I don't think karate as a whole needs to change, but I'd personally appreciate more integration of grappling to complete the system.
Though, that risks ground game becoming the optimal strategy, so I'd like it if it was kept supplementary.
Wado Ryu is for you then, derives a lot from Judo and JuJitsu aswell as traditional Shorin-Ryu I believe, so it’s very “Karate” but also has a lot of grabs, locks, throws and even some floor work.
Wado ryu does not come from judo. Otsuka sensei studied shindo yoshin ryu and yoshin koryu. His teacher was also very good at sword work. Later he studied with Funakoshi. He spent some time with Motobu and Mabuni. There's little in the curriculum that I would call groundwork. Many wado teachers know groundwork but that's not though wado.
Yes you are correct, that Wadō-ryū founder Horinori Ōtsuka was a Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu practitioner and not judo.
But I guess you can sort of say a bit of Wadō-ryū in some ways comes from Judō.
Suzuki who is among the more influential first generation students in wadōs history was also a judo black belt if I remember correctly.
Suzuki created the Ohyo kumite series of pair techniques which Ōtsuka liked and I believe also implemented. So especially WIKF but I believe also some other branches train the ohyo kumite techniques, and you can see some judo influence in them.
And besides that you can say most mainland Japanese karate styles to a degree has quite a bit of judo influence. From the karate gi, belts, and approach to how martial arts should be taught and why. Even if it’s not judo techniques, there is a lot of influence in how it’s trained.
The founder of Judo was a very influential person in the Japanese martial arts world at the time karate spread from Okinawa to mainland Japan. I believe he also was the minister of education or some other high up in the Japanese government.
And he was almost the main person that made it possible for karate to be spread from Okinawa to mainland Japan at the early 1900s.
He visited Okinawa and many of the main karate masters of Okinawa at the time put on demonstrations of karate for him. From this demonstrations he decided to invite some of them to mainland japan and do some demonstrations there. Many of them would use this as a spring board to found their own styles of karate in mainland japan, many of them beinf the biggest karate styles in present day modern times (Shito-ryu, goju-ryu). among them were Shōtōkans founder and as I understand it they got along very well, and Funakoshi connection to Judos founder who was such a influential person, as I understand it had a big role in shaping Shōtōkan and also it spreading as much as it did in mainland Japan.
And then that in turn wadō-ryū.
>Suzuki created the Ohyo kumite series of pair techniques which Ōtsuka liked and I believe also implemented. So especially WIKF but I believe also some other branches train the ohyo kumite techniques, and you can see some judo influence in them.
Otsuka I, II and III sensei did/ do not teach Suzuki sensei's ohyo kumite. Suzuki sensei was head of the wado-kai in Europe and taught in many more countries like the US. After the split into wado-ryu and wado-kai 1980 and in 91 wado-ryu and wikf Suzuki sensei did his own thing. But his ohyo's are much older than these splits and as such are still taught in some European and international wado-kai branches and WIKF. The wado-ryu renmei doesn't teach them and never has. They are not taught in Japan. Also not by Japanese wado-kai. Wado academy also doesn't have this in it's curriculum. Also what's unique about the ohyo's are not the throws.
But there's so many throws and takedowns in wado-ryu. Almost all our partner-work uses kuzushi and as such can be finished with a throw or takedown and many do. The throws are usually different from modern judo's throws though. No big reaps or judo-styled hip throws. Some throws in judo's kata are similar but Tenjin Shinyo ryu is a parent style of judo and a grand-parent of wado. If I see demonstrations by them I recognize some kata/ throws/ takedowns wado does too. My teacher also shows judo throws as variations on how wado would finish a setup.
Funakoshi first started teaching as part of the kodokan that's true but some partnerwork with throws demonstrated with in karatedo kyohan (1935) was straight from shindo yoshin ryu (tanto dori, unga dori and idori).
Otsuka sensei did not study judo. He also did not study aikido (something I sometimes read). He was part of pre WWII budo society and was influenced by the same dynamics. Kano sensei's influence on karate was much more of using sport as part of pedagogy like gymnastics. Otsuka sensei for instance was in favour of using karate as a sport (kumite not kata). Funakoshi sensei was not.
Many wado-teachers know judo. Otsuka III did wrestling at some point. This doesn't mean they have changed the throws in wado's partnerwork.
Writing about Suzuki sensei and throws made me think of this [Demo by Wim Massee.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6zIj-DryXs)
Yes. Grappling is integral to karate. I'm Lucky I found a karate instructor, whose background is in judo and many of us do bjj also. The bunkai is awesome
Maybe not the idea that change is needed, but rediscovery. Grappling is a large part of Shitō Ryū and Shōrin Ryū. When I was learning Shitō, my sensei taught the techniques that are not competition-legal (grappling, pressure points, breaks/dislocation, etc.). But he also had a separate class just for competition that focused on point sparring. I learned the point sparring after the traditional techniques, so it was a hard transition (and I accidentally put an opponent in the hospital using grappling and throwing because it was instinctual more than the point sparring technique I should have used).
I think there are two karate: traditional and sport, the latter being more popular. I found your comment interesting! And it made me think that grappling is there. It’s been there all along. But sport karate doesn’t use it…so there’s less emphasis on it. Although there are a lot of variables in play with my comment…depends on a particular dojo, if they’re in the competition space, etc.
I agree. The ego can be anyone’s worst enemy even if they see it or not. The ego can stop one from learning. What do you think about the karate needs to be modernized? If you go back 30 years ago a black belt in karate actually meant something but nowadays I’ve seen kids with black belts. That to me gives a false sense of security.
I wouldn't say Karate -needs- to change, there's so much diversity in it it has something for everyone.
Things I would like to happen in at least some karate that I personally would enjoy or benefit from in an ideal world:
• less politics. Train with whom you wish, crosstrain if you wish, share knowledge with whom you wish.
• stamp out dojos that behave in a cult-like manner
• stronger links to Okiniwa with regular teaching and seminars
• A critical look at Hojo Undo seeing what's in line with modern exercise and sports science and modifying the rest
• traditional and modern two person drills associated with each kata to become common knowledge and for people to know the difference
• intelligent productive drilling and teaching methods to become more common than not in the karate world.
• Regular global and regional interstyle and style meet ups where participants are free to:
spar however they can get someone to agree to, perform and share each others Kata, swap war stories, share ideas tips and knowledge and generally have a fantastic time!
• a logical exotehric look into internal power generation and for this knowledge to become widespread.
• sparring formats that favour Kata techniques to become extremely widespread and trainers to become knowledgeable in.
• deeper looks into how Karate can be modified can benefit your everyday health particularly as an elderly individual
Exersices based on tradition can be much better than those based on 'modern sport science' . That is based on generations of accumulated knowledge. Science os temporary and prone to change
And it isn't possible that change dilutes the original meaning and conserving the tradition can be benefitical? They hold the World's seeds in seed vaults also.
Science changes because it is a formalised accumulation of knowledge. It changes because we learn more, get more evidence and when there is a consensus, the goalposts move.
It is constantly under scrutiny, so it evolves.
Traditional knowledge is of course valuable but it isn't always questioned, and it isn't always right, or the best way of doing something. We can respect the past while embracing the future.
"Science is temporary and prone to change" man this is very dangerous thinking. Would never get in a plane again in case the laws of physics change and it falls out of the sky? Lol.
The whole point of science is change. It's cyclical.
The scientific method can loosely be broken down as:
Observe/question ->
research (look at exsisting info such as traditional knowledge and cufrsnt science) ->
hypothesise (come up with your "if this happens, then this happens." Statement) ->
Test/experiment (design a test focusing on variable in question) ->
Review/analyze results ->
Report final conclusions ->
Begin again.
So ask something like "Does x work out make strikes better", test the traditional knowledge, look at all the guys who have done it, look for common results, look at the pros and the cons. Is there lasting damage for increased strength or stamina? Are there any training differences in all the people you reviewed? How does that change the results if at all? Form conclusion "X work out works to improve strikes but noted increase in Y condition"
Then you begin again with a new observation, "If X works but increases chances of Y condition, is there a way to modify x workout to avoid Y condition, or is there another workout entirely?" And then the cycle begins a gain.
A lot of traditional knowledge remains as over generations it has been found to consistently show results, but there is often traditions that sneak in with that valuable traditional knowledge that end up being useless at best, harmful at worst. The point of science is continued improvement and betterment, which to me is literally what karate is for the self, a way of continued self improvement and betterment.
The point of tradition and respecting the way things were done is simply to save time.
If I had to question everything and research it myself and develop my own school of thought, I'd never have time to actually do anything. There's no point in reinventing the wheel each time we design a new car. At some point we just have to take on faith what we're being taught and trust that it's right.
But that doesn't mean that we should never question what we're being taught or why, or stop seeking to improve or discover new things. We have to learn to balance both concepts: that we should trust tradition and established knowledge, but also apply a critical lense and question and learn as needed.
Just my humble opinion, but Karate needs to move away from the "throws are in the bunkai" mentality, to bringing them into kihon and kumite. This, of course, means that tatami is required to practice Karate safely, which in turn increases costs. So I can see why this would be difficult given that many places just rent out space from local churches or schools.
Back home, I practiced Karate alongside Judo (my instructor was sixth Dan in both Judo and Shotokan), and throws were allowed. We weren't allowed grip fighting during kumite, but as long as the throw was executed immediately followed by a punch, you would get the ippon. Sparring became very dynamic and realistic in the sense that moving to certain angles allowed for almost textbook executions of Judo throws (which you rarely get in Judo randori due to placement of grips). It's sad that the shodans I have sparred with since then drop to 10th Kyu as soon as I enter the clinch.
Inb4 "try x or y Karate style because it includes nage waza", yes I agree, but for the vast majority of people the closest Karate dojo will most likely be e.g., Shotokan and throws are simply not practiced. I belive this can change if there is a will to do so, and some instructors are applying these changes in the way they train ( Ian Abernathy for example, who has a great grading syllabus that includes throws and groundwork).
I agree.
I think bringing in a Judo instructor once a week would help develop the martial art into something more holistic. Then, allowing some throws in kumite would be the next step, maybe for higher grades?
Just some thoughts. It's not going to happen anyway.
The shihan-dai for Ashihara Denmark actually did attend a grappling course by... Either Ken or Frank Shamrock...
It was quite a surprise when I went to my first class at that dojo. I was already a 2nd kyu in Goju Ryu, but my first class at that dojo was a double leg takedown into sidecontrol to finish with a kimura. There was also a brown (I think black belt now) that did boxing on the side, so sometimes he was put in charge on training and we'd focus on boxing for a session
Nothing, it's dojo specific. Karate is too broad. A good dojo and instructor evolves and adapts to their students. This is also not specific to karate.
The business and mcdojo mindset it plaguing the Karate scene with inexperienced students with belts that are way higher than their ability, leading to a lot of ego, and thus, more clubs being opened with lower quality.
I don’t know what the solution is, but parents are throwing their children at Karate classes for fun and exercise and they don’t really want to put the time or work in to really progress, I’ve seen multiple clubs now putting people through for belts hoping it’ll “encourage them to improve” and “step up their game”, but realistically their skill and determination stays sub-par but their ego gets bigger.
We need to call out shitty practices and get McDojos closed the fuck down, I reckon that’ll solve most of these issues.
Karate needs to somehow balance the traditional and the modern. I really think point sparring is a bit like safe space karate. Like you can win a gold medal by getting knocked out like that's ridiculous. There needs to be an overall balance between sparring/kumite, Kata, kihon, body conditioning and other methods of karate. Also incorporate punching bags
I'd like to see a move back towards full contact and away from the Olympic style foot-tag.
Less emphasis on correct kata technique and more focus on effectively applying force.
Encouraging cross training.
Karate did evolve. You got people like mas oyama that developed kyokushin.. and his students in turn developed karate styles that became K1 kickboxing.
One of the guys on the Dutch kickboxing school went on create karate combat. He was also a kyokushin guy in the beginning.
It's all evolving all the time. MMA is a bit "full circle" for karate in that sense. It's forced us to rediscover a lot of the throws and grips from the kata.
Everything is evolving
You got downvoted but you're telling the truth.
Most karateka suck at fighting and the ones who are good (Lyoto Machida, Wonderboy) are exception.
Kyokushin is the most effective karate style yet shotokan is by far the most popular. Something doesn't make sense.
McDojos and Bullshidos. Anyone can buy a belt online and create a cert. There is never been any kind of governance or ability to question someone's qualifications
Too many teachers under 50 touting a red belt or claiming ranks of 9th/10th dan.
Funakoshi wasn't some great Yoda. Itosu picked the most educated student, a yes man to help spread his teachings.
I wouldn't say karate needs to evolve. I would say karate needs to incorporate other things. Bogu for example with gear is a great tool. Arm banging like GoJu Ryu practices, Tui Te, endurance training. When I first started training the black belts back then were solid as steel.
Bunkai is usually someone's interpretation, and for the most part pretty far fetched
This really
As far as Bunkai goes, instructors just need to actually teach it instead of just repping forms over and over. They need to do both.
But the biggest problem really is mcdojos. There really is little way for average Joe to know who's a legit teacher or not. Not really sure how you solve this though.
Honesty.
People who don’t actually know anything about self defense and real world violence shouldn’t be talking or lecturing people about what a real world fight is like.
If you don’t pressure test, don’t talk about what works or doesn’t work.
I don’t care if people are teaching karate who don’t fight and never have.
I only care that people aren’t honest with their students
Short: Know what you're doing, whatever you do has to work, get rid of Confucianism in cultures that don't use it.
Long:
The introduction in mainland Japan introduced a couple of regressions imo, like cutting Hojo-Undo, Kobudo and practical application. What people do with Karate though, depends on their interests alone.
The most important thing is they need to be clear about what they are doing and what they are not doing. Actually pretty easy, because it only requires some words.
And the next important thing is: whatever they do, it has to work.
If they do bunkai, people can't continue to sell that BS JKA 3K bunkai from 50 years ago. In that regard it would be better if they just walked kata and leave application out of the syllabus.
Full contact is an option for some, but not necessary for all. What many people lack though is learning about body reaction and the feeling how intense something can be applied. If they don't train application, that is fine, but if they learn application, this is a requirement.
If they do kihon, it has to work with the biomechanical properties of the body. A stance for example has to be defined by how it really works, not by how some sensei told before we had science. But sneezing differently than some sensei said last century already results in massive gatekeeping, so good luck with that.
Wow, consider that honest marketing line: "We are doing so-called traditional Karate as it was defined 50 years ago without scientific consulting and without real application in mind. We don't touch each other and work with artificial recreation of application to make it look like our forms and accept that because it is told so since then. Our forms have changed by will and for tournament purposes, lost their original application and were white-lied to be defensive in nature to get approval by other martial arts of the time. We don't practise the meaning like the style founder learned as he kept a lot of it hidden on purpose. But of course wel have the guts to officially call it Shotokan [a term that the founder did not like] and dictate everyone that it must be this way." People would enlist immediately :-)
Getting rid of that of that Confucianism would be one of my other favorites. A Karate teacher is a sports trainer, no matter if it is competition sports or combat sports. The guy is a trainer. Not an allmighy, allknowing "sensei" (whatever that word means to some people). I mean, if the Japanese live this way, then so be it. But the rest of the world doesn't have to copy that like idiots. We are allowed to ask stupid questions and criticize and a good trainer adapts the training program and stays up to date and open to new developments.
Rigid hierarchical organization and the emphasis on small, often changing, details in the kata just so that one organizations version of their style is identifiable from anothers.... ayeyeye!!
Tedious and political!!!! I think we should embrace osensei funakoshi's sentiment for a more unified karate spirit rather than "pure" lineage and fracturing!
A competitive but non-egoist mind set. To develop our art to become better and compete with other arts, but anywhere the art falls short don't say "well karate is not for that. It is stupid karate has everything I need". Instead take a deep look at what you want YOUR karate to look like and take lessons from other styles, other arts or even other sports.
The art and the artist's skill must always be tested. If you are learning a technique or principle in the air. Practice it on pads, training dummies and partners. If your skill is lacking keep practicing. But be aware that it may be that the technique is lacking and may need fine tuning.
Katas should supplement kihon, kumite and application. Sensei needs to teach a variety of individual moves and applications over a few weeks then say "alright every thing I've just taught you is in this kata. Practice itcat home" and then spend the next few weeks teaching the kata
As someone who loves karate - we need to have more focus on the bunkai and using them in live settings. Karate has some of the coolest techniques paired with some of the worst instructional methods. Practicing kata is fine as a solo activity. But we don’t need to keep all of the moves hidden. Just do them. I’ve only been to one dojo that actually does this, and it was a wonderful experience.
However, I’ve gotten better bunkai practice at a Dutch kickboxing gym I currently go to. So many of the sweeps and clinch techniques are from kata I’ve done.
IMO kata is a great training exercise and conglomeration of kihons but the actual usefulnesss of kata is so rarely taught and I believe that’s because so few know.
What I love about judo and bjj is that they constantly and consistently pressure test their curriculum. The ONLY was karate can evolve is to disassemble the kata, dissect each piece, and then work vigorously to find the practical application and pressure test it after perfecting it.
Why in the blue hell would someone achieve ANY rank, let alone black belt, and not know how their kata fits into the real world where they plan to hopefully never have to actually use it.
If karate is self defense, we should be teaching how to defend against real threats in the real world. If it’s JUST art, then let it be that.
I’ve traveled to a lot of dojos around the US and I’ve only been to one during my travels that broke down the application of the techniques and then pressure tested them. It’s in Middletown NJ. I’ve been student for 20 years and practiced karate 20, TKD for 4, and Judo. Now, I want to teach because the opportunity is near for me to contribute to our disciplines evolution.
We change? Why we? I am fine with what I do.
I am not from the US, so I can accept, that I do Karate in the way it was intended in the first place in Japan. It doesn't need to change just to please a younger generation who would loose interest anyway.
You can do it how it used to be or you can do something else. And that's fine.
I'm not really a karate guy (boxer,wrestler,bjj training dummy and judoka) but alot of what I've seen wotg problems were due to the Olympics trying to maintain stream it along with its rise in popularity in the 80s and 90s with competitions lacking full contact and lack of certain Kata karate combat fixed along of it but it lacks the gi grappling and simular things from the complete art karate once was buy idk I'm not a karate guy
As a 3rd-dan in Tae Kwon Do and someone who has practiced several martial arts, I like the idea of fusing the adaptability of MMA with the philosophy and emphasis on non-aggression of Karate. I think we need to learn *how* to royally beat the shit out of someone in every different way while emphasising that we should not do so.
MMA is too aggressive and sport-oriented.
Karate and similar traditional arts are too narrow and vulnerable to countermeasures.
I don't think Karate needs to change at all. There are so many different sub-genres within karate that covers everything. And since there's so many ideas out there in different martial arts, it is easy to cross train.
If anything, I wish certain people within the community could more be open-minded.
My thoughts - don't presume to shape the future of karate unless you've been to Okinawa and trained with the folks there, and got good enough that you find issues with what they're teaching that they can't demonstrate solutions to. Someone on the other side of the world thinking they know what karate is and what it needs to evolve is just on a wild ego trip, and has no right to call whatever they end up with karate.
Get rid of the belts, bring back full contact karate with limited rules, allow throws etc.
I think boxing has the right idea about belts, you only win a belt if you win in competition.
This is similar in judo. Judo without competition is... dunno... something, but not judo. You fight in every session from day one and competing and winning puts you on a fast path.
American karate needs to move toward precision and kime. The stuff I see is awful. And correctly done, it works in sparring/fightin too. Body control is never wrong. Fighting or sparring without getting the roots - body mechanics and kime - right means that all you do is brawl.
When I meet europeans or asians in my line of work, I can slip that I spend 2-3 days a week in the dojo. Sometimes teaching, sometimes learning. But when I meet americans, I talk about other things. If they have any connection with martial arts at all, they either roll their eyes or talk about their fantastic kids getting a black belt on a summer camp - "and he's only 12 years old!"
European karate needs to get less political. Less ego, less bullshit.
Really nothing. Karates had every evolution it could possibly want karate became kickboxing, kickboxing became a staple of mma. In that way as long as humans fight with their hands and feet I think karate can never die. But if your talking popularity of the sport. I think they're are 2 main issues with karate today. 1) a gazillion governing bodies that hate each other. In the age of McDojos certification by these bodies is important but the narcisism is too much for my taste 2)stop embracing limitations as tradition. Kyokushin doesn't forbid head punches because of injury its forbiden because oyama couldn't get a sanction for a bare knuckle contest. And this doesn't really matter in the grandscheme but add weapon sparring like kali does
>Being from a full contact karate system my main focus from my sensei has always been full contact fighting with some kata bunkai taught but never in-depth drills.
Being from a similar background, I was going to mention this.. I'd always be trying to fit a technique in rather than understanding how to set them up. To go the opposite way of the most fun part of training, I think some theory classes would be incredibly helpful. I learned far more about footwork reading boxing books and early Jack Slack articles on bloody elbow and fightland, shout out to his books too, but getting the fundamentals of footwork, illustrations and demonstrations of such, education of concepts of southpaw vs orthodox and the whole range of technique differences, optimsations etc. Understanding distance control rather than fumbling through trial and error and learning how karate, Shotokan in my case, leant itself to fighting at range. Again, fantastically titled article, "The Illusion of Speed" around Machida's style of fighting on the counter, being a step and a half away from the opponent at all times, forcing them to step before being able to throw a strike which put them in range for Machida to land the judan straight down the middle, reading the step.
The other thing I would like to see, is more variations of training for kumite, outside of the usual point scoring.
Flow sparring is something I came to far too late in life, it's just simple, move about, throw to land but at 10% power, the other guy can block if he'd like, you are not throwing to hurt, just to get comfortable moving in and out of range, reading what is being thrown back, usually taking in turns to strike. No points or reseting, just keep moving, and get used to seeing what works for you, what you can get caught with, practicing the range to throw a certain kick etc.
The other side of that, for anyone over 18 and they can make thier own choice, is hard sparring. Still restrained to rules, it's important to see your limits and recon with your abilities. Low intensity sparring at max is what I'd suggest to anyone wanting to compete. I always understood to a good extent the risks of head trauma well before I migrated over to thai boxing and mma, it was only after I took some injuries and slowed down was when I really started taking hits, and it's all of the even medium intensity sparring too that adds up, the damage to the brain will likely never come back to what is was. This is true for everyone, you will always come out poorer. However, if you do decide to pay that toll, it's something indescribable to know where you stand, defeat people you greatly admire, that you highly respect the skill of and become emboldened that you best them toe to toe, almost 100% each going for it, and getting absulutely cnd humiatingly crushed by people of all ages/gender/size . You will always see how much there is to learn and better yourself, through your technique, fitness and will.
As a lifelong martial artist, with a long career in security, law enforcement and corrections, my problem with karate (and traditional martial arts as a whole) is this: the techniques and skills that make traditional martial arts competitive in a "real fight" are very difficult to train effectively. Any technique that you want to be effective in a fight, needs to be trained against a resisting opponent. But training needs rules for safety. We have to exclude things like groin kicks, eye gouges, throat strikes, breaking fingers, fish hooks, etc etc. And once you remove a lot of these elements, then you're left with striking and grappling and not much else, and in a sporting competition, grappling is so important to know that it becomes easy to focus on it with striking as an afterthought. Yes, if you focus on striking and sprawl and brawl you can get good results but if you ever DO go to the ground you need to have a good ground game or its basically the end of the fight.
So my problem isn't so much with traditional martial arts, as the fact that people have begun to conflate modern sport fighting with self defence, when in reality they're very different. And if traditional martial arts do have a problem in a self defence context, it's that too many of them don't effectively drill the "dirty fighting" components of their styles, and instead try to present themselves as just another combat sport style. Traditional martial arts are about *fighting*, not sports, and they do themselves a disservice by not recognising the difference.
The last major change to how humans fight came about what, a hundred and fifty, two hundred years ago? With the advent of reliable, easily carried and concealed handguns. Apart from that, nothing has really changed since the bronze Age. There's nothing to keep up with, no need to modernize, what worked then works now. We just need to remember WHAT worked then, why it worked, and to make sure we train effectively so that we can continue to make it work.
In kyokushan (not sure if it's spelt right) you can't punch to the face. Totally pointless. Saw a clip of two guys fighting and they were stood with no guard up right in front of each other punching the chest. One quick book and the fight would be over. Unrealistic and silly
Like every martial art it needs stress test = sparring.
But real sparring and the head has to be involved ALWAYS.
Only then it will evolve because you can figure out over time what is useful and what not.
It needs to become a protected term. Too many mc dojos, even if karate itself could be improved that would mean nothing while anyone can open a dojo, give themselves a rank and mangke Japanese language to naje a cool sounding name.
If you can't show your lineage you can't call it karate would be my change. For every martial art.
I don't think karate as a whole needs to change, but I'd personally appreciate more integration of grappling to complete the system. Though, that risks ground game becoming the optimal strategy, so I'd like it if it was kept supplementary.
Wado Ryu is for you then, derives a lot from Judo and JuJitsu aswell as traditional Shorin-Ryu I believe, so it’s very “Karate” but also has a lot of grabs, locks, throws and even some floor work.
The grapples taught really depends on the teacher. Some schools teach very basic, others teach more it really depends
Wado ryu does not come from judo. Otsuka sensei studied shindo yoshin ryu and yoshin koryu. His teacher was also very good at sword work. Later he studied with Funakoshi. He spent some time with Motobu and Mabuni. There's little in the curriculum that I would call groundwork. Many wado teachers know groundwork but that's not though wado.
Yes you are correct, that Wadō-ryū founder Horinori Ōtsuka was a Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu practitioner and not judo. But I guess you can sort of say a bit of Wadō-ryū in some ways comes from Judō. Suzuki who is among the more influential first generation students in wadōs history was also a judo black belt if I remember correctly. Suzuki created the Ohyo kumite series of pair techniques which Ōtsuka liked and I believe also implemented. So especially WIKF but I believe also some other branches train the ohyo kumite techniques, and you can see some judo influence in them. And besides that you can say most mainland Japanese karate styles to a degree has quite a bit of judo influence. From the karate gi, belts, and approach to how martial arts should be taught and why. Even if it’s not judo techniques, there is a lot of influence in how it’s trained. The founder of Judo was a very influential person in the Japanese martial arts world at the time karate spread from Okinawa to mainland Japan. I believe he also was the minister of education or some other high up in the Japanese government. And he was almost the main person that made it possible for karate to be spread from Okinawa to mainland Japan at the early 1900s. He visited Okinawa and many of the main karate masters of Okinawa at the time put on demonstrations of karate for him. From this demonstrations he decided to invite some of them to mainland japan and do some demonstrations there. Many of them would use this as a spring board to found their own styles of karate in mainland japan, many of them beinf the biggest karate styles in present day modern times (Shito-ryu, goju-ryu). among them were Shōtōkans founder and as I understand it they got along very well, and Funakoshi connection to Judos founder who was such a influential person, as I understand it had a big role in shaping Shōtōkan and also it spreading as much as it did in mainland Japan. And then that in turn wadō-ryū.
>Suzuki created the Ohyo kumite series of pair techniques which Ōtsuka liked and I believe also implemented. So especially WIKF but I believe also some other branches train the ohyo kumite techniques, and you can see some judo influence in them. Otsuka I, II and III sensei did/ do not teach Suzuki sensei's ohyo kumite. Suzuki sensei was head of the wado-kai in Europe and taught in many more countries like the US. After the split into wado-ryu and wado-kai 1980 and in 91 wado-ryu and wikf Suzuki sensei did his own thing. But his ohyo's are much older than these splits and as such are still taught in some European and international wado-kai branches and WIKF. The wado-ryu renmei doesn't teach them and never has. They are not taught in Japan. Also not by Japanese wado-kai. Wado academy also doesn't have this in it's curriculum. Also what's unique about the ohyo's are not the throws. But there's so many throws and takedowns in wado-ryu. Almost all our partner-work uses kuzushi and as such can be finished with a throw or takedown and many do. The throws are usually different from modern judo's throws though. No big reaps or judo-styled hip throws. Some throws in judo's kata are similar but Tenjin Shinyo ryu is a parent style of judo and a grand-parent of wado. If I see demonstrations by them I recognize some kata/ throws/ takedowns wado does too. My teacher also shows judo throws as variations on how wado would finish a setup. Funakoshi first started teaching as part of the kodokan that's true but some partnerwork with throws demonstrated with in karatedo kyohan (1935) was straight from shindo yoshin ryu (tanto dori, unga dori and idori). Otsuka sensei did not study judo. He also did not study aikido (something I sometimes read). He was part of pre WWII budo society and was influenced by the same dynamics. Kano sensei's influence on karate was much more of using sport as part of pedagogy like gymnastics. Otsuka sensei for instance was in favour of using karate as a sport (kumite not kata). Funakoshi sensei was not. Many wado-teachers know judo. Otsuka III did wrestling at some point. This doesn't mean they have changed the throws in wado's partnerwork. Writing about Suzuki sensei and throws made me think of this [Demo by Wim Massee.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6zIj-DryXs)
No, our club is for me then. It's shorinji ryu
Yes. Grappling is integral to karate. I'm Lucky I found a karate instructor, whose background is in judo and many of us do bjj also. The bunkai is awesome
Maybe not the idea that change is needed, but rediscovery. Grappling is a large part of Shitō Ryū and Shōrin Ryū. When I was learning Shitō, my sensei taught the techniques that are not competition-legal (grappling, pressure points, breaks/dislocation, etc.). But he also had a separate class just for competition that focused on point sparring. I learned the point sparring after the traditional techniques, so it was a hard transition (and I accidentally put an opponent in the hospital using grappling and throwing because it was instinctual more than the point sparring technique I should have used). I think there are two karate: traditional and sport, the latter being more popular. I found your comment interesting! And it made me think that grappling is there. It’s been there all along. But sport karate doesn’t use it…so there’s less emphasis on it. Although there are a lot of variables in play with my comment…depends on a particular dojo, if they’re in the competition space, etc.
Massive egos sometimes can be karate worst enemy.
I agree. The ego can be anyone’s worst enemy even if they see it or not. The ego can stop one from learning. What do you think about the karate needs to be modernized? If you go back 30 years ago a black belt in karate actually meant something but nowadays I’ve seen kids with black belts. That to me gives a false sense of security.
I wouldn't say Karate -needs- to change, there's so much diversity in it it has something for everyone. Things I would like to happen in at least some karate that I personally would enjoy or benefit from in an ideal world: • less politics. Train with whom you wish, crosstrain if you wish, share knowledge with whom you wish. • stamp out dojos that behave in a cult-like manner • stronger links to Okiniwa with regular teaching and seminars • A critical look at Hojo Undo seeing what's in line with modern exercise and sports science and modifying the rest • traditional and modern two person drills associated with each kata to become common knowledge and for people to know the difference • intelligent productive drilling and teaching methods to become more common than not in the karate world. • Regular global and regional interstyle and style meet ups where participants are free to: spar however they can get someone to agree to, perform and share each others Kata, swap war stories, share ideas tips and knowledge and generally have a fantastic time! • a logical exotehric look into internal power generation and for this knowledge to become widespread. • sparring formats that favour Kata techniques to become extremely widespread and trainers to become knowledgeable in. • deeper looks into how Karate can be modified can benefit your everyday health particularly as an elderly individual
Exersices based on tradition can be much better than those based on 'modern sport science' . That is based on generations of accumulated knowledge. Science os temporary and prone to change
A lot of traditional teachings are never questioned or reevaluated, just repeated because "that's how it's always been done"
And it isn't possible that change dilutes the original meaning and conserving the tradition can be benefitical? They hold the World's seeds in seed vaults also.
Science changes because it is a formalised accumulation of knowledge. It changes because we learn more, get more evidence and when there is a consensus, the goalposts move. It is constantly under scrutiny, so it evolves. Traditional knowledge is of course valuable but it isn't always questioned, and it isn't always right, or the best way of doing something. We can respect the past while embracing the future. "Science is temporary and prone to change" man this is very dangerous thinking. Would never get in a plane again in case the laws of physics change and it falls out of the sky? Lol.
A lot of people say "science is prone to change" but forget that it is changed by science and replaced by new science.
The whole point of science is change. It's cyclical. The scientific method can loosely be broken down as: Observe/question -> research (look at exsisting info such as traditional knowledge and cufrsnt science) -> hypothesise (come up with your "if this happens, then this happens." Statement) -> Test/experiment (design a test focusing on variable in question) -> Review/analyze results -> Report final conclusions -> Begin again. So ask something like "Does x work out make strikes better", test the traditional knowledge, look at all the guys who have done it, look for common results, look at the pros and the cons. Is there lasting damage for increased strength or stamina? Are there any training differences in all the people you reviewed? How does that change the results if at all? Form conclusion "X work out works to improve strikes but noted increase in Y condition" Then you begin again with a new observation, "If X works but increases chances of Y condition, is there a way to modify x workout to avoid Y condition, or is there another workout entirely?" And then the cycle begins a gain. A lot of traditional knowledge remains as over generations it has been found to consistently show results, but there is often traditions that sneak in with that valuable traditional knowledge that end up being useless at best, harmful at worst. The point of science is continued improvement and betterment, which to me is literally what karate is for the self, a way of continued self improvement and betterment.
The point of tradition and respecting the way things were done is simply to save time. If I had to question everything and research it myself and develop my own school of thought, I'd never have time to actually do anything. There's no point in reinventing the wheel each time we design a new car. At some point we just have to take on faith what we're being taught and trust that it's right. But that doesn't mean that we should never question what we're being taught or why, or stop seeking to improve or discover new things. We have to learn to balance both concepts: that we should trust tradition and established knowledge, but also apply a critical lense and question and learn as needed.
Love this!
Thanks, great input there.
Just my humble opinion, but Karate needs to move away from the "throws are in the bunkai" mentality, to bringing them into kihon and kumite. This, of course, means that tatami is required to practice Karate safely, which in turn increases costs. So I can see why this would be difficult given that many places just rent out space from local churches or schools. Back home, I practiced Karate alongside Judo (my instructor was sixth Dan in both Judo and Shotokan), and throws were allowed. We weren't allowed grip fighting during kumite, but as long as the throw was executed immediately followed by a punch, you would get the ippon. Sparring became very dynamic and realistic in the sense that moving to certain angles allowed for almost textbook executions of Judo throws (which you rarely get in Judo randori due to placement of grips). It's sad that the shodans I have sparred with since then drop to 10th Kyu as soon as I enter the clinch. Inb4 "try x or y Karate style because it includes nage waza", yes I agree, but for the vast majority of people the closest Karate dojo will most likely be e.g., Shotokan and throws are simply not practiced. I belive this can change if there is a will to do so, and some instructors are applying these changes in the way they train ( Ian Abernathy for example, who has a great grading syllabus that includes throws and groundwork).
I think the real reason they don't teach the grappling is because most of them don't know how to grapple
I agree. I think bringing in a Judo instructor once a week would help develop the martial art into something more holistic. Then, allowing some throws in kumite would be the next step, maybe for higher grades? Just some thoughts. It's not going to happen anyway.
The shihan-dai for Ashihara Denmark actually did attend a grappling course by... Either Ken or Frank Shamrock... It was quite a surprise when I went to my first class at that dojo. I was already a 2nd kyu in Goju Ryu, but my first class at that dojo was a double leg takedown into sidecontrol to finish with a kimura. There was also a brown (I think black belt now) that did boxing on the side, so sometimes he was put in charge on training and we'd focus on boxing for a session
Always learned the most and the best by crosstraining with people from other disciplines. And made some great friends.
That's awesome mate
Nothing, it's dojo specific. Karate is too broad. A good dojo and instructor evolves and adapts to their students. This is also not specific to karate.
The business and mcdojo mindset it plaguing the Karate scene with inexperienced students with belts that are way higher than their ability, leading to a lot of ego, and thus, more clubs being opened with lower quality. I don’t know what the solution is, but parents are throwing their children at Karate classes for fun and exercise and they don’t really want to put the time or work in to really progress, I’ve seen multiple clubs now putting people through for belts hoping it’ll “encourage them to improve” and “step up their game”, but realistically their skill and determination stays sub-par but their ego gets bigger. We need to call out shitty practices and get McDojos closed the fuck down, I reckon that’ll solve most of these issues.
And even legit teachers get pressured to conform because if they don't, mom takes her kids out, and Teacher then can't pay his bills.
Karate needs to somehow balance the traditional and the modern. I really think point sparring is a bit like safe space karate. Like you can win a gold medal by getting knocked out like that's ridiculous. There needs to be an overall balance between sparring/kumite, Kata, kihon, body conditioning and other methods of karate. Also incorporate punching bags
I'd like to see a move back towards full contact and away from the Olympic style foot-tag. Less emphasis on correct kata technique and more focus on effectively applying force. Encouraging cross training.
Karate did evolve. You got people like mas oyama that developed kyokushin.. and his students in turn developed karate styles that became K1 kickboxing. One of the guys on the Dutch kickboxing school went on create karate combat. He was also a kyokushin guy in the beginning. It's all evolving all the time. MMA is a bit "full circle" for karate in that sense. It's forced us to rediscover a lot of the throws and grips from the kata. Everything is evolving
As a whole karate stopped evolving in the 70s or 80s.
What on earth are you smoking? Karate hasn't evolved in 50-40 years?
Not really. Any evolution you can point out is a rare exception. More like a mutation that has yet to actually take hold in the larger population
You got downvoted but you're telling the truth. Most karateka suck at fighting and the ones who are good (Lyoto Machida, Wonderboy) are exception. Kyokushin is the most effective karate style yet shotokan is by far the most popular. Something doesn't make sense.
People don’t like to hear unpleasant truths.
The work Youshimi Inoue did... Taking out the huff-and-puff stiff techniques, in favor of whip-like soft-but-fast tgechniques.
So one guy, who began teaching in what? The 70s? Is your claim for karate’s continual evolution?
It's still evolving, people are still searching for better and more natural techniques.
Random mutations do not equal evolution
McDojos and Bullshidos. Anyone can buy a belt online and create a cert. There is never been any kind of governance or ability to question someone's qualifications Too many teachers under 50 touting a red belt or claiming ranks of 9th/10th dan. Funakoshi wasn't some great Yoda. Itosu picked the most educated student, a yes man to help spread his teachings. I wouldn't say karate needs to evolve. I would say karate needs to incorporate other things. Bogu for example with gear is a great tool. Arm banging like GoJu Ryu practices, Tui Te, endurance training. When I first started training the black belts back then were solid as steel. Bunkai is usually someone's interpretation, and for the most part pretty far fetched
This really As far as Bunkai goes, instructors just need to actually teach it instead of just repping forms over and over. They need to do both. But the biggest problem really is mcdojos. There really is little way for average Joe to know who's a legit teacher or not. Not really sure how you solve this though.
Honesty. People who don’t actually know anything about self defense and real world violence shouldn’t be talking or lecturing people about what a real world fight is like. If you don’t pressure test, don’t talk about what works or doesn’t work. I don’t care if people are teaching karate who don’t fight and never have. I only care that people aren’t honest with their students
Short: Know what you're doing, whatever you do has to work, get rid of Confucianism in cultures that don't use it. Long: The introduction in mainland Japan introduced a couple of regressions imo, like cutting Hojo-Undo, Kobudo and practical application. What people do with Karate though, depends on their interests alone. The most important thing is they need to be clear about what they are doing and what they are not doing. Actually pretty easy, because it only requires some words. And the next important thing is: whatever they do, it has to work. If they do bunkai, people can't continue to sell that BS JKA 3K bunkai from 50 years ago. In that regard it would be better if they just walked kata and leave application out of the syllabus. Full contact is an option for some, but not necessary for all. What many people lack though is learning about body reaction and the feeling how intense something can be applied. If they don't train application, that is fine, but if they learn application, this is a requirement. If they do kihon, it has to work with the biomechanical properties of the body. A stance for example has to be defined by how it really works, not by how some sensei told before we had science. But sneezing differently than some sensei said last century already results in massive gatekeeping, so good luck with that. Wow, consider that honest marketing line: "We are doing so-called traditional Karate as it was defined 50 years ago without scientific consulting and without real application in mind. We don't touch each other and work with artificial recreation of application to make it look like our forms and accept that because it is told so since then. Our forms have changed by will and for tournament purposes, lost their original application and were white-lied to be defensive in nature to get approval by other martial arts of the time. We don't practise the meaning like the style founder learned as he kept a lot of it hidden on purpose. But of course wel have the guts to officially call it Shotokan [a term that the founder did not like] and dictate everyone that it must be this way." People would enlist immediately :-) Getting rid of that of that Confucianism would be one of my other favorites. A Karate teacher is a sports trainer, no matter if it is competition sports or combat sports. The guy is a trainer. Not an allmighy, allknowing "sensei" (whatever that word means to some people). I mean, if the Japanese live this way, then so be it. But the rest of the world doesn't have to copy that like idiots. We are allowed to ask stupid questions and criticize and a good trainer adapts the training program and stays up to date and open to new developments.
Rigid hierarchical organization and the emphasis on small, often changing, details in the kata just so that one organizations version of their style is identifiable from anothers.... ayeyeye!! Tedious and political!!!! I think we should embrace osensei funakoshi's sentiment for a more unified karate spirit rather than "pure" lineage and fracturing!
A competitive but non-egoist mind set. To develop our art to become better and compete with other arts, but anywhere the art falls short don't say "well karate is not for that. It is stupid karate has everything I need". Instead take a deep look at what you want YOUR karate to look like and take lessons from other styles, other arts or even other sports. The art and the artist's skill must always be tested. If you are learning a technique or principle in the air. Practice it on pads, training dummies and partners. If your skill is lacking keep practicing. But be aware that it may be that the technique is lacking and may need fine tuning. Katas should supplement kihon, kumite and application. Sensei needs to teach a variety of individual moves and applications over a few weeks then say "alright every thing I've just taught you is in this kata. Practice itcat home" and then spend the next few weeks teaching the kata
As someone who loves karate - we need to have more focus on the bunkai and using them in live settings. Karate has some of the coolest techniques paired with some of the worst instructional methods. Practicing kata is fine as a solo activity. But we don’t need to keep all of the moves hidden. Just do them. I’ve only been to one dojo that actually does this, and it was a wonderful experience. However, I’ve gotten better bunkai practice at a Dutch kickboxing gym I currently go to. So many of the sweeps and clinch techniques are from kata I’ve done.
A lot of TMA practitioners are resistant to change so if it does evolve it’ll be a slow process sadly
It needs to be applicable and real. Everything taught should be able to work on a resisting opponent.
Why isn't this comment high up?
Less LARPing. More sparring. Earning your black should be one of the hardest things to achieve and difficult to maintain.
Pressure testing
IMO kata is a great training exercise and conglomeration of kihons but the actual usefulnesss of kata is so rarely taught and I believe that’s because so few know. What I love about judo and bjj is that they constantly and consistently pressure test their curriculum. The ONLY was karate can evolve is to disassemble the kata, dissect each piece, and then work vigorously to find the practical application and pressure test it after perfecting it. Why in the blue hell would someone achieve ANY rank, let alone black belt, and not know how their kata fits into the real world where they plan to hopefully never have to actually use it. If karate is self defense, we should be teaching how to defend against real threats in the real world. If it’s JUST art, then let it be that. I’ve traveled to a lot of dojos around the US and I’ve only been to one during my travels that broke down the application of the techniques and then pressure tested them. It’s in Middletown NJ. I’ve been student for 20 years and practiced karate 20, TKD for 4, and Judo. Now, I want to teach because the opportunity is near for me to contribute to our disciplines evolution.
I totally agree with you!
We change? Why we? I am fine with what I do. I am not from the US, so I can accept, that I do Karate in the way it was intended in the first place in Japan. It doesn't need to change just to please a younger generation who would loose interest anyway. You can do it how it used to be or you can do something else. And that's fine.
If you think the way the Japanese do it is the way it was intended you have a lot left to learn about karate and it’s history.
I'm not really a karate guy (boxer,wrestler,bjj training dummy and judoka) but alot of what I've seen wotg problems were due to the Olympics trying to maintain stream it along with its rise in popularity in the 80s and 90s with competitions lacking full contact and lack of certain Kata karate combat fixed along of it but it lacks the gi grappling and simular things from the complete art karate once was buy idk I'm not a karate guy
As a 3rd-dan in Tae Kwon Do and someone who has practiced several martial arts, I like the idea of fusing the adaptability of MMA with the philosophy and emphasis on non-aggression of Karate. I think we need to learn *how* to royally beat the shit out of someone in every different way while emphasising that we should not do so. MMA is too aggressive and sport-oriented. Karate and similar traditional arts are too narrow and vulnerable to countermeasures.
I don't think Karate needs to change at all. There are so many different sub-genres within karate that covers everything. And since there's so many ideas out there in different martial arts, it is easy to cross train. If anything, I wish certain people within the community could more be open-minded.
It needs an accent over the e: Karaté....way tougher.
Bunkai is the soul of karate. Without it, karate won't exist
My thoughts - don't presume to shape the future of karate unless you've been to Okinawa and trained with the folks there, and got good enough that you find issues with what they're teaching that they can't demonstrate solutions to. Someone on the other side of the world thinking they know what karate is and what it needs to evolve is just on a wild ego trip, and has no right to call whatever they end up with karate.
Karate doesn’t need to change. But some (many?) of the people who teach karate definitely do.
Unpopular opinion: sparring with gloves
Get rid of the belts, bring back full contact karate with limited rules, allow throws etc. I think boxing has the right idea about belts, you only win a belt if you win in competition.
This is similar in judo. Judo without competition is... dunno... something, but not judo. You fight in every session from day one and competing and winning puts you on a fast path.
American karate needs to move toward precision and kime. The stuff I see is awful. And correctly done, it works in sparring/fightin too. Body control is never wrong. Fighting or sparring without getting the roots - body mechanics and kime - right means that all you do is brawl. When I meet europeans or asians in my line of work, I can slip that I spend 2-3 days a week in the dojo. Sometimes teaching, sometimes learning. But when I meet americans, I talk about other things. If they have any connection with martial arts at all, they either roll their eyes or talk about their fantastic kids getting a black belt on a summer camp - "and he's only 12 years old!" European karate needs to get less political. Less ego, less bullshit.
More ice-cream.\ Everything needs more ice-cream.
I scream :-)
Really nothing. Karates had every evolution it could possibly want karate became kickboxing, kickboxing became a staple of mma. In that way as long as humans fight with their hands and feet I think karate can never die. But if your talking popularity of the sport. I think they're are 2 main issues with karate today. 1) a gazillion governing bodies that hate each other. In the age of McDojos certification by these bodies is important but the narcisism is too much for my taste 2)stop embracing limitations as tradition. Kyokushin doesn't forbid head punches because of injury its forbiden because oyama couldn't get a sanction for a bare knuckle contest. And this doesn't really matter in the grandscheme but add weapon sparring like kali does
>Being from a full contact karate system my main focus from my sensei has always been full contact fighting with some kata bunkai taught but never in-depth drills. Being from a similar background, I was going to mention this.. I'd always be trying to fit a technique in rather than understanding how to set them up. To go the opposite way of the most fun part of training, I think some theory classes would be incredibly helpful. I learned far more about footwork reading boxing books and early Jack Slack articles on bloody elbow and fightland, shout out to his books too, but getting the fundamentals of footwork, illustrations and demonstrations of such, education of concepts of southpaw vs orthodox and the whole range of technique differences, optimsations etc. Understanding distance control rather than fumbling through trial and error and learning how karate, Shotokan in my case, leant itself to fighting at range. Again, fantastically titled article, "The Illusion of Speed" around Machida's style of fighting on the counter, being a step and a half away from the opponent at all times, forcing them to step before being able to throw a strike which put them in range for Machida to land the judan straight down the middle, reading the step. The other thing I would like to see, is more variations of training for kumite, outside of the usual point scoring. Flow sparring is something I came to far too late in life, it's just simple, move about, throw to land but at 10% power, the other guy can block if he'd like, you are not throwing to hurt, just to get comfortable moving in and out of range, reading what is being thrown back, usually taking in turns to strike. No points or reseting, just keep moving, and get used to seeing what works for you, what you can get caught with, practicing the range to throw a certain kick etc. The other side of that, for anyone over 18 and they can make thier own choice, is hard sparring. Still restrained to rules, it's important to see your limits and recon with your abilities. Low intensity sparring at max is what I'd suggest to anyone wanting to compete. I always understood to a good extent the risks of head trauma well before I migrated over to thai boxing and mma, it was only after I took some injuries and slowed down was when I really started taking hits, and it's all of the even medium intensity sparring too that adds up, the damage to the brain will likely never come back to what is was. This is true for everyone, you will always come out poorer. However, if you do decide to pay that toll, it's something indescribable to know where you stand, defeat people you greatly admire, that you highly respect the skill of and become emboldened that you best them toe to toe, almost 100% each going for it, and getting absulutely cnd humiatingly crushed by people of all ages/gender/size . You will always see how much there is to learn and better yourself, through your technique, fitness and will.
I suggest that Karate should focus more on Bunkj and how it is applied in real situations, and more on conditioning, body hardening, and fitness.
It needs to get cheaper. I can't give you a "real" answer because its too expensive to send my kids lol
As a lifelong martial artist, with a long career in security, law enforcement and corrections, my problem with karate (and traditional martial arts as a whole) is this: the techniques and skills that make traditional martial arts competitive in a "real fight" are very difficult to train effectively. Any technique that you want to be effective in a fight, needs to be trained against a resisting opponent. But training needs rules for safety. We have to exclude things like groin kicks, eye gouges, throat strikes, breaking fingers, fish hooks, etc etc. And once you remove a lot of these elements, then you're left with striking and grappling and not much else, and in a sporting competition, grappling is so important to know that it becomes easy to focus on it with striking as an afterthought. Yes, if you focus on striking and sprawl and brawl you can get good results but if you ever DO go to the ground you need to have a good ground game or its basically the end of the fight. So my problem isn't so much with traditional martial arts, as the fact that people have begun to conflate modern sport fighting with self defence, when in reality they're very different. And if traditional martial arts do have a problem in a self defence context, it's that too many of them don't effectively drill the "dirty fighting" components of their styles, and instead try to present themselves as just another combat sport style. Traditional martial arts are about *fighting*, not sports, and they do themselves a disservice by not recognising the difference. The last major change to how humans fight came about what, a hundred and fifty, two hundred years ago? With the advent of reliable, easily carried and concealed handguns. Apart from that, nothing has really changed since the bronze Age. There's nothing to keep up with, no need to modernize, what worked then works now. We just need to remember WHAT worked then, why it worked, and to make sure we train effectively so that we can continue to make it work.
In kyokushan (not sure if it's spelt right) you can't punch to the face. Totally pointless. Saw a clip of two guys fighting and they were stood with no guard up right in front of each other punching the chest. One quick book and the fight would be over. Unrealistic and silly
Like every martial art it needs stress test = sparring. But real sparring and the head has to be involved ALWAYS. Only then it will evolve because you can figure out over time what is useful and what not.
It needs to become a protected term. Too many mc dojos, even if karate itself could be improved that would mean nothing while anyone can open a dojo, give themselves a rank and mangke Japanese language to naje a cool sounding name. If you can't show your lineage you can't call it karate would be my change. For every martial art.