Why Is Karate Effective For Self-Defense

By Jim Steward

Karate is known to been an effective form of marital arts, so why is it so and what moves are there that we can learn today to get an idea of its effectiveness? First off, you should know that karate was originally developed by ordinary farming folks in Okinawa, Japan. Tired of being attacked and pillaged by armed bandits. These people took it upon themselves to develop a form of empty-handed combat which were effective against these mounted raiders.

Weapons were forbidden to be carried by the common Japanese folks if they were not samurai or the warrior class. This is one of the main reasons why you see flying or high kicks in karate. It was due to the necessity in knocking off these bandits or warriors from their horses.

Now what are some of the moves we can analyze that shows the effectiveness of these karate moves? Among the many moves, there are some common effective ones, like the back hand lash, the bottom fist, side hand hammer blow and choker.

Lets take a quick look at these.The back hand lash was one of the original attack moves in karate and how it is done is that when an opponent comes at you, you lash out with your palms straightened and tightened. It works like a plank of wood being smashed against the enemy's ribs.

For the bottom fist it is delivered best against an enemy that is wearing amour. In the olden days, most warriors wore some form of armor. What this meant was that normal killing blows to the soft vulnerable spots were not feasible. Hence this move was created to smash against hard armor, thereby creating concussion effects on the enemy. Hitting it on the head is effective as it can disorient and even knock out the enemy.

Another move sometimes used by karate practitioners is the heel of palm attack. As the name implies, your striking surface is the heel of the palm. This is powerful for several reasons. If delivered correctly and with connection power, the blow can be devastating to the opponent and can knock them out pretty quick. - 31491

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