Finding a good Kyokushin school

[nirusls]

Hi I was moving between shito ryu and Kyokushin. I love kyokushin that much. But the only draw back I saw is lack of FACE PUNCHING & DEFENCE.

But first of all I decided to visit the kyokushin dojo.
What do I need to ask him about his classes ?

Should I ask him about do they allow face contacts (punches) even with boxing gloves ?

 

[JR 137]

It's a very common misconception that Kyokushin doesn't practice throwing and defending face punches. Just because it's not allowed in bare knuckle competition doesn't mean it's never done. People see Kyokushin tournaments and think that's all they do. Just like they see Seido Juku point fighting on YouTube and think that's how we always spar. Nonsense. I've been at my current dojo almost a year now, and point fighting hasn't been anywhere in the picture. It's knockdown sparring with protective gear.

I know plenty of Kyokushin guys who wear boxing-type gloves and punch to the face/head. It's controlled and not looking for a knockout, but it's done.

Not every dojo does this, but many do. And the ones that do usually don't do this every time. They also don't do it until the student has reached a relatively higher rank, say brown belt.

Some Kyokushin schools are very competition oriented. Others aren't. The only way to find out if the one you're interested in does what you're looking for is to visit and ask the instructors.

 

[Grenadier]

There's a reason why a lot of Kyokushin schools won't allow face contact with the fists in their full contact competitions / sparring.

There's simply no safe way to "condition" your face, unless the goal is to destroy all of those nerve endings. Unless you're a boxer who has been pounded many times in the face, and have no live nerve endings there, your eyes will swell up in tears (nothing unmanly about it, mind you), and your nose will swell, when you get stuck in the face.

While it may seem to one's advantage to dull those endings, I strongly recommend against it, since you'll end up paying for it when you're older. Quivering lips, shaking jaws, etc., are something I'd rather not see amongst any Karate-ka.

Regarding head contact, though, I've watched a good number of Oyama (Yasuhiko) Shihan's competitions here in the Birmingham area, and while they don't allow hand contact to the head, they do allow kicks to the head, as well as the thighs. Thus, in their school, I'm quite sure that their guys are well aware of guarding the head, since those head kicks do hurt...

Talk to the instructor, and ask what kind of sparring do they do, since not all Kyokushin schools will be alike.

 

[Hanzou]

Its also important to note that punching the face and head repeatedly is a great way to break your hand.