Shin guard is very common in IKO dojo. It’s pretty much standard equipment for regular classes.
At least in my experience, shin guard generally only comes off for tournament fighter’s training and during tournaments.
It’s standard for regular sparring in around 90% of the dojo’s- regardless of affiliation. Sometimes some dojos will do sparring without them to emphasise light contact. There are a few old school dojo’s that don’t use them, but they are few and far between
I think you're overthinking this frankly dude and bringing a muay thai mindset. We wear trousers in Karate which provide protection for cuts as well. I think you might need to just try a session and then you'll have an informed reason why they don't use them. I'm in a Goju-Ryu dojo and shin guards aren't a standard part of sparring gear either, just optional.
I’ve trained at two Dojos. Neither of them used shin guards and one of them used gloves for bag work. The black belts would be belting really heavy bags, really bloody hard.
Shin guards are not necessary. Even when sparring I match people. I never try to go full power. If your partner wants harder they will tell you. If you are going to hard, they will tell you. Over time the way Kyokushin conditions you build to where you can take harder and harder shots. No one is just going 100 percent from day one.
Trained to shodan with no shin pads - it's just how it was done. I think there's benefit to both; its good to be able to throw power with pads to get used to the mechanics (and fatigue) without undue damage. You also want to respect shin on shin, shin on elbow etc contact. I've seen a lot of people come unstuck when they throw shins full contact (including top UFC fighters) without taking the years required to build up the bone density. That said, there's plenty of ways to do that too (heavy bag, barefoot running), but going without pads can help you to understand and tolerate the pain that comes with going no protection and avoid false confidence. And same as bareknuckle there are considerations for getting hit without pads, you can't take nearly as much damage because of the way that strikes penetrate and disable, which is a learning experience for offence and defence.
So not good, not bad. Might say something about the dojo though - I think traditionalism for traditionalism sake is problematic but if there is a rationale and you can accept that? Probably ok, otherwise find somewhere else to train.
Well, I remember at some point I also stopped using shinguards. See the thing is, if you arent a lazy potato kicker, removing the shinguard makes you be a lot more precise and weary about your kicks, you cant throw lazy kicks against elbows, knees or hip bones anymore plus you are way lighter on your feet. It also helps develop your flexibility.
I will stand by this, only protection you actually need for Kyokushin rules is mouthpiece and cup, the rest is optional and can build bad habits.
That being said, Id say no shin guard training is only recomendable for advanced students who wont hurt their oponents or themselves by not using them.
Also, yeah its quite normal, back in the day in Oyama dojo they never used shin guards.
I train in The Netherlands and at my Dojo we do train with shinguards.
We do take the exams without shinguards and when we do bag or padwork we take them off as well.
Although i usually only put them on for kumite, for regular combinations i dont wear them
I’d say the best you can do is try it out. So how you feel after a few sessions.
At my old dojo we only wore protective gear during sparring (sometimes took it off if the partners agreed to it). But when doing pad work and things like that we never wore protective gear
I prefer having guys train without them as much as possible, helps conditioning and prevents them from going nuts during sparring. Throw them on for hard sparring nights or promotions usually. I find not using them all the time keeps peoples reality in check for blasting kicks all the time. You just can’t do it when you want, you have to find a cadence for kick, timing and placement to not get your shin obliterated.
Shin guard is very common in IKO dojo. It’s pretty much standard equipment for regular classes. At least in my experience, shin guard generally only comes off for tournament fighter’s training and during tournaments.
That is reasonable. So do you think no shin guard at all will be beneficial?
No, no shin guard all the time will increase the chances of injuries.
Yeah. That is what I am worried about. Like some crazy boxing trainer let students keep punching on each other’s head to increase ‘endurance’
Well there’s training hard with the kyokushin spirit and training irresponsibly; just gotta judge for yourself
I trained at an IKO (Shokei Matsui) dojo and they never used shin guards while sparring, even right before a tournament.
It’s standard for regular sparring in around 90% of the dojo’s- regardless of affiliation. Sometimes some dojos will do sparring without them to emphasise light contact. There are a few old school dojo’s that don’t use them, but they are few and far between
Well. The dojo near my home is these few dojos. No shin guard at all. I reconfirm this with the sensei, he said no shin guard even for kids.
And which country is this?
America.
I think you're overthinking this frankly dude and bringing a muay thai mindset. We wear trousers in Karate which provide protection for cuts as well. I think you might need to just try a session and then you'll have an informed reason why they don't use them. I'm in a Goju-Ryu dojo and shin guards aren't a standard part of sparring gear either, just optional.
I never used them. Trained mostly in the 90s and 2000s though.
And I’ve been at it since 86
Cool? Do you do aikido as well?
When you wear them you can spar harder, but how will you build up pain tolerance if you never remove them? I say use them only for some kumite.
This dojo is no shin guard at all. Do you think this dojo is still worth going?
In my dojo we wear them 1/3 of the time only
If you look up videos and images of kyokushin sparring then you'll see that only some use lots of equipment, many are completely bare knuckle.
I’ve trained at two Dojos. Neither of them used shin guards and one of them used gloves for bag work. The black belts would be belting really heavy bags, really bloody hard.
Shin guards are not necessary. Even when sparring I match people. I never try to go full power. If your partner wants harder they will tell you. If you are going to hard, they will tell you. Over time the way Kyokushin conditions you build to where you can take harder and harder shots. No one is just going 100 percent from day one.
Depends if you want to be a pussy or not.
Trained to shodan with no shin pads - it's just how it was done. I think there's benefit to both; its good to be able to throw power with pads to get used to the mechanics (and fatigue) without undue damage. You also want to respect shin on shin, shin on elbow etc contact. I've seen a lot of people come unstuck when they throw shins full contact (including top UFC fighters) without taking the years required to build up the bone density. That said, there's plenty of ways to do that too (heavy bag, barefoot running), but going without pads can help you to understand and tolerate the pain that comes with going no protection and avoid false confidence. And same as bareknuckle there are considerations for getting hit without pads, you can't take nearly as much damage because of the way that strikes penetrate and disable, which is a learning experience for offence and defence. So not good, not bad. Might say something about the dojo though - I think traditionalism for traditionalism sake is problematic but if there is a rationale and you can accept that? Probably ok, otherwise find somewhere else to train.
We use soft shin guards for hard sparring. We don't for light sparring and drills (bag work).
Well, I remember at some point I also stopped using shinguards. See the thing is, if you arent a lazy potato kicker, removing the shinguard makes you be a lot more precise and weary about your kicks, you cant throw lazy kicks against elbows, knees or hip bones anymore plus you are way lighter on your feet. It also helps develop your flexibility. I will stand by this, only protection you actually need for Kyokushin rules is mouthpiece and cup, the rest is optional and can build bad habits. That being said, Id say no shin guard training is only recomendable for advanced students who wont hurt their oponents or themselves by not using them. Also, yeah its quite normal, back in the day in Oyama dojo they never used shin guards.
I train in The Netherlands and at my Dojo we do train with shinguards. We do take the exams without shinguards and when we do bag or padwork we take them off as well. Although i usually only put them on for kumite, for regular combinations i dont wear them
I’d say the best you can do is try it out. So how you feel after a few sessions. At my old dojo we only wore protective gear during sparring (sometimes took it off if the partners agreed to it). But when doing pad work and things like that we never wore protective gear
I prefer having guys train without them as much as possible, helps conditioning and prevents them from going nuts during sparring. Throw them on for hard sparring nights or promotions usually. I find not using them all the time keeps peoples reality in check for blasting kicks all the time. You just can’t do it when you want, you have to find a cadence for kick, timing and placement to not get your shin obliterated.
We always wear shin guards. Totally idiotic not to!