The question has been dividing the Karate community for many years.
Let’s first consider that most Dojos are not teaching dangerous self defense Karate for various reasons (Safety, fear of getting sued etc..).
From a self defence standpoint, I do believe this is a question many instructors teaching Karate self defense should reconsider.
There are many reasons for an instructor not to want to teach dangerous self defense Karate, but ultimately, what is the point of teaching self defense Karate without integrating all its dangerous techniques? Isn’t the point to be able to defend oneself if one’s life is threatened?
It is not uncommon to see Karate-ka (Karate practitioner) who practiced for decades without any knowledge of dangerous self defense techniques! So is Karate self defense still what it claims to be, if dangerous techniques are mainly unknown to the Karate-ka?
On the one hand, I believe each Karate-ka need to know these techniques to enhance his/her self defense knowledge, in order to properly defend oneself in potential life-threatening situations.
On the other hand, to add to the safety factor and the risk of getting sued, there is always the risk of teaching these techniques to individuals who will abuse & use them outside of a self defense context, or even hurt other Karate-ka in their own dojo.
I do believe these techniques should be gradually taught to students starting with basics at intermediate level, while more dangerous techniques can be taught to more advanced/senior students.
It is also necessary to get to personally know each student, and knowing whether he/ she is mature enough to understand that these techniques can only be used for true self defense; not at your local kumite tournament.
There are efficient ways to teach these dangerous techniques, without compromising student safety, and sometimes, all it takes is thinking outside of the box, creating drills that will get the students as close to the real thing as possible. One source of drills is from specific sections of katas, but not limited to it.
As a simple example from the Naifanchi/ Naihanchi/ Tekki katas and the beginning of “Kururrunfa”, I believe one Karate-ka seeking self defense needs to learn how to do a Nami Ashi (Foot push), or a Sokuto Yoko Geri (Low side kick), or even a low Mawashi Geri (Low roundhouse kick); any of these three techniques applied to the knee can be devastating for any opponent, and significantly influence the outcome of a confrontation. Every Karate-ka having self defense in mind should work regularly on these techniques, softly with a partner at 1st, then work on it on a heavy bag, to develop power and make sure the body/core remains stable while full power is applied.
Sokuto Yoko Geri (Low side kick)
To make the matter worst, many of the dangerous Karate techniques have been hidden / kept secret for so long, and taught to only so few privileged ones, that the knowledge has almost disappeared!
If you are into Karate for the self defense, and lucky enough to be in a Dojo where this knowledge is still alive, you should be very grateful.
Toronto, Alpha - KarateBoost blog
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