American Karate...

[Infight]

Originally posted by IMAA
HI,

I'll say this. From what I've gathered in our school we coin the term American Karate and or American TaeKwonDo. Which ever. we use both names. We're a mixture of shuri ryu Karate and we emphasise Taekwondo Kicking.

However we are bound by neither. We are a mixed school, We have BJJ, Kali, Judo, JKD as our curriculum. We have Kata however we do not stress them that much. We are a more self defense ran school. We to compete in the Tournaments so we learn point sparring and kata for mostly that aspect, and for promotion requirements. Neverthe less I think we use American Karate because we draw from alot of different areas. Boxing, Kickboxing as well... I have wondered myself for a long timewhat American Karate or American TKD has actually meant.

This is the best answer I can give.
thanks

This is from what i get the idea of American Karate!

 

[Infight]

Originally posted by akja
Where did all that come from??

10 years ago, the Brazilians came to America and made a statement, that statement was that the standup arts needed to learn to grapple.

We've done that!

Now you are saying the arts should be separate. Does not make sense at all. What does make sense is for the arts to evolve! It is common sense to perfect your art and if covering all ranges is what it takes, then so be it.

Also the last 10 years has created many new schools. These schools are the ones that represent the fighters of the UFC, Pride and all the others. These fighters most definately do not come from any other source. And if they did, then they transitioned into a "new school" to learn to fight for that arena.


There is a GREAT difference training A stand up AND a grapple ma, instead of doing a MA that trains everything.
The main problem of this is that all guys youll spar will be the best in standing fight cause they only pratice that, so youll learn alot better that standing martial art cause that, the way happens to ground training, and the same not will happen to guys that mix their training with a lot of things.
Thats why mixing up all martial arts in one will not let you become a good fighter. Many MMA fighters dunno train these ma mixed, they train mainly, THAI, KICKBOXING, BJJ and Wrestling. They train Vale Tudo too, but this is just focusing on MMA champs, they do things like transition ground\standing, standing\ground, simulation of Octagon (in UFC case), besides refining their techniques, but remember most of them are all black belts or almost there, so they got to top in their ma, so they can teach these arts.
My comment is not for guys who mastered one standing type of ma and some of ground, its for the guys who wants to become a good fighter and get to top, unfortunatly thats how it works, of course will be a lot easier if praticing a ma that has all ma on it let you become that good fighter, but i doesnt.
To finish this post, i agree with akja, training things that are not usefull is a waste of our precious time, if youll train, train something that will help you.

Use what is useful, reject what is useless and add what is specifically your own!

 

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by Infight

I probably did, but bro I am a grappler in my heart and a standup fighter by nature. I need to mix it up. My journey is the formless form.:asian:

 

[Angus]

Originally posted by Infight
This is from what i get the idea of American Karate!

Which is VERY different than the AK that I did. Get it? It's not a specific curriculum! The training of the person you mentioned has a curriculum that's NOT the norm for the arts called "American Karate", because most of what he does isn't even Karate.

 

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by Angus
Which is VERY different than the AK that I did. Get it? It's not a specific curriculum! The training of the person you mentioned has a curriculum that's NOT the norm for the arts called "American Karate", because most of what he does isn't even Karate.

I'm a little curious as to what the curriculum to "American Karate" is?

 

[Angus]

Doesn't have a specific one, that's the whole point!! It's a generic term that can mean anything.

Generally, though, it's basically some form of karate/striking, be it based upon taekwondo, karatedo, etc etc. I've seen a bunch of school that use the same name and have different curriculums, but GENERALLY it's something closer to that. Some incorporate judo (mine did), and some might incorporate FMA or groundfighting I suppose; I've seen the former, but never the latter.

I think you're missing my main point, though, which is that it's NOT a specific art. However, based on the schools I've seen there are generally some things that stay basically similiar as far as WHAT they do, but it does NOT mean that they are all the same, etc, like Infight was implying.

This thread is getting really redundant.

 

[arnisador]

Originally posted by akja
I'm a little curious as to what the curriculum to "American Karate" is?

I imagine there are many answers--many people have named their art American Karate I imagine.

 

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by arnisador
I imagine there are many answers--many people have named their art American Karate I imagine.

That is exactly where I was headed. I'm sure there was system intended, probobaly Parkers. But I remember reading in BB Mag. that Joe Lewis called his art American Karate. Besides the amount of peoples usage of that term its almost more like a term rather than a specific art.

But I am still curious as to which it that was intended.

 

[Chronuss]

Ed Parker's American Kenpo Karate is an American system developed by an American in America. AK is the only system that I've ever heard of as deemed American.

 

[IMAA]

http://www.pkcheadquarters.org

>>>
But I remember reading in BB Mag. that Joe Lewis called his art American Karate<<<

Well to be exact I believe our systems follows Mr.Lewis to an extent. In our system base we have Bill Superfoot Wallace, Joe Lewis , Glenn Kenney, as our technical supervisors over the system. So this is probably were we coined the term American Karate. I was asking my Shihan about this the other day and he said that as long as the early 70's this system that we do has been called American Karate it was put together by Bill Wallace when he was in his prime under one of his teachers, Glenn Kenney of Anderson,/ Indianapolis Indiana at the time. Bill going to Ball State University in his younger years would travel to Anderson to train with Mr.Kenney and as Bill got more and more "famous" so to speak thru his Kickboxing carreer I guess they which was then USKA orginization called the system American Karate, a mixture of Gojuryu and TaeKwonDo.

Now as I see it our system has become so versed were no longer with USKA as I beleve it no longer exists, they developed PKC, which I tagged thier websie to the top of this post so you can scan thru that and get some idea as to what it is they do. However it is merely a Sport Minded system anymore thru most schools that are in the PKC

Thanks

 

[IMAA]

OKay my bad, It was Joe Corley , not joe lewis. I was just reading thru alot of the "OFFICERS" history in the website and i found out a few things.

This overview of the brief history of some of the guys will explain alot im sure

Go to the website

http://www.pkcheadquarters.org/

and click the "officers" title part and read who started and when etc......

just a little FYI

thanks

 

[arnisador]

Originally posted by Chronuss
Ed Parker's American Kenpo Karate is an American system developed by an American in America. AK is the only system that I've ever heard of as deemed American.

Others have suggested other systems as being American--including JKD.

Both JKD and American Kenpo have such a strong base in Chinese martial arts that I cannot consider them American.

 

[D.Cobb]

Originally posted by arnisador
Others have suggested other systems as being American--including JKD.

Both JKD and American Kenpo have such a strong base in Chinese martial arts that I cannot consider them American.

I was at a Jeff Speakman seminar, last night, and he described American Kenpo as an Hawaiian art.... Giving the impression that it was developed more for the Samoan type stature.....

--Dave

:asian:

 

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by arnisador
Others have suggested other systems as being American--including JKD.

Both JKD and American Kenpo have such a strong base in Chinese martial arts that I cannot consider them American.

Speaking of the Jun Fan system I was told it was Chinese American. The Wing Chun is from China but the modified Jun Fan and eventually JKD was a process developed in America by a Chinese American.

 

[Johnathan Napalm]

Wasn't Bruce Lee's Chinese name Lee Jun Fan ?

 

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by Johnathan Napalm
Wasn't Bruce Lee's Chinese name Lee Jun Fan ?

Yes.

 

[Infight]

Originally posted by Angus
Doesn't have a specific one, that's the whole point!! It's a generic term that can mean anything.

Generally, though, it's basically some form of karate/striking, be it based upon taekwondo, karatedo, etc etc. I've seen a bunch of school that use the same name and have different curriculums, but GENERALLY it's something closer to that. Some incorporate judo (mine did), and some might incorporate FMA or groundfighting I suppose; I've seen the former, but never the latter.

I think you're missing my main point, though, which is that it's NOT a specific art. However, based on the schools I've seen there are generally some things that stay basically similiar as far as WHAT they do, but it does NOT mean that they are all the same, etc, like Infight was implying.

This thread is getting really redundant.

Man, this is really wierd!
Tell me if i got wrong, but in AK in one school you should pratice kicks like in TKD, in other you can learn just punching like boxe, in another you train grappling, is that it?
And all of that you call AK?
Thats wierd, its the same you have a Jiu-Jitsu school that you learn only punching, or enphasis punching, in another you enphasis kicking and in another ground and call all of them Jiu-Jitsu, thats impossible, Jiu-Jitsu is a grappling art, as Karate is a Striking art, you guys went crazy!

 

[James Kovacich]

Originally posted by Infight
Man, this is really wierd!
Tell me if i got wrong, but in AK in one school you should pratice kicks like in TKD, in other you can learn just punching like boxe, in another you train grappling, is that it?
And all of that you call AK?
Thats wierd, its the same you have a Jiu-Jitsu school that you learn only punching, or enphasis punching, in another you enphasis kicking and in another ground and call all of them Jiu-Jitsu, thats impossible, Jiu-Jitsu is a grappling art, as Karate is a Striking art, you guys went crazy!

What it really is that there are so differant martial schools in the USA and many have more than one art in their school. There are just too many influences that are differant for each school. Even some schools with the same art may have big differances.

Does that sound a little more clear?

 

[Infight]

Yeah, i understand what you mean, i what want to say is that each one of these "influenced arts" should have some special name, cause i dont think they are Karate anymore, but of course thats the way i think, anyone may think differently.

 

[Mike Clarke]

I think American Karate is an 'attitude'.

Just as Japanese karate is based [regardless of style] on the Japanese 'attitude' to life [this is why it's so different to Okinawan karatedo], Americans have put their own flavour to the kicking and punching they do.

Depending on where you live in the world, you might view this as a good thing or a bad thing, never the less every country does it.
Okinawan karate is its self [to a large degree] a blend of their own fighting methods and the Chuan-fa brought back from China and elsewhere in the region by traiders and travellers.

One thing American Karate is not, is important, save to anyone other than those who practise it.

Mike.