- Dec 28, 2001
- 11,391
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It's a follow-up to the thread I made about a week ago.
Anyhow, I go there to get some beginner lessons.
Now, mind you, I've been an instructor in ITF TKD for more than 5 years, an instructor in Wing Chun (common spelling) Kung Fu for morer than 3 years, and was a studying Judo for 2 1/2 years plus some other things for hobbies' sake (meaning, nothing for longer than a few months).
Obviously, I've taken TKD and Wing Chun for a longer period to become eligable to be an instructor in the first place. But I've never taken karate before.
Why the sudden e-machismo? Well, first of all, I'm still pitifully bad in all those styles so I can't flaunt anything - thanks for bringing it up, jerk; and secondly, I have a certain rhythm/pattern of movement for generating power/speed/etc. from constant drilling in those styles
Wow, these folks are different. Now, I'm not in any way or shape saying that one is "better" or "worse", just different.
But let me say, teaching in different studios throughout the years, I'd like to think that I know whether a dojo, regardless of style, is good or bad - and let me say, this is one of the finest, without doubt, dojos in the US as far as commitment, technique, size, and professional establishment goes. I was very pleasantly suprised, to say the least.
As far as style goes, like I said, there are differences - if I understand corectly, Seido Karate is an offshoot of Kyokushinkai, which in itself was originally an offshoot of Shotokan Karate. Shotokan Karate itself was a huge influence in TaeKwonDo ([Former] National pride aside, it is a shame that TaeKwonDo did not receive as big an influence from Tekkyon, a traditional Korean martial art that was wiped out during the Japanese invasion) - you'd imagine that the basic movements have some similarity - they do, admittedly - but the power generation is completely different than in the ITF TKD; that might not seem like much, but in terms of body mechanics and strategy, the way you generate power determines the best stance for the techniques and the timing, so it becomes a beast of a whole different color. I would have never known if I did not physically try it out myself.
Going back to the dojo at hand, they have been in there for 20 years, and of course I explained my situation, and was in no way rude to them, nor were they to me - they're a nonprofit organization (so I'm not a spammer, dammit) and they even offer scholarships (which I'd definitely need . . . if I were to join).
Oh, and did I mention that a few of their instructors were females in the 20s? And that they're hot (and they can bend all sorts of ways, which is always a +)?
So the final review: All around, I'd say that they're a great school; they do not go into explaining the technique in detail as much as I would, but in all fairness it was a beginner class, so explaining each balance shift in every punch would be a bit much for them (but I do anyways), I have yet to see any school go into as much detail as I do anyways, and their demonstrations had defined techniques, making easy for everyone to follow.
Out of 5 :thumbsup:'s, I'd give Thousand Waves Martial Arts a :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Cliffs notes:
- I went to a Karate Dojo. I am disillusioned enough to think that I know what I'm talking about. I enjoyed myself, even though it was only a beginner's class.
Anyhow, I go there to get some beginner lessons.
Now, mind you, I've been an instructor in ITF TKD for more than 5 years, an instructor in Wing Chun (common spelling) Kung Fu for morer than 3 years, and was a studying Judo for 2 1/2 years plus some other things for hobbies' sake (meaning, nothing for longer than a few months).
Obviously, I've taken TKD and Wing Chun for a longer period to become eligable to be an instructor in the first place. But I've never taken karate before.
Why the sudden e-machismo? Well, first of all, I'm still pitifully bad in all those styles so I can't flaunt anything - thanks for bringing it up, jerk; and secondly, I have a certain rhythm/pattern of movement for generating power/speed/etc. from constant drilling in those styles
Wow, these folks are different. Now, I'm not in any way or shape saying that one is "better" or "worse", just different.
But let me say, teaching in different studios throughout the years, I'd like to think that I know whether a dojo, regardless of style, is good or bad - and let me say, this is one of the finest, without doubt, dojos in the US as far as commitment, technique, size, and professional establishment goes. I was very pleasantly suprised, to say the least.
As far as style goes, like I said, there are differences - if I understand corectly, Seido Karate is an offshoot of Kyokushinkai, which in itself was originally an offshoot of Shotokan Karate. Shotokan Karate itself was a huge influence in TaeKwonDo ([Former] National pride aside, it is a shame that TaeKwonDo did not receive as big an influence from Tekkyon, a traditional Korean martial art that was wiped out during the Japanese invasion) - you'd imagine that the basic movements have some similarity - they do, admittedly - but the power generation is completely different than in the ITF TKD; that might not seem like much, but in terms of body mechanics and strategy, the way you generate power determines the best stance for the techniques and the timing, so it becomes a beast of a whole different color. I would have never known if I did not physically try it out myself.
Going back to the dojo at hand, they have been in there for 20 years, and of course I explained my situation, and was in no way rude to them, nor were they to me - they're a nonprofit organization (so I'm not a spammer, dammit) and they even offer scholarships (which I'd definitely need . . . if I were to join).
Oh, and did I mention that a few of their instructors were females in the 20s? And that they're hot (and they can bend all sorts of ways, which is always a +)?
So the final review: All around, I'd say that they're a great school; they do not go into explaining the technique in detail as much as I would, but in all fairness it was a beginner class, so explaining each balance shift in every punch would be a bit much for them (but I do anyways), I have yet to see any school go into as much detail as I do anyways, and their demonstrations had defined techniques, making easy for everyone to follow.
Out of 5 :thumbsup:'s, I'd give Thousand Waves Martial Arts a :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Cliffs notes:
- I went to a Karate Dojo. I am disillusioned enough to think that I know what I'm talking about. I enjoyed myself, even though it was only a beginner's class.
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