: U punch
Choku-zuki: Straight punch
Gyaku-zuki: Reverse punch
Kagi-zuki: Hook punch
Kizami-zuki: Jab
Mawashi-zuki: Roundhouse punch
Oi-zuki: Lunge punch
Tate-zuki: Vertical fist punch
Teisho-zuki: Palm-heel punch
Ura-zuki: Close punch

GERI-WAZA: KICKING TECHNIQUES
Fumikomi: Stamping kick
Gyaku mawashi-geri: Reverse roundhouse kick
Mae-geri keage: Front snap kick
Mae-geri kekomi: Front thrust kick
Mae-tobi-geri: Jumping front kick
Mawashi-geri: Roundhouse kick
Mikazuki-geri: Crescent kick
Ushiro-geri keage: Back snap kick
Ushiro-geri kekomi: Back thrust kick
Yoko-geri keage: Side snap kick
Yoko-geri kekomi: Side thrust kick
Yoko-tobi-geri: Jumping side kick

UCHI-WAZA: STRIKING TECHNIQUES
Empi-uchi: Elbow strike;
(Mawashi empi-uchi: Roundhouse elbow strike)
(Otoshi empi-uchi: Downward elbow strike)
(Ushiro empi-uchi: Rear elbow strike)
(Yoko empi-uchi: Side elbow strike)
Haishu-uchi: Back hand strike
Haito-uchi: Ridge hand strike
Koko-uchi: Tiger mouth hand strike
Shuto-uchi: Knife hand strike









The Principles of Karate

By Anko Itosu
Karate did not originate from the way of Buddhism or from the way of Confucianism. In the not-too-distant past, both Shorin-ryu and Shorei-ryu were introduced from China. Both styles have many similarities and they both have their strong points. They should not be changed. I would like to make a record of the following things:

1. The main purpose of Karate is for health benefits. It is appropriate to fight an antagonist if your purpose is to safeguard your country or those who preside over you. When you fight, you should have no hesitation to lose your own life if necessary (the resolute acceptance of death). Never fight an enemy without good reason. If you encounter a criminal or a ruffian, don’t fight him if you can help it, but just block as you evade, stepping out of the way.

2. The purpose of Karate is to make the body like iron, or as hard as rock. Your hands and feet should be used like the points of arrows. Your heart should be mighty and bold. If children would practice Karate from the time they are in elementary school, they would be well prepared for the time they are to serve in the Armed Forces. After the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon, he mentioned the fact that that tomorrow's triumph will come from today's school yard.

3. Karate cannot be learned in a short amount of time. A bull that walks very slowly will, in due time, travel a thousand miles. In like manner, if you study and practice earnestly each day, in three or four years you will understand what the core of Karate is about. Indeed, the very shape of your bones will change.

You will discover the essence of Karate if you follow these points:

4. In Karate, the "fist-foot" or fist and foot is a very important point. You should train them thoroughly on the makiwara. When you do it, drop your shoulders, open your lungs, take hold of your strength, grip the floor with your feet and sink your ch'i to your lower abdomen. Excercise with each arm one to two hundred times.

5. When you are practicing Karate stances, make sure your back is straight, drop your shoulders, take your strength and put it in your legs, stand firmly and direct the ch'i into your lower abdomen. You must hold the top and bottom of your abdomen together tightly.

6. You should practice the external techniques of Karate one by one, repeated over and over again, many times. These things are passed down verbally. Therefore, it is very important to spend the time and effort to learn the explanations and decide when and how they should be used. Go in, counter, release; is the rule of torite.

7. You must decide for yourself why you practice Karate, whether it is for making your body more healthy or for improving yourself in doing your duties.

8. During practice you should imagine that you are in a real battle. When blocking and striking make your eyes glare, drop your shoulders and harden your body. Then block the incoming punch and then strike him. Always practice with this spirit so that when you are in a real battle, you will be well prepared to be able to react naturally.

9. Do not overexert yourself during practice, because your ch'i will rise up, your face and eyes will turn red and you will bring injury to your body. Be careful of this.

10. In the past, many of those who have become experts in Karate have lived to an old age. This is because Karate helps to develop the bones and sinews. It also helps the digestive tract and is good for blood circulation. Therefore, from this time foreward, Karate should be the foundation of all lessons in sports from the elementary schools on up. If this is the way it is done from now on, I think that there will be many people who, when they are alone and outnumbered, will literally be able to win against ten attackers.

The reason for writing all this is that, in my opinion, all students at the Okinawa Prefectural Teachers' Training College should practice Karate, so that when they graduate, they will be able to teach the school children the same way I have taught them. I predict that within ten years Karate will spread all over Okinawa and then to the Japanese mainland. This will be a great asset to the military and to our society. I expect that you will carefully study the words I have written here.

Anko Itosu, October 1908





The Pretenders


Salutations, to the those whom have trained their whole life in the martial arts giving total commitment to the (Do). However, for the ones who didn't, there is still hope for you to make a turn around. Have you ever been to a karate dojo and couldn't believe some of the teachers giving the instructions? I mean the ones that don't do nothing but talk a good game to hide there inability to perform and they always make excuses about an injury, or just didn't have enough time to practice. What about the ones who say they belong to a federation and trained with this person and that person but there are no contact numbers, websites to verify this individual. Don't get me wrong some of them are very knowledgeable after reading a number of books which gives them a license to run their big mouth but still unable to perform. These people are blinded by there own madness to rob the pure essence of (Karate-Do) by mouth point using watered down techniques. Here are some of the signs to look for when you visit a dojo:

(1). The teacher never performs no matter how many times you visit their school.

(2). They always decline to perform at your dojo when they visit.

(3). They have a headache or other injuries at that time.

(4). They tell one of their students to do it for them.

(5). You will never actually see them do a kata on the floor with their students.

(6). Their instructors and teachers live 10-States away, and only they can contact them.


These individuals will do anything to hide their true self by positioning themselves around good martial artist to give themselves credibility but still being numbers 1,2,3,4,5 and 6. By being around other good teachers in the area this individual starts to believe and think they are one. Some of these individuals never produce any blacks belts, "okay" maybe one or two, and then they call themselves Masters, Shihan, Kyoshi and Hanshi to look big around others. They themselves never been seen by anyone as a competitor in tournaments in the local area or anywhere else for that matter. However, the other teachers in the area already knows about this person but don't want to hurt his/her feelings.



Have you ever met an individual with a high rank in Karate and Kobudo but have self doubt about their own rank, because it was given to them by a person or persons that didn't measure up to their own rank? this person is running from his or herself and they will never catch up because they were loss from the start. These individuals will do anything to prove that they deserved the rank even though they know they shouldn't have it. Unlike others they will perform and it might not be a great performance but they will perform anywhere at anytime. They also will position themselves around other area martial artist so their rank could be excepted. Here are some clues to look for when dealing with these persons:

(1). They put a lot of stripes on their black belts to look and feel important, some times 12-16 degrees, "I'm not kidding".

(2). They walk around karate events, tournaments and seminars with their chest sticking out.

(3). If you call them sensei they get mad at you, and want you to call them Master, Shihan, Kyoshi or Hanshi.

(4). They know it all.



I believe unless you are sick and injured to the point that you can not perform any longer, then you as a teacher should be on the floor teaching until your heart stops, because it's a way of life. Don't get me wrong, a teacher have to stop also for other business matters but for the most part, he or she should be on the floor leading by example. In our dojo Shihan Wiggins is always on the floor teaching the students by demostrating the kata or weapon before teaching it to them. My example of a teacher is Shihan Wiggins because he lives by the "Old Ways of Tradition" and if you have an instructor or teacher that fits this example then you were blessed with a true warrior from the past.



"Oops! I forgot about the 27 year-old 7th & 8th Degree Black Belts that don't know if they are coming or going. On the average it takes 12-13years for 4th Dan, 16-17years for 5th Dan, 20-21years for 6th Dan, and 27-30yearrs for 7th Dan "need I say anymore". Now would someone please tell me if it takes 27-30years for 7th Dan, then how can one person have a 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Dans in seven (7) different styles, because that's what you see when you read their (Bio's) on the web, and that's why we call them pretenders. If they received the ranks (honorary) fine, but if they didn't, they must have lived in different times.



The (Pretenders) are all around you because they are everywhere and you can't avoid them. The biggest stage for them to showcase themselves are at tournaments because this is the place they get to show off their rank. They get to tell other kids how they should perform their katas, but yet themselves have never competed anywhere. They will judge your students not giving them the proper score because they wouldn't know technique if it was up close. They will judge a weapons division and can't do weapons at all, but they will tell you your mistakes over and over again just to show you they know what they are talking about. The big test for a pretender is to put them through the (Pretenders test). Now when a judge tells you about your mistakes after the competition is over, ask him or her to show you the exact stances in the kata they found wrong, and the same for the weapon and see what happens. The pretenders usually shy away from the word "SHOW ME", and won't perform the stances in the kata or the techniques for the weapon. However, the (Budo Warrior) who practices everyday of their life will show you anything you want after they told you about your mistakes.






one this website.. this karate teacher says:

REAL FIGHTERS ARE TRUE WARRIORS
POINT FIGHTERS ARE NOT


I AGREE!

i'm sticking to muay thai for now.. but if you do get a chance to experiance karate straight from JAPAN.. you should try it.. eliminate what you feel isn't practical..


I FEEL LIKE THIS IS WHAT I SHOLD LOOK FOR IN A MARTIAL ART..... (when chosing a martial art)

Some martial arts train you to fight nobodys.. they give you a simple punch that the average joe would throw and you counter and destroy him..


i'm looking for a a martial art that teaches you to fight others as skilled as yourself...

(muay thai, boxing, brazilian jiu jitsu)

then you can destroy the average joe..


but i can be wrong.. could it be that i'm just too picky? muay thai has saved me from KATAS and going thru all that red tape in martial arts...

but KARATE thats authentic.. seems pretty cool..



what do you guys think?

i found this info at:

http://www.angelfire.com/ak4/tw/index.html


to be honest.. i dont have time for Karate.. if someone wants to teach me karate but no katas.. then i'm down.. but other then that.. my lifestyle is too fast pace that i can't do it..

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kungfupanda

"Karate" is wonderfull, but there are so many different types. but generally, karate is awsome once you free up the hands a bit and shallow up the stances. it is very powerfull, fast, moble, and flowing. you can become a awsome fighter without katas but they do help.

i dont know what other people study it for but i study it to fight and thats it.

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Psalms 144:1 Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:

platinum_angel

i have taken the exact type of karate you are describing. okinawan goju-ryu so i'll tell you what i think

if that case why don't we just take lifetime fitness. that will be better for fitness then karate.

then just pump iron. i know for a fact the arrow pointed hand works when you hit your opponent in the solarplex but there is just to much risk involved.

why would we take more of our precious time to learn something that is not as good and fast as muay thai or lifetime fitness.

let me explain this-you should stand upright in onw of those stances and be totally static. now if you were in horse stance all anyone would have to do is push you over.

basically practice you predetermined kata- another waste of time.

most of the time the reason people get in to karate is because they need the recognition, they think their tough with a black belt, they saw it on a cartoon, they think its cool, and so on.

alright thats cool and all but not realistic when your doing the same predetermined moves over again.

damn can't remember the last time my head almost exploded and my eyes started bleeding.

so have a bunch of other people excersiced and had a good diet.

bull shit

__________________
In order to experience true peace you must first overcome true hardship.
remember the wind, for it flows through all of us.
I like smeg-ma chips.
for all those who i offend............i don't give a shit

ramus

I second platinum angel

__________________
DOWN WITH GEORGE W. BUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

shasan

Karate's great for developing focus, discipline and all that good stuff, plus you develop nice high-kicks. But if you're looking to go against multiple attackers who are ok fighters, karate is just not a good thing.

Too much focus on strength and power, and not enough on speed and mobility from what i have seen.

Katas: again, good for focus, discipline etc etc, but crap in a street fight.

My suggestion, read some Bruce Lee, and keep in mind the 4 ranges: kicking, punching, trapping/locking, throwing/grappling. And go from there... and don't limit yourself to one thing. Tae kwon do has great kicks. Western boxing, muay thai, and wing chun kung fu has great handwork, and Judo/Jiu-Jitsu and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu are great for the fourth range.

kinda sorta see what I'm saying?

Sameer.

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I hate it when people quote themselves in their sigs. - shasan.

kungfupanda

i think alot of you are a bit closed minded. find a good dojo and learn karate...i recomend tuite or kyokushin-kai. it is worth while.

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Psalms 144:1 Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:

shasan

I wouldn't say that... read my post again, I'm sure you agree that taking from the best of every art is probably the way to go.

Look at how Mixed martial arts competitions have evolved... before it was 'style vs. style', now it's fighter vs. fighter, they are all well rounded (in all ranges).

Learn one style vs. learn the best of many styles. Which one is closed minded?



Keep your hands up,
Sameer.

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I hate it when people quote themselves in their sigs. - shasan.

Lost Ronin

Well, I studied authentic Japanese Karate under Master Masaharu Sakimukai ( type "Chintokan Karate" in a search engine for more info) and I can tell you, Karate is a very powerful style. What I did was that I kept all the Karate moves that I found useful and direct and combined them with Western Boxing. Talk about really good hand strikes! If you want to study good karate I recommend Kyokushin or Shorin Ryu. Shorin Ryu is the style that I learned, Karate is a complete system, thing is, some of the teaching methods are out dated and some techniques have to be modified, but over all, it's a kick ass style. If you want to pick up some good viewing material, look for "Marco Lala's Fighting Secrets" tape series, he teaches a stand up style that draws from Kyokushin Karate, Western Boxing, Muay Thai and Vale Tudo. Hope this helps. By the way, your research is pretty good.

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" If you are in the right then you can afford to keep your temper, If you are in the wrong then you cannot afford to lose it."

Mahatma Gandhi

Toudiyama

Started out in Judo because my Dad is a teacher in that, then went over to Wado karate which is not so hard as Kyokushin but instead stresses not being hit and soft blocking and evasion of an attack, because of this my base is such that I can train anything without any problems
As long as the base is good, it is easy
If I'm training, I train that specific style, if for whatever reason I have to fight, it is combined

Point for initial poster, even though you learn to retract the oposing arm during basics, this is not the way it is done during sparring(maybe shotokan) nor do we leave our fist out there, the punching are is retracted as fast as possible
Difference in punching is that if you pull your punch trough the object you might knock someone of his socks but the fast retracted punch might break or do internal damage
one fight I was in I punched someone with a perfect reverse punch(gyaku tsuki) he was pushed 3 meters backwards
then I turned around and his famaly punched me in the through pulling way, I didn't move and 10 sec later I didbn't feel anything anymore, 3 weeks later my family spoke with the guy I punched and he still had pain from it
Also karate if correctly practiced will teach you to look for the best place to hit instead of just any place
turn your back to a karateka for a second and he will punch it
forget to protect the groin, auch

ramus

just study hapkido, dont waste your time on karate

__________________
DOWN WITH GEORGE W. BUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tom Yum

crazyjoe, you've done your homework. I think alot of things can be said of many arts - watching for instructors who never demonstrate etc. For closed hand strikes, I would rather use boxing. The right cross is more powerful than the reverse punch and recovers faster. When I first started boxing, my coach could tell that I was formerly TKD/karate based. The right cross explodes and once it penetrates its target its brought back to your cheek in a quick yet relaxed fashion. The reverse punch, comes out with a lot of power, with the other hand pulled to the waist for additional power, but leaves your entire left side exposed. THis is bad if someone hits you at the same time. The open hand strikes of karate seem to be good for striking vital areas.

I agree with the last post that says karate weighs heavily on power rather than speed/fluidity. Joe Lewis (the kickboxer) fought a traditional karate guy in the 70's and used boxing tactics, with karate kicks to knock the karate guy out. This match had the same effect on traditional martial arts at that time as Royce Gracie had in the eary 90's. The traditional karate guys were stunned because they believed that they could take out anyone from their years of training and here comes's this guy with four basic punches and a few kicks who devistates their champ.

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Love it, leave it or fix it.

Toudiyama

As I stated before the retracting of the other arm to the hip should only be done in basics the power it is suppose to generate is actually generated by the hips, when you advance in the art, you don't need the retracting arm to be able to use your hips properly

I even consider it a nono to swing one arm (arm on kickingside)
to the back during a roundhouse kick which a lot of martial artist tend to do
As far as power goes, Wado, the style I do only uses power the last moment of the techniques so for the reverse punch that is a few inches from the target( we also turn our fist at the last moment)
the most famous technique is a jablike punch combined with an evasion nagashi zuki
But Wado might not be representative because it was the first real Japanese style(Shotokan is okinawan style that was japanized) and the first to combine japanese ju jitsu and okinawan karate
therefore we also have grabling and takedowns

Tom Yum

Good that you pointed out that power comes from the hips (leg extension, hip rotation). Too often I have seen karateka throw the punch as if they are performing a one arm bench press. Their punch has some snap from tricep extension and rotation of the fist, but they generally practice the punch from either a static horse stance or a deep lunge stance which prohibits hip power.

Glad that you also mentioned to keep hands up while throwing the roundhouse kick.

__________________

Love it, leave it or fix it.

Toudiyama

Wado startrs out doing basics in motion as opposed to a lot of styles doing it from horsestance
Wados zenkutudachi( we step out with left foot and punch and call that hidari gamae) is much higher up than the other main styles(shotokan, goju en shito) because of that it is easier to use the hips properly
Strange thing is that a style like Shotokan that uses about the deepest lunge stance/zenkutsu dachi say that using the hip is important but from this stance it is impossible to use the hip efficently on top of that they use the same stance to kick, if you see them doing a roundhouse you see a body being bended and abody they goes up and down again
Because Shotokan has the largest following around the world, people think it is representative of karate but it isn't
It is actually the least practical style I've seen, great forms though
(judges score good on the deep rooted stances and the heavy breathing

Great Sage

Karate like any martial art has it's postives and negatives. Some karate styles are practical while others are not.

Shotokan Karate was among the deadliest of karate styles when it first surfaced. It employed the idea of "one strike, one kill." However, as of late, shotokan hasn't been able to hold its ground against very many martial arts. Today, one strike that doesn't kill can mean you're gonna get killed.

In regards to punching and blocking, karate is not that practical. As a one time Karate practitioner, I noticed that karate strikes and blocks are over-committed. Thus, karate is susceptible to feints and quick jabs, double jabs, fake kicks.

I prefer the principles of boxing when it comes to hand techniques. Less blocking and more moving and punching. Karate punching power, more often than none, comes from the twisting of the waist, not necessarily the hips. In boxing, the hips provide the power, but it's also the drive from your feet. Furthermore, the punch lands before the feet touches the ground when advancing, so that the power is behind the punch, not on the ground.

__________________
The sage experiences without abstraction,
And accomplishes without action;
He accepts the ebb and flow of things,
Nurtures them, but does not own them,
And lives, but does not dwell.