Karate in Okinawa

Kicking it with karate's grandmasters
In an age when karate has been diluted into a quest for self-perfection, to learn the fighting techniques useful for real life one needs to visit Okinawa, the Japanese martial art's true birthplace. While since World War II the sport's popularity has become global, only there can a grandmaster still send a 129-kilogram judo student flying simply by twitching his hips. - David Isenberg

This is what strikes me most about the original Karate Kid, in comparison with the new Karate Kid starring Jackie Chan and Will Smith's son -- the original had more realistic fighting (with the possible exception of the winning kick at the end). The new movie, featuring a lot of wushu, will not. (Trailer: Apple or Youtube.) Certainly Mr. Miyagi took a practical, no-nonsense approach, and this was deliberate on the part of the filmmakers. (I remember an interview with Pat Morita in which he made this point?)

From the article:

How does this modern form of karate differ from the way it was originally taught in Okinawa? Vince Morris, founder of kissaki-kai karate, and author of the Rules of Combat, wrote:

The main problem today is that few students ever learn in the same manner as those who studied under the direction of the old masters. It was much more an individual rather than a group process, and each student was constantly under the eyes of the master who would continually assess and correct the efforts of the student.

In order for the student to become fully apprised of the "rules of combat" they were continually matched with a partner in training drills (Tegumi [an early form of Okinawan wrestling]) which emphasized bumping, slapping, pulling, striking, throwing and all the other ancillaries to technique that are essential background knowledge.

In most modern dojo this is not usual. Therefore, unless the student gets practice elsewhere huge and important parts of martial arts "grammar" and ancillary concepts are just not available to them. Therefore, although in sports situations the student may well be effective, in the real street situations they are often out of the depth and can get into serious - sometimes disastrous - trouble.

In fact, while training in Okinawa is generally physically and mentally taxing, it is also non-repetitive, and personal. Okinawan teachers do not generally like military type "drilling" and prefer a low teacher-student ratio.

Generally speaking, the Okinawans abhor the practice of senior students beating up junior students which is the norm in Japanese high schools and colleges, and which is referred to as "sparring". Okinawans do not understand Western concepts of karate sparring. For them karate training is aimed at learning how to incapacitate or render unconscious an opponent with one, maybe two blows, so an easy escape can be made.

Related:
Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do
All Okinawa Shorin Ryu Kenshin Kan Karate & Kobudo Federation
All Okinawa Karate & Kobudo
Karate Shorinkan
Okinawa Karate News
Okinawan Karate Club of San Francisco
Okinawan Karate & Kobudo
Isshin-Ryu Traditional Okinawa Karate-Do
International Goju Ryu Karate Federation