dantankun

I wonder, in grading, testing or promotion is it done only between specific karate styles? or can different styles grade and test other styles and if so what are the creteria?

IMO at one point especially during the 50s and 60s the word karate became a household word and term anyone who trains in martial art is synonimous = karate. So if kempo say kempo the public does not know what it is and think it is fake so they add karate. This is prevelant especially for MA that are marketing it self commercially. But for private MA schools they don't use karate they use their own terms. Many kung fu clubs don't use the word karate but the public always have an impression it is karate it would take the owners and practitioners of kung fu to educate the curious public that it is kung fu not karate. On the other hand karate if written down in Chinese characters has an identical meaning in Japanese it is "kang chio to" (empty hand way ) It is only when the word "re pen" ( Japan ) is added that it becomes Japanese. It is like Brazilian Ju Jit Su.

Most people or students are impress with high kicks and their impression on karate is high kicks too. In fact, students are less impress with siensi who can not perform high kicks and are more impress with those who can. Even in martial arts tournaments I notice that judges tend to give better scores for those who execute high kicks and fail to understand those who execute powerful, balance and focus punching and hand movements. This go back to viewing the forms of karate, wing chun, ngo cho, hung gar and white crane from sam chien to the highest forms mostly no high kicks their highest kick goes to rib cage area. I guess, for students who feel they are not flexible enough to perform or execute high kicks should not worry or be envious of those who can remember karate means empty hands or the empty hand way.

IMO, san chin is about developing concentration, focus, breathing control but most of all exercising the internal organs through deep breathing and muscle tension. Just like a circulating water pump, the pump generate pressure in order to get the flow of water going the stronger the pressure the faster the water and the better chance of pushing out any blockages in the piping system. The pipe is like our arteries, the pump is our heart, and to help improve circulation is the deep breathing for added pressure to improve circulation and remove body toxins.

There are different ways to theorise it here are some: 1. Southerners in China including Okinawans tend to be shorter people average height of men were between 5’5 to 5’8 mostly 5’5 compare to Northerners who tend to be between 5’8 -6 feet plus. That is why Southern and Okinawa martial arts involve less high kicks. 2. When karate was develop it was base on actual field fighting, fighting against bandits, invaders it was more about battle field fighting. That is why high kicks makes no sense in a battlefield. 3. It is easier and quicker to develop the hands then to develop high kicks for fighting since humans uses their hands more naturally in fighting than using high kicks. Look at wing chun, their concept is no high kicks?

I guess each style will go by their original founders. High kicks have become part of almost all striking martial arts in training and sparring but not in their forms, I notice that forms have at least remain the same.

Thanks for the link. Yes. ngo cho kun as five ancestors fist. If I or someone like me would train 100% purely traditional karate or in my case ngo cho it won't have any high kicks. It would be something like a combination of a boxer, with a little bit of judo and ju jit su and uniquely low kicks. That is why in our forms including karate forms kicks are mostly front kicks and side kicks not above chest level.

IMO I think high kicks were never originally part of karate including other southern Chinese kung fu such as wing chun, ngo cho kun or white crane. Kicks for those styles were mostly for attacking lower body from the rib cage area down. The principle and practicality seem to be base on " the closest distant between two angle is a straight line" the hands is closest to the upper body while the feet are closest to the lower body. The role of the feet would probably be: 1. to keep the entire body balance by being firmly rooted to the ground 2. use for tripping and sweeping, attacking low 3. kicks to the stomach or below stomach such as groin area with front kicks 3. round house kicks were mostly targetting the rib cage, thigh and knee area same with side kicks 4. in step kicks to the knees 5. keeping your opponent or attackers off balance 6. Knees are use also to attack the lower body While the feet is attacking the lower body the hands are simulteneously creating a diversion or attacking the upper body such as the head, throat and chest ( sternum area ). Most of this southern styles including karate have concentrated a lot in strengthening the forearm and shin. The forearm not only is it use for blocking but is also use also for injuring an attacking arm or leg while blocking. One of the main natural instinct of a person train or untrain is the natural ability to use their arms to protect themsleves or attack others. That is why great emphasis is put on developing the arms. Base on the traditional forms that I notice in karate, ngo cho, white crane, hung gar, choy li fut or wing chun there is hardly any high kicks? Unlike in northern styles including Korean martial arts they have forms that consist of high kicks. I guess in some degree it is logically because in street fights especially in group fights I notice it has always been the use of the fist, low kicks, stand up ju jit su, the feet are always on the ground moving or running around. I also notice that in many modern sports free style competition such as in MMA or san shou most fighters tend to avoid the use of high kicks because of the high chance of getting taken down or lossing their balance. I wonder is there any historical writtings about high kicks in karate?? So far I have not been successful in finding any writtings about this. I myself train in ngo cho for many years and I have always wonder about high kicks.

I have been trying to understand if high kicks has always been part of karate? or was it later added after exposure to other martial arts that concentrate on high kicks? I ask because I notice that many old katas that I have seen on videos don't have high kicks. Kicks seem to be concentrated mostly waist down?