Basics
This is a specialised form of partner work.
Don’t forget the basics!
They don’t get more basic than actually learning how to fall over without injuring yourself. It is essential that new students are taught how to land if they fall over so you should practice the fallowing:
| Forward break fall | Must remember to land on forearms and palms at the same time. |
| Backward break fall | Remind students they must not put their arms out to stop themselves landing on the floor and to keep their head off the ground by looking at their belt. |
| Side break fall | Same as the backwards break fall. |
For more advanced students you may like to practice rolls.
In this case, specifically, we are a karate club so try to stick to our karate fundamentals:
- Always move
- Always block the attacking technique
- Always counter attack
- At that point you can then attempt to take your opponent to the ground
The are a number of reasons we practice this type of partner work:
- Taking your opponent to the ground makes them easier to control;
- Smashing your partner into the ground hurts them; and
- You may end up on the floor in a fight so getting there uninjured and unfazed will help you to survive the encounter.
There are a great deal of ways to take your opponent to the ground. There are in fact whole martial arts that seem devoted to it and we can’t hope to compete with them in what we do. We can, however, take some of their easier (don’t forget our “keep it simple, stupid” approach to most things) techniques and practise those so as to achieve a good level of competency in what we do.
There are three broad categories of ways of getting your opponent to the ground:
- Force them to the ground through pain;
- Take their feet (just one should normally do it) from under them; or
- Move their centre of gravity outside their stance.
You can of course combine the above to help you achieve your objective. Combining those methods is likely to produce the best results.
As with locks and strangles we need to remember that upping the force put into a technique can increase the impact of the result. This is perhaps something we don’t really consider in our karate training as either we strike the pad as hard as we can or we use control with our partners.
When trying these techniques you need to get in close to the uke as they are easier to control that way.
Force them to the ground through pain
I don’t mean strike the Uke as hard as you can! Undoubtedly a Mawashi empi uchi to the jaw will result in an opponent falling to the ground but that isn’t really what this is about. However, if you go back to our basics (see top of the page) any opponent should be heading to the ground before you get a chance to take them down if you have done your counter attack correctly.
This category can be broken down further:
- Nerve attacks
- Locks and strangles
Either way you are controlling your opponent’s body (through the application of pain which they try to lesson by moving in a certain way) so as to direct them to the ground. This can be as simple as applying a lock in such a way as they go to ground. See locks and strangles for your range of choices. The Uke will try to move their body so as to lessen the pain.
Nerve attacks are specifically targeted at points on the body which are more sensitive to pain than others. Your opponent will retreat from the nerve attack. Unlike with most locks the Uke is unlikely to fall to the ground if you use only one nerve strike (unless you hit it very hard, which is not what we want to be practising).
Some examples of a useful nerve attack leading to a takedown:
| Uke (the attacker and their attack) | Tori (Defender and counter attacker) |
| Step through Jodan oi tsuki | Move forward and offline to the outside, Shuto jodan uke with leading hand, other hand Chudan teisho uchi skimming up to their neck, then press in and downwards (with one or two fingers) whilst using the other hand to press forward at the base of the spine |
| Step through Jodan mawashi tsuki | Move forward and into the punch, Nihon shuto uchi (double hand block), inside arm sweep fingers across the eyes (Metsubishi – eye closer technique), that hand then drops to hold their obi (and pulls back slightly) whilst the other hand comes to the front of their face and use either your thumb to press on the centre of their chin (tic douloureux) or to press upwards and in at the point where the nose comes down from the forehead |
Take their feet (just one should normally do it) from under them
This could be as simple as a good sweep. However, if you try to sweep an opponent in a well set stance you are likely to hurt either yourself, them or both of you. This could be simply bruises from a clash of legs or a muscle strain.
The best answer to the problem above is to take your opponent off balance before you try to sweep them. This is normally achieved by moving their balance in the opposite direction to the direction of the sweep.
Some examples of a sweep attack leading to a takedown:
| Uke (the attacker and their attack) | Tori (Defender and counter attacker) |
| Step through Jodan mawashi tsuki | Move forward and into the punch, Nihon shuto uchi (double hand block), inside arm Jodan empi uche, leave the Empi uchi in place on the chin or neck and step through and across in the direction of their Mawashi tsuki (thus forcing their head back and them to be off balance) then sweep your leg, closest to them backwards to sweep their leg (calf to calf to reduce the risk of injury) |
| Step through Jodan oi tsuki | Move forward and off line to the outside, Shuto jodan uke with your inside hand, other hand Gyaku tsuki whilst turning your stance to face opponent (perpendicular to their line of attack), then with punching hand grab their nearest shoulder and pull towards you and then Hiza geri (use your lower thigh to strike to reduce risk of injury) to just above their knee sweeping that away from you |
Move their centre of gravity outside their stance
As referred to above this approach combines well with a sweep. It can work on its own but only if you stop your opponent from readjusting their stance to regain their balance. You can do this by effectively pinning them down either directly on their foot, indirectly by the way you try to move them, or by placing your own body in the way of them readjusting.
When trying these techniques you may like to give the uke a slight push in the opposite direction to the one you intend to take them. Their body’s natural reaction is to try to adjust itself by pushing back and you can use this force to help you take them in the desired direction.
Some examples of moving the opponents centre of gravity leading to a takedown:
| Uke (the attacker and their attack) | Tori (Defender and counter attacker) |
| Step through Jodan oi tsuki | Move forward and to the inside, Jodan keito uke with your hand furthest from the opponent and Uraken uchi with the other hand, grab their attacking wrist with the blocking hand and then move that downwards and slightly away from you so that the point of their elbow is facing downwards, then Shuto uchi into that elbow and push downwards and outwards whilst projecting (the uke should then fall to the ground as all your weight is being pushed slightly outside of their leading leg which they won’t be able to move) |
| Step through trying to grab lapel (either or both hands work just the same) | Teisho Uchi to their face (a “sweetener” to distract them) then pin (must be done tightly) the grabbing hand to your chest with either or both of your hands, take a large step backwards and bow to the uke (this drags their centre of gravity forward and downwards so that they can’t get their feet forward fast enough to keep their balance) |
| Step through Jodan oi tsuki | Move forward and offline to the outside, Shuto jodan uke with leading hand, other hand Chudan gyaku tsuki to keep them still, then project forward again until you are behind opponent then place both hands on their shoulders, pull backwards a little and then down whilst stepping off to one side as they fall down. |