Guns
being used for assignation of Police Officers and others.
Continuing
drive by shootings, very often shootings of innocent bystanders.
Totally
random stabbings where the victim, often selected at random, is totally unaware
of the attack.
Random
beat downs of unsuspecting targets selected at random.
Random
hammer attacks where the perp. is dressed only in underware making the target
distracted from what is happening.
Attacks
in crowded subway cars, or random intentional shoves down to the train tracks.
…..and of course
the list goes on and on……
Realistically
almost none of it capable of being stopped by karate.
I
taught Isshinryu to students young and old. Just taught the art never claimed
it was for any special purpose. Such as self defense, such as for training,
such as for sport. Just Isshinryu.
I do not claim
my karate was better than others. It was after all just my karate. However after so many others advertising
their training was useful for self defense then comparing that training with
the above listed events currently in the news,
I begin to wonder what the self defense usage people are training for.
And at that I
consider all Okinawan karate fair game for these puporses.
I really do not
recall Okinawan instructors who trained their students to face the above
attacks.
Let’s step back
to when the art training was private in Toudi/Te. The Bushi families who taught
those arts, were likely not preparation for their eventual total family roles
using their Toudi/Te.
Most
likely their training in Toudi/Te was just the opening study for their later
roles. Then when their Toudi/Te skills were adequate for them to move onto
their family roles, they were likely brought around by other family members
already in those roles.
The closest I
might consider were the Bushi families that guarded the king. Were constant
awareness of possible violence was always present. IMO this might not be part
of the initial Toudi/Te training, considering the weapon must first be forged
before it can be trained for execution.
You might think
this somewhat similar to what the Secret Service has to develop in keeping the
President safe.
Perhaps also
akin to skills the military might develop, or skills required by a police
officer.
IMO it would
require training above the normal skills
developed in a karate system.
Makes you think
of 1). The eyes must see all sides. And 2.) the ear must hear in all
directions. Which goes far beyond the training of most karate skills.
The closest I
can remember when I met a brown belt of Frank Van Leten back around 1983. He
described how working in NYC at that time, he would move through the streets
always carrying a rolled up newspaper to drive into an opponent if attacked on
the street.
Of course it is
not a simple as the flip answer that “I will carry a gun (or other object)”, as most of the attacks are
when someone is unaware of the attack.
And moving a
student into constant hyperawareness is much more difficult and it itself does
not take into account the toll it will take on the individual so trained. For
there would be no ‘off time’.
I see much to
think about and no simple answers.
I am thinking
about this these days.
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