r/karate

Was/is there one or more karate styles where it was assumed a practitioner had knowledge of Judo?

Which karate styles? Is it like that now?

If it was assumed a karate practitioner had knowledge of judo, what rank in judo was that karate practitioner expected to have?

I'm a relative beginner (8th kyu, half a year of training) in Shotokan. When practicing my Kata, specifically ones with long rotations like the Heian Nidan Nukite to Shuto transition, I feel like I cannot really rotate. It becomes rather "ballistic" with very little control.

Our dojo has a regular school gym floor (Linoleum or something like that) and I tend to get somewhat sweaty feet during training.

It really feels like my soles are stuck to the floor. I'm being told rotation should happen on the ball of the foot, but that's really like super glued to the floor. Rotating on the heel feels at least possible, but I don't have any balance or control that way.

Someone suggested unloading the pivoting foot, but unless I go for a real jump, lifting off entirely from the floor, I don't feel much of a difference.

Interestingly when going from front stance to front stance during the rotation (like Heian Nidan Morote Uke to Gedan Barai transition), it feels a bit easier.

Also, at home, with socks it also feels a lot easier.

Any advice is highly appreciated!

Hi everyone, I am a member of a pretty strict Dojo with a good Sensei and there are a team of good senior instructors. We are very traditional Dojo and we often have people come from all over the world to train with us.

For context, I am a black belt, but not an instructor or any of the senior instructors within this dojo.

I have a question.

I’ve become aware of the activities of a member of the Dojo, who is a junior grade and is constantly misrepresenting our Dojo, himself and talking about our Dojo online, (on this platform and others )and I just wonder what I should do, if anything?

Of course yes they have the right to their freedom of speech, absolutely but they’ve called out people from the Dojo that they have trained with saying that these people are useless. Talking critically about our Sensei who is really good, and is a very globally recognized instructor in our association. Painting situations that I have personally witnessed in a way that casts shade in Sensei.

I don’t want to be “that person” but I do feel this is wrong and not in the spirit of the dojo.

For instructors who may have experience accepting students from other martial arts systems: if a student joins your school with an established rank from a different system, how do you normally handle their rank? For example, if a Shotokan student comes to a Tang Soo Do school as a brown belt, would you ever place them at a comparable rank in your system, such as red belt, or would you normally have them start at a bottom rank/white belt and earn their way through your system? I am legit curious. I have seen it done twice in a karate studio. One of such student went straight to test for a black belt only tested with two advanced forms and two intermediate forms. Yes he got the black belt. What do you normally do, and what do you think of what I witnessed.

Hi everyone,

​I am a 6th Kyu in Shotokan Karate. Due to a recent change in circumstances, I am currently training independently, mostly adaptive (focusing heavily on kata and kihon as I compete in kata) while recovering from an injury.

​Before this, I was training under a smaller, independent federation. As I look to join a new, WKF-affiliated club next year, I have a few questions:

​Will my current 6th Kyu rank typically be recognized, or will I be expected to re-grade or catch up on specific syllabus differences?

​Since I am actively keeping up with my kata and basics (adaptive) during my injury recovery, what can I generally expect when transitioning into a new dojo environment?

​Any advice or experiences from those who have switched clubs or federations would be greatly appreciated.

​Thanks!

I take Japanese jujitsu and TaeKwondo I’ve been in both for 4 years. Im a Greenbelt in Tae Kwon do and a gold belt white stripe in Japanese ju jitsu. I’ve been a green belt for two years. And a gold belt white stripe in Japanese Juijitsu for a year. I tested recently for Juijitsu but don’t know the results and haven’t gotten my results or a new bet. Everyone else has. I normally help lower ranks during class and lead them in testing per instructor instructions then they surpass me in rank. People that started years after me are several belts ahead. I am more athletic, flexible and capable than these people. I know more of the curriculum than they do and I can repeat is as well slowly and fast. Some weeks I go to mornings and afternoon classes. I’m thinking about quitting and moving to Muay Thai where there is no belt system. It seems like there are politics involved but I’m not sure. Has anyone else experienced this?

I’m looking for a new gi and have worn a Tokaido gi in the past. The master SEN is a top of the line gi and seems good but I can’t seem to find reviews other than the commercial texts and quotes. Does anyone wear it regularly and could expand upon this?

Im just a shy boy i dont wanna scream im embarassed 😭

Any dojo owners here who have locked in membership agreements for their students? Why or why not?

For context, on one hand, I feel if your instructors are good enough at inspiring people to stay for long periods of time, you shouldn’t need them, but on the other hand, I know how….fickle people can be in todays day and age. So I kinda see both sides.

(Mods, if this is the wrong place for this post, I apologize, and if you could please direct me where this post would be more appropriate, I appreciate it.)

I used to train wado ryu (have 1st green belt), but had to stop due to moving away for school. They teach shorinjiryu around here, so how different would it be if I start that style. (Would be my style for next 4+ years)

A personal look at Zen, mushin, meditation, kata, and awareness in Kyokushin. I also included a couple of experiences from my own training that helped shape how I understand mushin in practical terms.

I have run into a dead end in a lineage research project and could use some help, on the off chance that someone knows.  I am looking for who was the chief instructor at the Westfield MA Villari Kempo/United Studios of Self-Defense school.  The school is now closed, so if anyone happens to know who taught there in the 1980s, I would be very grateful.

When teaching a children's class ages 7-12 what do you find are effective warmups for keeping their attention and at the same time keeping them focused on class.

Hello all,

I’m going out of my mind a little bit here, and I fully recognize that I am the problem.

My feelings about this are unfair to my son, irrational, unnecessarily dramatic, and frankly something I should probably work through with a professional instead of silently spiraling behind a glass window at a children's karate class.

But before I book that appointment, I thought I would ask for advice from other parents who may have experienced something similar. I am also open to being gently (or perhaps not so gently) humbled and reminded to get a grip.

Some background, if it helps:

My 7-year-old son is a very strong-willed child. Academically, he is extremely intelligent and has been added to his school's watch list for giftedness testing, which he'll take next year before transitioning to Grade 3. If he scores accordingly, he may be invited into the gifted program.

Academics come very naturally to him. Sometimes it feels like he barely has to try before his brain simply goes, "Oh, I understand this now," and moves on with its day.

Athletics, however, have been a different story.
We tried soccer when he was 4 and it was a disaster. Not because soccer did anything wrong, but probably because we chose it for him, thinking it would be a good first sport. He was not interested in running or even kicking a ball. The only interest he did have was picking flowers out of clover patches.

His extracurricular interests have traditionally been in the tech/STEM world. We have happily carted him around to 3-D printing classes, LEGO robotics, coding programs, and robot fighting tournaments.

So naturally, when he announced a couple of months ago that he wanted to try karate, my husband and I were thrilled that he was ready to choose his own sport! We found a highly rated dojo in our area, and so far, it seems great: there are no bizarre belting or grading policies, and the senseis are positive, supportive, and genuinely seem to meet the kids where they're at.

We are now in our fifth week of white belt classes. He goes twice a week for 30 minutes, and before every class he is practically giddy with excitement.
After class, we talk about his favourite parts on the ride home, and I always ask him how he thinks he did. Every single time, his answer is, "Great!" Accompanied by an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

And this is where my problem begins. Because he is not great. At all.

I don't say this to him, obviously. I smile, I encourage, I celebrate. I give him the same energy he gives me.
But internally? I am watching what appears to be a very enthusiastic golden retriever attempting martial arts.

Out of the 3-7 kids usually in his class (which are a mix of the first 3 belt colours) he consistently struggles the most. A few examples:

He cannot do a full set of 10 pushups without collapsing around pushup number 3 or 4. A sensei will often get down beside him and do them with him to motivate him through the remaining 6 or 7, which is very sweet and also somehow makes me want to disappear into the floor.

He has absolutely no concept of the pace of the class. If the sensei demonstrates moderate, controlled jumping jacks, my son interprets this as GO AS FAST AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. Within seconds, he is approximately three warmups ahead of everyone else and completely exhausted.

When practicing punches and blocks with a partner, he struggles to wait for the other child to actually complete the block before launching the next punch. His general strategy appears to be: punch punch punch punch punch and hopefully someone figures something out.

Left and right are just philosophical concepts to him. He frequently performs forms in the exact opposite direction from everyone else.

Balancing on one leg to perform a kick is aspirational at this stage.

His guard stance often involves both fists pressed directly against his chin, his shoulders rounded inward, and an overall posture that suggests he may be preparing to survive an aggressive windstorm rather than defend himself from an opponent.

And yes, some of the other children struggle with things too. But my son is generally the one requiring the most consistent support throughout the class.
There are children as young as 5 who watch the sensei demonstrate something once and then execute it with the precision of some miniature action movie hero.

Meanwhile, my son is facing the wrong direction, doing jumping jacks at 400 kilometres per hour, and accidentally inventing a new martial art.

In spite of this, the senseis have been amazing. There are two or three of them in each class, usually with one leading and the others helping the kids who need extra support. They are incredibly patient with him. They constantly high-five him, encourage him, and praise him when he finishes a difficult form or pushes through a set of warmups after struggling to get started.

And through it all, my son absolutely loves it, which is somehow making my own internal issue even more obvious. Because while he’s having the time of his life, I'm sitting behind the glass wondering if the other parents are ruthlessly judging my son or how long it’s going to be before the senseis pull me aside and gently say, 'Ma'am, we've discussed this as a team, and perhaps your son would be happier pursuing something less dependent on coordination?'"

I know these are my own anxieties. I have never expressed any of this to him, I don't compare him to the other children, I don't criticize his performance, and I don't attempt to coach him from the sidelines.
When he looks through the glass to make sure I'm watching, I smile and give him an encouraging thumbs-up.

And now we have graduation coming up in about a month. As part of it, the students at his level will perform a form coordinated to music, which they started practicing last week.

Friends, I have seen the rehearsal. My son is so wildly out of sync with the other children that I am considering how to fake our own disappearance from society for the evening. Obviously, he will be attending, and obviously, I will be there cheering. But the thought of watching him perform what may be an interpretive solo somewhere adjacent to the group choreography is testing me.

The strange thing is that my son can actually be very hard on himself. If something doesn't come naturally to him, he can become frustrated and give up quickly.
Which makes his attitude toward karate even more interesting, because he genuinely seems to think he's doing great. And maybe he is, in a way, as he's showing up, he's trying despite struggling, and he's doing the pushups even when he clearly would prefer to merge with the floor.

But I am still struggling with it. And I know that’s my own fault.

So, karate parents (or really, parents of children who have enthusiastically pursued something they were initially spectacularly bad at): how did you get over your own secondhand embarrassment and anxiety? Did your child eventually improve with practice? Were there things you did at home that helped without turning their enjoyable hobby into another thing they felt pressured to perform at? And most importantly,
how do I learn to sit behind that glass, watch my beloved child, and simply be happy that he has found something he loves?

Thank you!

Hey karate community!

Through a laundry mishap during which my good gi-- my heavyweight, tailored, expensive gi-- was placed into the laundry with a tie dye shirt (please note: I'm not the one who did this, don't come at me) I now have purple stains on it.

I soaked it in bleach water overnight in an attempt to save it. It was somewhat successful but there's still purple, particularly on one of the pant legs. I know this is probably a lost cause and I've cycled through all the stages of grief over it lmao but does anyone have any ideas of how I can maybe salvage it? Has this happened to anyone else???

I (F35, 8th kyu) have been training for a year and am competing at my first tournament in kata in 2 weeks time. I practice Shokukai/Shito-Ryu. Any tips for a first time competitor? What do the judges look for and what should I be focusing on?

Also any advice on which kata to do would be welcome - I need to choose two. Should I do the ones I'm most confident in even if they're basic, or should I do more complicated ones and spend the next two weeks perfecting them? Do you get more points for complicated kata, or do you get more points for basic kata done well (I.e. is it judged like French cooking where the more complex the ingredients and techniques, the better the food? Or is it more like Italian cooking where simple ingredients cooked to perfection creates an ideal dish?)

Kyokushin is the only full contact karate style I know of. But point style karate, has head shots, sweeps, and throws. So is there anything like that, but full contact?

Does a Karate style not founded in Japan lose its credibility as a Karate style? This has been a debate from the Japanese martial artists who say that Karate not founded in Japan or a non Japanese founder of a style is not Karate cause it didn’t originate in their country.

There are hundreds of karate styles in the world and some of them didn’t originate in Japan or Okinawa, but those countries still respect their roots in Japanese Karate hence why they call it Karate. Some are effective and even has MMA fighters from their style, but I do understand some that are obviously mcdojos (95% of them are in america) that only use the word “karate” cause it’s famous.

When I was in Japan a long time ago I studied Goju-ryu at the Meibukan dojo under Yagi Meitetsu Sensei for a few months (roughly 5). Because of this I have an attachment to Goju-ryu specifically. Moving back to the states i only had access to Uechi-ryu. Similar enough. I'm now possibly moving to an area where I'll only have access to Matsubayashi Shorin-ryu.

I barely had the time to try and understand the styles I practiced, but I would like to know what exactly the differences are. Goju-ryu and Uechi-ryu were fairly similar, but it sounds like Shorin-ryu is an entirely different branch of Okinawan karate? Asking cause I'm a bit attached to the Naha-te styles and have a little reluctance to start a different branch.. almost feels like a betrayal haha

TL;DR: What are the differences between the two branches? Do you prefer one over the other for any reason? Help me be more open minded to the idea of changing branches.

Edit: thank you, everyone, for the incredibly informative responses! There's way more going on than I originally thought. If anyone has good book recommendations on the subject I would appreciate it!