I am not sure if it's the same in Karate as TKD, but almost every time the second hand is not used for something, it goes down to the hip. Strikes, blocks etc... It's explained the way a told before, as a help to add rotation, power etc... And the proof to that, is that when they break boards, they use that method. It does add power, you can really feel it, but it's completely wrong for sparring/matches/self defense...
And It's no way an elbow to someone behind you. Actually in the TKD katas, there is a strike like that (elbow from the hip height) but its a completely different technique/set up.
I can see it the way you explain it, for a strike, while holding/pulling the opponent. But not for every move in the katas like blocks.
The rotation thing is commonly taught in karate, too, but my point is that it isn't worth much--you can teach the rotation for power just fine without pulling the hand to the hip. I break boards, cement, and coconuts without pulling my hand to chamber, just fine. The power you are feeling from pulling your hand back isn't coming from your hand going to chamber, it's coming from the fact that you are rotating your shoulders more, and telling people to pull their hand to their hip is just ONE way to help get them to think about that.
As for the elbow behind you, I said that it can be that, in some cases, not that it always is. There are very few instances of it in kata, but they do exist, so I mentioned it.
When the "blocks" are employed as strikes, limb controls, joint locks, or takedowns, the pulling application of hikite works just fine. If you're applying those movements as the typical basic "blocks" most people learn, then yes, the pulling hand makes no sense. I did point out, however, that in some cases the pulling hand can be removing your hand from entanglement, so you can get back to using it, or that it could simply be shorthand telling you that you don't need that hand for the technique you are doing, so you can then use it however you wish in application.
Oh man, you really gonna make me work? Most of the blocks with the "proper stance", the elbow strikes, the way they show you how to put your hands over the imaginary head to pull him down while you knee...
I was lucky, first video i found has lots of stuff from the ITF katas + the elbow i told you that look like the pull back hand to the hip we discuss (around 1,20) Take anything you want from there and tell me if and how you would use them in a self defense situation...
I try not to hate on TKD too much, but I can't help but mention that it is several very large steps removed from old-style karate, so it isn't really the best example for me to use for pointing out old-style karate methods--they make movements larger and (to my eyes) more awkward than they should be, and in some cases have messed with the stances and postures so much that they just no longer work very well for what they should be doing. Still, if I trace those back to older methods, I can bring up some things.
The grabbing backfist is a pretty common technique to use while someone is grabbing your clothes, generally as a pre-emptive strike. She's doing is much larger than necessary, but the concept is fine--trap the hands grabbing you, smack them in the face, then do something else as necessary.
The "U Punch" in that video is one that is often mentioned as being useless, and if you apply it as literally a "double punch," then I would tend to agree. Funakoshi (founder of Shotokan) demonstrated it as a method of trapping one of the opponent's hands down while throwing a punch over the top. Interestingly, I've seen Goju-Ryu practitioners apply the top hand in the same way Jack Dempsey describes his "corkscrew punch," so that it not only acts as an overhand right (or left), but also gets in the way of an opponent's counter punch. I've used those approaches in sparring, just fine. I've also been shown using the top hand to push the opponent's guard up and into their face while the lower hand acts as a body shot, which isn't my favorite, but it can work. Depending on context, it can also be used while grabbing the opponent with both hands to off-balance them backward, in a similar manner to the start of o-soto-gari in Judo.
The "high backfist strike and low block" in the video, if used the way that text describes, is completely stupid. That posture has two main functions in old-style karate--catching a leg and throwing the opponent to the ground, or catching an arm and dislocating the elbow across the chest. There are some other possible applications, but those are my go-to ones.
The elbow strikes to the rear that you brought up are fine, although you would not do them simultaneously in actual application, and so the other hand would be doing something else. That said, she does go on to show a "mid section elbow strike" that is only done on one side, and is supported by the other hand pushing it back. That works okay, although the position the hands end up in when she does that is generally something we apply as a joint lock, not an elbow to the rear.
The "high section double elbow strike" she shows is generally applied with one hand controlling one of the opponent's arms, while the other hand does the elbow strike. If she was actually trying to elbow two people with it, it would be stupid. The double chops are the same thing--one of those hands should be pulling an arm as the other does the strike.
The weird inward double punch that she does isn't something I've seen in karate, so it's tough for me to assign much application to it. The best I could figure is using it to grab the opponent, or potentially strike an opponent who has grabbed you with both hands and can't block without letting go.
The double uppercuts to the body are also something I haven't seen in karate, but the end position is similar to one we have, so it could just be a variant of that, in which case it would be a grab, depending on the context the kata puts it in.
The double inward ridgehands she does could work on somebody who has grabbed you with both hands--not my preference, but doable.
Jumping backfists are stupid, and not in kata
Superman punches are fun, I suppose
. There is something similar in kata, but it doesn't have a jump, and works better as a leg sweep like o-soto-gari, when done the way the kata does.
I dint meant it that way, that they were useful back then and not now. The ones I am talking about were probably always useless, but no one "dared" to take them out of the Katas for whatever reason: Misplaced respect, misinterpretation, keeping the tradition...
That could potentially be the case, although it is pretty rare that I can't find a practical use for a movement in an old kata. Newer kata tend to be more of a problem.
Maybe it was me who dint explain my self better, cause what you say now doesn't really change my answer. Your explanation why some techniques of the Katas are not used may be valid, but I am not sure about it. So until we are able to watch how it goes in the format you propose, I will still be doubtful about it.
Fair enough
Well there is one of my big problems. At least in TKD ITF, you can't skip them. Its a big deal, and a big part of your evaluation for belts. You can't advance without learning new Katas for every stripe/belt. Now personally, I don't give a fuck about belts, but if you want to compete you have to. And it's a huge amount of time spent on them during classes...
I find some values in them, just not the ones that sparring and partner drilling offers... That's my main problem. And I also find them to take to much space in a martial artist schedule for the benefits they give...
If you are actually training in a "traditional" style under an official organization, then yeah, you're going to be required to know any of the kata/forms they have in the curriculum. I just meant that you can go train somewhere else, or in something else, if you don't like the kata practice. Sorry for the confusion. I will say, though, that I do think too much CLASS TIME is spent on perfecting kata in the air, instead of drilling the application of its movements and letting people use the kata as supplementary training.