The Throwing Techniques of Karate
Published: 7/31/2024
By Spencer sensei
When Kenwa Mabuni was introduced to the karate of Japan, he was surprised by what he was witnessing. He famously wrote “The karate that has spread to Japan is incomplete. Those who believe that karate consists of only kicks and punches and think throws and joint-locks are exclusive to judo or jujitsu, have been misinformed. We should have an open mind and strive to study the complete art.” Grappling was at the core of the art. There are, however, differences. Kuzushi or breaking the opponent’s balance is done much differently in karate than it is in Judo. Strikes and locks facilitate unbalancing the adversary and the grip is secondary. There are similarities between jujitsu and karate, but in karate there is a greater emphasis on striking.
We see the throws in our kata, but we do not recognize them. When karate was introduced to Japan it had to compete with Judo. Judo was king in Japan, so to survive, in my opinion, karate instructors had to find their own niche. They removed the throwing portion of karate’s curriculum and concentrated on punching and kicking.
Karate was developed by the palace guards to enable them to perform their duties. Placing an adversary on the ground was a common part of that duty. The object of Judo is to also place the opponent on the ground or tatami, but in a gentler manner. Judo is a combat sport, so pushing and pulling is used to break the opponent’s balance. You may pull forward to get the opponent to pull backwards so you can throw them backwards. In Karate I would drive an elbow into your head to get you moving backwards to enable the throw. The object in Judo is to make the perfect throw. The object of the throw in karate is to place you on the ground so I can bind your hands and take you jail. Karate throws are not as elegant as those in Judo.
One problem with removing throws from karate is that this made our katas useless. Kata is the response to a certain type of attack. These responses were then catenated into what we call kata, so they could be remembered. Removing the throws from kata is like removing the teeth from a tiger. Yes, it still has claws, but it is not as deadly.
One major difference between karate and Judo is that Judo has a greater variety of throwing techniques. We do not see throws like Hani-goshi, Hari-goshi and Uchi-mata in our kata. We mainly see leg throws, hip throws, reaps, sweeps, trips, and takedowns. This does not mean we should not learn throws that are not commonly found in our kata. Your karate is personal and Uchi-mata could be your favorite technique in a self-defense situation.
Ground technique is a part of Judo, but it is not as emphasized as it is in Brazilian Jujitsu. Still ground technique is pointed to in our kata. When a throw is made within kata many times it ends with what looks like a low block. This block can be made with a closed hand or an open one. The closed hand indicates you maintain control of the opponent while the open hand indicates you let him/her bounce. If the hand is closed, you will most likely pull the adversary into an armbar or some other type of submission. Remember the final object of the palace guards was to cuff and stuff their assailant.
There are other differences in philosophy dealing with techniques commonly found in Judo and jujitsu. Locks and chokes are the way to make an opponent submit in a competition. Locks, chokes, and holds in the karate world are only temporary means to set up a more devastating takedown of the opponent. A lock in karate can set up a throw or be used to hold an adversary until help arrives. Chokes are also used to throw the opponent especially cross lapel type chokes. While the assailant is focused on the choke the karateka would be pulling them up on the hip so they could be slammed to the ground. Throwing someone with a lock or choke can cause severe injury. This is why Kano sensei removed this application from Judo. The Okinawan authorities were not afraid of police brutality or getting sued for their actions. This brutality was what gave these karate masters’ their fearful reputations.
So, let’s look at a few examples of throws found within our kata. Every kata has what is best described as the Heaven and Earth block. One hand is held high while the other is held low. I have been told more than once this was ripping the adversary’s groin parts off their torso. It sounds good but it is almost impossible to perform. Again, the palace guards were not afraid of being accused of police brutality… but bringing in the dead body of the some one that stole a chicken after ripping their privet parts off would have probably been considered over the top even at that time. In reality, trapping an adversary’s kick and throwing them to the ground with their leg is more likely the technique being taught. This technique is found in Chinto but variations of this movement can be found in many different kata.
Tani-otoshi or Valley Drop is another common throw found in our kata. Many instructors believe this is a middle outside block delivered while in a horse stance. The question is why would you lower your center of gravity by dropping into a horse stance to deliver the middle block? Some instructors believe this is simply a backfist that is delivered after trapping the opponent’s wrist or sleeve. Others have told me it is a crossbody armbar. They could be onto something. In the AOKK we believe that we’ve trapped the opponent’s wrist while pulling them into an armbar to set up Tani-otoshi. Your lead leg is slid behind the opponent as you move into the horse-stance. At the same time, you grasp the back of the adversary’s collar. This looks like a middle block from a kiba-dachi or horse stance in the form. Press the front of your knee into the back of the adversary’s knee crease and pull backwards on their collar to make the throw. Yes, you can also back-knuckle strike as you’re reaching for the opponent’s collar. To throw the adversary you must lift their leg. Once the opponent is on one leg they can be thrown more easily. This technique is found in Seisan kata.
Note: It is necessary to break the opponent’s balance backwards to accomplish the throw successfully. The joint lock is only a temporary distraction to get the opponent to pull backwards. As you drop your center of gravity you also pull down on the adversary’s collar. In a real situation shoulder rotation and hip rotation would be involved. A few instructors think that the back-knuckle accomplishes the same thing as the armbar. One karateka suggested to me that the forearm is driven into the adversary’s face to get them to pull backwards. These are all possibilities. Remember, in karate we break the opponent’s balance with locks, chokes, and strikes.
Another common throw is Morote-gari or the double leg takedown. This technique is found in most grappling arts as well as karate. We see this technique in Chinto kata. The moves in the kata have both fists driven towards each other in a circular motion. The fists are then rolled over and the knuckles are driven downward. This is done while the karateka is in the Horse-stance. One explanation given to me early in my career was that this is a double strike to the opponent’s ribs or kidneys followed by twin back-knuckles strikes to the groin. This simply never mechanically felt right. Why would I be in a Horse stance facing my opponent striking in this manner? Wouldn’t the opponent be punching and driving knees into me while I’m in a position like that? When I began my training in jujitsu things became clearer. In reality, it is a double leg takedown. The hands go behind the adversary’s knees while lifting and dumping the opponent backwards and to the ground. Suddenly the mechanics became clear and Morote-gari was the only logical explanation.
Note: Kiba-dachi or Horse-Riding-Stance is not a position that a student would fight from. It is however a common grappling position, yet we never take a critical look at the stances we teach over and over.
Lastly, we are going to talk about the 360° low block. This technique is also found in Chinto kata. If you think this is a spinning low block… rethink how you’re teaching karate. This is one of the more devastating techniques in the form. In the kata the fist is pulled to your ear, and you rotate 360° delivering a low block. This is obviously not a low block, yet that was one of the early explanations I received for the movement. The throwing explanation is that the arm reaches around the opponent’s neck and ties-off to their collar or hair. Your other arm grasps the opponents’ wrist, waist, or obi (belt). Spin loading the adversary on your hip for a throw or drag him/her across your extended leg for a Tai-otoshi. The hand is closed in the low block indicating you maintain control of the opponent after the throw is complete. A more modern version has the arm that reaches around the opponent’s neck applying a fishhook technique to the attacker’s cheek or grasping their ear. Regardless, it is the wrenching of the neck that makes the adversary comply. If you still believe this is a 360° low block, please don’t try it in a real self-defense situation because you should never turn your backside to an opponent.
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These are only a few examples of the throws inside your kata. If you believe kata is nothing more than an artform, I’m okay with that too. If you want to dig deeper into your martial art, you must move past the simple punch and kick thinking that dominates modern karate. Remember the men that developed this in Okinawa were not nice. They had a job to do and sometimes it meant hurting dangerous citizens