Switching from American full contact karate to Japanese sundome (light contact)?
I practiced Ed Parker’s Kenpo karate for about 4 years and then Tae Kwon do for about 4 before coming to Japan. In Japan, I’ve been doing light contact karate that my teacher calls sundome for about 2 years and I still can’t get it right!
I’ve improved a lot, but every time I spar, my teacher says I’m punching or hitting too hard. When I try pulling my punches he says they are too slow and sloppy. He somehow wants me to throw punches at full speed, no power and somehow lightly tap my opponent without injuring him or her. All without wearing gloves or any type of pads. I broke one of the other students nose once by trying this. It sounds crazy to me, but my teacher says that’s what makes it difficult. You have to control your speed and power.
I’m used to actually hitting my opponents and not worrying too much about hitting them too hard. Of course even in America we had rules like no hitting below the belt, neck or back but these rules take it a step further. Even strong body shots are a no good!
I think this style is closely related to shito-ryu if that helps.
Does anyone have any advice for me?
Thanks for the advice but I feel a little bad leaving my school for another. I’ve also become friends with my teacher. We hang out a lot and go drinking together. I recently just got my blackbelt as well, first degree. He has high hopes of my passing on his style to future generations. Apparently, judo’s popularity and Olympic event status is starting to really hurt karate in Japan. Every year more and more young people choose judo over karate from what my teacher tells me. Besides, there aren’t any kyokushinkai dojos near me. I live in a small town.
Oh and as for the light contact, he says I actually have to touch my opponent. Stopping a few inches away from their face or body doesn’t count.
Thanks for the advice, I’ll keep thinking about it. Oh and by the way, my style is called Hakushinkai. Ever heard of it?
Find a Kyokushin Karate Dojo.
As a Shito Ryu practitioner, myself, I find many of the branches and off-shoots are not too hard when it comes to sparring, however lightly tapping someone doesn’t help enough against bigger opponents.
Generating speed without power is very difficult, you can only do so (in my opinion) by aiming for 6 inches in front of the opponent’s body/face/etc.
That way, if you’re punching right, you’re still penetrating the Target of Aim without hitting the actual opponent.
I’m used to having bruises, however, so the idea of being hit hard doesn’t scare me (anymore).
Addendum:
You can still touch your opponent without maiming them (If you aim your punch a few inches from the body). As I stated, if you are striking correctly, you will penetrate through your target (in this case, the air in front of him) and hit him. With your focus aimed slightly in front of him, the resultant force and energy transference will dissipate and effectively, hit "softer."
The relationship between Karate and Judo is a mixed bag: Many Karate masters were excellent Judoka or at least practiced it. The same is true in reverse.
Notable Karateka who practiced Judo: Motobu Choki, Nagamine Shoshin, Miyagi Chojun, etc.
Notable Judoka who practiced Karate: Kimura Masahiko.
Unlike many Karate styles, Judo is predominately sport-oriented (as opposed to Kano Jigoro’s intention to incorporate many martial virtues and ethics into a non-violent method of body and mind cultivation with self-defense). Judo’s Kata are rarely performed as opposed to Karate’s Kata which usually form the entire basis of the system.
On top of the cultural sentiments still lingering over in the Japanese legal system which do not support percussive martial arts (Karate, Muay Thai, Boxing, etc) as valid forms of self-defense or as cultured arts.
So to state that it’s only started to hurt Karate is a major exaggeration. However it is and will continue to change, wax and wane, as the times do so.
As for betraying your teacher, traditionally, students studied with teachers maybe a few years and moved on to either other teachers or teaching, themselves. One teacher can not teach you everything he knows. But I can definitely understand your loyalty.
As for your style, I haven’t heard of it, but that’s not saying much as styles and even organizations diverge and break apart from the mainstream as a natural affect of existence.
I study Motobu ha Shito Ryu under the Kokusai Seishinkai, however it’s difficult for many not under the Kuniba-Kai banner to claim such because true Motobu ha Shito Ryu was a product of Kuniba renaming the style to better suit his training with Motobu Choki and his students.
Our Motobu ha Shito Ryu (as in my Dojo’s) is more of a Goju Ryu/Shorin Ryu-Okinawan Karate base with the Naihanchi kata and Motobu’s JuNi Hon Kumite learned from Motobu Choki’s son, Chosei, himself.
So while I’ve never heard of your teacher’s style, I can appreciate that I do not know of it and am not pretentious enough to say that it is "this" or "that." If your teacher is teaching earnestly, and you, as his student, are learning earnestly, then the art you study is good traditional Karate, whether or not the sparring is as hard as a Kyokushinkaikan Karateka’s, of a direct lineage such as Higaonna Morio’s, or whatever.
Stick with your teacher in the long-haul and I’m sure he will teach you how to connect in kumite to his liking and perhaps even explain why he feels you should do so.
Ganbatte kudasai!
EDIT:
Also, "Sundome" literally means, "Stopping Just Before." So…perhaps you should stop your hits just before they hit, like I previously mentioned.