Articles

Todays Karate
By Takaatsu Nishimura - Senior Instructor, Japan Karate Association - Victoria

I believe that the nature of Karate has changed over many years, particularly since it was introduced to Japan. Of the differences between original Okinawan Karate and today’s Karate, the following two aspects separate them distinctively.

1. One opponent v's Multiple opponents
2. Fixed target v's Moving target

These two main differences have inevitably reduced over many years, if not eliminated totally the concept of Ikken Hissatsu or "Kill with one strike" in today’s Karate. The following explains why these two differences have done so:

One Opponent vs Multiple Opponents
In original Okinawan Karate, in Katas, it is my view that we have only one opponent in front of us, whilst in today’s Karate Katas we have multiple opponents surrounding us. The concept of the original Okinawan Karate is to deal with a single opponent in front of you at a time, immobilise by grabbing, grappling or throwing and then incapacitate the opponent with a single follow-up attack (punch or kick). In other words, in the original Okinawan Karate, the entire aim is to incapacitate the opponent you are facing before you deal with another opponent whom you will also position in front of you.

Every Kata has a sequence of immobilising techniques (grabbing, grappling, throwing, etc) and attacking techniques. However, today’s interpretation or Bunkai of techniques in Katas does not include much grabbing, grappling, twisting or throwing . Why were immobilising techniques removed from today’s Bunkai of Katas? There are a number of theories to explain this, however, it is not the purpose of this article to discuss those theories, so I will not get into the details.

When the grabbing, grappling, twisting and throwing were removed from the Bunkai of Katas, another explanation for such immobilising techniques, body shift and a change in the direction of techniques had to be made. In Katas of today’s Karate a change in the direction of techniques means we deal with another opponent coming from another direction. But in the original Okinawan Karate such a change of direction indicates that we move or dispose of the opponent in that particular direction. For example, in movement No. 6 of Heian 2 you are dealing with an opponent coming from your right side, in movement No. 7 you deal with another opponent coming from your behind, by blocking the opponent’s jodan attack and at the same time delivering Yoko Keage (snap side kick) to the opponent’s chudan and in movement No. 8, Kokutstu Shuto Uke, you deal with another opponent this time coming from your front. This is today’s most commonly held Bunkai of movement No's 6, 7 and 8 of Heian 2. Hence, in today’s most commonly held Bunkai of movements No. 1 through No.8 of Heian 2 there are four opponents, one on your left side, the second one on your right side, the third one behind you and the fourth one in front of you. However, if you include grappling, twisting and throwing in the Bunkai of the same movements No.1 through No.8, you will find that you are dealing with only one opponent whom you will immobilise and incapacitate during those movements.

When your interpretation of Katas is that you are surrounded by and dealing with multiple opponents, it is very difficult to maintain the intent of incapacitating the opponent as you will be moving from one opponent to another after almost each technique. Thus, the intent of Ikken Hissatsu is hard to be maintained in this scenario.

Fixed (Immobilised) Target vs Moving Target
Karate introduced from Okinawa was developed (or changed) into a new dimension in Japan. One of the major characteristics of the original Okinawan Karate is, as discussed above, to first immobilise, change the opponent to a fixed target and then incapacitate it with one single attack, i.e. Ikken Hissatsu. In today’s commonly held Bunkai of Katas which lacks the concept of immobilising the opponent before attacking, the targets or opponents we attack are always moving or moveable, i.e. not fixed. This is reflected in one of the training methods developed in Japan since Karate was introduced from Okinawa. That is Kumite training which I understand did not exist in the original Okinawa’s Karate in the format that we know today, such as Gohon Kumite (five step sparring), Kihon Ippon Kumite (one step sparring), Jiyu Ippon Kumite (semi free sparring) and Jiyu Kumite (free sparring). In all these Kumite training formats, the target we attack will move or is moving as compared to the original Okinawan Karate where an attack is executed to an immobilised or fixed target. This characteristic of attacking the moving target in today’s Karate has become more prominent as competition Karate has become the mainstream in Japan and throughout the world.

Despite the change in the nature of a target, i.e. from a fixed target to a moving target, I do not think that the types of Karate techniques or Waza have changed much, although some new techniques have been created such as Mawashi Geri. However, the change from a fixed target to a moving target in an attack has brought about significant changes in the purposes of training Karate techniques, particularly in attacking techniques. When the main purpose of Karate was to immobilise and incapacitate the opponent as in the original Okinawan Karate, the purpose of training Karate techniques was to make techniques as destructive as possible. However, when the target has become moving or moveable rather than fixed, the main focus of Karate techniques is now placed on getting the target rather than incapacitating it. Hence in today’s training an emphasis is placed much more on greater speed, proper distance, precise timing and accurate targeting, which are all essential for getting a moving or moveable target. To effectively deal with a moving target, a new form of footwork has even been developed. This new footwork is called "Tsugiashi" or "connecting footwork" where the hind leg is moved forward without crossing over the front leg and then move the front leg towards the target. This Tsugiashi footwork does not exist in any Shotokan Kata (I don’t know about other styles). The footwork in Katas is always either a walking step where the hind leg is moved across the front leg or Yoriashi where both feet are moved together maintaining the same stance.

Greater speed, proper distance, precise timing and accurate targeting that are required to get a moving target are alone not quite enough to incapacitate the target. Two other factors need to be present. They are Kime (concentration of power or strengths) and a full commitment to the technique(s).

Kime (concentration of physical and mental power and strengths)
In my personal view Kime is not so important in terms of destroying an immobilised or fixed target. A follow-through is more important to destroy a fixed target. Take breaking as an example whether it be roof tiles piled up on the floor or wood boards held by people. But Kime is crucial for the incapacitation of a moving or moveable target.

Kime will be best learned through working on the Makiwara, a punching board. However, there is a downside to this. Work on makiwara will make your punch harder or more rigid, which could cause a reduction in the speed or flexibility in your punch, which in turn is likely to reduce your chance of winning in a competition. However, Kime is one of the most important elements in JKA Karate. The concept of Kime is included in JKA competitions. Hence, training to achieve Kime should not jeopardise your chance to win in JKA competition so much as it would otherwise. Therefore, Kime should be an indispensable factor of today’s Karate. This leads us to the second element...

Full Commitment to Our Techniques
The concept of Ikken Hissatsu or incapacitating the opponent lives in the domain of a life or death battle. Most of us do not live in such a situation any more. Hence, the concept of Ikken Hissatsu may not be as relevant to our life as it used to be and it can hardly exist today. However, we all know that a determined attack is much harder to block and will give a much more devastating impact than an undetermined attack. In other words, whether or not we can commit ourselves to our techniques will make a huge difference to the outcome. There are two main factors which will influence our commitment and both are psychological factors. They are fear and confidence.

We all have a fear against our opponents, and the fear tends to grow particularly when the ability of our opponents is unknown to us. Some people are good at overcoming fear and some are not. What helps us to overcome or reduce fear is the confidence we have in our ability. The problem is that it is not easy to maintain a high level of confidence at all times. It always fluctuates. For example, if you have been sick for a while, your confidence in your fighting ability may not be so high because of your physical condition. If you have not trained regularly, you may not be as fit as you should be, hence the level of your confidence will be lower than usual. Master Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate said “Karate is like hot water. We need to keep heating it up all the time. Otherwise it gets cold.” This is very true not only in terms of physical condition but also in terms of psychological condition or confidence.

Training for Today’s Karate
Karate techniques executed with Kime and a full commitment are highly dangerous and can be lethal. Therefore, we must structure our training methods to ensure that we train not only for our physical strengths but also for self-discipline and mental control to avoid the use of Karate unless absolutely necessary. Hence, Karate is an interesting paradox where we train ourselves physically to make our techniques lethal and at the same time mentally not to use them. When I face this paradox, I truly appreciate the importance of the Dojo Kun, which starts with “Seek perfection of character”.

I believe that the changes to the original Okinawan Karate that took place in Japan as mentioned earlier initially increased the fighting aspects of Karate. Karateka who learned the original Okinawan Karate and went through these changes would be able not only to immobilise and incapacitate the opponent, but also to destroy the opponent without immobilising it, probably even multiple opponents.

As the time has gone by, the concept of the original Okinawan Karate has been little enforced, hence, the initial benefits of these changes are now diminished. I believe that to revisit the concept of the original Ok