You Still Recognize the Game – Karate Should Be No Different.

 

Posted by ADAM CARTER on MAY 01, 2025

You Still Recognize the Game – Karate Should Be No Different.

(Approx 2 minute 20 second read)

There’s a common belief in classical karate that it gives you a reliable way to protect yourself. But plenty of people – especially those from more modern systems – say otherwise.

A big part of the problem is that karate has often gone unchallenged. Because of Japan’s culture of conformity – and the pressure not to question authority – things have stayed the same for a long time. People just repeat what they’ve been shown, generation after generation, without asking if it actually works.

It’s not that they can’t fix the problem – it’s that they don’t see there is one.

Most never go beyond the surface. They learn techniques, copy movements, maybe get fit – but never dig any deeper. And let’s be honest: a lot of people don’t have the patience or the time to look past the physical side of training. They want quick results, not real understanding.

So, if you don’t realize you’re stuck, you’ll never look for a way out.

I once heard a story from a very senior teacher, talking about karate in the old days. A student asked him, “Why haven’t you shown me this before?” The teacher replied, “You never asked. I thought you were satisfied with what you were getting.” That stuck with me. The Okinawans gave early foreign students – first the Japanese, then the Americans – what they believed they were looking for, not necessarily what they truly needed.

And that way of thinking continues today – people not asking questions, just accepting what they’re shown.

This is especially clear in how many still train. Violence doesn’t follow rules. It’s messy and unpredictable. So if you’re training with rule-bound drills – especially the kind that are overly ritualized or involve compliant partners – you’re not preparing for the reality of violence.

You’re just going through the motions. That’s not just ineffective – it’s misleading.

I often hear from sport-based practitioners who say kata is outdated or has no place in self-defense. But they forget – or maybe never knew – that karate was originally designed for that exact purpose. Self-defense was the starting point.

You can adapt the art however you want, but its roots are clear. That should be respected.

One of the things I’ve found most interesting about looking into the history of karate is how much it tells you about the people who created it. Their lives and their training weren’t separate. Karate wasn’t just something they did – it was part of who they were. And that says a lot about how they view it.

If we’re serious about karate, then we’ve got a responsibility – not just to pass on the movements, but to pass on the thinking behind it all.

We don’t need to throw everything out or reinvent it to make it effective. But like any long-standing discipline, karate needs honest reflection and practical application if it’s going to stay relevant.

Think of rugby union. The rules were first formalized in the 1870s, and while they haven’t been completely rewritten, there have been adjustments and refinements over time. We still recognize the game when we see it.

Karate should be no different. Its roots matter. Its purpose matters. If we change the fundamentals too much, we’re not preserving it – we’re turning it into something else entirely.

Written by Adam Carter