Respected judo instructor Mitch Graves asked me for a post on the merits of judo vs. karate. I’ve widened the specs to “crank and mangle” vs. “crash and bash,” so nobody feels left out. An honored teacher with advanced instructor credentials in both judo AND karate (along with other painful pursuits) once told me that a GOOD judo player would walk through most karate guys, but a GOOD karate player would also walk through most judo guys. Based on his experience and mine, I believe him. It should be noted that my circle of friends include both crash-n-bash AND crank-n-mangle guys I wouldn’t care to tangle with off the mat. Most of them are well-versed in both schools of thought. That having been said, if I had to choose between a random judo guy and a random karate guy, neither of whom I knew, to back me up, I’d take the judo guy. The reason a GOOD judo or ju jitsu player will “walk through” most karate players is because judo and ju jitsu are very physical. There’s LOTS of contact. The first thing you learn is to take falls. A lot of them. Any hardcore judo or ju jitsu player will tell you that it’s not a real gi (those baggy pajamas we ju jitsu guys like) until it’s had a little blood on it. Watch almost any karate class at a corner McDojo. Most of the participants are primarily concerned with not getting hit. They don’t close. They throw punches from kicking distance and kicks from another zip code. Nobody has taught them to get in where the fight is going on if they want to end it. If you’re not training at the range where you’ll be when somebody is seriously trying to wreck you, your geometry will be off when you most need it to be spot-on. A judo player knows he’s not going to die if he gets hit in the face (Ask any Colorado State Trooper about the “Red Man Drill.” Those hombres are tougher than they let on.), because his face has already taken a lot of punishment. It’s the same for boxers. They know they can take a punch, because they’ve already taken a lot of ‘em. They’re okay with shedding a few punches to deliver more punches and better punches. If you find yourself tangling with a boxer, especially a GOOD boxer, it’s, “caution… caution… caution… GOGOGOGOGO!” whether you’re a C&B OR a C&M guy. Karate players are also taught powerful blocks intended for use against powerful, committed punches and kicks, but they are usually NOT taught NOT to use these blocks against jabs and fakes. Those blocks are relatively slow, and against jabs and fakes, they’re a waste of time and energy. That’s why most karate players get all purpled up by a good boxer. Now that I’ve rocketed to the top of the fecal roster with my karate-lovin’ friends (yes, I’m also a karate guy), let’s look at why a GOOD karate player will “walk through” most judo guys. One of the most skilled karate players I know once had me throw punches at his head. Lots of punches, in rapid succession. Jabs, lights-outers, straight ones, hooks, anything, everything. Rapid fire, bring ‘em on, Ron. With barely any effort, he nonchalantly flicked each punch off target with an index finger. I had been taught to dodge first, slap down the attacks that I couldn’t dodge, and how to do slick tai chi deflections, but I didn’t really appreciate ‘conservation of energy’ until that day. Reference has been made to distancing. If you’re in range, so is the other guy. If you’re not, he’s not. My brothers (and sisters) and I have dealt each other a good many “lil’ boo-boos” over the years, yet we still live, and we’re still friends! One would be ill-advised to throw a serious punch at any of them, because they train at the correct distances. They know they can take a punch, because they’ve taken punches. When they move into range, they do it “guns a-blazin’.” Their punches penetrate, their hard-style blocks hurt like hell, and their “wet-moppitty” traps are like being caught in a giant spider’s web. As an apocryphal aside, almost every “tough guy” is comfortable at punching range (because “everybody” is a boxer), fewer are comfortable at kicking range (because becoming a GOOD kicker is a LOT of work), but almost nobody is comfortable belly-to-belly. A judo / ju jitsu guy will turn or slip at least partway past an opponent here, and follow up with a throw, a lock, a choke, or some combination thereof. A tai chi guy will usually start delivering elbows while doing sneaky, snaketty things like leg traps. A GOOD karate player will go to some really ugly material, elbows, knees, palm-heels, gouges. He’ll do things that’ll never heal right. A well delivered elbow is a fight-stopper. Learn to do it right. Now let’s MIX crash-n-bash and crank-n-mangle: You’ll hear people who practice other arts cracking on tae kwon do, calling it “the McDonald’s of the martial arts.” Not me, Bub! When all I had was a teensy bit of tae kwon do, pretty much just “how to punch,” that was enough (at the time). Give three tough guys in rapid succession a case of “teddy bear eyes” (you know, eyes rolling around at the bottom), and the rest lose interest in being the first to get close to you. I was happy enough to punch my way out of ANYTHING, completely unaware that at my tender age, I hadn’t seen “anything” yet, when one shining Wednesday night I was introduced to “hosin sul,” Korean for “self defense.” This was my introduction to “crank and mangle.” It was love at first sight! Where had THIS been all my life?!! I could now be the one holding AND the one hitting and kicking AT THE SAME TIME! At first, all we were taught were joint locks. I practiced the tiny bit of technique I had been given like one possessed. Different entries, variations, counters, everything I could think of. I worked like a round-eyed demon. I was still doing a lot of “field research” (JEEZE, why didn’t somebody teach me sankyo?!) so I got to test drive everything I knew. I’d miss a lock and wind up punching and doing the stuff my tae kwon do teacher taught me AFTER class (G-d bless him!), and got things done. One day, during aggressive negotiations, I rang a guy’s bell and he just GAVE me shape on a lock. I put the lock on, making it obvious that I would kick his head off if anybody tried to help him, and it was all done. A couple of my friends arrived on scene, and the “fun” was all over. The crowd melted away. The dirtball wasn’t even seriously injured. That day, I learned to hit the bad guy two or three times (preferably in the head) BEFORE going for a lock, throw or choke, because once you put the creature “out of sync with the time-space continuum,” you SEEM a lot faster, at least to the offender. A good rap to the noggin gives you the busy signal / teddy bear eyes / jelly knees response from the tough guy that just begs for a lock, throw, choke combination. (Chokes are great; you get to rest, and the harder the creature struggles, the sooner it passes out. Just remember to loosen up the choke shortly after the creature goes slack so you don’t wind up facing a manslaughter charge.) With multiple attackers (really the only kind you’ll get in the real world), you get to do some quick, ugly stuff that puts the villain down for the night, if not for good, or put it in a position that will be its end if others of its kind decide to interfere. This is NOT a “hostage situation;” THAT fight is over, and as long as nobody else comes after you, the creature gets to keep breathing. If they keep coming, Dirtball One is down for the count, because you can’t have it getting back into the fray. If you’re going to die here and now, take an honor guard into the afterlife with you, and make the world a better, safer place. Or we COULD all just all go home. Your call, tough guys… By the way, Mr. Miyagi was right, “Best defense, no be there.” If you’re allergic to gator bites, you might want to stay out of the swamp. Avoid places where you’re likely to be forced to defend yourself, if you have the choice. We started this discussion with “judo vs. karate,” or, “who can whoop whom.” That’s pretty much a case of, “What you do is nowhere near as important as how well you do it!” “So which is better, Ron, crash-n-bash or crank-n-mangle?” “Yes.”
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 01:29:49 +0000
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