Dog Play: How Karate has gone to the Dogs!

Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)

Do you own a dog? Did you watch them as puppies when they played? Ever watch them pick up a high-value toy and shake it vigorously back and forth with their head? If you did, you were watching them play at dog survival and hunting methods. 

There is this line that separates playing in dogs to fighting dogs, there are “tells” that say to an owner of dogs that this is play or this is getting dangerous. Being watchful of that moment of transition can allow you to step in, not literally, and do things to deescalate back to play. 

In short, as with humans, there are rules to the play and rules to the aggressions and violence, all levels. If you know the rules then you can better handle things when the atmosphere and environment shift and change. We can learn a lot from our furry friends. I chose dogs because as an owner and karate-ka, who uses his skills for self-protection, I can see the parallels and connections that are similar or symbolically similar. 

Here is the main point of “dog play” and that to learn, socialize and learn those rules, etc., from role-playing - a rehearsal for future adult behaviors in both dog and human interactions. People through social engineering and coping skills learn this from a young age, or so it was long ago when I was a youngster but it seems that same social conditioning has come to interfere with how our fathers led us from youth to adulthood in ways that literally removed the play that would teach us how to handle aggressive behavior in social, or family, situations so that we could literally avoid, escape-n-evade, deescalate and finally, if all else fails, apply physical skills in such a way that is acceptable behavior for group dynamics, i.e., such that grave harm and death are off the table and then it all becomes a form of communications. Communications about what you want, what one expects and how to enforce personal boundaries while maintaining the social conditions that allow our society to function, prosper and evolve. 

Playing is also about the best way to teach, learn and condition ourselves so that we have those skills. It is not a wonder to me that dojo and martial arts prosper in today’s society for it is our way as humans when actual combat, fighting and defensive actions have been minimized to pure necessity. Today’s social fabric seems to have lost this growth learning curve for some socially “fear-based” inappropriate method that takes us back to the stress filled environment that actually pushes up the aggression and violence. Dojo, sensei, senpai and deshi, the environment and social conditioning inherent in these models appeals to what we instinctively feel but yet have found no answers that appease those feelings, our nature and natural path of humanity and survival. 

In dogs, they play where there is growling, becoming vulnerable and then switching roles to be the aggressor, fall down, expose themselves, bellies, and allow themselves to be caught in the chase game, a hunting thing as people know. They take turns with each other, can you say, “Tori-n-Uke Roles of play and practice?”

In dogs, this can shift and that shift is also a learning tool for humans. Sometimes in play practice emotions, excitement and motivation can sometimes shift and things get a bit out of hand. If that is not curbed quickly then a real fight occurs. This is why, until practitioners get to a certain level of control and character, it is always best to monitor these types of play practices. It is also a learning tool because some of the “tells” that indicate the shift can trigger observers to stop the action so things cool down. 

Dogs begin this play at a very young age but for humans that play, which I had when I was young, has lessened or disappeared altogether due to ignorance or experiences by family, parents - one or both, where fear-based uninformed decisions are made to stop the play aggression phase of growing up altogether losing the best coping skills every human needs regardless. 

For a variety of reasons both personal and socially driven, not to forget legal and political, the relationships of father to boys; boys/men are often the main aggressors in society yet that is changing rapidly in our modern times; has shifted, changed or been lost completely leaving many stressed, frustrated and looking for some way to fix something they don’t even realize is effecting their lives. 

Take a look at the following quotes/excerpts from articles on dog play vs. dog aggression and you, as practitioners of martial arts and karate, will readily perceive the parallels and connections of the two. A goal of the dojo membership and leadership is to instill those values involving how we handle and develop skills to readily address aggressions and violence when it creeps up on us in the darkness of the night to attack, damage or even kill. 

I quote: Behaviors that say it’s all good fun

• The play bow – front end down, back end in the air. Sometimes the dog trying to initiate play will slap his front legs down on the ground repeatedly. [We enter the dojo, bow, meditate and then initiate play in training and practice, etc.]
• A big, silly open-mouthed grin. [If we are doing it right, we have the same silly grins, etc.]
• Exaggerated, bouncy movement. The dogs are acting silly. [bouncy is not truly the best but it exists, we act in a manner that tells everyone this is play but we are learning, etc.]
• Loud, continuous growling and snarling; again, exaggerated. Play-growling may sound scarier than serious fighting. [we also posture, act in an aggressive way but project our intent as play, etc. which is a form of exaggeration, etc.]
• The dogs voluntarily make themselves vulnerable by “falling” down and exposing their bellies and allowing themselves to be caught when playing chase. They take turns chasing each other. [Tori-n-uke, a model of play to expose us to those things involving aggression and violence while we switch sides as needed to expose each other to both sides of the yin-yang of aggression and violence, etc.]
• They keep going back for more. Even the dog that ends up on his back doesn’t want to stop playing. They will probably take turns with most play-fighting behaviors. [all karate-ka and martial artists through play-training tend to enjoy it immensely since it addresses those things lost or not taught as we grow up and fill those innate needs nature provided us in a positive beneficial way allowing us to address aggressions and violence outside the dojo in a manner acceptable to both society as well as nature, etc.]

I quote: Behaviors that tell you this is not a game

• The dogs’ bodies get very stiff. Hackles (the hair on a dog’s upper back) are raised. You may not be able to see this if the dog has long hair. [there is an attitude shift noticeable to observers that tells shift to indicate things are out of hand and becoming dangerous. A whole other teaching and practice model often not addressed directly but indirectly, sometimes, etc.]
• Closed mouth, curled lip, low warning growl. [posturing and body language that speaks volumes without a word spoken, etc.]
• Movements will be quick and efficient – no bouncing around, no taking turns. [a shift in attitude; a shift in applying skills that are more indicative of principles being more efficient and evident of dangerous; the bouncy thing and the unspoken mutual agreement in training dissipates quickly, etc.]
• Ears will be pinned flat and lips curled back and snarling. No big silly smiles. [eyes narrow, face color shifts, fists and arms are held in a more aggressive protective and proactive form, chin gets tucked and so on, etc.]
• If the dogs get into actual combat, hopefully it will be a short encounter, and the “loser” will try to leave the area. There won’t be going back for more play. [if not caught in time both parties enter into violence and it happens and ends fast, much faster than practice or play, etc.]
• The dog is trying to get away from the other one, and her body language is not happy and bouncy. Tail is tucked. She isn’t having fun. [fun disappeared, seriousness takes the place of play attitudes, movements, etc. escalate, body language shifts to an aggressive non-happy/non-play posture and attitude, body shifts around to put all the natural body armor in front, etc.]

Notice my notes in brackets, this is how I would see the shift convey in a terse not comprehensive way as example. Dogs play and don’t play; humans play and don’t play while the line between the two are not much different. We are actually all animals of a kind, both human and dog. 

Next time your dogs, or your neighbors dogs, are out at play; watch them and see if you can detect the shifts especially if you visit a dog park where a good many different dogs are out, about, playing and sometimes not. 

Note: Notice the inference and reference to dogs as animals, it is not the first time animals are or have been used to inspire how human act especially in the realms of martial arts, karate and Chinese Kung Fu. There is, “Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake, and Dragon,” while alternates are, “Crane, Tiger, Monkey, Snake, and Mantis.” Granted, the Dragon is more a symbolic creative non-reality based animal but the others supposedly inspired the martial arts of China to copy or mimic or modify behaviors of fighting to suit humans. So, why not the “dog?” If for no other reason than to relate certain animal behaviors to what we want to accomplish or resuscitate. 

So, play like a pack of dogs, learn to play and translate those skills to the reality of self-protection and remain aware and ready to intervene, especially in the early stages, when things escalate and appear to be leaving the realm of “play.” 

Bibliography (Click the link)