Karate Kumite...The Value of Adding Emotion to Your Fighting Techniques

By Al Case

Karate Kumite and Clint Eastwood, I never thought I'd say those two things in a sentence. In the movie 'The Outlaw Josie Wales,' Clint lectures some sissy pioneers about how to get mad dog mean when you're fighting for survival. There is truth in his statement, but there is, especially if you are involved in classical martial arts training, a lie.

The truth is that you have to raise up your desire to survive. You have to be willing to do more than you have ever done before. You have to be willing to fight harder and never give up.

The lie is that emotion increases your desire to win. To understand this, and other things concerning emotion and the martial arts, we have to define what, exactly, emotion is. The odd thing is that if you look in a dictionary you will not find a good definition.

Emotion isn't 'mood,' or an 'instinctive state of mind,' except in the vaguest of terms. When somebody is unable to accept reality he/she creates a mental turmoil that is labeled emotion. That's a good definition, and I know because I made it up myself, but we have to look deeper if we are really going to understand emotion and how to use it.

The Neutronic definition for emotion is: 'Motion inside the head.' You get angry, and in your head you want to create motion (of some sort) towards somebody (hitting them in the head with a hammer). But it is all in your head, and, though that can be tapped into and used, it is also a little less than real.

So, think about this: when you punch somebody, would you put energy into your knee? Sort of a waste of energy, eh? What you want to do, as a martial artist, is put energy into and only into the fist.

When you direct energy into body parts other than the one(s) being used you are not being efficient in your motions. This same idea holds true in the subject of emotion. Energy put into emotion is not energy put into the desire to win; to win it is best if we get mad dog cool and determined, not extra angry.

This all said, emotion is not to be disparaged, for emotion is a tool by which we can read others, release our own feelings, experience things like love, and so on. However, emotion in a fight is not necessary, and can even inhibit a person's will to fight. The conclusion here is that when it comes to Karate Kumite, while you must increase your desire to win, you must do so without falling into emotion, or trying to use emotion in any way.

About the Author:

Is there a thug in your neighborhood? Want to learn how to defend yourself? Karate Kumite is the best and quickest way to defend yourself in the world. Mouse on overto Monster Martial Arts to find out more.