taki
Member
Posts: 4
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Post by taki on Apr 7, 2016 6:12:51 GMT
Hi I'm living in japan and a 3rd kyu brown belt shotokan skif practioner, 5.5 years experience. My instructor 5th Dan always asks me tip take part in a tournament here which I have done twice already and lost complete ly in the first bout and received a jodan mawashigeri to the head and nearly got knocked out .I'm not particularly into tournament s really as my age is a concern Is this such a wise idea for me a49 year old to be taking part in tournaments? At the dojo he teaches constantly kihon basics and sanbon kumite ,kata ,correct stances and punching kicking blocking combinations but no free sparring He also teachers self defence which I really want to learn . He is in his 60s and a tough bloke and knows his art very very well as well as other styles.
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taki
Member
Posts: 4
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Post by taki on Apr 7, 2016 6:19:11 GMT
One other thing I forgot to mention is that he will be testing me for shodan black belt this July too.
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Post by Bob Davis on Apr 8, 2016 16:53:55 GMT
Hi Keith, My first thought, given the information we have, is why would you be competing in tournaments if you don't want to? It's not really an age thing (although that doesn't help if you are competing with the 20 year olds) as there are plenty of seniors still competing BUT it is not really appropriate if you are not training for it at all (in my opinion, obviously). Kumite competition is a specific skill set that you won't get from kihon and sanbon, even normal dojo sparring doesn't really prepare you for it. If you want to support your dojo in competition and are more comfortable with it perhaps you should be entering kata competitions? I know this is a divisive subject here but you say you are being taught "self defence" which you "really want to do", are you doing actual self defence (from HAPV) or "karate self defence" (where people attack you cleanly with oi-tzuki or mae-geri from unfeasibly long distances)? This next part confuses me as you say you are 3rd kyu at present but are going for Shodan in July. The skill difference between 3rd kyu and Shodan is typically massive which is why (in the UK at least) students spend a relatively long time passing through 2nd and 1st kyu. Obviously your instructor is far better able to judge your level than some bloke on the internet who's never even seen you, have you been at 3rd kyu for a particularly long time? Not my business really but you did mention it
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Post by Bob Davis on Apr 8, 2016 16:57:06 GMT
I would add however that kumite competition is a valid way of introducing s student to the stress of a confrontation in a way that you won't get in the dojo, and if self defence is your thing you do need to understand that stress.
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taki
Member
Posts: 4
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Post by taki on Apr 16, 2016 7:07:25 GMT
hi Bob Davis and thankyou for relpying but sorry for late reply. i take your advice I think the instrucor feels that tournaments its good and necessary for my karate training but its not what i want to do i may do it again this year the kata and kumite but if i dont like it i wont bother anymore and most are in their mid twenties and to early 30s. personaly i dont think karate is a sport and i wish to learn self defense (karate baesd)for the street( traditional karate).My instructor teaches us sometimes bunkai found in the kata which he modifies slightly against shirt grabs and arm grabs and using your centre of gravity turning and dropping your weight like akido to take your oponment down with an arm bar and stuff like that which i feel is good to understand body mechanics.but its always a defense against a straight gyaku zuki. ive watched you tube videos by iainabernethy another chap who teaches bunkai stratgies which are more relistic to a right hook punch people throw on the street and these seem realistic . you mentioned HAPV,sorry but what does this mean ?
also about my grade im a 3kyu brown belt which ive been for about 18 months and i train at a dojo with just a small class of adults (3) so he focus on me a lot and checking my technique the other grades are 4th kyu to san dan , he also teaches at other dojos and has taught in america and regulary goes to seminars( kanazawa sensei) and also he won the all japan tournamet for over 40s. i started karate at 12 years old but for only 1 year isshinryu in Essex England,then here in japan i did shitoryu for about a year, and changed to jka 1 year and now Skif 3 and a half years but i only go once a week there but train by myself one extra day a week. i want to train more but my knees hurt so i need to rest up a bit. yes like i said he wants me to try and take black belt in august but i was surprised and really wonder if im good enough . you did mention that between 3rd kyu and shodan is a big difference so im begining to have second thoughts about my true level, what do you think?
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Post by Bob Davis on Apr 17, 2016 11:41:50 GMT
Hi Keith,
HAPV is just short form for "Habitual Acts of Physical Violence" (Patrick McCarthy), the typical attack seen in the vast majority of outside (non-dojo) confrontations. Despite Karate originating as self defence what is taught now as "traditional" karate is a long way removed from actual self defence. Very little wrong with the techniques or the body mechanics involved in traditional training, they will give you a very good base to work from but the focus of "traditional" training is not really self defence based and you also need to be aware that they ability to "handle yourself in a fight" is not the same thing as self defence (it's a really long subject and not one for this topic really )
First thing I would say is that there is no way I can have an opinion on your "true level" having never trained with you or seen you train, you will have to be guided by your own instructor on that.
Everything else I say below is just my opinion, obviously, so don't take it too seriously.
If you have been at 3rd kyu for 18 months then you've put in pretty much the same time as it's take to get to 1st kyu anyway. Having said that (and like I say this is just my opinion) training one day a week is nowhere near enough to make the improvements needed, even if you practice by yourself. I would normally expect a student to be in dojo 2-3 times a week at this level and self training every other (non-dojo) day. However, if you are in such a small group the amount of attention you get from your instructor may help with this.
I do not wish to be personal here but if your knees hurt too much to train more then there are usually a couple of reasons. If you are somewhat overweight this will put extra strain on the knees and losing just a little will make a big difference (and I speak as a fat man myself ), if your weight is not an issue then there is something wrong with your technique or training. If your legs ache that's just a sign that you are training hard (not a problem) but after 5.5 years your body should have adapted and be used to this, if the pain is from your joints then you are doing something wrong and this needs correcting, particularly if you want to avoid joint replacement in later life. Karate training should be hard but not painful (at least in that way).
Nearly everybody who goes up for Shodan wonders if they are good enough (the ones who don't seldom are ), you trust your instructor to train you so be guided by his opinion on this, the worst that happens is you don't pass and have to try again later on.
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Post by th0mas on May 6, 2016 11:51:38 GMT
Ditto everything Bob said.
Also if you are going to enter the completion you need to practice for it. Firstly understand the rule sets. Second ask your instructor if you can a have a couple of sessions just focussing on techniques that are appropriate. The big difference is distancing, ferocity and timing of attacks and if you don't train for it, this will not only be a big shock for you in the short term, but may knock your confidence in the long term if you get roundly beaten. Fitness levels are also really really important.. 3 minutes in the ring is exhausting!
As we always say it is about context and being effective in competition is not an automatic reflection of your capability, there is not as much cross-over of skills as you might think from normal training. That being said, outside of real encounters it is a good opportunity to expose yourself to the fear and anxiety of an aggressive encounter. We all get nice and familiar with the "safe" environment of the dojo. ... It is always healthy to shake things up a bit once in a while :-)
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