Karate Grappling: Did it really exist?




Iain Abernethy - The Practical Application Of Karate show

Summary: <p>This month’s podcast is called “Karate Grappling: Did it really exist?”. The podcast begins by asking if karate really did include grappling in the past. Was grappling part of old school karate or is “karate grappling”, as many modernists suggest, just a modern invention in response to the popularity of MMA? What about the traditionalists that say grappling is not a part of karate? Do either of these views have a case? We’ll also look at the evidence for grappling within kata. If grappling is in kata, what kind of grappling is it and how should be training in it?</p> <p>To explore all these issues, the podcastexamines what the past masters had to say on the subject of karate grappling in their writings. In addition to looking at grappling within karate, the podcast also includes a brief examination of the related Okinawan art of Tegumi. This examination is based upon Gichin Funakoshi’s description of his involvement in these bouts and how he believed such training to be of great benefit to the karateka. I feel the podcast contains a lot of information that will be of interest to the pragmatically minded karateka and I hope it will be bit of an eye-opener.</p> <p>All the best,</p> <p>Iain</p>