There are 101 different reasons for training in karate and probably 1001 positive by-products of the training. So I know there’s more to karate than just fighting: but not much more! It’s a fighting martial art when all is said and done!
So I’m going to start from that premise.
To my mind, whatever else karate is; it is fundamentally a method of combat. Whenever you face a non-compliant opponent in combat of any nature, your ability to improvise and adapt is crucial. The combat might be lawfully fighting off an attacker in Nottingham city centre; it might be scoring points in a contest at the NIA.
If you think about it, when everything is pre-arranged, your karate techniques can be applied as per the ‘text book’. Solo practice of moves where the only opponent is yourself, as in kata for example, can be picture perfect: stance; posture; technique. There aren’t any external factors inhibiting what you are doing. To put it bluntly: no one is trying to kick your head in while you are doing it. If they were, your kata performance would suffer believe me.
If you consider the various forms of kumite, there is an incremental level of adaptation required commensurate with the freedom given to the opponent to do what he or she likes. Gohon and ippon kumite is not dissimilar to kata in many ways. Although there is a partner, you know what he or she is going to do. You don’t know exactly when they’re going to do it, but you do have a pretty good idea – it will be shortly after the command of hajime! Ju ippon kumite, kaeshi ju ippon kumite, and ju kumite progressively permit more freedom. If you study the movement patterns and techniques used by even the top exponents, whilst they resemble the ‘text book’, they rarely follow it exactly. Why? Because everything is adapted to fit the environment. The context is different so we make adjustments.
Here’s an example of what I mean: in our basic training when we kick we always make sure our supporting foot is flat on the floor to provide us with a solid base and good balance. This makes sense. But here’s a confession: I have a photo of myself kicking jodan maewashi geri in a competition (I might have even scored with it, I can’t remember, so let’s pretend I did!), my right foot is en route to my opponent’s face, and my solid base is the very tip of my left big toe – I’m virtually levitating! But my balance was perfect. I was in action, on the move, adapting to my environment. This was competition kumite. Free style. Rules; but not pre-arranged, and very little compliance on the part of my opponent!
Combat against a group of yobs on the street is different again. As different as chalk and cheese. Adapt, improvise. Your objective might be survival. Achieving it is paramount.
Your ‘text book’ is important. It isn’t written on a tablet of stone, but a very important implied rule within it is : use good sense and judgement to adapt and improvise where necessary!
SOUTH NOTTS KARATE 