Im considering training again and Id like to try Kyokushin at Oyama Karate in Homewood Al.Ive never tried it before and was hoping some of you could tell me what the training is like I hear its pretty tough.All I know is what Ive read but havent talked to anyone who has actually trained.I trained MMA a few years ago,had two ammy fights.I want to train again but I dont really want to get back into the local MMA scene.Any information you can share would be appreciated.Thank you.
Kyokushin is a very tough traditional style. The bare knuckle sparring that the style puts its focus on is very hard on the body, and as a result there is a lot of conditioning and PE.
There are no punches allowed to the head under the kyokushin competition rules, and sometimes this means that the dojo forgetts that part of the art.
Sparring tend to be first kicks on a distance and then very close combat with bodypunches (very different bareknuckle than with gloves), knees, lowkicks and the occasional elbow to the body/arm (and surprising finnishing high kicks when the guard drops to protect the body). It is a lot about dishing out and enduring more than the opponent. Evasive footwork is fine and locking is fine, but sooner or later it comes down to who can take more without slowing down.
As a rule Kyokushin is pretty open to outside influence. Formal techniques are required for grading, but in sparring whatever works is fine.
A negative for you is that it is a formal system that requires everyone to start from scratch. So you might find it very boring initially. And ofcourse it has its kihon&kata formal karate stuff. How much each dojo focuses on this varies though.
Not sure if you meant Kyokushin or World Oyama Karate. The WOK honbu is in AL lead by Yashuhiko(?) Oyama. Used to be in NY, iirc. WOK is also knockdown karate. Actually, the AL dojo was a Kyokushin school until the brothers (Shigeru and Yashuhiko) left the IKO and formed WOK.
Thanks kolysrade that information and the video are great! khd29 thanks for clearing that up for me I was little confused when I read about World Oyama Karate but now it makes sense thanks.
i love kyokushin and just received my blue belt. i kind of like it more than mma
JC, no problem. Enjoy your training. Kyokushin and WOK great styles / organizations. There are very little difference in training. There are few more beginner katas in WOK, and they still teach weapons. Find which school where you feel more comfortable in. You won't go wrong with either style.
Oh, and let the instructor know you have fighting experience (he will note that you have some anyway, but it is always polite to let him know). If he knows his job, he will let you skip sparring with the rank beginners and pair you up with more challenging opponents.
FRANKI2154 - i love kyokushin and just received my blue belt. i kind of like it more than mma
Awesome!
Kolsyrade - Oh, and let the instructor know you have fighting experience (he will note that you have some anyway, but it is always polite to let him know). If he knows his job, he will let you skip sparring with the rank beginners and pair you up with more challenging opponents.
Thanks.I actually planned on doing that,plus the cauliflower ear is a dead giveaway lol