I trained in Isshin-Ryu for about a year and a half. I actually got kicked out of the school cause I punched a squirrelly jack ass in the face cause he was getting all aggressive on me. THen they put me in with a black belt and I bloodied his nose. These guys were pussies but Isshinryu is a okinawan style. It is good karate. Kind of a softer style compared to like a Gojo-ryu. I got my black belt in Shorin-ryu which I really liked cause it was all prison guards and cops and we could go full contact and they wouldn't cry. The thing with Isshinryu is you keep your thumb outside like in a cable grip. You can hit harder but you lose a little coordination and it is easier to jam or break your thumb.
Just remember dude, karate is only as good as you practice it. If you don't hit each other and actually practice it full contact, you don't really know what you are doing. That is why karate became a joke for along time. Cause you had guys that have never been in a fight, practing basically dance steps, trying to teach you how to fight w/o ever letting you fight. Bruce Lee called this dry land swimmng. But guys that actually fought FC karate, i.e. Chuck Liddell and kickboxers are owning teh MMA game now. I will teach my son Shorinryu karate but I will let him kickbox cause that is where you learn how to use the kicks/punch combinations. It is easy to stand there and hit a bag, try hitting people that are trying to hit you back and trying to keep you from hitting them.
But you shouldn't be a yellow belt after three sessions..... but hey whatever works for you..
