Touch of Death

[hobbitbob]

Actually, I disagree. Knowlegde of "killing blows" is an essential part of Karate practice, if only as a last resort. The fallacy that Karate is only "self improvement" or "sport" is one reason that so few karateka actually exhibit any sort of skill. Karate is first and formost a method of delivering crippling and killing injuries to an opponent. To pretend it is otherwise is to fail to respect the art. This is one reason I have real problems with teaching Karate to children. Would you give a five year old a loaded pistol?

 

Those who fail to take into account the very real danger inherent in Karate techniqes are only practicing half-heartedly.

 

All the same, along with the knowledge of how to harm comes the responsibility to use that knowledge wisely. This means being polite to others, helping those less fortunate than you,and all of the other things that come under the heading of "self improvement." Few things have made me more aware of teh preciousness of life than the knowledge of how easy it is to take that life away! For those who doubt the fragility of life, I reccomend a stint volunteering at your local emergency department!

[Shorin Ryuu]

I couldn't agree with hobbitbob more. While there is no doubt that many karate master throughout the years have definately promoted the mental and spiritual merits of martial arts, the true focus is fighting, and in those days, killing. Most certainly, they also did not kill unless they had to. If some drunkard picked a fight with them, then they obviously didn't kill them outright. Most of the emphasis of the martial arts, especially karate, to improve the self and all of that (not that I disagree with it) came about in the early 1900s with the advent of its introduction to the Japanese school curriculum. Especially now in the United States at least, parents want their children to learn discipline and respect, and thus it is more attractive for ads to read "Kids will learn respect and discipline" rather than "teach your young kid how to kill people in self-defense!". I could go on and on, but the point remains.

 

As my signature used to say fully (but I discovered it was too long )

 

"In the old days we trained at karate as a martial art, but now they train at karate as a gymnastic sport. I think we must avoid treating karate as a sport - it must be a martial art at all times! Your fingers and the tips of your toes must be like arrows, your arms must be like iron.

 

You have to think that if you kick, you try to kick the enemy dead. If you punch, you must thrust to kill. If you strike, then you strike to kill the enemy. This is the spirit you need in order to progress in your training."

 

- Chibana Chosin -

 

Also, I understand Funakoshi's quote "Karate ni sente nashi" or, there is no first strike in karate, but also remember Nagamine's words, "it enables a person to meet any situation with exactly the right expenditure of effort, neither too much nor too little, and it gives him control of his otherwise wayward mind so that neither physical danger from without nor rampant passion from within can dislodge him" and that it stems from "the fundamental human instinct of self-preservation"

 

Well, sorry for the long post, but you guys get my point...

[theswarm]

I once heard a story off a friend of mine that did Kung Fu about a guy who did alot of acupressure/acupuncture etc etc and knew that at different times of the day there were different points along the chest where you could hit and cause a blood clot going to the heart. I'm not sure if this is true or not.

 

Sounded interesting tho

[hobbitbob]

I once heard a story off a friend of mine that did Kung Fu about a guy who did alot of acupressure/acupuncture etc etc and knew that at different times of the day there were different points along the chest where you could hit and cause a blood clot going to the heart. I'm not sure if this is true or not.

 

Sounded interesting tho

Are you not at least slightly suspicious about points that must be hit "at three thirty p.m. on a cloudy thursday while facing north and wearing a charteuse sweater?"

 

[Ghost]

Martial arts are designed to kill, self defence is not necessarily.

 

If you take martial arts for self defence thats fine but dont pretend that its not meant to be able to kill.

 

Most MA are derived from the battle field at some point so keep it real.

[Shorin Ryuu]

I'm not sure how much I buy into the Chinese 12 hour theory that states that blood flow is greatest in certain parts of the body during certain times. I'm just saying that pressure points DO work rather effectively, and what is important is Where you hit, How, and in What Combination.

[Rich]

Ive just been 'playing' with some of the theories and bits derived from Chinese thought.

 

We all know pressure points exist- although how easy they are to access is debatable in a real live situation.

 

We all know correct body dynamics can make techniques appear 'magical'.

 

Apart from that the rest is b***s. Because of my conclusions and experiments I searched for anyone else who had done some, and found that a Sussex Shotokan group had done some 'as near to scientific experiments as you're going to get'.

 

The results were all based on expectation of the practitioners and students. As a keen amateur psychologist I was testing expectancy response in a much smaller, less rigourous way. I hadn't taken my own expectancy into account initially which proved interesting.

 

Rich

[theswarm]

I once heard a story off a friend of mine that did Kung Fu about a guy who did alot of acupressure/acupuncture etc etc and knew that at different times of the day there were different points along the chest where you could hit and cause a blood clot going to the heart. I'm not sure if this is true or not.

 

Sounded interesting tho

Are you not at least slightly suspicious about points that must be hit "at three thirty p.m. on a cloudy thursday while facing north and wearing a charteuse sweater?"

 

hahahahahahahaha