Comments on: Do you think it is possible to learn karate from a book ?

By: Wong Sifu

Wong Sifu — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:19:59 +0000

NO!. You have to join a class. Period!
References :
40+ yrs of training and teaching martial arts. Kyokushinkai, Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate. Eishin Ryu Iaido. Hung Gar and Bak Mei Gung fu. Chen Style Taiji Quan.

By: Shihan J

Shihan J — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:37:59 +0000

can you learn to fly a plane from a book without getting in the cockpit, no
you can no more do that then learn karate form a book, the best you can do is mimic movements, you have no one to correct you, or tell you if yiou are doing it right.
References :
30+yrs ma

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:27:59 +0000

You could learn some, yes. Would you be effective in a self-defense situtation with just knowledge from a Karate book? Probably not. Even people that are black belts in Karate don’t have a 100% guarantee against all attackers and attacks.

It would be better than nothing. If you took it seriously and were dedicated to it, you exercised, and everything you could squeeze something out of it. But, most people don’t have enough personal discipline to even do that.

You may be able to pull off a simple move that may protect you in self-defense. But, if you have someone who wanted to seriously fistfight you, your book Karate wouldn’t help much if at all.

If you wanted something to learn from a book to apply to defend yourself I would study boxing. Karate is just too complicated to learn much from a book alone. Boxing you can gain basic knowledge quickly from a book. Your chances of applying it in real self-defense is much higher than Karate.

So, go find a boxing book if you want to go this route. It would do you more good than a Karate one. A book is definetly limited in helping you. But, if you take it seriously and do the exercises it recommend and get yourself in shape, you will get some benefit out of it. If you have a friend you can always buy 2 pair of boxing gloves and spar with them light contact to help you out too. In boxing you can also do part of your work on a heavy bag also. A boxing book is just easier to apply because it just deals with punches. All the kicks and weird strikes Karate does will be too complicated. You will get boxing punches down much faster and better.
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By: Kenneth R C

Kenneth R C — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:56:59 +0000

Hello Betsy Good Luck with that. Seriously its better than nothing. Maybe its worse if you dont know what you are doing. With out teacher to give proper attitude its like dance. With any effort the more put into it may give better results. Get books from library, etc. Find class you can afford. Y?
References :
Have taken college courses, martial arts etc & self taught is bad idea.

By: Psycho Panda

Psycho Panda — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:12:59 +0000

Well, it’s obviously more recommendable to receive classes from an instructor and usually karate is more of a light contact, competitive sport and it usually has some degree of focus on the ceremony involved in the martial art itself.
I’ve found some great self-defense videos on the internet that are immediately focused on teaching quick and practical ways to defend yourself and give you a more emergency-centered focus on what a battle is.
Karate is a great tool to defend yourself, but since you have no competitors or teacher, it’s harder for you to have a measurement of your own capacities when encountering an attacker.

It is possible, but I’d would use it just as a guide or complement to actual self-defense learning.
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By: Sensei Scandal

Sensei Scandal — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:29:59 +0000

You can learn ABOUT karate from a book.
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By: budzka

budzka — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:08:59 +0000

have you heard of rich franklin? he's a former light heavy weight champ in the ufc. anyways, he started out with the "how to" videos and hitting bags in his backyard and eventually became LHW champ in the ufc. anyways, you can try it. it definitely isn't going to hurt anything. also, check youtube for tips and techniques.
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By: Jane S

Jane S — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:59:59 +0000

it is possible but it is not convenient. You don't have a master to make sure that you are doing your form properly
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By: LIONDANCER

LIONDANCER — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:44:59 +0000

No, absolutely not. ….and you can’t learn it from a video either…
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By: David

David — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:32:59 +0000

to be honest when you really do get in a fight karate wont work i once took real karate classes its useless it won't work
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