Self-Protection

“Does this work?” is a meaningless question without the qualifier of “works for what?”

“Compared to Jiu Jitsu, karate is more destructive, Jiu Jitsu is the art of throwing and holding and is slow compared to karate” – Kentsu Yabu from the Honolulu Advertiser July 9, 1927 . “Does this work?” is a meaningless question without the qualifier of “works for what?” . There is a huge difference between […]

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Practitioners who are interested in self-protection, should show a keen interest in bunkai.

Funakoshi wrote; “A student well versed in even one technique will naturally see corresponding points in other techniques. A upper level punch, a lower punch, a front punch, and a reverse punch, are all essentially the same. Looking over thirty-odd kata, he should be able to see that they are essentially variations on just a

Practitioners who are interested in self-protection, should show a keen interest in bunkai. Read More »

Hit from where your hands are.

In the dojo recently we talked about “momentum” in a strike, punch or similar technique. Momentum can simply be defined as; “mass in motion.” All objects have mass; so if an object is moving, then it has momentum. . Our discussion was based upon moving our hands in an opposite direction to our target (moving

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Techniques that are effective for kumite and sparring in the dojo, are not necessarily sensible choices for self-protection.

The grappling of karate is not comparable to the highly skilled grappling exhibited by MMA or Judo practitioners. It is, by design, very crude by comparison. But karate’s grappling methods did exist long before the rise of MMA. . There are those that believe only Judo or BJJ can provide grappling and throws, and the

Techniques that are effective for kumite and sparring in the dojo, are not necessarily sensible choices for self-protection. Read More »

Kata, IS the heart of karate. 

“We must be careful not to overlook the fact that kata, and the body positions that comprises them, are just templates of sort; it is their application in combat which needs to be mastered.” – Motobu Choki (1870-1944) . The term “bunkai” (分解), meaning ‘disassembly’, does not refer to a technique of any kind. It

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Are traditional martial arts dying?

Are traditional martial arts dying? . Most martial arts were created at a specific period in time in ancient history to protect its practitioners from a civilian, non-consensual attack. Times have changed to a point where some martial arts training is no longer practical for today’s world. There are many martial artists who are unaware

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