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[brehlirpa]

Hello everyone! I am a 65 year old martial artist located in Chicago. I have studied Karate, Judo, FMA, Boxing, Muay Thai, etc. I began it all with the sweet science of boxing in 1958. The first Karate-Do style I was taught was Kyokushinkai in the mid-sixties by two American teachers who never got around to opening a formal dojo. I was a walking, talking, "heavy bag" for them to practice on ( just kidding...sort of ). After a year and a half of studying with them, I asked about moving up from white belt. They told me I should travel to Japan and test for rank there.

I started studying other arts until the early seventies when I took up Tae Kwon Do at Chicago's Military Arts Institute where a cousin (??) of Mas Oyama, Mr. Shin, operated. He was a former Korean National Champion in Judo, I think.

I met Mas Oyama when he visited Mr. Shin's school in the early seventies. Master Oyama told me to study Judo rather than Tae Kwon Do until a Kyokushinkai school was opened. I studied Judo for a while, then switched to a Chung Do Kwon school. I went to Thailand to train in Muay Thai, came back to study FMA in California, and studied with some of Lee's original group of students. I learned a lot of other things from a wide variety of teachers and students over the next three decades. I met, and was inspired by the late Don Buck, among other legendary Karateka Sensei. Still, I always heard the siren call of Kyokushinkai whenever I pondered re-entering formal training. Unfortunately, and this is something that really makes me mad at myself, my FMA, Kung Fu, and JKD related interests totally blinded me to the fact that Shihan Miyuke Miura has had a dojo in nearby Oak Park, Illinois since the early 1970's. I never knew it existed. So near, yet so far. Such is life.

I am not sure if I can find the time to train at the Oak Park Miura Dojo at this point in my life due to time limitations, physical limitations ( restarting anything at an advanced age is TOUGH ), current economic miasma here in the USA.

The Miura Dojo website has sparked the flame of interest, as well as seeing how well one of his female black belts, Angie Yeoh, performed in 5 ( 5 ) straight Sabaki Challenge tournaments ( Ms. Yeoh won the title 3 straight years ). The Sabaki videos intrigued me. Then I stumbled onto the Yamaki Dojo website ( Torrance, California ), and the interest has really picked up. Fate will determine what happens next.

I sense something about the "Family" aspect of Kyokushin that is what I have been searching for in martial arts all along ( I got that in my FMA and JKD experiences, but Kyokushin has always beckoned me in a "different" way ). It's too late for me to fight anymore, but it's not too late to learn. I have had Kyokushinkai on my mind for roughly 40 years now. So it's either learn a bit more of it while I can, or hope that reincarnation really exists! I'll keep you updated. Until then I will visit your K4L website on a regular weekly basis.

[FredInChina]

What economic slump? According to the numbers from The Treasury and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the recovery is going strong, with all the green shoots from 2009!

Welcome to K4L brehlirpa, you'll see, we have an old fart section, the soup is good, we have wheelchairs & Uchi Deshi to push them!


Osu!

[tmd]

you are most welcome here - I understand what you mean when you talk of Kyokushin being family and somehow just in you, I had a break for a great deal of time and Kyokushin was something I still was - just wasn't doing... there are plenty of others here who tell similar stories.

I'm sure with you interest and insight into other disciplines you will enjoy learning from and contributing to the K4L family pool of knowledge.

[SteveK]

Originally Posted by brehlirpa

I have had Kyokushinkai on my mind for roughly 40 years now.

It takes some people longer than others to get the hint

Welcome aboard Brehlirpa

[kanku]

Hello and welcome from a fellow old fart, there are a few of us here!..Looking forward to your posts!!

[kyokushin4life]

Welcome to K4L! We hope to enjoy communicating with you. Osu!

[Karate4Life]

OSU from Germany, and welcome aboard from an old Goju Ryu fart!
Excellent that you joined us, I guess we will all profit from your experiences that you made over all those years. Any Karate style should suit you, and I guess that nobody will expect you to do a double spinning back kick at 2 meters height, so you should be alright. Kata is one of the old fart things, I guess... it is for me at least!
OSU!

[SashaS]

In our dojo we have a man who started in his 60's - after no martial arts experience at all! He just fell in love with it and even competed. So, it's never to late to learn and grow - and enjoy it. Especially when you have that much experience already.
Welcome!!!

[Shokei Marcsui]

Welcome~

It's too late for me to fight anymore, but it's not too late to learn.

Amen! Look forward to your posting.

[ashiharakaicho]

Osu,

And another warm welcome from Cape Town, South Africa - exciting life you had thus far - take the plunge and you will never look back ...

[seienchin]

Great intro post, and I am so glad that you decided to join up. I learn so much from this site - it has helped to broaden and deepen my martial arts knowledge. I have never really calculated it before, but if you were to add up the collective experience of, say, our most frequent 100 posters, I think you'd find that we have many hundreds maybe even thousands of years of martial arts experience! It's great to add you to that group.

[sandman]

Osu! What a fantastic intro! Thank you for that, and welcome aboard. I hope you'll make yourself at home

[brehlirpa]

I can tell by the replies to my introduction that this is a group that has a lot of shared love for traditional karate in general, and Kyokushin Karate Do in particular. I like to call it a Serious Contemporary Samurai attitude. Tough people who have the inquisitiveness and intelligence needed to continue honing and elevating the standard of what they do; that seems to be the K4L community that the forum threads and commentaries reveal. I am glad that this site exists, and I hope that I will be able to add a bit of my own personal knowledge and experiences to the mix.

I have already added a few comments to the "DREAM MATCHES" thread. Some of my future comments on Bruce Lee, JKD, and strength fitness conditioning for any martial art style or system, will raise some eyebrows, I'm sure ( When I met Bruce Lee in the late sixties, he was extremely interested in a system of weight training created and developed by Robert Gajda ( Mr. America and Mr. Universe physique title holder in 66 / 67 ) called PHA (Peripheral Heart Action). I was one of Mr. Gajda's bodybuilding pupils at the legendary Duncan YMCA in Chicago for many years. Few know that Robert Gajda was a Black Belt in Judo, and that the PHA training system was a perfect fit for fighting arts training as well as physique enhancement and strength fitness conditioning. Bruce knew about Gajda's Judo prowess as well as the "bare bones" principles and concepts of PHA. In fact, I wrote a training manual on PHA methodology for Bruce. Bruce's first, and best ever, student, the late Jesse Glover, loved the training manual. I plan on giving the K4L community the essence of PHA training as time rolls by. Imagine improving your speed, strength, and total conditioning rapidly and safely for years to come WITHOUT needing expensive food supplements, steroids, exotic equipment, or even a gym membership! Do most of your "progressive resistance training" at home, Kyokushin Karate at the Dojo, and on occasion do "weight training" in a commercial gym...and become the Ultimate You! I'm serious. I'll occasionally "drop some knowledge" on a thread, and all you have to do is take that "knowledge" and use it for a few months and watch how it will take your martial arts, your strength, and your physique to levels that will make your jaw drop. It will be my "gift" to kindred Kyokushinkai spirits on K4L.

Again, I want to thank each of you who took the time to welcome me so cordially to your Kyokushin Knockdown Karate Community.

[slaine]

Sounds bloody brilliant I can't wait , my father was a competition bodybuilder back in the 50's and still workouts today at the age of 78 he'd love that kind of stuff as would I , I don't usually do welcomes but hi anyway .

[ksan]

Welcome to K4L from the netherlands

[brehlirpa]

Funny that you should make that comment re: Kata being an "old fart thing." One of the things that rekindled my interest in martial arts again (2001 was when I hung up my gi), was the youtube video of the All Japan Women's Team performing Team Bunkai ANAN. That is one heck of a kata performance! Unbelievable! The All Japan Men's team is also on youtube doing the sama group kata, but nowhere close to what the women did. I have never been a big fan of Kata before ... not anymore. GOOGLE this to see the women's Kata: "Team Bunkai ANAN - Female Japan National Team"

[kanku]

Originally Posted by brehlirpa

I can tell by the replies to my introduction that this is a group that has a lot of shared love for traditional karate in general, and Kyokushin Karate Do in particular. I like to call it a Serious Contemporary Samurai attitude. Tough people who have the inquisitiveness and intelligence needed to continue honing and elevating the standard of what they do; that seems to be the K4L community that the forum threads and commentaries reveal. I am glad that this site exists, and I hope that I will be able to add a bit of my own personal knowledge and experiences to the mix.

I have already added a few comments to the "DREAM MATCHES" thread. Some of my future comments on Bruce Lee, JKD, and strength fitness conditioning for any martial art style or system, will raise some eyebrows, I'm sure ( When I met Bruce Lee in the late sixties, he was extremely interested in a system of weight training created and developed by Robert Gajda ( Mr. America and Mr. Universe physique title holder in 66 / 67 ) called PHA (Peripheral Heart Action). I was one of Mr. Gajda's bodybuilding pupils at the legendary Duncan YMCA in Chicago for many years. Few know that Robert Gajda was a Black Belt in Judo, and that the PHA training system was a perfect fit for fighting arts training as well as physique enhancement and strength fitness conditioning. Bruce knew about Gajda's Judo prowess as well as the "bare bones" principles and concepts of PHA. In fact, I wrote a training manual on PHA methodology for Bruce. Bruce's first, and best ever, student, the late Jesse Glover, loved the training manual. I plan on giving the K4L community the essence of PHA training as time rolls by. Imagine improving your speed, strength, and total conditioning rapidly and safely for years to come WITHOUT needing expensive food supplements, steroids, exotic equipment, or even a gym membership! Do most of your "progressive resistance training" at home, Kyokushin Karate at the Dojo, and on occasion do "weight training" in a commercial gym...and become the Ultimate You! I'm serious. I'll occasionally "drop some knowledge" on a thread, and all you have to do is take that "knowledge" and use it for a few months and watch how it will take your martial arts, your strength, and your physique to levels that will make your jaw drop. It will be my "gift" to kindred Kyokushinkai spirits on K4L.

Again, I want to thank each of you who took the time to welcome me so cordially to your Kyokushin Knockdown Karate Community.

Osu Brehlirpa!

Are you talking about bullworker training?

[ksan]

Originally Posted by brehlirpa

One of the things that rekindled my interest in martial arts again (2001 was when I hung up my gi), was the youtube video of the All Japan Women's Team performing Team Bunkai ANAN. That is one heck of a kata performance!

Well found and i am happy it made you start karate again...

I googled it and watched it on youtube... didnt like it, sorry.

Its to far away from kyokushin and in my eyes not realistic enough. One of the posters on YouTube said the same in her posting....