Destiny brought me here...

[Zephyor]

Hi guys... I'm a first year college guy and i've set my mind into picking up martial arts. I Want to do muay thai very very much ( almost like obsessed about it) but all the gyms avaible is requiring a monthly fee wich is quite expensive... and far from the campus. On the other had,the college has a karate (shotokan) club ( led by our country's top knotch karateka's) wich is free to attend, nearby, and i'm definitly willing to pick it up until i will be able to afford muay thai classes.
The reasons i'm doing it varies from:
- free karate hell yeah!
- body conditioning and fitness
- cool exclusive karate moves wich I hope will be handy in any situation that calls for them.
- A thing to commit to
- a refuge from the everyday chaos ill be living into.
- gettin my body in shape


I'd like to hear your opinion, and advice regarding my situation.
Also... please answer me these questions:

1. In what consists the shotokan style and how does it varies from the others
2. does shotokan style include throws, wristlocks, and any form of jujitsu/judoish moves?
3. will my karate skills and drills/worckouts help me in my -soon to come- muay thai traning?
4.I'm quite a big guy... how it would affect my performance? ( 1.82 cm tall, somwhere around 97 kg , not quite flexible body...._ also my highest kick with support foot on the ground is at about my armpit level.
5. Should i expect substantial physique improvement or more likely a lesser result?

 

[marques]

I think Karate will be good for the reasons you mentioned. One more (or two): The way is long, so start as soon as possible. Karate is a start (at least...).

And since the way is long, we need to put training at the level of eating or sleeping. Otherwise we will find something more important or exciting at some point. Karate (or whatever, but it is closer to Muay Thai than most of the sports) can give you the habit of training. Train before the exams, ill, when raining, miss some parties incompatibles with training schedule... Are you ready?

Then change to Muay Thai, eventually, will be easier.

 

[MaMaD]

kicks and punches and style and everything in karate is different from muay thai.
IMO use karate classes mainly for develop ur strength and flexibility and balance. and if u have access to bag out of karate classes u should constantly practice basic muay thai kicks and knees and elbows and punches. doing this stuff will help u conditioning ur bones specially ur shins and of course it will increase ur muay thai skills for whenever u were ready to take muay thai classes. if u wanted do bag things while u are in karate classes make sure ur couch is okay with it.
but who knows, maybe u choose karate over muay thai

 

[Kickboxer101]

What is it about muay Thai that has you certain that's what you want to do? I ask that because if you start karate you may not have an open mind you'll be thinking oh that's not how muay Thai would do it, I mean If there's no realistic way you can train Muay Thai maybe you should just focus on karate

 

[marques]

What is it about muay Thai that has you certain that's what you want to do? I ask that because if you start karate you may not have an open mind you'll be thinking oh that's not how muay Thai would do it, I mean If there's no realistic way you can train Muay Thai maybe you should just focus on karate

As a beginner, the OP will accept Karate as it is. Otherwise, better to do nothing (as it is my case right now). Zephyor, give it a try, start. Do what you can while you are motivated and have time. You are free to stop at any moment...

 

[Tez3]

There's quite a few of us who do more than one style including doing karate and MT. I don't find it difficult to do both.

 

[Tames D]

You are in a great situation. Not only is it free of charge to you and convenient, Shotokan is a great martial art. You are gonna love it, and I wouldn't be surprised if you forget all about MT once you get into Shotokan.

 

[JowGaWolf]

My response is a little different. Because I took Jow Ga and when I moved there was no Jow Ga so I only practiced what I knew. I didn't want to do anything else because my passion was kung fu. Then fate smiled on me when a Jow Ga School opened near me. Then it when away, so now I'm almost in the same situation as before with the exception that I can still do some distance learning with my Sifu and I have a fellow Instructor who knows more than I do, so now we help keep Jow Ga available in Georgia (we are the only Jow Ga school in the state).

The only difference in my situation and your situation is that you have 2 options. If you can't do the one you love then you have an option to do the other one that interest you. I only had one choice. I was only interested and still am interested in Jow Ga. Like Tez stated you actually have the chance to do both.

 

[JR 137]

Is it really too difficult and/or time consuming to type "you" instead of "u" and "your" instead of "ur?"

 

[JP3]

Q1. In what consists the shotokan style and how does it varies from the others?

A: Shotokan is a traditional Japanese karate style, primarily (though this is a bit simplistic) known for straight-line movement, and short direct punches and kicks, very few usually thrown higher than the chest/rib cage. Of course, a Shotokan practitioner "could" kick higher, it's just not my impression of "what they like to do."

Q2. does shotokan style include throws, wristlocks, and any form of jujitsu/judoish moves?

A: Probably would depend on the school, but I would say that as one advances up the rank and the curriculum expands I would bet that some are taught, but it's probably a teacher-preference thing.

Q3. will my karate skills and drills/worckouts help me in my -soon to come- muay thai traning?"

A: Some will, sure. My own TKD slid sideways into my Muay Thai training, though there are some fundamental differences that you'll probably notice if you do the Shotokan for a few years, then pick up the MT down the road. For me, the first one I noted quick was the difference in front kick, for the MT it's a push, directing the other guy away usually, for TKD it's a snap, intended to impact. Different things, different ideas of what you are trying to do.

Q4. I'm quite a big guy... how it would affect my performance? ( 1.82 cm tall, somwhere around 97 kg , not quite flexible body...._ also my highest kick with support foot on the ground is at about my armpit level.

A: UIt means you'll probably hit like a truck, when you connect. That's going to initially be the problem, I've the same issue. Land one, you win. Trying to land one on a smaller, quicker guy, not easy. And, they'll be hitting you back, annoyingly, while you are trying to hit them. It usually stops when you connect, though.

Q5. Should i expect substantial physique improvement or more likely a lesser result?

A: Depends on how much you train, and mainly on what you eat. If you go all fiendish on it, and train 6 times a week, two hours a day, and end up leaving the dojo dripping sweat each time, yes you'll see a big physique difference and so will members of the opposite gender. If you only go once or twice a week for an hour and never have to wash your gi, you won't see a thing. It's still good for you, though.

 

[drop bear]

Andy hug.

Sam greco.

 

[Dinkydoo]

There are plenty of people who train and do well in both at the same time.

I think in terms of skill, sweeping will be the most transferable skill - for me personally, the wrist locks and sweeps from the kung fu I did easily changed into a leg catch and sweep when I started doing muay thai.

Roundhouse kicks caused me the most problems - but that's probably because it always took a lot of work for me to improve my kicks in the first place, and I'd spent years learning to kick the flicky way with the foot, instead of using different body mechanics to swing my leg like a baseball bat and connect with the shin, without much knee bend. It's taken me a while to adjust that and the timing/distancing issues that followed, but I'm doing much better now.

I haven't ever done Karate btw

 

[Zephyor]

As regarding the kicks, I personally watched a decent amount of buakaw matches in slow motion and try to see , understand and imitate every aspect of his movement. I have experience in martial arts so far but damn, i could feel the difference from my first attempt before watching the videos and the ones after. I'm confident i can use that kick proficiently at beginner to medium level.
What I have learned: ( correct me if i'm wrong)
--Sometimes before throwing the shin kick in a combination he always turns his front foot outwards a small angle , movement masked by the setup punches. What this small front foot turn does is basicly increase the torque and overall force of the kick.
-- It all comes down to the hip rotation. Get this right and the job is 60% done.
-- I've noticed If the opponent rushes into you , you could intentionally bend your striking leg's knee just after the initial contact thus keeping him at bay susceptible for further attaks.
-- That arm you throw backwards while kicking does wonders to your balance and coming back into stance, don't forget to hold the guard with the other one tho.
-- kick repetitively same spot to wear off opponent's leg.

 

[MaMaD]

As regarding the kicks, I personally watched a decent amount of buakaw matches in slow motion and try to see , understand and imitate every aspect of his movement. I have experience in martial arts so far but damn, i could feel the difference from my first attempt before watching the videos and the ones after. I'm confident i can use that kick proficiently at beginner to medium level.
What I have learned: ( correct me if i'm wrong)
--Sometimes before throwing the shin kick in a combination he always turns his front foot outwards a small angle , movement masked by the setup punches. What this small front foot turn does is basicly increase the torque and overall force of the kick.
-- It all comes down to the hip rotation. Get this right and the job is 60% done.
-- I've noticed If the opponent rushes into you , you could intentionally bend your striking leg's knee just after the initial contact thus keeping him at bay susceptible for further attaks.
-- That arm you throw backwards while kicking does wonders to your balance and coming back into stance, don't forget to hold the guard with the other one tho.
-- kick repetitively same spot to wear off opponent's leg.

watch this 4 video instead of try to learn from a legend when u didnt start train muay thai yet

 

[Zephyor]

watch this 4 video instead of try to learn from a legend when u didnt start train muay thai yet

TY for the advice. To be honest I've asked a review about these particular videos in one of my first posts on this forum XD

heres the forum post link Hello ! new to MT want to pick muay thai and maybe some traditional Jujitsu

 

[drop bear]

If destiny brought you here. would that make you Destiny's Child?

 

[Dirty Dog]

 

[KangTsai]

As regarding the kicks, I personally watched a decent amount of buakaw matches in slow motion and try to see , understand and imitate every aspect of his movement. I have experience in martial arts so far but damn, i could feel the difference from my first attempt before watching the videos and the ones after. I'm confident i can use that kick proficiently at beginner to medium level.
What I have learned: ( correct me if i'm wrong)
--Sometimes before throwing the shin kick in a combination he always turns his front foot outwards a small angle , movement masked by the setup punches. What this small front foot turn does is basicly increase the torque and overall force of the kick.
-- It all comes down to the hip rotation. Get this right and the job is 60% done.
-- I've noticed If the opponent rushes into you , you could intentionally bend your striking leg's knee just after the initial contact thus keeping him at bay susceptible for further attaks.
-- That arm you throw backwards while kicking does wonders to your balance and coming back into stance, don't forget to hold the guard with the other one tho.
-- kick repetitively same spot to wear off opponent's leg.

Spectacular observations. The pivot leg is as important as the striking leg; turning the foot out is what makes it a round kick.