Sensei Funakoshi

[Metal]

Hi all,

So what do you make of the article in this months (August Edition) Combat, in regards to Sensei Kenneth Funakoshi? Who really thinks, "Once the Judo man grabs hold of you, the Karate man is dead".

Do you agree or disagree with this? Do you think that he is unfair to the system his ancestor founded? Do you think that your (the reader of this thread) style of Karate would help you fend off a Judo man or would you recommend cross-training to help deal with this possible threat? Possibly you feel that your style has it all.

Just asking the questions here and looking to see what the response is, especially interested to see what the Shotokan Karate-ka think. What do you or your organisation think of this?

To view the article, go to Combat Magazine - Home

Think you might need to sign up, but it's free and you can download this months issue as a pdf. Go to "Get Magazine" a drop down will appear and choose "Get digital edition", just thought I'd let you know so you can see what he says.

Brgds,
M

[TKDaddict]

i read this article. and was not sure what to make of it. i mean by no means is the karate guy dead. he is in deep trouble but what judo guy is going to throw you when you punch him as hard as you can in the face. i found it really strange as to why would someone so high in karate point out the faults in his martial art? he can say these thing though as he does judo aswell. aslo he says these things to help not to drag down the name of karate.

[JackG]

I think to be honest its like a boxer going to ground with a bjj they are good at what they do - your not going to box with a boxer because he will win - your not going to go to ground with a BJJ - your not going to take a weapon against a JJ person -just like your not going to try and get up close and personal with a judo guy. In this situation the judoka has the advantage because he is in his preferred fighting range which is the range he constantly trains at. If the judo guy finds himself at punching/kicking range then his is in trouble . its simple fight where your advantage is not your enemy.

[Chapel]

Basically I think that there are 4 distances of fighting. Each person has a skill at a certain distance. If the fight stays at a certain distance for long enough the person with the most skill at that distance will win. Thus, if you are better with kicks than your opponent you should stay at kicking distance, if your are better with punches than your opponent you should stay at punching distance... etc. etc.

[Metal]

Originally Posted by TKDaddict

i read this article. and was not sure what to make of it. i mean by no means is the karate guy dead. he is in deep trouble but what judo guy is going to throw you when you punch him as hard as you can in the face. i found it really strange as to why would someone so high in karate point out the faults in his martial art? he can say these thing though as he does judo aswell. aslo he says these things to help not to drag down the name of karate.

I thought it strange also, but as you say he has studied Judo also so I guess he knows what he is saying. He seems to have a realistic approach, as he stated in the article that he told his students that they might not be good in a self-defense situation even though they are good in the ring... What do you think of that one?

I personally feel that it might not be the case as if you are fast enough to stop the Judo person getting there hold on you you could do a throw maybe and turn the tables possibly.... What do you think? Am I just being hopeful?

Brgds,
M

Originally Posted by Chapel

Basically I think that there are 4 distances of fighting. Each person has a skill at a certain distance. If the fight stays at a certain distance for long enough the person with the most skill at that distance will win. Thus, if you are better with kicks than your opponent you should stay at kicking distance, if your are better with punches than your opponent you should stay at punching distance... etc. etc.

Hey Chapel,

Do your styles train in close combat, like Taekwondo? Does this art do much for you in close quarters... just asking. I know it looks more of a kicking style art but is there more to it than meets the eye? I watched a couple of the poomse and it looks like there could be a lot more to it than just kicking.

Brgds,
M

Originally Posted by JackG

I think to be honest its like a boxer going to ground with a bjj they are good at what they do - your not going to box with a boxer because he will win - your not going to go to ground with a BJJ - your not going to take a weapon against a JJ person -just like your not going to try and get up close and personal with a judo guy. In this situation the judoka has the advantage because he is in his preferred fighting range which is the range he constantly trains at. If the judo guy finds himself at punching/kicking range then his is in trouble . its simple fight where your advantage is not your enemy.

Hey J,

What about your styles, if you knew you were up against a judo guy and you were in close and then you heard the word go for the fight, do you think any of your techniques could be good for fending off a Judo persons attack?

Brgds,
M

[Chapel]

Metal, I have merged your posts. In the future you might want to take advantage of our 'multi-quote' feature. Just click on all the posts you want to quote and then click quote. It is very convenient and quick, plus it makes of easier reading.

In response to you question. If someone was going to train in pure Tae Kwon Do they would do best to stay on their feet in either kicking (or greater) or punching distance with a slight preference towards kicking for the average TKDist. However... most TKD schools that focus even partially on self-defense have long since adopted some Hapkido techniques to effectively escape from other distances. Some have even incorporated wrestling or BJJ techniques. My school, for example, has a very strong backing in Hapkido (we have a 7th Dan Hapkido Grand Master with, all the instructors have some background in Hapkido, Hapkido is regularly taught in class although it is not included on the tests) although we are technically only a Tae Kwon Do school.

This all basically boils down to 'school not the art' and 'person not the school'.