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[bakakyokushinguy]

I trained in shotokan until 2nd kyu then started kyokushin.From my experience the difference in kata/kihon isn't that big.The heian/pinan kata look almost the same(with some adjustements you'll pretty fast learn the kyokushin version).I knew the taikyoku kata from my shotokan days too and they are much the same.Other katas are different(because of the goju ryu influence)
I learned sanchin dachi through the kata nijushiho in shotokan but the sanchin dachi is slightly different then in kyokushin.In kihon the chambering is different(higher chamber in kk),more emphasis on power in KK as well.
As for kumite:you'll need to adapt to more close in fighting,getting kicked/punched full power and learning to breath properly(something imop that is sorely missing in shotokan)....and wear a white belt the first time you'll enter the KK dojo out of respect for the people training there and the sensei. osu!

[Oshishinobu]

Originally Posted by bakakyokushinguy

I trained in shotokan until 2nd kyu then started kyokushin.From my experience the difference in kata/kihon isn't that big.The heian/pinan kata look almost the same(with some adjustements you'll pretty fast learn the kyokushin version).I knew the taikyoku kata from my shotokan days too and they are much the same.Other katas are different(because of the goju ryu influence)
I learned sanchin dachi through the kata nijushiho in shotokan but the sanchin dachi is slightly different then in kyokushin.In kihon the chambering is different(higher chamber in kk),more emphasis on power in KK as well.
As for kumite:you'll need to adapt to more close in fighting,getting kicked/punched full power and learning to breath properly(something imop that is sorely missing in shotokan)....and wear a white belt the first time you'll enter the KK dojo out of respect for the people training there and the sensei. osu!

The breathing is a big thing so many people hold their breath and end up so out of breath. I watched a guy do heian nidan do the whole kata holding his breath, the only time the dude actually took a breath was after kia lol, but yeah Pretty sure I should wear a white belt, is a gi a good idea for the first night or is that presumptuous? It just seems like I might insult them if I show up wearing gi I don't know why but yeah weird it's 8:25 and I need sleep logic lol.

[Tay]

Originally Posted by Oshishinobu

The breathing is a big thing so many people hold their breath and end up so out of breath. I watched a guy do heian nidan do the whole kata holding his breath, the only time the dude actually took a breath was after kia lol, but yeah Pretty sure I should wear a white belt, is a gi a good idea for the first night or is that presumptuous? It just seems like I might insult them if I show up wearing gi I don't know why but yeah weird it's 8:25 and I need sleep logic lol.

personally I turned up with my Shotokan gi and a white belt to different kyokushin dojos, it was always fine.
Some dojos even allowed me to wear my Shotokan belt (green belt) but I never did because I don't feel that just because I was 6th kyu years ago in Shotokan I can just turn up and wear a 6th kyu belt in kyokushin. I actually found challenging to start from white belt again.

[sandman]

Osu!

I trained for several years in shito Ryu, took a long break, then went to Yoshukai (another knockdown karate style).

So the styles are different, but I think the experience is comparable. All in all, I'd say the prior shito Ryu training was a net benefit - there were many differences in how to execute certain techniques, and the katas were completely different, but I had a good foundation to build on. I just had to make minor adjustments rather than learning everything from scratch.

Kumite was more difficult - I had a tendency to fight more sideways and to back up a lot. But since I wasn't having to learn how to to kick and punch from scratch I was able to focus on correcting these specific issues, and after lots of coordinated practice I finally learned to change my habits.

Good luck!

[knuckleheader]

Originally Posted by Oshishinobu

The breathing is a big thing so many people hold their breath and end up so out of breath. I watched a guy do heian nidan do the whole kata holding his breath, the only time the dude actually took a breath was after kia lol, but yeah Pretty sure I should wear a white belt, is a gi a good idea for the first night or is that presumptuous? It just seems like I might insult them if I show up wearing gi I don't know why but yeah weird it's 8:25 and I need sleep logic lol.

This obi thing drives me crazy. They should respect your rank. If you decide to learn the new system. Of course, then you'll start from 10 thkyu/white.

My experience going from one school to the next is this. You will always be tested by anyone who feels they will be a barometer of your skill. If you're a tuff dude, they'll know soon enough.Lol
Have fun.

[polarbearfighter]

Originally Posted by Oshishinobu

... Pretty sure I should wear a white belt, is a gi a good idea for the first night or is that presumptuous? It just seems like I might insult them if I show up wearing gi I don't know why but yeah weird it's 8:25 and I need sleep logic lol.

I think the solution to your problem is to ask.
Just ask the instructor or some senior at the club what belt you should wear.
Also ask if you can wear your dogi. (some might be really strict on that the gi must have the kyokushin kanji, but I doubt it will matter in your first lesson), and bring a T-shirt for the case if you are not allowed to (I really doubt you will not be allowed to wear your dogi).

In two clubs I have trained at, guests from other styles can wear the dogis and belt they wear in their own club, but if they join the club they should wear a white belt and wear a gi with the kyokushin caligraphy, during and after their first grading.

But clubs are different and that's why you need to ask.
I think that the club I train in now does not allow guests from other styles. They can train in the beginner group on the same terms as anyone else.

[supergroup7]

Hi there... I'll be happy to share my experience of Shotokan training, and how it infected/affected my experience in Kyokushin.

First thing that I felt was the distance difference in Kumite training especially Ippon, and Sanbon Kumite. Kyokushin felt too "close" to me as I was used to blocking a punch near the wrist in Shotokan, and stopping my punch directly before my target. In Kyokushin, I had to be closer to properly execute the techniques. It was difficult to make my movements go more circular rather than straight at the person. My kicks also wanted to stop at target and I had to retrain my knees to set in a different manner just so that I could kick "through" the target instead of AT it.

The Kata similarity was more of a detriment than a help. Heian Shodan - Godan had already been cemented in my body.. so being able to move properly in Pinan Sono Ichi - Go was so frustrating. I found myself falling into a Shotokan Backstance instead of a Kyokushin one, or visa versa. The timing of the movements is different, also.

AND my Jodan UKE.. oh heavens, it took me close to three years of continual effort to finally make it less Shotokan ( going straight up) and more Kyokushin ( going forwards similar to a strike). Oh.. and trying to step straight when moving in Zenkutsu Dachi rather than C stepping was insanely difficult as it affected my arm techniques. It was such a chore to learn how to C step in the beginning that having to "unlearn" it was near impossible. In fact, there are times when I wonder if I actually won that fight or if my body is just faking a straight path when it actually wants to go back to C stepping.

I bless my Shotokan experience for all of the good training that I had received on basics, on contraction/expansion, on kata, and on kime. However, when it came to transitioning to Kyokushin... I wish that I had come in fresh from a beginner's perspective.

[supergroup7]

Pretty sure I should wear a white belt, is a gi a good idea for the first night or is that presumptuous?

I agree with the advice to contact the Instructor of the Kyokushin Dojo first and ask about this.

I can tell you that the Shotokan Gi is pretty close to a Kyokushin Gi. ( Just longer sleeves, and the Red circle patch rather than the Kyokushin Kanji on the jacket.)

[gotapex]

I came from a Shotokan background as well.

What really helped me in the transition is to think of the techniques separately. In other words, think of the Shotokan backstance as one technique, and the Kyokushin backstance as a completely separate technique. Think of having two techniques instead of changing one into another.

While the practical aspect of doing it this way may be the same, mentally, it's an easier bridge to cross.

[Dobbersky]

All

Looking at where kyokushin came from, AND Shotokan for that extent.

Shotokan today is a FAR cry from where it used to be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4wtQ...ature=youtu.be

Awesome - proper Ole Skool

Would love to know how Terry O'Neill is related to Gary O'Neill

[Havamal]

my observations of Shotokan or Seido training are that if they trained as sincerely and intensely as BJJ/MMA people, with as much hard contact or full-range sparring, as safety will allow, then transition to Kyokushin ought to be a hardly noticeable. I like Kyokushin training, but I prefer MMA-style sparring. Although it's really the instructors that matter, so far, I've not seen enough "practical-ness" in Shotokan schools. I'll do my "spirit" training at a zendo, but at a karate dojo, I want a taste of unarmed combat training. Isn't the sole reason to have good technique, physics, is to develop power to drop your man in one strike, not to get attached to minor "cosmetic" details that satisfy the head instructor's ego.

When you goto a Kyokushin dojo, bow sincerely, the way that dojo does it, and initially wear a white belt, and check your ego & past "knowledge" at the door, so you can fully listen and observe. If you're waza's strong, they will gladly promote you fast, unlike some schools that cling to their 'ranks' and belts.

Osu

[Shokei Marcsui]

The problem with Shotokan Kumite stems from Funakoshi's view on Kumite when he created Shotokan.

I do agree that there are some Shotokan schools out there that focus too much on WKF style kumite. When you bring up full contact training to a shotokan sensei their responses generally dismiss the use of 14 - 16oz gloves.

There have been some full contact shotokan dojos apparently (IE Orange Grove Shotokan in South Africa) and the JKA instructor classes also include some full contact training as well.

I think with any style of kumite there will be restrictions whether it be face punching in Kyokushin, glove size/head gear in muay thai/boxing and controlled skin contact that change the landscape of a fight. Each fight has a different strategy and skill set that one must master in order to be proficient. Does not necessarily make one better than the other.

I am biased though, I love all of the above.

EDIT: I do enjoy JKA kumite more than I do WKF kumite. I just wish oi tsuki was scored on par with gyaku tsuki. The contact level towards face punching would go back to the 1980's level. OR just make wearing head gear mandatory for increased level of contact with a scored tsuki to the face. Perhaps also a longer time allowed in the clinch with judo throwing. Continuous kumite similar to clicker events rather than reset upon scoring.

You Tube

[ashiharakaicho]

Originally Posted by Shokei Marcsui

There have been some full contact shotokan dojos apparently (IE Orange Grove Shotokan in South Africa) and the JKA instructor classes also include some full contact training as well.

The first Kyokushin Knockdown tournament held in South Africa was won by Edward Mtshali (now 7th Dan in Shotokan JKA) in 1975. He just trained harder than the kyokushin boys of the time and just dished out as much as he took. But they woke up and for quite some time, was "The Strongest Karate" - but nowadays, with everyone cross training, things are different.

Generally from what one hears, in Japanese karate there was no thing such as no contact.

[GreenstoneHealth]

Originally Posted by Oshishinobu

Okay I'm a Shotokan guy and very happy with my club but I would like to try doing kyokushin, there is a Club a little ways away and I would like to try it, but I want to be prepared for anything that may come as a "road block" ya know any bad habits from shotokan to watch for. I thought I would ask you guys, I have searched and couldn't really find the answers I was looking for and thought I would ask.

greetings !

I saw your post and thought I would share a part of my journey as it seems relevant


I originally started my Karate journey when I was 9 in Kyokushin Karate we moved house and I stopped my parents then took me to train in Shotokan Karate I trained in Shotokan and reached Nidan Level I fought all over Australia and was doing really well but I felt something was missing for me personally in my journey, I saw some Kyokushin fighters compete and got the bug so I went back to Kyokushin, that transition was an interesting one !
The areas I lacked in when I went back to Kyokushin was the hand work techniques and also (Boxing) I could'nt box ! hehe, dealing with the low kicks and checking/defending them I had to focus on the kicks and parts of the foot I was kicking with e.g lower shin working on the blind side and moving around my opponent... I was used to straight line start stop fighting now I had to use 'Points And Circles' and flow trying to be graceful was a big challenge for me ! and the big wake up call for me was my Shodan "Spirit" grading and the 40 man Kumite ! I had never done that before and I passed it was awesome ! as far a Kata I was told when I was younger in Shotokan that I was a fighter and not made to do Kata so I never practised ! once I went to Kyokushin I had more praise so I practised and eventually won titles in it ! Kumite and Kata completed my Karate Ok I'm blabbing on here... thanks for listening ! good luck with your transition dont forget the road you've been on but make sure your 'Cup' is empty for your new journey ! have a ball !

[bakakyokushinguy]

Originally Posted by Dobbersky

All

Looking at where kyokushin came from, AND Shotokan for that extent.

Shotokan today is a FAR cry from where it used to be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4wtQ...ature=youtu.be

Awesome - proper Ole Skool

Would love to know how Terry O'Neill is related to Gary O'Neill

osu!
I' don't think they are related.Terry O' Neill is still a legend in the martial arts world.He's one of these karateka who could make his karate work on the streets(he was a bouncer in the early days of nightclubs )and one of the few who could knock someone "cold" with a high kick in a SD situation.
I would suggest reading Working With Warriors by Dennis Martin....a very good read imop

[ashiharakaicho]

Originally Posted by bakakyokushinguy

osu!
I' don't think they are related.Terry O' Neill is still a legend in the martial arts world.He's one of these karateka who could make his karate work on the streets(he was a bouncer in the early days of nightclubs )and one of the few who could knock someone "cold" with a high kick in a SD situation.
I would suggest reading Working With Warriors by Dennis Martin....a very good read imop

I agree - just coincidence that they have the same surname. Good to see you posting again Baka guy!

How's things in Belgium. Did you attend the recent Summer Camp?

[bakakyokushinguy]

Originally Posted by ashiharakaicho

I agree - just coincidence that they have the same surname. Good to see you posting again Baka guy!

How's things in Belgium. Did you attend the recent Summer Camp?

I went to the summercamp with my son Connor but didn't participate.I had promised sensei Koen De Backker to come over anyway which I did.
It was a very intresting summercamp from what I saw and especially Shihan Tabata and Raoul Strikker impressed me a lot.Anyway my son and I enjoyed it a lot even when we had to sit and watch from the sideline.
osu!

[ashiharakaicho]

Originally Posted by bakakyokushinguy

I went to the summercamp with my son Connor but didn't participate.I had promised sensei Koen De Backker to come over anyway which I did. It was a very intresting summercamp from what I saw and especially Shihan Tabata and Raoul Strikker impressed me a lot.Anyway my son and I enjoyed it a lot even when we had to sit and watch from the sideline. osu!

Thanks - perhaps you can do a write up about the camp and what you saw. In that manner we can learn more about happenings in other countries.