Recreation or Reality? Self-Protection – It’s Still About Getting Home Safely.

 

Posted by ADAM CARTER on JUN 08, 2025

Recreation or Reality? Self-Protection – It’s Still About Getting Home Safely.

(Approx 2 minute 20 second read)

Self-defense has always really been about one thing: getting home safely. Even if we go back to the early days of Okinawa, that was the goal. It wasn’t about fighting or consensual dueling.

Karate, or its predecessor, was never created for sport or for testing yourself toe-to-toe. It was created for survival.

I recently wrote an article about knife defense. In most dojo, what’s taught in this area is completely inadequate. That’s why it’s so important to understand what works in the real world – and what doesn’t.

Someone commented, quite rightly, that getting into a knife fight is a terrible idea. I agree. Escape should always be your first goal.

Fighting in the dojo – essentially the dueling I mentioned earlier – is fun. Add competition to that, and the excitement ramps up even more. This is the karate most people see today. And for many, it’s enough. It’s what karate evolved into.

Even unrealistic drills like step-kumite can be fun. They make you feel like you’re achieving something, that you’re defending and attacking in a way that feels real. It’s not, of course. But hey, it’s still fun. And if that’s your goal – if that’s what you’re looking for – it’s all good.

But most people don’t join a dojo just for fun. They join because they want to learn how to protect themselves. And that’s where the two words I keep repeating come in: context and escape.

If your interest is self-protection – and for many it is – then these two principles aren’t optional. They’re essential.

Let’s start with context. If it’s ignored, then all you’re doing is recreational training. And that’s okay if that’s all you want. I like to enjoy training too. But if your goal is to have the confidence and ability to protect yourself, then you’ll need something more. .

Now let’s look at escape. This is one of the biggest misconceptions in the martial arts. Why? Because too many people are focused on fighting and forget what real self-protection is. It’s about avoiding the fight altogether. You guessed it – it’s about surviving.

Yes, sometimes you may have to fight. But that shouldn’t be where your training begins. Yet in most dojos, that’s exactly where it starts – and ends.

Perhaps one of the clearest examples of why context and escape are paramount was when I was approached by a group of Muslim women, who asked if I could help them feel safer following a recent spate of racially motivated attacks. Would starting by teaching them to fight have been the right way to help? No.

Ask yourself an honest question: are you being taught how to escape? Not just told to run away – but actually taught how to use self-awareness, your environment, your positioning, your verbal skills? Are you being taught when to leave, how to leave, and how to make that decision in time?

If not, then something’s missing.

Self-protection is not about looking tough in the dojo. It’s not about just training hard, taking the hits, performing, or scoring points. It’s about understanding the context for your goals and the ability to prioritize escape – and train accordingly.

Because the goal hasn’t changed. It’s still about getting home safely.

Written by Adam Carter