Jesse Enkamp (The Karate Nerd) explains the purpose of "blocks" (uke waza) in traditional Karate for practical self-defense. Visit www.karatebyjes... to learn more!
"Each block is a strike" - beginner. "One Hand Lies and the Other Tells the Truth". We use both hands when performing a block because the secondary hand that returns to chamber is the actual blocking hand. The hand that appears to block is actually performing a joint lock or bone break.
That'd be pretty cool, but why isn't it taught that way? I mean, it might be here and there, but the majority of karate dojo do not teach them to be bone breaks or joint locks.
Hohan Soken Sensei in an interview many years ago said that there are no blocks in Karate. The term Block was named by the Japanese as were all the names for techniques being used today. Okinawans had no names for any technique.
I've always refered to a block as a defensive strike, meant to redirect my opponent and draw them off balance, as well as inflict injury to the aatacking limb.
Zen may be stillness. I'm not Japanese (Iraqi Norwegian). If Zen is stillness, so is Defensive Block. Which means; I don't like Fighting. I'd like if God made that Cow accept me a Tiger. God, can you make me a Cow?! I myself urge you to accept Things as they are. Practise acceptance starting young. The perfect flower is a rare thing, you may spend you whole life looking for one, and it would not be a Wasted life.
@@lunarious87 I’m a martial artist but I can tell you one thing, only fools love to fight and martial arts are made for self defence and some are made for health.
draw them of balance, maybe, but try to "inflict injury" on a boxer's uppercut as it's heading for your chin. chances are you'll be out cold doing snorkling sounds on the floor before you know it.
I learned a block is a strike just like a lot of people here but they naturally turn into these recieving movements when sparring, at least they did for the people at my school. It's an excellent way to counter. I always had a choice between the two. Recieving strikes was a lot of fun, it was my preference, but if someone was being an asshole, then it was more fun to stike with my block. They're great, practical techniques and they'll even work in the grappling arts, both ground and standing.
Jesse, exactly. That's how we do our uke in Yuishinkai Karate (specifically with Uke Nana Ho) that you're probably aware of. Thanks for another great video.
Spot on Jesse👊 In my opinion this is not only correct, but also the most natural, and efficient way using «Uke-wasa» And that`s why I beleive Dento Karate is more than a sport, but a fighting art with scientific principles⛩🇯🇵🙏🏼
Good explanation of uke best practice both! Receive and block! They are two different principles. Receive when wish to draw in your opponent and use their energy and block when you wish to damage your opponents attacking weapon.
Thank you Jesse for the video. I am just starting karate, and the more I learn the more my assumptions evaporate, the more sophisticated I find it as well. I am 43, I am really sore today. Growing muscle is painful over 40. I think your videos and what you are doing for the karate community at large is great. Even if people are watching and taking it to the local dojo it's great because it is correct! And Okinawan Karate should be talked about, I belong to a Shorin-Ryu Shorinkan school and your knowledge and attitude is great. Thx again!
Thank-you for making this video!!! I trained at a gym with both traditional guys and modern MMA guys and they always laughed at the traditional guys and I'd always have to stand up to the purely MMA guys for them... They laugh at Kata's and stuff but of course did not realize I did MMA too;) always fun when sparring with em
Well they wouldnt be laughing if you used a soto uke to arm bar them Or and age uke as an attack under their chin , both very unpleasant. If the mma guys take the pass out of people doing kata , just ask the. If they practice on the speed ball for boxing training or shadow boxing, both look just as weird to an outsider, and you never fight in the same manner as you practice on a speed ball
This is definitely one way of using the “block” and also I have taught that a block can also be an attack to strike a pressure point to stop an attack and in many cases to actually stop the attack by damaging (if necessary) the muscles to keep them from working again. I hope that I can help you as well as I have seen many good things on your website and here on RU-vid.
My understanding, from studying bunkai, is the so-called "blocks" are actually strikes, or part of something else. Using "blocks" are far too slow. It's much more efficient, practical, and quicker to simply redirect a punch with your hands than trying to stop it. But that's just my opinion. I've learned that there is far more to martial arts than just what lies on the surface.
They can be all of the above, actually. Depends on the range of the attack. If it's a longe range attack, like a punch or kick, blocks work better with those. In medium range (too close for kicks and punches, but still too far for grappling), a parry or trap will do. Closer still, where an opponent can grab you, this is where it really gets fun. There you can use "blocks" to manipulate limbs and joints, perform chokes, elbow and neck cranks, takedowns, list goes on. DOn't know if you've heard of Iain Abernethy, but his theories and applications on bunkai are top-notch, even modern martial-artists such MMA proponents love his work. Check him out, if you haven't already.
Agreed. Distance (Mai) plays an integral role in deciphering 'blocks'. These 'blocks' at the right mai can be turned into breaking movements and grappling. I myself eliminate distance from my opponents during kumite sessions, and use blocking movements as grappling. People say I kumite like a boxer. But it is really how you interpret and adapt with your kata.
Sean Hiatt when the earth was young I studied TKD. I don't recognize in today's classes much of what was drilled into me. If you block, hurt. If you kick use the ball of your foot, your heel or the edge not the top. The master of our set of schools had been Korean military and a presidential guard of some kind. His type of TKD wasn't designed around point fighting. Forgive me. I'm reminiscing.
Hi Jesse sensei, very good explanation of "karate blocks" meaning, purpose, and correct technique. Today I saw the wrists and forearms of a friend in my office, covered with large nasty looking black bruises. She trains Goju Ryu for about a year, she's a yellow or orange belt. She said she got those bruises in a kind of "blocking" training. I know that in Goju they work on forearms conditioning, but I don't think that was the point. Her forearms look quite badly bruised. I sent her the link for this video, I hope it will help. Thank you!
Good work Jesse... its great to hear information getting out there about the misconceptions that have been taught by so many who don't have a deeper understanding.
That is nothing new, old news karate does not have blocks, all techniques were given the names being used today by the Japanese, Okinawans never had a name for the techniques.
I thought I was fairly well read on Karate before finding the " Karate Nerd , yet with every vedio with Jesse Sense I understand more every day . I have never tried learning any karate on line . But I am willing to give Jesse Sense a chance .
Not sure I agree. My interpretation has always been that "uke" (receiving) means broadly "this is what you do when somebody swings a punch at you". You are on the receiving end in that sense. But the "uke" itself isn't a block - it's a strike. They're blows to hit your opponent's face, arms, body etc. after he's tried to hit you (or as he's trying to hit you). In a real fight you're not going to get somebody punching for your face and you blocking it nicely with an age-uke while stepping backwards (though you can if you want). You're going to step forward and drive your age-uke into his chin as he punches, protecting yourself against his punch and simultaneously doing him damage. Or you're going to step forward and grab his arm with one hand just as he's starting to swing, and then slam your strength-conditioned forearm into his elbow with your soto-uke. They're not blocks in any sense but really just ways to do damage when you're about to be hit. Just my interpretation obviously.
True, that's why there are a lot of front moving blocks in katas e.g Heian (or Pinan) shodan. They aren't technically just blocks but block-punches or any other bunkai that works
yes, we too are of the philosophy that the block is not just a block, but a counter strike to the attack. our style is derived from Okinawa Shorin Ryu, we do various arm conditioning drills to desensitize our arms to impacts, so when we block it hurts the person attacking us.
I always saw ukes( blocks) as keys , or gates that open a way into your attacker. One must "receive an action" or an invitation to enter. So karate is very polite like that.😊
Wow this is EXACTLY like Wing Chun! They say Ng Mui is the mother of 2 styles of martial arts, Wing Chun and Fujian White Crane Kung Fu. White Crane eventually reached Okinawa and become the original art of Karate. This video explanation shows the same roots as they have the same thought process. Very fascinating!
I did kenpo for a few years in my teens when we would spar I didn't use these movements once, instead I noticed I would mainly parry the attacks it just felt more natural and comfortable I'm not saying they don't work just not my cup of tea
oss, I'm from Chile, I am in the national team and wow, I really aprecciate these videos, your way to explain is pretty cool and interesting, you have a lot of knowledge , thank you for sharing it with us you have won a subscriber haha Oss, greetings from Chile
WoW 😮 this just keeps getting better. Never thought of a closed hand block as receiving always Controled Deflection or Hammer 🔨 Time on the opponents limbs😃 Open hands for Tai Sabaki Fence or for Grappling🤔 Hard for hammering Soft like Velcro for grappling🤪at least that’s how I’ve always thought of it🤔 But this Instruction video gives me something to develop further. ARRIGACTO SENSI
Why is everyone always talking about this karate guy should fight in MMA,you can say that to a person that does SPORT karate,but an true person that does real karate for example, Okinawan karate,one thing in Okinawan karate the goal is 2 survive, and I'm not trying to make karate sound bigger but karate has a lot of open-handed strikes, so if an MMA fighter is going to fight a true martial artist make sure he takes the gloves off and not protect his pretty little hands🥋🥋☯️
Enkampさん Thank you for sharing this video with us. 1) Upward Block* 上段受け(じょうだんうけ) Jodan Uke or somtimes it is called Raising Block* 上げ受け(あげうけ) Age Uke. 2) Inside Forearm Block* 腕内受け(うでうちうけ) Ude Uchi Uke. 3) Outside Forearm Block* 腕外受け(うでそとうけ) Ude Soto Uke. 4) Downward Block* 下段受け(げだんうけ) Gedan Uke. We use the word BLOCK in English but the word 受け(うけ) UKE is closer to meaning RECEIVE or INTERCEPT.
When i was a Teen, my Teacher told me that the Reason behind Age Uke and the other "Blocks" is to hurt your Opponent, and maybe, make him consider to end the Fight.
OMG, I had never been taught "blocks" in this way... This concept is kind of similar to rolling your head to minimize impact in boxing! Many thanks for sharing this, I'll look at my "blocks" as "receiving" from now on. Btw, since my childhood / teen years I've trained judo, karate, bjj, but I never stuck to an art and kept going on it - shame on me! I'm 42 years old now and I've been training Muay Thai (with some kickboxing and boxing in it) for the past two years. But I've been thinking about trying Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo since there's a dojo where I live which many people recommend.
I taught my wife that to recieve a punch or kick you have to allow it's full momentum. Body change is important for this. But she found a counter and took me down... I love that woman!
most of these moves are parries, deflections, not direct blocks. Blocks are likely to result in your being hurt, especially vs a club, or a hard kick. Try to just flee or evade the attacker by putting obtructions in his way, while you search for a weapon. If you cannot, always try to strike first. If you cannot, then dodge the blow. If you cannot, then parry the blow. If you cannot, then block it. If you cannot, move in such a way, exhaling as you do, to minimize the damage that the blow causes, and be certain to hurt him as much as possible with the same move, or 1/10th second after the blow hits you.
back when i trained in karate we used to call those "twists" a pop. If you break it down slowly the block barely works or exerts significantly more energy if the twist is slightly off time. However, if the twist is timed at just the right moment it pops the opponents arm way out of line, this can be increased by also doing a quick "flick" of the hips as you do when throwing a punch.
Thank you for this knowledge.. (Together we go) like a wave it rolls up to a peak and than rolls back with itself to then continue in the same direction....
It is a block, but not with power only... he’s right about that. Most of the blocks are really deflections, whilst moving out of the way or at another angle.
Well said. I'll add by saying Blocks are attacks and attacks are blocks. I spar with friends. They say my blocks hurt. I always understood that since I was a git.
I can still feel the blocks from this one wiry black belt back in the 70s. It sent a shock through your forearm to your core and gave you that queasy stomach. And yes, I did witness a match between two Japanese black belts where the "defender" ended the fight with a down block to a front kick that actually looked like kata and sent the "aggressor" off on a stretcher. As always, it's not the art but the artist.
You're absolutely right. In fact, in true Okinawan goju ryu, blocks are more circular and softer than the hard, almost strike blocks of shotokan. We think we're doing things wrong in goju if our blocks are rough.
Hi there Jesse, I like your videos, I´m a 1st dan in shito ryu, but nowadays i´m doing muay thai. Back in my karate days I was taught that in reality, all ukes, shuto uke, uchi uke, soto uke, gedan barai, you name it, all of them are actually strikes. I can see where that idea you share comes relates to flowing with the enemy´s energy, but I honestly think that one should block, if possible, with the intention to actually hurt the opponent´s limb. I say if possible because sometimes you want to flow with the attack to position yourself in a better angle to throw yours, but for instance, the Jodan ukes in the last movements of the early Heian kata are strikes, and many shuto ukes are strikes to the neck. That little twist at the end of every block are not meant to roll with the attack you are receiving, they actually add some extra whip to the uke strike.
Depends on you ,these techniques are all there to be mastered ,they are not just blocks ,they are also strikes ,each have their part to play in a certain situation , all depends on the individual and how well and how FAST he can execute them at the right moment in time ,the way they are in their basic format are just a blue print to enable students to correctly teach their limbs how to perform them ,once they are mastered and performed in free flow they look no different to any free flow fighting ,punches .kicks and elbow strikes and uke techniques , the ultimate aim of karate is there is no kamae or guard ,you flow freely soft as a water flow in the river and strike as hard as a rock for an instant before becoming soft as water again ... this video is quite good showing how an attack is received and using the attackers momentum and diverting his attack and unbalance him with body evasion and timing of course.
In order to do this properly you have to have insane speed and timing. I doubt anyone with the exception of karate Masters, and I do stress Masters, could demonstrate this. You have telegraph you opponents attack and know exactly where is going to land and meet the strongest point of the attack with you own focused force. Considering that you have to be at least twice as fast as you opponents attack to do that, this is not very practical, but if you can pull this off you're pretty damn insane.
+Brian Do you have any clip of, if not a real fight, then somebody doing that ? Perhaps it could work across weight categories where you have a very fast lightweight that is twice as fast as a heavyweight. But then boxing has ways to avoid a punch if you're quick.. floyd mayweather can get out of the way of punches pretty damn well and against people that are perhaps as fast as himself. Ah I see you commented somewherea on this video saying "This move is competently represented in Street Fighter V with Ryu's parry." so a character in a video game is the best example, well, better than nothing I suppose!
The basic concept of aiki is found in many martial arts, with different variations, emphases and applications of the principle. It's no surprise to me to find it in karate. That being said, not everyone teaches those twists at the end, and in other cases, it may be taught, but not understood as having technical value, but simply seen as good style. Incidentally, in those cases where Aikido doesn't work, often it is because, similarly, subtle technical details have been forgotten in some lineages. Also, though, some Aikidoka simply don't train with martial intent; in any martial art, training in the right way for one's purpose and goal is essential.
actually the principles of aikido work quite well, as you use them in any grappling situation regardless of "style". their principles of pressure on the joints are no different than any other style of grappling. re-directing attack, destabilizing balance, movement, etc are all in other styles. Aikido, like Judo and JiuJitsu (both BJJ and Japanese variants) and any grappling art, including traditional classic style like any of the Okinawan (Shorin Ryu, Gojo Ryu etc.) that contain locks & take downs use them.
Better use "parry"- to deflect or fend something incoming to go a different direction. In this manner you are "receiving" as you did not stop or block the incoming. When you parry with the radial bone of your forearm and twist it against an incoming forearm, the radial bone will cause a "bite" on the other forearm. The parry in essece is also a counter attack.
I asked my Sensei this specific question, and he said that we practice American style karate. We do block and hope to break the opponent's arm in the process. It's not wrong it's a matter of style.
Your right Jesse. I like the downward chop or other types of blocks to lung 5. Just after that with the same arm I strike gall blatter 20 an small intestine 18 with the AGE-UKE only it's not a block but a strike. Practicing this will convince anyone that these blocks are actually strikes.... Owe an Jesse this is a death blow. It will some one. OSS sensei Vince Morris!
I know open hand blocks like shuto-uke are meant to transition into grabs and punches, as well as strike the neck. Are uke meant to occupy and displace opponents hands in a offensive manner such as in fancy wing-chun demonstrations? Because in some cases waiting to time an uke seems out of place- that's what counterpunches are for. Uke-to-strike seems more sensible, performing uke near the opponents body for maximum disruption. Uke can disrupt a guard where a strike would fail. It looks like a concept deliberately nerfed to sell something less brutal. When 'receiving', flowy, slippery moves that allow you to close the distance make more sense, while striking uke seems more offensive.
tell me mr Enkamp, have you ever blocked any real attack in your real life with any of those uke techniques? :) there's just too difficult to apply even for the most experienced martial artists in real fights. Has anybody ever seen any karateka 'receiving' an attack with soto uke or uchi uke in a kumite for instance? :)
Perhaps they're not meant to be blocks, Take a look at Vince Morris, Patrick McCarthy (even better) and Oyata's work. They'll open up another side of Karate to you.. Perhaps these so called blocks are more appropriate to self protection or self defense rather kumite or fighting. The distance (for blocking) in Kata is all wrong for Kumite. Here's a thought for you, perhaps when the Okinawan's were formulating Kata's they buried weapon movements in the patterns? Take for example the upper block/ stepping punch combo, makes a whole lot more sense if you carrying sai's or tonfa's and you are blocking against a overhead attack from a Bo/ Sword attack. My opinion anyways.
One thing people tend to forget is you can never use any technique all the time, every time. But there will be a few opportunities in a fight to use it. You're not going to use an uke technique on every punch. That is ridiculous. But when eventually find yourself in a position to do so, you can exploit it. I'll compare it to a boxing parry. You're not going to parry every jab someone throws at you, but when you do, you're probably going to get a sweet counter punch in.
Rizal Djohan I've used these blacks in combat and they're very effective. A well placed block against tender tissue is not a very good feeling to the recipient.
yes, but how about techniques like gedan barai or uchi uke? In these techniques (unlike in soto uke or age uke) the forearm rotates in counter sense of punch direction. So in this case will not be an absorbtion, a receiveng anymore. In my opinion some uke techniques have this purpose, some other not, but all have as purpose to provoque pain/schock to the opponent wrist/forearm. Is like hitting his forearm or shin, not just stopping or deflecting them.
well explaned but there is also an important side of the truth is that hands should be iron by hard work because when you recieve or block there is a percentege to get hurt ..the more your hands , elbows etc are stronger the more you reach victory
I started getting into martial arts because of a manga called Kengan Ashura. The main character has what he calls the redirection kata, where he takes the opponent's flow of power and uses it against him. The mechanics didn't make sense to me until this video
Yeah, if someone throws a punch, I'm not going to be worried about whether I'm blocking or receiving. My arms will go up, and that punch will not hit me. That's my only objective and it becomes muscle memory.
Twisting the arm does more than just help you roll with the punches though - it can also act as strike, allowing you to stun your opponent as you parry his attack.
This is a bit misleading. These movements are blocks in the sense that they prevent a blow from striking a vital area. What Jesse describes is the difference between hard (stopping) and soft (receiving) blocks. That a rising forearm block rolls to dissipate energy adds that element of soft blocking (or redirection) to what appears to be a hard block. Additionally, in my style of Isshinryu, some blocks are considered strikes to the extremities that have their own sets of vulnerable pressure points. Research PC6, HT3, etc.
The root of a word or even its literal meaning may be a good argument but it may also be very misleading and simply wrong. 'Ukeru' is a verb which, as you said, means 'receive' (but also has many other meanings). 'Uke' is a noun that means 'receiver of technique/defence'. Therefore 'uchi ude uke' means 'inside arm defence', in other words it merely tells us which part of the arm receives (uses, defends, etc.) the attack. No matter, we need to consider what is actually happening as well as just semantics. We see a punch thrown, and we see it defended, or deflected to be precise. Perhaps 'defence' is better than 'block' or the literal translation 'receiver of technique': 'uchi ude uke' = 'inside arm defence' what say you? Rgds.
