I'm a new MA student and have 2 options, a very small, expensive American Kenpo school, or a big, cheap shotokan school. I'm a little confused, being told that 'kenpo has 95% of karate techniques and more'. The kenpo school doesn't have a website, but the shotokan's is www.newcastlekarate.com. I took a trial class at the kenpo and plan on taking a shotokan tommorow. The general atmosphere at the kenpo place is a little too laid back for me, considering I'm mainly doing this to stay in shape, and learn effective fighting techniques. Any advice?
Never trust a man with purple socks. Err, to be a little more serious I would say that if you want to learn something effective then it's just gonna come down to how the two places train, beggar to techniques, I know hundreds of techniques, I would use maybe 4 in a fight and those are the one's I'm used to sparring with (Smack in the face, knee, elbow, fall over and roll round on the floor till I can smack the guy in the face and he cant reciprocate the favour). So yeah, look for the place that trains you harder, ignore there talk of techniques and look to see how they teach you to apply those techniques. Bad points to watch out for are when you ask about sparring they respond with something about their techniques being to dangerous (No they aren't), when you ask about ground fighting and grappling they repsond with some vague mumbling about pressure points to counter it and multiple attackers invalidating it and when you ask about contracts you end up signing very long ones with phrases like "No other martial training to be undertaken" and last a long time.
But you'd be barking up the wrong tree if you choose karate with a primary interest in grappling. Karate doesn't generally produce good wrestlers. That's not its job. There's more throws and joint locks in karate than in, say, muay thai but it uses them differently from arts like judo/BJJ. There's minimal "clinching" in karate - you grab an opponent to throw them, but you don't grapple with them first - you hit them to "soften them up" before attempting a throw.
You're 16, so my advice would be to visit both schools for a "free" class and see which one you *enjoy* the most. If you don't enjoy it, you won't stick with it. Both are respected styles that you can train in most any city in america (as you possibly go off to college/military, etc.) When you visit, watch the senior students. Do they move the way you want to move? How are their skills? How do the students interact with each other, and with the instructor? Are they positive, trying to help each other? Watch out for things like long-term contracts. What are *your* goals (fitness, self-defense, competition)? Can they help you meet those goals? Let us know how it goes! Enjoy your trianing!
I think his point was more to do with instructors pretending all you need is an eye gouge to defend against teh grapple.
as has been mentioned, give both a try and see what you think. in a smaller school you'll get to know your instructor better and get more 1 on 1 time with him - or just more 1 on 1 time with high ranking belts. then you also have to look at value, if the big class is cheap and barely teaches you anything, but the more expensive class you actually learn things - clearly the more expensive pne would be the way to go - or visa versa
OK, although I'd always advise anyone to take Shotokan karate as its a crackin' style when taught well - that website looks a bit poor! Obviously being good at karate doesn't make you good at web-design but the following things jumped out at me. 1. The guy leading on Heian Nidan there hasn't got very good form - actually it doesn't look like shotokan at all http://newcastlekarate.com/db1/00063/newcastlekarate.com/_uimages/Heian2.JPG 2. What the...? http://newcastlekarate.com/db1/00063/newcastlekarate.com/_uimages/RonwDoninwater.JPG 3. Isn't that ManabiMashoMan on the left there? http://newcastlekarate.com/db1/00063/newcastlekarate.com/_uimages/JohnandBill1.JPG In conclusion, in my humble opinion shotokan is the better style but if the school is dodgy, give it a wide berth and do kenpo instead.
ahh im so confused... I just took the shotokan class and me used to being in condition from football it wasn't hard at all... and no contact sparring, which is normal I guess? The kenpo place spars with protective equipment. I need something to keep me in some kind of shape, so I'm visiting yet another place up the street that my little cousin goes too. They teach '****o-Ryu Karate-Do Genbu-Kai'? They're affiliated with the World Karate-Do Fed., JKF of Japan and the 'RENGO-KAI'. Here's their website www.genbukai.us . This is a little overwhelming since I don't and no one else I know has any idea about any of this. And about the contract none of them have one. One actually advertises 'no contracts'.
I could be wrong, but i believe most Shotokan schools dont train full-contact sparring? I remember the founder of Shotokan stating his dislike towards this type of training if im not mistaken. But on that, full-contact fighting/sparring isnt something you have to get from your Dojo. If you have a good dojo close to home you can substitue the contact fighting/sparring by visiting other dojo's/seminars/or just training with friends at home. I trained at a Shotokan dojo for about a week and quit only because the distance was too far from my house and i found a good school closer. In my opinion it looks like a nice art with a very good lineage and a practical way of practice. Most beginner classes will not be hard for anyone that is in descent shape. Especially not for a football player. Ask about sitting in and watching an advanced class and see what you think? Also, many dojo's prioritize their training. Some months may be a focus on technique, some strength training,etc.... I respect Shotokan and think its one of the best systems to take in America. But again dojo to dojo so many things vary.
The best advice is simply to try each school in the area. Don't be put out if the classes arn't to demanding at first, you need to learn technique, that takes a bit of time. As for which school, I hold a black belt in Wado Ryu (similar to shotokan) and have trained with a lot of shotokan lads, I also hold a black belt in American Kenpo, but I did traditional Karate before the modern Kenpo. In my opinion this is the better way to progress (ok thats open to judgement) as the traditional has a far greater focus on technical abaility.
I think the lack of focus on technical ability may have been an issue at your particular American Kenpo school, that may not be so true over all. On another board I've read some about the difficulties an AK instructor has had in teaching a student who has a shotokan background... the approaches are quite different.
The Instructor from the Genbu-Kai has on his profile: Now I thought before Karate Kid Pat Morita had no real training, and I thought Patrick Swayze was just a dancer put in rolls to look like he had some MA training. I could be wrong though.
Genbukai is excellent. It's headed by Fumio Demura. You need not look any further, unless you're close to San Diego, then you should train with my instructor. Were I you, I'd train with Mr. Demura or his students. His people are of excellent quality. Rob
I studied Shotokan when I was younger. It is your traditional Japanese style (hard/ linear movements/low powerful kicks/leg sweeps etc..). If you want traditional martial arts than stick with this. I have been training in American Kenpo (Ed Parker style) for several years. If you have a good school that has stayed with the original princliples of SGM Parker - you will learn practical, street effective self-defense. The system is technique based (techniques are defensive moves taught to counter an attack - punches/kicks/ most holds and locks i.e. -bear hugs/full nelson/headlocks etc..). Give me some details on the kenpo school in question and I will try to find out info for you. -Good Luck
completely new kenpo studio I'm attending for a month now, called American Karate Studios, and I'm supplementing with once a week Jiu Jitsu classes there. www.akarate.com After my intro lesson, I was actually tired, which is a plus. The whole school seems to be very tournament oriented, and I don't care if I'm not an excellent streetfighter I just want some form of excercise and if I learn a little about fighting along the way then it's all good.
