Not traditional, except in Japanese styles changed to ape Japanese Gendai Budo.
2. Waiting for The Attack
Not traditional. "No first attack" refers to forming the intention to attack, not actually executing the attack.
3. On Stances
Karate, (along with several hard Chinese styles) employs some of the most ineffective stances in martial arts. Deep, low karate stances make you completely immobile; they plant you in one spot, making quick movements extremely difficult.
Not traditional for Okinawan karate.
4. Karate as a Way Of Life
Years ago while in Japan, Gogen (Yamaguchi) once came up to me and asked, "I never see you practice kata, why?" I replied that I thought it was an exercise in futility, having no functional value. He grew upset and chastised me by saying, without kata, we're just animals, like boxers or wrestlers, I replied, "that's OK, I just want the skills." More than anything else, karate people have a fear about being labeled "killers." Their reply is always, "I follow the path, karate is a way of life." I guess they feel absolved from their inner conflicts or sociological guilt when they say that, sort of like what confession does for a Catholic.
I don't see what this has to do with self-protection.
5. Spirituality and Meditation
For many Japanese karateka, religion and martial arts are inseparably linked. Japanese spirituality and meditation are not a function of karate; they're emblematic of the culture that developed it. Westerners really buy into this big time. It's actually a direct affront to your personal beliefs. What if a Japanese boxer wanted to train in the U.S. with a Baptist coach, would he have to join the church, sing out loud, clap his hands, dance and get down? Changing your spiritual identity in order to learn self-defense is ludicrous! Mas Oyama once asked me how much time I meditate per day. I told him -- I don't, I have my own religion; I don't need to replace it with another.
Meditation has a physiological and psychological function. Zen or Taoist methods aren't necessary.
Meditation does not necessarily benefit any martial activity. For example, I recall, in the 1983 Olympics in Korea, the Koreans had the strongest archery team in the world. They attributed their secret of success to their late night meditation practices in cemeteries. Did it help the men's team win - no, an American walked away with the gold. Did he meditate? No, before each match he was listening to Van Halen!
No, he was performing the three key elements of meditation:
1) Breath control.
2) Visualization.
3) Control of conscious thought.
Specific cultural and religious baggae isn't necessary to "meditate."
6. Breaking Objects can Break You!
Heavy breaking isn't really "traditional."
There's some truth to this. Kata really should come last, not first. Functional basics trained with resistance comes first.
8. Karate Doesn't Prepare You for the Street
Some agreement, but karate wasn't regularly practiced indoors until the 20th century. The "adrenaline dump" thing is covered by many people, and jurisdictional law can't really be taught in an international martial tradition.
Most basics do not really use "fine motor skills," either.
9. Karate Makes you Stiff and Rigid
Sometimes true.
10. Karate is Ineffective Against Modern Weapons
Karate's not designed for modern weapons. Neither is BJJ or Muay Thai.
11. Karate Takes Too Long to Learn, and You Still Can't Fight!
In terms of effort spent, to proportion of effectiveness gained, traditional karate is one of the least efficient systems of any fighting style. Too much time is spent on the inanities of rituals and form. Most karate schools spend countless hours on kata or mindless sparring, as if this will prepare students for a real fight, but it doesn't. Free sparring in karate only teaches you to fight other (barefoot) karateka's in a dojo (school) environment. Kata practice is a primitive form of shadow boxing, nothing more. There usually is no counter-knife, counter-firearms training, if it is taught all, it's usually presented in a rigid step-by-step process, having no relation to what a real attack looks like.
12. The Apotheosis of the Master
Some truth to this.
Bringing karate into the 21st-Century
To modernize karate I suggest the following: 1) Take away the uniform, belts and add shoes (use the same clothes you normally wear to work or play) 2) remove the useless stances, 3) remove katas 4) instead of rigid air punching/kicking do drills with mitts 5) add some realistic gross motor based techniques, and take away more complicated moves 6) allow attacks on fallen opponents, and include some groundwork 7) Employ realistic tactics against knives and guns and most importantly start training in all three phases of the attack.
1) Can't do sleeve techniques without a gi top unless you want to rip your shirt. The gi bottom provides pands that don't rip. The belt keeps the top in. Shoes sound fine.
2) Or you could just make them as narrow as they are supposed to be.
3) Kata are useful after learning spontaneous, functional skills as a way to continue to develop those skills without direct instruction. They keep you from being stuck in a rut while shadowboxing or sparring.
4) Already done in many cases.
5) Already done if you don't focus on kata too soon. Punches and kicks are not that complicated.
6) Already present in many cases. Karate doesn't have full-on groundwork, so people should cross-train.
7) Again, cross-train instead of criticising karate for not having something it has rarely ever been claimed to have.
