Stranger Danger: why Karate training is essential in today’s society

                So, my wife is a gamer.  By that I mean she plays a good amount of video games.  It helps her relax and its her “Special place” that she goes to so she can decompress. We live a fairly stressed out life and often we need ways to decompress and destress to counter these stresses. Our last year or so has been very stress filled and she often takes the brunt of it and has taken the brunt of it, so I don’t blame her for seeking a good place to go to and relax her mind a bit. Lately its been her “Switch” system, of which I know very little about other than how to put a game into the machine and the fact that my wife loves this weird looking little hand held computer.

                But I digress, when she asked me if she could get the system I did not hesitate, I told her for sure she could and we went and got her the system….the cost of which caught me as a bit high, but I would pay anything for her to decompress and relax so who cares. Then she needed games…and that is were this blog story actually starts!

                So, Maggie gets her switch and has not games, which to me is silly and does not help her in anyways decompress…so we went and looked at games and she researched the games for the afternoon and off to the store I went a few days later! And the store we picked to send me to was in a local mall, one I have been to probably (and more than likely) THOUSANDS of times in my adult life and probably more in my childhood. It’s a fairly safe mall, in my extended neighborhood and one in which I normally feel rather safe going to. I went to the store and met up with the sales rep my wife had spoken to on the phone, and purchased four video games (Admitting fully that one is a sniper game for me…of which I have managed to play for about 20 minutes and have zero hope of ever seeing again). And after paying nearly $200 for games I left the store with the games in a bag, wrapped up on my hand.

                And this is were it gets interesting!

                Normally I am very observant of my surroundings and I normally scan for danger, but this day for some reason I can not remember I just sort of phased out and walked to my car, which was parked rather close to the mall door. I walked through the food court and walked towards the movie theatre as I approached the mall exit doors and did not notice anything weird at all! I just sort of walked the length of a baseball diamond with out thinking much!

                Now as I approached the doors near the theatre to exit my spiddy senses began to go off and I noticed a taller young man, “Aboriginal in appearance” and about six foot and a bit tall, skinny with a grey or dark jacket on and running shoes with dark pants. I tend to see things in details like that….he was sort of behind me but to the side and he closed in on the door really fast and opened it for me saying something like “here you go” but it was very mumbled.  What happened next went so fast I can only say that it felt like it occurred instantly but also in slow motion! It still is like I watched it through a TV screen instead of living it, but I was their and remember everything I did.

                As I crossed into the “mid door” area between the inner doors and outside doors I immediately noted that their was a young lady, about the same height as the young man who was immediately behind me now, outside the doors and she had placed her back against the doors with her feet extended out to push hard on the doors. She was doing it very naturally not looking like she was holding the door shut for any illegal or violent reasons, she kind of looked like she was joking around. The door in front of me now was held shut and the door behind me was blocked by the young man, if nothing else had happened I would have laughed it off and thought it two friends goofing around with each other and me caught in the middle.

                However, the next thing I knew the young man had reached out and put his hand on my shoulder near my neck. What happened next probably took a second or two but time slowed way down for me. I looked back over my shoulder at the young man who grabbed my shoulder and part of me was looking for recognition like I would know who this person was, the other part of me knew what was happening and the fact that he was staring at the bag in my hand confirmed he wanted to rob me.

                Now I could lie and say I one inch punched him through the doors, or that I kicked him in the face with a Chuck Norris style crescent kick or something, but I did not! What I did do however was to threaten his life! The millisecond that I realized he was trying to rob me my brain sort of shut off, I was thinking about my daughter and my wife and how this kid was possibly going to harm me, or try and how I would not see my daughter again, then….as I automatically do….I got mad! Like beyond mad, I got HULK SMASH mad and I pivoted my body so I was facing him, I stepped back a tiny bit with my right foot and then moved at him with the full front of my body, puffed up like a small cat being barked at by a big dog, I made myself bigger instinctively but kept my body about half front so my “Soft” targets were protected.

                I stepped towards the aggressor and said, “I WILL END YOU”!  He looked very confused and shifted back a half step but kept his hand on my shoulder. I looked at him and he probably could see how livid I was and he hesitated….I had him!  He was now the victim and I was the aggressor. I then uttered the words “I AM GOING TO F*&^ING KILL YOU NOW….SAY GOOD BYE” ( I must admit that I clearly remember swearing and threatening him…but it may have been far more vulgar than has been presented here….my mom reads this blog and I don’t want her to be embarrassed), in a low growl so as to make my point but also not be over heard threatening him……. and he pivoted as I lifted my right hand up to swat his hand away from me.  Seriously I was going to bite his nose, I was going to rip him to shreds and I was going to make him cry!  However, he showed me that youth….can run like hell! He took off and ran back into the mall about three stores in the space of time it took me to take my next step!

            At that point I could feel my blood boiling, I wanted to lash out and I wanted blood…so, I turned in what seemed like a very slow motion, but was probably very quick…and saw that the girl….was still leaning on the door!  I booted that door as hard as I could and fully expected it to come off the hinges and fly, glass spraying all over the ground….that did not happen…but the door did fly open sending the young girl flying and sprawling out on the ground face down. She hopped up and with out saying a thing she ran into the mall through an adjacent door and let me walk out the now wide open door.

            I half saw them meet up in front of the theatre as I approached the curb to step off and then I saw them both rush out of the far end of the doors and run down the parking lot isle to my left as time began to normalize for me again. Clearly the female was very upset with the young man for letting me kick the door open and her not get the goods that I had. What they did not know was how close I was actually parked because they booked it down the isle and farther than I was parked by about six to eight cars.

            I found my way to my now unlocked car and sat in the car, managed to start it and lock the doors, backing up as they approached the car from the passenger’s side…and I drove home! They missed their chance to jump me and I was completely calm the whole time, livid….but calm. It was not till I was actually about half way home that I got a bit nervous and my stomach began to churn a bit as the adrenaline wore off.

            Now everyone is telling me after to call the police, to report it…but honestly two things ran through my head…what if I totally misread that (I did not) and they were not trying to rob me (they were)….could I get in trouble for suggesting to a young man who happens to be from a different demographic that I may choose to end his life and possibly may have suggested I may stuff his sexual organs into his mouth after killing him…..(Again, mom I am so sorry for the language I used)?  Or should I feel comfort in the fact that I was successful in thwarting the theft?  How does it serve us in our current atmosphere to just call the cops after the fact and tell them how bad this half hobbit of a man is? I am by no means bragging, if I were I would have to omit how I almost threw up in the car post adrenaline rush or how I did not really do any damage to the kid…and trust me I wanted to!

            My sister tells me that I should to make sure that the police can mark this as a “hot spot” for them to know that this kind of thing happens here….in reality….in my city…it happens everywhere as of late.  We have had a rash of store thefts and muggings that have occurred, and the police and politicians seem helpless or worthless (politicians that is) in doing anything about it.

            I think what saved me was first my training and second my pre set mentality or primal and ingrained nasty side. Growing up I had a bad tempter but thankfully I was three feet tall till I was in high school so I was like a Tasmanian devil that was declawed, all bark and only annoying bark. But I still reset to that default when under fire by aggressors. It’s a “Rip their face off” mentality that often saves me, but also gets me in trouble. I try and keep it under wraps, but in situations like this…it comes in somewhat handy.

            When the young man grabbed me I did not panic at all, I knew the odds of this old man vs a teen/young adult were affected by his youth and strength, but my thoughts immediately went to ripping his throat out or sticking a finger in his eye (personal favorite by the way). I was only sort of cognizant that my brain was saying “Don’t actually kill him, you could go to jail” as the primal nature of my anger grew I was sort of looking forwards to gouging an eye or biting off a finger. I wanted to hurt this kid for attacking me, choosing me to rob. Bad move…Cuz my primal being…is a wee bit nuts!

            My Karate training helped me a great deal, I got big, but in a way that protected my target areas. I immediately sized up this kid and saw weak points I could expose and use to down him. I was not scared if he hit me, I was “motivate” to counter as hard as I could and rip things apart as I went. If I did not have my Karate training I may still be nuts and aggressive, but I would be unguided and sloppy. When you know more and have trained more than your attackers you start to level the playing field. You feel more confident, which will have them stop and think about their attack, giving you time to adjust and defend yourself.  And it helps you see the situation unfold before it happens.  This time it worked out for me, but I would do a lot differently going forwards.

            First off, I would put the games in my pocket so I have two hands to fight with, secondly, I would not have booted the door open, I would have followed the young man back into the mall and flagged down security or called the cops and held him for them. I would have also gone back into a more populated area after, not to my car.  But all in all, it worked out for me.  But this will be a story for me to tell, not part of my self-defense teaching.

            Regardless, the point is that my training helped me stay “Calm” and work to turn the situation around. The confidence I had from being hit and hitting things and learning about violence and being calm in a horrible situation paid off. Now I am not saying that it will 100% of the time, I am only suggesting it evened out the playing field a little and as long as the justice system returns these idiots to the streets and doe not punish them, leading to them being emboldened a bit more, the training I am doing and the training I have done should continue to pay off. That is the nature of Budo Karate. You are mentally and physically ready for that real life situation.

Ippon Kumite, the king of Goshin Kumite training!

Everyone puts so much emphasis on Jiyu Kumite (Free sparring) and the more senior you get the less you seem to do Kihon centric training like Ippon Kumite (one step sparring).  First off I want to express that my use of Goshin Kumite means that it is training for Self Defense. Meaning not sport or Shiai kumite in which points are judged based on technical use. The use of Shiai Karate tends to limit the use of some Waza so that you can garner points. I also prefer using Goshin over Jissen (real combat) as the label seems to be more accepted and less confusing.

All that aside training for Goshin situations tends to fall to the wayside when students reach around brown belt, they want the flash and flair that free style or sport style Kumite brings, they forget that Karate is first and foremost a self-protection tool and the majority of your training should be based on training for defense.

As a matter of practice to many black belts put to much emphasis on the long, movement based kumite practices like free style and other long drills and one who can perform well in a tournament is seen as being exceptional.  However, the true nature of Karate is in being able to defend yourself. Being smart enough or educated in how to avoid trouble and having the ability to end a fight or attack quickly is the true beauty and the true standard by which one should be judged in a real martial art based training program.

Put simply ippon kumite is a descriptor of what the attacker is doing. They are attacking with one single attack and taking “one step” towards the defender. This does not mean that the defender is restricted from making multiple steps however, but to be realistic the defense must be instant and then have an immediate counter attack. The act of engaging in the Ippon Kumite dynamic creates as realistic a situation as is possible with out hurting each other.

Ippon kumite should include counter attacks from different angles, so shifting around is super important, and don’t limit your counters to block/reverse punch style counters. Try and be creative to a degree, but maintain being realistic so you are not throwing 30 techniques down range and hoping that you don’t look silly!  You will look silly if you do that….just a fact! However, you should include things like switch steps, shifting, pivoting, rotations and different kinds of blocking, different kinds of counters and focus on ending a fight/assault with a single counter!  The idea being that you may have to drop a guy and end a fight before being able to move onto defend yourself against a new attacker.

Using different and often under used defensive counters like Kumade and Washinken uchi (Bear paw attack and chicken head attacks) will help create a more reactive and reflexive style of kumite and train you in use of more dynamic and different forms of hand techniques. Use sweeps, hook kicks, crescent kicks and any kind of under used movements from Kata or that you can successfully use! Use of different movements and techniques will help foster a larger tool kit or arsenal that you can now use for defensive fighting that may catch your attacker off guard.

At the lower level of training you should be sticking to basic basic basic training, block and counter getting out of the way using rotation to be 45 degrees off line from the attack, but the higher you go in training the more you should play with your defense and your training should be focused on development of your Waza to be creative and reactive to the attacks, but what about the attacks…are the basic stepping punch and kicks good enough for training….at the lower levels they are!  But the higher up you go the different and more dynamic the stimuli must be, and by different and dynamic I mean more realistic.

HAPV or Habitual acts of violence are also very important to look into when learning or training in defensive tactics.  Was cataloged by Patrick McCarthy to represent what he saw as the most common attacks from an unarmed person.  The set of 36 attacks represents more common attacks that people will see when they are being accosted and its something that you can use in your training to work with defensive tactics. Some will be very common and seen in the class a great deal and some will be totally new and challenge you to make your training more dynamic and investigate reactions to different attacks. 

To start with the implementation of HAPV training into your curriculum you will want to start off with using basic Ippon Kumite and then add in different attacks, some I do not say you should use like #8 (biting),9(testicle squeeze) and 7(Head butt and spitting). However, you can use the rest of the HAPV with seniors and really build up a solid defensive arsenal and reflexive creativity. One of the more important aspects of this kind of training, as an instructor, is that you only introduce the attacks and one idea to counter or maybe a theme for countering like getting out of the way on an angle, but the student is then responsible to create the counter attacks themselves and be as creative as possible.

Give each student one or two attacks then a single counter idea, a theory to work with and then have them create as many reactive or reflexive counters as they can in ten minutes.  The only rules are they must be creative, different and realistic! By keeping it realistic I am very specific with the students, no flying moves, nothing they would not do or be able to do on the street and even if the student attacking is going half speed, they are only doing one move. If they pause…they failed that defense, if they block and pause, they failed that defense. Often failure is followed by push ups or something equally as unwanted by the student.

Start off doing this slowly and then move to being a lot faster. Let the student (or yourself) get comfortable with the idea of being creative and knowing the attack, then speed up but maintain the single attack method with the attacker doing the techniques faster and faster but still complying with the defense. As an advanced format you can then also have non-compliant attackers who will resist your defense. This is now moving towards realistic defensive training.

Knowing the body and how it works will help any student know if a particular counter is effective or not. I can not say how important ending a fight as quickly and effectively as possible is in defense of yourself. This means not only knowing the body but also training by hitting things so you know how it feels, how effective your strikes are against an attacker with out really hitting the person. I also don’t approve of foaming up and whacking each other because it gives you a false sense of what its like to hit someone, and you avoid being hurt when and if you hit a bony elbow or forehead. So, you should be studying the softer targets of the body and hitting harder things (Like a makiwara or heavy bag) to train yourself to know what impact of a strike is like.

People also ask me why not just jump to Jiyu Ippon kumite (Semi free) to create even more reality in the training. This is not a bad idea but moving around in a fighting position is not real. I have never seen any successful defense on the street start from a fighting stance. The most successful ones start from a normal stance and the counters are such that the attacker does not see them coming. The beauty of starting in a ready position is that the attacker does not know you know how to defend yourself.

So this presents you with a good way to look at training with ippon kumite and it’s a great way to start looking at defensive training. Practice a great deal and be real and be creative.

HABITUAL ACTS OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE series

1.       Swinging punches

2.       Straight punches

3.       Downward strikes

4.       Upward strikes

5.       Swinging kicks

6.       Straight kicks & knee strikes

7.       Head-butt/spitting

8.       Biting

9.       Testicle squeeze

10.    Augmented foot/leg trips

11.    Single/double-hand hair pull from the front/rear

12.    Single/double-hand choke from the front/rear

13.    Front neck choke from rear

14.    Classical head-lock

15.    Front, bent-over, augmented choke (neck-hold)

16.    Half/full-nelson

17.    Rear over-arm bearhug (& side variation)

18.    Rear under-arm bearhug (& side variation)

19.    Front over-arm bearhug (& side variation)

20.    Front under-arm bearhug (& side variation)

21.    Front/rear tackle

22.    One-handed wrist grab (same & opposite sides-normal/reversed)

23.    Two-handed wrist grabs (normal/reversed)

24.    Both wrists seized from the front/rear

25.    Both arms seized from the front/rear

26.    Single/double shoulder grab from front/rear

27.    Arm-lock (behind the back)

28.    Front arm-bar (triceps tendon fulcrum up supported by wrist)

29.    Side arm-bar (triceps tendon fulcrum down supported by wrist)

30.    Single/double lapel grab

31.    Single/double-hand shove

32.    Garment pulled over the head

33.    Seized & impact

34.    Single/double leg/ankle grab from the front (side/rear)

35.    Ground straddle

36.    Attacked (kicked/struck) while down

Seme: Origins of Sen! Strategy and theory of attacking.

Seme is defined as “An attack, offense, assault or Siege”. This is a Kendo term actually that describes he pressure of an attacker puts on their sparring partner prior to an attack. There are two kinds of Seme; visible and invisible or Physical and mental/Outer and inner. Visible/physical, outer pressure is easy to see when you watch a match; its when one person pushes forwards and moves closer, oblique movants that keep the partner moving back or circling in a direction they do not want to move in. Normally this is the whole body moving, good foot work and pressure with the shinai against the now defending partner.  

                Invisible or inner pressure is much harder to see. This pressure can be as simple as pushing harder on the shinai of your partner by minor amounts, but its felt by the partner. Invisible Seme is the most powerful of the pressures, the whole body and intent or mental intent must be communicated to the partner. Invisible Seme or Kurai-sume is the ultimate aim of the Kenshi (Kendo practitioner) because it will unstableness the partner mentally. It makes them reactive and not active in the form of attacking. Metsuke, or gazing into the opponent causes a destabilization of the partners intent, it can cause a mental state of panic or cause them to lose control of their own intent. It can also help you sense any change in intent in Kumite.

                In Karate we use Sen-no-sen, Go-no-sen and Sen-sen-no-sen (may use other term for last one). However in Kendo they use terms like Ken-no-sen, Tai-no-sen and Tai-tai-no-sen to describe the moment of attacking or initiation of the attack/counter attack. These terms were used by the great swordsman Miyomato Musashi and described well by him. Ken-no-sen was the act of attacking just before the opponent, Tai-no-sen was the act of counter attacking after the first strike by the opponent and Tai-tai-no-sen was the act of attacking at the same time as the opponent launches its first attack.

                These theories or descriptions of strategy have been around for many years and use different terms to describe the strategies. Takao Sasaburo, a famous Kendoka, explained these terms using Mittsu-no-sen (Sen-sen-no-sen), in which he stated that the act of striking before the opponent attacks must use Seme to be successful. This is done before the opponent can mentally commit to or generate a strategy or intent to attack. This is essential in creating the correct timing.

                Seme can be used in Go-no-sen or Sengo-no-sen as well. Seme is the art of perception, to counterattack you must first move out of the way of the initial attack, but in such a way as to put you in perfect position to counter the initial attack. And in Sen-sen-no-sen or Senzo-no-sen you need to feel the initial attack coming and initiate a “early counter” attack to stop the opponent as he begins to move. All of these uses Seme or the feeling of pressure in the attack.

                Kendo also brings us other related strategies, such as San-Satsu-no-ho or San-Sappo. These are the three methods of “killing” or dispatching. Ken-o-Korosu is the art of destroying an opponents Hei-jo-shin or normal mind by destroying the “tools” of the attacker, in kendo’s case it is moving, off balancing, or striking the sword, in Karate this is the art of striking a limb. Any number of offensive movements against a limb can fall into this category including striking the leg or arm, sweeping the front foot, jamming the from leg, pushing or “throwing” the arms/hand, slapping the hands. Anything to put the concentration of the opponent into that limb and away from attacking. The idea is to move the weapon out of the center line, put the opponents mind on that limb/weapon and then attack quickly. This is using Seme to create a form of Mental Kazushi (off balancing) and disrupt Hei-Jo-Shin.

                Ken-o-Korosu is sort of the Sen-no-sen of the attacking, its an initial attack that causes the opponent to become mentally and physically off balance.  Waza-no-Korosu is the next level of using Seme or pressure to create an opening or attack. Waza-no-Korosu is to attack the opponent’s techniques. Often called Sen-no-ki or attacking the opponent before hey can attack you. This puts the opponent on the defense, so they cannot generate an attack of their own. This is Sen-sen-no-sen. Essentially it is a blitz style attack that pushes the partner to be defensive and stop them from formulating a counter or initial attack. Often referred to as Suriage-men in Kendo. Essentially its attacking someone with repeated Waza (techniques) to halt or limit their ability to attack you.

                The next level of skill in attacking is Ki-no-Korosu, or killing the opponents spirit/mental balance by forceful Seme that causes unrest in the opponent. This can be done many ways, but pressure and shock are the two essential things you need to keep or introduce to create Ki-no-Korosu. This is were Metsuke comes in! First you have to observe the opponent and use your eyes and mental and physical pressure to off center them, then you have to use movement skill and physical expression (facial and posture) to unnerve the attacker. Also, you can use sounds like clapping, Kiai (spirit shout) and even laughter to unsettle them. Change your timing, rhythm, drop levels, stand up straight, move your arms from one guard position to another, move closer or farther away, oblique step to off set them, essentially move them out of their comfort zone.  All of these create a kind of mental pressure that will “break” the opponent if done correctly. Also moving erratically and unexpectedly will cause a form of mental Kazushi as well.  This stops them from making accurate decisions.

                Regardless of your use of offense, be it Sen-no-Sen or Go-no-Sen you must use Sute-mi when attacking. Sute-mi is “to have no care for your own life” or to throw your grasp of life away when attacking so you have no fear. It’s the total commitment to the attack or strategy that will make it effective or not.

                In conclusion, Seme is more of a feel, attitude or posture that you use to create pressure to use proper strategy like Sen-no-sen. It’s the mental and physical attuited you use to draw this all together. You can not use strategy like Sen-no-sen or Waza-no Korosu with out using proper Seme, if you try it wont work. Seme is the mental state and physical state you use to make these strategies work. 

Why be sad about Karate being in the Olympics?

The push for “Karate” to be in the Olympics started in the 1970’s with Jacques Delcourt working on building a format and political structure to house this ambition. It is often pointed at as the first attempts to get Karate int o the Olympics, however I argue that “Karate” has been in the Olympics already, and for a much longer time. And I have proof.

First off I have to discuss the Karate that is going into the Olympics is not “traditional” or “Style based” Karate, it’s an amalgamation of several styles. The Kumite is a stylised system that is very different than the Shobu Ippon system that most Karate systems use. The Katas are all merged too, and until recently the system was limited to several Kata, now the door is wide open. This is the WKF or World Karate Federations system of Karate. Nothing wrong with it, its just not traditional Karate, it’s a game. Both can exist equally and I am not blasting WKF or “modern” Karate, I just am not a proponent of it. Now back to the Olympics.

A year or so far back the WKF and the Olympic committee announced that the Olympics would be using the WKF style at the 2020 Olympics and the world of Modern Karate blew up with excitement. However shortly after the world found out it was a one and done. I have spoken with a lot of friends who do WKF style Karate and they are very upset about this turn, some were so upset that they said it was a slap in the face, but they are missing two main points….first off the WOC (World Olympic committee) never ever said it was going to be a permanent position, they said from the start that it would a trial or demonstration event! Secondly, we have sort of had “Karate” in the Olympics for YEARS and its not coming out….keep up with me here please.

Around 1945 several schools or “Kwans” opened up in Seoul. These schools were established by Martial artists who trained in a specific Japanese Martial art. That Martial Art….Shotokan Karate. The founders were men like General Choi Hong Hi and others who he trained with in Japan. The idea was to create a more “Korean” version of Karate that could be presented as a national martial art. Out of these Kwans came different styles of the original system. They added more head level kicking, jumping and spinning kicks and sped up a great deal of the techniques by removing focus from the training.

The original system was established and a organization called the Korean Taekwondo Association or KTA was formed by 1959. These merged and changed into different organizations. The ITF or International TKD Federation, led by Choi Hong Hi and the World TKD Federation. The systems were set up to create a sport over martial art, it was a focused system that build its business plan around creating a strong sport-oriented system for the students. The traditional aspects were bleached out and replaced with more flash, the sporting rules were introduced and safety gear created to make sparring safer and more exciting. Hand movements, blocking and most art strikes were removed from the system completely. This created a much more dynamic and exciting game of tag that used the legs 80% of the time. Again, not knocking it! If you watch a good Tae Kwon Do match it will get your heart pounding and you will enjoy the explosiveness in training.

In 2000 after a short period of pushing the Olympic Tae Kwon Do committee formed and the sport was introduced to the Olympics. So, why did they get in so fast, and how did they manage to stay in……they organized and they are ONE system! In 1945 the Korean government got involved in the organization of TKD, they ensured that even with sub systems, off shoot organizations…they are all one style essentially. They created a back story about how “Traditional Korean” arts merged with Shotokan……but the truth is its 90% Karate and 10% innovation. In 1952 President Syngman Rhee watched Choi Hong Hi and Nam Tae Hi do a demonstration, both were with the military. He was told that the system being presented was Taekyon, a traditional system of Korean Karate. The president then pushed for the art to be introduced to the Korean military as a defence system. In 1955 the leaders of the schools began to create a unified Korean martial art. The name Tae Kwon Do was used to describe the unified system. When the military picked up the system the public became more interested and the key here is that it was a UNIFIED system.

Tae Kwon do, essentially a altered system of Karate was created to be a national system of fighting for the military forces and when they realized that the system could be made bigger and create a national system the Korean government and Korean public jumped onboard. The competition and system changes made this Korean off shoot of Karate was made to be much more sport oriented over the traditional roots in Karate. The changed to be more about scoring points than one kill shot like Traditional Karate. The points included; one point for a kick to the Hogo, two for a turning kick, three for a back kick and four for a spinning kick to the head.  Punching to the body earns you a single point and kicking often two or more. Olympic TKD will give you 5 full points for a clean kick to the head. Complex rules for sure, but very focused on kicking to garner points. They split the divisions into weight and gender as well.

It was not always unified however. In the early formation of the Kwans the systems that were taught at each of the clubs were slightly different from each other. Some had a Judo influence; others had a stricter Karate influence. Systems like Moo Duk Kwan and Tang Soo Do were formed and formulated their own systems. Some of the clubs were also influenced by the Chinese martial arts as well. However, the government pressured the main clubs to “merge” and this unification is what made Korean Karate a solid and promotable art. In 1988 the Olympics were held in Seoul south Korea. The government pushed hard for Tae Kwon Do to be in the Summer Olympics. The Olympics saw a unified system of Martial arts and not the same issues that Karate had. In 1992 Tae Kwon Do became a demonstration art in the summer Olympics in Barcelona Spain. The unified rules and system meant that the Olympics could draw from almost all countries to bring in Athletes. The success drove TKD into becoming a permanent event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney Australia.

                So, if the Olympics can accept TKD why cant they accept Karate? Well two major reasons. First off…and most importantly …….that’s all on Karate, not the Olympics!  In the drive for acceptance Karate actually created a system so similar to TKD that the arts are basically presented as the same by anyone that does not know the systems. Basically, Karate is being presented as a Kumite based art……like TKD……...with Kata…. Kata is not as exciting to non-martial arts enthusiasts. So, the system, by being more modern and a game of Tag, like TKD, is exactly the issue. The system and style of Kumite takes so much from TKD that it’s the same thing.

                The other issue comes from the Styles as well. TKD has essentially one style with several organizations that all train and participate with the same rules. Karate however has many different systems or styles, that have different rules and different forms. The problem with creating a generic system to “bring the systems together” is you end up removing what makes the systems unique from Tae Kwon Do. The very thing that makes Karate unique are now bleached out of the training. Now we have a model for training that mimics TKD. Why in the world would the IOC want to have two TKD’s?

                So to recap, the international push to put Karate into the Olympics was met with a effort to create a generic system of Karate so Goju, Wado, Shotokan, Shotkai, Isshin ryu and all the others could participate on equal footing. They changed the traditional Shobu Ippon system to a more sport-oriented system and pushed the “ideals” of one punch one kill out of the participation component and mimicked TKD to the point…that its essentially the same thing for Kumite. Tae Kwon Do also realized that their forms were not of interest to the general public so they did not include them, we however insisted upon it.

                So, again why would we expect the IOC to want both Karate and TKD in the Olympics other than our own Ego and thinking we are so different that we would be kept despite being basically the same thing. As proof of this I offer that some of the international level competitors on national WKF teams are actually TKD black belts and not Karate black belts.

                So, what is the Answer?  Well for me the answer is to let it go, we need to move beyond this and figure out why sport Karate is so much more important to some than traditional Karate. And the Traditional Karate people should focus on marketing traditional Karate. We need to get away from Olympic Karate. We need to push our focus away from the TKD mimicking Karate system and build upon our traditional factors. Our focus needs to be on the benefits of Traditional practice and we also need to push our own system of Shobu Ippon Karate over sport minded WKF Karate to draw a line and be more distinct.  We need to get back to our traditional systems, styles and focus on what makes us all different, not try and build up a generic system that makes us all the same.

                We don’t have to worry about getting or keeping Karate in the Olympics because in essence we already have a style of Karate in the Olympics, its Korean Karate and it’s a system created from us, Tae Kwon Do is a form of Karate, even if it doesn’t want to acknowledge it and we basically don’t as well. So, don’t be sad, while “Karate” Is leaving the Olympics’ we still have our step child as a sport in the summer games each year.

Enhance your Karate training with the new and improved….or older and traditional….way of Karate

Everywhere I turn these days I am inundated by “new Ideas” or “old ways” of training that you need to be doing or you should be teaching. I have had people come to me about learning the “old ways” or reminding me that Karate changes and we need to keep up. Some are subtle like “hey did you see the way that this instructor is modifying the art to be more effective” or “this instructor teaches exactly the way that Funakoshi intended and taught”. Its hard as a student to understand the difference between innovation and traditional training and which is better!

The way I see it is that Karate is a lot like the phenomenon of Diets in north America! Every month you get the newest, best and most scientific way of eating that will change the way people live and exist. In Karate however its much more dramatic and often violent!  You hear of an instructor how made changes to the traditionally used curriculum and talking to his supporters its life altering and if you don’t follow suite then your Karate is somehow inferior to the “new Karate”.  As far as Diets go, when I started noticing that they were even a thing in the 90’s I saw the “HIGH CARB/LOW FAT” diet that swore that athletes should eat as much pasta, bread and veggies as they could consume....fast forwards to the “HIGH PROTEIN/LOW Carb”Diet that changed to the recent Keto focused diets of “Super high fat/super low Carb” style diets.

The reason I compare the Diet trends to the Karate trends is because of that word…..Trends! I have been in Karate long enough to know what is good and what is bad Karate. I can watch a Kata being performed and know if the person doing it is a traditional Karate person or a sport person, I can watch two people doing Kumite and point out the style they come from and if they are more modern or traditional.  Before I get started I want to be clear here. ALL Karate training has benefits and even the EVIL Sport Karate can and does have some redeeming qualities that you cannot ignore, and old style hard nosed Karate also has its benefits. What I am looking at are the extreme trends the fads that come into Karate training specifically and some people have sworn are the “future of Karate training” .  Here is a hint…they…are not!

Karate has change so much since the 80’s and 70’s when I started, not only are we not wearing bell bottoms to the Dojo but the actual training has changed. When I started my instructor was told “NO WEIGHTS” from his instructor and we never ever did weight training, we did more “Functional training” and lots of Karate training. Over time we began incorporating “modern” training like weights and running and the got into plyometrics and TABATA recently. Conditioning in the past was 10,000 kicks and punches done in a single class. We were macho and if you did not like the break neck training and harsh beatings you got in class….the door was that way!  We were a tad nuts but we were tough!  Now the students would all walk out if we did 500 front kicks or such each class…we need to entertain as much as we teach. But that’s not what I am talking about, I am talking about content and approach……

The latest things in training are all high tech, new age sport sciences and it’s a complete if not total abandonment of the old ways!  The new way is to go high tec! Gone are the old canvas style Gis, now people wear floppy white PJ’s made from silky materials and lord help you if you wear a heavy weight gi, they are lighter than your pajamas and have special venting, smooth but ribbed patterns to help with movement during kumite and look…..LIMP to me. I have seen the new Adidas Gi on several people. I was told it’s the latest tech in training hear…and to me…they hurt my soul!  The hand pads, Shin pads, chest protectors are also new to me and “newfangled” by definition. In the old days we used a mouth guard…when we needed to and a small set of hand pads. Now they may as well dip the students into foam so they are protected.  The outcome….people hit each other more often and harder thinking its okay. In the old days we never did this because we KNEW it hurt!

Training has changed in a lot of ways to. Some of the new fangled training includes using things like and agility ladder, medicine balls, Running parachutes, Rubber tubes, gym timers ext and so forth. ALL of these are great, but they tend to take away from things like Kihon and Kata training!  People who spend more than 10% of their training time on conditioning drills or foot work drills end up taking that away from their core training! You can see the new fangled instructors too, they call themselves “Coach” not “Sensei” and they refuse to bow or do anything Karate like. Some teach in running suits and refuse to put on a gi, hell some don’t even own a Gi! The other point is that style seems to be taking a back door to the training. Meaning people who train in Goju are teaching Shotokan students or Uechi athletes are working out with Wado coaches. Its crazy!

The other side of the coin is those that are avoiding the scientific breakthroughs all together and are adopting a “ANCIENT TRAINING” concept to all their classes. This normally includes some antiquated training equipment, going over Kata in a “More traditional” way than others and stating that their old “Hardnosed” training and abandoning any form of scientific advancements in training.  Those are the clubs you see in dingy and beat down locations with stone weights, makiwaras lining the walls and hard woods beaten till they were smooth with the weight and sweat of years of training. The whole place smells like a locker room and often harsh cleaning chemicals. The club’s members all have thick ankles, knuckles that are rounded and covered in calloused thick pads. The classes are 1 hour of Kata, drills for an hour and the most brutal kumite you can imagine. The instructors tend to be really gruff and traditional, they avoid anything new and they push for ONLY the old ways! Growth and development or adaptability is unheard of and in fact it is not just frowned upon but down right banned!

Some times you get the OLD training repackaged as NEW training as well. I once was told about this ancient training tool that you could buy online and have delivered to your home. It was a frame that was assembled and had two bars on it that you could drape bags filled with sand over. It was a modern makiwara.  Also, some people will call Katas by new names, or introduce old ideas as new. Its all repackaging tradition as new!

The other alternative is adding to the old ways….in a traditional and old way. What I mean by this is adding traditional looking Kata to the syllabus like Asai sensei did. Some new age groups will throw “Musical Kata” into the mix or they just simply make one up with acrobatics in it….this is not what I am talking about. Asai Sensei studied an art that was older than the Shotokan tradition he was taught, he then worked with the principles of both Shotokan and the older Crane art and crated the style he taught. Now this is fantastic from some points of view…HORRIFIC for others. Personally, I have always found them fascinating but only so much as they taught new ideas, not that I wanted to incorporate them into my training daily. Some of the New/Old Age groups will do this, even Kase Sensei’s students created new Kata out of some of the principles he taught and then incorporated them into their training. Honestly the addition of new kata leaves me dry. I have never ever said “I Know all 26 Shotokan Kata and don’t have to worry about being board”. I always find Kata to work on or things to build up and fix up. I don’t see value in adding 9-100 other Kata to my training when I have so much to work on with the original 26.

Then you have the WKF and the changes they make to traditional Karate. I am kinda sick of the old argument that the WKF is not changing Karate its just a sport rule set. Its also changing the style of Karate…or homogenizing it. You enter the WKF as a traditional (Add style her) and then start to train in the new system which first changes your kumite to be more Tae Kwon Do like. You start standing sideways and bouncing, then you keep your hands high up and throw fancy kicks that will put you off balance. You do 50% or more of your training on drills for speed and how to strike faster in ways that earn you more points, your defense changes from blocking and striking with precision to just slapping away at techniques. Then you find you are not throwing any kicks to waste level because….well its less points!  The Kumite changes start to add up and next thing you know your Gyaka zuki is replaced with a dash in Uraken and a long Oi zuki used only to feed your hook kick or round kick to the face. You don’t really focus on sweeps but you will do them if it can be followed by a technique that will garner points. Your movement set is fixed as a bounce with your legs almost straight and prsto changeo you look and move like TKD!  Oh, and the kata….

So you study and study and you get your purple belt, you only know up to Heian Godan actually and you then transition into “Sport training” or “High performance” training and your coach says “For you….Unsu…Cuz its fast and exciting and will garner points” and you set about studying the new DANCEMOVES because you will never understand the moves from your current point of view. You try your best to understand the Kata but you are basically put with a choreographer who teaches you how to look the part and you go for it. Your training is replaced with “Dance lessons” and you go through your competition years learning new routines but not learning the depth of the Katas.

The ranking also gets tossed as the rank belt is replaced with a Red and Blue belt that means basically what side of the ring you will be stationed at, hell your safety gear matches too!  But you come out of years of competition and someone hands you a Black belt and says “you did great, lots of medals, you get a black belt” yet you don’t understand anything outside of this new system of sport training and how to pass this on. You cant really defend yourself and you have never contemplated anything like the Dojo kun or learned the Kata Bunkai, and all your bouncy bouncy kumite is no good in real life on ice or uneven ground…but screw it that black belt is a beauty! The scary part is I know of at least two “Black belts” who earned their Dan ranking in KUMITE and don’t know a Kata at all! That’s new age!

Now, having said all that…There is NOTHING wrong with the way Karate is presented and trained in 99% of the clubs out there, this includes the WKF clubs. Its all in what you want out of Karate, having realistic goals and understandable focus. Each of us can decide what they want out of Karate. The fun thing about Karate is that it is for everyone! Training in Karate is varied, you have sports oriented clubs and members, traditionalists, weekend warriors, spiritualists, scientists, Leftists, conservatives, men and women, ditch diggers and doctors. Its for everyone and has some benefits for everyone. The only qualitative things that you need to understand are that Karate…..good Karate should have a syllabus that you stick to, be grounded in solid basics and needs to concern itself with the students, the individuals who are training and not be some kind of recruitment for a cult!

In the end Karate has changed, stayed the same, advanced, regressed and become something new and old again and again. It will continue to evolve, and devolve over time and those of us who train in it will continue to find things we like and even love in training.