# Change of Style



## Jai (Nov 21, 2007)

Greetings all.

For those that may know me on the forums around here I am a TKD black belt. Last March I suffered a fairly serious tendon injury to my ankle. I am looking to get back into MA. I have studied TKD for several years and I am looking to expand. There is a Shotokan school close by I have considered enrolling. Is there anyone out there that partakes in Shotokan? How much leg work is there generally as kicking is a hit and miss with me still. I am looking to enroll as a white belt and learn the entire system. What else could I expect generally? Any help would be great. Thank you.


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## Bobby135 (Nov 21, 2007)

Ji Jai,

If TKD is 65% kicking (maybe more) shotokan could be 40%, IMHO.  The kicks are not as acrobatic as often see in TKD.  I studied Shotokan for a few years, along with other arts.  Just as a suggestion I would say look at FMA, I am familiar with Modern Arnis, or Wing Chun.  Kicking is very minimal in these arts.  Also forms of Small Circle Ju Jitsu or even BJJ could be interesting for you.  I would always say to observe some classes and then take a few trial classes.  

Hope this helps.

Bobby


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## Jai (Nov 21, 2007)

Bobby,

Thanks for the input. The TKD I studied when I injured my ankle was closer to 85% kicking, and it was sport with all the fancy crap I have come to hate about MA. As much as I would LOVE to study Modern Arnis, Wing Chun, and mostly BJJ, Shotokan is the only other art offered within reasonable distance for me. Again however thank you Bobby for the information, I will for sure go and check out the Shotokan school next week after the holiday.


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## Margaret Lo (Nov 21, 2007)

Jai said:


> Bobby,
> 
> Thanks for the input. The TKD I studied when I injured my ankle was closer to 85% kicking, and it was sport with all the fancy crap I have come to hate about MA. As much as I would LOVE to study Modern Arnis, Wing Chun, and mostly BJJ, Shotokan is the only other art offered within reasonable distance for me. Again however thank you Bobby for the information, I will for sure go and check out the Shotokan school next week after the holiday.


 
Shotokan is also largely sport oriented though not as competition driven as TKD. The use of hips is very different from TKD since movement supports punching.  There's a lot of emphasis on powerful punching/blocking, long distance kicking and aggressive linear attacks. Your ankles should not be too stressed.


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## Bobby135 (Nov 21, 2007)

Glad I could be of some help.  I am in a similar situation myself, as I have recently moved and finding an affordable place to study that will not take me hours to get to is quite tough.  I have begun to develop the view that "something is better than nothing."  Besides knowing more cannot hurt either way you look at it.


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## Jai (Nov 21, 2007)

Something is usually better then nothing, but that kind of mindset is what I feel lead to my injury in the first place. I'm going to take my own advise and really look into this place so I know what I would be getting into.

Margaret Lo,

Thank you for the information as well. If what you say holds true to this Dojo I should be in good shape without to much worry about my ankle.

Now I went back and reread the information that they have listed, which is very little. They do claim to be members of the American Shotokan Karate Association. However I can not find any such Association on the internet. Anyone know about this?


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## Margaret Lo (Nov 21, 2007)

I'm sorry Jai, I don't know anything about this organization. As always hope you find a good teacher and don't run into intermediate level students wanting to prove something on the newbie.


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## Jai (Nov 21, 2007)

Honestly that would be the worst thing they could do. I'm going to "forget" to mention that I have been active in MA for 23 years with three black belts on my resume. :angel:


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## searcher (Nov 21, 2007)

Jai said:


> Honestly that would be the worst thing they could do. I'm going to "forget" to mention that I have been active in MA for 23 years with three black belts on my resume. :angel:


This is the best way to do it.   When I took up TKD I asked the instructor to not mention my previous training.   It made things go much smoother.


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## Jai (Nov 21, 2007)

I shouldve done that even when I changed over to sports TKD. Would have been alot better and I may not have hurt myself like I.


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## Grenadier (Nov 21, 2007)

I've been in Shotokan for a good while, before switching, so I'll give my two cents here.  

Shotokan schools can differ greatly from one to another, unless they're from the same lineage.  Thus, you can expect that everyone who came under Kanazawa Shihan, will be quite similar, or those who followed Mikami Shihan or Okazaki Shihan, etc. 

For the most part, I found that Shotokan places a stronger emphasis on hand techniques, and that it's actually closer to 75% / 25% punching to kicking.  

Also, most Shotokan schools aren't going to place a premium on high kicking.  The way they see it, if you can kick to the head, then great!  If not, then there are plenty of other ways to accomplish your goals.  

I think you'll find Shotokan Karate to be quite sound, and fundamentally strong.  Furthermore, they'll work with you to maximize what you can do, and not demand that you do something that is impossible for your own body.


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## Jai (Nov 22, 2007)

Wonderful, that is what I need more then anything at this point really. Thanks for the input everyone.


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## chinto (Nov 29, 2007)

Jai said:


> Greetings all.
> 
> For those that may know me on the forums around here I am a TKD black belt. Last March I suffered a fairly serious tendon injury to my ankle. I am looking to get back into MA. I have studied TKD for several years and I am looking to expand. There is a Shotokan school close by I have considered enrolling. Is there anyone out there that partakes in Shotokan? How much leg work is there generally as kicking is a hit and miss with me still. I am looking to enroll as a white belt and learn the entire system. What else could I expect generally? Any help would be great. Thank you.


 
ok, I am NOT a shotokan student. But I am a student of an Okinawan style. my sugestion would be to look into a traditional Okinawan style, a Shorin Ryu or Goju ryu style. they tend to be much less into the kicking then TKD but extreamly efficent and effective. they prefer to work in close where TKD seems to prefer to be outside and longer range. so I think you might find it interesting and enjoyable.
just a sugestion for what it is worth.


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## Jai (Nov 30, 2007)

Well I did some more looking and found out that this Shotokan school is more of a Community Ed group. No summer classes, and the level of training is not what I am really looking for. Going to keep my eyes open and maybe one day someone will be kind enough to open a full time school close by.


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## Seidogirl (Dec 9, 2007)

Jai said:


> Well I did some more looking and found out that this Shotokan school is more of a Community Ed group. No summer classes, and the level of training is not what I am really looking for. Going to keep my eyes open and maybe one day someone will be kind enough to open a full time school close by.


 
What other types of MA are in your area?  Was Shotokan your only option?


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## chinto (Dec 13, 2007)

Seidogirl said:


> What other types of MA are in your area?  Was Shotokan your only option?


I would have to ask the same thing.. is shotokan your only option?


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