In a situation where you need to defend yourself, it is your skills, not your rank, that will protect you. Prevention is the best self-defense. Attackers, whatever their objectives, are looking for unsuspecting, vulnerable targets. Be aware of your surroundings, avoiding confrontation. If you can defuse a situation (talk someone down from physically…
Category: Self-Protection
Your purpose in karate is not to fight.
“Your purpose in karate is not to fight, but rather to end the fight”. ~ Yoshio Kuba 10th dan Goju Ryu ?? . In self-defense there are no rules. If you’re in danger, in trouble, or in anyway threatened, you do anything and everything you can to get away and get to safety. This is nothing…
A high and tight guard
Having the hands held high in a tight guard is not a very smart thing to do in a self-defense situation. . To understand why it’s a bad idea, you need to appreciate that not all violence is the same, and there are HUGE differences between consensual violence (fighting) and non-consensual violence (self-defense). . The…
Self-protection, martial arts, and fighting, are not the same
“Self-protection, martial arts, and fighting, are not the same, they are related, but they are most definitely not the same.” ?? . . Iain Abernethy 7th Dan British Combat Association . As martial artists we need to understand the difference between these three concepts. They are distinctly different, but also overlap one another. . Many martial…
Real karate is for self-defense
“Real karate is for self-defense and kata bunkai is the main tool for this.” . . Yoshio Kuba 10th dan Goju Ryu, repeating a quote from Gogen Yamaguchi. ? . . It is all in the kata. Understand the combative principles contained within them and you will find that you are able to extract a myriad…
The hardest punch I’ve ever experienced
Too many students (and some instructors) rely solely on their body-weight when performing punches, without thinking to “connect”, transferring the energy from your feet, through to your fist as you hit with your entire body. . It’s NOT the style of karate that has power. NO one style is stronger than any other, regardless of…
Our focus is self-defense first.
“Our focus is self-defense first. . As me and my brother are involved in MMA you learn a lot with those techniques. But when you do a little research, we found these techniques are already in karate. . Modern karate does not focus too much on self-defense, so they are losing the main technique of…
“Fighting is always last answer to problem.”
“Fighting is always last answer to problem.” ~ Mr. Miyagi ?? . To always want to ‘defeat’ someone; to always want to fight first; to always be right; to always come out on top; the building of a monumental ego;…. these are the goals of many practitioners. However, if these goals, are the only goals,…
Eliminate in your opponent the desire to keep fighting.
“The ultimate goal in a battle it is to eliminate in your opponent the desire to keep fighting.” . Your best defense is to use your brain. What really gets injured if someone insults you? Your pride, your ego? If you let it get to you so much that you want to throw down the…
Karate has throws and joint locks.
“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’ (locks) and ‘nage-waza’ (throws) they assume that these only exist in jūjutsu and jūdō. This way of thinking is exceedingly counterproductive with…
Fighting is what happens when self-protection goes bad.
“Remember, fighting skills aren’t the key to self-protection: fighting is what happens when self-protection goes bad.” ?? . . Self-protection, martial arts, and fighting, are not the same, they are related, but they are most definitely not the same. . As martial artists we need to understand the difference between these three concepts. They are distinctly…
There is a story behind every unsaid word or action.
“There is a story behind every unsaid word or action.” ?? . Adam Carter 7th dan Ryukyu Karate Jutsu – Shuri Karate Dojo . . A street-fight rarely brings about anything good, regardless of the outcome. Any martial artist who ‘looks’ for fights is not a real martial artist. Fighting should always be the last resort,…