All karate is self defence

Self defence is not about learning fancy moves and unrealistic takedowns

I received an email earlier today from a gentleman who said that he loved the self-defence part of GKR, but observed that they had only done it twice in the last 6 weeks in his class.

It’s very easy to see how we separate self defence from kihon (basics) in our minds. One is marching up and down in lines punching and going “hu hu hu”, and the other is clever escapes from wrist grabs and head locks eh?

But no, that’s not the case. They are simply different facets of the same thing, along with kata and kumite.

Imagine this: you’re on the street, and someone throws a punch at your face. You can either step to the side, block their arm, seize their wrist, then use an elbow lock to take them to the floor, or you can punch them in the face really fast before their punch has time to land.

Which is more effective? Which is easier? Which is more reliable? Which works best if the attacker has friends there? What about if it’s icy or there’s limited space?

There’s nothing wrong with evasion and an arm bar. It’s particularly useful if you need to restrain someone without hurting them. But it is harder to do, and much more risky. However, you can learn the punch in the face within 20 seconds of your first class.

You probably do kata at most classes. What is kata if it’s not self defence? Kata is practicing pre-planned response to common attacks. 1^st move in saifa is a defence against a wrist grab, as is the 1^st move in bassai dai The first move in seiunchin teaches you how to avoid a double lapel grab or shove. You could even say that the first move of first kata (taigyoku shodan) shows you how break free of a single lapel grab. The point is, our kata are nothing but self-defence – it’s up to you to recognise that fact and take something from them.

Then there’s kumite. Whether kumite in your dojo is stepping back and forwards in pairs blocking and counter-attacking, or you get to do more free jiu sparring, or you practice tournament kumite, or even rougher street style fighting, it all feeds into your self defence. Timing and distancing are critical issues when defending yourself, but probably the most vital skill is dealing with the adrenaline rush and keeping a cool head when you are afraid or exhilarated. Nothing helps you deal with that like facing people regularly.

	Simple principles, such as a good punch, and using your fence are probably your best self-defence tools.

Then of course, there’s the basics. When you are under pressure in a hostile, adrenaline-fuelled situation, you are most likely to revert to what you know best, especially as tiredness takes its toll. Higher reasoning and fine motor skills decrease, and your ability to perform complex actions is diminished.

The average student practices about once a week. How often do you think you’d need to repeat a complex task like an arm bar before it becomes instinctive and reliable? Now take into account all of the possible opponent physiologies, and the sheer unpredictability of someone who is not necessarily trained to fight, but could be strong, fast, erratic, and resistant to pain. Complex self-defence starts looking less attractive as a first choice for a serious situation.

So, when you consider your karate, just remember, every single week, in every single class, you are training in the building blocks of self-defence. You are strengthening the tools that are MOST likely to be useful to you in a fight.