Perfecting Kumite - Karate-Do [Paperback]

At the thought of a good martial arts book getting ignored in the chaff typically found in martial arts literature, I'd like to draw attention here to a translation of karate kumite champ Tanaka Masahiko`s Hasha no Kumite ("Champion`s Kumite"), translated by his German student Schlatt under the title "Perfecting Kumite".
I'm not really going to bother with the typical "traditional martial arts don't work" or "my style does it different" level of comments, which are common, the former often heard by fans of MMA (mixed martial arts) discussions. It is understandable from early failures of traditional MAs in the MMA events that folks would think that way, but things have evolved since the days of easily taking down strikers with no ground experience, and so there is room for talented traditionalists who train in a comprehensive manner, such as Lyoto Machida (current light-heavyweight champ). The successes of fighters like Machida has opened up a new awareness among fans (the non-stupid ones, anyway) that the current stereotypical MMA fighting strategies have some holes and can indeed learn something from the technical skills of older traditions. (Technically, Shotokan karate itself is not a "traditional" style either, per se, having evolved rather distinctly from older Okinawan roots, but we'll crack that nut some other time).

For my purposes here, the following is offered solely for people who can already separate the wheat from the chaff and therefore are in a position to appreciate a book like this, which certainly is not aimed at beginners. Hopefully contemplating this kind of book from a seasoned (and feared in his day) fighter will give the competition standup fighter some nuggets to chew on. The book also helps fill a gap felt by traditional karate practitioners (specifically), who found only inadequate kumite material to help them (the haphazard 2-vol. kumite offering in Nakayama`s "Best Karate" series being a case in point).

Tanaka is a well-known JKA kumite champ whose prime was back in the 70s, winning numerous Japanese and World tourneys. He was the JKA rep sent to South Africa for many years, and traveled the world teaching. Tanaka was (in)famous as a hard-nosed fighter with a samurai "warrior" mentality, and when he was traveling around in his prime it was common for local black belts (dan ranks) to sneak out the back door whenever Tanaka was around for sparring, so that they wouldn't have to face some severe punishment. Tanaka was one of those world-class JKA warriors who loved to fight, and his superb conditioning and technical proficiency, combined with a classic Japanese "samurai" mentality, could make life temporarily miserable for local clubs around the world when Tanaka went around teaching :-). He never was known as a kata guy, which is probably why he did so well in the actual fighting avenue... At any rate, the book (also a 2-set video is available) goes over his favorite fighting techniques, separating feet and hands for detailed analysis. Some of the highlights of the book are the drills presented to get your body moving forward explosively with maximal use of speed and power, and an emphasis on split-second timing and distancing, which will surely be appreciated by tourney vets who want an arsenal of decisive techiques that are executed right off the bat as the opponent begins to initiate his attack. MMA fans will note how some current-day fighters are aware of some of these tactics (such as Machida), and why someone who can use them remains elusive and explosive, and so difficult for opponents to hit. If you aren't aware of this, you need to study why mastering distancing and timing are so important. This stuff on spacing and timing actually comes straight out of principles of Japanese swordsmanship, so no wonder the mixed-martial-arts crowd is still new to it.

Tanaka`s well-known sneaky front and roundhouse kicks that loop right into the gap created on the ribcage are all here, plus tips on increasing or decreasing distancing to adjust to what`s coming toward you, with immediate countering. Folks should realize that somebody of Tanaka's caliber could rather casually break ribs of hard-chargers with these looping kicks and his highly-developed hip drive, so don't underestimate the damage these techniques could do in the right hands. Many of his opponents would be doubled over the moment they began to initiate an attack and never knew what hit them until it was too late. Tanaka made a world-class tourney career out of these techniques applied in lightning-fast manner, so they would repay diligently close study. In the book, there`s also a section on takedowns that is instructive. Takedowns are an important aspect of Shotokan karate, which tends to lean toward the aggressive side. Want to know why Machida's takedowns are effective, MMA fans? Read how Shotokan fighters train on takedowns here.

Negatives: as with any book put out by the Japanese, these presentations always have a lot of odd spots. South African golfer Gary Player provides a weird intro, and there is another intro from the late JKA Grandmaster Nakayama that is particularly humorous, wishing Tanaka was a more well-rounded karateka who paid as much attention to kata as he did to kumite :-). Not what you want for an intro to your own book...Ah, these wacky Japanese.
Plus, there`s an odd section at the end on kata bunkei, which is totally inappropriate to the rest of the book. One wonders if Tanaka threw this in because he was worried about getting too one-dimensional, but he should have left this section out. Plus there is the usual Japanese nationalistic thing in scattered spots in the text, which you`d expect from an ultra-nationalistic dude like Tanaka. One look at a pic of Tanaka, with his shaved head, pencil mustache, blazing eyes and deeply furrowed scowl, and your immediate reaction is, "kamikaze fighter, too bad he survived".
Nonetheless, he`s done a great service putting out this text to fighters (not just karateka) who see a need for a text on explosive powerful movement, and the kind of drills that will help them get there. Many martial artists, alas, never get to the point where they can appreciate how one's level of fighting skills could be honed until they could be truly called "dynamic", but it is something to think about.
A pity, therefore, that nobody has heard of this book (outside of specialized karate circles) and most Amazon readers who are MMA fans will miss reading this review, which would alert them to something that would help them understand some of the strategies a guy like Machida is currently using. But at any rate, whether current fighters like Machida win or lose, if you want to understand some of the distancing and timing strategies of Japanese martial arts in general, or what constitutes "explosive" movement, study the drills in this book and make them part of your arsenal.

As for modern-day warriors, current UFC fighters don't seem to know how to whup Lyoto "the Dragon" (L/R-yoto means "dragon" in Japanese) Machida, so it looks like I need to reveal the mystery. The secret to beating Machida is in his urine-drinking ritual. That's correct- evidently Machida, and his family, has the habit of drinking their own urine each day. They call it "natural health", while most of us call it "gross". But here's the deal- if you want to whup Machida, you need to drink more urine than he does. If he drinks a cup, you need to drink, say, a pint; if he drinks a quart, you need to get a 2-liter size plastic bottle...Yes, there IS a use for all that plastic that won't bio-degrade in 20,000 years - we're talking training methods here.

Back to "traditionalist" fightin' strategies. In truth, much of the modern stand-up game of your typical MMA competitor can be fairly primitive; the current popular strategy seems to be an all-out bull-rush and hope something in one's worldwind approach overwhelms the competitor. Either that, or throw some sorry-looking quasi-boxing and try for a takedown, if one has some ground skills... While these stand-up tactics work well on some competitors, it won't get the job done against someone trained to manipulate that bull-rush to their own advantage. Some well-rounded competitors have an advantage here, being able to utilize their traditional training as an adjunct to their MMA skills...their stand-up tends to be a little more sophisticated. But strategy continues to evolve; future contestants will learn more about how to use spacing, timing and pin-point countering in a bout, and these aspects really come into focus in the stand-up aspect of combat.

I should lastly point out that in regard to the above, help is already on the way. Machida has recently put out a 4-set DVD series on combining traditional techniques with a current MMA skill-set, and the series is getting some rave reviews so far. A book by Machida on his system is also in the works as I write this. Machida's buddy, Anderson "Spider" Silva (current UFC middleweight champ), also has a new book out on striking techniques, so material like this should help current practitioners improve their stand-up games.

Perfecting Kumite Tanaka reveals the secrets that made him twice All Japan Champion and twice World Champion, including: in-depth technical analysis of advanced moves, hints and tips for tournament preparation how to seize the initiative in fights maximizing your mental and physical potential motivational training techniques, finding and developing the techniques that suit your individual style accounts of individual fights that lead to Tanaka's success in the All Japan Championships and the World Championships.

The book is superbly illustrated with over 700 photographs and diagrams to ensure that each point is explained as clearly as possible.

Masahiko Tanaka is one of the great karate-ka of the Japan Karate Association. Upon his retirement from competition as a representative of Japan he remained undefeated against the strongest opponents in the world, the late Masatoshi Nakayama, Chief Instructor of the JKA

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see both reviews  5.0 out of 5 stars