Sport karate point competitions are practiced regularly in the United States and abroad. They're a lot of fun, and certainly can help a practitioner develop some basic self-defense, fitness, and free fighting capabilities. But if you want to take things to another level in the cage or the street, according to Shotokan master Yoshizo Machida (the father of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida) then the goal of your training has to change from accumulating points to finishing an opponent. And according to what Yoshizo recently told Sherdog.com, that is the difference between Machida Karate and Shotokan Karate.
"In the ring, our goal is to punish and take down an opponent," Machida said. "On the other side, Shotokan karate, which I also teach, is pretty much an educational sport."
Yoshizo clarified his thoughts even further in the article, asking, "for what reason are the points important? If the guy is submitted or knocked out, it's over. I always tell Lyoto that he has to finish the fight, not just take points. Once it starts, he has to try to finish as soon as possible."
Hard to argue with his logic in real world situations and the cage.
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