Using the word "block" to define uke-waza
I have spent entirely too much time on the internet over the last 20-odd years, and entirely too much of that time on martial arts discussion boards. Starting with e-budo.com back in the late 90s, I must have been either a member or regular lurker of all of the major forums and some of the not-so-major ones too. Now, I still check out a couple of forums regularly (mostly Martialartsplanet.com), but most of my online martial arts fix comes from facebook where I'm a member of 8 different, active groups. Funnily enough, some topics just keep coming up again and again and again and again. Probably because one of the not-so-great things about the internet is that many people like to talk and don't actually listen to the other side; spouting off is more important (my view on that is that if you want to pontificate, don't do it in a forum, create your own blog to do it in! Forums should be for exchanging ideas and holding conversations - not that they ever have been used that way, it's just what I would hope they were used for).
One topic that keeps coming up is centred around the phrase "there are no blocks in karate". Closely related are "blocks don't work in real life" and "the word 'uke' in Japanese means 'to receive', not 'to block'". After everyone has said their piece and have generally not considered anyone else's arguments, the topic dies down until a few months later when someone brings it up again. And one of the main sticking points that kills meaningful communication is to do with what people mean when they say "block", and what they think other people mean. I've noticed over the years that people have a tendency to define the term in a way that fits with their argument, turning it into a convenient strawman for their own point of view, rather than fitting their argument to its meaning.
So what is meant by the term "block"? A number of things actually. If you go to the dictionary (the Shorter Oxford for me), there are 14 different definitions of block as a noun - none of which have anything to do with martial arts or fighting - and 10 different definitions of block as a verb. And it is here that we can find something possibly applicable: 'to block' can mean 'to obstruct or close (a passage) with obstacles'. It can also mean 'to obstruct the course of'. Additionally, from the world of cricket, the dictionary gives the meaning 'to stop (a ball) with the bat'. Just for the hell of it, I looked up "obstruct" as well, and it tells me it means 'to block' - not very helpful. But it also tells me that obstruct can also mean 'to interrupt or render difficult the passage or progress of; to impede, hinder or retard'.
One takeaway from this is that firstly you need to have a fair idea what the word already means for a dictionary to be of any real use. But for this blog post, there are 2 other major takeaways.
Firstly, the meaning of block contains the notion of stopping, but not just stopping something. It can just as validly mean to stop or obstruct the intent of something. One of the big arguments often made when people are talking about blocks is that it is very difficult to stop a punch or a kick because of momentum and/or speed and/or reaction time. It's a fair point. But since blocking an attack can mean to stop its intended purpose, then something that redirects, parries or absorbs the attack without damage to the defender can validly be called a block. The terms 'redirect' and 'parry' are not in the definitions listed above, but they are all forms of impeding the progress/passage or the attacker's intent. In the online dictionary at https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/block, there is the supporting definition of '(in sports) hinder or stop the movement or action of (an opponent, a ball, etc.)', with synonyms given of 'parry', 'deflect', 'turn aside', repel'. Block is not simply an confrontational, directly oppositional action.
Secondly, the way in which the word 'block' is used in the martial arts world is not common enough to have made it into my dictionary. We use it in karate for any of the techniques that deal with an opponent's incoming attack, particularly those that use the arms to do so. The word is an attempt to functionally translate the japanese term "uke" (受け) which is the substantive form of the verb "ukeru" (受ける) which means 'to receive' or 'to accept'. This is one of the main linguistic arguments against there being blocks in karate, as the word 'uke' does not mean 'block'. Interestingly enough, the Japanese Wikipedia entry on the term 'uke' does say its meaning is to block or stop an opponent's attack (see https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/うけ) (at least as far as Google translate allows me to work out). However, I see two issues here. The first is that, just as in English, just because one term is derived from another (uke from ukeru), dependent on its context, it may have a different or additional meanings. Additionally words can both have a denotative (external) meaning, but also accompanying connotative meanings, which either augment or modify the denotative meanings. Just because 'uke' comes from the verb meaning to receive or accept, does not mean it retains that as its sole or even its main meaning (a perspective backed up by the wikipedia entry quoted above).
The other issue is that we could consider the English word 'block' to be an attempt to provide a functional or pragmatic translation of the 'uke', rather than a literal one. To complicate matters further, the lower block (gedan barai) is one of the main blocks taught in most styles, yet its Japanese name is not 'uke', but 'barai' (to sweep). To my mind, the use of the word 'block' for techniques that deal with an opponent's attacks is an attempt to create a new conceptual term that has its own definition, independent of other, pre-existing definitions. And the reason that people argue about it, is that they carry over the connotative aspects of the other ways to use the word, leading to situations where each person can form an internally consistent and impeccably constructed argument, that is at odds with everyone elses. They are not looking at the term 'block' as having its own unique meanings in the karate world, and are instead privileging the external usages of the word instead. The problem, of course, is we may never know who first made use of the term 'block' in the English-speaking karate world, and so will never know why they chose it, and what they intended it to mean. For the sake of at least removing one tired old topic from the internet, maybe it is time current users of the term agreed on what it should mean.
One topic that keeps coming up is centred around the phrase "there are no blocks in karate". Closely related are "blocks don't work in real life" and "the word 'uke' in Japanese means 'to receive', not 'to block'". After everyone has said their piece and have generally not considered anyone else's arguments, the topic dies down until a few months later when someone brings it up again. And one of the main sticking points that kills meaningful communication is to do with what people mean when they say "block", and what they think other people mean. I've noticed over the years that people have a tendency to define the term in a way that fits with their argument, turning it into a convenient strawman for their own point of view, rather than fitting their argument to its meaning.
So what is meant by the term "block"? A number of things actually. If you go to the dictionary (the Shorter Oxford for me), there are 14 different definitions of block as a noun - none of which have anything to do with martial arts or fighting - and 10 different definitions of block as a verb. And it is here that we can find something possibly applicable: 'to block' can mean 'to obstruct or close (a passage) with obstacles'. It can also mean 'to obstruct the course of'. Additionally, from the world of cricket, the dictionary gives the meaning 'to stop (a ball) with the bat'. Just for the hell of it, I looked up "obstruct" as well, and it tells me it means 'to block' - not very helpful. But it also tells me that obstruct can also mean 'to interrupt or render difficult the passage or progress of; to impede, hinder or retard'.
One takeaway from this is that firstly you need to have a fair idea what the word already means for a dictionary to be of any real use. But for this blog post, there are 2 other major takeaways.
Firstly, the meaning of block contains the notion of stopping, but not just stopping something. It can just as validly mean to stop or obstruct the intent of something. One of the big arguments often made when people are talking about blocks is that it is very difficult to stop a punch or a kick because of momentum and/or speed and/or reaction time. It's a fair point. But since blocking an attack can mean to stop its intended purpose, then something that redirects, parries or absorbs the attack without damage to the defender can validly be called a block. The terms 'redirect' and 'parry' are not in the definitions listed above, but they are all forms of impeding the progress/passage or the attacker's intent. In the online dictionary at https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/block, there is the supporting definition of '(in sports) hinder or stop the movement or action of (an opponent, a ball, etc.)', with synonyms given of 'parry', 'deflect', 'turn aside', repel'. Block is not simply an confrontational, directly oppositional action.
Secondly, the way in which the word 'block' is used in the martial arts world is not common enough to have made it into my dictionary. We use it in karate for any of the techniques that deal with an opponent's incoming attack, particularly those that use the arms to do so. The word is an attempt to functionally translate the japanese term "uke" (受け) which is the substantive form of the verb "ukeru" (受ける) which means 'to receive' or 'to accept'. This is one of the main linguistic arguments against there being blocks in karate, as the word 'uke' does not mean 'block'. Interestingly enough, the Japanese Wikipedia entry on the term 'uke' does say its meaning is to block or stop an opponent's attack (see https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/うけ) (at least as far as Google translate allows me to work out). However, I see two issues here. The first is that, just as in English, just because one term is derived from another (uke from ukeru), dependent on its context, it may have a different or additional meanings. Additionally words can both have a denotative (external) meaning, but also accompanying connotative meanings, which either augment or modify the denotative meanings. Just because 'uke' comes from the verb meaning to receive or accept, does not mean it retains that as its sole or even its main meaning (a perspective backed up by the wikipedia entry quoted above).
The other issue is that we could consider the English word 'block' to be an attempt to provide a functional or pragmatic translation of the 'uke', rather than a literal one. To complicate matters further, the lower block (gedan barai) is one of the main blocks taught in most styles, yet its Japanese name is not 'uke', but 'barai' (to sweep). To my mind, the use of the word 'block' for techniques that deal with an opponent's attacks is an attempt to create a new conceptual term that has its own definition, independent of other, pre-existing definitions. And the reason that people argue about it, is that they carry over the connotative aspects of the other ways to use the word, leading to situations where each person can form an internally consistent and impeccably constructed argument, that is at odds with everyone elses. They are not looking at the term 'block' as having its own unique meanings in the karate world, and are instead privileging the external usages of the word instead. The problem, of course, is we may never know who first made use of the term 'block' in the English-speaking karate world, and so will never know why they chose it, and what they intended it to mean. For the sake of at least removing one tired old topic from the internet, maybe it is time current users of the term agreed on what it should mean.
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