Shotokan Karate - art of the empty hand

Karate and Bare Knuckle Boxing

2010-01-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

The similarities between bare knuckle boxing (Art of Pugilism) and karate (art of the empty hand), even though they were independently created in different cultures half way round the world both arts shared common roots in philosophy, strategy and tactics.

The introduction of gloves to boxing changed its whole approach to bare knuckle confrontations, as the gloves got better and bigger the boxers could actually hit each other in the head without breaking their hands.

Boxers also took advantage of the large surface area of the gloves and started to use them in ways that would have been impossible with bare knuckles, for covering, parrying and blocking.

The introduction of bigger and better gloves and the Marquess of Queensberry rules (1867) changed boxing forever from the bare knuckle art of pugilism to the sweet science we have today, these changes affected distance, strategy and tactics that boxers employed in the ring.

Karate is still a bare knuckle discipline and still retains the principles, strategies and tactics that comes with bare knuckle confrontations.

The proof that traditional karate technique is for the bare knuckle arena can be seen in mma matches and the UFC.

Traditional karateka like Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida who utilises shotokan karate as his stand up game and other karateka like George St-Pierre-kyokushin, Semmy Schilt-kyokushin, Victor Belfort-shotokan, and many many others.

All these athletes have trained in karate for a long period of time and have used their karate knowledge and skills successfully in mma matches, all say that karate had a big influence on them and their fight game.

Some of the other traditional karate fighters in mma/UFC competitions are (from Wikipedia),

Antonio Carvalho (Shotokan)
Nick Denis (Kyokushin)
Maciej Górski (Shotokan)
Neil Grove (Gōjū-ryū)
Mark Holst (Shotokan)
Katsunori Kikuno (Kyokushin)
Yuki Kondo (Shorinji Kempo)
Shinzo Machida (Shotokan)
Andrews Nakahara (Kyokushin)
Jadamba Narantungalag (Kyokushin)
Gunnar Nelson (Gōjū-ryū)
Seth Petruzelli (Shitō-ryū)
Bas Rutten (Kyokushin)
Assuerio Silva (Shotokan)

Also check out SHERDOG - 30 successful karate fighters in mma

MMA Karate fighters video playlist by Hotora86

Some great articles here about the bare knuckle boxing guard and the karate guard or kamae
1. The karate "kamae" or guard (Part-1) by sensei Dan Djurdjevic
2. The karate "kamae" or guard (Part-2) by sensei Dan Djurdjevic

Championship fighting - Jack Dempsey talks about a form of kime.
Championship fighting - Jack Dempsey

Bob Fitzsimmons vs James J. Corbett Part 1 & 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVwNVzqQeeg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU_sT_FvyWU

Below are some snapshots of bare knuckle boxing technique, the similarities to traditional karate technique are self evident.

ON GUARD

BLOCK & COUNTER

Karate - a brief history

2010-01-17T22:58:00.000-08:00

The father of modern karate

Funakoshi Gichin sensei - Karate master and founder of shotokan karate-do

The ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the perfection of the character of its participants - Gichin Funakoshi

A BRIEF HISTORY OF KARATE

The origin of karate dates back more than a thousand years, the early form of karate was developed in China and was known as "Sho Lin boxing" or Sho Lin Kung Fu.

Eventually many of the methods that made up Sho Lin boxing found their way to Okinawa where they were referred to as "China Hand" by the indigenous martial artists.

Sho Lin monks

These methods were mixed with the indigenous Okinawan martial arts of "Te" for striking and "Tegumi" for grappling along with other martial art influences from the surrounding neighbours (countries).

Okinawan karate incorporated many different types of martial arts into its syllabus, it had a mixture of stand up striking methods using most parts of the body as a weapon including grappling and throws that today are more synonymous with wrestling, judo, jujitsu and aikido.

There were also other out side influences from south east asia, including Thai boxing, jujitsu etc. which all helped to developed karate in to a dynamic, effective and systematic martial art for self defence on the island of Okinawa.

Karate was first introduced to the main land (Japan) and the Japanese public first in 1917 and then again by invitation in 1922 it was well received with plenty of interest shown in this newly introduced Okinawan martial art.

In both 1917 and 1922 the man most responsible for introducing karate to the mainland (Japan) was Funakoshi Gichin sensei, who is also credited with the title of "father of modern karate" on the mainland because of this achievement.

Further refining in Japan produced karate-do the martial art as we know it today, and the meaning of the word karate was changed by Funakoshi sensei from meaning China hand to empty hand, Funakoshi sensei also changed kata names and techniques.

Judo founder Jigoro Kano was so impressed with Funakoshi's exibition of Okinawan karate he invited Funakoshi to teach karate from the Kodokan (home of judo) until Funakoshi could establish himself.

Jigoro Kano received private lessons in Okinawan karate from Funakoshi while he was teaching karate from the Kodokan, the atemi-waza found in the self defence component of judo are heavily influenced by karate.

Many other Okinawan karate masters followed Funakoshi's footsteps and went to Japan to exhibit thier style of karate. Chojun Miyagi master and founder of Goju ryu karate-do first went to Japan in 1928 to demonstrate his Naha-te karate which would latter become known as Goju ryu.

Kenwa Mabuni master and founder of Shito ryu karate-do also demonstrated his style of karate which was a mixture of Shuri-te and Naha-te on the Japanese mainland in 1929 when he moved to Osaka Japan to form his school.

the shotokan tiger

In 1936 Funakoshi sensei with the help of his most senior students bought a building and established the first full time karate-do dojo in Japan, a great landmark for karate-do and the history of karate in Japan and the rest of the world.

This dojo / building was named the "shotokan" by his senior students, shoto referring to Funakoshi's pen name when writing poems and kan meaning house therefore in english shotokan translates to shoto's house.

Later many martial artists including karateka from other styles of karate, would refer to the style of karate practiced at Funakoshi sensei's dojo as shotokan.

The name shotokan stuck and the style shotokan is today practiced and enjoyed by millions of karate enthusiasts in most countries all over the world.

THE JAPAN KARATE ASSOCIATION (JKA)

The Japan Karate Association (JKA) was formed in 1949 with Funakoshi Gichin sensei as the supreme master and Nakayama sensei as the chief instructor, once again karate was put under the microscope and analysed.

Study, evolution and refinement by Nakayama sensei brought most JKA karate waza in line with newtonian physics and up until this day the original formulae that makes JKA shotokan karate waza remains unscathed.

Since its inception JKA shotokan karate-do has not diluted itself by borrowing, pinching or cutting and pasting formulas, methods or techniques from other martial arts like so many are doing today, making them unrecognisable from their original martial art form.

JKA shotokan karate-do techniques have a vast arsenal of stand up fighting principles, tactics and strategy based on scientific princples and with the evolution of close quarter combat and grappling methods found in its kata bunkai, oyo and henka makes for a complete self defence system.

JKA shotokan karate-do waza has remained as original and recognisable as an art form can be and when trained in the correct manner and attitude in my opinion is still one of the superior forms of self defence in today's myriad of martial arts schools.

Nakayama sensei is also responsible for spreading shotokan karate around the world by sending some of his most senior and best instructors to all four corners of the world to spread the art of shotokan karate-do.

JKA shotokan karate-do is practiced and can be found in most civilised countries around the world, the curriculum is the same where ever you go and your qualifications and grade are recognised all around the globe.

The JKA is also a non profit organisation and the largest single-style traditional karate group in the world.

What is the JKA ?

SHOTOKAN KATA

Not entirely sure but from my understanding, Shotokan kata is heavily influenced by Shuri-te 57% and Tomari-te 35% with some Naha-te 8%.

KARATE STYLES

The World Karate Federation recognises five main styles of karate (Wikipedia),

1. Shotokan ryu
2. Shotokai
3. Goju ryu
4. Shito ryu
5. Wado ryu

The World Union of Karate-do Federations (WUKF), recognizes these styles of karate

1. Gōjū-ryū,
2. Shitō-ryū,
3. Shōtōkan-ryū,
4. Wadō-ryū,
5. Shōrin-ryū,
6. Uechi-ryū,
7. Kyokushinkai,
8. Budōkan.

The History of Kata in Karate by Iain Abernethy

PLEASE NOTE

The above information is in accordance with my understanding of karate-do history from various sources on the Internet.

Funakoshi sensei makiwara practice

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Has shotokan got bunkai and oyo applications in its kata

2010-01-17T22:56:00.000-08:00

Sensei Simon Oliver 6th dan IJKA shotokan karateka

Kane and Wilder, "The Way of Kata".

分解する Bunkai suru (verb) to break down; to disect; to take apart.

応用する Oyo suru (verb) to apply; to put to practical use.

A lot of people assume that there is no bunkai (analysis) and oyo (applications) in shotokan kata.

This assumption that shotokan kata have no applications does not only come from non karateka who don’t know any better or who are ignorant of the facts but also from karateka from different styles and from karateka within shotokan as well.

The training methods in Funakoshi’s era were very different to today’s shotokan karate.

I believe from my research and understanding that there is bunkai and oyo in shotokan kata, as a matter of fact there is just as much bunkai and oyo in shotokan kata as there is in most other traditional styles of karate like goju-ryu, shito-ryu and wado ryu.

Most of the techniques found in shotokan can be found in the other styles of karate, there may be some variation but the under lying principles and concepts are the same if not very similar.

The simple truth of the matter can be derived from the writings of Funakoshi who literally suggests normal training was much more than solo performances of kata in shotokan.

If you analyze his words he’s coming from the view point that kata as a solo performance or pattern is a waste of time, and also that kata is more than just kicking and punching and it contains grappling and throws.

Simon Oliver's oyo applications

Here are some of Funakoshi's thoughts in regards to kata.

"In karate hitting, thrusting and kicking are not the only methods, throwing and pressure against joints are included. All these techniques should be studied referring to basic kata." Gichin Funakoshi

"Once a form has been learned it must be practiced repeatedly until it can be applied in an emergency, for knowledge of just the sequence of a form in karate is useless." Gichin Funakoshi

“If you understand one kata you understand them all.” Gichin Funakoshi

I still think the karateka in Funakoshi’s era may have learnt the kata or form as a pattern this would be for mnemonic purposes to aid in the memory of the movements.

Instead of putting pen to paper and writing down every actual little detail that accompanied every technique or drawing figures ala sho lin monks, the techniques were recorded in the mnemonic movements of the kata.

So they could be learned and deciphered first from the physical side and then the mental side, instead of the reverse order. This means that the movements themselves have finer points missing and aren’t performed exactly as in a practical situation where partner drills are employed (remember they are an aid to memory) and execution will vary.

The kata are like an enclopedia and you have to derive the information from them by actually physically doing them then analyzing and applying them. Maybe that’s were most westerners have become confused and start saying silly things like “Deadly OR Secret” techniques.

The techniques are mnemonic, like I said they don’t carry every little movement of application how could they, since every kata is meant to be a fighting system on its own, how silly would it look to actual perform a seoi nage like your actual throwing someone by yourself in fresh air? or try to add every little detail.

But the fact that these techniques can be found in kata performed in a mnemonic way, means that Funakoshi and his generation must have practiced, throws like a judoka, grappling like a wrestler, and striking, thrusting and kicking associated with karate today.

I honestly believe in Funakoshi’s day there was no such thing as bunkai and oyo, what we consider as bunkai oyo today was a part of everyday normal training back then which today we have labelled bunkai and oyo as though it’s something new to shotokan when in reality it existed from day one.

Did Funakoshi teach his students bunkai and oyo as we have categorised it today, I believe that he didn’t, the reason being that grappling and throws were a big part of Japanese martial arts.

When Funakoshi went to Japan in 1922 to demonstrate karate, he ended up staying to teach karate, at the Kodokan (home of judo) and taught karate from that dojo being the home of judo.

Now I’m not too familiar with Japanese etiquette but I would say for Funakoshi to be teaching karate with throws and grappling might have been an insult to Jigoro Kano who was the founder of judo.

Maybe Funakoshi culled karate to just strikes, thrusts and punches as we know it today leaving the grappling and throwing techniques resident in the kata but not using them in order not to offend Jigoro Kano, since Funakoshi was Kano's guest, this is just speculation and no one knows the truth, but in my opinion the truth is never far from common sense.

The other point i would like to address is Funakoshi was Okinawan he was taught in the art of Okinawan-te on the island of Okinawa from Okinawan masters he trained most of his life in Okinawa doing Okinawan martial arts. So then what did he teach the Japanese, was it not Okinawan martial arts? Why would shotokan not be considered Okinawan?

Is it because two man kata drills aren't practiced in shotokan, well what about if they are added does this then make it Okinawan?. The Japanese may have changed some things but by and large shotokan is an Okinawan system imo anyway, I have not heard a good arguement as to why it shouldn't be considered as an Okinawan martial art.

Funakoshi also looked at many of the Okinawa martial arts like shuri-te, tomari-te, Okinawa sumo and even naha te from the two katas (chinto & Hangestu) which shotokan has in its system that come from this region, and combined them into the style we know today as shotokan.

Funakoshi was not the sole person responsible for the development of shotokan he took what he considered to be the best parts of all the systems and created the system known as shotokan, he was the last link in the chain, similar to sir Isaac Newton and his Prinicpa Mathematica.

What was it that Newton said when he was celebrated for his accomplishments, it went something along the lines of

If i seem great, its because i have stood on the shoulders of giants, meaning he paid tribute to all before him.

I think Funakoshi was in a similar situation, yes he was brilliant with his accomplishments but he definetly stood on the shoulders of some great martial artists.

Funakoshi was against different styles of karate, but after karate gained popularity, there were break aways and as karateka broke away new names sprang up and developed just like today it’s still hapenening.

There is no place in contemporary Karate-do for different schools. Some instructors, I know, claim to have invented new and unusual kata, and so they arrogate to themselves the right to be called founders of "schools".

Indeed, I have heard myself and my colleagues referred to as the Shoto-kan school, but I strongly object to this attempt at classification. My belief is that all these "schools" should be amalgamated into one so that Karate-do may pursue and orderly and useful progress into man's future.

Gichin Funakoshi

Shotokan the name came about when Funakoshi and his students finally managed to get enough money to buy a building in which they could train. Funakoshi’s pen name (writing poems) was shoto, so his students named the building “shotokan”, kan meaning house, OR in other words shoto's house.

From there the karate practiced at that building become known as shotokan, classified and named or pigeon holed by mostly other karate styles and or karateka. Even until this day most shotokan karateka just simply refer to their art as karate.

The revolution, evolution or reverse engineering of shotokan kata bunkai-oyo applications has mainly been due to western karateka who have been delving into the meaning of shotokan kata e.g. Iain Abernethy.

Also I would like to point out that I think JKA shotokan kata are the closest thing to what Funakoshi taught as shotokan kata back then, even though they have longer stances and some aesthetics imo they are still very complete and don’t lack in the principles and concepts area.

As always in the Japanese culture even though the kata where tampered with they didn’t stray too far away from their original meaning because of their value. All one has to do is look at the best karate series from Nakayama sensei and then look at Funakoshi’s Karate-do kyohan.

The fact that we see Funakoshi in high stances maybe because of his age, when I’m 80+ I don’t even think I will be doing it let alone trying to have perfect form.

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The Niju and Dojo Kun

2010-01-17T22:55:00.000-08:00

Master Funakoshi

The Niju Kun are Funakoshi's 20 guiding principles of Karate, they were written to help the student understand how they should conduct themselves, not only in class but also as human beings where ever their travels may take them.

Below are a couple of ways of saying the same precept.

1. Donot forget that karate-do begins and ends with respect.

   (Respect for ones self and for others)

2. There is no first attack in karate.
   (Does this mean there is no pre-emptive strike in karate, NO it means take action as a last resort)

3. Karate stands on the side of justice.
   (Donot miss use the art of karate for self - gain, vengence, pride, gratification, ego etc.)

4. First conquer yourself before attempting to conquer others.
   (Know your capabilities and those of your enemy, donot become conceited and over confident)

5. Mentality over Technique
   (Spirit first, technique second)

6. The mind must be set free
   (Be ready to release your mind from technique, kata, methods, styles, and any other attachments you may have)

7. Calamity springs from carelessness
   (Misfortune comes out of laziness)

8. Karate goes beyond the dojo
   (Put karate into everything you do)

9. Karate is a life long persuit
   (Train karate like you eat and drink - daily and in all things)

10. Apply the way of karate to all things, therein lies its beauty
   (Put karate into everything you do)

11. Karate is like boiling water without heat it returns to its tepid state.
     (Train on a daily basis so you may advance in the art of karate)

12. Donot think of winning think rather of not losing.
     (Do not think you have to win. Think that you donot have to lose)

13. Make adjustments according to your opponent
     (Move according to your opponent)

14. The outcome of a battle depends on how one handles emptiness and Fulness (weakness and strength)
     (Victory depends on your ability to tell vulnerable points from invulnerable ones)

15. Think of the opponents hands and feet as swords.
     (Consider your opponent's hands and legs as you would sharp swords)

16. When you step beyond your own gate you face a million enemies.
     (When you leave home, think that millions of opponents are waiting for you, be on your guard)

17. Kamae (ready stance) is for begginers, later one stands in shizentai (natural stance)
     (Deep stances for beginners and natural position for advanced students)

18. Perform kata exactly, actual combat is another matter.
     (Kata is one thing, engaging in a real fight is another)

19. Donot forget the employement or withdrawal of power. The extension and contraction of the body, the swift or leisurely application of technique.
(Do not forget
(1)strength and weakness of power,
(2)expansion and contraction of the body,
(3)slowness and speed of techniques)

20. Be consistantly mindful diligent and resourcful in your persuit of the way.
   (Devise at all times)

The Dojo Kun

Senior instructors at the JKA developed the Five Dojo Kun, which every-one studying at the JKA commits to memory. With each practice session at the dojo, students kneel in the seiza position and repeat these five precepts out loud. This process reminds students of the right attitude, frame of mind and virtues to strive for both within the dojo, and outside.

1. Seek perfection of character
2. Endeavor
3. Be faithful
4. Respect others
5. Refrain from violent behaviour

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The nonsense in martial arts

2010-01-17T22:54:00.000-08:00

My style is better than yours

It doesn't matter what style, if only you can utilize your body unlimitedly. Bruce Lee

The nonsense in martial arts, of my style is better than your style, my techniques are superior to yours, my instructor is better than yours etc.

I don’t know about you folks but to me that’s a lot of guff and malarkey, after all in a real confrontation it’s you that’s on the front line, not your style or your sensei or even your technique, what are you going to do pull out your black belt and expect it to do the fighting for you, well it’s just a piece of cloth, it’s not going to do anything for you, then again the assailant might use it to strangle you so dont take it out of your training bag.

Imo opinion if an instructor or student traditional or not is so insecure that he has to stand up in front of his class to rubbish other styles in order to make his look good, chances are what he’s teaching is not very effective, or he doesn’t really know how effective his system is never having been involved in street fighting or ring/mat sports.

There are many would be experts in all the martial arts circles claiming that their art is so superior to others, I have talked to people on forums, who are anything but the epitome of a good martial arts instructor even though in their minds they are legends and they believe to have stumbled upon the truth of all things, there are also karateka and many others who fall into the same catagory.

I wonder what the retention of students at their school would be if the students knew what sort of crap these people spewed out behind the mask of an alias on a forum.

Generally they can’t really answer any questions that are related to their art, and usually indulge in mudslinging and name calling, yet they claim to have all the answers they just dont know how to express them, clowns like these not only give themselves a bad reputation but also the organisation they represent.

Do these people have real street experience?,
Are they soldiers from the front line?,
Have they ever had to fight for their lives?,
Have they ever been shot at or stabbed?,
Have they ever experienced real violence?,
Have they ever stepped out on to a mat or ring for contact comeptition?,
Just exactly where and how did they gain the knowledge and experience that makes them superior to everyone else?.

Where are they drawing all this wisdom from, is it from attending a seminar or course is it from a piece of paper or some badge or belt that says they have attained some sort or knowledge in whatever it is they do?, dont be fooled by so called experts that claim to have all the answers, you might find they got their qulaifications from the back of a cornflakes packet.

When it all boils down to it, their experience is no better in reality than people who have been competing in a point fighting tournament, yet they present themselves as the answer to all things thinking in their minds they are the only ones that are enlighten because they have cross trained.

I know one thing if my sensei was carrying on like a two bob watch like these guys do, I would drop him like a hot potato and go else where to train, i mean the type of behaviour exibited by these people surely must come from their personality which says quite alot about who they really are deep down inside.

So imo if your instructor stands up in front of the class and continually bad mouths other arts so his can look good, or claims to have all the answers then sorry to say chances are you are at Clayton’s school of martial arts.

I am very pleased to say that after 7 years of formal training at the JKA I have never come across a sensei, sempai or any visiting instructors that have stood at the front of the class and bad mouthed other martial arts, they mainly concentrate on the task at hand, which is improvement in the art of karate-do.

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Laziness in the martial arts

2010-01-17T22:04:00.000-08:00

"Misfortune comes out of laziness". Gichin Funakoshi

Some very capable people whether they are beginners, intermediates or advance level practitioners in the martial arts are just downright lazy individuals that expect all knowledge to be handed to them on a silver platter; they want every bit of the jigsaw puzzle assembled right before their eyes without ever having to think for themselves.

Usually they will question themselves saying this will not work in a real fight, or I just can’t see this application, or it just doesn’t seem to be there, etc. in other words it’s the negative approach where their mind is telling them this is just too damn hard to think about, unless I’m shown something I can’t go on.

Maybe because they are paying a fee they expect to be spoon fed all the information thinking that this will save their bacon in a time of need, instead of actually doing their own research and questioning every little piece of information they have ever received about their martial art no matter how small and then putting it to the test on a personal level.

These are the sorts of people that come back and say, but sensei that block you showed me in class didn’t work and I have a black eye to prove it, well deerrrhhh, just exactly what were you trying to do with that block, do you know all its uses, variations, permutations and limitations, have you tested your concepts and methods in the dojo, I would say probably not.

Don’t miss understand me I’m not trying to say that if he had known all the uses, variations etc, associated with that block that it would be impossible for him to receive a black eye.

I’m just trying to point out if you learn a technique make sure you learn all the ways, uses and limitations, this will give you the best chance of successfully applying it in an emergency.

If we look at ourselves during the school years and how we do our learning from childhood, from elementary school all the way up to college or university and beyond because you never stop learning till you die.

Yes just like martial arts we do pay fees it’s not for free, and yes just like martial arts we do receive lots of information without having to do anything other than absorb it, but you are expected to do your very own fair share of research and self discovery in the application of whatever you have been taught be it math, English, science, physics etc, otherwise your progress will be limited.

Nothing in life comes cheap or for free and unless you are prepared to put in the hard yards you will never get past a certain point, whether its school, carrier, marriage, relationships, social life and yes even the martial arts.

So as an example if we compare learning a self defense technique to learning the technique for the solution of simultaneous equations, just because you have learned how to solve simultaneous equations it doesn’t mean you will be able to solve all the problems where simultaneous equations are to be used.

You have to learn, the when the what the where the how and the why, all these are applied at different stages for the solution to be possible, and the only way to understand all the different stages is to apply it in all the different ways that might be feasible to apply it, the truth does reveal itself in the end as long as your willing to look for it.

The question you have to ask yourself is, am l prepared to do the hard yards in order to find the solution, or do I just want to sit back and have it all handed to me.

Which in the end will not help you one little iota, because its someone else’s self discovery that your trying to use, be it your sensei's, your martial art friends or who ever else has solved that particular puzzle for you, the point is you still dont really know for youself since you have never solved it.

It’s kind of like getting the answer sheet to the exam, you might be able to fill out all the boxes correctly, but can you apply the knowledge when its required?

Then what about the next puzzle? will you rely on someone elses experience again?

How about getting some experiece of your own, its ok to fail, that's what a dojo is for, the main thing is to try again.

"Technicalities" editorial with Silvio Morelli

2010-01-17T22:00:00.000-08:00

shihan Silvio Morelli (Founder of Geido Kai Karate) and author of this article

There’s often a conflict between the theories and aims of so-called ‘traditional’ martial arts and reality-based systems, both of which regularly feature in Blitz. Technique is often central to the debate. So, who’s right?

One opinion seemingly shared by many reality-based self-defence trainers is that technique is low on the scale of importance in self-defence. While it’s true that technique isn’t the most important part (awareness and avoidance techniques, etc. are top of the list) some people might get the wrong idea and think that technique is unimportant in real combat.

But what are the reality-based people doing, in their scenario training and ‘alive’ drills, if not techniques? They may use simple, gross-motor movements, but they’re still practicing techniques and combinations.

And many of them have had years of prior training in martial arts, teaching their bodies how to co-ordinate, react and flow in certain ways, before they take up reality-based training. In fact, some reality-training gurus are expert technicians.

The trouble Is, the perception of what ‘technique’ is can be limited. Some martial arts students wrongly believe that a technique as practiced in the dojo must look and be executed the same way on the street.

On the other hand, some reality-oriented practitioners might use the example that when two technically well-trained fighters get into a real fight, it can look scrappy like there’s no technique involved, so why bother? But such examples are generally the result of the dojo training being too theoretical and untested under real pressure.

In class, we practice techniques a certain way, but this is simply to program the basic movements. As we become more proficient, sharper, fitter and improve our timing and co-ordination, these techniques can be adapted, shortened, etc. to enable us to apply them in a more practical and effective way for the street.

As you may notice when sparring or doing random reaction drills, your technique will vary a lot. Watch yourself sparring on video; your defensive techniques in particular will differ each time you execute them, simply because you’re not the only one influencing the outcome- the power, speed, timing, placement, etc. of your opponent’s technique will play a big part. Sometimes your technique may fail completely because you misread your opponent’s intention.

Kata is one form of technical training that often comes under fire. If you compare kata to street combat or dojo sparring, it can be hard to see the relationship that the techniques and other elements trained in kata (breathing, focus, timing, explosiveness, etc.) can’t be used in real combat- they can.

The purpose of kata training is to perfect individual techniques to the point that they each become a automatic response. However, you must know and practice the applications of the kata techniques for them to be of use, as Iain Abernethy points out in his article ‘Does Karate Work?’ in this issue.

Unfortunately, many practitioners don’t know the combat applications of their kata, let alone practice them with a partner or in a scenario. It’s important to note also that while we may perfect a technique in kata, against an opponent it may not necessarily be so perfect.

But what is perfection? We all know the feeling we get when we execute a technique perfectly in a ‘live’ situation, such as completion- for example, a pinpoint counter-kick that slips under the opponent’s punch and into his solar plexus.

This, however happens rarely. If you watch a tape of any fight, how often are both the technique and the result perfect?

While the speed of a fight means we can use only those moves ingrained in our muscle-memory, and the effects of adrenalin may make only relatively basic techniques feasible – technique still plays a large part.

It must be remembered that, in street self-defence , good technique is about reproducing the desired result, not the perfect movement.

by Silvio Morelli.

Many thanks to shihan Silvio Morelli and the editor Ben Stone of
BLITZ Australasian Martial Arts Magazine
http://www.sportzblitz.net/
for allowing me to re-print such a fine article and a very important topic.

.

Unarmed against a knife what chance?

2010-01-17T21:59:00.000-08:00

Experienced knife fighters will conceal the knife

In the martial arts there are those that specialize in unarmed self defense and then there are those that specialize in defending against all sorts of weapons and even both armed and unarmed.

When it’s a blunt instrument being used against you no matter what MA you practice there may be a chance that you will be able to defend against this type of weapon by treating it as an extension of the assailant’s limb implementing the strategies tactics and techniques from within your MA to deal with the situation.

This may mean that you are ready to absorb hits while covering or shielding against the instrument in order to dish some of your own off, including closing the gap and trying to get in close which may nullify the blunt instrument e.g. like a base ball bat or an iron bar.

What happens if the weapon has a cutting edge or a point for stabbing, imo these two things change everything you ever learned about unarmed self defense as a whole and how to deal with the weapon known as the blade or knife?

The example I like to use is pick someone in your family that you can easily subdue be it a 12 or 13 year old child or your granddad for example, you would have no problem dispatching them in an unarmed confrontation, now put a small tanto (knife) in their hands, this drastically changes the situation, since the tanto would easily slice you like a hot knife through butter without the use of excessive force.

Now I’m not really a weapons expert and have never trained against knife fighting tactics, so apart from what I think and my opinion about blade defence don’t get too excited because I can’t reveal any life saving tactics against a knife attack.

So your assailant is armed with a sharp cold steel knife and is ready to damage or kill you what would be the best thing for you to do?

Well imo distance and mobility is going to be your best friend in a blade encounter, I know some knife experts would disagree but I can’t see how closing the gap to clinching or grappling range will make things better for you, imo it will only make it easier for the assailant to carve you up and possibly kill you.

Just think of sparring unarmed at trapping and clinching range it’s virtually impossible to defend against hooks and upper cuts, the best chance you have is to form a shield in the general area with a flinch response, this shield could be a folded arm taking the hit on the bicep/forearm area or even better spiking the attacking limb with your elbow, even then your success rate would be minimal.

Closing the gap and getting in close really blinds you, in respect to the motions and body language of your attacker this is also true for your attacker with respect to what you will be doing, but getting in close when you have a knife that cuts flesh like butter is more advantageous to the person with the knife than the unarmed person.

Not being able to read the body language of someone who is armed with a knife and attacking you because he has bridged the gap and has gotten in close to you is the most disadvantageous position you could find yourself in imo, since you will not even be able to flinch when you don’t see it coming, and we all know that the one that does the damage is the one you didn’t see coming.

Most of us have experienced the rubber knife plunge or overhand rubber knife attack in a martial arts class and these methods are easily recognizable to scenario based trainers as not being good enough for a real confrontation, they will often say that this will get the student killed on the street, and while I agree with them.

What exactly is good enough?

Are the scenario based people also falling into the trap that the security of an overhand rubber knife defense in a martial arts class portrays, you have to ask yourself,

“what is the bottom line these people are conveying to their students at the end of the day?"

Does the student now feel empowered to deal with a live blade on the street because he has done some rough house scenario based training? Is this the message they are getting across to the student?

Well if it is imo it’s no better than the security of an overhand rubber knife technique in a martial arts class.

You would then have to ask yourself is this scenario based martial arts instructor talking from experience? Has he actually tested these methods in a live blade fight? And lived to tell the tale.

Or is he teaching a parrot fashioned technique he learned in some scenario based seminar? Which saw him qualify from student to master in one week?

When it comes to edged weapons, scenario based training is good for any individual to have under their belt, but i think it should also be pointed out by the respective scenario based martial arts instructor that this type of training doesn't guarantee you success against a live blade on the street any more than the rubber knife in the MA class does. It may prepare you a little better but all things should be kept in perspective.

So I suppose after shooting my mouth of like that you are all wondering what I would do? Well here is my 2 cents for what its worth.

Like I said at the start I haven’t studied knife fighting attacks or defense but I will draw on what I know about unarmed self defense, physiology and mix it with common sense and try to put something together here behind the safety of my keyboard in the shelter of my home which is always an easy thing to do.

Well when it comes to any type of self defense I like the keep it simple stupid principle (KISS), being attacked by a knife will imo require a few things from the defender to survive,

1. Distance and Mobility
2. Shield
3. Retaliation
4. Sacrifice
5. Level headiness

Ok what do I mean, well if you are walking to work with a brief case or back pack, and have enough time to position and use these articles or anything else as a shield (2) then do so, for ladies it could be a hand bag if its big enough, use the weaker hand to hold the shield, retaliate (3) with the strong hand.

As he attempts to slash or jab you, with a fully committed attack (3) try breaking his nose while using the shield with the weaker hand and placing the shield in the general area or vicinity of the attack, so pin point accuracy is not required for the shield, but just covering a general area, make your attempt at breaking his nose a fully committed one which will mean closing the gap and getting in close.

If you have been unlucky enough to be caught with only your shorts on then sacrifice (4) your weaker arm by placing it in harm’s way using flinch responses to his attacks, but you better make sure you get a good hit (3) in and make the sacrifice worthwhile, think of police dog training and how they use their protected arm against the jaws of a K9.

The use of your coat, jacket or your jumper wrapped around your weaker arm can also serve as a shield.

(1) and (5) should always be with you no matter what you’re feeling, clear your mind, try and maintain the correct distance, be mobile and be ready to sacrifice a weaker limb by shielding and being committed to your attack with intent so it doesn’t fail.

So there it is my 2 cents worth, its not an expert opinion (as i have said all through the article), its not found in any shotokan kata (knife fighting), its not based on any practical experience dealing with a knife, take it for what it is, just my thoughts and opinion based on common sense.

Imo one thing is for sure in a real knife encounter be prepared to be cut no matter what type of martial arts training you have had.

.

Warm up and stretching

2010-01-17T21:55:00.000-08:00

The Warm Up

Warm up and stretching before you begin any sort of vigorous activity such as a martial arts class is essential in order that you don't injure yourself, especially as you get older. There are many ways to do it, but this is how i go about it.

First phase, its good to raise the core temperature of the body, this can be achieved with motions that dont stretch you to your limits, e.g. light running or jogging, skipping, burpees, push ups, buny hops etc. after at least 5 minutes of continuous exercise in anyone or all of the above or similar, you should feel yourself warming up with the first drops of sweat appearing on your skin.

Second phase go straight into the warm up of every major joint of the body like shoulder neck, elbow wrist, hips, knee and ankle, linear and rotational movements of all the major joints.

Third phase of the warm up consists of taking the major body parts, close to the maximum extention of motion that you will be experiencing in the martial arts class.

This maybe such exercise such as swinging your leg like a pendulum while standing on the other, start of low and increase the height gradually, to your front and back and also to the side.

Strecthing the back, legs arms etc but dont hold the stretch as soon as you have reached the maximum point you are able to do at that particular time release and do the other side never hold the maximum stretch point and most important of all never hold your breath during warm up or stretching.

The whole routine should take somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes to complete. Now you are ready for the martial arts class.

The Warm Down

After the martial arts class you may warm down again with strength exercises like push ups, burpees etc etc.

Now is the time to do deep stretching excersies where you hold the stretch once you have reached your peak and then try for alittle more, depending upon how you feel, imo this is the point where you train to get more flexibility into your body, that is when your piping hot at the end of the martial arts class and everything can give just that little bit more.

And remember never hold your breath.

To conclude in point form.

1. Warm up

First bring up the core temperature of the body with any of the following,

a. Running or skipping

b. Sprinting short distances

c. Joint/limb warm up

d. Calisthenics

e. Strength exercises

f. Dynamic strechting-range of motion

2. Warm- down

w. Limb/joint warm down

x. Strength exercises

y. Static strechting
z. other.

Karate literature

2010-01-17T21:50:00.000-08:00

Some great books for any karateka to have within their collection.

Adventure - Biography

Stan Schmidt - Meeting myself beyond spirit of the empty hand

C.W. Nicol - Moving Zen

Dave Hazard - Born Fighter

Gichin Funakoshi - Karate do my way of life

Technical - Books

Gichin Funakoshi - Karate Do Kyohan

Masatoshi Nakayama - Dynamic Karate

Masatoshi Nakayama - Best Karate series

Iain Abernethy - Karate Jutsu

Iain Abernethy - Karate's grappling methods

Bill Burger - Five years one kata

Lawrence A. Kane and Kris Wilder - The way of kata

John W. Titchen - Heian Flow systems

Elmar T. Schmeisser - The Tekki series

Elmar T. Schmeisser - Channan Heart of the Heians

Elmar T. Schmeisser - Advanced karate-do

Patrick McCarthy - Bubishi

BBC Way of the Warrior

2010-01-17T21:45:00.000-08:00

Samurai

part-1

part-2

part-3

part-4

Eskrima

part-1

part-2

part-3

part-4

Karate

part-1

part-2

part-3

part-4

Kung Fu

part-1

part-2

part-3

part-4

part-5

Shorinji Kempo

part-1

part-2

part-3

part-4

Tai chi, Xing Yi, Bagua

part-1

part-2

part-3

part-4

part-5

Aikido and Kendo

part-1

part-2

part-3

part-4

Kalari the Indian way

part-1

part-2

part-3

part-4

Tai chi the soft way

part-1

part-2

part-3

part-4

Awareness - The Cornerstone of Self-Protection by Drew Guest

2010-01-17T21:40:00.000-08:00

Drew Guest is a RBSD martial arts instructor in Toowoomba Quensland and author of this article.

If self-protection were a cup of tea, then awareness would be the hot water. It is vital for a good cuppa, and blends and combines the other ingredients. Like a cup of tea, Self-protection would be pointless with out the hot water of awareness. This is why awareness is referred to as the cornerstone of Self-protection. Without it your self-protection would crumble.

What is meant by awareness in the context of self-protection?

It is awareness of your environment, the awareness of your situation, awareness of yourself and awareness of the possible dangers you may face.

Environmental Awareness

As the name suggests this is being aware of the objects, obstacles and people in your immediate environment. It is also being aware of the conditions of your environment and terrain as well as exits, safe zones and danger zones.

It is simply being aware of your surroundings and how they relate to you. Stay alert to your surrounding and take note of them. When you’re walking down the street take notice of what is happening around you, Note areas that are hidden, like doorways or behind bushes, anywhere a potential attacker may be laying in wait.

Take note of the people around you and how they are behaving if someone is acting in a suspicious manner, keep an eye on them, but move yourself to a save zone, enter a shop etc. Take note of safe areas and how to get there quickly and safely. Be aware of the type and conditions of the ground you are and will be walking/running on. Where are the benches, bins and other obstacles can they help you or hinder you if the worst happens?

When you enter a building, automatically take note of the location of exits; the toilets, telephones and the general lay out of the premises. Are the chairs and tables bolted down in a Café, can they be moved out of the way in a hurry? Scan the people and customers, if you don’t like the look or behaviour of a group of people then don’t sit near them, or go elsewhere.

I could go through and list all the things you could see and should be aware of, but neither of us has the time to do that. I’ll provide a list of tips, and suggestions at a later point (in the Target Hardening section) that are aimed at specific environments. The main thing is to be aware of your surroundings so as not to be caught out by surprise

The simplest way to look at environmental awareness is to ask your self “if I was going to attack me where, when and how would I do it in reference to the environment I am currently in”. Then ask yourself “how can I avoid that”?

Situational Awareness

This is being aware of the situation you are in. It is especially important to be aware of the changes in your situation. It can also be your position in relation to your environment, thus is related and complimentary to Environmental Awareness.

Your situation may be shopping in a large shopping mall, walking between stores, waiting for a bus, enjoying a few drinks with friends or partying hard with them at a nightclub. Your situation may be that you are being “Interviewed” by a potential attacker. Or your situation may be that your date has over stepped the mark and you are now risking a date rape situation.

Your situation is simply what is happening to you at the moment or in the near future, being aware of it will enable you to choose a course of action that will lead to a safer (dare I say safest) situation.

For example being aware that you are alone with a man who wouldn’t mind a bit, or put bluntly, is a bit horny, is essential if you want to take steps to avoid the next possible situation of being date raped. The earlier you are aware of the situation the easier it will be to prevent the next, less desirable, situation from occurring.

Self-Awareness

Self-Awareness is also important and is being aware of your strengths and, particularly, your weakness as well as other factors such as illness or medications that may affect your mental and physical abilities. Knowing your level of intoxication or how much alcohol you can "handle" uses self-awareness.

It is also being aware of the psychological and physical changes that occur with in your body and mind. These changes will often warn you of danger before your conscious mind picks it up. One Eg is being aware of your Intuition or your "Gut Instinct" (as men prefer to call it). Most victims state that they "felt " something was wrong before the attack.

It is also important to be aware of your current state of mind as well as your emotional state. You don’t feel the same every day and differing states will bring different perceptions. Your state of mind will affect the choices you make, if you are depressed, for example, you may be less motivated to avoid danger, if you are angry you may be more likely to seek confrontation.

Predator Awareness

This is being aware of thepossible dangers you may face. This will require prior knowledge to some degree. Basically this is being familiar with the typical set ups, and tactics used by attackers. For eg knowing the use of the 4D's by attackers enable you to identify them thus provide you more options and a better chance of avoiding violence, or at least give you a better level of preparedness. Knowledge of attack rituals, predator or attacker profiles, rapist profiles, their motives and methods will all add to your level of awareness.

Developing Awareness

It’s easy to say that you need awareness, but how do you develop this awareness so that it becomes natural and automatic?

There are two main methods that will help you to develop your awareness. The first is called “Silent Commentary” or as I call it “Commentary Walking”. The second is called Profiling. When practiced together they can greatly increase your natural awareness levels.

Silent Commentary

Silent Commentary or Commentary Walking is based on the Advanced Defensive Driving technique called “Commentary Driving”, hence my name for it. The idea of commentary driving is to state out loud what is happening around you wile you are driving your vehicle. This in effect forces you to be aware of what’s going on around you on the road.

Virtually the exact same method can be used to increase your awareness regardless of what you are doing. Obviously, if you’re walking down town, you don’t want to be describing things around you out loud. That’s why we use silent commentary, but the principle is the same. The important aspect of this is that you are silently acknowledging and describing your surroundings in as much detail as possible.

Profiling

Profiling is similar but the focus is on people. Simply put you describe the people who are in your immediate environment. It’s not just a matter of describing their physical appearance such as distinguishing marks, height skin and hair colour etc, but also using your intuition and judgement to “guess” the type of personality they have, there occupation, relationship status and so on.

It is a tool to help heighten your awareness of people around you. Care must be taken when profiling so as not to fall into the trap of stereotyping or dismissing a possible threat. After all most rapists etc look like nice people, it’s part of their tactics to deceive and earn trust from a potential victim.

Silent Commentary and Profiling work to increase your awareness by forcing your mind to focus on what is happening in your surroundings. Eventually you will be able to almost instinctively see potential threats or danger zones. For example hiding spots where a possible ambush could occur and spotting suspicious behaviour will become easy because it will simply stand out against a sea of normal.

The 6 Senses of Awareness

Too many people associate Awareness with only the sense of sight. It should (and does) incorporate all five senses; sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. It should also incorporate intuition or your "Gut Feeling", your 6th sense if you like.

You'll smell a fire before you see it. You can feel the condition of the ground beneath your feet. Your ears will pick up footsteps or screeching brakes behind you. If your favourite drink does not taste quite right then it could be spiked, and if your intuition is telling you that something is wrong then usually it is. These are but a few examples, but practice using all your senses for awareness.

It’s a great exercise to practice Silent Commentary with your other senses. For example try to determine the type and location of a particular smell or sound. Feel which direction the wind is blowing from. You can even block one sense and train the others. Try walking around your home with the lights off or put your hand into a draw and try to identify the contents by touch only.

Other Awareness Tools

Silent Commentary can obviously be used as an everyday method to maintain your awareness, but there are other techniques that are worth mentioning. With a little thought you can come up with your own unique personal method, or even use a combination of techniques to design the best method for you. You can change the method you use from time to time; this will relieve monotony and will prevent complacency. You may even find that methods work better for you in different environments and situations. Experiment to find your preferences, but as a starter, I recommend you first use the Silent Commentary method until your natural awareness levels improve.

The Bubble

The bubble is a tool that enables you to confine the area of your awareness. This helps in preventing the sensory overload that can occur when your environment is busy. The basic idea is to imagine you have a bubble surrounding you with you in the centre. The size of the bubble will depend on the amount of activity in your environment, the greater the activity the smaller the bubble will be and vice versa.

The area your bubble will also depend on the level of risk and familiarity you have of your environment. The greater the risk the greater the bubble and the less familiar you are with your surroundings the larger the area your bubble covers.

The bubble is used as an area of focus. As something or someone enters your bubble perimeter you would pay more attention to it. You don’t stop being aware of the environment outside the bubble; you are just simply being more alert to the things within your bubble as they will be of more immediate concern.

The Radar

Simply imagine you have built in radar that scans your environment and “pings” on items of concern. Every time you scan you will be extra alert to the things that ping, such as that secluded doorway, the nervous looking man etc. This method is particularly useful for tracking the things that cause you concern as you and them move in you environment.

Heat Vision

Much like the radar in concept, but rather then “Pinging” you would imagine the object or person that gives you concern as glowing like they are hot and you’re looking through infra-red goggles or similar. The greater the need for concern, the brighter the glow.

Targeting

OK this might sound a little silly, but basically this method is akin to the Terminator or Robocop type of targeting system. As you scan your environment you are looking for targets, or things of concern. When you sport one you “aim” using your targeting system. Instead of firing bullets or laser beams you fire alertness. Think along the lines of the search in “search and destroy”.

People Watching

This is similar to Profiling, except the focus is more on body language, human interaction and behaviour. Next time you’re in a busy environment, such as a shopping centre, take a view minutes to observe the people around you. Take note of the body language displayed and how people react or interact with others.

Try to determine the thread of a conversation, the relationship between the people involved and what they may do next. Are they arguing, whispering sweet nothings, are they being polite, is one trying to convince the other, is one being the more aggressive or passive, is one dominant or submissive. Are they a couple, are they strangers, friends or family. The list could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.

Summary

I’ve really only just touched on the vast subject of awareness. What I have included here is the basics and should provide you with a good base to further improve your own awareness levels. I’ve talked about the types of awareness and the various methods to develop it.

It is important to be consciously aware so that you subconscious awareness will develop. This will eventually result in a natural awareness, where you expend less energy on being aware and alert, but still maintain a high level of awareness. It’s a lot like driving a car or riding a bike, at first when you start to learn you are concentrating heavily on the environment and the car or bike.

After a while the action becomes almost natural, you stop consciously focusing on how to drive and the traffic and road conditions, instead your subconscious takes over the role. You still have the same awareness it is just being maintained by the more efficient subconscious.

Practice awareness development as often as possible. Treat it as a game, if you like, there’s no reason why it can’t be fun. I often use the methods described to alleviate the boredom and monotony of walking to into town.

It’s only a twenty minute walk but it flies by whilst I’m doing my awareness training or playing my awareness games. The added bonus is that not much escapes my attention, as an indirect consequence, I will see all the good things as well. You can be aware of the thorns and still appreciate the rose.

Hopefully you can now see why awareness is so important to you personal protection. For danger to be avoided or action taken to reduce the level, then you must first be aware of the potential danger in the first place.

Awareness by itself does aid your self-protection, but the biggest contribution comes when you combine it with the other aspects of Self-Protection, much of which will be covered in later topics.

by Drew Guest

Many thanks to Drew Guest for allowing me to print such a good and informative article.

Drew has worked in the security industry and has over 25 years experience in the martial arts he has ranks in such arts as Muay Thai, Zen Do Kai - freestyle karate, Senshido, Judo, Australian Freestyle Tae Kwon Do, GymGari freestyle, Iaido, Aikido, Goju Ryu Karate, Wing Chun, Boxing, Kakusa Ryu Ninjutsu, and many others.

Drew also runs his own Reality Based Self Defense school,

"Toowoomba Self Defence"

Reality Based Self Defence (RBSD) in Queensland.

Drew's website can be found here

http://www.toowoombaselfdefence.websyte.com.au/site.cfm?/toowoombaselfdefence/

Shobu Ippon Kumite

2010-01-17T21:35:00.001-08:00

KARATE SHOTOKAN JKA Kumite

There are many variations of sports karate, some that I disapprove of completely but in this article when I use the term sports karate I am referring to the shobu ippon style of point fighting as per the video above.

The shobu ippon style of point sparring is one where within a given time limit the competitors aim is to score a decisive strike/point (ippon) which leaves the opponent no chance of defending against it, a slightly less decisive technique may score as a waza ari and the accumulation of two waza aris will equal a full point (ippon). The rounds are knock out rounds so if you lose you are out.

The only personal protection worn is a box or cup and a mouth guard, ladies will also have chest protectors and the mitts (3/8” or 10mm thick) on the hands are only there to prevent cuts and really protect the knuckles more than anything else imo, e.g. like diminishing the force of the blow.

I would say that it’s as close to bare knuckles as you can get, there are no weight divisions so if you’re a light weight you may find yourself facing a heavyweight, knees and elbows are not allowed and contact to the head should be controlled, shots to the body can be full contact.

The shobu ippon style of point fighting in percentage terms forms about 5% of all types of free sparring or jiye kumite within the dojo. The only time shobu ippon kumite might be practiced more than usual is if a tournament is around the corner and the competitors want to brush up on the skill set within the shobu ippon set of rules.

Is shobu ippon style kumite as bad as some people make it out to be, well imo YES if that particular karate school is so one dimensional and only ever practices shobu ippon style kumite, that is to seek out points and stop the match after a point has been scored.

Generally dojo sparring consists of continuous kumite/sparring and if time permits you will get a chance to spar for several continuous minutes with everyone in that class whether they are senior, junior or intermediates, this enables you to match your skills with people who are better than you, people that are below your skill level and people that are at the same level.

There are no referees and flag men in the corners because your not on the mat doing competition, scoring points has nothing to do with this type of sparring and is the least of your worries. Generally dojo kumite is all about learning to defend yourself by attacking, parrying, blocking and out maneuvering your opponent using the techniques found in basics and kata.

Now if I ask the same question again about shobu ippon and its worth when it only forms a small part of the kumite/sparring syllabus. I would have to say that shobu ippon as another feather in the hat is actually good to practice every now and again. The ability to deliver one good clean and decisive strike that will flatten your opponent is an attribute that most of us would want, but we also want to be able to go further than just one blow.

So while shobu ippon style kumite as another feather in your hat is a great attribute to have, on its own it really is one dimensional, and the karate masters knew this very well that’s why they were opposed to sports karate from the very begining, even today most of the great masters still alive and most serious karateka around the world don’t look upon shobu ippon too highly in the self defence department.

But some of the attributes that you may come away with from participating in shobu ippon type kumite competitions, is worth the time, effort and injury of competing and these attributes can serve you very well in any other type of arena too, so while shobu ippon on its own is one dimensional, shobu ippon as part of an overall kumite syllabus is an excellent educational activity to participate in.

For most karateka it’s the sporting side of their art of karate and shobu ippon is the arena with all its rules and regulations not forgetting the minimal amount of personal protection worn and the fact that there are no weight divisions.

The people I feel sorry for are the ones that only ever get to practice sports karate in their dojo i.e. the ones always searching for that point.

For the knockers of shobu ippon style kumite I only have one thing to say.

Have you tried it?

Matt Price sensei 5th dan shotokan karateka

Shotokan karate shobu ippon

Shotokan karate shobu ippon

The karate "kamae" or guard by sensei Dan Djurdjevic

2010-01-17T21:35:00.000-08:00

Shihan Dan Djurdjevic Chief Instructor at the Academy of Traditional Fighting Arts in Perth Western Australia and author of this article.

In my considered view the best guard posture (kamae) for karate is one where you hold one hand in the same position as the lead hand in chudan uke (the standard karate chest level block), but at face height. The other hand is about in line with the elbow.

There are variations on the heights of the arms, but not in the distance from the body. The fists should be turned - not fully over (palms up) but slightly angled in.

The first thing you’ll notice about this guard is that it is substantially the same as the guard adopted by bare-knuckle boxers of old. If there is any difference in my particular version, it is that my shoulders are more rounded (this being an influence from my study of the internal arts).

The standard karate kamae is otherwise more or less identical to the old bare-knuckle guard and nothing like the boxing, kickboxing, MMA guards or Muay Thai guards.

Why is this?

In short, karate is a bare-knuckle discipline where the others I have referred to are either gloved sports or derived from gloved sports. Accordingly different biomechanical factors apply and hence different tactics/strategies are required in each discipline.

For a start, take a look at the boxing type guard shown to the left: The closed fists are held close to – sometimes even touching – the face. This is fine with gloved sports because your padded gloves provide an effective shield.

The same cannot be said about bare-knuckle fighting. If you keep your fists near your face you risk getting your own knuckles rammed into it. And this hurts at least 90% as much as getting hit full in the face without any shielding. It can be 99% if your fist is actually resting on your face before you get hit. Bare-fisted "shielding" doesn't work. I know from experience.

The Muay Thai variant often assumes a slightly different approach where your fists are actively turned so that the palm side faces your opponent. Now there are good reasons why you might raise your open hands this way at the commencement of a conflict; open palms held up are a “non-aggressive” gesture and can help diffuse a situation rather than escalate it (a danger if you raise your fists).

But to persist in this guard posture once a fight has commenced again defies bare-knuckle logic. You don’t want the “soft underbelly” of your forearm exposed to being hit by your opponent’s sharp knuckles. It is painful to be hit there and a hard blow can hamper the effective use of your arm or arms.

The upper side of your forearm is, by contrast, more conditioned and resistant to blows. Furthermore, the old bare-knuckle posture is angled so that blows are deflected down the arm.

Now I’ve often been told the following: “The palms facing-me stance leaves me with the backfist (and maybe a rising elbow) as an attacking option, but forces me to re-align for any other attack. Palms-facing-him gives me deflection, control and striking options.”

I don't agree with this statement at all. You can perform a normal punch (or any variation) from a “palms facing me position”. In fact you can avail yourself of the corkscrew, which in itsef is also a "wedging" deflection.

I use this move to deflect and attack in one movement (ie. my punch is deflecting an attack). In other words, the "re-alignment" is part of our attack and defence strategy. It doesn't slow you down any more than normal corkscrewing does.

However remember that when we say "palms up" I don’t mean twisting your arms right over so that the palms are perfectly up. As noted previously, both palms are angled slightly inwards so that the position still feels natural. Turning the palms right over, either face up or down, so that there is undue tension in the muscle is not a good idea.

But by far the most important reason why karate favours the old bare-knuckle kamae is that it enables the utilisation of karate’s blocks/deflections/parries. In this respect, the hand positioning is nothing short of essential for karate to be used effectively.

For more on this topic see my articles “Why blocks DO work” and “Evasion vs. blocking with evasion”. Your standard basic "blocks" groove you through various kamae postures.

They keep your hands in the same "square". In basic kumite you keep your arms in these standard postures, but this is to remember to keep your guard up in an accessible position for deflections/counters etc.

If you use anything other than a mid to slightly extended guard (akin to the "square" your arms inhabit while blocking) you're kidding yourself that you'll be able to intercept incoming blows with your deflections.

If your hands are too extended they will not have enough "load" to deflect. And neither can your hands be next to your face: this is fine if you're resigned to using evasion only, but this is not karate.

Your hands need to intercept the attack early and if you've left them by your face you have no choice but to swat the attacks "like flies" as “blocking naysayers” are often fond of saying (ie. you'll have left deflection to the last minute when the attack is travelling at its fastest speed - again, see my articles on blocking above).

In that case you're better off doing boxing, Muay Thai, MMA etc. (there might be nothing wrong with that, especially in a sports ring/arena, however this is not karate and requires very different training in very different skills and tactics).

I assume the karate kamae as I enter the “melee” range (again, see my articles “The ‘melee’: karate’s fighting range” and “Staying in the melee”). The karate kamae controls your opponent and keeps him or her in the melee until you're ready to close (if you so wish) or back off if you need to.

In other words, you're keeping your opponent at 'blocking' or 'deflecting' range. Half a step back and you're in 'kick blocking range'. Half a step in and you're in elbow/knee range and grappling a bit in from that.

As I make this comment I am fully aware that, like stances, the position of your hands in combat changes from moment to moment. When you are in the melee this is a given (you should be flowing from one attack to another).

The only time you resort to a static formal kamae is in the (unusual) event that you disengage and circle each other at range – ie. you exit the melee (I've yet to see that on surveillance video of real fights - discounting delinquent juveniles or adult idiots who film themselves for Youtube etc.).

Regardless of the fact that fights occur in a continuum, having an idea of the correct “static” guard or kamae is still important and should underpin one’s defensive strategy, in much the same way as one learns basic stances for stability, posture and power maximisation. Keeping your guard up is always going to be an important part of self-defence.

But there is yet more to the science of the old bare-knuckle guard – science that firmly supports its use in bare-knuckle self defence. It involves the application of simple physics, yet it is virtually unknown in modern fighting disciplines.

It is so little known that it might as well be a secret. For what it’s worth, I’ll let you in on it now. It is what I call the "Clayton’s gap":

The bare-knuckle guard’s approximation to the “chudan uke” (chest level block) is more than accidental. It is a simple matter of applying the angles of deflection against the angles of attack.

Since basic physics is in issue, it should come as no surprise that the karate guard and the old bare-knuckle boxing guards look the same despite the completely separate evolution of those disciplines.

You’ll all be familiar with the concept that an angle, though small, produces an increasing gap between its axes as distance from the point of origin increases.

In the case of the karate kame / bare-knuckle guard, if you adopt a southpaw stance (which you might choose to do from time to time) you can create the appearance of a gap on the leading side, permitting the easy application of a jab. Yet the gap is non-existent.

Your opponent’s jab will appear to be well on its way to landing, even as it brushes past your leading guard hand. However by the time your opponent’s jab should be in your face, the tiny angle of deflection created in the interception by your guard will translate into a complete miss.

Many’s the time I’ve used this to my advantage; fighters inexperienced in this art won’t even realise that they’ve been duped. Consider the video below:

The karate barekunckle guard and "Clayton's gap"

On the other hand, as I've said in my article about "Secret techniques", I'm sure many out there will simply dismiss this. More power to us karateka.

by Dan Djurdjevic

Many Thanks to Dan for allowing me to re-print such a fine article on my blog.

Shihan Dan Djurdjevic is the chief instructor at the

"Academy of Traditional Fighting Arts"

which is based in Perth, Western Australia.

http://www.traditionalfightingarts.com/

Dan has studied many arts since 1981 including external and internal arts such as Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do, Aikido, Okinawan Kobudo (Okinawan martial arts weapons system), the Japanese weapons arts of Jodo (4ft staff) and Kenjutsu (sword), Filipino Arnis (the knife and stick fighting system of the Philippines), Qin-na (the grappling and seizing fighting system of China) and the 'soft' art of Taijiquan (both in its health and combat forms).

Dan has an excellent blog that is filled with lots of goodies for all karateka and martial artists in general.

Here it is, http://dandjurdjevic.blogspot.com/

Dan also runs the excellent Traditional Fighting Arts Forum,

http://www.traditionalfightingartsforum.com/phpBB3/

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Shotokan has many children

2010-01-17T21:30:00.000-08:00

JKA Karate Unsu Kata-Team

The style of shotokan karate has fostered, partly formed or is an integral part of many different main stream martial arts.

Some of the major styles of martial arts it has helped to form and develop are,

1. Wado ryu - shotokan & jujitsu.
2. Kyokushin - shotokan, goju and others.
3. Tae kwon do – shotokan, taekkyon.
4. Tang so do – shotokan, taekkyon, and others.
5. Chito ryu – shotokan, Goju and others.
6. Shotokai – shotokan.
7. Shindo Jinen ryu – shotokan, shito, aikido, jujitsu.
8. Penjak silat – kung fu, shotokan, kalarippayattu, judo, aikido,jujitsu and others.

Whether all the above said main stream martial arts have maintained the finer points of the shotokan parts that go into forming the style is impossible to tell without having trained in the particular art in question, not to mention the myriad of little corner shops around the world that adopt shotokan katas and then happily place themselves under the shotokan banner.

Shotokan karate imo is the most basic mainstream style of karate that exists today, learning the basic movements can be achieved in a matter of a few months and the individual movements of the techniques themselves are so basic almost anything can be blended into them, including grappling, clinching, throwing, weapons or even parts of other striking arts.

Because most shotokan organisations showcase shobu ippon kumite (point fighting) as the competition side of shotokan, to the layman or even those that have trained in shotokan for a short time having only superficial knowledge, the art of shotokan may seem a sporting art or the sports side of karate.

Shotokan if trained correctly in the right environment and with the right attitude is much more than point sparring and imo is a very efficient and effective art of self defence, in the stand up game its right up there with muay thai and boxing.

The one disadvantage of shotokan karate is that it will take anywhere from one to three years of training depending upon the type of person, their attitude, the type of training and how much they train during that time to be used with any kind of efficiency in a self defence situation.

Classical shotokan demonstration

Some of the better known international shotokan karate organisations,

1.   JKA      - Japan Karate Association
2.   ITKF     - International Traditional Karate Federation
3.   SKIF     - Shotokan Karate-do International Federation
4.   ISKF     - International Shotokan Karate Federation
5.   JKS       - Japan Karate Shotorenmei
6.   JSKA     - Japan Shotokan Karate Association
7.   KWF      - Karatenomichi World Federation
8.   SKA      - Shotokan Karate of America
9.   KUGB     - Karate Union of Great Britain

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How has your art changed in todays modern world?

2010-01-17T21:25:00.001-08:00

Basics (kihon) are the foundation of karate

Just how much has the martial art you practice today changed over the last 20 or 30 years?

There are many martial arts today that compared to their former self of 20 or 30 years ago have changed drastically, sometimes to the point of not really being what the advertisement claims it to be, that is for the people that remember what that art was like and what it has morphed into today.

I’m not trying to pick on any one art here but just making a general statement about what you think you are practicing and what you’re really practicing.

Some examples are wing chun, escrima, karate, kung fu, kick boxing and even muay thai with the inclusion of western boxing for the hands.

So is this a good thing or a bad thing for the art and for you the practitioner?

Well if a wing chun school adopts Brazilian jujitsu into its syllabus or muay thai gym adopts western wrestling into its syllabus, are you still practicing wing chun or muay thai? respectively.

So that the grapplers don’t get their knickers in a knot I guess this question better be asked, if wrestling or Brazilian jujitsu adopted western boxing into its syllabus would it still be wrestling or BJJ that you are practicing? Or will it evolve into something completely different to its former self.

If classical ballet and swing are suddenly mixed and taught as a new dance form can you claim to be from one camp or the other (ballet or swing) while you are practicing the new dance form, are you an expert in both? (ballet or swing) dancing when you are practicing the derivetive form.

Would your skills in the new dance form make you good enough to compete in both types of individual events (ballet or swing)? Or is the new dancing something completely different and alien to the two original forms of dance from which it was derived.

So where am I going with all this you may wonder?

For me the bottom line would have to be that studying one art in depth for a very long time, in the right kind of atmosphere with the right kind of attitude, frame of mind and instruction from the right kind of sensei will make you expert in whatever art (grappling or striking) you may be involved with and depending on the art and the way it’s trained will give you some sort of experience within the other areas, although you might not be an expert in these other areas you will not be a novice either.

Kata are the building blocks for self defence

The base arts (Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te) that make up traditional shotokan karate have evolved over hundreds of years in okinawa where they were constantly modified and refined by many generations of martial artists, who helped to change, develop and finally form these arts into the great and effective art that we all know as shotokan today.

At a glance shotokan may seem very simple but the more you progress the more you realise just how much it has to offer, one could say that there are no dead ends in shotokan and it would take a life time to unravel the art of shotokan karate.

Male or female it offers all age groups something to keep the interest up no matter how long you have been training and when explored correctly it always presents something old as something new to re-think and practice in a diferent way through ones entire life.

Shotokan as I know it has not really changed too much over the last 60 years or so and has not incorporated techniques from other arts into its arsenal, although many other mainstream martial arts have incorporated shotokan or parts of it into their syllabus.

These days its all too common to see cutting and pasting between different types of martial arts, but is this evolution or dilution of the base art, are you getting the original dark chocolate, or are you getting dark chocolate with traces of milk chocolate in there as well.

Shotokan karate has focused on the development of its very own unique and effective brand of techniques.

I’m not saying that shotokan is perfect, I don’t think any art is but shotokan has developed its own physiological techniques which are in accordance with Newtonian physics and has established its own unique formula for power generation, body mechanics, strategy, tactics and philosophy.

Shotokan karate has striking grappling and clinching within its syllabus all these techniques are still there to be found, explored and practised by whoever may have an interest.

They are not written down in a mysterious scroll or magical book that only the masters have seen or have access to, these techniques are embedded and intact within the physical library of shotokan which is kata.

There is not one technique in the shotokan arsenal that doesn’t come from its kata, the only problem is most shotokan schools around the world only use a small percentage of the techniques found within their arsenal which is kata.

There is only one thing that remains for all traditional shotokan schools in today’s modern world and its not to incorporate techniques from other arts into its syllabus.

Since shotokan has the majority of the techniques (striking and grappling) required for self defense within its kata there is no need to look outside in my opinion, all you have to do is reverse engineer the movements within kata to discover the multiple applications they can be used for.

No matter which new art or method you may try if you have spent enough time in shotokan you can relate these so called new or different techniques back to your kata, so all that's required is to practice the kata techniques the way they should be practiced to be effective in a real and live situation.

So next time someone asks you what you practice, will you have to think about your answer?

The JKA style of shotokan karate in UFC competition

The first shotokan karateka crowned UFC light heavy champion

Lyoto "the dragon" Machida (left)
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The Impact of Competition on Modern Shotokan Karate, 4th Dan Lesson Thesis – sensei Adam Cockfield

2010-01-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

Sensei Adam Cockfield 4th dan shotokan karateka and author of this article

The Impact of Competition on Modern Shotokan Karate

4th Dan Lesson Thesis – Adam Cockfield

There are many reasons given by Karateka as to why they started training, the ability to learn how to defend oneself is high on the list, along with general physical fitness, discipline and also the fun aspect. The draw of the competitive side of Karate isn’t generally very high on the list, yet very quickly we find ourselves thrust into the competition environment, especially younger Karateka, to ‘test’ our newly developed Karate skills.

Competition then very quickly becomes the focus for the majority of Karateka, it gives us a goal to focus our training around, it provides us with a challenge both with ourselves and our peers and the competitive aspect allows talented Karateka to shine providing that boost to the ego that keeps us always striving to get better.

Sport Karate also provides us with many valuable lessons firstly it teaches something that is almost impossible to teach in any other manner, courage, which is a hugely important characteristic in any Martial Artist. It trains a Karateka’s ability to react to being attacked, rather than rely on pre-rehearsed Kumite routines, Funokoshi understood this point when he said “composure during tumultuous circumstance allows for spontaneous action and reaction”.

Sport Karate also helps us develop fast, accurate and decisive techniques, which separates what we do as a Martial Art from just fighting.

In my role as SSKI squad coach, I take this part of my Karate training very seriously both for myself as an active competitor and for my squad who are a young and talented group. However I do view this side very much as a minor part of my Karate training, and not the sole focus of it as I personally feel there are many other areas within my Karate that are equally if not more beneficial to train in like bag work, Kata Bunkai and more realistic dojo Kumite.

However in many clubs the training is either geared directly towards competition or heavily influenced by it, shifting the focus away from Karate’s martial roots. The emergence and the evolution of the WKF rules of competition has further served to disassociate Karate from its traditional self defence roots as many of these fighters are now full time athletes concentrating their training solely on Shiai Kumite.

Is it said that the legendary French fighter Christophe Pinna although quoted as being trained and graded in Shotokan, was virtually self taught and never did any kata training. Whilst I will not criticise these fantastic athletes, I do not feel that they are actually doing Karate and as the popularity of their brand of Karate increases we will see a degeneration of a dynamic and powerful Martial Art.

Indeed legendary English Karate Coach Ticky Donnovan has been quoted as saying “Competition Karate is killing the art… there are blackbelts who can’t even punch their way out of a paper bag, or when they do they are missing the target…I feel Karate has to become more physical, it has become all too mamby-pamby. Today Competitors are getting points for punching and falling on the floor. Before, we would never have got a point for such a technique, as there is no stance or form”

I believe that whilst Sport Karate has a place within Shotokan, it is important to remember that it is only one part and its influence cannot and should not overshadow the rest of the art. I feel that as instructors it is our responsibility attempt to maintain Shotokan as a dynamic and powerful art, and one that has genuine self-defence implications. I will attempt to outline how Sport Karate has influenced our training and how I feel our training can be adapted to ensure that this influence doesn’t affect the effectiveness of the art.

History

To fully appreciate the impact of competition I feel we have to look at the history of Karate and how sport Karate came into being. It has often been quoted that Okinawan karate contained no sparring, only kata and their self defence applications yet Karate has historically been the art trained in by Japan/Okinawa’s best known fighters such as Soken “Bushi” Matsumura, Anko Itosu and Anko Azato, all of whom acted as royal body guards.

These fighters also used to receive challenges from other fighters in the area to test their skills, indeed this continued into Modern times with Kase Sensei dealing with challenges to The JKA in the 50’s and 60’s.

When Funokoshi became established in mainland Japan he needed an avenue to develop and promote his style of Karate, therefore he targeted the Universities, which contained the best scholars and athletes in Japan who would go on to be leaders in commerce and politics.

Karate quickly adopted Judos uniform and belt system, and the structure of kihon was altered along militaristic lines to cope with the change of teaching mass classes. Also with the sporting side of Japan’s other major Martial Arts such as Judo and Kendo being firmly established, students wanted a competitive outlet for their Karate training, therefore in 1936 Nakayama Sensei, Abe Sensei and Nishiyama Sensei amongst others held a demonstration in Tokyo to outlining the rules of competitive Karate.

These rules were used unofficially when rival university clubs conducted Kokangeiko (exchange of courtesies and practice), where they tested their skills against one another in a freestyle manner. It is said that Funakoshi Sensei was very much against the idea of sport Karate, and it is worth noting that the first actual competition did not take place until 1957, the year Funokoshi Sensei died. This difference of opinion on the focus of competitive Karate caused a huge split in the JKA and many of the ‘old boys’ Funokoshi’s original students left in protest, leaving the JKA to be run in the main by members of the university clubs including Nakayama Sensei who was an employee at Takushoku, who became the JKA’s chief instructor.

Waza

Shobu Ippon Competition Karate is built on one of Shotokan’s founding principles of Ikken Hizatsu (Stopping/Killing blow), but due to the safety aspect of the sport many of the techniques within the Shotokan arsenal such as empi-uchi, hiza-geri, open handed techniques, attacks to joints and vulnerable parts of the body and some dangerous throws are forbidden in competition as they have the capability to incapacitate an opponent. As Malcolm Sensei regularly states “if it’s not allowed in competition, then it actually works”.

As a result greater emphasis has been placed on the training of techniques such as gyaku-zuki and different variants of mawashi-geri. Therefore the techniques found in our (Shotokan’s) grading syllabus almost exclusively centre around techniques which can be used in a competitive environment, to the exclusion of the more dangerous striking and locking techniques. Indeed in SSKI’s grading syllabus, from 9th Kyu to 2nd Dan the only techniques which appear which would not be allowed in a competition Karate match are 3 variants of Empi Uchi (Yoko, Tate & Mawashi) and three open handed techniques (Shuto-uke, Shuto-uchi and Nukite), which is a tiny percentage of the vast array of techniques practiced for grading purposes.

Please do not misunderstand my point here, we (SSKI & other good Shotokan groups) practice a vast array of techniques within our training, but the influence of sport orientated “University Karate” has been so great that it has limited the amount of techniques that are required to demonstrate our technical skill and ability.

This influence has continued into the Yakusoku Kumite that we practice, quite rightly basic kumite (Ippon, Sanbon & Gohon) revolves around the use of basic technique, however once we move to Juyi-Ippon (semi-free one step sparring) the use of sport-orientated techniques continues. It is my belief that by the time a student reaches 1st Kyu level attempting the exam for their Shodan they should be demonstrating a mastery of an array of techniques from within the Shotokan arsenal, and not be reliant on the 3 or 4 techniques that they use for success on the competition mat.

This type of competition orientated training, also leads us to learn how to defend against linear Karate-style attacks rather than how we would need to defend in the street. In 2004 using Home Office statistics, CCTV footage and witness/victim interviews Jeff Nash published a paper outlining the most common forms of attack in the UK, he found that following were the most Habitual Acts of Violence;

1. One person pushes, hands to chest, which is normally followed by the pushee striking first, to the head.

2. A swinging punch to the head.

3. A front clothing grab, one handed, followed by punch to the head.

4. A front clothing grab, two hands, followed by a head butt.

5. A front clothing grab, two hands, followed by a knee to the groin.

6. A bottle, glass, or ashtray to the head.

7. A lashing kick to groin/lower legs.

8.A broken bottle/glass jabbed to face.

9. A slash with knife, most commonly a 3 to 4"lockblade knife or kitchen utility knife.

10.A grappling style head lock.

Whilst the skills developed from defences against Karate style attacks may have some cross over in allowing us to defend against the attacks listed above, for the art to become, or more accurately return to, an effective form of self defence training, it is important that our kumite training includes defences against attacks such as these.

Maai (Distancing)

Maai only important when you have a partner in front of you and Sport karate provides this stimulus in a ‘live’ environment however it teaches an unrealistic fighting distance. WKF competition rules will score a Jodan Zuki if it completes between skin contact and 2-5 cm’s of the target, but once a technique has reached its completion i.e. full extension then the power is essentially lost as the fist is slowing to a stop, hence why it’s used in sport karate.

Studies have shown that techniques reach their peak velocity (7.5 m/s) at between 70 to 80% of completion; therefore we should aim for and train to hit the target at this optimum point. Indeed Kanazawa Sensei is quoted as saying “each execution of tsuki, geri or uchi should go beyond the target approximately 10cm”.

This is easier to achieve when you are actually hitting a target such as a focus pad or bag, however things change when facing a partner due to safety concerns but also sometimes due to the association with hitting someone as a “lack of control”. Constant training of not hitting something only serves to teach you how to be good at not hitting something, but rather than making this type of training dangerous Kanazawa states it is “only after thorough training of what the real feeling of ‘giving a blow’ is, that we realise the importance of the control or sundome”.

It is the concept of sundome that I believe has been potentially misunderstood; I feel that sundome should not be arresting a fully locked technique just short of the target, but arresting the technique just short of completion whilst hitting the target. I explain this to my students as Dr Jeykyll & Mr Hyde karate, it should look the same but the ability to cause damage is controlled by the distance employed and how your attack is controlled.

Another factor that alters the distance employed is the use of hikite, and again due to the rules of Sport Karate its use has become less utilised in Shotokan training. Harry Cook likens the use of hikite in Karate, to a Blacksmith using tongs to stop the hot metal from moving whilst it is hit by the hammer, hikite also allows us to control the maai and body movement of the opponent, as well as being able to pull the opponent onto an attack increasing the force of the blow you are able to deliver.

This practice cannot be used in Sport Karate due to the safety implications, and the rules of both Shobu-Ippon and WKF ensure that the opponent cannot be held and hit, and any grabs can only be for a maximum of a few seconds.

Targeting

To truly understand the concept of Ikken Hizatsu, the concept of targeting must be explored and understood completely. As previously discussed the rules of Sport Karate are geared towards maintaining the safety of the competitors, therefore the areas of the body that you are prohibited from attacking whilst competing are probably the areas that we should focus on training to hit during the rest of our Karate practice such as the throat, neck, joints etc.

I would guess that around 75% of all points scored in competition are chudan gyaku-zuki, and indeed I spend a lot of my time with the SSKI squad focusing on exactly that technique, therefore it is unsurprising to see many students base their counter attacks in Jiyu-Ippon around this technique. I feel that with each attack in Jiyu Ippon, the counter should be such that the attacker is “stopped” completely by the counter, and a single chudan gyaku-zuki would not do that.

However I feel that sometimes we have misinterpreted and over emphasised the concept of Ikken Hizatsu, in that we have become conditioned to look for the one shot “point” rather than looking for the opportunity to finish an opponent with the technique or techniques we throw. In Lawrence and Klein’s book “The Way of Kata”, one of their rules of Kata Bunkai is “disrupt to strike, strike to disrupt”, and I see this as the use of multiple strikes in Jiyu Ippon to set an opponent up for that clean “one shot finish” to a vulnerable point that Shotokan Karateka should strive to achieve.

This idea of setting an opponent up for a finishing blow or technique is very relevant when considering locks and throws in Karate, as in ‘live’ situations an opponent will not stand there and allow you to sweep, throw and restrain them without resistance, therefore you have to look to “create time” as Dave Hazard Sensei describes, by throwing a technique that will disrupt the opponent enough to allow you to complete the next technique.

The Kumite of Kata

It can be said that Kata are time capsules of fighting, used to physically express the techniques, ideas and tactics of Karate masters of the past, allowing ideas to be passed from generation to generation. It essentially provides a framework or syllabus for us to work from, like an encyclopaedia of techniques and tactics which define what we do.

Indeed Hazard Sensei during a recent course described what he taught as “Karate-do based on the template of Shotokan”, and the only thing that defines Shotokan from other styles of Karate and other arts is the kata which we practice. The practice of kata performance works on many levels, firstly it acts as a physical training exercise stressing the body to improve strength, speed, agility balance etc.

It also provides an avenue for solo training, as once the application of certain portions of the kata are understood they can be practiced at full speed and power without the fear of injuring a partner, whilst also training specific motor patterns which will reinforce the practical application of the moves whilst working with a partner.

Despite being regarded by many as “The Heart of Karate”, Sport Karate has turned Kata into nothing more than a gymnastic exercise, with the aesthetics of the form being considered more important that the underlying function. It has separated a holistic art, which uses kata as its blueprint into two distinct almost unrelated activities, kata and kumite.

This has been further re-enforced with the changes that have been made to kata for the purposes of competition for example Asai Sensei added Jodan Kekomi to Nijushiho and modern day kata competitors such as cuurent World Kata Champion Luca Valadesi have completely abandoned Keage for Kekomi., these and other more subtle changes over decades of training have altered the how we view the Bunkai found within these Kata.

The practical application of kata with the Shotokan world have often been criticised for being unrealistic, and based mainly on Karate style techniques, such as the Bunkai shown in Nakayama Sensei’s “Best Karate” series, however I feel that people are missing the point of what this kind of application is trying to achieve.

I believe that this is the basic or kihon Bunkai aimed at providing people with an understanding of what each technique means, essentially labelling each technique for ease of understanding allowing the Karateka to express the correct intent on each move.. When I teach kata to students I will always use the “WYSIWYG” (What You See Is What You Get) approach i.e. if it looks like a block then it’s a block, so that they can better understand what I am asking them to do.

Once the outward physical movements are understood, I then move to what I refer to as Oyo, the practical implications of certain techniques or certain portions of that kata against real life Habitual Acts of Violence, I also encourage students to look at variations of the theme and try and use these within their own Kumite, whether that be Jiyu-Ippon or Jiyu Kumite.

The Future

“To search for the old is to understand the new. The old, the new, this is a matter of time” (Gichin Funokoshi)

In terms of the progression of the competitive side of Karate in many ways I feel we should look back rather than forward, as I feel the progression forward has only ever been towards a safer art in line with Olympic recognition rather than as an aid to our Karate training. In recent years in the UK we have seen a re-emergence in popularity of Shobu-Ippon Kumite rules, I feel that this is because Shobu-Ippon competition far more like real budo than he new WKF rules which I feel have degenerated into a game of tag, albeit a very impressive and athletic game of tag. Yahara Sensei’s KWF has experimented with mixing Kyokushin style knock down with Shobu-Ippon to move the emphasis onto knock-outs rather than semi contact inline with Yahara Sensei’s budo philosophy on Karate.

Other Karate groups have looked at full contact sparring, Daido-Juku or Kudo Karate have run events for the last 20 years with just fist and head protectors and they have managed to keep the essence of Karate attitude and technique in their events. The emergence of Mixed Martial Arts has also highlighted the deficiencies in Sport Karate, however I feel that watching MMA fighters fight should be no different to how we spar the dojo, albeit with controlled techniques.

We are now beginning to see fighters emerge in MMA organisations with a Shotokan background, most notably Lyoto Machida the son of the JKA representative in Brazil who is challenging for the UFC light heavy weight title in the summer, and I feel that this is an avenue more Shotokan Karateka will look to go down. Indeed traditional Karateka and successful Karate athletes such as Paul Newby (Boxing) and Leon Anderson (K-1 Kickboxing) have already begun to look at other combat sports.

Shotokan has often received a bad reputation amongst the Martial Arts community due to its perception as a rigid long-range art, however I feel that this is only true when people do not break away from the shackles of competition orientated kihon, and begin to explore other areas of their Karate. Hazard Sensei on a recent course reinforced this point saying that fundamentals are extremely important however if you keep digging the foundations but not building on them you will go nowhere.

The techniques employed in Shotokan vary very little from those found in Goju-Ryu, Muay Thai, Krav Maga etc yet Shotokan is still referred to as a poor relation to these other Arts in terms of self defence, therefore it is how we train these techniques rather than the techniques themselves that we should potentially focus on as our own Karate develops.

As I referred to at the start of this report, Sport Karate teaches us some incredibly valuable lessons, and without it I do not think that many of today’s great Sensei would be the same Karateka with the same level of ability. However I do feel that Sport Karate has to an extent dominated our view-point of Karate, and heavily influenced how we train sometimes with a negative effect in terms of our self defence effectiveness. As we progress as Karateka we should look to forge our own “way” in Shotokan, and from my perspective I want to look at how I can address the balance of the influence competition has had on my Karate.

As a Kyu grade and junior Dan grade I viewed competition as part of my Karate, now as a more senior Dan grade I almost view the competitive side and the training employed to get better at it, as distinctly different from the Karate I practice in the dojo and on my own. I want to practice Karate based on a syllabus of techniques derived from the Kata we practice, and my kumite to become as realistic as possible working in the main on the points I’ve described above distancing, targeting and the realism of the types of attacks used both attack and counter attack.

Luckily for me SSKI is very open minded and allows myself and other Yudansha to look to develop a Karate of our own, however many groups are more blinkered and simply produce polished Kyu grades with a blackbelt on who are tricked into believing that by doing Oi-zuki up and down the dojo and practicing pre rehearsed long range kumite they are prepared for defending themselves in a real confrontation.

LESSON PLAN

• 0 – 10 minutes – Dynamic Warm Up.

• 10-20 mins – Basic Juyi-Ippon Kumite

o Jodan – Tate Shuto (kokutsu), Chudan Gyaku-zuki

o Chudan – Slide back Gedan Barai, Osoto-guruma (outer reaping sweep)

• 20-30 mins – Emphasis on Targeting – Ikken Hizatsu

o Jodan - Tate Shuto (kokutsu), Jodan Gyaku-zuki.

o Chudan – Slide back Gedan Barai, Chudan Gyaku-zuki, Osoto-guruma (outer reaping sweep).

• 30-40 mins – Gyaku–zuki pad work.

o Emphasis on distancing – Competition v Impact

o Sundome

o Hikite – “Vice for your Hammer”.

• 40 – 50 mins – Juyi Ippon Kumite

o Focus on the previous points, plus utilising hikite.

• 50 – 60 mins – Juyi-Ippon Kumite

o Alter the attacking distance

o Both Tori (attacker) & uke (receiver) both from yoi/natural position.

• 60-90 mins – Defences against Habitual Acts of Violence from Kata

o A swinging punch to the head. Meikyo

o A single front clothing grab, followed by punch to the head. – Heian Yondan

o A double front clothing grab, followed by a head butt. – Nijushiho.

o One handed wrist grab followed by a punch to the head – Heian Godan.

• Warm Down.

by Adam Cockfield

Many thanks to sensei Adam Cockfield for allowing me to reprint his thesis on karate (such a fine article) on my blog.

Sensei Adam Cockfield is a 4th dan karateka who has had lots of success in kumite and kata competitions, and has trained with senior karate instructors like Dave Hazard sensei, Aidan Trimble Sensei, Terry O'Neill Sensei and many others, sensei Adam has also studied jujitsu and Goju ryu.

sensei Adam is also an instructor at

"Seishinkai Shotokan Karate International"

Here is sensei Adam's website
http://www.sski-london.co.uk/clubnews2008.htm

.

Shotokan Bunkai Strategies with sensei John Burke

2010-01-17T21:15:00.001-08:00

British sensei John Burke 4th dan shotokan karate-do karateka

Sensei John Burke takes us through some of his interpretations of shotokan kata bunkai.

Website

http://www.karateacademy.co.uk/first.html

Bunkai Strategies Newsletter 7 pt1

Bunkai Strategies Newsletter 7 pt2

Newsletter8

New Pressure Point Guide for Martial Artists DVD preview

Tekki Shodan kata bunkai

Bassai Dai kata bunkai - practical application

BassaiShoClip.avi

Tekki Shodan - Naihanchi kata bunkai sample

Kanku Dai Kata Application DVD preview Shotokan Karate Kata

Legends of the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB)

2010-01-17T21:15:00.000-08:00

Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB) website, http://www.kugb.org/

Karate Union of Great Britain was established in 1966 as a democratic and non-profit making organisation for the development of Shotokan Karate in Great Britain and Europe, under the auspices of Enoeda sensei and the Japan Karate Association (JKA) .

During this time it produced some of the finest karateka to walk the planet, the KUGB produced many fighters and kata champions that rivalled the best karateka in the world at that time including the JKA.

The KUGB since the passing of Enoeda sensei has withdrawn from the JKA but still has its roots in the JKA shotokan style of karate with Andy Sherry sensei (8th dan) as the chief instructor.

Today the KUGB still produces many strong championship fighters and kata champions in the art of karate-do.

Below are clips of some of the legends of the KUGB.

Keinosuke Enoeda Tribute (State Of Mind)

SHOTOKAN - The Art of War

Classic Demonstrations - Andy Sherry, Bob poynton, Frank & Jimmy Brennan

Terry O'Neill - Budo Sai

Terry O'Neill & Bob Poynton (KUGB)

Frank Brennan - A Profile

frank brennan

NIJUSHIHO KATA+BUNKAI - Frank Brennan

SHOTOKAN - Elwyn Hall Looks Back

Ronnie Christopher - A Profile of Honour

George Best - A Profile

George Godfrey, Steve Cattle, Billy Higgins, Frank Brennan...

Steve Cattle - Hangetsu Kata

Aidan Trimble Karate Demo Paignton June 1992

FSK Aidan Trimble

Born Fighter - Dave Hazard

Gary Harford - Shotokan Profile

KUGB ENGLAND v JKA JAPAN 1981

KUGB V JKA

Karate Kumite Shotokan

Karate Kumite Shotokan New

Edge weapons defence with maestro Raymond Floro

2010-01-17T21:10:00.002-08:00

Ray Floro is a highly qualified master and instructor in the traditional arts of Kalis Ilustrisimo and Lameco Eskrima, he has over 30 years of martial arts experience and has gone on to develop his own system "Floro Fighting Systems" (FFS) which is a system of Edged Weapon combat and defence.

Ray is based in Sydney New South Wales (NSW) Australia and has instructed FFS internationally to: US Special Forces, Korean Special Forces, various SWAT teams, and the New Zealand Police and nationally members of the Australian Federal Police, Australian Military, NSW police and QANTAS airlines.

Ray's blog

http://florofightingsystems.blogspot.com/

Ray's website

http://www.florofightingsystems.com/accred.html

Ray Floro takes us through some of his vast array of techniques when dealing with edged weapons defense.

Ray Floro - Craigieburn Workshop - Part 1

Ray Floro - Craigieburn Workshop - Part 2

Ray Floro - Craigieburn Workshop - Part 3

Kata Kanku Dai bunkai with sensei Tom Leeman

2010-01-17T21:10:00.001-08:00

USA sensei Tom Leeman 4th dan shotokan karate-do karateka

sensei Tom Leeman takes us through some of his bunkai interpretations found in one of the jewel shotokan kata Kanku Dai.

sensei Tom Leeman's web site

http://www.shotokancc.com/index.html

sensei Tom Leeman applications kata Kanku Dai -1

sensei Tom Leeman applications kata Kanku Dai -2

sensei Tom Leeman applications kata Kanku Dai -3

sensei Tom Leeman applications kata Kanku Dai -4

sensei Tom Leeman applications kata Kanku Dai -5

sensei Tom Leeman applications kata Kanku Dai -6

sensei Tom Leeman applications kata Kanku Dai -7

shotokan kata bunkai with sensei Didier Lupo

2010-01-17T21:10:00.000-08:00

French sensei Didier Lupo (left) 5th dan shotokan karate-do karateka

French sensei Didier Lupo takes us through some of his bunkai interpretations found in various shotokan kata.

sensei Didier Lupo's web site

KARATE SCO Sainte-Marguerite

HEIAN SHODAN , KATA , BUNKAI , DEFENSE par Didier LUPO

HEIAN NIDAN , KATA , BUNKAI , DEFENSE par Didier LUPO

HEIAN GODAN , KATA , BUNKAI , DEFENSE par Didier LUPO

Tekki shodan kata bunkai défense par Didier Lupo

KARATE bassaï-daï kata bunkai défense par Didier Lupo

KANKU-DAÏ BUNKAÏ par Didier Lupo

KARATE JION Kata Bunkaï Défense par Didier Lupo

ENPI le kata le bunkai la réalité par Didier Lupo

NIJUSHIHO le kata , le bunkai , la réalité par Didier Lupo

Machida do karate

2010-01-17T21:05:00.001-08:00

Lyoto "the dragon" Machida 3rd dan JKA shotokan karateka and his brother Chinzo Machida take us through some of the basic fundamentals of shotokan karate.

Machida 1 Chapter 3 Fighting stance

Machida 1 Chapter 4 Basic Movement

Machida 1 Chapter 5 Pivots and Counters

Machida rear high roundhouse kick.avi

Machida rear front sweep.avi

Machida side kick.avi

Machida spinning hook kick.avi

Lyoto Machida & Chinzo Machida training at VIPMMA

A comparison of the same kata across the karate styles

2010-01-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

Depending upon which style of karate you are from this kata maybe refered to as

1. Tekki
2. Naihanchi
3. Iron Horse
4. Chul Gi

As can be seen there are significant differences across the traditional styles of karate not to mention the freestyle karate Zen Do Kai and Tae Kwon Do, yet it is suppose to be the same kata. The creator Yasutsune Itosu only had one version.

Somewhere along the line personal touches, interpretations and asthetics must have been added to the kata for the vast amount of differences that can be seen across all styles of karate that do practice this kata.

Which one of these if any closely resemble the original kata i guess we will never know, the important thing is that all versions teach the principles of self defense that can be found within each version of the kata.

JKA shotokan Kata Tekki Shodan

Wado Ryu Kata Naihanchi - Sensei Mick Bayliss

Shito ryu kata naihanchi shodan

Matsubayashi Ryu - kata Naihanchi Shodan

Tae Kwon Do - kata Chul Gi 1

Martial arts is self defence

2010-01-17T21:00:00.001-08:00

Martial arts is self defence

We all know that fighting in a competition any competition is not the same thing as fighting on the street where your life may be in danger, and we all know that there are McDojo's of every art and style but authentic and geniuine martial arts schools are all about self defence.

In the old days self defence meant being able to take care of yourself not only physically but mentally as well, that is you were mature and responsible enough to know when and where to defend yourself, family or friends from a real threat.

For example if someone who by appearance alone looks like he’s a few bob short and is in no way a physical threat to you or your friends and family suddenly mouthed of at you no matter how much your ego may have been dented in front of your girl friend or mates, obviously you wouldn’t take any action against such a person although you might answer verbally.

If some hero with his smokes tucked inside his t-shirt sleeve singled you out for special attention then you would consider retaliation without too much hesitation.

So then initially most people take up martial arts so they can gain proficiency in a scrap, they are looking for tools that will aid them in a time of need for personal protection.

If the school just so happens to teach morals and ethics along with a good dose of common sense, you could say that most corners are covered as we look at them in today’s modern world.

Now if we go back to that era (the old days) and tell the people that there is a martial arts school that teaches theoretical self protection in detection, avoidance, communication, scenario training, victim selection, adrenal dump etc etc.

I’m sure they would be more than happy to digest such information, but the bottom line will always be about the physical side, if you have no physical techniques in your system chances are they would probably go elsewhere no matter how good your theoretical material is.

Now taking all the above and putting it into today’s modern world, today we have martial artists that practice martial arts and teach self defence to their students telling them that martial arts and self defence are two separate and distinct things.

Some of these martial artists are exceptional athletes and full of terrific information about how and why things go down the way they do in a life and death situation, all valuable to be sure.

BUT good common sense will at least meet this plethora of information half way and even though you’re not an expert in this type of information, good common sense will save you from nearly just as many physical confrontations as absorbing and digesting this type of theoretical information could.

What about physical self defence techniques, at the end of the day these martial artists who practice martial arts and are now telling us that martial arts and self defence are two distinct and separate things still teach self defence techniques from the martial arts in the physical part of their self defence method.

We all know that sometimes no matter how hard you try to avoid a confrontation it will get physical, so these martial artists teach techniques from martial arts for self defence, but they turn around and say that training in martial arts is not training for self defence? Can't work that one out.

I remember in the early years of the martial arts phenomenon that swept the western world thanks to Bruce Lee, many martial arts schools offered short self defence courses/seminars on the side to make ends meet.

These courses were directed at non martial artisits usually coined “Women’s self defence”, “Personal protection”, “Don’t be scared to walk the streets”, "Learn quick self defence" etc. etc.

These types of classes taught you how to stay alive by any means necessary and usually employed what are considered dirty tactics or manouvres that require little drilling to achieve competancy.

Although practicing these technique was a large component of these short course seminars the self defence theme was more about the tactics and strategies employed rather than the techniques themselves.

Some of the self defence themes included improvised weapons, preemptive striking and escape, deception, surprise, yelling, words like fire to get attention etc.etc.

Some of the technqiues were raking and scratching (tiger or bear claws), attacking vital points, groin, eyes, ears, joints, traikia, solar plexus, carotid artery or side of the neck, using palm heel strikes and knife hands instead of punches, use of elbows knees, stomping with high heels, defence against grabs, limbs hair clothes and bear hugs, etc. etc.

These self protection techniques can be found in traditional martial arts

Training in short self defence courses and seminars was geared towards the general public and not martial artists. These courses were generally taught by traditional or eclectic martials art schools back then.

In today’s modern world this type of training (self protection) has become mainstream there is nothing wrong with that, what gets to me is now some of these self protection instructors are claiming they are the custodians of self defence and martial arts and self defence are two different things.

Some of these self protection instructors have studied one, two or more martials arts indepth for a very long time, others have brushed over many different martial arts not studying any indepth gaining superficial knowledge at best and telling us that they know better.

This type of thought process has me dumb founded especially when these self protection instructors teach martial arts techniques for self defence, they will often bring up the subject of achieving a blackbelt in a MA and how it may not be enough for self protection on the street, while I agree that a blackbelt doesn't really mean much on the streets.

Self defence techniques and derivatives come from traditional martial arts.

karate judo

Aikido Jujitsu

What exactly are these instructors teaching and doing that guarantees enough for street confrontations, after all they are teaching striking and grappling from the martial arts, things that an experienced martial artists should already know since they are training these techniques all the time, being from one or the other and sometimes both diciplines (ie striking and grappling).

Is the physical training in a self protection class any harder than what you might experience in a typical martial arts class, I dont think so, it doesn't come close to getting the anaerobic or aerobic workout that a standard karate class for example gives you.

What about the psychological element they induce in a self protection class with for example scenario training.

Is this in anyway more realistic than facing someone at your club who is reknowned for not holding his strikes back and would gladly give you a black eye or worse or what about someone at your club who will dump you to the ground with no control, don't tell me these things will not play on your psychy and are not for real.

Some of these self protection instructors talk about adrenaline dump and how it might overcome you and that in martial arts you may not experience such a thing.

The questions I want to ask them is

1. How does their adrenaline dump in (scenario training) compare to competition?

2. How close is scenario training to reality? in percentage terms.

3. Will you be killed or maimed in scenario training?

4. Will you get broken bones and limbs?

5. Will you be rendered unconscious?

Fighting in combative martial arts like karate, judo etc, under certain rules knowing that you will not die and the referee will save you, but also knowing the person in front of you may damage you and there is a possibility of getting dumped on your head or your front teeth knocked out or a broken nose or worse will definetly release an adrenalin dump.

Therefore martial artists do know what it's like to experience an adrenalin dump (on a much higher level in my opinion than scenario training) into the system and keep going.

If training in the martial arts enables you to throw someone on his head or tie him up like a pretzal or sit him on his behind from a punch that means the techniques found within all true martial arts a very transferable to the street and to fighting for your life.

So to say martial arts and self defence are two separate things is incorrect in my opinion, if anything they are interwoven like the fabric of a sweater.

Self defence techniques with Nancy Lanoue 6th dan Seido Karate

Typical self defence tactics taught to non martial artists in short courses

The video above is shown as a typical example of what type of self defence instruction one may find in a good and authentic martial arts school and is the type of material that martial art instructors use to teach in short self defence courses or seminars to the general public or people that aren't martial artists.

Kata Sparring

2010-01-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

Aikido techniques

"To practice kata is not to memorize an order. You must find the kata that work for you, understand them, digest them and stick with them for life." - Gichin Funakoshi

We all know that there is a large grappling component found within the syllabus of shotokan kata, but the solo performance of the kata doesn’t mean that you can use these grappling techniques in a real fight.

So then how should we train these grappling techniques to become good at them, well for starters there are many pioneers around the world looking into this side of karate like Iain Abernethy, John Burke, Didier Lupo, Tom Leeman, Patrick McCarthy, Bill Burger, Lawrence A. Kane, Kris Wilder, John W. Titchen and many other karateka.

If you want some good ideas about incorporating the grappling of kata into your shotokan look up some of these pioneer karateka it’s a great place to start imo.

The essence of karate is found in a single punch or kick. Gichin Funakoshi.

My personal thoughts are karate is first and foremost a striking art and the way it’s practiced today for the striking component which includes kihon, kata and kumite (the three K’s) is indeed a good way, this also includes percussion/impact and body conditioning.

One must be very careful not to be defeated through concern with throwing an opponent or applying a joint punishment hold. Gichin Funakoshi

I think the kihon and kumite side of shotokan is great and can develop formidable technique to be used in self defense but the kata component (solo performance) as we know it today although useful for sharpening basic striking technique, timing and rhythm in its present state of solo training is not that useful in practical self defense situations.

If we can pull out striking techniques like gyaka zuki or maegeri and all the other striking techniques from the kata and drill them to the cows come home solo or in partner drills leading to kumite, we should also be able to extract the grappling techniques found within the shotokan kata and drill them likewise.

“Through sparring practice one may identify the practical meaning of kata.” Chojin Miyagi

The problem is how do we drill the grappling component of shotokan kata, personally I think the grappling techniques such as seoi nage , koshi garuma, kuchiki-taoshi, kote gaeshi etc etc found in shotokan kata and these days relating more to jujitsu, judo and aikido rather than karate should be trained in the same manner as the the three grappling arts mentioned above.

Since judo jujitsu and aikido have been around for a very long time these arts have perfected the grappling techniques within them and they would certainly have attained the most proficient and correct way of practice, application and execution.

Judo - Seoi nage

I don’t think for example (lets use seoi nage) if Funakoshi sensei incorporated a seoi nage into one of the kata, there would be a karate way of doing seoi nage and a judo way of doing seoi nage, a seoi nage is a seoi nage no matter what art it may be found in.

So then a seoi nage in karate kata should be practiced like a seoi nage found in the art of judo, and again a shino nage found in karate kata should be practiced like a shino nage found in jujitsu and so on and so forth.

To be good at applying these individual grappling techniques means that time must be spent on the individual technique themselves learning applying and executing them, just like judoka aikidoka and Jujutsoka do.

Just exactly how the grappling component of shotokan kata will be incorporated into main stream shotokan karate I guess only time will tell, but it would be great if the incorporation of kata grappling was standardized just like striking and recognized all over the world by the major shotokan organisations and associations.

My ideas are as follows.

In order for kata grappling to be included in shotokan, a new sub-component of kata will need to be added to the existing shotokan syllabus which some karate pioneers have already appropriately named kata sparring.

1. First the kihon, kata (solo) and kumite side of karate will not change and will be the first things that a newbie learns.

2. Each kata still needs to be learned in the solo form before proceeding to bunkai, oyo, kata sparring and grappling, this keeps the the three K's intact and makes the student very familiar with the kata.

3. Before learning any kata applications, grappling or kata sparring the student will be required to learn break falling and rolling.

4. Since kihon kata and kumite each form a third of karate training, then one third of shotokan karate will be devoted to the grappling techniques found within shotokan kata.

5. As each kata is learned the student should gain a good proficiency in the application and execution of all the individual grappling techniques within that kata. That is you will be required to learn the individual grappling techniques of the kata as they are learned and applied in judo, jujitsu or aikido.

6. As each kata is learned so to the bunkai and oyo of that kata would need to be learned by the student so they can proficiently execute and apply striking and grappling techniques in accordance with that kata's theme, lesson, strategy and tactics for self defense applications.

7. The grappling and striking techniques found within the kata shall be practiced and applied in the new sub-component of the shotokan kata syllabus called kata sparring,

8. Kata Sparring

a. Kata techniques performed in two man drills first with a complaint partner and then with non complaint partner and aliveness.

b. Scenario training-Just like in Reality Based Self defence (RBSD) using self defense techniques from kata

c. Against certain techniques, eg.head lock or muay thai round kick etc.

d. Kata sparring - includes all grappling and striking found within kata

Jujitsu - Shihonage: Four Direction Throw - submissions 101

Karate a mystical martial art?

2010-01-17T20:55:00.001-08:00

Karate

We have all heard of the ancient scroll that only the karate master of the style possessed making him the only person to posses all knowledge in that style e.g. death touch, secret techniques of kata, strange powers, disappearing acts etc.

Or what about the master text book that was only for the eyes of the master and his successor making the martial arts seem mystical and that not all was being shown to the average student that somehow you had to get on the good side of the master to be shown the real stuff.

To be honest this is the greatest nonsense and malarkey I have ever heard and is more akin to Hollywood type martial arts films, circus tricks and magicians than the reality.

If this was the case then why did most if not all the creators and or masters of karate publish books about their art, how can it be kept secret if books are written on the subject?

In the 1950's and 1960's Masatoshi Nakayama sensei, then Head of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) made it policy to spread the art of shotokan karate around the world, sending his best students to all corners of the earth to teach it.

Why would they wish to spread their art around the world if it was to remain a secret?

It would seem strange that for this art that had to be kept secret, a policy was developed that it should be showcased and taught all over the world.

Other traditional karate styles like Goju ryu, Shito ryu and Wado ryu also started to spread all over the world.

If you look at any renowned creators or masters of karate none of them talk about strange powers or secret techniques or disappearing acts, I have yet to find one, most of these innuendos seem to come from western martial arts practitioners.

Sometimes allot of this garbage comes from other martial artists who don’t have a clue about karate and simply don’t understand it.

There is nothing mystical about karate or the martial arts, and if some people have made them to be so it’s either intentional on their behalf to prey on the unsuspecting for money or maybe they just didn't quite understand the message or methods that were being passed down to them.

The martial arts are all about training and then a bit more training to be good at what you do, it takes plenty of effort mixed with allot of sweat and sometimes blood, its like anything else, running, math, language, chess, football, tennis etc.

You have to forge your mind or body or both to excel at any endeavor in life, the martial arts are no exception, without sweat and effort all the knowledge in the world will not help you in a time of need.

So next time you hear someone talking about the mysteries and powers associated with martial arts you can bet your bottom dollar that its one of three things.

Either he is an outright liar who is trying to capitalize on peoples hard earned dollars or he just hasn't got a clue about the martial arts, maybe a white belt who dreams of being Bruce Lee on celluloid and is yet to realize the truth of the matter, or he is simply taking the piss out of you.

Shotokan Karate Training Old Style 1

Shotokan Karate Training Old Style 3

The strongest karate

2010-01-17T20:55:00.000-08:00

Masutatsu Oyama sensei 10th dan master and founder of kyokushinkai karate-do

Mas Oyama sensei (July 27, 1923 – April 26, 1994), was an internationally renowned kyokushinkai karate-do master, a Korean born karateka that migrated to Japan and became a Japanese citizen, he trained in the martial arts from a youngster starting of in korean kempo then migrating to Japan he moved on to judo and boxing.

IKO Kyokushinkaikan karate-do website

http://www.kyokushinkaikan.org/en/

Mas Oyama sensei's first taste of karate was under Funakoshi Gichen sensei in the art of shotokan karate-do and he achieved his 4th dan in this system, he then went on to train in Goju ryu karate-do and was graded by Gogen Yamaguchi to 8th dan in this system. Mas Oyama sensei also trained in judo and graded to 4th dan in this system.

In 1964 Mas Oyama sensei founded Kyokushinkai "the society for the ultimate truth" in Japanese, a full contact system of karate that can arguably be the hardest form of karate today.

Kyokushin karate-do is largely based on the basics of shotokan and goju kata but it does incorporate other methods into its syllabus including western boxing.

There is no padding in competition, bare knuckles are used but face/head punching is not allowed, kicks and knees to the head are allowed and kyokushinka have developed kicking technique peculiar to this system of karate-do.

Kyokushinka take on all comers and in early open tournaments to any styles held in Asia, kyokushinka smashed through most of thier opponents including other styles of karate, Muay Thai boxers, kickboxers, kung fu exponents, filipino boxers and anyone else that dared step on the mat.

Depending on the region Kyokushin style black belt gradings involve 20 30 40 or even 50 man kumite rounds, each man coming in to face the person grading is fresh and rounds last a few minutes.

Sometimes a 100 man kumite is attempted by kyokushinka who have an indomitable spirit, kyokushinka are some of the toughest and strongest karateka to walk the planet.

There are a few groups that have broken away from Kyokushin or embraced the knockdown style of Kyokushin karate-do competition.

Some of these are Ashihara karate, Enshin karate, Shidokan, Seidokaikan and many more, all these groups stay faithful to the Kyokushin knock down style of competition and its training methods, some might have slight variations such as certain forms of grappling etc.

Garry O'Neill Baseball Bat Break

Kyokushin KO by mawashi

KYOKUSHIN KNOCKOUTS 8th World Open Karate Tournament pt.1

Kata - a physical library

2010-01-17T20:50:00.001-08:00

Muay Thai Boran Kata

"There are many kinds of martial arts, ...at a fundamental level these arts rest on the same basis. It is no exaggeration to say that the original sense of Karate-Do is at one with the basis of all martial arts. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form itself. The kara of Karate-Do means this." Gichin Funakoshi

Look at the kata or forms of any traditional martial art like Muay Thai, Kung Fu, Karate, Boxing, Judo, Wing chun, Silat etc. etc. and you will see all the techniques within that system.

How these techniques are practiced is for another discussion or topic, but in general all offensive and defensive movements of any traditional martial art can be found in its kata, forms or shadow boxing.

The mnemonic movements of traditional shotokan kata encompass much more than the punching, striking, kicking and blocking techniques we have all become familiar with, close quarter grappling and clinching techniques are a very big part of the kata techniques.

The problem is most people including myself have a hard time seeing past their own perception of what you think it is and what it really is and can be.

Within traditional karate kata with some research and an open mind you will find many judo, aikido, jujitsu and wrestling techniques and methods.

I believe this is part of what Funakoshi means from the quote above, that is even though karate has its unique methods it also has methods that are found in other arts and systems.

"In karate hitting, thrusting and kicking are not the only methods, throwing and pressure against joints are included. All these technqiues should be studied referring to basic kata." Gichin Funakoshi

To put it simply karate as an unarmed civilian self defense system is a mixture of its own unique brand of effective punching, striking, kicking, blocking AND GRAPPLING TECHNIQUES that today are usually associated with the arts of judo, aikido, jujitsu and wrestling.

The way that all karate kata technique (mnemonic or not) has been catalogued within the library of kata is in my opinion an amazing engineering feat, just think of what choices would have been available to martial artists back in the old days to document their system.

Biu Ji (標指) form performed by sifu Benny Meng

Let’s see they could have used the visual sense from the latest technology at the time of silent film or photographs, but was this technology readily available to the average person back then? who knows!

They could have used traditional methods of documenting information with drawings and paintings mixed with never ending pages of written description and explanation, in the end producing scrolls or binder books, but they didn't.

The old masters used an entirely different method, a physical method, the only way to learn this system is on a physical level, there is no reading, no watching, its in the doing.

The system is kata or forms a physical library of self defense methods which include techniques, strategy, tactics and principles for the student to study, comprehend, practice, pressure test and apply in training and self defense situations.

Kanazawa sensei - kata enpi (flying swallow)

"To practice kata is not to memorize an order. You must find the kata that work for you, understand them, digest them and stick with them for life." - Gichin Funakoshi

For the people that dont understand karate, forms or kata are not about using the kata techniques in a sequence as peformed in a solo performance (see kata enpi above),

Kata is a library of techniques, the sequence was a way of documenting these movements in some form of logical order, every little detail can't be recorded in a kata, so many techniques are mnemonic in nature and if explored can have very suprising results in application.

However there are also many combinations that are found within kata to be used in sequence if the first move was successful and just like the Muay Thai shadow boxing clip below, you are free to isolate, train, practice and pressure test any kata technique or combination without trying to stick to the overall sequence of the kata.

Some kata techniques will suit some people better than others, depending on your build and frame, there are kata that suit tall lanky people or short stocky people and everyone in between, you have to work out which one is for you.

"Once a form has been learned it must be practiced repeatedly until it can be applied in an emergency, for knowledge of just the sequence of a form in karate is useless." Gichin Funakoshi

Sometimes martial artists make up all sorts of bunkai that follow the exact sequence of the kata using one technique after another in order as the kata is performed solo.

In this performance they dispatch the person in front of them and then have another attacker neatly come in from the side or some angle as they turn to face and dispatch them too etc. etc.

While this may be ok for a demonstration to a crowd of non martial artists, it will clearly never work in the real world of violence and is mearly just a show.

“If you understand one kata you understand them all.” Gichin Funakoshi

Kata is the documented physical library of mnemonic and non-mnemonic techniques that are found within the art of karate-do.

The way each and every technique or combination along with the strategy, tactics and principles embodied within any kata and how they are taught, practiced, pressure tested and applied in training will determine their efectiveness in a street fight.

"It's not in a sacred scroll, its not in a master text book, its in the physical library called kata"

How To Shadow Box (Muay Thai For Beginners)

The benefits of karate training

2010-01-17T20:50:00.000-08:00

Karate can be practiced any where, no special equipment required.

Shotokan karate is great for men and women because,

FITNESS & HEALTH

Traditional karate training is a great way to keep your body fit and healthy, like swimming it exercises nearly all the muscles in the body and after a couple of years of regular traditional karate training there should be a noticeable change in one’s body shape.

The work out given by traditional karate methods is mostly anaerobic but can be turned into an aerobic exercise simply by reducing the number of breaks.

Traditional karate training is mainly based on ply metric exercises which coupled with isotonic and isometric exercises harden your muscles like a piece of steel rope.

Traditional karate will not increase your muscle size to any great amount, but will melt away fat with austere training, it strengthens your muscles, ligaments, bones, sinew and loins and in general increases your core strength.

Couple traditional karate training with general fitness activities like push ups, burpees, bunny hops, running sprinting, skipping, sit ups etc. at the start and end of every class and it makes for a complete physical work out.

If you’re not sweating profusely and huffing and puffing after 5 to 10 minutes of the class beginning then there is something amiss, by the end of the class you can wring out the sweat from your gi and there should be steam coming of your body.

COMPETITION

Shotokan kumite mix - competition

For the younger folks, if you’re good enough it offers competition on an international level so there is always the opportunity to see other countries while training and competing, the shoto cup is hosted by different countries every two years so if you make the Australian team who knows where you will end up.

Then there are the Australian nationals and state titles to compete in and travel around Australia and your state as each state takes turns in hosting the nationals and different towns for the state titles.

There are also numerous shotokan competitions from many different organisations and traditional all styles competition which feature Goju-ryu, Shito-ryu, Wado-ryu and shotokan-ryu stylists, which one can enter and compete.

It’s a great experience and another feather in the cap not to mention the comradery and new friendships that you will make on these journeys.

SELF DEFENCE

Kissaki-Kai Nijushiho Kata Bunkai - sensei Vince Morris

Shotokan karate is a simple art to learn and trained in the right fashion it offers a great tool box for self defence technique, it’s also a decisive and very affective art in the right hands, techniques are in line with modern day physics and are simple to apply; one technique can have various uses against many different types of attacks.

INTEREST

Applications For Kanku Dai with sensei Tom Leeman

With all the commotion about bunkai, oyo and kata grappling/sparring, the art of shotokan karate can keep you interested and occupied for a life time, it always regurgitates something old as something new and always presents an alternative to what you thought was buried in cement.

FURTHER TRAINING

Isso é / This is Karate Shotokan 1 - Kumite

Usually a special class that you must be invited to; this class is devoted to fighting using karate technique, not for everyone but there if you want it at an established club.

BENEFITS OF KARATE TRAINING

Karate training can increase your,

1. Fitness and Heath

2. Motor skills and hand eye/foot co-ordination

3. Confidence that also helps in everyday life and work

4. Concentration and focus

5. Muscle tone, strength and power

6. Balance, movement and foot work

7. Flexibility and Suppleness

8. Discipline, self esteem and character building

9. Self Defence capabilities

OTHER BENEFITS INCLUDE

a. Competition

b. Gushuku's - special training camps in the mountains or by the foreshore

c. Seminars and special classes from local and visiting international instructors.

d. Friendship, comradery and team spirit

e. It’s also cheap compared to some other martial arts.

.

Muay Thai with Ajarn Pud Pad Noy Worawoot

2010-01-17T20:45:00.001-08:00

Ajarn (master) Pud Pad Noy Worawoot in action

As a fighter master Pud Pad Noy Worawoot was famed for his powerhouse kicks which earned him the nickname golden leg, he was 5 times Lumpinee Champion in the early to mid seventies and is rated as one of the top 5 muay thai fighters of all time.

Master Pud Pad Noy Worawoot's DVD's can be found here.

http://www.blackbeltshop.com/pud_pad_noy_worawoot_muay_thai_kickboxing_series_titles_dvds.htm

Below Pud Pad Noy Worawoot takes us through some of the devastating technqiues that can be found in the martial art of Muay Thai.

Muay Thai with Pudpad Nor Worawoot 1. equiment

Muay Thai with Pudpad Nor Worawoot 2. handwraps

Muay Thai with Pudpad Nor Worawoot 3. Wai Kru

Muay Thai with Pudpad Nor Worawoot 4. Warm ups

Muay Thai with Pudpad Nor Worawoot 5. the jab

Muay Thai with Pudpad Nor Worawoot 6. jab-right cross

Muay Thai with Pudpad Nor Worawoot 7. hook

Muay Thai with Pudpad Nor Worawoot 8. uppercut

Muay Thai with Pudpad Nor Worawoot 9. punching combinations

Muay Thai with Pudpad Nor Worawoot 10. elbows

Knife defense with sensei Tom Leeman

2010-01-17T20:40:00.000-08:00

USA sensei Tom Leeman 4th dan shotokan karateka

sensei Tom Leeman takes us through some karate techniques for self defense against different types of knife attack.

sensei Tom Leeman's web site

http://www.shotokancc.com/index.html

Knife Defense for Slash Attack

Knife Defense for Stabbing Attack

Knife Defense for Overhead Attack

Traditional Martial Arts (TMA)

2010-01-17T20:35:00.000-08:00

What is tradition in a martial art?

We often hear the term traditional martial art being bandied around within martial arts circles.

But what is traditional in a martial arts sense, people who practice traditional martial arts for example, shotokan don't refer to themselves as traditional, they simply refer to their art as karate or karate-do, they don't walk around saying i am traditional and practice traditional karate, or follow some tradition.

People that practice tae kwon do, jujistu, kung fu, muay thai, judo, wing chun etc etc dont walk around saying i'm traditional or practice a traditional martial art either.

So what makes a martial art traditional?

Is it the clothes worn during training, is it retaining the customs of the native country from which the martial art was derived, is it adhering to the masters training methods without change, is it keeping the master's philosophy and doctrines intact, is it putting the master or creator on a pedestal and worshiping like a demi god.

I don't think so, non of the above define traditional in a martial art.

Why you ask?

Because some or all of the above traits and practices can also be found in the so called eclectic martial arts, mixed martial arts and reality based martial arts, the reality is one set of rules and regulations is replaced with another, robbing Peter to pay Paul, Tit for Tat, six of one half a dozen of the other, well you get the picture.

Whether its freestyle, mma or rbsd, they also have a master who has a doctrine, who has a formulae who has a plan and expects certain things from his students in a certain way, it could be dress code, attitude, respect, manners etc etc. Different customs and practices to be sure but still customs and practices of another kind.

Does traditional mean not to add effective techniques into your arsenal from other martial arts? Like for example adding brazilian jujitsu to karate for the ground fighting aspect, well maybe, i will discuss this later on.

So are the so called traditional martial arts dying out in favour of the new ecletic arts like mma and rbsd systems which themselves bring new training methods, customs, doctrines, ideas, master worship, formulaes, and even the creation of styles (standard formulae for mma is brazilian jujitsu and Muay Thai) and all the other things that are suppose to be associated with the so called traditional martial arts.

In my opinion and from what I have seen in my local area traditional martial arts aren’t dying out.

Traditional styles like karate, muay thai, tae kwon do, judo, kung fu, jujitsu, aikido, pencat silat etc, still have relevance today, all of these arts are based on solid fundamental laws, principles and physics in relation to human anatomy, efficiency in movement, manipulation, co-ordination, power generation, mechanical advantage, leverage-fulcrum, focus, etc.

Traditional martial arts have evolved over a very long period of time and even though usually one person is credited with the development of a style in reality it has been a work in progress across a number of different generations, usually spanning hundreds of years.

For example Funakoshi sensei is generally credited with the karate style known as shotokan, but did he develop the whole thing from scratch? Or did he combine existing methods to form a new one? It would take more than one person and one life time to develop a complete art from scratch imo.

JuJitsu - grappling

These old masters like Funakoshi sensei, I liken to Sir Isaac Newton and his life work Principa Mathematica. At the celebration of Newton’s work in his speech he said, "If I have been able to see further, it was only because I stood on the shoulders of giants." Paying tribute to all the great people that have gone before him, for without their material in mathematics and physics he may not have achieved his life work.

Like Bruce Lee said unless people grow an extra arm and an extra leg there will only be one way of fighting, and the old masters even though they lived in a different time knew this very well, imo they explored every possible way a two handed and two legged creature like man can best utilize his attributes, to think less of the old masters would be naïve imo.

If we look at the Japanese arts of karate, judo, jujitsu, aikido all these methods are common to all the martial arts no matter which country they may have originated from and no matter which one came first eg. the Japanese, the Chinese, the Greeks, the Romans, the Martians.

You want to throw someone, or manipulate there joints, or tie someone up like a pretzel or sit someone on his behind from striking, then you will find these methods or derivates are employed.

Some mix the techniques and arts up and give them a new name and claim to have invented something new, but the bottom line is there are just so many ways to apply these techniques and methods, and most of these ways can be found in the traditional martial arts.

Some people say that traditional martial arts are caught in a time warp and that too much respect is shown for the old master and his ways.

What I like to say to these people is well then show me a better way to learn, train and apply a seoinage or a gyaka zuki or a kotegaeshi or a Uke Nagashi.

When you can show me better ways to learn, train and apply these techniques I will abandon the old masters ways and follow yours, but of course I'm still training in traditional martial arts and waiting on these people to show me a better way.

Then there are martial artists who say that traditional martial arts don’t evolve?

Do they need evolving well it depends what sort of evolving you’re talking about, if they provide one of the best ways to strike or throw in accordance with human anatomy what more can be done in this area? I’m not saying there perfect, there is always room for improvement but they dont need an overhaul either.

Karate - striking

Do for example the following martial arts need to evolve,

1. Judo
2. Muay Thai
3. Karate
4. Boxing
5. Aikido
6. Tai Chi
7. Wing Chun
8. Jujitsu etc, etc.

In my opinion the answer is NO, they provide certain skills that have been tried and tested over the long haul, they dont claim to have all the answers, but do claim certain qualities about them that millions of people around the world have come to know and appreciate.

Like the gentle health exercises and benefits of tai chi, or the combative throws of judo or the devasting strikes of karate or the close quarter combat of western boxing and wing chun or the joint manipulation of aikido and jujitsu.

Within all the martial arts there is evolution within the skill set they provide nothing remains static, for example judoka are always looking to refine their throws, karateka are always looking to improve their powerhouse techniques, aikidoka and jujistuka to improve their joint manipulation and grappling, just because these arts don't add techniques willy nilly from every other art in town it doesn't mean they are not in a state of evolution from within.

Aikido - joint manupulation

From the begining there have always been certain martial artists who like to get the best of every martial art and mix it into their own system, since we are all individuals I don't have a problem with this, the annoying thing is when these very same martial artists turn around and start throwing accusations back at arts that specialise in certain areas.

When you want devasting throws and strikes judo and karate come to mind, when you want top quality grappling and manipulation aikido and jujitsu when you want close quarter combat boxing and wing chun etc etc.

So to all those who aren't content with TMA's, traditional martial arts specialise in their own area and thats what they are about, they dont claim to have all the answers like some of you do, but what they do claim they do well, since their whole focus is in the area of their expertise, be it striking, throwing or joint manipulation and grappling.

If you want to be in a constant state of evolution, metamorphous and evolve yourself and your art into whatever your heart desires, without trying to enforce your own personal views, ways and beliefs on others who dont hold the same perspective as you do.

For shotokan evolution in my opinion could be about bringing the whole art back into focus through kata and its striking and grappling methods instead of just using a small portion of shotokan as we do today we adopt the whole system as it was meant to be. I would certainely classify that as evolution.

If on the other hand you are suggesting that karate be mixed with Brazilian jujitsu, or that judoka incorporate boxing strikes into their Randori, or that muay thai matches also use western wrestling in the ring, then i don’t see this as a progression or an evolution of the traditional martial art in question but rather a dilution.

Traditional martials arts have substance and when something has substance in my opinion whether it’s in fad or not, it will not fade away.

Traditional martial arts are here to stay.

Judo throwing

The kata of Judo

2010-01-17T20:30:00.000-08:00

Professor Jigoro Kano founder of the art of Judo

Professor Jigoro Kano said this about kata training in judo,

"Learining kata is similar to the learning of grammar for the study of writing and randori practice is similar of writing itself.

In other words in order to write a composition, a grasp of grammar is needed.

Thus, in order to perform randori well, knowledge of kata is necessary.

And yet no matter how well one mastered grammar, it doesn't presuppose that one can write fine literature.

On the other hand, if one knows only a smattering of grammar, one cannot write well at all.

This principle is the same as that in jujutsu, if we do not study kata, we can still learn methods of attack and defense, yet on the other hand, we cannot hope to master them." - Jigoro Kano

------------------------------------------------------

Don Draeger observed about the kata process in judo.

Kata performed as an exhibition or demonstration is largely a “doing” type of kata.

By the nature of demonstration, kata used in this fashion always sees tori emerge victorious to graphically show technical aspects about Judo in informing or entertaining an audience.

Uke’s cooperation here, however, must not be one of “jump” for tori, in spite of the predetermined condition of “losing” to tori.

Kata, as a demonstration, is but a shallow and limited usage of kata; it is not the primary purpose of kata, though most tendencies in modern Judo restrict it to this role.

But, even here, if correctly performed as the founder intended, it is a beneficial performance.

Kata, performed as a “using” type of exercise, will see the failure of many attempts by tori to apply his technique, tori will not always “win.”

“This is as it should be, if the kata is being used correctly.

The kata is thus an evaluative device, which registers incorrectly, applied technique and can reveal the reasons why tori is failing to produce the correct result.

In nage no kata, uke makes only predetermined efforts to foil tori, and tori before hand realizes these actions are to come.

In spite of this knowledge, should the technique not come of well, it is a definte sign that tori is not applying his technique properly.

How can he fail with a cooperative uke and expect to “defeat” a non-cooperative uke in randori or shiai?

In katame no kata,, after certain preliminaries, uke is free to actively, and in an undertermined way, extract himself from tori’s technique.

Uke’s escape actions are not prearranged except of utilizing legitimate judo methods.

If, with this “perfect" chance to immonbilize uke, tori fails, how can he ever hope to immobilize a tori who from the beginning, is struggling to defeat him?"

Don Draeger - (Draeger, Judo Randori No Kata and Ju No Kata)

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The kata will temper the combative ardour of the young performer and will undoubtedly also enable him to discover the reason for certain errors he commits in competition…… Thus the kata is a valuable source of technical progress.

Mikonosuke Kawaishi - 7th Dan master of Japanese Judo and Jujutsu

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Sufficient kata and practice impose a well defined technical discipline on the judoist, one that is unattainable by only randori and contest methods.

This discipline, instead of hampering the judoist, actually frees him from undue restrictions, liberates his bodily expression in movement, and teaches him economy of mental and physical energy.

This process can only be understood through experience, and only through kata performance can the judoists come to appreciate Judo in its fullest sense.

Otaki and Draeger (Judo Formal Techniques)

----------------------------------------------------

The traditional martial art of Judo can equip you with decisive throwing and grappling techniques, below we take a look at some of the fundamentals of judo which are found in its kata.

List of Judo kata

1. Nage no Kata: forms of throwing

2. Katame no Kata: forms of grappling

3. Ju no Kata: forms of gentleness

4. Kodokan Goshi Jutsu: modern self defense

5. Kime no Kata: foems of decision

6. Koshiki no Kata: forms of antique

7. Joshi Judo Goshinho: women's self defense

8. Itsutsu no Kata: forms of five

9. Renkoho Waza: arresting techniques

10. Kime Shiki: forms of decision

11. Seiryoku Zen'syo Kokumin Taiiku: maximun-effieciency physical education

12. Nage-Waza_ura no Kata: forms of counte throws

13. Gonosen no Kata: forms of counters

14. Kaeshi no Kata: forms of counters

15. Go no Kata: forms of counters

More information about judo here - http://judoinfo.com/new/

Nage No Kata Judo Instruction

Katame No Kata (1º Parte)

Katame No Kata (2º Parte)

Katame No Kata (3º Parte)

Ju No Kata

Kime no kata

10 minutes Judo knowledge of Masahiko Kimura

Masahiko Kimura - short documentary

best of judo - randori

Karate flow drills

2010-01-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

Karate basic (kihon) techniques can fit in very well with flow drills (sensitivity exercises) similar to those found in various martial arts like,

Tai Chi - push hands
Wing Chun - Chi, Lat, and Lap-sau
Goju ryu - Kakie
Escrima - Hubad Lubod

Below are a few ways karate technique can become a type of flow drill to be practiced with a partner.

Bunkai in competition? can this be possible?

2010-01-17T20:20:00.000-08:00

Tanaka sensei instructs bunkai

For quite some time now the World Karate Federation (WKF) has in its male and female team kata competition a format where first the solo performance of the kata is shown and then some of the bunkai applications of that kata as derived by the indivdual team performing the kata are applied and showcased.

Thereby scoring points for the solo performance and then scoring points for the bunkai applications to give an overall score of the performance.

Even though some traditional karateka think the bunkai portion is a waste of time and just a mere show, I like it and think it's a good thing to have both at your club and in competition as a starting point or gateway to Bunkai.

Is this format a show? well yes it is.

Has it got theatrics? well yes it has, maybe even a touch of hollywood about it.

Is it designed to please judges and spectators? I think so.

BUT MOST IMPORTANT,

Does it get the student thinking about kata?

Yes it does in my opinion.

Never the less as a STARTING POINT in the BREAK DOWN of KATA BUNKAI I think its quite good.

To all the karateka who are against this type of competition what I want to ask you is do you do bunkai at your club?, and have you ever thought more about your kata past the solo peformance for grading? and also where do you start from when it comes to bunkai?

At the very least this will get the student thinking about kata on a deeper level than just an indivdual (solo) performance that has to be learned and performed for the next belt or grading,

Commiting the solo performance of kata movements to memory without kata applications in mind doesn't really achieve much more than an aerobic work out.

Also at these competitions the crowds would generally be non martial artists family and friends, so if you were to showcase oyo (applications) for the real world just how exciting would it be for them?.

It certainely wouldn't have the clarity of the these bunkai movements and in general would be very scrappy in appearance compared to this type of performance, maybe making it a little boring as a spectator sport.

So in my opinion this kata format which is one way of exploring kata, is good for competition and to showcase kata to the general public, as long as it is explored even further for self defence applications in the real world I dont see anything wrong with it.

In my opinion i think in the first instance (starting point) of introducing the break down of the kata bunkai to the student it is a great tool to use, then as the students progresses to a deeper understanding of the movements the student can transcend into his own bunkai interpretations and oyo.

This way at the start or begining of exploring and learning bunkai, the student will see alot of the techniques as what they may initially appear to be within the solo form with some small deviations.

If you go straight into effective applications (oyo) and bypass the bunkai stage this could confuse the student, who might start to ask, well how did you get from here to there?.

This type of kata study-format beats learning and memorising the solo performance of a kata for grading without any second thought to the knowledge of kata applications, hands down.

As long as the kata performances in this type of format don't get so exagerated that the movements no longer have any relationship to the original movements of the kata i think its great.

In my opinion its agreat tool to be used in introducing bunkai to the student not so much the theatrics and show, but rather the application of technique and the underlying principles .

This way when the student grades to the next level, he not only has to perform the kata in the solo version but has to show applied techniques from the kata against different types of attacks with a partner.

For example right from the start of one's karate training, a 9th kyu going for 8th kyu and studying heian shodan, with alittle guidance from the instructor.

The student should be able to demonstrate the applied movements of the kata heian shodan in partner drills, this would be prefered to having the kata commited to memory as nothing more than a solo dance routine.

This can only be beneficial to any student of karate-do.

Some competition examples below.

Team Bunkai ANAN - Female Japan National Team

Italian Men's Team Kata_Gankaku + Bunkai @ 2007 WKF worldchampionships

French Men's Team Kata_Gojushiho Sho + Bunkai WKF 2006 Finals

Japan Women's Team Kata_Annan + Bunkai WKF World Karate Championships 2006

Brazilian Ju-jitsu (BJJ)

2010-01-17T20:15:00.000-08:00

Marc Zee is the chief instructor at Gracie Barra Phoenix.

Mark Zee's website here, http://www.zeebjj.net/home.html

Below Mark Zee takes us through some of the fundamental techniques of Brazilian ju-jistu.

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : introduction to Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Techniques

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Triangle Choke Jujitsu Technique

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Kimura Shoulder Lock Jujitsu Technique

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Scissor Sweep Jujitsu Technique

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Hip Toss to Arm Bar Jujitsu Technique

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Guillotine Choke Jujitsu Technique

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Arm Triangle Jujitsu Technique

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Knee Bar Jujitsu Technique

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Arm Bar Jujitsu Technique

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Arm Bar Take Down Jujitsu Technique

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Under Arm Hook Take Down Jujitsu Technique

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Achilles Lock Jujitsu Technique

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Bear Hug Escape Jujitsu Technique

Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu Moves : Rear Naked Choke Jujitsu Technique

Muay Thai boxing (MT)

2010-01-17T20:10:00.000-08:00

Five time World Muay Thai champion & MMA fighter Rob Mccullough

More information about Rob Mccullough here,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_McCullough

Buy Rob Mccullough Muay Thai instructional dvd's here

http://tapout.dyns.net/buy-rob-mccullough-muay-thai-dvd.htm

Below Rob Mccullough presents the fundamental basics of Muay Thai boxing,

Rob Mccullough - MMA and Muay Thai Head Kicking

Rob Mccullough - Focus Mitt Training for Muay Thai Punches

Rob Mccullough - Muay Thai Knee Striking Principles

Rob Mccullough - MMA and Muay Thai Elbows

Rob Mccullough - Thrusting Muay Thai Knee Strikes

Rob Mccullough - Muay Thai Punch and Leg Kick Combinations

Rob Mccullough - Using Muay Thai Clinch for Knees

Rob Mccullough - Lead Leg Push Kick

Rob Mccullough - Uppercut Punch for Muay Thai and MMA

Rob Mccullough - Punch and Elbow Combinations

Rob Mccullough - Basic Rear Leg Push Kick (Teep)

Rob Mccullough - Front Knee Strike Training

Rob Mccullough - Thai Clinch Fighting Positioning

Rob Mccullough - Fundamentals of Leg Kicks and Movement

Rob Mccullough - Lead Leg Kicking to Body and Legs