Getting knocked down

Total 360 Karate Blog, November of 2025

Getting knocked down

Enevitably, you're going to get knocked down.  You're going to trip and fall. You're going to get pushed to the ground.  You have to make an important decision when you're knocked down: are you going to get back up? Life is about getting up one more time than you're knocked down.  Some of you may recognize the last sentence.

The discipline of karate should have taught you that you can and will get back up.  You have the heart of a warrior, the tenacity of a samurai, and the strength of all of the people before you.  Karate starts when you walk through he door and learn your first punch or strike standing up. Most karate teaches you your strikes standing up.  There is very limited ground teaching.

Total 360 Karate is unique as it teaches you to fight on the ground as well as getting back up.  The ground is not a place where we want to be, as it limits our movement and ability to defend.  Yes, our karate works on the ground, but only for a one-on-one situation.  The ground presents a hazard of scraping, bumping, and crashing into.  They say in yoga that the ground is ground and a piece of place.  In Karate, the ground is a place where you can get stuck if you're not paying attention.

Every karate student has been knocked down.  Some were knocked down longer, but at some point, you have to get back up. Whether it’s a heart surgery, knee surgery, boredom, whatever the case might be, you have to get back up.  You get to decide when you're done.  Fight inch by inch and claw your way back to your feet.  

When you are on the ground, you have to keep your cool and think through what is going on. If you shell up, you're going to continue to get hit.  Find a way to close the distance or a way to get back up.  

Total 360 karate trains when you are knocked down to stay on the ground, fight, to defend, and get back up, or to use the ground to your advantage.  Our on-the-ground training usually occurs outside during the spring and summer to avoid injuries.  Practice on the ground, so the first time you're on the ground is not during a fight.  Sensei has been known to put people on the ground during a belt test to see their reaction.