Karate has to be one of the best martial arts you can learn. And still, many people don’t think a traditional martial art can teach them applicable fighting techniques. However, that’s not the case with this fighting style.
The following list is the reasons Karate will help you in a real fight:
- Karate teaches effective fighting techniques
- It improves your physical shape
- Karate lowers the fear of fighting
- It enriches you with discipline
- Karate improves your pain tolerance
Karate is effective for real fights because it teaches practical fighting techniques, such as punching and kicking. Moreover, it’s the practice of offensive and defensive moves. As such, Karate trainees can ensure they leave dangerous situations unharmed while beating the opponent.
Although that’s the case, trainees who do other martial arts don’t see Karate as a proper way of fighting. Because of that, they may criticize it and thus lower the motivation of those willing to start doing it.
For that reason, I decided to write this article. Frankly, that subject is close to my heart. Hence I want you to be as motivated and ecstatic as possible before starting your training.
The primary cause of those who don’t find results from Karate- is giving up too early. Consequently, you’ll be off to a solid start if you can minimize the odds of giving up too early.
Following this, we’ll discuss why Karate is helpful for real fights in greater depth.
#1- Karate teaches effective fighting techniques
The first reason Karate is effective for real fights is- it teaches effective fighting techniques. It only makes sense if it’s the practice of practical and valuable fighting techniques; it’ll be effective for fighting.
Nonetheless, some individuals don’t understand the meaning behind fighting and what makes martial arts effective. In fact, most people can’t name a single Karate movement.
Because of that, it’ll be best if you don’t listen to most people’s opinions regarding martial arts. Instead, stick with what you see and experience.
Karate teaches you how to punch and kick fiercely. As a result, when encountering a real fight, you’ll be able to disable the opponent swiftly. Additionally, you’ll practice many defensive moves, allowing you to finish a situation unharmed.
Other martial arts, which we can say the same about, will also be effective for real fights. For instance, MMA teaches punching, grappling, and kicking.
As a result, MMA is effective for real fights. The math is simple. To further prove my point, I encourage you to watch the following video- demonstrating the usefulness of Karate.
#2- Karate improves your physical shape
All elite boxers’ physical shape- is exceptionally high. Because of that, they can sustain long fights while performing at their best.
On the contrary, boxers with insufficient physical shape can’t withstand a few rounds of intense fighting. So, if they face a fighter with a solid physical condition, they’re at a disadvantage.
Karate improves your physical shape by being a platform for intense workouts. Similar to running and weight lifting, you’ll be burning plenty of calories, as you’ll use many muscles intensely. Hence consistent and dedicated training will drastically improve your aerobic and anaerobic shape.
In just one hour of Karate, you can burn up to 720 calories.
Source
Improving your physical shape will help you in real fights because you’ll be more capable of “exploding” your strength to momentum on the opponent. Additionally, you’ll be capable of withstanding long fights- which may occur.
#3- Karate lowers the fear of fighting
The third reason Karate betters your ability to fight is that it lowers your fear of fighting.
If you have never participated in a fight, you’ll be surprised when you do (hopefully you won’t) because it’s scary. As a result, you may freeze or try to flee if you encounter a real fight.
Karate lowers your fear of fighting because it gives you a platform to practice fighting with other trainees. Therefore, when you encounter one, you’ll be more prepared to tackle the situation than ever before.
Again, most people can’t comprehend how frightening a fight may be. Yes, you may eventually lose and have some harmful consequences happen to you. That fear is expected because the results may be scary.
But, if you involve yourself in sparring and regular Karate training, you’ll be more confident and ready to indulge in such frightening situations.
Of course, it’ll help if you stay out of trouble. Yet, if you have to react, you’ll be able to do so.
Nonetheless, if you have to react and are fearful, your winning chances immediately decrease since you won’t close the distance and initiate offensive moves. Therefore, your chances of causing massive damage and winning the fight are lower.
#4- Karate enriches you with discipline
The 4th reason why Karate helps you in real fights is because it enriches you with discipline.
Wait, what does discipline have to do with fighting? Do more disciplined people immediately have superpower fighting abilities? Well, of course not.
However, it does correlate with your ability to learn more fighting techniques and practice more frequently.
When you’re more disciplined, you’re more likely to stay consistent with your training and be eager to learn more. As a result, you’ll practice Karate more frequently and thus become a better fighter. Eventually, when you encounter an actual fight, you’ll instantly react appropriately.
It’s all a part of the same cycle. If you train in Karate, your discipline will increase. If it grows, you’ll be more consistent in your Karate training and so on.
The tricky part is going through the first stage of training, which is when you invest plenty of effort and still can’t fight. If you can bypass that phase, you’ll know to fight, and your motivation will increase. Again, it’s a cycle that repeats itself.
#5- Karate improves your pain tolerance
The fifth and last reason is Karate improves your pain tolerance. I believe the correlation between your pain tolerance and your ability to fight is clear. However, if it’s not, let’s go over how it links.
Karate improves your pain threshold by allowing you to experience pain at different levels. As a result, your ability to withstand the same amount of pain will improve. Of course, you’ll still feel pain. But you’ll get used to the feeling of experiencing pain and not reacting.
You must be ready to experience pain at different levels in real fights. So, if you already know how it feels, you’ll be capable of focusing on your fighting techniques, not the fear or pain.
So, by knowing how not to overreact while in pain, you’ll focus more on your technique than the pain or fear.
That’s the link between Karate, pain tolerance, and real fights.
Will Karate work in a street fight?
Learning martial arts is the best way to learn to fight. Because of that, most fighting styles will provide some value to your fighting capabilities. However, you’ll be surprised when I say that even Tai Chi will teach you valuable fighting techniques.
Karate will work in a street fight since it teaches effective offensive and defensive moves, such as punching, kicking, and footwork. As a result, when you get into a street fight, you’ll know how to react and cause massive damage to your opponent while remaining unharmed.
I’ve found that martial arts also lower your fear of fighting because they allow you the platform to practice fighting. As a result, when one does occur, you know what you need to do instantly.
It’ll almost become second nature to fight. Although you’ll avoid them whenever possible, it’s sometimes impossible, especially when you need to defend someone else.
Think about the responsibility and capabilities you’ll hold. You’ll be able to defend your close ones and innocents. As a result, by learning Karate, you’ll have the power to win street fights, regardless of your opponents’ size and fighting background (many of them don’t have one).
The weaknesses of Karate
Thus far, we’ve discussed why Karate is effective and valuable to learn. So, it’s time we examine the less positive side, the weaknesses of Karate. Before we start, every fighting style has its shortcomings. So, don’t be discouraged when I briefly review the different weaknesses. Let’s begin.
Weakness #1- Doesn’t teach grappling
Grappling. It’s a fantastic and effective fighting technique. A single one can finish a fight with ease and swiftness. As a result, learning it- is highly valuable.
Karate doesn’t teach grappling; instead, it’s the practice of punching and kicking in different combinations. As a result, Karate trainees’ skill set isn’t as complete.
To solve this weakness and make it disappear, some elite fighters also learn a secondary martial art that teaches grappling, such as BJJ, Judo, and wrestling.
When looking at the elite levels of fighters, such as in the UFC, you’ll notice how they know to attack with grapples and defend from them.
As a result, you should learn grappling if your goal is to become the best fighter possible.
Weakness #2- It’s not as dynamic as other martial arts
Most elite fighters learn MMA. Sometimes, they execute Karate techniques. As a result, they surprise their opponents by using unpredictable Karate movements.
However, if you only know Karate movements, chances are you won’t reach the top levels of elite fighters.
So, why is that?
Karate isn’t as effective as modern martial arts because it’s not as dynamic. In today’s world, you need to be as adaptive as possible. So, learning the most dynamic martial art- is the wisest choice.
For instance, combining two martial arts or learning MMA- is your safest choice if you want to hone your fighting skill set.
Still, don’t get discouraged by these disadvantages. If you want to study Karate, don’t hesitate to begin as soon as possible. If you do, you’ll notice results earlier and thus fire up the motivation cycle (Action – Results – Motivation).
Final words
Learning Karate- will teach you effective fighting techniques. As a result, you’ll know how to react when you encounter a real fight. Therefore, Karate is effective for real fights.
Additionally, it grants its trainees other benefits which link to their ability to win street fights, such as lowering the stress and fear of fighting.
Learning martial arts will wave many benefits into your life. Because of that, it’ll be best if you begin as soon as possible since you want to notice results as quickly as possible.
If you enjoyed reading this post, I encourage you to read about Karate’s belt order. If you want to learn it, knowing the ranks and how it all works- is a must.