shotokanwarrior Posted April 11, 2003 Posted April 11, 2003 Karate for selfdefense is great. Karate for fighting depends on the individuals abiltiies. there is a differance between them, fighting is when both people are ready, self defense is when one person is the aggresser and is not ready for the groin smash. Where Art ends, nature begins.
TJS Posted April 11, 2003 Posted April 11, 2003 Karate for selfdefense is great. Karate for fighting depends on the individuals abiltiies. there is a differance between them, fighting is when both people are ready, self defense is when one person is the aggresser and is not ready for the groin smash. so if someone starts yelling and comes at you punching then it's diffrent if they do that inside a ring? There is a diffrence between self defense and fighting but once you make the initaal defense you are proabably going ot be in a fight unless they decide to give up.
karate_woman Posted April 11, 2003 Posted April 11, 2003 OK, I'll bite. The issue of why I take karate was enough to get me to join the karateforums club. Yes, there is no doubt that karate, like wrestling, boxing, etc. is a martial art. I don't believe you have to want to be a "fighter" per se in order to be a martial artist or karateka, however. While I must say that I immensely enjoy the aspects of martial arts that are related to fighting and practical application, namely, sparring, grappling, and bunkai, I also enjoy kata and basics. I think that the self defense aspects of martial arts are important, and shouldn't be overlooked, but I don't think that people necessarily need to focus heavily on fighting other opponents; practicing the self defense with a partner works nicely too, though there should be a spontaneous aspect as well for it to work best. My Sensei (also a woman) once told our class that some people, women in particular, take a while before they are able to definitely say they would defend themselves. I was astounded to learn that she was a blue belt before she made that conscious decision. Of course, I'd practiced Judo before I practiced karate, so I'd long since made that decision, and I don't even remember making it (I was 12 when I started judo, starting karate only after I was too old (15) for the only judo class in town). She also told us that she's found in general that the longer people study the martial arts the less likely they are to ever have to use it to defend themselves. This is for a number of reasons, a few being: how martial artists carry themselves, how they generally recognize and avoid dangerous situations, and how most martial arts teachers don't teach people they feel will use the information to harm others. It has proven true for me. But I digress. I study karate not to fight (though competition is fun!) , but because I ENJOY it, pure and simple. For various reasons I have stopped training several times in the 18 years since I was introduced to the martial arts and I have NEVER stopped feeling in my heart of hearts that I am a martial artist, whether I'm training at the time or not. After a time away I miss it terribly and always find a way to return. As for the issue of whether or not you should train if you don't dedicate yourself completely to the study of your martial art, I have an opinion there too. At one point I felt that if I wasn't training a minimum of 3 times a week it wasn't worth it to train, but that kind of attitude was not helpful because there were periods of time in my life I absolutely couldn't train that often for whatever reason. In hind sight, it would have been better for me to train whenever possible than to stop training completely for a while. Sure, my skills decrease when I train less, but they don't decrease as much if at least SOME training is done. I will not dismiss the spiritual, personal development side of it either. It isn't a line, or a holier than thou thing. Whether you choose to believe me or not, martial arts - karate in particular - have helped me in every other aspect of my life, because of the mental and physical discipline involved and the sense of confidence in myself. I won't pretend that karate is the only way to achieve that particular feeling, but for me it was a good fit The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. -Lao-Tse
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