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The Modified Karate
Karate, historically, is a martial art invented by the conquered
people---the Okinawans. The purpose is to use it as a last
resort. And to be effective, it must be used in self defense
against the conquerors, if everything else failed. Or it could
be employed as an attack, provided the karate man could, literally,
get away with it. So the style of fighting of the medieval
karate men is "slash and run." We must bear in mind
that the medieval Japanese conquerors were fully armed to
the teeth, as well as well-trained hand-to-hand fighters in
their own right, while karate fighters had nothing but their
bare hands and feet. To buttress their chance of winning over
well-armed conquerors, they modified their art into something
simpler and did their best to keep it secret. Those modifications
are today ever-present in the techniques of karate, like for
example, the linear movements, the kime, the straight punch,
the wide, rooted stances, etc.
In the l960's karate tournaments became popular throughout
the world. Karate competitors at that time were using the
techniques of traditional karate. Sensei Mike's competitive
spirit longs for more assurance of victory. But instead of
sticking it out with the usual, he developed karate techniques
that could assure him of victory without straying away from
the accepted rules of the tournament. On his own, he achieved
total victory. If ten of his students were on the tournament,
usually eight of them will win.
What are the basic modifications?
- Use the strongest basic karate techniques
- Deliver the attack in one simultaneous movement
- If the opponent beat you on the draw, behave as if you
are the one attacking, which is to say, your defense is
an attack.
- Find the opponent weaknesses by shifting angles in relation
to your body positioning to his. The angle may seem slight
but his defense will be considerably weakened thus allowing
your attack to go through.
- After years of research, Sensei Mike found what he was
looking for: a way of punching and kicking that can penetrate
certain/many kinds of blocks - the hard or the soft.
- Finally, he discovered the "penetrating principle"
in contrast with the "absorbing principle". which
is popular among soft style martial artists.
The modifications from Number one to four were used when
karate tournaments were termed "games of tag." It
may be. But when Sensei Mike used this techniques in full-contact
karate; he won by knocking opponents down.
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