Karate- what chances does it stand on the street?

[Phorce]

I understand that this topic may have been played out, but im still gonna ask it....ive been training karate now for 11 and a half years, and ive never used it in a street fight, so i was wondering if I could ask anyone that trains it how youve done in street fights, and if you have any advice on how to adapt karate into street fighting more.



All feedback appreciated.

[Thai Bri]

I trained Shukoka. On reflection, 95% was useless for the street. But it did teach me to hit hard, owing to the use of foam pads.

I have taken quite a few people out with a pre emptive Gyaku Tsuki in the gob.

In general most mainstream Karate is appalling in my view nowadays. It has been massively diluted by people who think large classes are a mark of success, rather than high quality training.

[Phorce]

I trained Shukoka. On reflection, 95% was useless for the street. But it did teach me to hit hard, owing to the use of foam pads.

I have taken quite a few people out with a pre emptive Gyaku Tsuki in the gob.

In general most mainstream Karate is appalling in my view nowadays. It has been massively diluted by people who think large classes are a mark of success, rather than high quality training.

^^ Very true.

To elaborate on this topic, what are street fights actually like??

[Thai Bri]

There are millions of different street fights mate. In the main, there are three basic types.

1 - Square go. This is where you and someone else, for whatever reason, agree to have a fight. You're both a pair of arse holes if you do, unless you ahve a very good reason. Ego control, verbal de-escalation sills etc. become as relevant as any fighting technique here.

2 - Ambush attack. Someone has picked you out as a victim and pounces when you are not ready. Thee are ways to massively improve awareness and avoidance strategies to "target harden" yourself.

3 - Interview. Here you are in a worsening verbal confrontaiton. It is obviously leading to a physical fight. With good skills from "the Fence" ( see www.geoffthompson.com ) you can hit him first and win before he knew the fight has started. Obviously this is only if you cannot de-escalate things in any other way.

99% of fighting arts train for number 1 only. And most of them don't even do that very well. Research Geoff, and research www.senshido.com also. When I did I felt like a veil was being lifted, and my previous two dimensional, black and white knowledge went into full wide screen technicolour!

[Phorce]

Thanks for the info. Pretty much common sense I guess. Are there any martial artists here that have lost a street fight?

[Toudiyama[NL]]

But it did teach me to hit hard, owing to the use of foam pads.

I have taken quite a few people out with a pre emptive Gyaku Tsuki in the gob.

Ah that's the reason why I hit hard, we trained an awfull lot with kickingshield

Love the pre-emptive Gyaku Zuki, now we were instructed that difference between Dojo en street is penetration into the target, do not hit the target, aim inside it

[DrAgOn-T]

how do you classify a street fight? I mean there are just way to many "what if's"
As far as karate's effectiveness, I'm not really a big supporter of karate I admit but any martial art gives you an edge over just the average guy. I actually beleive the reason for this is that they have sparred with people on a regular basis so they aren't completely caught of guard that there is a fist headed dirrectly at their face.
I beleive that if you have a decent ground game your going to destroy the average street fighter.

[sherwinc]

how do you classify a street fight? I mean there are just way to many "what if's"
As far as karate's effectiveness, I'm not really a big supporter of karate I admit but any martial art gives you an edge over just the average guy. I actually beleive the reason for this is that they have sparred with people on a regular basis so they aren't completely caught of guard that there is a fist headed dirrectly at their face.
I beleive that if you have a decent ground game your going to destroy the average street fighter.

Karate cant beat Muay Thai

Karate cant beat BJJ

Karate cant beat Submission Wrestling

but.....

Karate will beat Tae Kwon Do

[Thai Bri]

...I admit but any martial art gives you an edge over just the average guy. I actually beleive the reason for this is that they have sparred with people on a regular basis so they aren't completely caught of guard that there is a fist headed dirrectly at their face.

I totally disagree with this. A great many so called martial arts teach unrealistic moves, and train them in an unrealistic manner. They actually train people how not to fight whilst, at the same time, instill in the student bags of false confidence.

[DrAgOn-T]

First off Tae Kwon Do is a joke plain and simple, and I think any real martial arts practitioner knows this already.



What I meant by the sparring thing was that if you are accustomed to having strikes thrown at you you are far less likely to lose your cool the instant somebody throws a wild right. And a cool head wins fight. That was the point I was making, not whether all techniques are street worthy.

[DrAgOn-T]

Karate cant beat Muay Thai

Karate cant beat BJJ

Karate cant beat Submission Wrestling

but.....

Karate will beat Tae Kwon Do[/QUOTE]

now if we are talking overall then I would say yes, most practitioners of muay thai, bjj, and submission wrestling, are serious about fighting not just doing it to say that they do it, while todays standard of karate is quite a bit lower. But I will stay by my beleif that the style is only a tool it's up to the person to put it together. I've seen a badass bouncer, whose only martial arts experience was a week of tae kwon do training, put the best kickboxer in all of AK in the hospital. I've seen a straight boxer damn near kill a bjj practitioner while on the ground. So its all about how smart you are, and how determined you are to win.

[brokenelbow]

Check out this fellow http://www.geoffthompson.com/guest_w...hy/default.htm

Another is Tom Muzila. I know quite a few guys who use karate in their professional work, but it's not the block then punch stuff you see in most karate schools. It's two and three man drills, sparring, body hardening and what is called special training.

[sherwinc]

I totally disagree with this. A great many so called martial arts teach unrealistic moves, and train them in an unrealistic manner. They actually train people how not to fight whilst, at the same time, instill in the student bags of false confidence.

You mean Human Dummy Principles of Martial Arts??????

haw haw haw haw haw

[Tom Yum]

Quote from Mr Abernathy's article

http://www.geoffthompson.com/guest_writers/IanAbernethy/Guest_Writers_Iain_Abernethy_page1.htm

"Karate was designed specifically for use in a civilian environment against untrained attackers. It was never intended for use on a battlefield or in a sporting arena against a trained fighter. The methods in karate were designed by monks, sailors, scholars and other civilians. The type of attacks such people were likely to encounter would be the attacks of the violent and untrained, e.g. wild swings, tackles, head butts etc. as opposed to the skilled combinations of a trained fighter."

Mr. Abernathy's article hits the nail on the head, but reaffirms his commitment to reality based self-defense using refined modern methods to make traditional karate work.

Cool.

[Phorce]

I hate to sound so thick as I see the initials posted all over this forum, but whats BJJ??


And i agree, although karate is now taught to a lower level, possibly due to its money making scheme, its the level at which the karateka trains at in comparison to say muay tai, although i gotta admit, i do fancy myself as a pretty good fighter, yet somethin tells me that when i got a guy in front of me kickin the crap outta my thighs and elbowing my face, im gonna get scared and/or wiped out.