A quick summary of some practical applications to Jion. Please subscribe. Let me know in the comments if you have questions or e-mail gimberline@hotmail.com.
The first movement of this kata, where the left hand is inside the right, refers to a Chinese greeting. Note: This greeting appears in many old kung fu movies.
If you want self defense, just practice MMA or learn jiu jitsu, rather than karate (I realized after years of practising karate). I love karate, but...
So, I know everyone sees things from their own perspective. I have been studying the martial arts for close to 45 years and specifically looking at self-defense for over 40 years. Some of this has been an exploration of self-defense classes, military training, and police control tactics (another course I developed long ago). As it happens neither MMA nor jui jitsu (or modern karate) is a self-defense system. Although they offer a wide range of skills that could be used in a self-defense situation, the dynamic is different from self-defense. Put two people together to fight, the dynamic is just different. How to address this issue best, if ever recognized, differs from practitioner to practitioner. As you can see from some of the description of my channel, I have developed a Self-Defense system using the Kata of Shotokan (ShotoryuGoshinjutsu). It involves primarily defending against the most likely, most common attacks. Not sparring, not randori, or rolling, but really taking a step back in perspective and thinking 'what would really happen here during an attack?`. I think I will write more on this subject in the near future.
