Is the Karate You Practice …

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Is the karate you practice the “Old Karate” or the “New Standardized Karate?” Before you venture forth in this article take a few moments to read the following fine articles written by Charles C. Goodin Sensei, A Karate Historian that discuss the old karate and the standardized karate.

Early Standardization - Two Forms of Karate

Early Criticisms of the New Standardized Karate

Criticisms of the Old Style Karate

Standardization of Kata/Kihon

I have theorized for a while now that what is practiced today as karate is the educational version or what Goodin Sensei refers to as the “New Standardized Karate.” As his articles describe the two it does become clear that in the early 1900’s those who were growing up in those years were mostly exposed to the educational standardized karate practices. It makes perfect sense to me that the ones creating this system who knew intimately the old karate would just assume anyone who achieves proficiency in the educational standardized way would then have the skills and attitude to seek out the old karate way. At least that was their hopes as my assumptions believe. 

Itosu Anko Sensei and his associates who created, implemented and trained the young adults through the educational system had no way of predicting that a good many of those taught in this system would make their own assumptions, i.e., they knew karate so they continued to practice that karate. It comes down to one of those issues we still suffer with today, when someone is taught in a fashion and model created for an educational system there is an assumption that when a student completes the subject requirement that ends the lessons there. When I finished a requires science subject and passes I, like many, left that behind for the other subjects required as one progresses in an educational system. It may be that the most important subject to be taught in the educational standardization karate was its continuous progess beyond the initially taught subject, etc.

I say this about the educational standardized karate because the way it was created was to fit an educational subject oriented model of teaching rather than a model taught in the old way with expectations of progress that is never ending and takes you through your entire life span. 

Since I have provided the articles from Goodin Sensei I will leave you with one quote from those articles that summerizes old karate vs. standardized karate.

“Generations of Karate students were raised on the new standardized form only and never had the opportunity to learn the old way.  Given enough time, the new standardized way became the only way, and eventually was considered to be the "old way."  If an 80 year old instructor practiced a form of Karate for his or her whole life, that form will seem like the "old" way, even if it was in fact the new standardized form of Karate back in 1900. And when such a student practiced the Kusanku or other "old" kata, they were done the new standardized way.  They were essentially just the pattern of the old kata with the new basics replacing the old varied and variable techniques. And that 80 year old would swear the he or she was practicing the kata exactly as he or she learned them -- thus they were the old, original forms!  In this, he or she would be correct -- they were the original forms that he or she learned.”

It can be a bit confusing and finding and validating to learn the old way may be most difficult. It is the reason I left behind the old karate, if I even knew it even a little, and go beyond the educational standardized karate to a form of karate more realistic in learning it and self-defense, i.e., “A Fundamental Principled Multiple Methodology Self-Defense” model of karate based on principles and defense methodologies rather than technique based teaching models while retaining basics, kata and forms of drills and so-called sparring. When you view the principles as I have come to use for training, practice and application you can see that the principles, i.e., theory, physiokinetic, technique (not what you think), philosophy, self-defense and chemical cocktail, are more appropriate to learning karate and will drive its study, practice and use in self-defense, as karate was meant to do in essence, for todays karateka.

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