Lets Dance.
To be sure modern combative training as opposed to traditional martial arts has revolutionized the training for many thousands of practitioners.
Still as in all forms of combat the basic training in karate consists of a series of kata routines or moves. These basic kata steps are all utilized later as basic defense manuvres.
Then as the student progresses he is shown Bunkai the applications of the kata and how to react to various situations drilling them until they become second nature. So that reaction in an actual self defense situation will be spontaneous and instantaneous.
But karate kata is more than mere formula responses come calisthenics. It has a soul of its own. Through its kata you can return to the roots of the martial way. Anyone who has trained extensively for many years knows that meaning.
After a long period of training you can move unconsciously, freely and properly. That is the highest stage of karate-do, the true meaning of "no posture of mind ". But this stage can only be reached after hard and painstaking training. In addition, each form is a technique for training in control of ki or chi that fluid force that is inside all of us.
The result is, you can train for combat by gradually increasing the intensity and intent of the technique as well as, the way you do the kata. It can be for 20 minutes half hour or an hour non-stop. Honing each move into a deadly strike.
Still, it is said: that there is no first move or strike in karate (sente). And that its practitioners should not launch the initial attack and thus use karate techniques thoughtlessly.
Even so, I'm here to tell you that is rubbish. What's more, if your mindset is karate has no initial move (sente), and its practitioners should not launch the first attack. Then you need to wake up and smell the coffee. FAST. Here's why?
Because, in any conflict in the street if you wait for confirmation of an attack during a physical confrontation so you can choose which of the 100 different blocks you want to use then you will get it by the way of being hit and it will already be to late. In short, if you're lucky you'll wake up in hospital even worse in the morgue.
You see, most street altercations take place from about two to three feet away and will be preceded by some form of deception and dialog before the actual assault takes place. Then it will come very fast and be extremely violent. Sucker punching you while your unprepared. These are the tactics of the 21st century street thug.
On top of that, you'll be under stress and the adrenaline and heart rate will be pumping through your chest like an express train. So that your thinking process and reactions take longer to work you simply can't do complicated moves your brain won't let you. That's why; you will have to rely on your gross motor skills only to get you out of trouble. In other words, use simple moves. For instance: cave man hits opponent on head with wooden club again and again and again. This is a gross motor action.
The point I'm making is this, by the time your brain database has worked out which block or strike to use for that particular attack you'll be hit and taken out of the game before you even know what's happened.
At the same time, believe me when I say, if you can't talk the situation down and walk away then the only way to win on the street is to hit first, hit hard and be furious until there is no longer a threat. Get my point?
Of course, if you can escape then you do so as fast as possible. Otherwise, be pre-emptive and you'll stand a better chance of surviving the ordeal or you may find yourself on the ground with your body and head being kicked and stomped on by your attacker and all his mates. Now you know, don't let that happen to you.
When a gale blows, the stiff oak resists and breaks; the flexible willow bends and survives.
It's true, In the 21st century the world and the type of violent threats we face have changed so although traditional kata itself remains the same as it must, the applications of the said kata can be adapted to suit the types of modern day street attacks and threats we may or may not come across.
The Ancient Warriors Key to Mind and Body Control.
Mind you, there is a lot of good stuff to be found in the western combative arts. But apart from a few people who continued to train in them after WW2, they just faded into the background being overtaken as more and more people became interested in the mystic martial arts styles from the orient.
Not to mention, that after the war there was a gap a void if you like, as people where sick and tired of war and fighting and not interested in learning any western type of unarmed combat as taught by the military at the time. What this meant was it allowed the eastern influence to creep in and become the dominant force that it is today in the west.
On top of that, serving service men and women as well as civilians who went out to the far east as part of their military service or just to train in one or more of the martial arts during the 1950s and 60s, started returning home from the far east bringing with them there newly acquired skills in Judo, Karate, Aikido etc all adding to the mix and interest amongst the public in the new fighting arts from the east.
However, that's only part of the story and maybe a subject for another time. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on which way you want to look at it, what happened next within many martial systems karate in particular was that over the following years a lot of the more deadly and effective combative techniques were removed or watered down to facilitate the competition and sporting elements of the art rather than sticking to the original concepts of true budo training.
What goes around comes around. No wonder once again a void has been created as many trainees began to question the merit of their so-called martial art. Hence, the re-emergence all be it changed to suite modern day street fighting comes the modern Combative styles based on the old military style punching and kicking techniques and realistic scenario training.
It's true, today they are becoming very popular because in our have no time and want it know society the moves are effective easy and quick learn and they work under pressure. Exactly how the military designed them to be in the first place. And what it appears most modern day trainees are now looking for. Not years of hard study and sacrifice.
More interesting still, there are many philosophies, sayings teachings about the proper attitude to training, while all valid in there own right the old saying that in real life or death combat "have no posture of neither mind or body" still holds true.
After all, you must remember that traditional karate kata were created to be a logical and structured record of practical fighting techniques.
Moreover, in your own training you can adapt your systems kata and fuse the old and new east and west combative moves together. You can easily adapt the applications applied to the kata and by do doing so can only add to your current training and study.
Since, the actual kata remains the same, as it must. The applications of said kata can be adapted to suit the type of attack.
Actually, there is an old Okinawa saying which is: "Karate is the art of virtuous men", and therefore to thoughtlessly boast of their power or display a technique in scuffles goes against the grain of karate-do. Do we take this to mean no first strike?
If then this is true, take off your black belt, loose your ego and train for the street by using reality based techniques, awareness and realistic up to date strategies if you want to survive a 21st century real-world street confrontation that is.
Perhaps, people who train in traditional karate and the modern combative arts are now once again realizing that kata and its bunkai in all its forms isn't bullshit. By experimentation you'll gradually see how the kata applications are truly meant to work effectively. It will literally put kata back into the real street arena.
Above all, remember there is no hidden secret, the only true secrets are the ones you will discover yourself.
Wise words indeed.
Buzz.
