is karate good for self defence?

Question

last week i started karate classes. i want to know if karate is the good sport for what i want?
self defence, getting rid of stress, good shape
by the way if not which one is better? karate kung fu or tea kwondo?

Answer 1

All depends on how hard you train it. If you wanted sport, you should have went with Tae Kwon Do. Most of the TKD you will find in America is sport based, and not geared towards self defense.

Answer 2

First of all Karate is NOT a sport. Judo, Tae-Kwon-Do and Kung-Fu can be considered sports because they are all about show and getting points, not actually teaching you real life self defence. In a real life situation I would NEVER throw kicks, act like an animal or take the fight to the ground. That is why I would stay away from these three.
Karate is an art that teaches you how to take control of a bad situation and end it how you want to (before it ever goes to the ground). For real self defence I would look into Karate, Aikido and maybe Hapkido.
If you are taking a form of American Karate or taking Karate from a Tae-Kwon-Do place (DoJang), or if they don't spar then I would find a new school. Real Karate is very effective.

Answer 3

KARATE -=-=-=

For self defence ---- No!!!
Facing reality, real self defence will no resenble any Karate training you do.

For getting rid of Stress --- Yes!!!
It can be a good class to get your mind off other things.

Good shape --- Doubt it!!
Do something like ladies circuit training or something.

I would pretty much say the same for Tae Kwondo and Kung Fu.
I would recommend Wrestling.... but that may be too much for what you are after. Wrestling faces reality in self defence. Also fantastic for keeping fit.

All the best

Answer 4

Bradley is correct. You should know that american TKD is simply a sport and not the best for self-defense. Most individuals will tell you that kicks above the knee cap are dangerous in a real street fight and hand techniques are more efficient with your energy. That said you have two types of arts to consider...soft art and hard art.
The best known soft art is aikido while the best known hard art is karate and TKD. Soft arts redirect power while hard arts are based on strength of the two individuals. There are some arts which combine the two (Hapkido is one of these and one of the arts I practice).
But all in all, the art is but a portion of the equation with the other item being the instructor him/herself. Here are some questions to ask:
Do you spar on a regular basis?
Do you practice against resistance -- another person or bag?
Do you attend class for more than 4-5 hours a week (answer should be at least 4 hours to 5 hours a week to about 12 hours a week)
Are you strectching and doing 15-20 min of warmups followed by 40 min to 45 min of instruction?
Are these warm-ups pushing you physically?
Are you practicing the same techniques over and over again with someone working with you to focus on footing, hand placement, and being very nit-picky?
Do you have open mat times? or times to come in and work with another instructor?

All the above should be yes...ANY no would indicate the school might have a problem while two nos would likely be a bad sign.

In addition consider the fees. Are there a lot of fees at the school? Weapons classes cost extra for example.
Do you pay more than $100 per person? Most schools should average about $75 per person while in the big cities (NY) closer to $125. High fees, excess fees is a mcdojo (like mcdonald's) and normally a black belt factory where you get the belt but dont really learn self defense.

Dont get me wrong...fees pay the school. But a school tied to high fees and excessive belts (more than 10 grades) is a sign the school is pulling money out of your wallet for the wrong reason.

Lastly...as to stress and shape. Absolutely. Karate, Kempo, Hapkido, Kung Fu, TKD, all these will work stress off you and help loose weight. I actively practice Hapkido (1yr plus) and recently picked up Aikido and Kempo which puts me at about 12 hours a week at my dojo/dojang. I feel less stressed and I am in the best shape I have been in in years -- but often very sore.

If you have more questions..shot me an email through the contact by clicking my name.

Answer 5

Hmm, nothing is wrong with karate itself, in terms of techniques....trouble is most of the karate in the United States is trained like total crap. Put simply, it doesn't matter what you *say* you study, if all you do is forms and air-punching, your body isn't going to learn jack diddley when it comes time to use your stuff in a fight. Whatever you train you *need* to train it with contact and resistance if it is going to matter to you when push comes to shove. You need to have the experience of what it means to be hit and grabbed *before* you find yourself in a real urgent situation.

There is some truth to the notion that you do NOT want to "train" at a school that a) does not have at least one heavy bag, and/or b) says they "never spar".

Having said all that. If my research into the stuff both on the internet and looking into local schools on my end is any indication, you are *usually* going to be better off sticking to karate.

Tae kwon do has paid too much attention as of late to a) catering to kids and babysitting, and b) doing their light-contact "sparring" thing where you *lose* when you hit someone hard (excessive contact) or punch them in the face.

Kung fu, while it can be good training....is way too variable, there are both really good schools out there and really crappy ones as well, and it can still be hard to tell the difference.

At least with most mainstream styles of Karate (speaking from witnessing my older sister train in shotokan for slightly over a year, five days a week--she got up to 1st brown, but then again she was a dedicated trainer and a pretty gifted athlete at the time), you know what you are getting. You know you are getting some blocks, some breakfalls, some anti-grab tactics, one or two good punches and a handful of kicks.

Trained well, it beats nothing seven days out of seven.

And by trained well, I mean trained *full contact* in a competitive manner at some point--not right away, but you should actually *be* fighting in a controlled environment under some rules at least by the time you reach brown belt.

Keyword searches: "Enshin karate", "Kyokushinkai karate", "Oyama karate", "Sabaki method."

And no, it isn't perfect, but.....this is some of the best-trained karate out there IMHO as someone who has been in more than a few fights.

Answer 6

Of course it's good for self defense. It improves strength, wind and flexibility and these are all good things in a self-defense situation. The question I think you want to know is more how the specific techniques of karate work in a self-defense situation.

The answer to that depends more on your teacher than it does on the style you choose to study. Do you study practical techniques or are you just dancing in pajamas? You may not be able to answer that question without years of experience in martial arts.

General consensus is that modern mixed martial arts (MMA) are more practical for defense situations. The difference is really only at the upper levels of practitioners though and I wouldn't worry about it starting out. If you train hard you will learn things that will help you in self defense and your body will be better able to respond. If you're worried about self-defense then take classes specifically geared towards self-defense instead of a traditional martial art.

Talk to other students, watch a practice or two and then go out on the mat and try it. Martial arts are a long term commitment and are not a magical answer to winning fights. Go in with the attitude of making yourself a better person, not just a better fighter.

Answer 7

I would definitely give it a go if i was you, it will build up your fitness slowly but you certainly dont need fitness to begin with. i teach karate and its entirely down to technique! it will build your self confidence as you improve, dont boast about it at school cos there is always some idiot who will want to have a go! just go regularly and you will see the change in your physique and confidence. Its by far the best thing i have done with my life, i started at 30 and just wish i had started at your age. If your small karate or tae kwondo are good disciplines to do rather that ju jitsu or mma that involve a lot of grappling, you can do them later. Good luck

Answer 8

Ask yourself this. If I am skilled in Karate, Kung Fu, or whatever, and I get into an altercation, what happens to me if the fight goes to the ground? Very few people seem to understand how important ground skills are. That's why the Gracie's cleaned up in the early years of highly-publicized MMA. Now people are finally catching on.

Answer 9

kung fu is a lot better for self dwefence, it works on a lot of one strike moves. like breaking limbs and endng the fight or striking vital points. it is more likely to save you people say its less effective but i don't see crescent kicks disarming some one but tiger grasping swat has disarmed many a gun and thats just what ive done i'm sure many other kung fu artists have as well disarmed some one with a gun. while it sounds goofy to americans its much more effective than a five point punch in any siutuation.

Answer 10

Saying that you are learning Karate is like saying that you are learning language. Which language? Therefore, which style of Karate? You need to be more specific as to what style of Karate you are learning, then you can make accurate judgments on what styles are superior to others. Good Luck!