My friend Daniel Marino made a critical observation about the karate community:

“It’s about looking good, not learning how to fight.”

Now, if you’re a part of the so-called “practical karate” or “practical bunkai” movement, you might think that you are exempt from this statement…but you’re not.

Dan wasn’t just talking about the most traditional of the traditionalists. He was talking about the practical karate people, too.

I haven’t addressed it specifically yet, but I have touched on the practical karate and taekwondo crowd from time to time…

This is an audio essay version of an article I wrote last year:

Bring your CLA coaching and ecological dynamics knowledge to the next level and upgrade to the premium combat learning newsletter.

It's the best way to support the show, and you'll get access to exclusive articles and recordings on how to practically apply the science of skill acquisition to martial arts training.

Right now, I'm taking Rob Gray's How We Learn to Move and applying it to martial arts practice design, chapter by chapter.Other premium articles include:- How to Manipulate Constraints to Build Deep Skill

- How the Fundamentals Emerge on their Own

- and Representative Learning Design for Martial Arts TrainingAll that and more is available to you when you upgrade to the premium combat learning subscription. It's less than an open mat drop in fee per month.

Thanks for listening. Before you go, can you do me a big favor? Positive reviews help the show get more listens. If you got value from this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.See you on the next episode!This episode was produced by Micah Peacock, including the intro and outro music.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.combatlearning.com/subscribe