What are Shotokans key traits?
Shotokan is a long-range, hard style. “Long Range” means we feel our techniques generate full power when our arms and legs are completely extended. Mixed-martial-artists would call us strikers. “Hard Style” means we don’t spend much time practicing subduing techniques. Police forces subdue bad guys without actually injuring them, for obvious reasons, but injury is our bread and butter. In our minds, if we injure a bad guy, he’ll subdue himself. Keep in mind, there’s nothing about a long-range, hard style that makes it better than a short-range, soft style. They’re just different. Shotokan is optimized for a one-on-one confrontation. The late Master Tase Kaiji said Shotokan people look for opportunities to “overrun” their opponents. Sometimes I describe the moment of engagement as being like a train wreck, or a collision. Have you ever seen two mountain goats rear up on their hind legs and crash into each other head first? That’s the animal version of Shotokan. Another useful metaphor i
