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Shotokan Karate De Ashi Barai And Takedown
I promised you that I would be with you again, today.
In general, most people know the martial art Shotokan Karate for its explosive kicks and punches.
Additionally, a very important technique that will throw an opponent off balance is one that I would like share with you today.
This technique is used in Judo, too. It’s known as “de ashi barai” or foot/leg sweep.
The following video I found is in German, so I will give you the brief description:
Initiate your attack with kizami tzuki, follow through with gyaku tzuki, apply de ashi barai with your rear leg by sweeping your opponent’s back leg while pulling his upper body in the other direction.
Control your opponent’s upper body during his fall to finalize wth a gyaku tzuki gedan.
But as we know, talk is cheap. So here we go with Samad Azadi, 5th Dan, from Hamburg, Germany:
Happy New Year 2010!
TheMartialArtsReporter.com wishes you and yours a very Happy New Year 2010, accompanied by health, wealth and happiness!
Let’s make this a great New Year!
I have said this before and I cannot say it often enough:
Thank you so very much for your continued support and interest.
I would like to start the year with you by sharing some great quotes that I find very fitting on this very special day.
“In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, never in want.” Irish Toast
“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man.” Benjamin Franklin
“What the New Year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the New Year.” Vern McLellan
It’s New Year’s Day!
And that calls for one of the world’s best bands ever, U2!
I will be with you again.
Let’s say tomorrow.
Learn An Effective, Yet Underestimated Self-Defense Technique From Sifu Paul Vunak
Hey guys!
Did you miss me? Because I missed you guys, but I am back at it with a great contribution by the great Paul Vunak.
I found a self-defense technique, that in my humble opinion is both effective and yet underestimated by many people.
Maybe even ridiculed by some martial artists, who haven’t been on the receiving end of this one.
This technique is especially helpful to all of you following this blog, who might not be practicing self-defense on a regular base.
Take it from Sifu Paul Vunak, who knows his stuff.
“Gone Fishing! – Part 2
Hey there,
yeah, I am still hard at work not working.
Just needed some rest which I know you can relate to.
But I will be baaack!
Promise.
Have you checked out some of my previous posts from last month?
Take it easy and stay tuned.
Talk very soon.
Another Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Here’s your week in review at TheMartialArtsReporter.com and two great quotes, just because it’s that season again!
Gegard Mousasi, MMA Fighter With A 27-2-1 Record And Only 24 Years Old
From Leiden,The Netherlands, referred to by many as “Europe’s Best-Kept Secret”.
Is Yildiz Aras The World’s Best Female Karate Kumite Competitor?
From Istanbul, Turkey, meet the “Strong Girl”.
New Zealand’s Maori Haka Get Warriors For Battle
From ‘Lord of the Rings’ country comes a ritual that will get any opponent’s attention.
Bruce Lee And Albrecht Pflueger. Albrecht Who?
Find out who this karate pioneer is and what role he played in my life.
Yoga And Martial Artists
If it helps Rickson Gracie in his workout regimen, could you possibly benefit from yoga?
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu – Behind The Scenes In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Rio is more than just the ‘Girl from Ipanema’.
And here are the two quotes as promised. I hope you like them.
“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.”
Lord Byron
But wait, there’s more!
“Nurture your mind with great thought, for you will never go any higher than you think.” Benjamin Disraeli
Thanks again for following me at TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Unfair Karate Fight – Let’s All Lighten Up, Shall We?!
I have no idea where you are and what you’re up to today, but I am taking a day off.
That’s why I thought it might be a good idea to chill and just look at martial arts from a not so serious perspective.
Are you with me? What say you?
Hope you enjoy this clip. I sure do every time I watch it.
The Greatly Feared And Highly Effective “Rear Naked Choke”
Greatly feared and highly effective, the “Rear Naked Choke” is the chokehold you do not want to be in.
Your opponent’s got you from behind and that is just not a good thing.
It’s never a good thing not being able to see what’s going on, right?!
The term “Rear Naked Choke” most likely originated from Jujutsu and Judo, in which it is also better known as the “Hadaka Jime”, or “Naked Strangle.”
Why “naked”? Well, first of all it has nothing to do with “clothing optional”. Just kidding.
Rather, unlike with some other Jujustu and Judo choking techniques, you do not have to employ a “gi” or training uniform.
When it comes to the “Rear Naked Choke”, the attacker’s arm encircles the opponent’s neck and then grabs his own biceps of the other arm and the hand of said arm presses against the back of the opponent’s head.
There you have it: The “Rear Naked Choke (Sleeper Hold)”.
To make it all more comprehensible I have added the following visuals.
Warning: Kids, do not try this at home or anywhere else without professional supervision!
Here is 2-time World Submission Grappling Champion, Dean Lister:
And, 9-time UFC Champion, Matt “Country Boy” Hughes:
Low Muay Thai Kick Can End A Fight Within Seconds
Muay Thai, which was developed on the battlefields during the 15th century, is known for using punches, elbow strikes, clinches, knee thrusts and of course devastating kicks.
Now, even if one cannot kick above the waistline there is a kick at your disposal that can end a fight real fast and I am thinking of the one you could employ in a self-defense situation.
It is the Low Muay Thai kick aimed at the thigh of your opponent.
Yours truly was once at the receiving end of one of these powerful kicks and let me tell you that I couldn’t use the hit leg for about an hour. Seriously!
Coming from a totally different martial art I wasn’t accustomed to pulling up my knee to avoid described predicament. Sometimes you learn the hard way.
As always, to learn a specific technique correctly, please seek advice from trusted and knowledgable instructors.
The following video shows you legendary Dutchman Rob Kaman, who years ago was an incredible fighter and feared even by his Thai opponents.
And another short clip shows you the kick applied in a real MMA/UFC fight:
Mark Dacascos Still Kicking Strong On “Dancing With The Stars”
Mark Dacascos, the accomplished martial artist and actor is still kicking strong on this year’s “Dancing With Stars”.
Some of you might have heard that he won several Kung Fu and Karate championships between the ages of 9 and 18.
This should come as no surprise as Mark’s dad, Al Dacascos, is a legendary martial arts instructor who exposed Mark to martial arts at a very early age.
His step mother, Malia Bernal, is also a martial artist. Mark’s ancestry is diverse. His father is of Filipino, Spanish, and Chinese decent and his mother, Moriko McVey, is of Irish and Japanese decent.
Mark Dacascos has had roles in a number of movies and made numerous television appearances.
He played the lead role of Eric Draven in the TV series entitled The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, which is based on the James O’Barr’s comic book entitled The Crow.
He also stars as The Chairman on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America series.
Currently, Mark Dacascos is doing extremely well in this year’s “Dancing With Stars” and promoting the agility of an open-minded martial artist.
Two thumbs up!
Shotokan Karate According To Gichin Funakoshi
Today I would like to share with you something about the style that got me so excited about martial arts in the first place.
The style is called Shotokan Karate and who could really describe it better than the actual founder of the style himself: Gichin Funakoshi, an Okinawan who introduced karate to Japan in 1917 and later again 1922.
Shotokan Karate is currently enjoying somewhat of a second wind of attention and popularity especially with UFC top competitors such as Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort applying some of its typical elements.
Here are some excerpts of Funakoshi-Sensei’s descriptions and observations:
“In Okinawa, a miraculous and mysterious martial art has come down to us from the past.
It is said that one who masters its techniques can defend himself readily without resort to weapons and can perform remarkable feats: the breaking of several thick boards with his fist or ceiling panels of a room with a kick.
With his shuto (“sword hand”) he can kill a bull with a single stroke; he can pierce the flank of a horse with his open hand; he can cross a room grasping the beams of the ceiling with his fingers, crush a green bamboo stalk with his bare hand, shear a hemp rope with a twist, or gouge soft rock with his hands.
Some consider these aspects of this miraculous and mysterious martial art to be the essence of Karate-do.
But such feats are a small part of karate, playing a role analogous to the straw-cutting test of kendo [Japanese fencing], and it is erroneous to think that there is no more to Karate-do than this.
In fact, true Karate-do places weight upon spiritual rather than physical matters.
True Karate-do is this: that in daily life, one’s mind and body be trained and developed in a spirit of humility; and that in critical times, one be devoted utterly to the cause of justice.
Karate-do is a martial art peculiar to Okinawa in its origins. Although it has in the past tended to be confused with Chinese boxing because of the use of the chinese “kara” character in its earlier name, in fact for the past thousand years, the study and practice of masters and experts, through which it was nurtured and perfected and formed into the unified martial art that it is today, took place in Okinawa.
It is, therefore, not a distortion to represent it as an Okinawan martial art.
One may ask why the chinese “kara” character has been retained for so long.
As I discuss in the section “The Development of Karate-do,” I believe that at the time the influence of Chinese culture was at its peak in Japan, many experts in the martial arts traveled to China to practice Chinese boxing.
With their new knowledge, they altered the existing martial art, called Okinawa-te, weeding out its bad points and adding good points to it, thus working it into an elegant art.
It may be speculated that they considered “kara” (with the chinese character) an appropriate new name.
Since, even in contemporary Japan, there are many people who are impressed by anything that is foreign, it is not difficult to imagine the high regard for anything Chinese that prevailed during that period in Okinawa.
Even at the time of the present writer’s youth, lack of a full set of Chinese furniture and furnishings in one’s home was a serious impediment to the social influence of any leading family.
With this background, the reason for the choice of the Chinese “kara” character, meaning “Chinese,” as a simple case of exoticism is apparent.
Following tradition, the writer has in the past continued to use the Chinese character.
However, because of the frequent confusion with Chinese boxing, and the fact that the Okinawan martial art may now be considered a Japanese martial art, it is inappropriate, and in a sense degrading, to continue use of the old “kara” in the name.
For this reason, in spite of many protests, we have abandoned the use of it to replace it with the new character KARA.
The first connotation of kara indicates that karate is a technique that permits one to defend himself with his bare hands and fists without weapons.
Second, just as it is the clear mirror that reflects without distortion, or the quiet valley that echoes a sound, so must one who would study Karate-do purge himself of selfish and evil thoughts, for only with a clear mind and conscience can he understand that which he receives.
This is another meaning of the element kara in Karate-do.
Next, he who would study Karate-do must always strive to be inwardly humble and outwardly gentle.
However, once he has decided to stand up for the cause of justice, then he must have the courage expressed in the saying, “Even if it must be ten million foes, I go!”
Thus, he is like the green bamboo stalk: hollow (kara) inside, straight, and with knots, that is, unselfish, gentle, and moderate. This meaning is also contained in the element kara of Karate-do.
Finally, in a fundamental way, the form of the universe is emptiness (kara), and, thus, emptiness is form itself.
There are many kinds of martial arts, judo, kendo, sojitsu (“spear techniques”), bojitsu (“stick techniques”), and others, but at a fundamental level all these arts rest on the same basis as Karate-do.
It is no exaggeration to say that the original sense of Karate-do is at one with the basis of all martial arts. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form itself. The kara of Karate-do has this meaning.”
Or as Paul Harvey always said, “Now you know the rest of the story.”
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