Martial arts are one of the most popular forms of exercise that you can find out there.
The combination of whole-body workouts and discipline you gain, as well as the chance to socialize with others who you share a common interest with.
Of course, one of the other reasons that many martial arts are practiced is for their effectiveness when it comes to self-defense.
Many people don’t want to be caught in a nasty situation, such as a street fight or attack, without being able to defend themselves in some way.
This is especially the case for people who don’t want to have to carry weapons on their person at all times.
With this thought in mind, as well as the proliferation of the internet, many people have wondered what exactly the most effective martial art for self-defense might be.
Every martial art under the sun, from Jiu Jitsu, to Kung Fu, to Capoeira, to Judo, to Taekwondo, and even mixed martial arts.
his conversation will probably go on without a clear answer. However, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t possible to compare where many martial art’s strengths and weaknesses are.
The martial art we are going to examine for this purpose is Karate, one of the most popular martial arts that are practiced across the world.
In this article, we are going to discuss the origins of Karate, where and what it was originally developed, as well as how it is an effective martial art to learn for self-defense, as well as some of its shortcomings that you should keep in mind when considering learning it for yourself.
What Is Karate?
Before we delve into the exact pros and cons of learning karate as a self-defense tool, we should probably go into a little more detail as to what this form of martial art entails, as well as a brief description of its history.
Contrary to what some people may think, Karate is a relatively young martial art, especially when compared to many other famous martial arts.
Whilst the origins of Karate go back several hundred years when indigenous Ryukan martial arts took influence from mainland China, it would only be towards the end of the 19th century when the Empire of Japan annexed the kingdom of Ryukyu.
With many natives of the island teaching Karate when they were forced to move, the martial art that would become known as Karate would be taught across Japan throughout the early 20th century.
The main inventor of what we now call Karate was first introduced and popularized by Gichin Funakoshi, who is often considered one of the founding fathers of modern Karate, although many schools helped spread the modern popularity of the martial art in the mid to late 20th century.
Modern karate mainly uses striking techniques for its moves, utilizing both open hand and punching techniques, knew and elbow strikes, as well as different types of kicks.
Depending on the school of Karate you are studying, it is also not uncommon for karate uses to utilize various grapples and joint locks as well.
With over a hundred years of different practitioners, there is a lot of variety when it comes to the types of Karate that are found across the world.
How Do You Use Karate?
So, with the history of this traditional martial art explained, we now have to come to the main crux of this discussion: To determine what Karate is intended to be effective against.
Generally speaking, when we are questioning whether a martial art is an effective self-defense tool, we are not discussing how a person may defend themselves in a fighting ring, where both combatants are playing by the rules.
Instead, we are discussing a real-world altercation, where someone is being aggressive to you and means to bring you physical harm.
If we are using this framework as the basis for our discussion, then traditional Karate is not a tool for winning a fight, as it would be between two fighters in a dojo or match, where the form was originally intended to be practiced.
However, the original forms of Karate, as they were practiced in Okinawa, were designed to be self-defense techniques as much as they were intended to be a philosophy in themselves.
What It Is Effective Against
In terms of what it is effective against, we have to consider that Karate is a fighting style that is intended to be used with no weapons.
After all, it is known as the open-hand’ fighting style.
This means that, if you find yourself in a position where someone is threatening you with a weapon, Karate can be used to counter, and even potentially disarm an opponent.
This gives you a chance to either strike back if need be or even retreat and escape from the alteration.
Keep in mind, that self-defense is not simply the art of fighting, and knowing how to beat your opponent up.
It is as much, if not more so, about avoiding conflict and danger, whether that is through diplomacy, redirecting your opponent’s strikes, or even simply running away.
After all, better to be running and alive, than to stand and potentially lose your life, perhaps even needlessly so.
What Is Karate Not Effective At?
Of course, no martial art is perfect, especially ones that are taught in schools and form drills.
One of the concerns and criticisms that some people have of Karate, is that there is a lot of emphasis on the forms and techniques you learn, rather than how they can be used to defend yourself.
This is a problem in many formal martial arts schools, where the theory becomes more important than its practice.
After all, what good will a technique be if you don’t have the skill or speed to use it in time?
Final Thoughts
As with many martial arts, consider how you would use the skills you learn against a real opponent.
Make sure that you have experience against an opponent, and not just against drills.
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