Kyokushin: A testing ground for striking effectiveness?

[mateo]

Here is a clip of a talented leader in the world of Kyokushin karate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1o0tdqA ... playnext=1

(One should understand that in part of the video Matsui is undergoing an initiation where he must fight one hundred opponents one after another. As he gets tired his technical edge dulls and he is forced to push through with fighting spirit. It is also designed to teach humility where one is shown that something as small as being tired dinimishes the difference between fighters of different levels. Later on the video you see him sparring with K-1 fighter Francisco Filho.)

As Ontario doesn't allow full contact tournaments from time to time our guys go out to Montreal to go to these events.

I think these events represent a good testing ground for hapkido-in as they are full contact but with specified striking areas. The kyokushin guys are also physically tough so it is a worthwhile test.

Full contact kicks are allowed to the sides of the leg, the torso and head. Punching to the torso only. The test is to see if one can knock ones opponent down. The kyokushin guys at lower levels tend to take a conservative approach of punching to the chest and kicking to the thigh. Those unaccustomed to leg kicks are quickly made into believers concerning their effectiveness.

It is also a good test of ones physical conditioning as the Kyokushin guys will make outsiders fight over and over without much of a break! Their fighters are also well conditioned.

I feel it is a good step up from light sparring with friendly partners and yet not wishing to move up to kickboxing/ Muay thai fighting.

The full contact aspect also takes some of it out of the judges hands ... and judges in point karate here in Toronto have been notorious for blatant club favoritism/discrimination to the extent of extreme ridiculousness.

[austinso]

Heh~

That's a great clip. One thing that struck me this time around seeing it was that Matsui was always balanced when kicking regardless of how high he was targetting through those 100 fights.

Makes me miss Wednesday nights...

Austin

[Ben_Smith]

That guy has some pretty devastating kicks - especially is spinning heel kick!

I dunno about you guys, but at my age, if I made it past five, even ten guys, I would feel like I had accomplished something. 100? You gotta be kidding me!

[dortiz]

Kyokushin,
the hardest training in my life. Luckily it was 10 years ago. I dont that I could hack it today. 5 guys standing in the rain (thank goodness, it covered the tears). Striking Makiwara with all the skin on our knuckles gone and blood droplets flying everywhere. Blood bruises a 1/2 thick sticking up off our shins which were beaten with stcks while doing front stances for ever. Sparring defense with guys lining up and just coming at you over and over. My wife would cry when I would come home and change as my sides would be black and blue all along my body. Believe it or not that was the easy stuff.
The good news is back then I could walk in to a black belt class of karate or TKD and rotate down the line sparring like walking a dog.
Its the most amazing fight training I know of.
Try it : )

Dave O.

[Stuart Rosenberg]

Here is a clip of a talented leader in the world of Kyokushin karate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1o0tdqA ... playnext=1

(One should understand that in part of the video Matsui is undergoing an initiation where he must fight one hundred opponents one after another. As he gets tired his technical edge dulls and he is forced to push through with fighting spirit. It is also designed to teach humility where one is shown that something as small as being tired dinimishes the difference between fighters of different levels. Later on the video you see him sparring with K-1 fighter Francisco Filho.)


I think these events represent a good testing ground for hapkido-in as they are full contact but with specified striking areas. The kyokushin guys are also physically tough so it is a worthwhile test.

The nature of our striking is not the same or sport oriented.

Another words in HKD we don't need to our hand strikes to be harder then them with a close fist etc... because our attacks should be to vital points or weak points which don't require the same type of power to work.

They have great powerful kicks which again are very good and are something to be admired some HKD people have that power my teacher Master Son did for sure back in the day.

I'd like to see them in the UFC, I think they'd quickly dominate with some grappling training.

[mateo]

I'd like to see them in the UFC, I think they'd quickly dominate with some grappling training.

Georges St. Pierre is a Kyokushin practitioner who later trained jiujitsu and then wrestling.

He can still be seen out at Kyokushin competitions in Montreal coaching other fighters.

[Stuart Rosenberg]

I'd like to see them in the UFC, I think they'd quickly dominate with some grappling training.

Georges St. Pierre is a Kyokushin practitioner who later trained jiujitsu and then wrestling.

He can still be seen out at Kyokushin competitions in Montreal coaching other fighters.

Huh I wouldn't have guessed watching him fight I don't see the style coming through as in Lyoto Mashida's clear Karate style.