about karate and shotokan

[kitkatninja]

As always, I'm a little late to the thread. Tournament sparring for Shotokan (JKA anyway) is generally like this: no padding or helmets, no shin guards or foot protectors. Gloves and a mouthpiece only (women can wear optional chest protector underneath uniform)...

We also get use a groin box too

It's the same for a few non-JKA & ex-JKA associations competitions too.

However not all Shotokan/Shotokai schools/clubs/associations are the same. Some are hard going, some aren't. Some are sports orientated, some are not. Some teach properly, and unfortunately there are some that teach a watered down version. Visit the school in your area, you'll get a feel pretty soon.

However if you're looking at more bunkai for kata's, even though I love Shotokan karate (it's the first art I properly studied, it's my base art, plus I reached Shodan in it), you may want to check out Tang Soo Do first of all. I've learnt more bunkai/applications from my current TSD school from the first few kata's than the Shotokan associations that I use to train with (I've trained with a JKA club, two associations whose head sensei's trained under Kanazawa Sensei's/SKIF and ex-JKA clubs). I'm not saying that's better or worse, I'm just saying that it's different. Plus also most of TSD's patterns are very similar to Shotokan's and you'll already know the language (Korean).

 

[dancingalone]

I believe Old Guy does practice TSD currently if I recall some of his past posts correctly. Great to hear that you're getting what you want out of TSD!

 

[SPX]

Hi, SPX. Been a while since I've seen you participate here. How has the Wado training been?

How nice to be remembered. I did enjoy posting here and talking to you guys. And yeah, it's been a while mostly because I had to put everything on hold for a few months, and that included all MA training. A friend of mine in San Diego was kind of having a hard time (depression and whatnot) and asked me if I wanted to come hang out with him for the summer. I make my money by answering computer questions on the Internet and writing for magazines, so I'm not tied to a geographical location. I told him sure and was down there from March to about the middle of July.

Now I'm back and trying to basically get my life going again. Wado was cool, but to be honest, there was something about that place that wasn't clicking for me. It wasn't the quality of instruction, which I thought was of a high level. But for whatever reason I kind of just didn't feel like I fit in there. I dunno.

I could go back. But since I was only there for two months, I don't feel particularly obligated to. As I hinted at in the other thread I created, I'm actually thinking of switching over to Shotokan. It was the style of karate that I wanted to train in from the beginning, but I couldn't find a good local place so I'm at least going to go check out the SKA class that I've become aware of.

One thing I can tell you is that I'm ready to get settled. I've done a fair amount of bouncing around from different styles and schools over the past few years looking for the right place. It's time to find it and make a home.

 

[OldKarateGuy]

Yep. I did - and loved - JKA shotokan, but I moved to a small town, and fell in with a TSD studio. TSD - my current association anyway - is very similar to shotokan in forms and technique, at least superficially. There are some basic differences. But in terms of point sparring, there is a pretty big separation between the two. I think, too, in the U S anyway, Tang Soo Do is becoming more Westernized (for lack of a better term). Because the larger shotokan groups remain based in Japan, or lead by Japanese instructors, the style tends to remain somewhat static. TSD (again, in the U S) is much more home grown instructors and associations, and is slowly changing (evolving?) into something perhaps more showy and less grounded in pure technique. Of course, individual studios and students vary hugely, and this is a generalization not necessarily true in many cases.
My personal preference is still for shotokan, although that may be because as I age, I find shotokan much more suited to an older body, with limitations on movement, jumping, big kicks, etc. And, even though I harbor a personal bias that shotokan is more practical in real world application, we all should acknowledge that the superior athlete will excel in just about any style.

 

[K-man]

Manny, if Shotokan is the only option, then go for it. Potentially it could be just what you are looking for. If not, you don't have to stay. :asian: