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
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