Karate is definitely one of the most popular self defense techniques. We've seen it in all kinds of movies, like those by Jet Li or Jackie Chan. This article will look at the origins of karate, the different techniques that you can learn in this discipline, and whether this way of how to fight will work in a real world conflict.
How Karate Started
As some people know, this martial art was taught in Japan. It originally came from the Ryukyu Islands which were later captured by Japan. It began to be taught after 1926 and people throughout the country of Japan learned this self defense technique. During World War II, Okinawa was an important military base for the United States, and also a martial arts hot spot. The US military soldiers enjoyed learning the martial art, movies were created, and the Western World started to glorify it. We, as Americans, tend to call most kinds of martial arts karate, although technically it refers to very specific forms and techniques.
Karate Forms
There are many ways to learn this self defense. You can think of it as an art form, a sport, or a way to fight. The philosophy behind karate is to become a less selfish person with a clear mind. You can learn fundamental moves (called Kihon), structured forms that are almost like dances (kata) or learn direct contact and fighting with other people (kumite). The fighting can be choreographed or free fighting with points arranged and the winner having the most points. Grappling or grabbing an opponent is generally not allowed and the focus is on striking or hitting.
As you learn more and more about this skill, you will get belts in ascending order. Generally these start with a white belt and progress all the way to a black belt. Getting a new belt usually requires you to memorize more actions or skills and proving you know them with a test.
Can Karate Keep You Safe On The Streets?
Overall, I think this is good. I was in training myself for a while. I can definitely say that I became more flexible and strong because of what we did. I also liked the philosophy of helping my life be in more harmony. But was I ready to take on a bad guy and know how to incapacitate him? Not really.
Some of the main issues I see with applying the training to real life are:
1. You rarely have follow up strikes. Usually you're taught to hit and then move away. This works in competition, but if you do that in real life, the bad guy will just keep chasing you.
2. Not much emphasis on using your whole body. Generally you'll be striking with your feet in one position. In fact, if you move, you'll probably run into someone next to you in line. This really bugs me because often these places are teaching young kids. So, imagine the 13-year-old in the picture above kicking you in the stomach. Probably hurts, but you're ok. Now, imagine her running from across the room and kneeing you in the groin. Now you're on the ground. Sadly, kids usually aren't taught how to use their body weight to destroy vulnerable targets.
3. Minimal teaching about physiologic weak points. During my classes, I learned a few places where I could target my punches and kicks. The groin and solar plexus were two common ones. But, I didn't learn what the person would do when hit there or how to take advantage of those to keep the person from attacking me more. For example, I didn't learn that hitting someone with my forearm and all my weight on the side of the neck could easily cause a knock out.
So, all of these things lead me, personally, to the conclusion that I wouldn't trust this training to keep me safe if someone was trying to really hurt or kill me. I like the philosophy of karate, but I think that it often gives people a false sense of security. You just don't learn to finish people to where they can't hurt you anymore.
In my mind, a real self defense or how to fight program should provide these tools quickly and without a lot of memorization. I also want my kids to learn something that they can really do to stop someone trying to hurt or kidnap them. Can they knock them out with a spinning roundhouse kick? Highly doubtful. Can they claw at eyes, knee and kick a groin, smash an eardrum, punch a throat and scream? Yes they can.
How Karate Started
As some people know, this martial art was taught in Japan. It originally came from the Ryukyu Islands which were later captured by Japan. It began to be taught after 1926 and people throughout the country of Japan learned this self defense technique. During World War II, Okinawa was an important military base for the United States, and also a martial arts hot spot. The US military soldiers enjoyed learning the martial art, movies were created, and the Western World started to glorify it. We, as Americans, tend to call most kinds of martial arts karate, although technically it refers to very specific forms and techniques.
Karate Forms
There are many ways to learn this self defense. You can think of it as an art form, a sport, or a way to fight. The philosophy behind karate is to become a less selfish person with a clear mind. You can learn fundamental moves (called Kihon), structured forms that are almost like dances (kata) or learn direct contact and fighting with other people (kumite). The fighting can be choreographed or free fighting with points arranged and the winner having the most points. Grappling or grabbing an opponent is generally not allowed and the focus is on striking or hitting.
As you learn more and more about this skill, you will get belts in ascending order. Generally these start with a white belt and progress all the way to a black belt. Getting a new belt usually requires you to memorize more actions or skills and proving you know them with a test.
Can Karate Keep You Safe On The Streets?
Overall, I think this is good. I was in training myself for a while. I can definitely say that I became more flexible and strong because of what we did. I also liked the philosophy of helping my life be in more harmony. But was I ready to take on a bad guy and know how to incapacitate him? Not really.
Some of the main issues I see with applying the training to real life are:
1. You rarely have follow up strikes. Usually you're taught to hit and then move away. This works in competition, but if you do that in real life, the bad guy will just keep chasing you.
2. Not much emphasis on using your whole body. Generally you'll be striking with your feet in one position. In fact, if you move, you'll probably run into someone next to you in line. This really bugs me because often these places are teaching young kids. So, imagine the 13-year-old in the picture above kicking you in the stomach. Probably hurts, but you're ok. Now, imagine her running from across the room and kneeing you in the groin. Now you're on the ground. Sadly, kids usually aren't taught how to use their body weight to destroy vulnerable targets.
3. Minimal teaching about physiologic weak points. During my classes, I learned a few places where I could target my punches and kicks. The groin and solar plexus were two common ones. But, I didn't learn what the person would do when hit there or how to take advantage of those to keep the person from attacking me more. For example, I didn't learn that hitting someone with my forearm and all my weight on the side of the neck could easily cause a knock out.
So, all of these things lead me, personally, to the conclusion that I wouldn't trust this training to keep me safe if someone was trying to really hurt or kill me. I like the philosophy of karate, but I think that it often gives people a false sense of security. You just don't learn to finish people to where they can't hurt you anymore.
In my mind, a real self defense or how to fight program should provide these tools quickly and without a lot of memorization. I also want my kids to learn something that they can really do to stop someone trying to hurt or kidnap them. Can they knock them out with a spinning roundhouse kick? Highly doubtful. Can they claw at eyes, knee and kick a groin, smash an eardrum, punch a throat and scream? Yes they can.
About the Author:
Want to learn more about real life self defense? Visit my site all about How To Fight For Real. And, to get this full article, visit here.
No comments:
Post a Comment