What Was Once Vital...

[Spartacus Maximus]

This is difficult to answer with any certainty. Some techniques have never been allowed for kumite and some have fallen out of use. One of the possible reasons is that there are very few people who spend the time training their hands to make certain strikes usable. Especially ones like spear hand or one knuckle strikes.

Another reason is that, barring some exceptions, most kumite is done with gloves or other equipment that prohibit or make it difficult to properly shape the hand correctly and securely. Finally, the set of rules is probably the biggest factor in determining what will be favoured in competition.

What is allowed and trained in one dojo will probably be forbidden in another and illegal depending on the venue. Even the hardcore full contact kumite such as kyokushin has limiting rules and favours some techniques over others.

[Wado Heretic]

True enough, I just go with the first championships to mark the date when it was definitively disallowed because they were recorded, where as any other date setting some what relies on anecdotal evidence and does not provide a solid marker in time. Though, arguably I have heard hand strikes to the head were banned by the time they transitioned from Oyama Dojo to Kyokushin so 57 could also be used as a date.

It is an annoying stereotype, and one I have only noticed as being true of incredibly competition focused schools. In general, I have never noticed a lack of head-defence in more rounded schools. Plus, considering a lot of sport karate set ups did not allow strikes to the head for a long time, due to limitations in protective gear, it is a rather unusual critique to pick up on.

Anyway, to get back to the original topic. I think it is also important to also consider cultural differences, and how times have changed. Most traditional martial arts evolved from the pragmatic systems of self-defence and battlefield combatives of warrior castes. If we take Karate as an example, it was developed by the Pechin class, who under the class system of Japan were given similar power over the lives of any lesser class. Were one of them to cripple, blind, or kill a peasant in self-defence no one would bat an eyelid. This can be seen in the life-styles and stories of certain karate-ka of Pechin class descent. Motobu was basically a thug in his youth, and even a story in his later life essentially has him injuring a butcher in a manner that could have left said butcher paralysed. Yet deference to his stature as a descendant of Royalty protected him against reparations.

However, a modern individual has no such protection against the law, even acting in self-defence, with the notion of suitable use of force. Simply put, many of the pragmatic techniques of traditional systems would only defend you for the initial confrontation, but could put you away if deemed excessive. Thus, even in self-defence driven systems it makes more sense to study ways of gaining control, and provisioning methods of escape, rather than taking the quick route of teaching people to cripple others.

So aside from the rules of competition, the culture we find ourselves itself determines how we teach self-defence.

[bushido_man96]

I think its a few things. To really pop a good ridge hand strike, you need an angle on the opponent, either a cut to the side, or a nice side-step, some form of tai sabaki to get into position for it. Sure, you can throw it from the front, face to face if you want, but its kind of a big, looping move that would be easier to block or avoid.

Now, with the advent of gloves in many sparring environments, I think it loses a bit of its efficacy.

But, the front kick was gone for a long time, too, but it has seen a resurgence.

[JR 137]

I think its a few things. To really pop a good ridge hand strike, you need an angle on the opponent, either a cut to the side, or a nice side-step, some form of tai sabaki to get into position for it. Sure, you can throw it from the front, face to face if you want, but its kind of a big, looping move that would be easier to block or avoid.

Now, with the advent of gloves in many sparring environments, I think it loses a bit of its efficacy.

But, the front kick was gone for a long time, too, but it has seen a resurgence.

When I first started at my current dojo, 3 guys thanked me for throwing so many front kicks. They all said no one has thrown them in a long time and they're glad to have to defend against them again. It's always been a staple for me - quick and powerful to the stomach, and if it gets blocked, it opens up the head and/or chest.

The other two kicks I don't see much of are the inside-out crescent kick and the hook kick. I make the crescent kick look like a front kick, watch the hands drop, then swing it around at the side of their head. I guess if you don't use the front kick much, your crescent kick isn't the same.

I use the hook kick more as a kick to bait them into stepping in. I throw the hook kick, which they tend to get out of the way of. They think they've got a clear shot at my back/ribs, and I throw a modified back kick (kind of like half a back kick, half side kick) at their stomach when they're coming in. I caught every single person several times with that one. One by one, they all started to stay back after they got out of the way of the hook kick.

I feel like I have to change it up again because people expect that one now, but part of me says keep using it because it'll work in a real situation where the person doesn't know me. Maybe just add another technique after the side/back kick.

I also throw an overhand punch to the sternum or collarbone, depending on the situation. People bring their hands up to defend their face, and it slips right under their guard. Saw that one thrown a lot in Kyokushin tournaments so I decided to give it a try. Huge success rate at this point. No one's thrown it back at me yet.

[sensei8]

Great posts, all!! Thank you, please keep them coming!!

Btw, the ridge hand was just an example that I've seen happen over time, and I don't know why it is what it is nowadays. If the ridge hand is taught properly, angles mean nothing and can be thrown. I know, I STILL throw the ridge hand, and I throw it quite a lot, and at different angles.

This topic isn't meant to concentrate on the ridge hand strike, but for any technique that YOU'VE not seen quite often in your MA school and/or in the tournament scenes.

For example, I've NEVER seen a Shotokan Ox Jaw block executed EVER outside a Shotokan dojo. Even in the dojo, I've NEVER EVER seen this block executed during Kumite training. It seems to be reserved for Kihon drills, and Kihon drills only!!