Many practitioners of karate have forgotten that its original purpose was self-defense. To quote Anko Itosu; “…. a way of avoiding injury by using the hands and feet should one by any chance be confronted by a villain or ruffian.” . Today the need for martial arts to be purely self-defense has diminished, and the […]
Don’t rely on the “label” of a technique. It probably isn’t the right one. Read More »
Martial artists often speak of having a defensive mindset; that your brain is your best defensive tool for keeping you out of trouble. . Being aware of your surroundings helps you identify dangers and possibly avoiding those dangers. Similarly, being distracted, and unprepared is far more likely to attract predators. Awareness of what is around
I’m a strong believer in that if you are passionate about something, the martial arts or otherwise, you should also study its history. Understand the context to which something was created. . What can an individual learn from history? Through history, we can learn how past societies, systems, and ideologies were built, and operated in
Combative function or symbolic gesture? Read More »
Kata are a library of self-protection techniques and principles in karate. Each kata creator encoded their specific knowledge into each movement of the kata they made. Kata are not simply a record of techniques, or a solo performance; rather each and every kata is designed to record the key principles and strategies of a complete
“In karate, the most important thing is kata.” Read More »
“Karate has many stances; it also has none”. – Nakasone Genwa (1895-1978) . Fundamental to the improvement of your karate technique is correct and balanced form. . In karate, ‘stance’ refers to the position of the lower body, the hips and the legs, which literally carry the upper body. Thus techniques are at their best
“Karate has many stances; it also has none”. Read More »
Real fights are messy, full of uncertainty, sloppy, falling down and scrambling up, feints, lucky shots. Street fights are quick and aren’t run over several rounds like an arranged fight. . If you know for sure another person is going to attack you and is cornering you, you’ll be at a major disadvantage if that
Here is the bottom line: You DON’T want to get into street fights. Read More »
Indecision can kill. . Think about the last time you had to deal with a problem but couldn’t come up with a single possible solution…… Making any decision, even if it’s not the best, is better than freezing and making no decision. ** **Indecision kills. . In real world self-defense, awareness and Information is an
Indecision can kill. Read More »
Facing forward in kata and then turning to the left, or right, to meet an incoming attack (whatever that might be), makes no sense at all. Yet today this is still being taught to students. . Throughout the history of karate we have some of the creators of kata informing us….. what they are trying
“The beauty of a move lies not in its appearance but in the thought behind it.” Read More »
The commonality of technique throughout all of the martial arts and styles that exist is that they all make use of biomechanics and weaknesses of human anatomy. Where the various arts differ is in the rules, the goal, and the context that they are trained for. . In competitions, tournaments and consensual fights, you have
Commonality of technique. Read More »
Where modern karate goes wrong in self-defense is where fighting comes first. . Street fighting and self-defense are two different things. Most people think about this as the same, even martial artists. They are not. In street fighting you are basically a fool that lets your ego expose you to danger. Street fighting is for
Where modern karate goes wrong….. Read More »
Naihanchi (ナイハンチ) . The kata Naihanchi is said to mean ‘sideways fighting’ due to the kata’s distinctive embusen (floor pattern), but is also translated as ‘internal divided conflict’, it is practiced in many styles of karate today. . Gichin Funakoshi renamed the kata Tekki (Iron Horse) in reference to his old teacher, Anko Itosu, and
Naihanchi (ナイハンチ) Kata Read More »
My karate is stronger, tougher, more athletic…. it’s superior to yours! . Really? It’s superior in all things?….. . You have to define what you mean by “superior”. I’m assuming that when people say a “superior karate style”, they mean the best in terms of effectiveness and practicality…… But superior, WHERE? In the dojo? In
My karate is SUPERIOR to yours. Read More »
