Intro of Dtom

[dtom]

Greetings members of KnockdownFighters.com from a student of Kyokushin karate.

Background:
I began training under an independent Kyokushin instructor until his health deteriorated so much so that he could no longer teach. My first three years of training were spent under him.  It took awhile but I have finally found another Kyokushin instructor local enough for me to begin taking formal classes again.  About one year has passed since I began under my new instructor.  My first tournament experience was a local tournament earlier this year where I placed 1st of 4 in kata and 4th of 7 in semi-contact kumite. My losses in kumite have motivated me to begin weight training as well as increasing the volume of training on competition style Kyokushin, something I did not do at all under my first instructor, who's focus was self defense.

Purpose:
I have become a member in hopes of sharing and gaining knowledge from people with similar interests, not to encounter the (for a lack of a better expression) "prove it" type of attitude I have encountered elsewhere on the internet.  Some of what I post is opinion, and some is drawn from experience, therefore I will not be able to support every post with a video or article.  I have read a bit of posts on this site and have not seen any indication of that attitude, and am hopeful because of it.  My goal is to gather and share information in hopes that I am helped and am able to help others; it is not to prove my keyboard-fu is stronger than yours.

Thank you for your welcomes.

[senshido]

Welcome dtom, what part of the world are you in?
are there any/many differences in the way your old instructor taught to the new one or is it a seemless transition?

[MMX]

Welcome Dtom. Don't worry there is no prove it here. You will find the folks here respectful and knowledgeable.

[dtom]

Jul 31, 2013 7:22:44 GMT -5 senshido said:

Welcome dtom, what part of the world are you in?
are there any/many differences in the way your old instructor taught to the new one or is it a seemless transition?

I am in the northeast USA.  


There is quite a bit of difference between the two instructors, as the focus seems to be much different. With my first instructor, self defense applications were most important.  Kyokushin kihon and kata were practiced, but there was no syllabus forms for each kyu, and renraku weren't set in stone, they were more of a tool to get one thinking about combos and how to use them.  There was a mix of grappling and throws as well, as they fit into the self defense applications along with the strikes. Also, conditioning was more of an external duty, as class was spent on refinement of technique.

The transition has been difficult, as I have had to play catch-up on the syllabus and renraku in a short period of time.  After displaying my abilities, my rank from my first instructor was accepted by my current instructor, but I cannot advance until I meet the organisation's requirements, which includes the syllabus forms and renraku.  Furthermore, my current instructor's focus is much more on tournament participation, and a lot of classes are spent doing conditioning, rather than refinement of technique. There is the occasional self defense application that includes a bit of grappling, but it is not nearly as often.

[senshido]

I'm sure there are a couple of others on here from your neck of the woods.

Can I ask what your preference is to the two classes? I personally prefer to have set ren raku etc but I'm sure plenty others would prefer it the other way.
I have a set syllabus, but dont spend a huge amount of time on tournament fighting

[dtom]

I find positives and negatives in both styles of instruction, but if I have to pick one, it would be my current instructor's style, simply because I have more fun doing it, and I am in better shape because of it.  There was A LOT of repetition with my old instructor.  I know that's part of it, but I like how my current instructor breaks it up with physical exercises that have no intricate technique with a goal of nothing more than gaining more strength or stamina.

One thing I miss about my old instructor was the lectures.  He was good at inspiring me with his speech, especially when it came to Budo and how one should be disciplined not only in physical training but to also maintain a pure mind and good spirit.  These words inspired me to train harder, and be a better member of society.

I am with you on liking a universal renraku and so on, I have just struggled in learning and retaining so many of them in such a short time.  Our international organisation gives us our set syllabus, and it's nice to have a clearly defined goal to work toward.  To clarify, I guess a better description of what I call syllabus forms is "kihon kata", the organisation's instructors call them out in class as "10th kyu syllabus", "9th kyu syllabus" etc.  For example, the 4th kyu syllabus form consists of the various shuto strikes, and various jodan kicks.

[senshido]

I'm being nosey here... are you with the IFK?

[dtom]

I am indeed.  My first experience with Hanshi Arneil is set to be next Thursday through Sunday at the summer camp, and the anticipation is building lol.

[senshido]

I thought so from the way you mention the 10th kyu syllabus etc.
There was some fellow members from your neck of the woods over at the IFK World tournament earlier this year.

Your experience with Hanshi Arneil should be memorable, he has mountains of knowledge (and some great stories) to pass on

[dtom]

Despite not placing, our fight team raved about the trip and were honored to be selected to compete in the world tournament. Hopefully I will get the honor of such an opportunity someday.  

Summer camp begins in just two days, can't wait.  I won't be able to post until Sunday or Monday afterwards, so I'll have to share the details then.