two rehearsals of each response in this book, will not produce results.
The authors are indebted to the Japan Karate Association, Tokyo, japan, for the use of their facilities and hereby acknowledge with pleasure the assistance of those members and officials who have made this book possible. Additional thanks is due to the excellent photographic skills of Akira Kasahara, which has given this book its illustrations, and to James S. Bregman, a student of combative arts who posed as the "assailant" in the illustrations.
Tokyo, Japan
PREFACE
KARATE is a martial art developed by people who were prohibited the use of weapons, thus making it a defensive art. When one is attacked, the empty hands (which the word karate implies) are quite sufficient to defend oneself if one is highly skilled in the art. However, to become highly skilled takes exacting discipline, both mental and physical. The main purpose of this series of six books is to avoid the advanced techniques of karate which require many years of study and instead to describe simplified karate technique as easy-to-learn responses to typical self-defense situations.
Karate is highly esteemed as a sport, self-defense, and as a physical attribute for athletics in general. It is becoming increasingly popular in schools, offices, factories, law enforcement agencies and the armed services, varying in degree as required by the respective wants and needs.
In response to the many requests for treatment of karate purely as a defensive system, it is hoped that the information contained in this series of six books will be more than sufficient to meet these requests. In conclusion, if readers of this series of books will fully understand the principles and ideals of karate, taking care to use its techniques with discretion, they will reflect great credit to this magnificent art.
THE FIRST and most complete and authoritative text on karate in the English language, titled Karate: The Art of "Empty Hand" Fighting, by Hidetaka Nishiyama and Richard C. Brown, instructor and member of the Japan Karate Association respectively, made its appearance in 1960. It presents karate in its three main aspects—a healthful physical art, an exciting sport, and an effective form of self-defense. As such, it is considered the standard textbook of the Japan Karate Association and adequately serves both as a reference and instructional manual for novice and expert alike.
Many students of karate find the study of classical karate somewhat impractical in modern Western society, chiefly because time limitations prohibit sufficient practice. These students generally desire to limit their interpretations of karate to self-defense aspects. With this sole training objective in mind, a series of six Books is being prepared which describes in simplified form, the necessary karate movements for personal defense that can be learned by anybody of average physical abilities.
The authors, M. Nakayama, Chief Instructor of the Japan Karate Association and Donn F. Draeger, a well-known instructor of combative arts, bring a balanced, practical, and functional approach to karate, based on the needs of Western society. As a specialized series of karate texts, these are authentic books giving full and minute explanations of the practical art of self-defense. All movements are performed in normal daily dress and bring the performer closer to reality.
Today, karate is attracting the attention of the whole world and is being popularized at an amazing rate. I sincerely hope that this series of books will be widely read as a useful reference for the lovers of karate all over the world. It is further hoped that the techniques shown in this series of books need never be used by any reader, but should an emergency arise making their use unavoidable, discretion in application should be the keynote.
Practical
Karate
Defense Against an
Unarmed Assailant
ESSENTIAL POINTS
1 Never underestimate your assailant. Always assume he is dangerous.
2 Stepping, weight shifting, and body turning are the keys to avoiding an assailant's attack and bringing him into position for your counterattack.
3 Turn your body as a unit, not in isolated parts, for maximum effect.
4 If the ground is rough, bumpy, or slick, you may be unable to maneuver as you would like. Simple weight shifting and twisting of your hips may be all that is possible. Don't get too fancy in your footwork.
5 Your body can only act efficiently in karate techniques if you make it a stable foundation, working from braced feet and a balanced position as you deliver your blow.
6 Coordinate your blocking or striking action to the assailant's target area with your stepping, weight shifting, and body turning for maximum effect.
7 Do not oppose superior power with power, but seek to harmonize it with your body action and direct it to your advantage.
8 Seek to deliver your striking actions to the assailant's anatomical weak points (vital points) rather than to hard, resistant areas.
9 After delivering the striking action to your assailant's target area, you must never loose sight of him and you should be constantly alert for a continuation of his attack.
10 Use discretion in dealing out punishment to any assailant. Fit the degree of punishment to the situation.
Chapter One
FRONTAL ATTACKS
AN ASSAILANT'S unarmed attack from the front can take various forms. Commonly such attacks include seizing, holding the arms or portions of garments, hugging, choking, punching, striking, kicking, or tackling. Frequently, combinations of these tactics are used with effective results against an untrained individual.
The person highly trained in karate techniques need not fear any such attack and is able to meet such emergencies with confidence. Yet, there is a considerable difference between the highly trained and the average citizen. The situations and the appropriate responses shown in this chapter are specially selected for the average citizen and cover the necessary principles to successfully meet common eventualities of frontal unarmed attack.
It is essential that the responses described in this chapter be practiced with a partner. In the beginning, the practice should be very carefully regulated by performing the necessary movements in slow motion until the exact performance is completely understood. By gradually increasing the speed of the response as your training partner "attacks," you will build an automatic response. Frequent practice—a few minutes a day several days a week—will aid this development.
As suggested in this text, practice should be performed in normal daily dress. Do not make the mistake of practicing only on a smooth, Hat surface such as a gym floor, but try to make these responses on grass, gravel, and paved and unpaved surfaces so that you will be prepared for the situation as it could happen.
While the responses described are given in terms of one side—performing either on the right or left sides—in many instances
