What Happened to Karate?

[Szczepankiewicz]

You'd be hard pressed to find 'real' Karate on the continent mate.


The wife brought me a flyer last night for City Rec activities. She was interested in tumbling classes for our toddler. Then I saw the dreaded Adult Karate Classes. I thought it would be fun for her and I to take. But the more I thought about it the more I had to laugh. I can't see me in a line dance doing air strikes with the group screaming HiYA!

I don't know if I could keep my mouth shut....


Szczepankiewicz the Skeptical

[crazyjoe380]

why havent you shared your wife with the don?


*pets cat*















































I'M JUST KIDDING..LOL


let her take karate.. u might like the laugh...

[Szczepankiewicz]

I did. She's the one in cutoff jeans. Only wearing a black belt, remember?

[crazyjoe380]

Yikes!!

[Szczepankiewicz]

Easy Mister! That's the woman I love!!!!!


Sorry Bri Thai, I tried to keep the tone serious....

[jesse7]

Spanky.

I think its time for you to shut up about karate seeing you have never even tried it LOL. I mean you have such an opinion on it yet .. you dont even know shit about it.

I have at least tried karate .. and I can say .. its not for me. I still go to it because I do enjoy ALOT of it, but I only take what I want from it and I dont really do gradings. I have only been going for like 9 months. Personally I cant stand Kata's/Paterns they are the sux, but they do have a purpose and applications .. even though some of the applications are laughable.

The whole noise making at set points ... man how that anoy's me .. I generally dont make the noise and they like make me do pressups or something.

I can say this about karate .. its crap (when it comes to the street, mostly) .. but its fun. Kata's do increase co-ordination and balance, and I have goten vast increase in flexibility (from karate in general). I play indoor soccer and my team mates etc have commented on the fact that I pretty much never fall down when I kick the ball .. where is it used to be my trademark (on a certain goal scoring kick I would do).

Also I can now punch with breaking my wrist/hand pretty much every time. I have broken my wrists about 6 times. Three were from punching someone in a real fight.

So yeh I wouldnt dog karate completely. In fact I recon its well worth going to for at least a year just too see what you can get out of it.

I dunno how long I will continue to do karate as I think I have gotten pretty much all I want out of it and will consentrate on Muay Thai.

[Szczepankiewicz]

Time for ME to shut up? Listen up you little Sheep Tender...

I ain't never taken a bite out of a turd (contrary to any evidence CJ or Bri Thai might present) to know that in all liklihood I don't want to eat any of it and I can give you a list of reasons why.


I not only learn from my experiences, I also learn from the experiences of others. I don't have to pee on the elektrikal fence to know it's gonna hurt.

That's it you little Aussie wannabe, you made Spanky's Short Shit List. As it looks on the schedule, I can't fit you in for an ass whoopin' until March 2006. So clear some space on your calendar and strengthen them floppy wrists, cause I'm ah comin' for you boy....


Szczepankiewicz the Ass-Whuppin'izer

P.S. Don Guisseppe, I'm pushin' this button, free of charge!

P.P.S So much ass to kick, so little time....

[jesse7]

You ate the red potatoe didnt you!

[Szczepankiewicz]

Keep talkin' biotch, I just bumped you up to January....

I'll need you to forward me a picture of yourself. I want to be able to tell you apart from your flock of girlfriends...


Szczepankiewicz the Shearer

[jesse7]

Ill send you a pic of me, if you host it up cause I dont really know how to put it up here .

Anyway ... Im pretty honor'd to be on your "list" even though I practically agreed karate is shit. .. The "Time for you to shut up was a joke".

But I like the way you took it better .. its more FUN >> BRING IT ON!!!

Do you have a pic?


P.S ... I Dont wanna be an aussie ... :P

[Szczepankiewicz]

What?! are we going out now or something? Is this one of those internet romances I hear so much about?????


Too late to backpedal now buddy, you're on ....the list.


I already posted my pic for all to fear. See if you can find it, Schnookums.....



Szczepankiewicz the Internet Cassanova

[jesse7]

Yeh .. you can be the bitch seeing with are both guys and your more feminine than me.


*wonders off to find that picture*

[crazyjoe380]

SZ .. link the pic..

[jesse7]

Yeh I couldnt find it.

[ryanhall]

I don't think that the death of karate is wholly the fault of America. Sure, many teachers over here would tell you that they are super deadly 10th degree grand masters, but you get that in every traditional art (and some non traditional too). Firstoff, karate is not many hundreds of years old. It was developed in okinawa to deal with samurai, and the japanese conquored these people in no time flat. That said, their use of weapons (nunchaku, etc.) is a perfect example of adaptation. They were denied proper weapons by their captors, so they improvised: turning everyday farming implements into things that could do some harm to someone. Don't think for a second that they would not have dropped those nunchaku and picked up a samurai sword if they got the chance. They wanted to use the best things they could get their hands on. Makes me wonder why someone today would sooner train with a 7 foot staff or a katana than a gun or a 4 inch (legal carry) blade. Their "karate forefathers" would consider them none too bright.

From what i have learned in my research, karate was once, like many arts, an effective way of combat. It died, however, when Gichin Funakoshi turned it into a groovy spiritual thing that was used in schools for developing discipline. Do you think they would teach a deadly art to school children? It was basically a fighting system with the teeth removed so that there would be little chance of injury to the students using it. This is what is taught in America today--a "deadly art" for Japanese school children. Kyokushin karate is a step back in the right direction for the art. They train hard, and practice full contact. It still wouldn't be my choice, but you can't say they aren't taking steps to revive their art.

If one wanted to learn karate today, their best bet would probably be finding a teacher in Okinawa. Japan is hyper law abiding, and they frown on self defense or fighting of any kind. Japanese karate is basically an attempt at instilling mass discipline. You want judo, go to the kodokan in tokyo. karate? go straight to the source. You just might be able to find someone who teaches it the way it was meant to be taught. After all, the whole training in lines with a "master" and yelling "kiah!" was a Japanese addition during World War II--they needed to be able to teach a large number of students in a supposedly shortened period of time whilst maintaining a level of discipline (read United States drill sergeants). That's where the militant American karate instructor who demands that you refer to him by 'master' came from, interestingly enough.