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The History of Karate

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: The History of Karate

#11

Post by bloniac »

fastball wrote: post #9
bloniac wrote: post #8

I was a great believer in karate as a combat sport for many years. The arrival of MMA proved the true effectiveness of each of the martial arts in an actual combat situation. Karate has value in combat, but it’s certainly not as effective as I originally thought. I took my son to do karate training for a year and watched the classes and honestly it seemed pretty worthless to me as a way of learning to fight/defend yo…

I was always under the impression that Karate wasn't particularly useful for combat / self-defense. Krav Maga is the martial art that I've always thought of as actually useful for self-defense.

That or boxing or kickboxing or wrestling or bjj. Those are the only truly effective combat sports. Perhaps judo too.

Re: The History of Karate

#12

Post by tlear »

bloniac wrote: post #8

I was a great believer in karate as a combat sport for many years. The arrival of MMA proved the true effectiveness of each of the martial arts in an actual combat situation. Karate has value in combat, but it’s certainly not as effective as I originally thought. I took my son to do karate training for a year and watched the classes and honestly it seemed pretty worthless to me as a way of learning to fight/defend yo…

Most of the karate schools in US are just after school daycare for kids.

There are good clubs, but you have to research them. Most Kyokushin clubs will teach you quite a bit

Foundation of modern karate was in the era when every boy in Japan did Judo in school. Every accomplished karate teacher at the time also was a decent judoka. For example Oyama who founded Kyokushin was a great grappler, many Natinal level judoka also trained karate.

You have to train grappling or you might as well not bother training at all.

Re: The History of Karate

#13

Post by SodomUsain »

lanevorockz wrote: post #6
_carbyau_ wrote: post #2

"In a Western-style sport, the aim is gaining victory at all costs,” This statement most resonated with me. I had to give up playing hockey because - at the lowest grade - people paid no respect to you. If they could kick the ball and the ref didn't see it, they would continue play. If they could hit the ball hard at you from point blank, that is fine. You see similar in elite sport, players in "football" of whatever…

I really don’t see it like that, true athletes aim to be their best and not just win using any dirty trick. Think Usain Bolt for example.

I admire Usain Bolt I do. Good example!

Re: The History of Karate

#14

Post by anon_tor_12345 »

fastball wrote: post #9
bloniac wrote: post #8

I was a great believer in karate as a combat sport for many years. The arrival of MMA proved the true effectiveness of each of the martial arts in an actual combat situation. Karate has value in combat, but it’s certainly not as effective as I originally thought. I took my son to do karate training for a year and watched the classes and honestly it seemed pretty worthless to me as a way of learning to fight/defend yo…

I was always under the impression that Karate wasn't particularly useful for combat / self-defense. Krav Maga is the martial art that I've always thought of as actually useful for self-defense.

>Krav Maga is the martial art that I've always thought of as actually useful for self-defense

i'm not big on martial arts or even mma but for some reason i've seen this argument in various places often enough that i've also seen the appropriate response: if that were true then all of the most successful mma fighters would be krav maga experts. in actuality not a single one practices krav maga. the proof is in the pudding.

Re: The History of Karate

#15

Post by datameta »

bloniac wrote: post #11
fastball wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was always under the impression that Karate wasn't particularly useful for combat / self-defense. Krav Maga is the martial art that I've always thought of as actually useful for self-defense.

That or boxing or kickboxing or wrestling or bjj. Those are the only truly effective combat sports. Perhaps judo too.

It is the confidence in being able to defend oneself that leads one to avoid having fights intitiated with them by virtue of how they comport themselves in a relaxed unthreatened manner.

To top it off, training in something like muay thai will get the kid a great headstart on leading a fit lifestyle. Never done an aerobic activity more tiring or sweat inducing.

Re: The History of Karate

#16

Post by guruparan18 »

> Trias shared one story that karate had been born in a monastery in China, where a wandering Indian master named Bodhidharma noticed that sedentary monks were growing sickly and devised the martial art to cultivate their strength.

Interesting to see there is no mention of "kalaripayattu". Kalari as its famously shorten [1] have about 2000 years of history and is used with both weapons and no-weapons. Bodhidharma was said to have left from then Tamil states to China.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalaripayattu#Etymology

Re: The History of Karate

#17

Post by roca »

> “There are Western fantasies about every martial art,” explains Sánchez-García. “Karate is laden with mysticism and stories about secret cults, which are part of the stereotypical vision of ‘the Oriental.’ Films, in particular, spin fantasies of superhuman heroes, an 80-year-old man who can defeat ten assailants with his bare hands.”

This "expert" seems to think that Westerners invented wuxia.

Re: The History of Karate

#18

Post by askvictor »

anon_tor_12345 wrote: post #14
fastball wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was always under the impression that Karate wasn't particularly useful for combat / self-defense. Krav Maga is the martial art that I've always thought of as actually useful for self-defense.

>Krav Maga is the martial art that I've always thought of as actually useful for self-defense i'm not big on martial arts or even mma but for some reason i've seen this argument in various places often enough that i've also seen the appropriate response: if that were true then all of the most successful mma fighters would be krav maga experts. in actuality not a single one practices krav maga. the proof is in the pud…

I'm similarly not into MMA, but I wouldn't think it's a good system to determine real-world performance of a martial art. Most people aren't going to be pitted against high-level fighters in a ring; they'll be out on the street. It comes down to why you're learning the martial art, and to some degree, what your threat model is.

Re: The History of Karate

#19

Post by vnorilo »

bloniac wrote: post #8

I was a great believer in karate as a combat sport for many years. The arrival of MMA proved the true effectiveness of each of the martial arts in an actual combat situation. Karate has value in combat, but it’s certainly not as effective as I originally thought. I took my son to do karate training for a year and watched the classes and honestly it seemed pretty worthless to me as a way of learning to fight/defend yo…

The street effectiveness of a MA is a function of time spent sparring, something that is prevalent in the arts you mention, in addition to coverage of standing and ground game. Strikers will have just a brief window of opportunity before grapplers take them down. On the other hand, even super effective grappling art like BJJ becomes pretty useless if you face two assailants.

Re: The History of Karate

#20

Post by bloniac »

datameta wrote: post #15
bloniac wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That or boxing or kickboxing or wrestling or bjj. Those are the only truly effective combat sports. Perhaps judo too.

It is the confidence in being able to defend oneself that leads one to avoid having fights intitiated with them by virtue of how they comport themselves in a relaxed unthreatened manner. To top it off, training in something like muay thai will get the kid a great headstart on leading a fit lifestyle. Never done an aerobic activity more tiring or sweat inducing.

Ah yes I forgot Muay Thai… that’s the real deal for sure.
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