Shotokan Compared to Wado

[Sushi-Boy]

Has anybody out there started in Wado Ryu/Kai but moved to Shotokan?

I know a few who went from Wado To Shoto.

I am curious as to how they found the deepening of the stances etc.

Personally I felt Wado's higher stances felt more natural after starting in Shotokan.

[Sparkie]

Ah sushi boy when you switch from a deep stance to a high stance you loose the mentle aspect of over comiing the pain of the deep stance. BULL ****
I preferred the deeper stances of shotokan over Wado kai. The deeper stance allowed me to train my legs and strengthen my hips while allowing to create better hip movement and increase flex ability all while just doing kata. Yes I fight standing higher I'm faster that way but I preferr to train low and deep.

[Plasma]

Sparkie, why are you training in a matter that is not how you fight?

Let me put it this way. Last Karate guy that came to my dojo asked how you we would proform a technique (aka throw or anything) while he was in a "deep" shotokan stance. So I kicked him in the leg. After hoping around a bit, he left our school. (That also might have to do with a nasty ura nage he got in class).

Now Sparkie you say it just for training and not for fighting. Ok I'll believe you, but when fighting won't you reflexively react how you are trained?

[WorldWarCheese]

In Kyokushin the horse stance in sparring and shiai is pretty much taboo. Look at the Shotokan Leg Sweeps vid for why. They're just not practicle. I used to be into them... until I learned how to do squats in the gym (It's nice our Kyokushin Dojo is in the aerobics room of Gold's Gym) and since then have never looked back.

I'm sure the horse stance had/has/whateverr a valid reason for existing I just can't find one that isn't met the same and better by other workouts.

Yes, we have them in Kyokushin but that's kata work. I mean KATA WORK. As in it might not WORK in randori. (Horse stances don't) so if you feel like Horse Stances aren't your cup of tea, it's because it's silly and overused in a lot of Karate styles.

And Sparkie: How would a horse stance increase flexibility? Or "better hip movement"??? You've lost me with your mental powers.

[Shuma-Gorath]

Now Sparkie you say it just for training and not for fighting. Ok I'll believe you, but when fighting won't you reflexing react how you are trained?

Here's the best shot I could find of the way we're taught to stand and move in Kickboxing/MMA (see Tony on the left). The Karate-only sparring stance is only slightly deeper, mainly because the rule set is more restrictive. Leg kicks aren't commonly allowed but no one has trouble throwing and countering foot sweeps.

[Plasma]

*image removed to save loading time*

Here's the best shot I could find of the way we're taught to stand and move in Kickboxing/MMA (see Tony on the left). The Karate-only sparring stance is only slightly deeper, mainly because the rule set is more restrictive. Leg kicks aren't commonly allowed but no one has trouble throwing and countering foot sweeps.

Thats makes alot more sense, I was thinking (based on my expirence with that one guy, I admittively say is retarded) a very deep stance. What see above is just a front heavy stance allowing to strong kicks with the rear leg.

To OP: is the Wado Stances higher then this, are they still front heavy stances?

[WorldWarCheese]

Back in my point sparring domination days the stances all look like the Shotokan Sweeps horse-stance-bouncing-like-tkd-guys stance. It's very very very popular nowadays and if you ever see the sparring in the XMA Tourney they have on ESPN2 every now and again (late at night and maybe once or twice a year) you'll see the same thing.

I actually think the TKD stance is a throwback to its Karate origin. That or they both have that point-sparring perfect style.

http://www.kyokushin-kan-usa.com/for...ee6a055fef.jpg
Check out dude facing away in the middle. Pretty standard stance and looks practically exactly alike the kickboxer IMHO.

[Edit, that pic is the Kyokushin Stance as a version of a karate stance with full contact rules]

[sochin101]

Deep stances in shotokan. Good for conditioning, **** for anything else.
The way it worked for me was the org. would insist on deep stances until you get to brown belt, and then they say "hey, silly bollocks, stand up straight", and then all techniques were performed in kamae.
The only time I did deep stances after brown belt was during kata, or if I was teaching.

[Shuma-Gorath]

Thats makes alot more sense, I was thinking (based on my expirence with that one guy, I admittively say is retarded) a very deep stance. What see above is just a front heavy stance allowing to strong kicks with the rear leg.

That photo is actually still misleading; we're supposed to move in and out with even distribution. The width is right though.

Rick Franklin's footwork was actually similar in his fight with Nate Quarry. He was way stiffer and flat-footed against Anderson Silva.

[Sparkie]

we're not really going to debate training over real life application. **** I thought the readers here were smarter than that. If you can not see the benift of deep stances in train than perhaps you're not doing your stances propperly anyone going into a fighting compation using text book kata formperfect techniques is a fool with a **** head for a sensie. As for wieght training for the most part I get bored counting to ten all day. ura nages are great tho i find myself somewhere between sukui-nage and tani-otoshi. Do I drop back to reaction reflex not as often as you think but then I've had the fortune of some excellent instructors with military and special forces back grounds. so learning to apply what we learned in a competant manner was foremost in their clubs.
It's not as cut and dry as it sounds here and I wish I had the liturary skills to better explain myself. Sorry
Sparkie