A friend once said to me, ‘those karate blocks would never work in the street!‘ I said ‘I know!‘.
He then said ‘so whats the point of practicing the traditional karate blocks?‘
I said to him that I simply enjoy practicing karate. That was the end of the conversation really :).
Shotokan Self Defense
I couldn’t really spend the time explaining to him that I do not do karate just for fighting.
I didn’t explain to him that in self defense you use a version of the karate blocks, not the actual basic karate blocks as they are in the kata, most of the time.
I believe shotokan karate is good for self defence but the karateka must also have an understanding of what would and would not work in a self defense scenario.
karatedo (the way of karate) is an art form as well as a fighting system, it is way more than just blocking, kicking and punching.
If it was just about fighting I would be practicing mixed martial arts because it’s the best for just fighting, because that’s what they do.
But personally, for me, i love karatedo, i love everything about it, the karate kata, kumite and kihon.
As i get older my karate is changing, i am looking more to the health side of karate practice.
Now don’t get me wrong, i enjoy the fighting side of karate also, but for a complete art form that encompasses so much, it’s karatedo for me.
So if you are looking to practice shotokan self defense only, I would go the mixed martial arts route. Oss!
Shotokan Self Defense
Those Karate Blocks Don’t Work!
