(Approx 2 minute read)

When I started karate in the 1970s I was in awe of the Japanese instructors that were around at the time in the UK.
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They exuded power, focus and precision that I could only dream of attaining.
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But there came a time during the beginning of the 1980s that I started to question what I was doing. I really enjoyed the competition and the sparring, so even though I had some questions, it didn’t affect my training too much at the time.
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However, as time went on and I started to compete less, my thoughts turned towards the ‘yakusoku kumite’, the ‘renzoku kumite’, and the bunkai applications being taught and practiced.
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Those niggling questions of “why are we doing these practices?”, “what purpose does it serve?”, “it’s not very realistic”, kept going over in my mind.
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Both yakusoku and renzoku kumite, or any other similar method, are fun to practice, but at the very least, their predictability limits realism.
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There are countless videos and books showcasing experienced and ‘talented’ instructors (or masters if you prefer) demonstrating techniques with power and precision – often facing a traditional ‘Oi-zuki’ attack.
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But what purpose does this serve?
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These practices lack any connection to real-world scenarios, where attacks like this are very unlikely. For practical self-defense, training must include unpredictability. The type of attack more likely from someone untrained in the martial arts, and eventually a degree of resistance that mirrors those real-world scenarios.
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I receive many comments about ‘timing and distance’ as reasons these practices are performed. But what timing, what distance? Some argue it’s to practice attack and defense in a controlled way, but these methods are unlikely in a real scenario, especially with karate-ka vs. karate-ka techniques.
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No one in a real scenario is going to attack you from six feet away performing an ‘Oi-zuki’ or any other similar karate technique.
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So, what are these traditional karate instructors trying to show us? Is it just demonstration, performance art? It certainly isn’t self-defense.
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But to the casual bystander, someone who hasn’t practiced karate and maybe wants to learn to protect themselves, they don’t know any different.
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When they sign up for classes hoping to learn to protect themselves, only to be faced with techniques and practices that will fail them when they need it most, then what?
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Today, we know better than I did when I first started karate. Back then, I had little choice, and information wasn’t so readily available. I don’t regret any of it, although, it would have been helpful to know.
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But why do we continue these practices today? Is it just for traditions sake? If they are simply demonstrations, or designed for competition, this must be acknowledged.
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If you claim that your karate teaches self-defense, you owe it to your students – and your potential students – to provide training that prepares them for some kind of reality, or at the very least, let them know otherwise.
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Written by Adam Carter