(Approx 2 minute 15 second read)

On a recent article about not losing functionality in karate, as I do with all my articles I try to find an image that matches. This one happened to show two karateka grappling.
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A comment I received stated that “that’s judo or jujitsu”, even going on to say that the karate-gi they were wearing didn’t match either, that they had “reinforced neck and sleeves”.
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Now, I don’t know about you, but I have tried numerous karate-gi in my five decades of training and teaching, and each one was different. Some were thicker, more heavyweight than others. Does that make them not a karate-gi?
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I find it hard to believe that we live in a world where so much information is available, yet there are still those who don’t believe that throws, grappling, and close-quarter methods are part of karate.
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Perhaps the modern karate-do has distilled this knowledge for some, or maybe it’s simply not being passed on.
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It’s not even new information. Kenwa Mabuni, one of the major influences on karate both in Okinawa and mainland Japan, wrote: “As up to now [1938] karate has only partly been introduced in Tokyo, people who exercise karate in Tokyo believe that it solely consists of punching and kicking techniques. When talking about ‘gyaku-waza’ and ‘nage-waza’ they assume that these only exist in jujutsu and judo. This way of thinking is exceedingly counterproductive with respect to karate itself and can only possibly be attributed to a lack of knowledge.”
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There’s a false assumption that any given method can only originate from one place: “That joint lock is from jiu jitsu”, or, “That throw is from judo”, or even, “That’s from MMA”.
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Here’s the thing: all these methods may include a common technique. The differences are in emphasis, not invention.
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Many styles of karate today don’t incorporate throws. And I don’t mean those dojo that borrow judo throws and present them as karate self-defense.
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However, traditional Okinawan styles that have preserved a broader base of martial techniques and principles do indeed have throws, as well as takedowns, sweeps, chokes, and joint locks.
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These techniques are found in kata, yet rarely explained as such, largely due to the watering down of karate for the masses, the sports focus, ease of teaching, and the lack of truly knowledgeable instructors.
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For the most part, those karate styles hold to a set tradition that resists outside influence.
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“More often than not, throws are not implicit in the kata techniques, but serve more as follow-ups or ‘exit techniques’ after the necessary set-up, or ‘entry technique,’ has been established through strikes. One general rule of thumb for throwing in general is to first damage the opponent with strikes, so as to lessen the chances for resistance.” (Kinjo Hiroshi, Yomigaeru Dento Karate, 1991).
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Yes, karate contains throws, grappling, and all the other techniques mentioned above, but the emphasis is different.
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So don’t look at history through the wrong end of the telescope. These techniques didn’t “find their way” into karate; they were already there. You just have to dig a bit deeper to see them.
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Written by Adam Carter – Shuri Dojo