Does every martial art teach respect and discipline? . Something that most people do not realize is that the discipline and respect that comes from martial arts, does not come from the style they train in, but the teacher they have. . In martial arts, students will develop those virtues because their teacher is good…
Tag: Fighting
Train hard, yes; ….. but train right.
Self-defense is defined as the right to prevent suffering force or violence through the use of a sufficient level of counteracting force or violence. This definition is simple enough on face value, but it raises many questions when applied to actual situations. . For instance, what is a sufficient level of force or violence when…
Karate IS effective!
Okay… I will get the rant out of the way first… Why, are there so many stupid people commenting about the martial arts, and karate in general? . Let me explain. . There are endless comments…. no drivel, about karate can’t do this, and karate can’t do that. Throws in karate are taken from Judo,…
“Karate has many stances; it also has none”.
“Karate has many stances; it also has none”. – Genwa Nakasone (1895-1978) . In the dojo there is so much time spent perfecting a static stance, almost to the nth degree. But a common complaint about karate, and its kata, is that the stances are impractical, that one would never use such stances in a…
“Kata is Karate.”
“Kata is Karate.” – Naonobu Ahagon 10th Dan Okinawa Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo, holder of the Okinawa Prefecture Cultural Merit Award. . Kata is a library of self-protection techniques in karate. Each kata creator encoded their specific knowledge into each movement of the kata they made. Kata are not simply a record of techniques; rather…
Are the martial arts all about fighting?
Are the martial arts all about fighting? Some people seem to think so. (Even on social media it seems.) . The traditional martial arts originated to satisfy a need for self-preservation during difficult times…… “[Karate] is not intended to be used against a single opponent [consensual] but instead as a way of avoiding injury by…
“Real karate is for self-defense and kata bunkai is the main tool for this.”
“In karate, the most important thing is kata. Into the kata of karate are woven every manner of attack and defense technique. Therefore, kata must be practiced properly, with a good understanding of their bunkai meaning. There may be those who neglect the practice of kata, thinking that it is sufficient to just practice [pre-arranged]…
“No fight [is] perfect that is not done in force and true time.”
“My police work influenced my drive to seek practical application practices and not be content with simplistic explanations that might not survive the rigor of an actual confrontation.” (End quote) – Taira Masaji 9th dan Goju Ryu . A technique might work very well against somebody who is your friend in the dojo, using only…
The technique doesn’t work when your partner is resisting!
The technique doesn’t work when your partner is resisting! . A lot of martial arts techniques and applications, in my humble opinion, don’t work against a non-compliant opponent, especially so when applied in the ways that the vast majority of people try to apply it. . Most martial artists, traditional and modern, are in…
Are you being taught self defense, or just how to fight?
There is a proverb about horseshoeing, which goes; “For want of a nail, a shoe was lost; For want of a shoe, a horse was lost: For want of a horse, a rider was lost: For want of a rider, a battle was lost; For the failure of battle the kingdom was lost; — And…
Why is unrealistic “Bunkai” being taught?
Why is unrealistic “Bunkai” being taught? . The answer is simple: Because the vast majority of karate is taught by instructors who don’t know what realistic bunkai is. And that’s because their instructors were never taught it. And their instructors’ instructors were never taught it. . The original creators of each kata had their own…
You ARE going to get cut!
You ARE going to get cut! . If you think that knife attacks look anything like those typically seen in martial arts classes—you can be dead (sic) wrong. . Real attacks, by people who are familiar with a knife’s properties and true potential, are a blur of short, non-committed stabs and cuts that are practically…