Break Falls and Karate

I am a firm believer that a student should be as prepared as an instructor/teacher/sensei can make him/her. The focus on punching, kicking, and blocking is a given. After all, this is karate! The striking arts, and how they are deployed, are the things that make our art uniquely different from other combative systems.


In my opinion, there has been a re-learning of martial lessons throughout the western world since the early 1990's. For many, the sole focus in the arts, unless you were fortunate enough to train directly under an Okinawan or Japanese teacher for an extended amount of time, was on the striking arts. To complicate matters, tournaments provided a surrogate for a serious lack of knowledge in the U.S. Finally, a false sense of security and bravado became the new normal for many as a result of their positive tournament experiences.


Like most martial artists, I have spent a lot of time reading about the tradition martial ways. In the past decade, my reading and research has centered primarily around the limited writings of Yamamoto Mamoru (founder of Yoshukai Karate) and Chitose Tsuyoshi (founder of Chito-Ryu Karate, and teacher of Yamamoto). Of special interest to me has been a third or fourth reading of Chitose's Kempo Karate-do, which serves as a basic primer for newly inducted karate-ka.


Chitose's small book outlines his karate lineage before dedicating several pages to his henshuho, or two man kata practice. Having trained a few times in the henshuho, I was impressed with the joint taking techniques and throws. It has been rumored that Chitose sensei held high dan ranks in judo; I am unsure of this claim, but to see how well he executed throws (positioning, angles, etc.), the rumors may be true.

In fact, Chitose makes long mention of nage (throwing) techniques in his book. He goes on to say that some of the throws found in karate are similar to their judo counterparts, but without the ability to recover by the person receiving them. In other words, an inability to properly fall and displace energy on the ground or floor.

All that being said, teaching a student the correct method of falling to prevent injury in the dojo is a must. To take that one step further, learning how to fall in order to limit injury can be a skill that may save the student's life outside the practice of budo. Executing a good throw is secondary, again in my opinion, to understanding how to recover from it.

Each instructor has a responsibility to not only teach the basics of their art, but also those advanced techniques. I recommend against beginning this after black belt! The earlier a student learns ukemi (break falling), the better off they are. Reduce the risk of injury and assure the legacy of your art is carried forward.

Osu!