Blocks are useless, right?

[jks9199]

This is going to be a bit of a rant.

People will tell say that blocking is useless, that blocks don't work...

OK. Then why the hell have all of these combative systems continued to include them, for anything ranging from hundreds of years to thousands of years? Bando's roots trace back thousands of years, but the modern version was gathered by U Ba Than and many others in the 1940s. They were all combat veterans, and ruthlessly insisted on techniques that worked. Dr. Gyi has shared the story of how someone brought a beautiful stick system, and claimed it could defeat 10 men at once. They put it to the test, and it failed. Now, we don't know what it looked like. But blocks stayed in the system.

Full post here.

 

[K-man]

From my perspective it isn't that there are no blocks. Everyone will instinctively block an unexpected attack. The question is, are what we were all taught to be 'blocks' really blocks? Certainly within karate I would argue that very few, if any of the techniques taught as blocks are actually blocks. This can be simply tested. For anyone that claims they can use the 'blocks' as they are taught I ask them how many different 'blocks' they know to protect the midsection. They generally can give me five or six. Then I tell them I will strike them firmly, not hard, on the chest and that they must use one of their 'blocks' to protect. From close range, which is where karate is designed to be used, I have yet to find one person who has been able to do that. When you revert to reflexive defence, most trained karateka can avoid or reduce the power of the strike and be ready to counter punch. Tsabaki and deflection work beautifully. The 'blocks' are attacks, not defence. :asian: