Practical karate?

[kensei]

I have seen so many different "practical Karate Styles" come out in the last few decades, each suggesting that the original system was not applicable in modern fighting...but they all come from the original source....and they are all trying to get your money from you,.

The key is that your money goes were it is most important, your training in solid training. Ian is a great instructor and teaches alternative Bunkai, some good, some great, some not so great...but its opening your mind to new ideas.

the key to practical karate is this...take the three K's and do them properly.

Kihon should be done to infuse speed, power and useablility into the techniques. Do some in the air to get the mechanics down, do some with equipement (Geta and weights or bands) to build speed and strength and then use impact equipment (Bags and pads) to find that useable and real feel to impact.

Kata is the text book, but not the only source for use of techniques. But you need to be very clear here, if its not in a Kata it may be omited for a reason...like fancy kicks are not useable in a real fight! Use the Kata to memorize movement patterns and theory on movement as well as tactics. and done enough they are a great work out.

Kumite should start off safe and move to more realistic as skill and comfort start to set in. And pressure is important, if your partner is nto willing to go 110% against you then you need a new partner. Use gear only in the begining when contraol is a question.

Mix all those with some solid understanding that all the Dojo training in the world will not fix issues like being stupid and being in the wrong area at the wrong time....guns kill and no Krav Maga class teaches you being bullet proof! thats what I mean by stupid!

Find good instructors that know that life and self defense are very real and dont teach just sport stuff.

[xo-karate]

Branded tags in MA are the most common misconceptions at times. MMA is an over used term because of it's contextual connection. Karate is a massive umbrella term for many arts and passtimes. Kick Jitsu is a new one on me, it's a mix of freestyle Karate and Jiu Jitsu apparently, sounds quite cool doesn't it?

Sound cool for a karateka who does bjj:-) BUT watching it on youtube... I don't know. Can't do much BJJ with boxing gloves on.

[Harkon72]

I think Kick Jitsu might be a free style sport for those who like to mix it a bit. I have a niggling feeling it could be an ideal vehicle for the less grounded in our midst, to say that it could come with fries.

[infinitehand]

This point may have already been made but since I didn't fee like reading all of them here we go again.

The term practical is a "hot word" that separates "us" from "them". "Traditional" is no longer enough to describe any school that emphasizes the original intent of Karate so you see alot of words like "original" "practical" "functional" etc. I think in many cases this is a marketing gimmick in order to attract custome.. err students that are looking for something outside the daycare mcdojos ever present everywhere. However just selling something as "functional" or "practical" doesn't mean it is so be wary.

p.s. IMHO Mr. Abernethy is a wonderful karateka who is doing great things to bridge the gap of Traditional and "modern" combat oriented systems.

[Harkon72]

I have a high opinion of Sensei Abernethy too, Bunkai and application is the soul of Karatedo, we must never lose the Kata and Kihon of our styles to rolling around on the ground. I am a Traditional Stylist, my Sensei teaches Karate and Kick Boxing separately; I love the pressure point work, Okinawan weapons and the most genuine Self Defense I have experienced. I have no claims on the Authentic Budo of distance lands, but our Association is for Martial Artists not Businessmen.

[Mark B]

Practical karate is a phrase Iain has coined - but as he has said many times if it's karate for the street type altercation you believe you study then if it's not "practical", ie simple, direct application to respond to the HAOPV , then it ultimately is unlikely to be effective.

In my opinion a serious problem with Bunkai enthusiasts is their inability to truly keep it simple. I see many recorded offerings that would appear simple, with 3,4 or 5 elements to a sequence , but under further analysis can be seen to be quite the opposite. The speed of attack and the Uke freezing his attack at the appropriate moment are almost always the case.

Obviously safety is important, however with just a little more resistance most cool looking Bunkai Oyho proves unworkable.

Practical should mean simple, hence the beauty of Naihanchi . Focused study and practice of Naihanchi, its lessons and principles creates an instinctive, intuitive system of close quarter self protection which transcends the popular trend of "Bunkai moves for this or that"

Any of the kata can be viewed this way of course , but the study must be deep to achieve competence.

One of the things I often do when teaching seminars is I invite Uke (not one of my students) to attack and continue his attack, no script. This allows the people attending to see the kata actually working .

The only way I can do that is with practical simplicity

[wildbourgman]

For example the opening steps in Heian Shodan is often a low block and lunging punch, followed by a 180 degree turn into another low block for an attacker approaching from behind.

Abernathy argues that the 180 degree turn is impractical when one can simply pivot in the other direction (counter clock) while remaining in the same place. This would be more practical since it keeps you out of range. Therefore the most practical application isn't a turn to face the attacker from behind, but a neck crank on your current attacker after you punch him.

It depends how you interpret the Kata and at what level, for beginners it's fine to drill a low block to the left, step punch, turn into lower block etc.

At the other end of the scale the first 90 degree turn and lower block could be pulling an attackers left hand down to your left then attacking them against their left side. It can also be a grappling move as you turn you are pushing them down to the left.

The 180 degree turn can be seen as a throw, the hammer fist strike starts off with pulling back your wrist after a grab, can also be clearing a chest grab on the way around, then finally striking down on the head, face etc.

Also think of the turn as just a way of showing that the moves can happen to both sides, left then right.

I'm now learning that any one kata can have multiple bunkai ranging from simple to advanced. I have also learned that the 180 degree turns in many katas are indeed throws. We are taking an approach of teaching the basic bunkai to say Heian Shodan to beginners and then going back as you become more advanced and giving a new bunkai that the karate-ka is now able to digest.

So in Heian Shodan the first block is possibly just that, then the next punch could be a punch, punch/grab, or just a grab and then the next block with the 180 turn could be a hip toss off of the grab. Wow judo in karate, yes!

I think many of us especially with a Shotokan background like myself often don't realize that Okinawan karate has throws, grappling and locks. Okinawan karate was practical, because it had to be. Yes some things are hidden in kata but it was absolutely practical. In the years since Karate left Okinawa it has taken many turns and yes some folks might say that it became impractical, but it was designed that way. So if we modern karate-ka are concerned about the practicality of karate we must find what we lost.

Enjoy the journey!

[jaypo]

For example the opening steps in Heian Shodan is often a low block and lunging punch, followed by a 180 degree turn into another low block for an attacker approaching from behind.

Abernathy argues that the 180 degree turn is impractical when one can simply pivot in the other direction (counter clock) while remaining in the same place. This would be more practical since it keeps you out of range. Therefore the most practical application isn't a turn to face the attacker from behind, but a neck crank on your current attacker after you punch him.

It depends how you interpret the Kata and at what level, for beginners it's fine to drill a low block to the left, step punch, turn into lower block etc.

At the other end of the scale the first 90 degree turn and lower block could be pulling an attackers left hand down to your left then attacking them against their left side. It can also be a grappling move as you turn you are pushing them down to the left.

The 180 degree turn can be seen as a throw, the hammer fist strike starts off with pulling back your wrist after a grab, can also be clearing a chest grab on the way around, then finally striking down on the head, face etc.

Also think of the turn as just a way of showing that the moves can happen to both sides, left then right.

I'm now learning that any one kata can have multiple bunkai ranging from simple to advanced. I have also learned that the 180 degree turns in many katas are indeed throws. We are taking an approach of teaching the basic bunkai to say Heian Shodan to beginners and then going back as you become more advanced and giving a new bunkai that the karate-ka is now able to digest.

So in Heian Shodan the first block is possibly just that, then the next punch could be a punch, punch/grab, or just a grab and then the next block with the 180 turn could be a hip toss off of the grab. Wow judo in karate, yes!

I think many of us especially with a Shotokan background like myself often don't realize that Okinawan karate has throws, grappling and locks. Okinawan karate was practical, because it had to be. Yes some things are hidden in kata but it was absolutely practical. In the years since Karate left Okinawa it has taken many turns and yes some folks might say that it became impractical, but it was designed that way. So if we modern karate-ka are concerned about the practicality of karate we must find what we lost.

Enjoy the journey!

I second that. I learned a neck break in the simplest technique from Naihanchi last night. I also kind of figured out an awesome key lock in Naihanchi Nidan the other day in my head. That's why I urge people to keep training for the long haul. I've been doing Naihanchi for 4 years and I finally figured out one of the hidden techniques from the simplest moves in it.

Heian Shodan, the most basic kata, has a bunch of throws/breaks. Just off the top of my head, I can think of 7 throws, an arm break, and 2 takedowns (without adding a single step, movement, etc). If you add tweaks, you can double that. And when you "make the kata your own", as my Master Instructor says often, you can increase that total exponentially!

[RAM18]

Iain Abernathy's Bunkai;s are very thought provoking to say the least.

I think for a good explanation of his goal is on his you tube videos and clips. They give a good indication of what Practical karate is. Real world application of kata if you like.

Personally i really in enjoy his Kushanku / Kanku dai bunkai. His theory on the opening movement of the of the arms makes the most sense of all the theories i have ever heard.

[sensei8]

Before Iain Abernathy coined the phrase "Practical Karate", I always believed that Karate was already practical from an effective standpoint. The major 4 styles of Karate, imho, have been highly practical as long as I can remember, and I believe that Shindokan, while it's not one of the 4 majors, is equally practical....Long before Iain coined the phrase.

In Shindokan, we're not lead to believe the taught Bunkai of any kata as its only possibility, but to experience the techniques found in said Kata. A punch can be a punch, and so on and so forth, and that's why we put a lot of emphasis in the Oyo aspect of Bunkai.