This is a guest blog post written by a former student.

I don’t know if Karate has a real place in practical martial arts. I’m sure there have been some moments where Karate has helped someone. But it seems to me that Karate is used more for tournament and showmanship purposes. If you would like to see some real world examples of why I DON’T think Karate is right for you, then watch the below video. Keep in mind that many of these examples are of people that have trained at Karate for years!

 

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfLV6jwwjK8[/embedyt]

 

If you would like to see a Hollywood depiction of the value of Karate for those of us that are NOT members of the Cobra Kai, then you may want to view this next clip.

 
[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPgwaQKNKRk[/embedyt]

 

And then of course, if you still choose to pursue training in Karate, your Karate sensei may teach you some ridiculously impractical Karate move, such as the Crane Kick, but keep in mind, unless you use this in tournament style fighting and your name is Daniel Larusso, it most likely will never work. But for those that like to fantasize about being Karate awesome, then take a look at this next one.

 

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCenGKkj3YQ[/embedyt]

 

This blog post is not primarily about how well Karate does or doesn’t work. It’s actually more about what real life situations a kid at school or an adult might encounter in the real world; and what works best to help you deal with those situations. Some time ago I was researching various martial arts and mixed martials arts (mma) training centers in the Castle Rock, CO area. I came across the Rocky Mountain Self Defense & Fitness gym. I discovered a fighting style I had never heard of called Krav Maga. When I started researching Krav Maga I discovered a couple of interesting facts that appealed to me personally. Krav Maga was developed by a member of the Israeli military. This fighting technique was developed by Imi Lichtenfeld, of the Israeli Defense Forces, utilizing his knowledge of foundational fighting principles which included his boxing, wrestling, gymnastic and extensive military training experience. This fighting style came to be known as Krav Maga which means, contact combat.

The other thing I discovered is that the person, who choreographed the fight scenes for the movie “The Bourne Identity”, had a martial arts background in Krav Maga and Kali (A Filipino Martial Arts). Let me preface this next part by saying, “Nobody that learns Krav Maga will ever look as cool as Jason Bourne did in these fight scenes”; however, if I could even look half as cool as these videos the day someone threatens me or my family, then I’m all for it.

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHgs3LFLBzY[/embedyt]

 

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFnmq5PPScA[/embedyt]

 

After I had been through about 6-8 classes, my younger brother and I wanted to spar a little bit to show of the cool moves we had been learning. I had been learning Krav Maga while he had been taking Kung Fu classes. Karate is simply an offshoot of Kung Fu, so there are many similarities. Anyway, he was trying his animal style dragon kick or whatever it was. I just threw my arm down to block using the basic, entry level moves taught in Krav Maga, and the result was a shattered toe that required him to have a metal bar surgically implanted to help his toe heal. Yes, he threw down with some fictional, unrealistic animal style kick and I threw down the awesome! From that day on I became a solid believer in the effectiveness of Krav Maga . . . don’t try me.

Jeremy Morris
Former RMSDF Student

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