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New video by R3hab & KSHMR paints gritty, realistic image of karate dojos

Master Blaster Jan 14, 2015
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Dutch house producer R3hab and KSHMR have joined vowel-hating forces to lay down their newest single “Karate.” Its pulsing beats have been well received by house music fans and selling copies fast. But as we can see from the image above, there’s something else about “Karate” that is getting people’s attention and over 5 million views on YouTube.

That’s right! It has a lot to teach us about the world-famous martial art it’s named after. I guarantee even the most experienced karateka will learn something new from this video, so be sure to watch and study every scene very carefully.

The video opens with the kanji for “karate” and is followed by dozens of scenes showing people holding several types of weapons.

You might think that with the kanji translating to “empty hand,” weapons would have no place. Actually, it’s said that the “empty” is meant to refer to the practitioner’s mind so that they may use their skills justly, rather than the open hands that they may use to strike.

Going back further, the original kanji for karate was 唐手 meaning “Tang (Dynasty) hand” pointing to the era of China where the roots of modern Japanese karate began. The kanji was later changed to erase Chinese connection with the art during one of the nations’ many periods of heightened tensions.

▼ “Even a karateka has enough sense to know when you’re going into a real fight, it wouldn’t hurt to have some rings of death on you.”

From there the music video demonstrates the traditional part of training known as junbishi hajimeru or “start getting ready” in English.

You see, in real karate one actually begins to get ready only when they’re halfway through training. This is something your dojo is probably scared to teach you as it involves a lot of boxing practice, gymnastics rings, and doing push-ups with your knees on the ground and one hand on a ball.

To stay properly hydrated a karateka must not drink directly from a container. At least an inch of space must be left so that the chi of other fighters may enter it. You also should not actually drink the water. Instead pour it onto your chin so that the water may drink of you.

Finally we reach the post-training ritual of henshitsusha shauwa where karateka celebrate the end of a successful training session by gently caressing each other in a grimy shower room.

Traditionally this was an act performed exclusively by male fighters but as we can see women have recently been allowed to do it as well.

Overall, the “Karate” video has shown the great strides women in martial arts have made and I think we can all agree it has really achieved a victory for feminism in general. Otsukare samadeshita R3hab and KSHMR, or should I say “0tskr3 SMDSHT!”

If you like Karate purchase the track from beatport and support the artists

Source: YouTube – Spinnin’ Records, Kotaku (Japanese)