stupid karate f.a.q's

blood talon · Yellow Belt

well, i kept telling myself that im going to move from muay thai to another martial art. not that muay thai is bad, it just focuses to much on breaking someones bones so to speak, rather than anything else. i love doing the ram muay. but i need different things to do....well anyways, theres this impressive lookin shotokan school up my street. and i just wanted to ask a couple of questions about shotokan karate.

-does it teach more than jusst learning how to fight?
-does it teach enough about self-defense
-how long did it take you to be confident in your techniques?(toward shotokan practioners)
-REALLY,REALLY,REALLY,stupid question but have u ever seen street fighter alpha the cartoon or played the video game(i know...i know.) well ken and ryu, thats not really shotokan is it(not the part with the crazy fireballs and jumping 3 ,eters in the air).but their stance and basics

-and finally im 15, im i too old?

thanx.

Eye of the Tiger · Purple Belt

First of all your never to old to start a martial art of any kind, well maybe Muay Thai but karate any age. Karate is not about fighting it is completely based on pure self defence. I do not do shotokan but here is some info about it

http://www.24fightingchickens.com

jakmak52 · Green Belt

Taikudo-ka · Green Belt

-does it teach more than jusst learning how to fight?

Yes. Shotokan is a modern karate-do, (a budo) designed to develop the practitioner physically and mentally. Try to research a bit about bujutsu (older, 'pure' fighting') and budo (newer, training and sport oriented arts) in Japanese culture.

-does it teach enough about self-defense

Yes. Shotokan is a striking art, which will initially teach basic punching and kicks, as well as various blocks and some other moves. You will practise kata (forms) which string together techniques. Experienced karateka can extract advanced moves from kata and apply them in a number of ways, such as locks, trapping and joint breaking, advanced strikes and even judo style throws. (But this is not the "basic" syllabus)

Karate-jutsu was originally developed for self defense, later for health and fitness, and only recently evolved into sporting formats with tournaments and like. Thus there are many true, valid karate self defense techniques which cannot be used in competition, but can still be learnt for "the street".

-how long did it take you to be confident in your techniques?(toward shotokan practioners)

Depends on the practitioner. Probably if you've one Muay Thai you'll pick it up quickly, as there would be lots of similarities. We had about 6 weeks of training in basics before sparring a wide range of grades from white to black.

-REALLY,REALLY,REALLY,stupid question but have u ever seen street fighter alpha the cartoon or played the video game(i know...i know.) well ken and ryu, thats not really shotokan is it(not the part with the crazy fireballs and jumping 3 ,eters in the air).but their stance and basics

Probably not. From memory they looked more like boxers. If you want to see what Shotokan should look like, go to your local book store and look at books by Ginchin Funakoshi, like Karate-Do Kyohan. Or search the web.

-and finally im 15, im i too old?

Are you kidding? If you're a guy you actually have at least another ten years before you hit your peak, physically. For some sports, like running, athletes often peak in their early thirties, as far as performance goes. At my dojo you wouldn't even qualify for a "regular" (adult) belt rank - under 16 has junior rankings... People continue to practise karate into 60s and beyond. Plus they can continue to enjoy the many "other" benefits without having to fight full contact tournaments...

Sin Style · Yellow Belt

i have a question too, how long does it take to become a 7th dan?

Taikudo-ka · Green Belt

A long, long, time. First dan can take generally 2-4 years, but to get above 5th or so generally takes decades. Some have particular service time or age requirements, like 10 years continuous training time, or must be above 60 years old (on one thing I saw for 8th or 10th Dan somewhere, no kidding!)

It is my experience that dan ranks in karate are generally treated fairly stringently, and not handed out like fairy floss as happens in some styles. You won't be made 7th dan for telling a good joke.

:-)-: · Blue Belt

About the whole Street Fighter thing: Ken, Ryu, and Akuma fight more or less like TKD guys. The closest thing to Shotokan in the Street Fighter world would be Karin as she appears in SF Alpha 3. Low, but mobile stances, strong, rushing attacks, and counters for defense. Other games with Shotokan-like fighters are DOA 2's Ein, VF 4's Akira, and that Karate chick from DOA 3, I forget her name.

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d-:-O->img src="images/smiles/icon_smile.gif" alt="">->img src="images/smiles/icon_frown.gif" alt="">-:-O-:-p

G95champ · Black Belt

Shotokan is the most popular karate style. There are lots of web sites and books out there for you check up on in.

As far as you questions. (no order)
1. As someone pointed out above 5th or 6th Dan is about the highest the avg. person can get to. Because of the age limits. To go to the high Dans you pretty much got to be tied into one of the major Shotokan associaltions. JKA, AJKA, SKA, etc. However some only use a 5th Dan system. Hower you can make 1st Dan in about 3 years. However it takes most 4.

2. As far as Self-Defense goes you will pick up a lot of power moves. Which like I told another poster its not locks and grabs SD its counter strike SD. One punch one kill.... Finish the fight as quick as you can and get out of Dodge. LOL...

3. The best thing about Shotokan is that you can go anyway with it you want. It can be a great base to get into sport karate. It can be a great base to get into full contact karate. However it is best at being a art. Development of the kata constantly teaches you more and more about the art. Tons and tons of hidden moves and applications you are always finding in them.

4. I tell my studnets by the time they get past the 5 Heian Kata they should be able to defend themselves aginst a person of their build. Thats nto fact thats just a guideline. However as many people will tell you on here many white belts are much better fighters than blackbelts. So take that for what its worth. The person makes the style the style don't make the person.

I took a bit of kickboxing in college just to get a feel for it and I found it mixed well with my Shotokan. However you are comming in from the other side. The one thing you will find is that your normal Shotokan class is very basic. You may spend hours doing rising block reverse punch. However that does become a great reflex by the time you do reach 1st Dan.

Good luck.

_________________
(General George S. Patton Jr.) "It's the unconquerable soul of man, and not the nature of the weapon he uses, that ensures victory."

Ti-Kwon-Leap · Blue Belt

If you lack patience, just make up your own style, come up with a fancy name like Budo Jujutsu and appoint youself grandmaster 10th dan like ol' Al Thomas did.

G95champ · Black Belt

Sad thing is that happens way to much. You can go through any phone book and see 10th Dan this and 10th Dan that but we all know very very few get that far. It makes me sick to be honest.

I trained under a guy who made his own style American TAO. A mix of Hipikido, Kung Fu, and bit of TSD and TKD. He never posted 10th Dan on his flyers. Which I really respected.

_________________
(General George S. Patton Jr.) "It's the unconquerable soul of man, and not the nature of the weapon he uses, that ensures victory."

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