We have the world around us telling us What we’re supposed to be doing and inside of us we know what we’re supposed to be doing There’s a warrior inside of you Today we are at Knowles Karate Academy to learn about the art of karate Karate is one of the main martial arts that comes from Japan Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles, most of the media I consumed as a kid involved martial arts The Karate Kid is the single most Formative piece of media in my life both as an artist and as a human being The good one, not the original I grew up in a town of 2,000 people. There were karate classes I learned from Mr Keith. I’m not kidding, he’s the first Keith I met Jaden Smith, he just really embodies everything that I’m about I love him, I love his character, the journey I’m more of a lover and less of a fighter But Eugene got to pick this video, so we’re doing karate [martial arts noises] My name’s Michael Knowles and we’re here at Knowles Karate Academy and I’ve been training for about 29 years now You’ve been training longer than he’s been alive Yeah Is that right? Yeah I guess I’m old or you’re young We can meet in the middle I actually took Taekwondo as a kid for ten years and have a black belt but I never took karate So technically I’m on the same playing field as the other Try Guys I am actually the only Try Guy who has trained in karate I don’t remember anything except that we would cross back and forth across the floor So today we’ll do the private group lesson And then we’ll meet some kids during the kid’s class Then we’re gonna do an adult class where we’re gonna put your skills to the test And at the end of the day each of you is gonna break a board I have broken my wrist and my pinky before so I’m not excited to break a board It’s real, it’s just a real board you don’t like do like a perforated edge or nothing Can we talk about that [music] [gong noise] [music] So let’s line up according to experience and I gathered Eugene you have some experience so you’ll be first Technically – technically it’s a different art However if it’s gonna be how you treat us through the class then Eugene should go Okay I’ll go with Eugene first Okay Eugene, ’cause he’s like- Keith, you can be second Yeah, I’ll be second Karate is is affiliated with or associated with Japanese style The style we’re actually going to be teaching today and learning today Is Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Which means it’s Korean karate Oh come on Because- [Keith: Wow] He doesn’t need more of an advantage, this is ridiculous [Keith: Wow] (in Korean) attention Good, feet together; hands by your side (in Korean) please sit Have a seat; cross your legs. The uniform you’re gonna wear – we call it in Korean Dobok You’ll hear me saying some Korean terms because this is a Korean style karate. Do we call you like, teacher, master, sensei [Zach: Sensei] Sabunim Sabunim? Yes, it was designed by a Korean guy: Hwang Kee is his name He was influenced by the Japanese style karate because Japan occupied Korea at the time But then he also traveled to China and studied Tai Chi So this style has softness and hardness and it’s a nice blend and mix of it Which I think also Helps us come- find inner peace Close your eyes focus on your breath and just focus on that breath going in through your nose Filling up your lungs and giving you life And then emptying out through your nose all the impurities are leaving There are a lot of misconceptions about martial arts In movies they’re portrayed as very aggressive Weapons, in essence, but the truth is martial arts is not about fighting It’s definitely about ending conflicts to find inner peace and spread peace Hopefully to the community we live in and the people in their lives I’ve been in fights but never because I started it. It was usually A situation that I was getting picked on Or I was trying to help someone who was getting picked on So I feel like that’s still in line Everyone should know what it feels like to get punched in the face (Eugene Lee Yang, 2019) So we’re gonna do a set of breathing exercises called Moo Padang Coombs Eight exercises Left hand reaches to the windows, now switch your hands and inhale Inhale Hands together Exhale Right hand out Inhale Exhale I feel like we look so cool right now Seems very like meditative almost It’s hugely meditative and it forces your mind and body to work together Which brings you toward peace The reason that we train in bare feet is actually to stay connected to the Earth’s energy that’s coming up You’re more in sync with your mind and body right now And I hope you feel the difference just in this short period of time With as little experience as you have What I’d like our goal to be is to get in touch with that inner peaceful warrior Martial arts is like a controlled environment of fighting What a great way to take out your aggression Way better than yelling at your coworkers All right, now we’re gonna get a little more intense Loosen up your wrists so whenever I give you a command I want to hear you say yes sir afterward Shoulders back Yes Sir Excellent This is how you prevent yourself from falling forward off a cliff Chung dyung poco kei can you say that? Chung dyung poco kei I said this is what it’ll look like [martial arts noises] Excellent He did not say to scream, Eugene. That was terrifying Sorry, I didn’t know that came out of me naturally [martial arts noises] (in Korean) Do you feel yourself getting in touch with that inner warrior we were talking about earlier? Yes, sir No doubt Now you guys really have great energy For one by my count Yes, sir [martial arts noise] Jaden Smith! What’s going on with Jaden Smith, man? [gong] [martial arts noises] Zach: *screams* (Ned: *laughs in French*) Today we’re gonna try to each break a piece of wood Has anybody here done that before? Wow! Whoa- wait, hold on, timeout, timeout What advice do you have for us, as we’re going to do it? ‘Cause we’ve never- we’ve only been training for a day Kids: *laughter* That’s it – I gotta keep that one in mind Would you guys be okay with doing some exercises with the Try Guys? Yes They can be bad guys for you so you can get some practice and show ’em how to do it We’re pretty good guys Bad guys lose Yeah, y’know, you just gotta pretend get in touch with that bad guy The bad guy was inside your heart Right next to the black belt First, we bow Hello, tiny assassin Kids: *laughter* We all go to chumbe Yeah *in very bad Russian accent* Bad guys are we ready? We ready to go bad guys Okay Rafael, here it comes Rah! Hiya! Kids: *laughter* Whoa – glasses came right off! Kids: *laughter* One, two, three! Rah! Yeah! Yeah! [gong] (in Korean) [martial arts noises] What’s the deal with the stripes? So the belt system here is very simple: we start with white, goes yellow Orange , orange with a stripe Then all the way up to black Double legs swing up – Kihap on the second one So what are the chances that the four of us today become black belts? Here’s the interesting part of that to answer that question You’re already black belts I know Eugene you’re looking at me like: what the hell is he talking about? It’s a mind game here, what does that mean? I tell this to all my students: the black belt’s inside of you In all honesty you really are there- there’s a- A warrior inside of you The more you train; the more in touch you’ll get with it And eventually you’ll reveal that black belt that you always were Do you think that any of us could break a board today? I absolutely, 100%, know all of you could do it What! Shut up I don’t understand wha- wha- what is the significance of the board? So that you can show yourself how much power you truly possess But what if we don’t? Well, you may surprise yourself Alright so Zach Yeah We’re gonna focus on breaking your wood Let’s That didn’t sound good Nah I- I’m into it We’re gonna do it with a hammer fist So, close the fist Just I just want a light tap I don’t even want you to hit hard I just wanna feel- no, double that Now, didn’t you feel how strong that was? Hurt more than I wanted it to I only started exercising like six months ago But I saw your hands too: they’re very big and strong They’re big hands – they’re just full of bones Now make sure you rotate all the way, so you don’t want to keep it si- Like this That’s right Straight in I’ve seen many people – there are times when they won’t break it on their first try And then they get determined and they focus and they break on their second or third try And they go: wow it was mostly up here – they just didn’t believe they could do it My right leg is like it’s kind of like a little sprain little banged up Do you want to try with the other side? When you kick it- it’s just practice You’re going high; go straight in Little higher than that, but that was much more- much more powerful of a kick Failing No, you’re not I’m doing so bad You’re doing fine I’m failing we all miss sometimes That was pretty good That was a good one Walking into today I was like I definitely don’t want to punch a piece of wood And now we’re gonna do it Now are you thinking like- no I want to do it I’m gonna hit it so hard it’s gonna shatter into little pieces It’ll explode so I would recommend you put on some science goggles I say- I think I’m willing to Yeah, I think you should Thank you (in Korean) Thank you Thank you Eugene Sir Slow feel your groundedness to the earth Kihap and go right through this You have to try not to hurt yourself If you hit it hard you can die Take a couple deep breaths now ground yourself into the floor Feel the energy from Earth coming up giving you power In my practice I missed a blue board so now I’m kind of nervous I was super confident before Good so that was a good solid hit but you hit a little bit too high – you got this; keep breathing You got it, Ned There’s gonna be a punch now so you see this see where it curves here Right that line that’s your line that’s your focus all right are you ready sir? Yes, sir All right now I want to take two deep breaths And then when you’re ready you Kihap as loud as you can you go right through You need to have the energy to break the board Ned – focus your energy into your heel, and focus on the spot on the board you’re gonna hit That felt like a really hit hard hit I think you hit off to the side? You can do this Ned. All right, Zach Hammer fist – put your hand on that board, take a couple deep breaths When you wind up: you come down through that and you Kihap loud here’s the thing that we’re practicing, and the more that I practice the more I’m like hm this is starting to hurt And then it’s getting in my head and the more that we do it the less I want to do this You need to Kihap really loud and make sure you kick in the center of the board Get in a good stance and use your heel to break it Do you want to try the other foot? You can do it – you can do it Think of and see yourself going through it this time you can do it Make sure you’re doing it as strong as you can You need to put all the power into that one spot Excellent class today Thank you – Try Guys for trying out karate Thank you for having us Thank you so much Thank you for letting us join you Do you think if I do really well in this video Jaden will watch it and then maybe he’ll DM me? Ooh- maybe if a lot of you guys tweeted him That’s what everybody’s tweeting they’re trying to be so original with their fucking garbage joke with some commentary Do you wanna hold him? No, I don’t… He hates looking at me I prefer dogs over babies