@@calebhoeman7674 Gotta get them while I can!

@DangerSophie123 Hi! I say that because Kyokushin is designed for ring fighting with a specific rule set, not for civilians protecting themselves from criminal violence. That said, I think a skilled Kyokushin fighter would be able to defend themselves quite well if they were attacked by a criminal.

⁠@@andrewobrienkarateKyokushin was absolutely not designed for ring fighting. We can have a long conversation about that. But this is a very common misconception.

@@DangerSophie123 Fair enough. What was it designed for? And is it still that way now?

@@andrewobrienkarateit was designed for self defense and character development. In fact, all budo around that time also made to be for character development more or less. Kyokushin was a bit more leaning towards the “practical” side in Karate. It later turned into a very defined tournament rules for “safety” and the taste of the Japanese public (can’t have too much blood). The sport side has made Kyokushin more popular. However, every dojo (at least the ones in Japan) still does the self defense aspect of the arts. The “knockdown” fighting is only a part of the art.

@DangerSophie123 Okay. What do you mean by self defense here? What sort of context is meant?

@@shawnmartin1289 Many thanks, dude! 😁 We'd love to have you visit anytime you're near Boston (or drop in for a visit if I'm ever near San Jose)! Cheers from the Peabody, MA Okikukai guys.

@TimothyAdams-ln2jr I agree the style can be practical, but I don't think it's there for most people given the way they train. Exceptional Uechi-ka (like Shinjo-sensei) who can break boards with their fingers and toes could probably use it as it's taught and be fine (probably, but I wonder what would happen if their target flinched and they finger jabbed a shoulder), but I don't think it's preparing most people. I agree that the old school karate-ka of the 70's and 80's would have done better than the people now, but that's because the old schoolers were essentially the combat athletes of their day. And then I just loop back to my argument in the video. Taekwondo isn't usually a great self defense system, but an olympic Taekwondo player is such a great athlete that they could probably use head kicks in self defense. It's not a good option, but they're such an exceptional athlete they could probably do it anyway. 🤷‍♂️

@@andrewobrienkarate Uechi especially is known for its hand-hardening and toe/foot hardening, one could argue that most of the loss of combat effectiveness in karate is due to the loss of the old school practice.

Well I mean the training is what's important. Particularly the development. You aren't wrong, I'm js that nothing is truly practically without truly proper development and training. Some things may be easier to get away with and more forgiving but still risky and impractical in the same sense. ​@@andrewobrienkarate

​@@andrewobrienkarateI suppose that my point is "martial arts" are a lifelong journey/full time occupation. Not 8 hours of practice fight classes a week. There's no point in picking something up without full commitment and dedication.

@@What-he5pr Haha! Great question! Google says "supurekkusu," so probably they just adopted our word.

@@timw3485 Many thanks! I try!

Thank you! 😊

A what?

@@kbanghart Look up Lerdsilla. He's a Muay Thai guy with incredible defensive movement. People make showcases and breakdowns of him "entering the Matrix."

@@DYYAAX #Mcdumdum

@lucalevorato7577 Hi! Sounds like our backgrounds are somewhat similar! I started in Tang Soo Do (basically Korean Shotokan), did some Krav and Judo, then added in Uechi. I don't think there's anything wrong with training all the "traditional" excercises like kihon kumite and bunkai required for testing as long as we don't pretend they're something they aren't. They can be fun, they reinforce technique, and they're a window into the past. They just aren't designed for modern day civilian violence. 🤷‍♂️ Ooh, and yes, absolutely! Sensei Quimby says something very similar to the kids. "You'll probably never need to use your karate to protect yourself from a bad guy. You will need it to make the right choice and eat healthy, get enough sleep, control your anger, study for the test, etc."

@@Stefanofo Thanks

@@SoldierDrew Yes, indeed!

@@maximuscosmos5545 everyone the whole time, or specific people?

@@m3mento_vivere This is Tang Soo Do.

@@potentiallypeanut5576 Haha! You're welcome. Back atcha!

@Ethos-e4s Thank you very much for the kind words! You are clearly a person of great taste. 😉 It's humbling to receive praise like this. OSU!

@@davet9900 Thank you for the kind words! 🙏

@@SlickyAnimations Why?

@@SlickyAnimations We do.

​@@andrewobrienkarate i dont want to say anything bad but usually red belts has better tension and more momentum

@SlickyAnimations If I understand you, that's exactly what he's working on. He's flexible, but needs to understand tension and where to stop. Better acceleration, too.

Good question. Usually we recognize a touch as a hit, so that's how we try to adjust to light contact. Of course, that gives rise to some other problems.

@@Limmof2020 I think that's accurate!

@@joet.6019 Hi! What things about Uechi Ryu make you say that?

@andrewobrienkarate as a fellow karate-ka, and practitioner of uechi Ryu, I can tell you that there are many things about it that make it ideal for self defense. First foremost, turning your body into a solid fighting machine. Everyday we hit our bones, to create micro bruises that heal and harden. This creates a hard body that can take hits. That's why you will see during Sanchin (the single most important kata in the style), the sensei will punch and kick the pupil. It teaches us how to harden every single tendon, to protect our internal organs. We also learn that a punch starts from the toe, and ends at the knuckle, using kinetic energy. If a black of Uechi Ryu lands a hit, it will do more damage than most other styles. The five purposes of Sanchin are: -Build a strong and hard physique (protect tendons, hardon bones) -Master the proper stance (a tiger like stance that uses physics) -Master the proper breathing technique (almost a form of meditation, keeping the fighter cool, calm, and aware) -Train a penetrating eye (this one is mostly interpreted as training yourself to be aware of not just your opponent, but everything around you. My sensei uses a dog and mailman as an example) -Foster spiritual concentration (this is up for debate, but what my master said, it is about over coming your ego, and becoming one with the art) With all these practiced everyday, it gives a Uechi Ryu practitioner a leg above most attackers. I hope this explanation works for you!

I have to add: it takes at least a year for it to be fully effective. However, just after a couple lessons, one learns the most important rule..you can always improve no matter how long you have practiced. Always improving.

@joet.6019 Thank you for taking the time to answer in such a thoughtful way! I agree that what you describe are helpful elements of the style. Do you see the body conditioning in Uechi as superior to that of Kyokushin or Muay Thai? Kung Fu Iron Body systems? I'd argue that, on average, both Kyokushin and Muay Thai would better prepare someone for real world violence than Uechi Ryu. I think boxing and wrestling would to. I'm not saying I dislike Uechi Ryu or that it lacks value, I just don't think the average Uechi Ryu school would prepare an average person for civilian violence better than those other systems.

@greghoyt4061 ooh! That's awesome. Thanks for the comment. I've met Sensei Durkin several times at his events. He's a great man! One of my teachers has Muay Thai experience, and he points out a lot of similarities between Uechi kata movements and Muay Thai clinch work. I'd be curious to see if you spot similar connections!

@@andrewobrienkarate​​⁠ I haven’t seen him since I was around 7-8, but yes - Sensei Durkin is indeed a great man. I remember watching him instruct the black belt class, and he was very firm and deliberate, yet warm and open. I’m not confident that I can speak on that yet, as I only began training several months ago. I’ll have to observe more Uechi katas to reacquaint myself and gain a bit more hands-on experience with clinching techniques to make an informed observation, but I will be sure to get back to you with an answer!

@slowlearner72 🤣🤣🤣 This is a great comment. It's true we don't seem to have great records of the founder.

🤣🤣🤣

@@P12ooF Hello, double leg! 🦵 🦿

@koenig_der_zwiebeln9094 True. Many may lack the mobility for the power version of the kick, too. It always interested me that the point fighting version of the kick is a partial range of motion kick. Just a little tap. The version of the kick with follow through (or the spinning version) can be nasty, though!

I did a little study on knockouts. Watched many hours of footage. Spinning ura mawashi has a higher chance of knocking the user to the ground than the opponent. When it hits, it's game over, but it barely ever hits. Regular ura had like 1 knockout out of several hundred.

@@ZaydNofal that tracks with what I've seen, though I haven't researched it as much. It's a high skill move, for sure. Even most jabs don't land.

@@usmcownsme1 🤣🤣🤣 No toes were harmed in the making of this film. Also, I'm playing Spyro with my son right now, so if that's where your username comes from, awesome!

@@andrewobrienkarate originally came from a band named Spyro Gyra before the dragon was a thing... but I f'n love dragon games including Spyro so have fun! 😎

@@RickyDonahue-iu5fs It's probably not recommended. 😅

@Stephany-d1s We're a Uechi Ryu dojo. Goju Ryu is our sister style. Our sparring is pretty open source, and we're combining influences from point fighting, kick boxing, and other arts.

You're right. Both of those are possible defenses. He could also back up or time an attack for the start of my kick. The right defense depends on what you want to do after.

@andrewobrienkarate thanks for the information

@@Theokamisenpai 🤣🤣🤣

@@Theokamisenpai I want to see!

@ okay. They might kick me out of my sumo class though 😅

@Theokamisenpai 🤣 Never know until you try!

@@FuKuntt This was a bridge too far for even me.

@@Silokkes 🤣🤣🤣 YES! Vengeance saga is so good!

@@instructorlex8273 Hmm. Maybe. I'll have to check.

@@instructorlex8273 🤣🤣🤣 Yeah, that's good!