Video Comments 

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Content of basic techniques tape:
1. Having been in kyokushinkai for years the basic techniques are familiar to me.
2. The Ashihara specific techniques were good and valuable to me.
3. I think the katas are practical.

Instruction Methodology:
1. Techniques are demonstrated clearly and are easy tofollow.
2. Techniques follow the manuals quite closely. (In sometapes and styles this is seldom the case.)
3.  Your techniques are crisp.

Quality of the Video
1.  The reproduction is only fair.

My impressions of You.
Based upon your tapes, manuals and on-line comments,I have made the following observations about you:
You are a good educator:
You love karate
You are open and are willing to share your knowledgewithothers.
You believe in the unification of martial arts and techniques...at least in a general sense.

I hope to view additional tapes in your series. I am anxious to learn from you.
Paul Hucul - Canada

I also watched some of your tourneys.  Very humbleof you to show even the ones you lost!  However, in one of the others, you did a  sweep which won you the match.  We are always taught that the sweep on it's own is not enough.  Obviously the rules permitted that in that match.  And of course, in the one you lost, a Kyokushin match would have disqualified competitors for those holds and throws e.g.the one that lost the match for you. Still, I only see this as a variation of the match rules, which in Kyokushin in the past (and probably now too) unfortunately influences the emphasis in the training.
Shaharin Yussof -Australia

I am really interested after I saw the first tape in buying the others tapes from you. The tape I got, included at the end a piece of a tournament, I was very excited to be able to watch the Kumite competition, however the tape end with the Kata competition. Do you havea tape that shows International Kumite competition?. I saw some fights on the tape and I would like to watch more especially the different styles competing together. Wishing you all the best with your organization. OSU!
Angel Carrasco - Canada

Footage - lots of fun watching that. In kumite, Ashihara karateka gives me an idea of our full-contact times. Senpai, there was a footage showing you against a Japanese (sorry, can't remember his name plus the sound wasn't clear) in which the match started with breaking a stack of something - what were those, how many? Is this still practised today - to what system is it unique? If a person couldn't break the stack,then what? Ah, the demonstration involving you being driven over by a vehicle- nice! Must've been pretty cool being on the news after that :-)! Hmm,there was also a footage of a really small kid (remember?) in the tournament,poor guy, seriously!

Again, THANK YOU for the video - not once did it occur to me that anyone would be so kind.
Kamal Advani - Indonesia

I'll give you a more in-depth review in the next weekor so,  bye for now.
TC - Canada

Your students are sharper than almost all the people I see on videos, and I've seen a lot of them. Very nice movement, good focus and they're obviously strong and fit.

The bunkai on the video is interesting too, but I find them a little too complex sometimes. I don't know if this is necessarilya bad thing, but I notice a lot of common themes (like hand behind theneckfor example) that I'm not sure extends to other belt levels and otherbunkai,so I can't comment much more on that.
TC - Canada

Ashihara techniques were easy to follow. There were some really good Ashihara fighters in your Invitational Championships. Expeciallythis one guy, who had really good and fast snap on his mawashi geri. He was so flexible that he was in no trouble with opponents five inches taller than him. Your student I presume? Also his timing and stance were perfect.Also you guys kicked with the ball of the foot and that seemed to be too much for some of the fighters ;-) And I think you could not kick tothe legs, right? This guy could be even better using a bit more sabaki,or what do you think? Usually he did go straight forward. Anyway great video, have to watch it again today. Thank you very much Hoosain!
Jarmo Osterman - Finland

For example, for SOTO UKE and GEDAN BARAI as used in KUMITE,  one could emphasize that it is a"gentle deflection" and not a "hard block".  These comments are beneficial to distance learning students because many new Sabaki students have hard time understanding techniques because they have a preconceived idea of Karate being a "hard" martial art.

And yes, I have viewed the additional footage which was very entertaining, how many sit-ups  do you do every day?
Y. Toda - USA

I will write more about specifics in the tape.. but for now just a thank you .. and to say I better go do something RIGHT NOW to persuade my wife that I have been busy all day rather than enjoying myself.
Harry Davis - England

The footage of your competitions was great. I forget his name now, but that Japanese fellow you fought in 1994 really meant business, didn't he?

I also enjoyed the sequence of the van driving over your stomach. Do you still have tyre tracks on your torso? <grin>
Dirk Beszdiek - South Africa

What I liked first and foremost was that it appeared to have a great class structure. I am sure I could take a lot of the stuff on that tape and use it in class. I bet your classes are really enjoyable. It is also apparent that a lot of what you guys do is structured. More so than I expected. As I have been teaching techniques to my students I feel they can handle, I get the impression that you have it layed out per belt level.

The redirection using the previous blocking hand to guide the incoming strike into the new block was a wonderful surprise.

I look forward to seeing this and other tapes/CD's. I was awe struck when I saw the initial footage of the run at the beginning of the tape. Cape Town is amazingly beautiful. The beach shot with the islands in the background and the waves rolling in was awesome.
Shane Mussche - Canada

I watched closely and noticed you seem to have an excellent attitude and sense of humility with regards to your training. I would enjoy meeting you someday.

Thanks again.
Scott Stevens - USA

I have not seen the form that so many of your students were filmed performing at your competitions.  I believe you also performed this form a few times as well.  It has lots of circular steps, knee strikes and seems to end with an arm bar or break.  Is this a form you developed, or is it part of the kyokushin curriculum? Taekwon,
Travis Young - USA

Overall, I like it. good detail, lots of examples.
Norm Moreland - Canada

Getting back to the tape:
The first part, the blue belt training part, was very interesting. The entire blue belt program was very precise, with very little room for deviation. Nothing wrong with it, though! However, we tend to be more relaxed, with less emphasis on exact technique, and more on development of personal style.

I was very impressed by your personal appearances in kyorogi. Your technique is fine, excellent. Without you getting upset, how do you manage so well with sight in only one eye?  With forms, I noticed that you still take part as well. I, personally, hate the stuff. But then, I suppose I am not as much of a purist as you are. I am mainly concerned with sparring and competition. Also, I once again noticed (not having been at a Karate tournament for a while), that you guys seem to be a lot more intense and precise about your kata. Fortunately, our own poomsae are a lot more relaxed. (Taeguek, that is. The original tul I learned, namely the Pyong Ahns and Palgwes, were a lot more intense and structured as well.) I prefer the more relaxed approach, however. I hate it when I see Taekwondoin performing poomsae, trying to make it look like Japanese kata. It completely defeats the purpose for the Taegueks' existence. But then, we are talking about two entirely divergent paths of form interpretation.

May I just add that I simply do not believe that nonsense about "if you perform kata a thousand times it will come naturally when you get into a real combat situation." You, yourself, as a Master with experience and technique far superior than my own, should know this by now. From what I have seen on the tape, nothing you did in kyorogi/randori (after having performed kata for over 25 years), even closely resembled forms. What, then, is the real value of forms?

Getting back to the tape you sent me. The sparring is fine all over. But what was the 2001 Sabaki like?
P. Botha - South Africa

I changed from Kyokushinkai to Goju-Kai with a few black belts who convinced me to change to look into the roots of kyokushin. That is the reason why I became a Goju practitioner since 1976.

I found a lot of comparison with the good old kyokushin in some movements which were shown. My idea is that  kyokushinkai is changed in a kind of kick-box in the last decade or so.

I want to congratulate you with your efforts and good work In favour of the Ashihara Karate International.

Leo Van Bortel - Belgium

I'll promote it here in Puerto Rico and also to my friends around USA. I'll start to practice some of your techniques if you authorize me to do so.  I think are great ones. Now one more question.. How I can obtain more of this kind of tape? And where to buy it?
Santiago Castro - Puerto Rico