My kids took their first Shotakan Class!

Gorilla

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I had been searching for a highly qualified Karate Instructor in Las Vegas to supplement my kids TKD training. I found one his name is Sensei Hiroshi Allen and he has a very strong reputation within the USA-NKF Karate community. His parents are Bob Allen & Niki Ikeda Allen and they are both highly regarded in Sport Karate. My hope is that training in another Martial Art such as Shotokan will enhance there TKD giving them a deferent perspective. They are going to train 2 days 2 hours per class in Shotokan and 4 days a week in TKD. We are going to try this for the rest of September. This is a total of 5 2 hour classes if they see the value we will train for 3 months and reevaluate. They have taken 1 class and really enjoyed it.
 

DMcHenry

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Cool - I liked ShotoKan as well. It really helped me because they do the same form sets (with slight variations) as I learned in TKD/TSD. They do the Heian series, in Korean it's called Pyungan. You'll see where many of the moves in the other Korean form sets came from, as most all the Kwan founders began with those forms as well.

Hope they have fun.
 

ATC

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Thats, cool. Keep us posted. I was thinking of having my kids do something similar. I just got finished talking to them about some boxing or wing chun lessons. Something to better their hands. I was messing around with each of them and they are good with the feet but they got lost when I started boxing them.

Thanks for the post.
 
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Gorilla

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Thats, cool. Keep us posted. I was thinking of having my kids do something similar. I just got finished talking to them about some boxing or wing chun lessons. Something to better their hands. I was messing around with each of them and they are good with the feet but they got lost when I started boxing them.

Thanks for the post.

Same thing with my kids. Shotokan is close enough to TKD that they feel comfortable. With the changes in TKD we feel that this will enhance their TKD game from a blocking head shots perspective, punching perspective and lead leg perspective. Almost everyone that I have TT from within TKD is very skeptical. It is almost as if we are committing a sacrilege. I have always been one to try new things. If it works great! If not I am sure that I will get a resounding I told you so from the skeptics. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
 

ATC

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Same thing with my kids. Shotokan is close enough to TKD that they feel comfortable. With the changes in TKD we feel that this will enhance their TKD game from a blocking head shots perspective, punching perspective and lead leg perspective. Almost everyone that I have TT from within TKD is very skeptical. It is almost as if we are committing a sacrilege. I have always been one to try new things. If it works great! If not I am sure that I will get a resounding I told you so from the skeptics. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
Yeah I expect that form most pure TKD only people. But I really believe that it is the out of the box thinking like you are doing that gives one a better insight. By doing something different can you really know if something can't or can be enhanced.

I always tell my kids try something and if it fails well then now you know it does not work. But even then you may have to fail many times before you can really say it does not work.

I can say one thing, They will develop punching power with Shotakan. Plus Shotakan teaches the same distance management that TKD teaches as well, from what I have seen.
 

Manny

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Same thing with my kids. Shotokan is close enough to TKD that they feel comfortable. With the changes in TKD we feel that this will enhance their TKD game from a blocking head shots perspective, punching perspective and lead leg perspective. Almost everyone that I have TT from within TKD is very skeptical. It is almost as if we are committing a sacrilege. I have always been one to try new things. If it works great! If not I am sure that I will get a resounding I told you so from the skeptics. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

I am with you, I like to try new things too. Good for your kids Shotokan is a nice style of Karate Do.

Manny
 

sfs982000

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Shotokan was my primary base style for years and I loved every minute of it. It has definitley helped me out when I transitioned to Tae Kwon Do. I hope that it continues to help your kids out as well. Best of luck to them.
 

Manny

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I think shotokan is in some way like WTF/KUKIWON Tae Kwon Do, Shotokan is one of the largest organizations that teaches high values and is also a super sport (competition) like WTF TKD.

I also love Shotokan, their katas, their ipon kumite,etc,etc.

Manny
 

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wonderful news!!

be sure to keep us updated for all of us parents considering such things....

best of luck of course!
 

Marginal

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Same thing with my kids. Shotokan is close enough to TKD that they feel comfortable. With the changes in TKD we feel that this will enhance their TKD game from a blocking head shots perspective, punching perspective and lead leg perspective. Almost everyone that I have TT from within TKD is very skeptical. It is almost as if we are committing a sacrilege. I have always been one to try new things. If it works great! If not I am sure that I will get a resounding I told you so from the skeptics. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

I can kinda see where they're coming from. I can't see myself gaining much from training Shotokan. Nothing against the art, but there's so much overlap, it just comes across as redundant training.

If I was looking to cross train, I'd probably go for something outside my immediate comfort zone just to avoid redundant training. I'd be more inclined to go for boxing or some kind of grappling art.
 
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Gorilla

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I can kinda see where they're coming from. I can't see myself gaining much from training Shotokan. Nothing against the art, but there's so much overlap, it just comes across as redundant training.

If I was looking to cross train, I'd probably go for something outside my immediate comfort zone just to avoid redundant training. I'd be more inclined to go for boxing or some kind of grappling art.

I agree with you but in my kids situation they are steeped in TKD tradition getting them to try something completely different would have been impossible. Plus we are doing this to enhance the Sport TKD Skills...The punching, blocking, kicking and foot work are similar enough but just enough difference to had a new wrinkle to their TKD fighting. The extra added plus is that Sensei Allen is a TKD Red belt(base tkd knowledge) and is going to work with us to get rid of as much redundancy as possible.

The Shotkan footwork (shifting) is very intriguing from a TKD perspective.


I will keep everyone informed they are going to spar again tonight.
 

terryl965

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It will just help them in the long run with the sportside of TKD, because the sport is changing.
 
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Gorilla

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My daughter went to homecoming tonight so my son went to karate class by himself. Big improvement as he tied the BB that he spared... the same kid the beat Charlie easily on Monday. Sensei Allen is really very good explaining the theory behind Sport Karate. How to measure distance for both punching and kicking. Terry you are right that fast kick really comes into play. How they use it in sport karate translates very well to the LAJUST and Daedo systems. Its like a modified cut kick.
 

terryl965

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My daughter went to homecoming tonight so my son went to karate class by himself. Big improvement as he tied the BB that he spared... the same kid the beat Charlie easily on Monday. Sensei Allen is really very good explaining the theory behind Sport Karate. How to measure distance for both punching and kicking. Terry you are right that fast kick really comes into play. How they use it in sport karate translates very well to the LAJUST and Daedo systems. Its like a modified cut kick.

Yes Gorilla it will add to everything they do in TKD now, please tell Sensi Allen hello from me.
 

Tez3

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I can kinda see where they're coming from. I can't see myself gaining much from training Shotokan. Nothing against the art, but there's so much overlap, it just comes across as redundant training.

If I was looking to cross train, I'd probably go for something outside my immediate comfort zone just to avoid redundant training. I'd be more inclined to go for boxing or some kind of grappling art.

I agree with you, that's why I've started JKD, to do something different and that will supplement what skills I have.
I did some TKD while I was doing Wado and TSD, far too much alike to actually get much out of it, good though the training was.
 

Daniel Sullivan

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I studied Shotokan a while back and enjoyed it greatly. Going from Kukki TKD to Shotokan means more focus on hand techniques, but your going into it with a greater solidity in kicking techniques.

Should be a good experience!

Daniel
 
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Gorilla

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I studied Shotokan a while back and enjoyed it greatly. Going from Kukki TKD to Shotokan means more focus on hand techniques, but your going into it with a greater solidity in kicking techniques.

Should be a good experience!

Daniel

My kids have taken 3 classes tonight will be the 4th. We have already seen improvement in hand blocking defense to the head. Shotokan makes you keep your hands up and always aware of potential blows to the head. Also it causes you to to be more focused when you kick the threat of the sweep is always there. So far a very positive experience due in large part to Sensei Allen and his class they have been very welcoming and supportive.
 
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Gorilla

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Last Night was my kids 4th Class they did KATA for the first 45 min with Sensei Nikki Ikeda from my understanding one of the top female practitioners of Shotokan Karate in the world and Sensei Allen's mother. It was a great honor for Charlie and Kymberly to be instructed by her. After the class she came over to me and said that your children have great Discipline and Focus and she really enjoyed teaching them. Of course that was a proud moment for an already proud Dad.

The rest of class was sparring tech training. My kids are really learning allot and not surprisingly allot of what they are learning is going to be a big help in TKD Sparring.
 

ATC

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Last Night was my kids 4th Class they did KATA for the first 45 min with Sensei Nikki Ikeda from my understanding one of the top female practitioners of Shotokan Karate in the world and Sensei Allen's mother. It was a great honor for Charlie and Kymberly to be instructed by her. After the class she came over to me and said that your children have great Discipline and Focus and she really enjoyed teaching them. Of course that was a proud moment for an already proud Dad.

The rest of class was sparring tech training. My kids are really learning allot and not surprisingly allot of what they are learning is going to be a big help in TKD Sparring.
Thanks for all the updates. TKD does have a pretty stong ethics and discipline side to it. Glad to see it getting noticed in another MA.

Can't wait to see Kym and Charlie's next tournament. Well if you guys are doing the JKI I will miss that one this year
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Glad they are having fun as well.
 

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