Three Karate Techniques You Won’t See in the Movies

There are several brutal moves in karate which you’re unlikely to see in the movies. These are three of the most effective.

People forget (or never knew) that karate was originally developed in Okinawa for self-defence against the Japanese warlords who’d taken over the island. The Okinawans were not allowed weapons by their new rulers, so they developed ‘empty hand’ techniques designed to down a person with one strike, even if the other person had a sword. As a result there are some very sever, but effective, techniques which you never see in the Karate Kid and other martial arts movies.

Eye gouging

This one is easy. Stick your finger or fingers into the eyes of your opponent. It seems too easy, doesn’t it? Then why do people grapple face to face in the movies when they could just gouge their opponents eyes? People will say this technique is ‘not fair’ but if it ends the fight and you can get away, it is effective. The reason it works so well is that even a little contact to one eye will make both eyes water, blurring vision. As my sensei says, ‘if they can’t see you, they can’t hit you.’

Guess what one of the prohibited moves is in the UFC (read cage fighting)? No eye gouging. Gee, I wonder why. I was watching a match once where one fighter was caught in the eye by mistake and he was effectively incapacitated for 30 seconds and a time out had to be called just because he couldn’t see. The moral of the story is, if you get in trouble try to get to their eyes.

This move is shown in the Shotokan kata ‘Sanchin’.

Foot stamping

Not in the movies, but in lots of self-defence books. This one is particularly effective as a quick counter strike when someone is getting close and you know is about to hit you. The trick is to flick your leg out, keeping it low, and try to make contact just below their knee with the side of your foot. You then scrape your foot down the front of their shin and stamp down as hard as you can on their instep. This one takes out their knee, sheds their shins, and then breaks the bones in their foot. They’ll not be running after you after a move like this.

This move is shown in several of the Shotokan kata including Heian Sandan and Bassai Dai.

Grab the unmentionables

Another obvious one, but people can be squeamish about it. If you’re in a bad situation though, grab them where it hurts, clamp on and pull. The result is often a response to protect themselves and spend less time worrying about attacking you. As soon as they let go, you then run.

This move is included in several kata including Heian Godan.

What I like best about all these is they are practical, and can be used by anyone. You don’t need a blackbelt to get these done and protect yourself. Hope you find the above useful, and keep them in mind in case you ever need them!