Street Fighting and Martial Arts

Whenever a person finds out that you do a martial art their immediate response is to joke about you as a trained killer. Fair play, if you have no interest in such things, it's a difficult conversation to engage with. It is however, quite untrue. Actually, I would raise an argument to say that martial arts training can reduce your ability to defend yourself for the following reasons:

1. You may believe that the sparring in some way resembles fighting - it does not
2. You will be used to a fixed pattern of responses from your opponent 
3. You will be used to producing fixed responses yourself - not eye gauging, joint breaking etc
4. You will be used to one opponent
5. You will be used to using protective mitts which make you hands bigger and protect them from the inevitable injury that comes from hitting hard things
6. You have probably never been frightened to the point of incapacity during a training session
7. You will be used to a timely warning prior to engaging your opponent
8. You don't spar with weapons - even if you do they are probably not live or sharp or used with serious intent
9. Most dangerous of all, you may have the self confidence to expose yourself to risk because of your limited training

I could go on, but you get the idea. Street violence is fast, unfair, unpredictable and nasty from the little I've seen of it. Use your training to avoid it at all costs. If you can't, do the best you can and remember - there are no rules anymore.

Sacroiliac Joint Related Back Pain and Martial Arts

After the initial shock of starting exercise at the end of 2012 for the first time in a decade, I developed some lower back pain. This settled when I developed the muscles needed to support my back and overall if you can avoid injury, karate is a great activity for improving musculoskeletal back problems. This is providing you do the techniques correctly - horse stance especially, knees over ankles and keep your bum tucked in. Done incorrectly, it's bad for your back and you look silly (gaijin arse).

Unfortunately, every now and then the pain returns. It comes from my sacroiliac joints (SIJ). These are the relatively immobile joints towards the back of your pelvis.

A variety of causes can trigger inflammation of the joint which results in pain (sometimes severe), slightly laterally in your lower back. The pain may radiate down into your buttock and thigh but never below the knee. Sitting forward or lying on the affected side sometimes worsen the pain. It is not clear what predisposes to this - laxity of the ligaments may be important. Certainly this is a common problem in pregnancy when hormones ensure greater joint mobility to allow birth. Some believe it is reduced movement, lack of muscular support or wear on the articular surface. However it remains a clinical diagnosis - no X-ray, blood test or even MRI will detect a change (however much pain you're in). By and large, apart from the pain, its harmless.

Superficial stimulation, be it massage, acupuncture, heat etc. will all help to disrupt the pain pathway and relieve pain. Rest and anti-inflammatories will reduce the inflammation and then it's back to building up your back muscles again.

Developing good protective back muscles requires the extensor muscles to be activated and this is something we don't often do in sport as much as we should. I suspect my latest bout was brought on by neglecting these exercises, so I'm back to doing Yoga before bed and paying careful attention to my karate stances!

Ticky Donovan - Lessons From The Past

Again the power of YouTube - watch Ticky Donovan giving an excellent run down of some classic techniques.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_2He-0tGuA

Annan

I keep returning to Annan because it is a really beautiful kata. Do look at this Youtube clip of Sensei Hasegawa Yukimitsu teaching on this kata.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mKSfJjJL3w

Happy 2014! An individual journey continues

It's now over a year since I started to develop an interest in martial arts. The honeymoon is over. It is a shame, but true to say that in the West, martial arts remain a domain inhabited largely by weird men and kids. There are gems however. People along the way who influence you and set you off on the next stage of your journey. One of the reasons why there are so many factions within martial arts, so much in-fighting and animosity between clubs is that there is no one way. We are each on our own journey. Martial arts are not religions, but share many of the faults of religious organizations. None of this is easy to change, nor can it be. Develop your own path and move on regardless.

Holding Back Information

There are some in martial arts who will not teach you everything they know and not just because you're not good enough to understand or because you can't be trusted not to misuse the knowledge, but rather to keep knowledge to themselves. This would have been common practice in the days of Samurai or early competitive dojos, when trade secrets had to be guarded. But knowledge is still power. Again, the same reason is probably behind it - fear of loosing competitive advantage. The fact that karate is made up of many slightly different factions who split apart to form more groups, each holding tightly to their particular variations, does not help. It was refreshing to hear Jonathan Mottram saying that he would teach anyone everything he knew, but didn't fear this because he would still practice harder than them and be better! More like Jonathan please.

Martial Arts - Frozen In Time

At some point in the future, I would like to visit Japan. Firstly because it would be fascinating and I hope, fun, but also because I want to see for myself how karate is really done by Japanese in Japan. Why? Simply because karate is a Japanese invention and includes practices based on Japanese culture and tradition. Unfortunately, not all teachers do this. As in any other subject, in addition to being an expert in their subject, a good teacher should be a nice human being with a certain standard of moral behavior and awareness of current practice.   To find a teacher will all 3 things - talent, personality and up to date skills is rare. Talent and personality are very much down to the individuals hard work and nature, however keeping up to date can be done by anyone. Many believe that regular travel to Japan is essential for anyone serious about karate. This is not just to get close to the original teachings, but rather to be aware of the directions it is taking and the way it is currently practiced in a day to day manner. If a person visits in the distant past, then their practice is essentially frozen in that time. An analogy would be British Colonies behaving in a more British was than the Brits - except they are not practicing current British behavior, but rather that of a previous era. Well it can be like that in karate, with poorer instructors adhering rigidly to disciplines that have long died out in Japan or practicing them without ever really understanding the real purpose. To overcome this it is better to visit Japan regularly and develop contacts there and not to rely on second-hand, outdated information.

Knuckle Push-ups

The knuckle press-up seems to be popular within martial arts circles for strengthening the fist. It also seems to have a degree of machismo nonsense associated with it. I have been made to do these together with the rest of the class including children on a wooden floor when I couldn't even do a traditional push-up. So what's going on here?

Old style martial artists used these because they develops wrist and forearm strength more so than the standard flat handed push-up. It will also condition the hand bones to improve their strength. Overall this makes your punch more effective since the combined strength of the wrist and hand bones contributes to impact. Knuckle push-ups also exercise slightly different upper body muscles since the hand position is closer together. The problem is that it can injury the knuckles by causing overgrowth of bone or injury to the joint resulting in arthritis and limitation of mobility. This is surely undesirable even for combat ready Samurai. Additionally, it can damage developing bones, so knuckle push-ups are a good addition to training only when they are done on a padded surface and in people who have finished growing - 16 years+

Secrets In Karate - What Can We Learn From Kata?

Much is made of the secrecy of traditional Japanese karate teachers and the fact that their most effective techniques were partially or fully held back from all but the most trusted, skilled and Japanese students. To a point this is almost certainly true. I know one person today who trains under a senior Japanese instructor and he is certainly not in possession of complete transmission.

Why is this? Historical accounts suggest that there was great rivalry between schools and even earlier families who would require their best techniques to be firmly held within the chosen group. After all, 70 years ago or more, hand to hand combat was a matter of survival not there for academic interest, hobby or 'sport'.  It was a way of life and a matter of survival and maintaining status. There were also historical reasons why the Okinawans would not trust outsiders like the mainland Japanese, Chinese or Westerners. However, there had been relationships with all these outsiders for hundreds of years through trade and political alliance that would have led to the sharing of skills such as martial arts. In this way karate developed from older Chinese and possibly Indian forms. Also progress and political need led to the development of modern karate down a route different from the older forms - Funakoshi developed simple forms for school children to promote health and popularize karate practice which fitted the agenda of the Japanese government of the time. These forms did not contain the lethal moves or complexity of kata he himself had learnt as a boy. Again, moving forward the three distinct Okanawan styles of Shuri/Naha/Tomari-Te were combined and developed along more academic lines, developing body kinetics to increase power. Also differing styles have evolved and there has been the development of sport karate and multiple gradings/belts to make it more widely acceptable to the West. Along the way, the original forms while not necessarily better, have been partially lost. While I would be keen to see development of any activity for the sake of improvement, it is nice to know what went before. Additionally, the thought that we may be missing the best bits is really tantalizing. Added to that the thought that the knowledge may somehow have survived in part and be out there...

One of the sad things is that it is obvious that any effective fighting system as used by people in the old days would have been much more diverse (and possibly complex) than modern karate. After all, a major part of time would be dedicated to it - hours every day. These people would have started training before puberty and continued lifelong. For example, where are the weapons in modern karate? Where is the use of pressure points (not just the odd one or two)? Where are the adaptations for women who back in the day of Samurai were taught to defend themselves and their children while the men were off fighting? If present at all in modern karate, it is only to a minor degree.

One source of information that is open to us is kata - old kata. Within them may be the traces of some of these techniques, although very much open to interpretation now with no first hand guide. Another is the oldest forms found in China and India.

One Year Into Karate Training - Making The Moves Is Not Enough

It's a little over a year since I first stepped into the Dojo with no idea of what martial arts involved (I hadn't even seen Enter The Dragon), no interest in any sort of sport and a fitness level close to zero. While I acknowledge that I have learned a lot, I feel I've hit a wall when it comes to progress. This may be because as a beginner you have everything to learn so you learn fast at the beginning. Also, since I was so unfit, there was large scope for improvement in general fitness but, I think there's more to it. I don't think this is a natural slow down, I think I don't practice enough or correctly. When I first started, I practiced obsessively - every evening for 30-60 minutes (that's obsessive by my definition). Not now. I do practice most days closer to 30 minutes, but I practice in the same way as I did in the beginning. Quick kata run through so as not to forget the moves, a few basics, sometimes weights or perhaps focus in one kata, but what can you do in 30 minutes? Not a lot really. The point is my emphasis is still on quantity when it is the quality of moves not quantity that counts. So I'm stuck. Granted, I know a lot of things I didn't know a year ago, I'm much fitter, I can do things I never could and I've seen all the Bruce Lee movies but, I have no technique and I won't progress without it. There is only one way forward - hard work outside the Dojo.

Mushin - The State of No Mind In Karate

There is much talk of Zen in the martial arts. Mushin is a Zen concept meaning, as best as I can understand it, acting without conscious thought. Being in a state where there is no delay in action caused by having to think about your response. Zen is a concept I no nothing about, which is not surprising having grown up in 1970's Britain. I wonder if Eastern concepts such as Zen are not as mystical as they first appear to people like me. Mushin seems to refer to being on autopilot, reacting automatically to a situation such as hand to hand combat. This is similar to modern educational theory about how we learn skills: At first we are unconsciously unaware (we don't know we don't know something), then we become consciously unaware (we know we don't know something). As we decide we should learn the technique, we move into conscious awareness (as we are trying to learn the skill) and then at last we master it and move into unconscious awareness (we can do it automatically), like driving a car, it requires no thought. I think this is Mushin.

In the car driving example, it you stopped to think about every gear change, every bend or alteration in velocity, your driving would probably deteriorate. It's the same with karate as it is with mastering any physical skill. Neurologically, in conscious awareness, brain activity is cortical however, when we have really mastered a skill and have unconscious awareness, we process this at a deeper, more primitive, cerebellar level. So perhaps there is a Western scientific explanation for what those wise people in the East have intuitively known all along and we have doubted?

Gyaku Zuki

Gyaku Zuki or reverse punch is one of the first moves you will learn in karate. It is performed as part of kihon or basic technique during every class as well as appearing in kata and being of great use in sparring. It is also one of the most frustrating moves known to karate. This is because it looks easy, but nothing could be further from the truth. After a year of practice I still cannot do this basic technique well. I'm at the stage where it looks ok, but against an obstacle it has no real impact and this is because I'm not doing it correctly. It's more obvious for me since I don't have a huge amount of strength. My technique performed by a large bloke would probably be effective enough, but that really isn't the point, big or small, strong or weak you need to aspire to perfect technique even if you could defeat your opponent by simply falling on them. The underlying philosophy of karate is that a single technique is all that you need to defeat your opponent. This is not the philosophy of other martial arts and hence effective technique is of over riding importance in karate.

Gyaku Zuki like other moves, uses every part of the body, not just the arm. Not only must the back foot push off, driving the back hip forward which is the basis of the power behind the punching arm, but 5 other components beyond this add to the overall power. Firstly, a combination of tension in the lower half of the body with relaxation in the upper part. The former gives a firm stance from which to begin the generation of power while the latter allows speed. The muscles of the shoulder, neck and scapula must be relaxed so that the arm can be whipped forward without resistance. Second, rotational torque. Starting from the back foot and carried through the hip and abdominal muscles and rotational movement begins that precedes the punch landing and throws it out from the body. Simultaneously the leading hand pulls back sharply to just above belt level as an additional rotational force. Third, aim just beyond the target. Forth, speed. The faster you get, the greater the impact. Lastly, focus. For beginners focus is just thinking about all of the above, but for those who can do all that automatically and whose gi cracks in an attempt to keep up with speeding limbs, focus can add power by tapping our ability to enhance our own strength in times of emergency. Some advanced practitioners can do this at will, in the same way that some people with practice can alter their heart rate consciously. Of course, I've forgotten the most important thing - practice!

High Intensity Interval Training - Another Plus For Karate?

High intensity training (HIT) features in every gym and magazine column these days. It comprises short bursts of intense activity (30 seconds to a few minutes) followed by a lower intensity short recovery period of 30 seconds or less. It takes less time than a jog or bike ride, but you do have to work as hard as you can during those short activity bursts.

HIT was used to help people recover from heart attacks in the early 1970's, but is applicable for sports training and general population fitness. I tend to be put off by anything sold to me in a gym environment so I've tried to find out more. Gyms can be places full of the most ridiculous pseudo-science you will encounter outside of holistic therapy. Places where grains of fact are taken up by the scientifically illiterate and turned into 'treatments' and 'programs' conducted by people who drink oddly coloured drinks to 'stay hydrated'. As an aside here, over hydration with the ensuing brain swelling, kills more athletes than dehydration, a state to which the human body is quite well adapted in health. So what evidence is there for HIT? Well the HIT programs used are heterogenous and applied to differing populations (the unfit healthy, unhealthy and athletes are quite different animals), so it can be difficult to establish what the true effect is, but a trend is emerging. A meta-analysis published this month by BMJ Group reviewed 10 studies in people at risk of cardiovascular disease and supported the use if this type of training to improve cardiorespiratory fitness as measured by maximal oxygen uptake which is known to link strongly with improved survival. HIT was better than medium intensity workouts in this group. It was also safe and enjoyable.

http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2013/10/21/bjsports-2013-092576.full.pdf+html

There is also evidence that HIT is effective in healthy individuals, even if the time periods are very short indeed. Enter the 7-minute workout.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23734250

http://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/Fulltext/2013/05000/HIGH_INTENSITY_CIRCUIT_TRAINING_USING_BODY_WEIGHT_.5.aspx

When you're next in the dojo you may feel that karate training is also a form of HIT - short bouts of intense activity followed by a brief rest, then off again and again and again. So perhaps we are already reaping the benefits without the need to become trendy and join a 'program'?

What Gichin Funakoshi Had To Say On Karate Women

In both his book 'Karate Do My Way Of Life' and the second edition of his Master Text, Master Funakoshi referred both respectfully and sensibly about women with reference to martial arts training. Despite the time period he lived in, his very traditional upbringing and chosen path of following and developing martial arts, he excluded no person from his philosophy.

He seems to encourage women to develop martial arts skills for very similar reasons to why men should wish to adopt this way of life - mental and physical improvement - he does stress the beneficial effects on the female form. Quite correct, but quite possibly this could be achieved by any sensible exercise program. However, all practitioners take up martial arts with self defense somewhere on the agenda and possibly women more than men. Far from a quick fix, a walk-anywhere-alone, wear-anything-now-you're-free-to-defend-yourself attitude, any woman taking up martial arts will realize that in general we are not well placed to defend ourselves, particularly against men.

Master Funakoshi knew this and at least in the 1950's you could say it without evoking a feminist rant. His rules were as follows:

1. Don't put yourself in harms way (alter your behavior, don't walk alone late at night if you can avoid it, don't get paralytically drunk in public - he doesn't use this exact example)
2. Be alert for trouble
3. If you detect a possible threat, take evasive action fast
4. If you have to defend yourself, be prepared to do so, but remember you will not do so successfully by physical force alone
5. To successfully defend herself, a woman must be faster and more skilled because you'll probably only get one shot, not the luxury of a protracted fight that a man will get. So a woman needs to repeatedly practice different attack-defense scenarios
6. Time your response for one effective, powerful, blow to somewhere effective - give it everything you've got, because if you fail you're likely to escalate the attack against you 
7. Escape fast

Good advice now as it was then.

Karate Is A Great Activity For Unfit Beginners!

It is one year, almost exactly, since I started karate. At this time I was unfit, moderately overweight and had no habit of regular exercise. One year on, I exercise regularly, have lost 10kg, have a different (better) body shape and have improved my overall level of cardiovascular fitness as well as strength. I'm about where I should be with my karate skills - obviously still a novice, but that does not bother me since I can now do so much more than I could one year ago. In fact, I would never have imaged then that I could do what I do now.

Obviously, I liked karate and stuck with it, but karate will not be for everybody. Regardless, some of the things that helped me to persist in the early stages were firstly, not much is expected of you early on and secondly, you simply cannot do most of the class! Nobody on their first day can execute a half decent step-in back kick, or hope to learn more than a couple of the basic combinations, let alone do kata. Even pad work is slowed down while you are taught to hold the pad correctly and receive a blow. So overall, you are prevented from taking part in the strenuous work out everyone else is doing. This basic knowledge takes a few months to build up before you can make a decent stab at most of the class, still sitting out the kata's you don't yet know.

So overall, karate makes an excellent beginners activity which grows with your own ability.

How Much Energy Does Karate Burn?

Karate is a surprisingly demanding activity if done well with good power and technique. Kumite is much harder cardiovascular work then kata, but the latter is still exhausting. A study published last year in The European Journal of Applied Physiology found that half of the energy burned was through anaerobic metabolism for a single, simple kata lasting only 30 seconds and it used 61kj or 15kcal - not bad for 30 seconds work!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22441830

Real Or Simulated Combat May Cause Stress - Better For You Than You Think?

Kata and particularly kumite are not just physically demanding, they can be emotionally stressful since both are forms of simulated combat. Well what effect does this have on us? A 2012 paper published in Sports Science Health by Benedini et al found increases in glucose, epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) after 3 minutes of kata or kumite activity in elite karateka, with the greatest difference found following kumite.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3573715/

What is interesting about this is that firstly, it demonstrates the fast physiological changes that humans can display to appropriate mental and physical stress and that secondly, this is likely to be mediated by the sympathetic nervous system rather than hormonal systems. The levels of insulin and cortisol did not change over this time scale. The effects of this would be predicted to liberate glucose from liver glycogen for our muscles and brain to use. It would also stimulate the production of lactate from muscles which can be used by the liver to generate glucose by a separate pathway. This all makes perfect sense as a fast way for our nervous system to push out glucose to fuel a fight. However, the effects of these two neurotransmitters over a longer term on fat, muscle and other tissues, let alone their overall effect on metabolism is complex and unclear. It has been proposed that alterations in the sympathetic nervous system may predispose to metabolic disturbances such as types 2 diabetes and obesity and it is also known that exercise has a very beneficial effect on glycaemic (glucose) control in people with diabetes. Contrary to the conclusion of the authors that such activity may need to be avoided in 'dysmetabolic individuals', I suspect it may be more beneficial than most forms of exercise. See the review below if you have the strength.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs001250051341

One of the things missing from Western life is real physical stress that you can physically respond to - really put the fight-or-flight response into action. We do have an abundance of other stress - stressful jobs, frustrating traffic queues, people we can't control who control us etc. etc. Their is no physiological outlet for this and it is widely acknowledged that this is generally bad for us. Perhaps stress you can respond to is less bad, or even good? I'm not aware of any definitive medical evidence for this yet, but there are interesting articles appearing.

Will Karate Prepare You To Fight The Enemy?

Will Karate Prepare You To Fight The Enemy? Yes without a doubt, if your are able to adapt your mind and lifestyle to karate, after a lot of practice you will be well placed to do this.

But who is "the enemy"? Most of us will hopefully never be attacked if we don't go looking for a fight and we are alert to high risk situations and get away as soon as possible. If this is not the case for you, then you need to learn how to fight, by any means possible and preferably get really good at it. For those like me living a comfortable Western lifestyle, I am my greatest danger. So many of us adopt lifestyles that increase our risk of early death and disability through chronic disease and make us unhappy. We over eat, eat food that is bad for us, don't keep that active, smoke cigarettes, drink too much alcohol and get fat. We may do high stress jobs that make us prone to this sort of lifestyle and develop the problems that come with long term stress - depression, anxiety, disrupted sleep and poor relationships. This is the modern enemy that attacks us all to a greater or lesser extent and reduces the joy of being alive.

This is the enemy that adopting Karate as a way of life can help you fight. Karate gives us a way to defeat the enemy within as well as the enemy outside.

1. Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasuruna.
Karate begins and ends with courtesy.
2. Karate ni sente nashi.
There is no first attack in karate.
3. Karate wa gi no tasuke.
Karate is an assistance to justice.
4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikoshite tao wo shire.
Know yourself first, before you know others.
5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.
Spirit before technique.
6. Kokoro wa hanatan koto wo yosu.
Be ready to free your mind.
7. Wazawai wa getai ni shozu.
Accidents come from laziness.
8. Dojo nomino karate to omou na.
Karate training goes beyond the dojo.
9. Karate no shugyo wa issho de aru.
You will never stop learning in karate.
10. Arai-yuru mono wo karate-ka seyo, soko ni myo-mi ari.
Apply karate to everything. Therein lies it’s beauty.
11. Karate wa yu no goto shi taezu natsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru.
Karate is like boiling water. If not given heat, it will go cold.
12. Katsu kangae wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo.
Do not think of winning. Instead, think that you must never lose.
13. Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo.
Make adjustments according to your opponent.
14. Tattakai wa kyo-jitsu no soju ikan ni ari.
The outcome of a fight depends on how you handle weaknesses and strengths.
15. Hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe.
Think of hands and feet as swords.
16. Danshi mon wo izureba hyakuman no tekki ari.
When you step outside your own gate, you face a million enemies.
17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai.
Fixes positions are for beginners: later, one moves naturally.
18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono.
Kata is practised perfectly, real fight is another thing.
19. Chikara no kyojaku, karada no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasaruna.
Hard and soft, tension and relaxation, quick and slow, all connected in the technique.
20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo.
Think of ways to apply these precepts every day.
- See more at: http://www.karatebyjesse.com/the-20-precepts-of-karate-shotokan-jungle-trip/#sthash.OB3V0539.dpuf

1. Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasuruna.
Karate begins and ends with courtesy.
2. Karate ni sente nashi.
There is no first attack in karate.
3. Karate wa gi no tasuke.
Karate is an assistance to justice.
4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikoshite tao wo shire.
Know yourself first, before you know others.
5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.
Spirit before technique.
6. Kokoro wa hanatan koto wo yosu.
Be ready to free your mind.
7. Wazawai wa getai ni shozu.
Accidents come from laziness.
8. Dojo nomino karate to omou na.
Karate training goes beyond the dojo.
9. Karate no shugyo wa issho de aru.
You will never stop learning in karate.
10. Arai-yuru mono wo karate-ka seyo, soko ni myo-mi ari.
Apply karate to everything. Therein lies it’s beauty.
11. Karate wa yu no goto shi taezu natsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru.
Karate is like boiling water. If not given heat, it will go cold.
12. Katsu kangae wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo.
Do not think of winning. Instead, think that you must never lose.
13. Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo.
Make adjustments according to your opponent.
14. Tattakai wa kyo-jitsu no soju ikan ni ari.
The outcome of a fight depends on how you handle weaknesses and strengths.
15. Hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe.
Think of hands and feet as swords.
16. Danshi mon wo izureba hyakuman no tekki ari.
When you step outside your own gate, you face a million enemies.
17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai.
Fixes positions are for beginners: later, one moves naturally.
18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono.
Kata is practised perfectly, real fight is another thing.
19. Chikara no kyojaku, karada no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasaruna.
Hard and soft, tension and relaxation, quick and slow, all connected in the technique.
20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo.
Think of ways to apply these precepts every day.
- See more at: http://www.karatebyjesse.com/the-20-precepts-of-karate-shotokan-jungle-trip/#sthash.OB3V0539.dpuf

1. Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasuruna.
Karate begins and ends with courtesy.
2. Karate ni sente nashi.
There is no first attack in karate.
3. Karate wa gi no tasuke.
Karate is an assistance to justice.
4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikoshite tao wo shire.
Know yourself first, before you know others.
5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.
Spirit before technique.
6. Kokoro wa hanatan koto wo yosu.
Be ready to free your mind.
7. Wazawai wa getai ni shozu.
Accidents come from laziness.
8. Dojo nomino karate to omou na.
Karate training goes beyond the dojo.
9. Karate no shugyo wa issho de aru.
You will never stop learning in karate.
10. Arai-yuru mono wo karate-ka seyo, soko ni myo-mi ari.
Apply karate to everything. Therein lies it’s beauty.
11. Karate wa yu no goto shi taezu natsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru.
Karate is like boiling water. If not given heat, it will go cold.
12. Katsu kangae wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo.
Do not think of winning. Instead, think that you must never lose.
13. Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo.
Make adjustments according to your opponent.
14. Tattakai wa kyo-jitsu no soju ikan ni ari.
The outcome of a fight depends on how you handle weaknesses and strengths.
15. Hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe.
Think of hands and feet as swords.
16. Danshi mon wo izureba hyakuman no tekki ari.
When you step outside your own gate, you face a million enemies.
17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai.
Fixes positions are for beginners: later, one moves naturally.
18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono.
Kata is practised perfectly, real fight is another thing.
19. Chikara no kyojaku, karada no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasaruna.
Hard and soft, tension and relaxation, quick and slow, all connected in the technique.
20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo.
Think of ways to apply these precepts every day.
- See more at: http://www.karatebyjesse.com/the-20-precepts-of-karate-shotokan-jungle-trip/#sthash.OB3V0539.dpuf

1. Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasuruna.
Karate begins and ends with courtesy.
2. Karate ni sente nashi.
There is no first attack in karate.
3. Karate wa gi no tasuke.
Karate is an assistance to justice.
4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikoshite tao wo shire.
Know yourself first, before you know others.
5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.
Spirit before technique.
6. Kokoro wa hanatan koto wo yosu.
Be ready to free your mind.
7. Wazawai wa getai ni shozu.
Accidents come from laziness.
8. Dojo nomino karate to omou na.
Karate training goes beyond the dojo.
9. Karate no shugyo wa issho de aru.
You will never stop learning in karate.
10. Arai-yuru mono wo karate-ka seyo, soko ni myo-mi ari.
Apply karate to everything. Therein lies it’s beauty.
11. Karate wa yu no goto shi taezu natsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru.
Karate is like boiling water. If not given heat, it will go cold.
12. Katsu kangae wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo.
Do not think of winning. Instead, think that you must never lose.
13. Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo.
Make adjustments according to your opponent.
14. Tattakai wa kyo-jitsu no soju ikan ni ari.
The outcome of a fight depends on how you handle weaknesses and strengths.
15. Hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe.
Think of hands and feet as swords.
16. Danshi mon wo izureba hyakuman no tekki ari.
When you step outside your own gate, you face a million enemies.
17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai.
Fixes positions are for beginners: later, one moves naturally.
18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono.
Kata is practised perfectly, real fight is another thing.
19. Chikara no kyojaku, karada no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasaruna.
Hard and soft, tension and relaxation, quick and slow, all connected in the technique.
20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo.
Think of ways to apply these precepts every day.
- See more at: http://www.karatebyjesse.com/the-20-precepts-of-karate-shotokan-jungle-trip/#sthash.OB3V0539.dpuf

1. Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasuruna.
Karate begins and ends with courtesy.
2. Karate ni sente nashi.
There is no first attack in karate.
3. Karate wa gi no tasuke.
Karate is an assistance to justice.
4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikoshite tao wo shire.
Know yourself first, before you know others.
5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.
Spirit before technique.
6. Kokoro wa hanatan koto wo yosu.
Be ready to free your mind.
7. Wazawai wa getai ni shozu.
Accidents come from laziness.
8. Dojo nomino karate to omou na.
Karate training goes beyond the dojo.
9. Karate no shugyo wa issho de aru.
You will never stop learning in karate.
10. Arai-yuru mono wo karate-ka seyo, soko ni myo-mi ari.
Apply karate to everything. Therein lies it’s beauty.
11. Karate wa yu no goto shi taezu natsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru.
Karate is like boiling water. If not given heat, it will go cold.
12. Katsu kangae wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo.
Do not think of winning. Instead, think that you must never lose.
13. Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo.
Make adjustments according to your opponent.
14. Tattakai wa kyo-jitsu no soju ikan ni ari.
The outcome of a fight depends on how you handle weaknesses and strengths.
15. Hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe.
Think of hands and feet as swords.
16. Danshi mon wo izureba hyakuman no tekki ari.
When you step outside your own gate, you face a million enemies.
17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai.
Fixes positions are for beginners: later, one moves naturally.
18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono.
Kata is practised perfectly, real fight is another thing.
19. Chikara no kyojaku, karada no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasaruna.
Hard and soft, tension and relaxation, quick and slow, all connected in the technique.
20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo.
Think of ways to apply these precepts every day.
- See more at: http://www.karatebyjesse.com/the-20-precepts-of-karate-shotokan-jungle-trip/#sthash.OB3V0539.dpuf

Should Karate Be Adapted For Women?

I have commented previously that karate is not just practiced with the intention of developing fighting skills. If you want to be a good fighter you will need many different skills and disciplines of which karate is only one. Most people who practice karate do so for the overall package of benefits to fitness, mind, self-discipline and also self-defense. Also, the aim when practicing is to develop effective technique, so that if you did have to defend yourself, what you've been practicing has a realistic chance of success. To that end, women are different to men. Primarily, they are weaker and smaller and because of this, much less likely to be effective in a fight against a man - even if they are more skilled. I'm not talking controlled sparring, I mean a real fight. Most women do not engage in bravado mock fights with other women, which comprises the majority of male on male petty violence. Outside of Hollywood, most women unfortunate enough to be involved in violence, are victims of attack and frequently by people they know. The method of assault is different from male victims and the pattern of injures sustained is also different. They are much more likely to be seriously injured and sexual motive is more common. Obviously, every method to predict and avoid potentially dangerous situations and personalities should be deployed. I change my behavior if I feel it is needed - is it fair? No. Does it make me safer? Yes. Since I'm too old to change the world, or rather the less pleasant people in it, I bend a little. Your choice.

Anyway, given the ugly truth, what is the point in me learning to punch hard to the abdomen? In reality, any man ready for a struggle is unlikely to be deterred by it, let alone injured. What is says is "ok, lets make this physical." So if I can generate a certain force I had better use it effectively and direct it at the eyes, ears, neck, groin or any other soft spot that will either hurt or stun for long enough for me to run.  Additionally, we sometimes practice getting out of holds or grips as part of self-defense. In reality, some of these will only work for you with people of a certain size or strength.

So when you practice a bit of self defense in your class ask your self "would this really work for me, a 5ft, 55kg woman, against a 6ft, 80kg man?" If the answer's "no" then ask your Sensei to adapt it for you so that it's worth practicing. If you have lots of women in your class, or always get put with the size-match opponent, ask to swap, it will change your perspective of how effective you can be.

Karate, Fighting And Confusion

If you tell somebody that you do karate they immediately make a joke reference about not arguing with you given that you're now trained to kill with your bare hands etc. etc. I laugh it off - actually I'm not that trained (less than one year does not an expert make) and even if I'd done my 10,000 hours, the automatic assumption that I would be able to defend myself against an attacker or attackers would be unlikely given that - one, the free sparring I practice is a highly stylized sport designed to show control, not injure and involves little actual karate. Two, as a small women my strength would be very much inferior to a larger male (stereotyped attacker). It's strength that wins fights regardless, unless vastly out skilled. Three, I've never experienced a hostile attack, the type carried out by those capable of habitual violence and as such, would probably fail to realize the gravity of my situation until too late. When it comes to self defense, avoidance remains the best option. Failing that, talking your way out is a close second. Fighting your way out is the option of last resort. It often ends badly.

The reason why I practice karate and probably others too, is because it teaches me self control, shows me how to carry on when I don't think I can, shows me that I can do things I never thought possible and it keeps me fit. Way, way down on my list of way I do karate is that it might help me defend myself. Perhaps it can. At least I'm used to taking controlled blows through a pad, perhaps a reflex reaction may make the difference. I do hope so, but it remains very hard to explain to non martial artists that we're not all doing it to become trained killers. So, it's best just to laugh their comments off (you sound odd if you try to explain) and smile modestly, perhaps if they were a would be attacker they'll pass you by.