# What style of karate do you train



## MMAfighter (Nov 29, 2006)

I was just wondering what style of karate some people train in. Are there any ashihara, kyokushin, seido karatekas here?


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## wesley (Nov 29, 2006)

a while back i trained in Shito Karano Karate. 

it is fairly basic and very practial.


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## Jonathan Randall (Nov 29, 2006)

Shotokan.

I think the other styles are very good, though.


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## WyldFya (Nov 29, 2006)

I was taught in Wado-ryu, and have continued to teach, and train in this style.  I also work out with kyokushin several times a week, however, I have never converted to kyokushin.


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## JasonASmith (Nov 29, 2006)

Shotokan all the way...


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## Cirdan (Nov 29, 2006)

My main style is Wado Ryu. Kyokushin is fairly common around here, but I haven`t tried it.


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## MMAfighter (Nov 29, 2006)

i forgot to add. Hwo about telling us your rank too


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## Arizona Angel (Nov 29, 2006)

Kenpo--yellow belt


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## BushidoUK (Nov 29, 2006)

I currently hold a fourth Dan  in a mixed Karate style of Shotokan and Zankido Ryu Ju Jitsu.


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## twendkata71 (Nov 29, 2006)

*I train in the Seiei kan style of karate do mainly. It is an offshoot of the Koei Kan style in Japan. I have also trained in Shotokan,(Matsubayashi)Shorin ryu,Shito ryu(Shukokai), kenpo and ABS karate. As well as Jujitsu,and Okinawa Kobudo.*
*My teaching curriculum is made up of the four major Japanese styles of karate and Okinawan Shorin ryu. *
*I am currently at godan rank. *


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## JasonASmith (Nov 29, 2006)

I'm a 9th kyu


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## searcher (Nov 29, 2006)

Roku-dan in Chito-ryu.  I also have trained in Isshin-ryu and have recently went back to working in my first karate style EPAK.   I train and assist in American Karate, but it is really TKD with a twist.


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## Brandon Fisher (Nov 29, 2006)

Style: Seijitsu Shin Do - Karate Do (Mix of Okinawan Karate, Kobudo, Ju Jitsu)
Current Rank:Godan / Founder of Seijitsu Shin Do


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## karatekid1975 (Nov 29, 2006)

I'm a 9 kyu in Shotokan, but I have done TSD (5th kyu) and TKD (1st kyu). I am Shotokan all the way now


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## WyldFya (Nov 30, 2006)

Shodan


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## TimoS (Nov 30, 2006)

Kokusai Shorinji ryu, an off-shoot of Shorinji ryu Renshinkan and currently shodan in it. Haven't really trained in other styles, although I am interested in Okinawan styles. Unfortunately there aren't many to choose from here (only Seibukan and even that isn't available everywhere)


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## Nemesis (Nov 30, 2006)

I don't train karate anymore, but I when did, it was in a style that's fairly common were I'm from but that I've never seen discussed in this forum before (although I've never actually looked very hard for it either).

I did Karate-Do Shotokai, I was a brown belt when I decided to move on to other areas of MA.


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## JasonASmith (Nov 30, 2006)

Nemesis said:


> I don't train karate anymore, but I when did, it was in a style that's fairly common were I'm from but that I've never seen discussed in this forum before (although I've never actually looked very hard for it either).
> 
> I did Karate-Do Shotokai, I was a brown belt when I decided to move on to other areas of MA.


Do you mind if I ask you a few questions on the Shotokai?
I've been chomping at the bit to ask some questions from someone on the inside of  that system...


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## twendkata71 (Nov 30, 2006)

*Jason, if you would like information on the Shotokai karate do go to *
*www.shotokai.com  it has all of the information about shotokai and what true karatedo is all about.:ultracool *


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## JasonASmith (Nov 30, 2006)

twendkata71 said:


> *Jason, if you would like information on the Shotokai karate do go to *
> *www.shotokai.com it has all of the information about shotokai and what true karatedo is all about.:ultracool *


Yep, I'm familiar with that site...
Egami was something else...
Thanks for the info, in any case...


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## twendkata71 (Dec 1, 2006)

*I know several Shotokai people. All good karate ka. They do not compete in tournaments. Their training is for the development of the Budo and the individual.  I do think that they over do their stances a bit.  just an my opinion.*


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## twendkata71 (Dec 1, 2006)

*Timo, you should contact Patrick McCarthy. He was a Shorinji ryu stylist. He could help you to develop and learn more Okinawan karate.*










TimoS said:


> Kokusai Shorinji ryu, an off-shoot of Shorinji ryu Renshinkan and currently shodan in it. Haven't really trained in other styles, although I am interested in Okinawan styles. Unfortunately there aren't many to choose from here (only Seibukan and even that isn't available everywhere)


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## TimoS (Dec 1, 2006)

twendkata71 said:


> *Timo, you should contact Patrick McCarthy. He was a Shorinji ryu stylist. He could help you to develop and learn more Okinawan karate.*



Shorinji, yes, but a different branch of Shorinji. Our Shorinji is in the Kyan lineage (Kyan -> Zenpo Shimabukuro -> Isamu Tamotsu -> Motomu Ikubo -> Yuji Matsuoi). Anyway, I might go to one of his camps just to see for myself, because I have heard a lot of conflicting stuff about him. Some say he is the best there is, others barely tolerate him. There are some Koryu Uchinadi groups here and in fact one of my teachers ex-students actually studied directly with Patrick McCarthy


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## twendkata71 (Dec 1, 2006)

*He studied shorinji ryu with Richard Kim and then Joen Nagazato directly on Okinawa. He has now went away from that. Hiroshi Kinjo and Richard Kim were friends and classmates.  I have heard both as well. But, I have heard that if you can get around the ego his wealth of knowledge is extensive.*


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## meta (Dec 2, 2006)

MMAfighter said:


> I was just wondering what style of karate some people train in. Are there any ashihara, kyokushin, seido karatekas here?



I train in kyokushin. Unfortunately, there seem to be very few kyokushin practitioners among MT members.


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## Mariachi Joe (Dec 2, 2006)

Shaolin Kempo Karate, founded by Grandmaster Fred Villari as taught at United Studios of Self Defence which is run by a former Villari student Prof. Charles Mattera


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## twendkata71 (Dec 2, 2006)

*I found the Kyokushinkai style fascinating. But, There is no one that is even close to me that taught Kyokushinkai. Sosai Mas Oyama was a very interesting man. I have several of his books. *








meta said:


> I train in kyokushin. Unfortunately, there seem to be very few kyokushin practitioners among MT members.


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## meta (Dec 2, 2006)

twendkata71 said:


> *I found the Kyokushinkai style fascinating. But, There is no one that is even close to me that taught Kyokushinkai. Sosai Mas Oyama was a very interesting man. I have several of his books. *



Thank you, twendkata71, for your post. Oyama Sosai was truly an outstanding person (though not ideal by any means, which seems to bother some of his critics  ).

I find it interesting that Kyokushin is so popular in post-Soviet states, particularly in Russia. My impression is that it does not enjoy widespread popularity in the U.S. Is that right? And, if so, what do you think is the reason?


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## searcher (Dec 2, 2006)

meta said:


> I train in kyokushin. Unfortunately, there seem to be very few kyokushin practitioners among MT members.


 

I don't train in it, but I have fought some Kyokushin Karate-ka.   They always do well in knockdown and seem to be very good martial artists.   One of my instructors and I have modified Oyama's 100 man fight to test our BB candidates.


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## twendkata71 (Dec 2, 2006)

*It depends where you are here in the US. There are many Kyokushinkai schools and/or offshoot schools(Enshin,Ashihara,Seido,World Oyama,etc.) After Sosai Oyama passed away most of the groups here in the US split up and started their own groups or styles. There are still some organizations that are true to the Kyokushinkai style. The Buck family runs one of the largest Kyokushinkai organizations in the US. *
*In my opinion karate is karate, there are good karateka and not so good karate ka.  Karate is what you make it. "Man makes the art, the art does not make the man." All karate has value, all styles have strengths and weaknesses.*







meta said:


> Thank you, twendkata71, for your post. Oyama Sosai was truly an outstanding person (though not ideal by any means, which seems to bother some of his critics  ).
> 
> I find it interesting that Kyokushin is so popular in post-Soviet states, particularly in Russia. My impression is that it does not enjoy widespread popularity in the U.S. Is that right? And, if so, what do you think is the reason?


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## Nemesis (Dec 2, 2006)

twendkata71 said:


> *I know several Shotokai people. All good karate ka. They do not compete in tournaments. Their training is for the development of the Budo and the individual. I do think that they over do their stances a bit. just an my opinion.*


 
I don't know how it is in the rest of the world but in Portugal we do compete in tournaments with other styles and, if I may say so myself, my school was one of the best out there. The tournaments were divided in katas and kumite (point fighting not full contack like kyokushin) but we mostly did kumite.

Since we competed a lot our stances weren't as low as in other schools, just a couple of steps in length.


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## twendkata71 (Dec 2, 2006)

*Some Shotokai do, but many do not compete. Depending on the association. Most of the Shotokai people that I do know do not compete. There are schools here that call themselves Shotokai, but look more like mainstream Shotokan. *
*To each their own. *


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## ISMA girl (Dec 2, 2006)

matsubyashi shorin ryu 3rd kyu brown


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## Nemesis (Dec 3, 2006)

twendkata71 said:


> *Some Shotokai do, but many do not compete. Depending on the association. Most of the Shotokai people that I do know do not compete. There are schools here that call themselves Shotokai, but look more like mainstream Shotokan. *
> *To each their own. *


 
Now that I think about it there was an association that I came in contact with called Murakami-kai, they were very technical with extremely low stances (for example in zenkutsu-dashi the front leg was supposed to be paralel to the ground). They didn't compete and they actually looked down to the schools that did. I have to say that they didn't impressed me at all.


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## meta (Dec 3, 2006)

twendkata71 said:


> *In my opinion karate is karate, there are good karateka and not so good karate ka.  Karate is what you make it. "Man makes the art, the art does not make the man." All karate has value, all styles have strengths and weaknesses.*



I wholeheartedly agree with that. I think it's great that we have so many different styles of karate. This way each person can find what suits him or her best.


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## Bushido492 (Dec 4, 2006)

Shuri Ryu...Under the Direction of Hanshi Bowles.


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## setboy (Dec 5, 2006)

Isshinryu ~ Sho Dan


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## twendkata71 (Dec 5, 2006)

Mr.Bowles is a good man.  And he has many good people in his organization.







Bushido492 said:


> Shuri Ryu...Under the Direction of Hanshi Bowles.


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## Brandon Fisher (Dec 6, 2006)

twendkata71 said:


> Mr.Bowles is a good man. And he has many good people in his organization.


Agreed!!


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## Ken (Dec 8, 2006)

I first studied Wado-ryu many years ago, then Mushindo-ryu, and then Goju-ryu. For the past 30 years been a student of Sanchin-ryu Okinawan Karate.
www.sanchinryukarate.co.uk


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## Gufbal1982 (Dec 8, 2006)

I studied Shaolin Kempo for 20 years and now I study BJJ, Kickboxing and a whole lot of other styles with it...works much better


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## TimoS (Dec 8, 2006)

Ken said:


> For the past 30 years been a student of Sanchin-ryu Okinawan Karate.




Okinawan? Who is the okinawan headmaster of Sanchin ryu? I have nothing against modern karate styles, be they japanese, okinawan or (for all I care) finnish, but from what I've read about Sanchin ryu, I wouldn't call it okinawan if it hasn't ever been practised in Okinawa. It may be based on okinawan karate, but that doesn't make it okinawan karate. The style I'm practising is also based on okinawan karate (Chotoku Kyan -> Zenryo Shimabukuro -> Isamu Tamotsu -> Motomu Ikubo -> Yuji Matsuoi), but since the art was founded in Finland we can hardly call it okinawan, now can we?

Sorry to be nitpicking, but that's just how I see things


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## twendkata71 (Dec 9, 2006)

*From what I gather it is a mixture of Goju ryu and Uechi ryu karate. It is Okinawan in its origins, but not created by an Okinawan. Then again Shuri ryu karate is called Okinawan, but created by GM Robert Trias from bits and pieces of other styles. It is not found or taught on Okinawa. *


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## Zero (Dec 10, 2006)

My background through childhood and highschool is judo and TKD with a couple of years wing chun on the side. For the last 5 years however I have been training in Goju Ryu and consider this now as my core system along with jutisu - my previous club was goju but had senior jujitsu practitioners so after strike training we spent much time on grappling/locks. 

Back in the day I got to balck tip in TKD but do not see myself at al as a TKD fghter now.  I'm a green belt in goju having missed far too many gradings (I guess the real reason is that I never put much weight in the colour of a belt - having fought and beaten many dans but also through getting my own butt kicked by 'unschooled' fighters. Unless you're purely patterns/kata focused I find it's the time you spend in the ring or on the mat that adds up).

I have never graded with the jujitsu guys but find it flows on well from my younger judo days (I guess being judo's wel-spring that would make sense!).

My club was quite eclectic and was open to freestyle fighting and tournaments, training in submission and strike fighting and taking a lot of the stand up punching from boxing also.
Now I'm in the UK and have recovered from an injury I suffered in my last mma fight so have been training on my own and am now looking for a club in London. No luck so far - I'm impressed by the range of practitioners over here but am struggling to find a club that embraces sparring and fighting at a high level and particularly in mma style - as I at least would never adopt the attitude that any one way can suit all situations or defeat all opponents - be it in the ring or on the street/in a club.

By the way if any one has any suggestions re such a club around SE or central City London it would be much appreciated, I haven't been able to train for about 6 months and am itching to get back into it with others again.

Cheers


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## OneKickWonder (Dec 11, 2006)

I am a blue belt in Combat American Freestyle Kenpo Karate, otherwise known as Ed Parker's Kenpo, but I have experience in TKD and Muay Thai also. There are many different versions of EPK as it was meant to evolve when he founded it. My instructor is also a police officer and teaches Ssgt which is the police officers form of self defense utilizing some joint locks and ground work along with some stand-up to put a suspect in positions they need them for cuffing and searching procedures.


We use this for cross training in class sometimes. He, along with some of us senior students, is working on restructuring the class curriculum the work some of the freestyle grappling in to the karate. I am enjoying being part of the birth of a new form. We are very open minded towards other arts. My instructor is also a dan in the old style Kenpo, and a green in TKD. We often spend discussion time in class on the importance of cross training.


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## JackShadow (Dec 18, 2006)

My style is Ko-Sutemi Seiei Kan.  I'm currently at the Sho Dan (1st degree black) rank under the direction of 5th degree blackbelt Rnady Reffitt.


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## shoshinkan (Dec 18, 2006)

Okinawan Shorin Ryu, Matsumura Shurite Kyokai.


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## twendkata71 (Dec 19, 2006)

*Where is your school? I trained with Soke Madden for many years. I know that name, but can't place the face. I probably have known him for years.*










JackShadow said:


> My style is Ko-Sutemi Seiei Kan. I'm currently at the Sho Dan (1st degree black) rank under the direction of 5th degree blackbelt Rnady Reffitt.


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## JackShadow (Dec 19, 2006)

Bah! It wont let me edit my post.  I meant to say Randy Reffitt, but  think you  got who it was.  My Dojo is in Hillsboro, we used to train in town, but now we've struck up somethign with the local YMCA and we now do classes there.


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