Our philosophy is simple; the training that we employ needs to be functional, realistic and enjoyable. The training should be easy enough that the students/practitioners will understand the concept and mechanic. We will used drills, live sparring and rolling to shorten the response time, and allowed the students to effectively applied what they have learn.

How are we different than most modern karate/martial art school.
Quotes taken from the The World Oyama Karate Organization – by Soshi – Saiko Shihan Y. Oyama

  • “…Our style is quite different from most modern styles of Karate. Modern Karate is arranged for education. This academic approach is not bad, but it misses some important basic points. In most modern Karate styles, the student just punches the air, kicks the air and blocks the air. There is no contact. Without contact, the student cannot really understand the connection between basic training, KATA training and KUMITE training. Too much emphasis is placed on the mental and spiritual aspects of Karate. Many modern Karate instructors fear that students will be hurt if they train with contact. But this results in too much emphasis on blocking and self defense. The result is that the fundamental purpose of Karate training is lost.”
  • “…, we always teach each technique with contact. Without contact, you will never really learn that technique . Without contact, you only learn the technique in your head. You can only imagine using the technique, and it doesn’t really fit you. It is very important that you train until contact with every technique. Then you can feel it – mentally and physically. This doesn’t mean that you have to kill your partner. You just have to make the contact enough to feel the impact. “
  • “Most people think that they can properly learn Karate by training constantly in one spot. They think that proper training is to practice a technique over and over again in a stationary position and to just punch or kick the air. This is a big mistake. This style of training became popular because people were absorbed with the mystery of Karate. They believed Karate was so powerful that actual contact would be dangerous for students in the modern dojo. They thought that it was sufficient just to practice the punches and kicks repeatedly in the air while standing in one spot. …. As you train, make sure that your position, body posture, arm position and leg position are all correct before beginning the execution of the technique or combination. Add the footwork – slide, step or switch feet. Then execute the technique or combination correctly with contact. Finally, return to KAMAE that places you in good position for your next move. Without this full cycle, your training for this technique or combination is not complete.”
  • “It is good to talk about the mental aspect of Karate and the spiritual world, BUT Karate is not a religion. It takes much more to properly understand Karate. It is through your sweat and hard training that your mind is opened to understanding. Only then can you can connect the mental with the physical and truly understand the point of Karate. This is our philosophy.”

Articles
The Hallmarks of a Good Fighting System
Badger South outlines, in a post to rec.martial-arts

  • Non-attribute based
  • Aliveness is emphasized
  • Aims to reduce the high chaos of a fight
  • Has a reply to all the ranges of combat
  • Trains with resisting opponents
  • Has a well-defined and functional delivery system
  • Has a core art that allows functionalization of any exotic moves
  • Emphasizes learning defense first so that there’s always a refuge
  • Trains the flow from range to range.
  • Built upon a good endurance base but uses interval/burst training (Trav)
  • Intelligent use of training gear emphasizing movement, intent and timing
  • Is fun and largely non-injurious
  • 75% of success is based on conditioning and aggression
  • recognizes the venues of fighting.

To get to there he says:

  • have a good coach.
  • Can even be a training partner.
  • Feedback and going out of your comfort zone is crucial to make advances.
  • make use technology such as the heart rate monitor
  • recognize and work to improve the ODOA loop and other psycho-neurological concepts.
  • train the range with the people that do that range best, be it bjj, wrestling, MT, boxing.
  • Don’t try to stay within your ‘style’ and make ‘anti-‘ techniques work.
  • go outside your style, be open to ‘what works’.
  • test and retest and work to failure. Even the best stuff has failure points.
  • work with a variety of opponents, some better than you, some not as good (teaching teaches!)
  • enter competitions

Leave a Reply