Chapter - 03

Karate

A History And Description

Although practiced widely in Japan, the art of present day Karate was introduced into that country less than fifty years ago by Funakoshi Gichin.

Actually, the art of Karate can be traced back to the ancient Chinese art of Kempo. Legend has it that Kempo originated during the Liang dynasty when a Buddhist monk named Taishi taught this art to monks in the Shaolin-szu Monastery as a means of defense against militant aggressors and as a way of building up their weakened physical condition. Taishi preached that for the true understanding of religion, the body and soul should be strong and inseparable, and that in a weakened physical state the necessary religious practices could never be adequately performed. In time, these monks became such powerful unarmed fighters that people from all over China came to study at their monastery in order to learn the art of unarmed defense.

Around 1600 A.D., the Chinese who occupied Okinawa introduced their art of Kempo to the Okinawans, who combined it with their native form of unarmed fighting, which in later years developed into Karate.

When Karate was finally introduced into Japan, it very quickly became popular and gained tremendous following and interest. In later years it was refined into what we know today as Japanese-style Karate.

The Karate Striking Techniques

In the previous chapter we learned the target areas. Now, we shall study the parts of the body used in Karate to strike the nerve and pressure targets.

The underlying principle behind the correct striking technique is that we must transmit the maximum concentration of force from the entire body, through the striking point, into the target area. Unlike the gun, knife or club, the striking point is the real weapon of the practiced Karate man. It cannot be bought in the store, but must be conditioned through practice and training.

Although an effective blow can be delivered without building up a callous on the striking point, it is nevertheless true that you can strike an even more effective blow, with less sensitivity to yourself, by conditioning the striking points. The conditioning and training equipment for building up the striking points will be described in detail at the end of this chapter.

The most commonly used striking point is the clenched fist shown in figures 31 and 32. Notice that the clenched fist in Karate is not a simple closing of the hand, but a clenching of the fist so that   the   center   point   between the knuckles of the middle and forefingers lies on an imaginary line running through the center of the forearm. Also, the wrist is not bent, and if an imaginary plane ran through the front of the fist, it would be perpendicular to the arm. When using this striking point, the direction of the blow can either be forward, up or down.

When counter-attacking to the eyes or solar plexus, the tip of the first finger is an effective striking point. This is illustrated in figure 33. The direction of the blow can be forward or up or down, with a dig or even a stab.

Also effective in a counter-attack to the eyes is the use of the tips of the first and second fingers as shown in figure 34. Oftentimes this can be used to temporarily blind your opponent so that you can deliver an effective follow-up counter. Remember, the hand is faster than the eye? And a quick stab should momentarily make an opponent helpless.

Probably one of the most well-known striking points is called the knife hand, illustrated in figure 35. This striking point is used for blocking, but it is also good in counter attacking to the temple, neck or rib area. When using this striking point, the fingers should be extended and closed together, keeping the hand and arm rigid.

Particularly good in attacking the solar plexus and rib area is the spear hand illustrated in figure 36. Note in the illustration that the tips of the fingers are parallel, forming an even front.

Another striking point, the claw, shown in figure 37, looks exactly as it sounds. When using the claw striking point, the hand is arched with the fingers spread out and bent. The claw is effective when attacking the ears.

The one and two-knuckle striking points, illustrated in figures 38 and 39, are extremely useful for attacking the eyes and temple. Be sure to position the thumb and fingers as shown in the illustrations. Figures 40 through 52 illustrate other striking points using the hand and wrist area.

The elbow is effective when counterattacking to the chest, solar plexus or ribs. Figures 53 through 56 illustrate the use of the elbow as a striking point. Note in the illustrations how the elbow can be used to thrust up, down, back or to the side. It can also be used to block when engaged in close-in fighting.

In figure 57 the knee is illustrated as a striking point. The knee is excellent for use against the face and groin.

The final striking points to be considered are those of the foot. The ball of the foot is used in counter-attacking to the face, solar plexus, ribs, groin, etc., as shown in figure 58. Also effective against the same targets is the heel of the foot, illustrated in figure 59. Other methods for utilizing the foot as a striking point are shown in figures 60 through 70. Note that the striking point in each case is at the point of contact.

In order to condition the striking points so that they will become insensitive when using them, we recommend you use the equipment described below.

Construct a striking post, man size, bracing it well at the top and bottom so that it can withstand continual blows. Cover the post with striking pads made of straw or canvas-covered sponges at the heights indicated in figure 70. Use the striking points previously described, at the various levels on the striking post where the pads are placed.

Construct a wooden bin approximately twenty-five inches square and fill it three-quarters full of rice. Practice with a stabbing motion forcing the striking point into the bin. This will callous the striking point, reducing its sensitivity upon impact. When the striking point has been conditioned for rice, switch to sand and finally to gravel.

Another method of conditioning a striking point involves use of a cement block covered with straw to cushion the blows. Practice hitting the covered block with the striking point until it becomes calloused. Once a callous has been built up, remove the straw pad.

Karate Blocking And Counter-Attacking

Since Karate is essentially an art of unarmed self defense and should not be used for offensive purposes, blocking in most instances will be the first point of contact between you and your attacker. It is for this reason that blocking is so important. It is to be noted that all Karate movements are employed from blocking positions. If executed properly, the blocking technique will inflict such tremendous pain on the attacker at the point of contact that the follow-up counter-attack will not likely be thrown off its mark. In studying the illustrations that follow, note that the type of block to be used depends upon the antagonist's initial movement. When blocking, maintain your own balance. Do not overthrow your block. Be sure that while you are blocking you are not offering a vulnerable target. Execute the proper counterattack quickly.

For defense against jabs and hooks, use of the knife hand, wrist or forearm as striking points is an effective means of blocking.  These blocking methods  are (continued on pag· 29) illustrated in figures 71 through 74. Remember, you must be ready with the follow-up counter attack. The striking point used in the counter may be any one described in the previous section.

For blocking against a straight jab, force your adversary's hand up with the heel of your palm contacting his wrist or forearm as shown in figure 75.

A very useful blocking technique is called the "X" block. This may be used in the upward position to defend against blows to the face region, and in the downward  position  to   defend   against kicks. The use of the "X" block is illustrated in figures 76 and 77.

Other examples of blocking positions are shown in figures 78 through 81.

Karate Defense Against Weapons Attacks

Figures 82 and 83 illustrate the defense against a straight, head-on club attack. Proper defense should be made with any of the Karate striking points using the hand and the knee.

For defense against a jabbing club attack, see figures 84 and 85. Here you side step the attacker's weapon and kick his knee, following-up with a striking point to the kidneys, back of the neck, or temple.

Figures 86 through 89 illustrate an effective defense against an overhead knife plunge. Note that the block to the attacker's right arm is made with your right arm. After the block contact, bring the antagonist's knife down and come up to his jaw with the heel of your hand.

For defense against a slashing knife attack, study figures 90 through 92. Note the blocking technique, the grasping of the knife hand wrist and the follow-up clenched fist.

For defense against the straight-on knife thrust, see figure 93. The block is made with the knife hand, and the counter is made with the heel of the foot to the armpit and the clenched fist to a vital point.

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