I am an aspiring MMA fighter who lives in Birmingham, Alabama. My background is in wrestling and I know some minor BJJ things, but I honestly have no work striking. I have seen fighters like Lyoto Machida fight and really think he has some of the best striking around. I know he has a background in Karate, and I would love to learn some of the things he does. Do any of you know of some legit dojos in Birmingham that I can start learning from? Even though I want to be an MMA fighter, I realize that learning to punch and kick does not encompass the whole martial art. I want to learn the other things karate has to teach as well. If any of you guys could throw me some names I would really appreciate it.
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- Thread starter tbhawk
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You'd likely be looking for a full contact school, probably one that actively competes and maybe even puts guys in kickboxing events from time to time. You might want to start your search with "Kyokushin" clubs, as they are geared towards full contact. However other clubs from other styles will fit that as well.
twendkata71
Black Belt
there is a world Oyama karate school in that town. It is an Kyokushinkai off shoot. Good hard full contact karate.
There is also a Japan karate international school there, which I believe is a Shotokan school.
There is also a Japan karate international school there, which I believe is a Shotokan school.
twendkata71
Black Belt
Sorry thats japan international karate center, they are Wado ryu karate do. (Jujitsu/Karate intertwined) Generally good tactical fighters, standing up or on the ground.
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The Japan International Karate Do Federation and the Japan International Karate Center both teach the Heiwado Karate system, which is based on Wado Ryu, but with much of Shotokan Karate re-added into the system. If anything, the system leans more heavily towards the Shotokan side.
We're more of a hard striking system.
The kata we teach are from both Wado Ryu, as well as Shotokan, although most of them are found in both systems.
tbhawk, you're always welcome to stop on by either our Trussville or Montevallo location for a visit!
I know you are looking for a karate school to train in, but it may not be what you need. I now have several fighters that I train for MMA and I don't teach any of them karate. We get them to box first, then teach them knees and elbows. And almost all of them are from wrestling backgrounds, wrestling is huge in my area. This has helped them the most. I tried teaching them karate and it was not working for them, they did not want kata or SD training. They just wanted to be able to strike.
