Need some Karate advice

Underground
1

I've practiced Muay Thai and Boxing for a couple of years- but my left
wrist is jacked and can't throw left hooks or uppercuts, which only leaves
me with jabs.
So, I'm looking for a Martial Art that focuses on straight punches, allows
leg kicks and clinching (with strikes and throws).
No punches to the head sounds nice too- save the brain cells!

I see a lot of Karate styles, like kyokushin, focuses on straight punches
and allows leg kicks. But is there any clinching allowed? If you have some
recommendations with a Karate style (or any Martial art) that covers the
above preferences, hook it up!

2

I''m pretty sure shotokan has Punches (only to the body), kicks anywhere (including legs), and clinching with knees is allowed.... unsure about throwing.

Plenty of chances to compete, too. I really hope I'm not thinking of Kyokushinkai, it might be worth looking at both.

3

Seul. Sorry but you are getting it mixed up. Shotokan competitions has punches to the head (sometimes hook punches are banned), but no lowkicks, knees or elbows. Also they are into no-touch and light-touch only. No clinch. At most you are allowed to catch-and-throw. You break for each hit.

Kyokushin allows all punches and elbows (but neither to the head), and kicks and knees anywhere -low or high.
Hook punches to the body are very common.
All contact is all-out. The degree of clinch varies slightly depends on the organization.
Points are given when the other goes down (or atleast is visibly shaken/incapacitated by a technique), and you dont break everytime a punch or kick hits its target.

Most kyokushin groups do not allow clinch, or any grabbing. Some organizations allow a bit more. Some offshots like world Oyama karate still has the older version of kyokushin rules that allow slightly more clinch. Some offshotshots like Enshin and Ashihara allows a LOT more clinch (they have also discontinued the old style katas). Some offshots like shidokan has almost no restrictions on clinch at all.

4

ah, good to know. I had a nagging feeling that I was kinda off base.

That makes a bit more sense to me; I sat in on a Shotokan class with a friend of mine (at our college) one time and it seemed to be mostly kata-oriented. They could do the light-touch only strikes at ridiculously high speeds, though.

5

"They could do the light-touch only strikes at ridiculously high speeds, though"

That they can. Shotokan guys are usually extremely fast and accurate, with very good formal techniques.
It is just that they dont train for them to be used with full contact, and that they expect a umpire to call "break" when they hit, no matter how badly, in sparring.

There are exceptions to this ofcourse.
Especially in japan they do much harder contact (even if KOs still results in disqualification). But even there they still only do one-hit-break sparring.

The caricature of a shotokan point fight is tho guys standing almost motionless for a minute, then they jump towards each other and one guy gets the first light touch hit, whereupon the match breaks up and is returned to start position.

The caricature of a kyokushin/knockdown karate fight is two heavy muscular guys leaning forehead against forehead, trading body punches and lowkicks -without much attempt at blocking or evading, until one suddenly takes a quick step back and throws a high kick that scores a KO.
Neither of these are entirely true, but there is a grain of truth behind them.

A few kyokushin (actually two kyokushin and two kyokushin offshot) fights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMMUpYsvR9c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUdSsH1doK0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIS7JC1Uuak

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d_dDgedvkU

(no fancy KO highlights though, more complete fights)

JKA (shotokan) karate clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufh6B-r_HOM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4R-4xjpaCQ

As you can see, there is a big difference.

6

That ashihara style is cool (the 3rd youtube link down).

In Kyokushin rules, what happens if you "ko" someone with leg kicks? And
what are the rules regarding clinching?

thanks for all the input

7

If you "KO" someone with legkicks you win, same as any other KO. Lowkicks is a legal technique and a very popular one.

Clinching in traditional kyokushin is basically "dont". Dont grab the opponent, dont hold him, dont hold while attacking. You used to be allowed to grab the head and pull it to the knee in early (70ies) kyokushin events, but that was later banned, mainly because the larger european fighters was crushing the smaller japanese fighters with it. Some offshots like ashihara and world oyama still allows it.

If you try to clinch in kyokushin, the referee will pull you apart.