Well i just started BJJ and it cool and like it but they do offer Shotokan as well and there Shotokan there is seem good when i see the class (its before my bjj class) they do a lot of sparring (full contact) it would not cost me any more so i was just wondering if i should take it as well or just work and put all my time an effort to BJJ? i post this on the BJJ as well and im going to compare answer and see what im going to do
If it really is full contact, you definitely should. We do what's classed as semi-contact and I come away with enough bruises. But full contact Shotokan would be awesome
ya that the first thing i though but i alway here bad thing about Shotokan and it the least fave of the Karate
shotokan is actually the most popular, if you judge by the number of schools and global diffusion. also, it's full contact; probably around less than 30% of non-kyokushin karate schools spar full contact. even if that particular shotokan school turns out not to be good, you'll still learn to take a hit. also, they tend to have extremely good kicking, since it's to a certain extent a medium-long range style. go for it.
I always say do rather than not do. However look over this site which I think is one of the most honest sites pertaining to a specific martial art, in this case Shotokan. http://www.24fightingchickens.com/
Shotokan is decent if there's hard sparring, but there are a couple things to watch out for: -Kata. It's bad for you. All those snappy kicks and overextended zenkutso dachi worked havoc on my joints. If you do end up doing kata, don't put a lot of effort into having pretty stances. They're bad for you too. -Leg kicks. Shotokan traditionally consists of punches and kicks above the waist, and footsweeps below the ankle. When I came to college and started sparring with MT and Kyokushin guys I got hell worked on my legs for being completely unprepared to defend them. -If they do do leg kicks in there sparring, then this is a huge plus. Other than that, enjoy.
sweeps below the ankle? can the shotokan people confirm if that is widespread? everyone i've ever seen, shotokan or not has always said sweep between the ankle and the middle of the calf, and if you want to sweep to injure, sweep directly on the joints... (just curious)
Usually, you sweep the ankle using the sole of your foot. Sweeping at the calf reduces the chances of actually unbalancing your opponent, leaving you right open. Below the calf is possible as long as you put enough power behind it. I'll look for a vid Actually sweeping below the ankle seems a bit redundant to me. Might as well just stand on the opponent's foot... Mighty... I notice you're 21. How long did you do Shotokan for? If you're 21 and have got bad joints, I'd be pretty worried!
ummm.... no, sweeping the ankle is not redundant, actually i think you're doing it wrong. ashi barai is nothing like a step, it's basically a low mikazuki geri with a sharp pullback at the end; you literally sweep the other guy off the floor with your leg. i was taught below the calf sweeps for when you don't want to hurt the other guy(training, etc), and a heavy sweep to the ankle, or an upwards sweep to the back of the knee for when you intend to damage the other guy.
I did Shotokan for three and a half years or so, and my body seems to have recovered from the damage it did me. But I recall a lot of waking up with aching knees from all those stances and snap kicks. As far as sweeps go, all of the movements labeled "ashi barai" I've ever seen have involved foot-to-foot sweeping. However, my first post was a bit misleading, as JKA and AAU Shotokan competitions allow pretty much all koshi and ashi waza. No one ever seems to believe me when I say hip throws are a valid karate technique, and I almost never see them used, but they're still a part of it.
Agreed! I think people are cautious in competitions because you can throw but can't grapple so any clinching for longer than a couple of seconds will restart the match. You see some cool throws once in a blue moon but they're certainly rare!
I guess the skill in doing legal throws/takedowns is getting in and out quickly enough. Like the kuzushi waza of Enoeda. I have to say that I've been doing shotokan cumulatively for about 5 years and I have never had any joint trouble related to my training. Maybe I'm lucky
Is shotokan really that bad for you, or does it all depend on how you train? Because in Isshin ryu, we do a lot of snap kicks, but the only two wide stances (that I know of) are seiuchin, and zenkuch (not sure about the spelling on the second one). But I've seen older guys practicing Isshin ryu and seem fine, so I'm sure there's plenty of older guys in shotokan too.
As far as I'm concerned/aware, it's mostly down to how you train. Our main stances are zenkutsu dachi, kokutsu dachi and kiba dachi, which all put a fair bit of strain on your legs, but I've never developed any kind of joint issues either from stances, or all the kicking we do. I hear alot of stuff (only on here, incidentally) about Shotokan killing your joints, but I'm yet to see any physical proof. The only time I've seen shotokan give someone pain was when a 1st kyu got two of his ribs broken from an ushiro geri...
