Shaking the Tree: Wake Up to What You’re Really Practicing and Teaching.

 

Posted by ADAM CARTER on SEP 11, 2025

Shaking the Tree: Wake Up to What You’re Really Practicing and Teaching.

(Approx 2 minute 45 second read)

There are many instructors that are passionate about their karate. They want to appeal to a wider audience and they obviously need to keep the doors of their dojo open. I know, I’ve been there.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to grow your school or attract students, but the moment you claim that what you’re teaching is self-defense, my ears prick up.

You have to be honest with yourself and with your students about what your karate can, and cannot, prepare them for. Integrity is paramount, isn’t it?

The world of the instructor that teaches step-kumite as self-defense rumbles on. Look, guys, if you practice it, great, I don’t care….. but it’s not self-defense.

I had a private message that started, “I’m writing this to you as a response to your Facebook post on step-kumite. I don’t respond to things like this publicly because I’ve never liked internet arguments.”

Oh dear, looks like the argument is going private.

He went on to tell me that “they are designed to practice specific countering techniques. It’s not about the set-up, it’s about the counter.”

Let’s address this.

“It’s not about the set-up”? Okay, so you are ignoring what is being thrown your way and concentrating on the counter?

In other words then, you know what’s coming so you are effectively ignoring it because it’s just choreography?

Among the many problems with step-kumite, wrong timing, wrong distance, stepping straight back, no angles used, I could go on, one of the major problems is that you are waiting for a karate-type attack in order to counter.

Do you see how inappropriate this is for self-defense? If you are in the position where you have no choice but to fight, waiting is a serious error.

Remember, we are talking about self-defense, this is the claim.

Waiting for an attack to happen so you can block and counter is just stupid and possibly even a dangerous practice. Have these people ever been in a violent, adrenaline-charged, brutal attack? I would argue not.

You will not be attacked by a karateka. There will be no straight step-in attack with an oi-zuki to the mid-section.

Your block response. You can only “block” the way most people are taught if you know what’s coming. Chuck some random stuff in there and see what happens.

He went on to say that “techniques need practice”. Practicing technique after technique, back and forth. “We must practice them,” he said.

The focus really needs to be upon principles and movement. Of course, there are techniques, and repetition is important, but you don’t need to practice 101 techniques. This will fail you in an adrenaline-fueled attack, when your mind can’t keep up looking for the right response.

He went on to say: “When practicing these drills, the students should get faster with their techniques and stronger by blocking a held punch.”

Of course everyone gets faster with practice. But in the case of step-kumite you only get faster because you know what attack is being used. Again choreography. And blocking a held punch? This is not reality is it?

Am I making sense yet?

Look, it boils down to this: I don’t care what you practice, but when instructors advertise that they are teaching self-defense with these drills, that’s when I have to pipe up and make my point known, so hopefully someone somewhere might read this and question what they are doing.

There are so many things wrong with step-kumite used in the context of self-defense. And don’t get me started on weapons.

Please, if you are a student, seek out those that know what they are doing. Just in case, one day, you may need your karate and not just choreography.

Can we leave it at that? My inbox is getting full.

Written by Adam Carter – Shuri Dojo