Practical real-world shotokan self-defense

[mograph]

I think that any martial art gives you a vocabulary from which you draw in a combat situation, when you are required to improvise.

.... so to my mind, a good dojo, whether Shotokan or not, would encourage improvisation, once the student gains some familiarity with the techniques.
This could be expressed in free sparring, accompanied by debriefing and discussion as to which techniques could be (or could have been) used in a situation, and why a student might prefer one or two over the others ... but at any rate, that improv muscle needs to be exercised, to avoid the scripted response fallacy.

 

[Hot Lunch]

Shotokan actually invented this type of training. Prior to this, karate training was only kata and bunkai. Funakoshi continued this, but his students (who also practiced kendo and judo) were dissatisfied with this, and didn't believe his claims that karate was kata only. Some went to Okinawa to see for themselves, and they saw that Funakoshi was telling the truth. Upon returning to the mainland, these students decided to take it upon themselves to modify the kumite training they were used to in kendo and introduce it to karate. This initially infuriated Funakoshi, but it eventually became part of Shotokan and spread to other Japanese styles and back to Okinawa.

 

[Fungus]

he grabs your testicles
...
he grabs your hair

I think this is the real reason why shaolin warriors have no hair and live in celibate.

 

[Taiji Rebel]

Take a look at and read Jissen Magazine by Iain Abernethy which is freely available at the following website:

Free downloadable media

Free karate magazines, competition rules and an events calendar for the current year to download.

www.sandokai.co.uk

 

[GroovyKarateka]

With some exceptions, most martial arts do not structure their curriculum or training in such a way as to script specific defenses against specific attacks, or if they do it, it is very limited and done as a crutch to give a beginner something to work with while their understanding is still limited.

May I ask: what inspired you to ask this question? Is there something that caused you to believe this is how Shotokan structures it’s curriculum?

That´s true, martial arts and self defense are not the same thing allways but both can be related