(Approx 1 minute 40 second read)

Those of us who have been around in the martial arts for a while remember a time when there was no equipment. We never wore gloves, helmets, or protective gear of any kind when we fought. We had no pads to hit – we hit each other.
.
We didn’t wear gear, but we understood control. We pulled our punches but not like todays “tap and scream”; it meant full contact to the body and a lighter touch to the face – just enough to make an impact without drawing blood.
.
In the dojo, we drove punches deep into the body, while the face was met with a ‘push’ rather than a full blown punch trying not to cause unnecessary damage. But every so often, whether during grading or a club challenge, things escalated. Sometimes, nothing was pulled.
.
My first black-belt grading was one of those times. It was held in a large sports center hall, with about 50 club members and their families watching. I was the only one grading that night as I was not expecting to grade – I was told I was.
.
After all the basics, drills, kata, and bunkai, it was time for sparring – or more accurately, fighting.
.
There were no rounds. No time limits. No stopping. I was told to keep going until I was told to stop.
.
At one point, I was ordered not to fight back – only to defend, move, and absorb. Several opponents surrounded me, just constantly attacking me. There were no water breaks, no chance to recover – just relentless pressure. By the end, I felt like I was going to die. I successfully passed, but boy did I hurt.
.
Training back then was very different, we had no equipment. We folded our karate-gi jackets and used them as striking pads. We did push-ups on the concrete floor to toughen our hands and wrists, punching anything solid – not to toughen our knuckles, but to refine our control, ensuring our fists closed on impact. The floors were unforgiving – lacquered concrete, no mats. We ran bare footed and our feet were tore apart with burst blisters.
.
Injuries were a normal part of training. Getting hit in the head and walking away dazed was just another Tuesday night. Bruises, black and blue, dislocated fingers and toes, broken ribs, damaged joints – these weren’t rare occurrences. They were just an unfortunate part of the training at the time.
.
Could you imagine the lawsuits today if this kind of training were common in the dojo?
.
I’m not saying it was perfect. There were far too many injuries, and some of them have left lasting damage. But something about those days felt real. Raw and honest.
.
I miss those days. Do you?
.
.
Inspired by Steve Rowe.
.
.
Photo Credit: The late Ken Wittstock Shihan fighting Yoshiharu Osaka in the 1973 JKA World Championship.