But I know Karate!

William Pehush, Staff Writer

Over the years I’ve written a number of articles on the many different forms of karate practiced around the world, and how they were created in Japan and how they evolved.  I’ve learned a lot and by doing so gained a greater understand of its traditions, and I’ve learned there is plenty of room in martial arts for every style long as there are people out there who enjoy continuing its traditions.  That being said some people still don’t understand the difference between martial arts and self defense, and most think just because they did karate at some point that they’ll be safe.  They couldn’t be more wrong, and until people begin separating their traditional martial arts training from self defense they won’t be safe.

If you’ve been involved with martial arts for any length of time you know people gossip and tell stories, and that won’t stop any time soon.  The stories that I hear most often from people are about how the local dojo hero who’s a wrecking machine inside studio got there ass kicked one night out.  One martial arts instructor tells a story about a student who got beat up in a cowboy bar, because he took the time to stretch while guy who picked the fight just looked at him punched him.  Another teacher talked about the day he left his than mentor’s class because he said a female student disgraced them because she was raped and wasn’t able to fight off her attacker.  He knew they hadn’t learned proper self defense and he wasn’t going to standby a man who lied to his students.

The fact is most people who are training in karate today are learning a great sport, but they aren’t learning how to defend themselves.  Sure there is blocking and hitting and kick, and all of that can help you defend yourself, but can you do it again someone who comes at you full force, and won’t play fair?  Can you deal with someone who is bigger and stronger than you, and what if they’re armed?  If you can’t answer those questions in the positive you don’t know how to defend yourself.

There are a lot of great things about karate, and that’s why it is so popular around the world.  Many think that because they can fight in class they can take their fight to the street, but this thinking usually ends after the first punch connects.  There are some practitioners who still practice traditional karate that can be very brutal and violent, but even that training has to take into account different environments and situations.  So before you choose a karate school do your research and find out if your learning a sport or how to fight.

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