head movement in Karate

[Groinstrike]

From my personal experience, i find that a certain amount of bobbing/weaving and other head movement combined with feints and other movements is effective. As long as you are not putting yourself into bad body position.

I have been hit far more from trying to bob/weave incorrectly by either getting to much weight on one foot or bending to much at the waist.

I think the important part is learning how to use head movement properly.

[todome]

If you're going to box, box.

Don't adapt karate to a different set of rules and keep calling it karate. Transfer what you've learned about generating power into your technique, absolutely. In fact if you look at the greats in the sport you'll see how effectively they put their body behind everything they do and likely see it better than average boxers themselves.

But don't a call it karate.

[kansascityshuffle]

If you're going to box, box.

Don't adapt karate to a different set of rules and keep calling it karate. Transfer what you've learned about generating power into your technique, absolutely. In fact if you look at the greats in the sport you'll see how effectively they put their body behind everything they do and likely see it better than average boxers themselves.

But don't a call it karate.

Karate has evolved with the times, and keeps evolving. Techniques change over time. If you keep practicing techniques the way they have been practiced for the past 50 years or however long, why? Those techniques changed quite a bit before, why should they stop changing?

I'll call it karate, if karate is my base and I incorporate boxing techniques into it. If you want to say otherwise, my style (Kyokushinkai) has many open tournaments that you can enter to show your superiority of just using karate techniques only. This is no challenge, just a simple fact that the "proof is in the pudding."

Many Japanese karateka have, and still do crosstrain in boxing. It's just over here in the Westernized countries that we get silly ideas never to let your obi touch the ground, never wash your obi, never use techniques outside of karate even if they're very effective....

[Groinstrike]

I think we as westeners have an obsession with categorizing things. why can't a certain technique be practiced in Karate, or Muay Thai, Or Escrima. Martial arts are Martial arts. IMHO

[Liver Punch]

If you're going to box, box.

Don't adapt karate to a different set of rules and keep calling it karate. Transfer what you've learned about generating power into your technique, absolutely. In fact if you look at the greats in the sport you'll see how effectively they put their body behind everything they do and likely see it better than average boxers themselves.

But don't a call it karate.

I agree with you 110%...from an artistic standpoint. Molesting and molding an art form dilutes it and its history.

I think, however, that many of us put (neither rightly nor wrongly) the emphasis on the martial portion of martial arts. From a martial standpoint, if one karate practitioner gets beat by another because he uses outside techniques...well - he won't be around to call "foolsies" on whether or not "karate" was used.

[bushido_man96]

If you're going to box, box.

Don't adapt karate to a different set of rules and keep calling it karate. Transfer what you've learned about generating power into your technique, absolutely. In fact if you look at the greats in the sport you'll see how effectively they put their body behind everything they do and likely see it better than average boxers themselves.

But don't a call it karate.

Karate has evolved with the times, and keeps evolving. Techniques change over time. If you keep practicing techniques the way they have been practiced for the past 50 years or however long, why? Those techniques changed quite a bit before, why should they stop changing?

I'll call it karate, if karate is my base and I incorporate boxing techniques into it. If you want to say otherwise, my style (Kyokushinkai) has many open tournaments that you can enter to show your superiority of just using karate techniques only. This is no challenge, just a simple fact that the "proof is in the pudding."

Many Japanese karateka have, and still do crosstrain in boxing. It's just over here in the Westernized countries that we get silly ideas never to let your obi touch the ground, never wash your obi, never use techniques outside of karate even if they're very effective....

I agree with kcshuffle here. Just because Karateka does some bobbing and weaving doesn't mean he isn't still a Karateka. Its like saying the same thing if a Karateka uses a jab.

[todome]

I agree with kcshuffle here. Just because Karateka does some bobbing and weaving doesn't mean he isn't still a Karateka. Its like saying the same thing if a Karateka uses a jab.

My point is that squared of with an old master gloves off no rules winner takes all I honestly don't think a bunch of bobbing and weaving is going to do you a hell of a lot of good. He'll be out to punch you once and go home and probably will. Poking him a few times would just help him get his bearings.

That's what I think karate is about, anyways. I didn't pick this screen name because its easy to spell.

[bushido_man96]

I agree with kcshuffle here. Just because Karateka does some bobbing and weaving doesn't mean he isn't still a Karateka. Its like saying the same thing if a Karateka uses a jab.

My point is that squared of with an old master gloves off no rules winner takes all I honestly don't think a bunch of bobbing and weaving is going to do you a hell of a lot of good. He'll be out to punch you once and go home and probably will. Poking him a few times would just help him get his bearings.

"Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth."

[tallgeese]

Just my opinion, I doubt it ever worked that well.

The best you're hoping for in any combat in this kind of arena is some sort of mutual wounding. Any sort of evasive tactic would have value. Thus, avoiding the one punch, heavily damaging blow from the un-gloved opponent. You probably saw a lot more unorthodox evasion than you'd expect when the stakes were that high.

[todome]

"Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth."

You're not saying there's no such thing as todome, are you?