# wquestions about karate



## Manny (Sep 27, 2010)

Well this is a general question or general question about karate, so please feel free to answer.

This is a hipotetical (not much) case. The cousing of my friend Pedro is a mature guy, mid 40's, he runs is own bussiness and since he was a kid he dreamed about karate or.... martial arts, he does not know su much about ma, and only the thing he nows is what he saw in T.V. as a boy, things like the green hornet and that kind of stuff.

Life has been a little hard to this guy, he have to take care of a large family and he is working since he was in his 20's, you must know he does not work out and it's out of shape.

Pedro asked me about a suitable karate system (he called that way) for his cousing, the guy wants to take karate lessons to learn how to defend himself (self defense) and to do some exercise.

What kind of karate, ryu o system do you recomend him, I must confess I don't know su much about the diferent ryus of karate out there and the diferences amoung them.

Manny


----------



## dancingalone (Sep 27, 2010)

Manny said:


> Pedro asked me about a suitable karate system (he called that way) for his cousing, the guy wants to take karate lessons to learn how to defend himself (self defense) and to do some exercise.
> 
> What kind of karate, ryu o system do you recomend him, I must confess I don't know su much about the diferent ryus of karate out there and the diferences amoung them.



Any karate system can be beneficial for exercise and self-defense as those are rather generic requirements.  If you want to refine your criteria more, I'm sure we can make better recommendations.

Something along the lines of:

I like to practice a lot of different kata -> Shito-ryu or Shotokan

I want to learn weapons too ->  In general, look for any *Okinawan* karate school such as shorin-ryu, goju-ryu, isshin-ryu, etc

I want to spar a lot -> the newer systems that have ties to Mas Oyama (kyokushin, seito, ashihara, etc)  all spar quite a bit as does Shotokan

I want to strengthen my body and hand/foot weapons using old training methods -> goju-ryu, isshin-ryu, shorin-ryu

And so on.


----------



## Manny (Sep 27, 2010)

As usual dancingalone thank you very much. I think Pedro's cousing (I forgot his name) does not want the deep stances of the shotokan, he wants something easy to understand and to aply,as he said: I am not a kid anymore.

I wanted him to enrol in TKD but he resfuses cause he does not like those flying sissors kicks, besides he wanted karate period.

I've doing some research (internet sorry) and I found the Shorin or Shoryn Ryu karate seems good, the stances are not as low and the foorwork is like walking stance and the hands techs are fast, but I really don't know how good shorin/shoryn karate is.

Here you have some input. This old guy soes not want karate competition, about kobudo or weapons I don't think he wanted to do it, he wants just some exercise and comon sense techs to learn because his PC Drive (as he tells his head) is full of things.

Manny


----------



## dancingalone (Sep 27, 2010)

Karate might not even be his cup of tea to be honest.  I think there are other systems that might build self-defense capability quicker than the karate teaching method usually does.  A lot of goju-ryu schools don't even start you on kakie (sticky hands) drills until you're a brown belt, and I think kakie is essential for making any of realistic Goju applications work.

But if he is stuck on the idea of studying karate, any school, regardless of style, is going to teach a beginner 3 things:  1) Get off line from the attack and/or 2) Block the attack and finally 3) Counter with a strike.  He can get this from any school, including Shorin-ryu as well as any sport-focused dojo.

It's in what I call the more interesting stuff that details and style finally becomes 'important'.


----------



## Bill Mattocks (Sep 27, 2010)

Isshin-Ryu was based on Shorin-Ryu and Goju-Ryu.  It does not have low stances like Shotokan, it uses 'muscle blocks' instead of bone blocks, and kicks are generally below the waistline.  In addition, it has the distinction of being the favored system of the US Marine Corps, which means you may be able to find it easily in the PI, depending upon where you are located.  Lots of Marines retired to the PI, and there are lots of PI nationals in the US Marines as well.


----------



## Grenadier (Sep 27, 2010)

Manny said:


> As usual dancingalone thank you very much. I think Pedro's cousing (I forgot his name) does not want the deep stances of the shotokan, he wants something easy to understand and to aply,as he said: I am not a kid anymore.


 
He shouldn't necessarily discount Shotokan Karate.  A good Shotokan Karate sensei is able to adapt the cirriculum to someone who might not have flexible knees, etc.  If anything, we have many people in our dojo who don't have the best of knees, but are able to train normally.  Instead of insisting on an acute angle for a knee bend, a right angle is perfectly fine for them.  



> I wanted him to enrol in TKD but he resfuses cause he does not like those flying sissors kicks, besides he wanted karate period.


 
Depends on the school.  Much like any other martial arts systems, Tae Kwon Do comes in a vast variety of offerings.  Some don't emphasize high kicks, some emphasize more hand techniques, etc.  



> I've doing some research (internet sorry) and I found the Shorin or Shoryn Ryu karate seems good, the stances are not as low and the foorwork is like walking stance and the hands techs are fast, but I really don't know how good shorin/shoryn karate is.


 
Shorin Ryu is a solid system, and less linear than the Japanese systems.  It's very good choice for people who don't like lower stances.  


In the end, he should still look around at a variety of dojos, and see which one offers the best cirriculum for his needs.


----------



## Manny (Sep 27, 2010)

Thank you to all, here in my city if I recall the two ryus of karate that are available are shotokan and shyto ryu (okinawa karate do trade mark) and no uechi or ishin or another ryu. About TKD all dojang are KUKIWON/WTF Style.

You are right about this man needs to go and see and try for himself, I am just a guy who knows something about MA's and that's why Pedro's cousing came to me for a chat about Karate.

The oly thing I can do is tell him what you have wrote me and invied him to my TKD Dojang for a free class and invite him to the kenpo dojo i go and and show him where are the karate dojos.

Manny


----------



## rlp271 (Sep 27, 2010)

If he doesn't want weapons, doesn't want a ton of competition, and wants something easy to apply, I would honestly suggest he take boxing.  He doesn't have to compete.  He'll learn good footwork and how to punch with power.  He'll hit a bag, focus mitts, and a speed bag.  The key here is that he'll hit stuff, which means he'll learn to transfer power.  He'll also spar a bit, which will help him with application.  He shouldn't write off good old fashioned western martial arts if he doesn't want all the "stuff" (kata, kobudo, etc.) that goes with an East Asian, Okinawan in particular, one.


----------

