Hello. I am a 1st Dan in Shotokan Karate, 2nd gup in Tang Soo Do, and 5th gup in Taekwondo. I also have 1 year of boxing experience and a few months of BJJ experience. I moved cities half a year ago, at which point I switched to Kyokushin. I felt that Shotokan's learning curve was way too difficult and that it would take too long to make me a "good" fighter with it. Though it is good at training distance control and timing, I think that its bladed stance, high center of gravity, lack of rotational punches in competition, point sparring focus, and poor conditioning are all counterintuitive. To be blunt, unless we're talking about top-level WKF and JKA athletes, I think Shotokan is strategically ineffective.
Most importantly, however, I do not like the presence of protective gear. It feels weird, it keeps coming off, its expensive, and it takes too long to put on. This is why I love Kyokushin, as it is bareknuckle. The problem with Kyokushin, however, is that, despite the lack of face punches, there is a high potential for injury, and it lies entirely in its kicks. Concussions, broken ribs, and bruised thighs are all common in Kyokushin competition, and even dojo sparring sometimes leaves people limping the next day. Another thing to keep in mind is that Kyokushin does often require protective gear for less experienced students, slightly detracting from its realism. Though I love Kyokushin and will continue practicing it as my main style, I will most likely never teach it, with the main reason being the injury risk to my students and the financial burden of protective gear, which I have always hated. Another reason, however, is that Kyokushin is not exactly "easy" to teach, and transmitting it requires both a good instructor and an eager, intelligent set of students to truly reap its benefits.
What many people do not know is that Kyokushin, despite being full-contact, does not always mean full-intensity in the dojo, due to the injury risk. I have read much about arts such as wrestling and BJJ, and its fighters are said to be formidable due to the simple fact that they can go 100% on a regular basis with very low injury risk. By the time a wrestler or BJJ practitioner has had a few competitions, they have more actual fighting mileage than most striking practitioners, in terms of full-intensity fighting.
At some point, I might want to teach Karate to people. But I do not want to teach Shotokan as it is difficult and ineffective. I also do not want to teach Kyokushin as it is injurious. I do not want any gear to be involved, I want it to be full contact, and I want it to be safe. I want to teach a far more simple version of what I have learned across all martial arts, while still retaining the effectiveness of full-contact fighting.
I hereby propose something wild: a style of Karate where the sparring is bareknuckle, full contact, and full-intensity...but with only body punches. No kicks, knees, throws, or anything else. Just all-out bareknuckle boxing to the body and that's it. Here is my rationale for this:
-Bareknuckle fighting to the body will achieve the same level of abdominal conditioning and psychological fortitude that Kyokushin fighting will, but with a much lower injury risk. In fact, a black belt in this proposed style would hypothetically have superb conditioning of the midsection and most likely very powerful punches.
-Due to the fact that one can only punch to the body, they are able to fight with full-intensity on a regular basis without much injury, getting a lot of actual fighting mileage in the process.
-Protective gear is not required at all, given the fact that kicks and face punches are completely absent. Developing abdominal resistance against punches is also a quick process and is highly unlikely to result in injury.
-It is extremely easy to teach. Just tell people "punch each other but only to the body" and most people will get it. Even a caveman could understand this concept.
-It is extremely easy to learn. The only necessary technical knowledge is proper punching form, abdominal contraction, and basic footwork.
-Proper fighting techniques such as kicks, face punches, slipping, etc can still be separately taught outside of sparring in a more controlled manner, so as to actually teach students more practical methods and teach them good fighting habits.
-If a student wishes to transition to a proper fighting art, they will have a very stable physical and psychological base for being a fighter. In fact, they can easily cross-train this style of fighting with any other art and still benefit from it.
-The traditional side of Karate still has a place in the form of kata, especially Sanchin, whose fundamentals translate well to the throwing and reception of punches.
-This doesn't even have to be a style of Karate; this type of fighting can easily be worked into any martial or fighting art without interfering with its curriculum. You can instantly integrate "Chudan Seiken Kumite" (I haven't thought of a good name yet) into any McDojo in the world and turn it into a somewhat respectable martial arts venue.
Would a style of Karate like this be effective? Would it be feasible to teach? I would love any insight.
