Topics covered in this work include: understanding kata and bunkai; the role of grappling in self defence; close range strikes; throws and takedowns; ground fighting; chokes and strangles; arm bars; leg and ankle locks; neck wrenches; finger locks; wrist locks; and fighting dirty.

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Product Description

Topics covered in this work include: understanding kata and bunkai; the role of grappling in self defence; close range strikes; throws and takedowns; ground fighting; chokes and strangles; arm bars; leg and ankle locks; neck wrenches; finger locks; wrist locks; and fighting dirty.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #195382 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 172 pages

From the Publisher
A great & inspired book on the applications of Karate Kata!
"At long last, a credible and marvellous book on the applications of Karate kata! And not one that skims the surface looking for frills & thrills, succeeding to entertain but failing abysmally to prepare one for a real, in your face encounter. Rather this book is an in-depth, thoughtful and thought provoking examination of possibly and probably the deadliest of arts (once fully realised). Karate's grappling methods are not practiced in most traditional clubs because they simply do not know that these methods exist. This book will greatly aid in redressing the balance and will bring karate back to where it belongs in contemporary martial arts, on the cutting edge instead of dying in the water. This is a great and inspired book. Buy it if you know what is good for you." - Geoff Thompson - Renowned martial artist (6th Dan Karate) self-protection expert and best selling author.

This book looks at Karate's grappling techniques and principles - as recorded within the Karate katas (forms) - and shows how they can be realistically applied in a fighting situation. Karate's close range methods have largely been neglected since the advent of modern competition. If you wish to practice karate as an effective system of fighting - you need to read this book!

Karate's Grappling Methods covers the following topics: Understanding Kata & Bunkai, The role of grappling in self-defence, Close range strikes, Throws & takedowns, Ground fighting, Chokes & Strangles, Arm locks, Leg & ankle locks, Neck wrenches, Finger locks, Wrist locks, Fighting dirty?, Combinations and Live grappling drills. Karate's Grappling Methods contains approx 400 easy to follow black and white photographs.

The information contained within this book will enable you to practice Karate as the effective and complete art that its founders intended it to be. If you want to know what kata is really all about, you simply have to get this book!

About the Author
Iain Abernethy is one of the world's leading exponents of kata application and practical karate. He has been invited all over the globe to teach his approach and to help people return to the original combative nature of the traditional martial arts.

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Customer Reviews

An Enlightening Discussion Of Practical Karate
A very interesting and informative book on the practical side of karate. Karate's Grappling Methods uncovers a mass of effective techniques within all styles of karate. Many aspects of real fighting are discussed and simple, effective techniques are clearly explained and illustrated. The author includes hook punches, throws, ground fighting, chokes, arm bars and pressure points to name but a few and whats more is the delightful way in which it is all related back directly to the techniques and principles found in karate kata! Through work like this karate can truely be rediscovered as the deadly system that it is. Whether beginner or black belt there is something for us all to learn in this 'enlightening' book.

A highly pragmatic and unique look at Karate
My wife bought me this book for Christmas after I said that I enjoyed the author's magazine articles (subtle hint or what!).

I found the book to be a very interesting look at a largely ignored aspect of karate. The book is fairly easy to follow and includes many photographs per technique. Each chapter begins by showing examples of each grappling method (e.g. throws) before giving a more detailed explanation of the kata's techniques and their variations. The book has a number of interesting propositions that I haven't seen explored in other books. The book not only shows the grappling techniques that are recorded in the kata, but also variations based upon the same principles. This leads to number of ground fighting kata adaptations, which I found to be a unique and very interesting idea.

The book also revolves around the application of the kata's methods in a self-defence situation. There are instructions on the dangers and strengths associated with each method and there is an entire chapter that advises on the use of grappling techniques in the real world (Geoff Thompson's foreword is very complimentary in this regard). Most interesting for me was the guidance on how the kata's techniques can be included in sparring. Again, I thought this part of the book was fairly unique, as I have never seen suggested elsewhere that kata techniques must be practised live if we are going to be able to use them in a real fight. The book also suggests a number of progressive sparring drills... However, you can't help but suspect that many "traditionalists" won't care for some of the positions taken! (Some of the people at my club said that they felt grappling etc. had nothing to do with karate!) This is a great shame as the essential message of the book is that Karate is a good and highly potent system of fighting that covers all ranges (a real rarity nowadays). The author also uses quotations for the works of Funakoshi, Otsuka, Itsou, Miyagi etc. to justify the positions taken by the book. But I still suspect that the book's contents will make many a close minded karateka "uncomfortable"

My only disappointment with the book was that it doesn't go into as much historical and conceptual detail as his articles in Combat magazine and on the guest writers' section of Geoff Thompson's web site. But the book does contain a lot of information, and I suppose there is only so much room.

Overall, I was very impressed by this unique book and it certainly helped me to re-evaluate my view on kata and my approach to training. This book really is a must have for all those who feel that there karate is missing "something" when it comes to its real world application.

An insightful look at karate's forgotten aspect
This is an outstanding tome which illuminates grappling, an all too often forgotten aspect of karate. These methods are frequently not practiced in many dojos simply because practitioners do not realize that they even exist within their system. On the street, however, karateka may face grapplers, boxers, and practitioners of a whole plethora of styles. The good news is that we have all the tools necessary to survive or triumph in any violent encounter, be it standing up or on the ground.

In an art which has become overly focused on striking and kicking by many practitioners, this outstanding text will help you to practice the way it was meant to be--as an effective, holistic, and complete fighting system. It is well illustrated, easy to understand, practical, and very insightful. The author not only describes how grappling methods were recorded in karate kata and demonstrates a wide assortment of techniques, but he also describes the principles that make them effective in real-life fighting situations.

Subjects covered include understanding the role of grappling in self-defense, kata and bunkai (applications), close range strikes, throws and takedowns, ground fighting, chokes and strangles, arm bars, leg and ankle locks, neck twists, finger locks, wrist locks, and combinations. Dirty fighting and grappling drills are also covered. As you can see this is an outstanding and holistic treatise on the subject.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction