Fair conclusions, but I think some addition nuance would help: 1) Boxing is good for physical self-protection because the exclusive focus on punches makes them very good at punching. Most situations start at conversation range, where punches are ideal, so skill at punching can help end it quick. HOWEVER, the sport of boxing does not cover criminal behaviour, awareness, law, escape skills, conflict-based communication, etc, so if people are specifically looking to deal with criminal violence, they should train specifically for that as opposed to training in mutually consented to punching duels for the limited cross over. If they have the skills for criminal violence, and also boxing skills, and they know how to contextualise those boxing skills for that context, then that’s an impressive skills set. Bottom-line through, we should be specific in training. 2) We need to be careful with the word “untrained” as it does not mean “unskilled” or “inexperienced”. It simply means, “not trained in the same martial arts as you.” Criminals are the experts in criminal violence. They are skilled and very experienced in that regard, despite not being formally trained in any give martial art or combat sports. Karate was originally designed for that kind of violence, but many modern practitioners now focus on out-fighting other karateka. A very skilled boxer will lose to a very skilled judoka in a judo bout, and vice-versa. It’s what we are skilled and at what the context is that matter. A skilled criminal may never win any form of competitive combat sport, but despite being “untrained” they can still be the most competent at the use of criminal violence.

@@practicalkatabunkai I want to relate to only one thing that you repeat all the time and that is that criminals can produce brute force.I think maybe some of them but somebody who trains regularly is much more dangerous and bigger and has more reflexs than a "criminal" .of course cthere are criminals who train and keep in shape.but the average person in the street ...is harmless

@@user-uk2ok8yo7g I think the key thing, which we need to be sure not to overlook, is that criminal violence is very different in nature to consensual violence. As one of my instructors put it, “When two martial artists fight it is like two chess masters sitting down to play chess. However, in self-defence, the martial artist ‘sits down to play chess’ and is surprised when the criminal throws the pieces at them and tries to smash their head in with the board. The martial artist remains the better ‘chess player’ but the mistake they made was thinking that the criminal wanted to play chess.” It's very different and you can’t expect a methodology designed for one type of violence to be a perfect fit for another type of violence. Martial artists have a very bad, and consistent habit, of seeing themselves as “apex-predators” because they are trained in their specific art when the criminal lacks such training. They forget that the criminal is often the “expert” in criminal violence though and that’s the kind of violence in play. As above, “untrained” does not mean “unskilled” or “inexperienced”. I take your point about physical condition playing a part, but that’s no substitute for specific skills and “knowing your enemy”. If dealing with criminal violence is the goal, then we need to train specifically for that. Going to the gym or training for consensual violence for the limited crossover / by-product, isn’t sufficient. It will help to a limited degree, but it’s far from being enough. I also agree that the “average person in the street” generally doesn’t have much capacity for any form of violence, but violent criminals are not your average person in the street. All important points that I feel need clarified for anyone reading. All the best, Iain

@@practicalkatabunkai isn't the real traditional shotokan good for the street?(one blow one kill)

@@user-uk2ok8yo7g It depends really on “what Shotokan” and what you mean by “the street”. Shotokan that includes the close-range practises encapsulated in the traditional kata will be better placed than a sporting or 3K approach when it comes to the physical side of things. However, if we are talking about true self-protection, we need to also cover legalities, crime statistics, criminal behaviour, de-escalation, escape skills, personal security, etc and they are rarely covered in most martial arts classes. Martial artists often reduce self-protection to “street fighting”, but they are not the same thing. For a start, we have a legal right to protect ourselves, but no legal right to fight in the street. Very different things.

Good question. I will reply, but only if you promise not to delete your post? There was the one yesterday where you said I talk too much, which I replied to and then you deleted. And there was the one today where you said you were joking about your gun comment. I reply and you again delete your initial post. That makes it a waste of my time. Always happy to discuss anything, but only if it’s a discussion in good faith and people don’t delete their initial post and hence the entire thread if they don’t like the answer. As I say, that wastes my time and yours. So, are we good to chat and I have your word you’re not about to delete the above post too?

@@practicalkatabunkai sure thanks

@@user-uk2ok8yo7g I would agree with you from a health perspective. I can see why people stick to their dominant side in combat sports i.e. a right-handed boxer always trains with their left foot forward, a right-handed judoka always trains with their right foot forward, etc because they need to be focused on winning and using what they find most effective. However, this can result in imbalances in the body’s development and longer term that can cause issues. There’s therefore a case for the more “recreational” martial artist ensuring their body is as healthy as possible by ensuring even development. There’s also a case for the self-protection side of things were picking a side and expecting to always be in a given position to initiate a technique can be problematic. Personally, I like to train everything on both sides, but I am happy to work with my natural side bias in sparring, etc ie I generally fight left foot forward, but will switch it up now and again, even though that means I am not going to be at my best.

@@practicalkatabunkai thank you very much sensei You are the man

That’s certainly what they would call them in judo, but I would question if they are the only “proper names”. Judo terminology tends to be dominant these days, but the exact same throws go by other names in old-school karate (varying from instructor to instructor), pre-judo-jujutsu (again, varying from style to style), wresting, etc. I do occasionally get told I have the names “wrong” when using alternative or older names, but that’s only because of the fact judo’s terminology is dominant today. When discussing the throws taught by given past masters - as I am doing in this video - my preference is to stick with what they personally called those thows; as opposed to “translating” into modern judo terminology. That seems to be more historically accurate and appropriate to me. Ultimately, when discussing function, it does not matter what people call them. As I like to occasionally remind people, “No one ever won a fight with terminology.” To quote Shakespear, “What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

I think it depends on the objective. If we are talking about points style competition, then using uraken in that way is solid. However, if we are talking about delivering a powerful shot that has the potential to KO, then it’s much better to stick to the cross / gyakuzuki. The reason being that the opponent is advancing so the cross / gyakuzuki will largely impact in the opposite direction which will increase the effect. The uraken would be coming in more from the side. Furthermore, with the cross / gyakuzuki, the forward lean of the body is in the same direction of the strike - which will increase impact - however, with the uraken, the body is leaning forward whist the strike is coming in from the side. As always, it ultimately depends upon the objective and the context. The question, “Will this work?” is meaningless unless we also ask, “Works for what?”. If we are in a context where power and effect are key, then the cross / gyakuzuki is the much better option. However, if we are looking at a context where that is irrelevant (i.e. points fighting) then there is no reason at all while we could not swap out the cross / gyakuzuki for a uraken as that will definitely also work within that context. We don’t consider or train for points fighting in my dojo, so the uraken is out as a viable option for us and what we do. That’s not to say it’s a bad choice for other contexts though. I recall a session with one of my instructors where a fellow student threw a lateral uraken and my instructor said he should not do it as it wasn’t powerful enough. The student responded with, “I reckon I could make his eyes water!” To which, my instructor replied, “Well, read him a chapter from Love Story or peel an onion in front of him then.” Got a good laugh from everyone, including the gent who had used the uraken. Best of luck with the recovery! All the best, Iain

@practicalkatabunkai Thanks! You're quite right, I was only considering uraken for points fighting, not a real world application. This movement is very similar to some moves in traditional Wado-ryu, oddly enough. I can't honestly say that I'd use gyakazuki in an actual self-defence scenario in this position, but I see where you're getting at.

@@Cailus3542 I pleased that was of some use. Thanks for the question!

Yep! Mistype ... too busy to correct and reupload :-)

It's ok, the contents are much important 👍🏻

Yep, the punch was that fast it time travelled! Alternatively, I mistyped and haven’t got the time to correct and reupload :-)

@@practicalkatabunkai I believe either explanation absolutely, sensei!

Yep! I mistyped ... and I'm too busy to change it :-)

​@@practicalkatabunkai no worries. That will give us plenty of time to attend this class 😅 Thanks for your videos!

The true secret of bunkai is the ability to time travel. Just like Iain travels backward with this reverse punch, he is also rewinding time to give us this lesson from 2025.

We definitely need to learn to punch from natural positions; especially when it comes to pre-emption … but an empty hand pulled to the first isn’t such a natural position and won’t develop the skills needed. There are well-documented and very good reasons to have the hand close to your hip in combat (when part of the enemy is in that hand). That hand was never intended to be empty in application through and but people keep coming up with justifications for it. When we understand the actual practical reasons for hikite in kata, we can drop all those justifications.

Thanks for the kind words! Most of the videos I share for free on KZbin are not professionally filmed and hence they are what they are. Unfortunately, it’s not viable for me to spend a lot of time and money for KZbin. Since it was uploaded nine years ago, this video has generated a grand total of £28.37 i.e. £3.15 per year. If I was to pay for professional filming and a lot of time was spent editing on these videos, I would quickly find myself broke and unable to provide for me and mine. It’s a little different with DVD, download and some app content as there is the revenue to support better filming and editing for those. However, these are free to watch (if not entirely free to make) and hence people “get what they pay for”. I nevertheless hope people find the content useful and I accept that not everyone has the resources to pay for the professional material, which is why I also share stuff here. However, as I said at the start, they are what they are.

It depends. That’s certainly one option, but depending on circumstances, immediate escape, de-escalation, seeking assistance, etc could be better options. No two situations are the same and hence any, “one size fits all” approach is sure to be suboptimal. It’s why true self-protection training need to include all these options and not just default to a physical response.