Over the last two blocks of 10 lessons, we narrowed the focus to elbow strikes. We covered the main elbow methods found in Muay Thai, then used mixed martial arts training ideas to test them against movement, clinch pressure, grips, and resistance. Then we came back to karate. More specifically, we came back to naihanchi.

You can show a tidy elbow application from the kata. You can drill it compliantly. You can hit pads with it. All of that helps. But if the other person is gripping, framing, blocking, turning, and trying to hit you back, the elbow has to earn its place. That’s where cross-training becomes useful. Muay Thai gives us a living model for elbow striking under pressure. Wrestling gives us gripping, posture breaking, and body control. Put those together carefully and you can buil

Elbows are natural weapons in close combat. Their short range and bone structure make them ideal for quick, powerful strikes that can break through an opponent’s guard. Traditional Karate bunkai often includes elbow movements, but these are usually practiced in solo kata or pre-arranged drills without resistance. This leaves practitioners unprepared for real sparring or self-defense scenarios where timing, angles, and counters matter.