Hello ok so i just started taking kyokushin karate and love it but im starting to question the practicalness of it for the street like how they dont guard their face from punches or how i was told to keep my chin up and pull my arm all the way back for more power that all sent alarm bells in my head saying this is going to get you hurt but the problem is i love karate im hoping someone can help me either have faith in kyokushin or point me to another art the things im looking for are... Practical self defense An art thats primarily or all striking Has a traditional feel I perfer japanese, chinese or korean Also i was looking into kenpo but i feel really iffy about that too i was watching some videos of it and it just looks like a bunch of vital strikes with a guy dumb enough not to pull his punch back so if anyone knows or has done kenpo maybe you can help me out Also can you tell me your martial arts background?
Kyokushin is great, but like most styles it can have limits. As far as kumite goes, you should still be looking to guard your head, or someone may kick it off, and tucking your chin still makes sense too. The stuff you do in kata will be different, but view it as trying to teach push/pull principles and grab/strike principles and it may be better. What kyokushin is likely to do (clubs can be different, of course), is to make you tough, conditioned and used to dealing with heavy contact. You'll be able to kick and punch people who are trying to kick and punch you. It's not perfect, but it's a good solid base to work from and fits your criteria. As for Kempo? I've never seen anything that impressed me. My background is TKD, dedicated self defence training and a little Enshin Karate (Kyokushin with added grabs and throws), though not a huge amount of the latter, sadly. It rocked Mitch
Personaly I would suggest you just cross train with a little boxing. After you've found your feet in kyukushin try adding a boxing session a week or something covers all the holes in kyukushin and is turbo awesome in its own right I don't know how they might work on a technical level never having done karate but certainly boxing would adress the issues your finding with your karate. It's not oriental or 'traditional' (despite being significantly older but yeah...). Kickboxing and Muay thai would be other suggestions but again dont know they might work technically with kyukushin and you would be covering a lot of the same ground twice there. My back ground is in boxing, jjj, judo and more recently started playing with Muay Thai. It's worth bearing in mind that all martial arts have flaws (if they didn't there would only be one) kyukushin is probably less flawed than many
I agree with funny badger. I cross train boxing with even though the style I train is "street lethal" we train chin down hands up, but getting hit with a 16 Oz glove a few time helps to reinforce the lesson.
Check out Muay Thai too, it's the one with the most traditional feel among combat sports and [don't know too much about kyokushin so take this with a grain of salt] there shouldn't be too much overlapping with karate.
First, make sure that you are actually learning Kyokushin from a "Qualified Instructor" (If you are not sure, you can post their name here and some MAP members can look into it) Second, the practicality of something is not "always" seen at a beginner level. As the practice of anything will develop the skill set. If you are looking for something of the street, take a woman's RBSD course from a qualified instructor. (Even though, defense for "the street" is more upon mentality) Third, seems like you are at a beginner level with concerns, if your instructor is "qualified", you should go talk to them
As people have said, it really depends what you mean by "self-defence". Most martial arts will not teach you situational awareness, de-escalation skills, relevant aspects of law, crowd control, improvised weapons and a variety of other such relevant stuff. In practice, martial arts generally teach you how to duel. So, if you're looking for a primarily Japanese art that will teach you how to duel, then karate is going to be your best bet. As far as styles of karate go, I've never tried kyokushin but a lot of people who've tried it seem to suggest that it makes you physically tough and fit and teaches you how to throw some powerful punches and kicks. Those are some good attributes to have if you want to learn dueling/fighting. Edit: my experience is shotokan karate.
The best way of winning is to not risk having to fight in the first place. Most self-defense situations, especially for guys, can be solved by tossing your wallet on the ground and running away. Only if you are cornered or are fighting for someone who cannot run away should you fight, and then, only until you can safely escape. Read, "Meditations on Violence," by Sgt. Rory Miller to learn about various types of violence. Self defence situations will often be carried out different based on perceptions of the victim's gender. Most criminals don't want a felony, much less a murder, or rape charge. Some attackers are so drugged up they don't feel pain. The tazer and pepper spray are both very useful on the vast majority, but not all, attackers. Sometimes you practice an exaggerated motion for a technique so that you can choose between a strong powerful hit, and a shorter one. For example, a punch from the side involves all the motion that a punch from a higher guard does. It is also more powerful. Training to punch from the side will train you to punch while guarding the chest or face. Training to punch from a chest or face guard will not train you to punch from the side. Having a slow but powerful punch is always useful. Generally an intial fighting position will not have your arms covering your ribs. Putting your guard too high can mean a kick to the lower "floating" Ribs that aren't connected to the sternum may break them, potentially puncturing an organ. Not too likely, but possible. Kicks higher than chest level are relatively easily caught, and if you pull an attacker off balance you've got a decent chance to run away. Most punches to the head will not knock anyone out. My instructors like to explain to any new arrival that the founder of our style always said, "what? Head no attack you!" Focus on attacking not just blocking your opponents arms. An opponent with a guard that's very near their chest is easy to get around. Taking a punch on your forehead often means broken fingers. Taking a kick on your elbow often means broken feet. Stand on their toes. Learn to change the direction you're facing quickly to be able to run away better. Learn to changes stances subtly. Most instructors will try to teach you the basic movements first, martial arts is not quick, otherwise it can be whatever you want it to be.
