NEW VIDEO: In this video, we look at an intermediate fighting pad drill. It’s not a self-defence drill because – while there is some cross over – the context and methodology is for one-on-one consensual fighting. The drill has us throw a punching combination into a high kick (always a good idea to have the hands set up kicks). As the kick lands, the pad-holder pushes forward. This simulates the idea of the kick being blocked and a counterpunch being thrown. The forward motion from the pad-holder
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NEW VIDEO: In this video, we look at an intermediate fighting pad drill. It’s not a self-defence drill because – while there is some cross over – the context and methodology is for one-on-one consensual fighting. The drill has us throw a punching combination into a high kick (always a good idea to have the hands set up kicks). As the kick lands, the pad-holder pushes forward. This simulates the idea of the kick being blocked and a counterpunch being thrown. The forward motion from the pad-holder
2.7K viewsJun 20, 2017
FacebookIain Abernethy
The last pad drill of 2023! Full footage in the app along with Three things to improve your training in 2024 Parts 1 & 2; and Self-Defence in Sweden Parts 1 & 2! I hope you enjoy them! Thanks for all the support in 2023! Have a great Christmas and I will be back with more soon! Not a member? Download the “iain abernethy” app from the App Store (Apple) or Google Play (Android). Alternatively, if you are viewing this on your phone or tablet, please click this link: https://onelink.to/tyzu4v | Iain
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The last pad drill of 2023! Full footage in the app along with Three things to improve your training in 2024 Parts 1 & 2; and Self-Defence in Sweden Parts 1 & 2! I hope you enjoy them! Thanks for all the support in 2023! Have a great Christmas and I will be back with more soon! Not a member? Download the “iain abernethy” app from the App Store (Apple) or Google Play (Android). Alternatively, if you are viewing this on your phone or tablet, please click this link: https://onelink.to/tyzu4v | Iain
3.4K viewsDec 22, 2023
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Protecting others is an important part of “SELF-Defence”! In this week’s app video we look at: protecting others, facilitating effective escape, breaking the freeze (yours and the person you are protecting), the use of the voice, common problems and how to deal with them, training drills, and more! “Karate is not merely practised for your benefit, it can be used to protect one’s family or master.” – Anko Itosu, 1908. NEW VIDEO: Main Menu > Misc Techniques and Drills > Multiple Enemies > Protecti
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Protecting others is an important part of “SELF-Defence”! In this week’s app video we look at: protecting others, facilitating effective escape, breaking the freeze (yours and the person you are protecting), the use of the voice, common problems and how to deal with them, training drills, and more! “Karate is not merely practised for your benefit, it can be used to protect one’s family or master.” – Anko Itosu, 1908. NEW VIDEO: Main Menu > Misc Techniques and Drills > Multiple Enemies > Protecti
2K viewsMar 7, 2019
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Kette gyakuzuki no tsukkomi is one of those techniques that I feel is often misunderstood. It’s best applied, not as a blow to the body, but as a downward strike to uke’s dropped head. The kick to the front of the pelvis disrupts their posture and causes their head to drop low and slightly to one side. The stance / bodyweight shift then ensures a strong downward punch to the head’s new position. As always, the hikite is active. Here it is ensuring a clear path for the punch. In the non-kicking v
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Kette gyakuzuki no tsukkomi is one of those techniques that I feel is often misunderstood. It’s best applied, not as a blow to the body, but as a downward strike to uke’s dropped head. The kick to the front of the pelvis disrupts their posture and causes their head to drop low and slightly to one side. The stance / bodyweight shift then ensures a strong downward punch to the head’s new position. As always, the hikite is active. Here it is ensuring a clear path for the punch. In the non-kicking v
714.1K viewsJan 23, 2022
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Kanku-Dai / Kushanku / Kosokun-Dai pad-drills. An extract from a recent app video. Hundreds of hours of exclusive practical karate, self-defence and kata bunkai information which is updated every week. Search the AppStore or Google Play for “iain abernethy” to join the global practical karate community. | Iain Abernethy
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Kanku-Dai / Kushanku / Kosokun-Dai pad-drills. An extract from a recent app video. Hundreds of hours of exclusive practical karate, self-defence and kata bunkai information which is updated every week. Search the AppStore or Google Play for “iain abernethy” to join the global practical karate community. | Iain Abernethy
6.1K views1 year ago
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NEW VIDEO: Embusen Explained! A vital key to kata bunkai. This video covers what the angles in kata mean, how that relates to the application of the kata (bunkai), and the combative principles they illustrate. The angles in the kata do NOT show the angle the enemy is attacking you from (Mabuni, Miyagi, Motobu, Taguchi, etc), nor are the angles meaningless. Also covered in the video is how the angle really applies to multiple enemies. My App: https://iainabernethy.co.uk/iain-abernethys-applied-ka
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NEW VIDEO: Embusen Explained! A vital key to kata bunkai. This video covers what the angles in kata mean, how that relates to the application of the kata (bunkai), and the combative principles they illustrate. The angles in the kata do NOT show the angle the enemy is attacking you from (Mabuni, Miyagi, Motobu, Taguchi, etc), nor are the angles meaningless. Also covered in the video is how the angle really applies to multiple enemies. My App: https://iainabernethy.co.uk/iain-abernethys-applied-ka
2.9K viewsJan 5, 2023
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This video briefly summarises how Pinan Shodan (Heian Nidan) teaches us to get past our enemy’s defences so we can strike the jaw and neck to knockout our enemy. The video shows how we progress from solo-form (kata) to application (bunkai) to flow-drill and then to free-drill. The final free flowing drill helps us develop the ability to automatically get past the enemy’s attempts to defend their vulnerable areas – in accordance with the teachings of the kata – so we can deliver decisive strikes.
4:43
This video briefly summarises how Pinan Shodan (Heian Nidan) teaches us to get past our enemy’s defences so we can strike the jaw and neck to knockout our enemy. The video shows how we progress from solo-form (kata) to application (bunkai) to flow-drill and then to free-drill. The final free flowing drill helps us develop the ability to automatically get past the enemy’s attempts to defend their vulnerable areas – in accordance with the teachings of the kata – so we can deliver decisive strikes.
162 viewsFeb 2, 2016
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3:46
NEW VIDEO: In this video we look at one way to get back up if we are knocked to our knees and the enemy is close. Firstly, we throw a hook punch to the inside of the enemy’s thigh. We do this simply because it is an available target the blow may physically and psychologically disrupt the enemy. Striking the legs in this way was a tactic endorsed by Gichin Funakoshi. While Funakoshi was taking about elbow strikes, we used a hook punch in this instance: “If you are thrown to the ground, your elbow
4.1K viewsApr 19, 2018
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0:48
Limiting enemy’s ability to give chase for effective escape. An extract from a recent app video. Hundreds of hours of exclusive practical karate, self-defence and kata bunkai information which is updated every week. Search the AppStore or Google Play for “iain abernethy” to join the global practical karate community. | Iain Abernethy
6K views11 months ago
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0:17
“When I fought the foreign boxer in Kyoto, he was taller than me so I jumped up and punched him in the face. This is effective against people who are taller than you.” - Choki Motobu (1870 - 1944) | Iain Abernethy
19.5K viewsNov 18, 2021
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0:42
Kanku-Dai / Kushanku / Kosokun-Dai bunkai. An extract from a recent app video. Hundreds of hours of exclusive practical karate, self-defence and kata bunkai information which is updated every week. Search the AppStore or Google Play for “iain abernethy” to join the global practical karate community. | Iain Abernethy
7K views1 year ago
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1:00
Kanku-Dai / Kushanku / Kosokun-Dai bunkai. An extract from a recent app video. Hundreds of hours of exclusive practical karate, self-defence and kata bunkai information which is updated every week. Search the AppStore or Google Play for “iain abernethy” to join the global practical karate community. | Iain Abernethy
9.4K views1 year ago
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0:54
A short extract from a basic “throwaway” drill done at a recent class. Two “Gedan-Barai” followed by a dropping strike. The aim being to emphasise to kyu grades that the function of any given movement needs to be understood in the context of the wider kata. | Iain Abernethy
23.8K views7 months ago
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15:10
NEW VIDEO: Five things martial artists get wrong about self-defence! In this video I cover the key five things that martial artists get wrong about self-protection: 1) Using self-protection is the ONLY valid measure of value. 2) Reinventing criminal violence in their own image. 3) A total failure to address legalities. 4) A complete failure to grasp the objective of self-protection. 5) Reducing the whole of self-protection to nothing but the physical. As is made clear in the video, I love the ma
2.4K viewsMay 27, 2020
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10:46
NEW VIDEO: In this video we discuss supplementary training for the martial arts. In particular, we cover the three key considerations – Individual Need, Available Time, Personal Enjoyment – that we all need to take into account when formulating effective and enjoyable training programs. I hope you find the video interesting and useful. All the best, Iain | Iain Abernethy
2.7K viewsJan 21, 2020
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0:53
A pad-drill from the most recent class. 3 straight punches, all with right hand. One on the spot, one retreating, and one advancing. Once it was practiced, students did 8 (each side) in quick succession with the emphasis on explosive drives from the legs on punches 2 and 3. | Iain Abernethy
7.8K viewsMar 28, 2022
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0:54
This week’s app update included four new videos on: Drills for getting the right throwing line; Bunkai of the “13 Steps” family of kata (Seisan, Seishan & Hangetsu); Karate trapping drills; and a two-person ground-work kata. This short clip is edited from the throwing line video. Not a member of the community? Search AppStore (Apple) or Google Play (Android) for “iain abernethy”. | Iain Abernethy
107.5K viewsDec 1, 2022
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0:15
Part 7 of Wanshu / Empi In-Depth has just been added to the app! Also new this week: “Why Martial Arts Instructors Make Terrible Self-Protection Instructors” & a new “Almost Live” video showing a host of karate throws from my most recent overseas seminar! (Search App Store for “iain abernethy” to join us!). | Iain Abernethy
Nov 13, 2018
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7:22
This week in the app we start a new series on decoding kata. The first two parts cover history, and the three keys and three tests of good bunkai. They are important ones to watch! We also continue our in-depth look at Naihanchi / Tekki Sandan and Nidan! Here is the weekly message telling users all about this week’s additions. Search “iain abernethy” in Google Play or the App Store to join us! | Iain Abernethy
1.4K viewsJan 29, 2025
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0:44
One of the pad drills from a recent class. Strikes to the head until the enemy covers; knee to the thigh or groin which will cause the enemy to bend at the waist; move to the side so you’re off the line of the tackle while keeping tactile awareness of the head and strike with a gyaku-zuki; when the enemy covers the head they expose the ribs so we finish the drill with a rising kick. | Iain Abernethy
9.4K views6 months ago
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7:50
This week in the app we have added 7 new videos making up over 1 hour of new content! We look at things martial artists often get wrong about physical self-defence and start our new series looking at the use of the environment and improvised weapons! More to come next week! Please watch the weekly message for more information and an overview. The “iain abernethy” app can be found in Apple’s Appstore and Google Play. A HUGE practical karate and self-defence resource which is updated each week. |
1.5K viewsMay 6, 2025
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0:52
Short clip from our last class. Move inside the power arch of the low roundhouse kick. As you do so, simultaneously hook your foot behind the supporting leg (it’s NOT a kick to the supporting leg). Push on their chest in the same direction as the hook placement to unbalance. Exploit the opponent’s lack of balance to follow up. #iainabernethy #karate #kata #bunkai #practicalkatabunkai #practicalkarate #karatejutsu #karatedo #martialarts #martialartist | Iain Abernethy
461.9K viewsMay 14, 2022
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5:43
For those who missed it on YouTube: In this video I discuss the need to understand that kata provides an illustration of principle and the vital need to be able to adapt to specific circumstance. This is well established in the writings of the past masters (see below), but today many mistakenly believe that the need for a exacting precision of movement in solo kata (to develop body awareness and a high level of muscle control) is something that should be also adhered to in the everchanging world
3.3K viewsNov 13, 2021
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0:32
Unsu Bunkai … and a Pinan Nidan / Heian Shodan Flow Drill and Pad Drill … and a brief discussion on “shock loading” in the weekly message! Find this week’s additions to the app in these locations: NEW VIDEO 1: Kata Bunkai > Unsu > Unsu In-Depth > Part 9. NEW VIDEO 2: Kata Bunkai > Pinan Nidan Heian Shodan > Opening Moves > Pinan Nidan Heian Shodan Flow Drill and Pad Drill. WHERE TO FIND THE APP: Search the App Store or Play Store for “iain abernethy”. NEED HELP JOINING? I appreciate that, like m
4.2K viewsMar 12, 2020
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0:09
One of Funakoshi’s karate takedowns. Described in his first book from the 1920s, but rarely practiced today. Not the easiest to pull off live, but lots of fun and, worse case, you still got to stamp on the foot :-) | Iain Abernethy
14.2K viewsOct 29, 2022
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8:26
For those who missed it on YouTube, here is a new video in which discuss the role of kihon within karate training. For a more detailed explanation of my thoughts, please read this article: https://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/article/case-kihon | Iain Abernethy
5.8K viewsAug 17, 2019
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0:43
One of the seven new videos added to the app this week was on Nipaipo. These clips from that video cover one of the kata’s earlier sequences that shows a basic takedown (what Funakoshi calls “kubi-wa” or “neck-ring”) and two alternative follow-ups should the takedown fail. The kata was made by Kenwa Mabuni (founder of Shito-ryu) and is predominantly based on the methods he learnt from a Chinese merchant called Gokenki / Wu Xiangui, who was a practitioner of Whooping Crane. Nipaipo (“28 steps”) h
33.7K viewsNov 22, 2023
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21:34
How To FIGHT With KATA (Forms) - Iain Abernethy & Jesse Enkamp
173.8K viewsJul 18, 2019
YouTubeJesse Enkamp
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News on Seipai bunkai, punching on the recovery of kicks, and the forthcoming karate throwing video series! https://goo.gl/m5vryp | Iain Abernethy
1.8K viewsJun 13, 2017
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0:59
Using a chair to facilitate escape. An extract from a recent app video. Hundreds of hours of exclusive practical karate, self-defence and kata bunkai information which is updated every week. Search the AppStore or Google Play for “iain abernethy” to join the global practical karate community. | Iain Abernethy
7.5K views11 months ago
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