Practical Kata Bunkai: Some Karate Gripping

This is footage from a recent dojo session where we were working on gripping. The clip starts well into the session and does not cover the methods we were drilling up to this point. I also make reference to the bunkai of Naihanchi (Tekki) and Seishan (Hangetsu) which the higher grades had also been working on earlier that day. This “snapshot” video is therefore incomplete and should not be seen as being instructional in nature.

The students worked a variety of gripping methods in the full session. First, they drilled the methods with compliance, and then with increasing resistance. We also looked at alternate finishes depending on the context i.e. self-defence (non-consensual violence), fighting (consensual violence) and Martial Arts (information, enjoyment, fun, culture, etc).

I hope you find the video of interest.

All the best,

Iain

[MahatmaLevolence]

Thank you Iain. I've followed your work since your first grappling book and you never fail to impress. Before sport karate became a glorified game of 'tag' or 'you're it', i was a keen and successful competitor, for the past couple of decades i've concentrated on outside the pub/chippy karate and the Tekki kata are ideal for this (get off me - drop now - drop now - drop now). This approach is far more practical and helpful to students in an escape or go to hospital scenario.
Thanks again for keeping the noble art of karate in the real world.

[CrinosAD]

"Sooner or later, probably sooner" :D
Great video Iain!

[princekermit]

I see a tang soo do stylist among the karateka there.... white dobok with black piping. Great stuff as usual Iain Sensei.

[SENSEIJASON]

Great vid, but I’m pretty sure you did not blink ONCE during your intro 😂😂😂..humor aside, always a pleasure to watch 👌🏽⛩

[okironin]

This is true karate . Ian you are debunking the falsehoods created by the McDonald's dojos.

[shankarsatheesan]

I like how you included takedowns as part of the possible follow ups to the grip, because we don't see it much in most clinches, especially in muay thai. Aside from that, I've recently joined an MMA gym to improve my grappling and live fighting skills! Could you suggest some ways to modify my karate style to the needs of MMA (I do mostly goju-ryu currently, but shotokan is also a huge part of my background), thanks for the vid as always