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Let us begin at the beginning. There are many skills you need to develop. Most of these are very subtle in their use, however done wrong leave you weak. How do you make the proper fist? The Chinese have their method which involves placing the thumb on top of the index finger.
then actually they punch with the lower three knuckles. This is a misguided understanding of the ancient texts talk about, much of this training came about as the ShaoLin monks did not want the Emperor's troops or family to gain the real truth, so they modified it. Changing it slightly and at the same time removing the true power. The Chinese now teach to punch with the fist vertical which is OK for but is not the correct original method. The original texts are out there, and have been translated to many languages even English. I have some of them, they are interesting reading. But this teaching lacks real power.
The proper method of making a fist involves opening the hand then starting at the smallest finger bringing the fingers closed one at a time, then curling them in tightly. Not into the palm, but at the base of the fingers, as tightly as possible, concentrating on tightening the small finger. Then we place the thumb over the fingers. I am uncertain if the Chinese may not have something with their thumb placement in this case though. you then curl the index knuckle down so the first two are flat and the others retreat away...
Many students tighten the index finger and let the little finger lax. This is also wrong. You must concentrate on tightening the little finger and the rest will follow. Do not squeeze until the moment of impact, otherwise you will slow down your punch, and rob yourself of power. Also, leave the hand somewhat relaxed until the point of impact. A tight fist will be slow and lack true snap.
Improving and Developing Skills
There are big differences between the knowledge we learn in class and the actual skill development from that knowledge.
There are hundreds of minor and major skills that we need to develop to make us good Martial Artists able to defend ourselves and others.
In order to develop these skills we must first recognize that these techniques are going to work before you can master them. After mastering the skills you can do what you want with them. You can modify them, you can then use them.
How do we do this?
It only takes a class session or a few minutes in a seminar to learn them. But it will take weeks, months or years to master them.
Listen in class or to someone teaching you. Observe what is said, and taught.
Next,write them down in your own hand writing. This way you will understand the smallest movement, and be able to refer back to it.
Then, Say it out Loud. Read the technique out loud until you can say all the steps without referring to the paper you wrote on.
Then perhaps most important, practice with a partner. You can do this in class or better yet outside of class. This is where you make the techniques yours. Without this step you will not become as good as you should. Practice, Practice, Practice.
If possible video tape yourself. This way you will know for sure what you are doing right or wrong. The tape will not lie. The tape will not make you feel good about yourself.
Stay away from average martial artists. Those that are in it for the 'sport'. Be serious.
How to be a good student.
1. Keep in good physical and mental condition. You must be strong. Strength comes through work, and struggle. If it is easy, you will not become strong. You should run 3 miles every day. Run not jog. (see the section on conditioning) Lift weights every day
2. Live and practice your Karate every day. If you are unable to train physically, spend time in meditation going over your kata. Karate is not just about fighting. It is about control. The biggest battles we fight are with ourselves. Keeping your emotions in check. Keeping your powers of observation keyed up etc.
3. Train in the Dojo as often as you can. Consider it to be a sacred place, learning takes place here it is no different than any University, you get out of it what you put into it.
4. Try to attend basic beginner classes no matter how advanced you are. Always Remember what you felt like as a beginner. Always try to help new students. You needed help once, and by teaching others you learn anything more completely.
5. Set a good example for junior members at all times. Lead by example. You are a leader Act Like It.
6. Abide by all the Dojo rules and other rules (Cheating in little things leads to cheating in the big ones). Do not take advantage of your privilege or position consider the Dojo to be as the Sensei's home. You are a guest, how would you act there. In the early days Martial Arts training was illegal, so it was conducted in private, in homes behind closed doors.
7. Give help to others with their techniques when you see need improvement. After all someone had to show you. Your Sensei is the primary teacher, but he or she expects you to pass on some of the teaching. This knowledge is to duplicate the Sensei. Teach his/her instruction not yours.
8. Inform your Sensei when you must be away, if you are sick, or out of town. Time with the family is important, so is work, or school, there are times when you must be away but the class needs your presence please use the utmost courtesy at all times.
9. Do not allow anyone to break the rules of courtesy. You must stop others from using bad language, or being rude, if not take your belt off and go home.
10. Always imagine the Sensei to be present in any class, act accordingly. How should you act if Oyama himself came to observe your class? Train that way.
11. Act as if the Sensei were watching your every move. He is! Rembember how your mother seemed to have eyes in the back of her head?
12. Make every class you can.
13. Be early for class, warm up, do not fool around, This a place of honor, and learning, think of it as Holy ground.
14. Move as quickly as possible when instructed to do something.
15. Give your best effort to learn the customs, words, traditions, history of your art. This is an oriental art, you must act as if you were there. Always act as if Oyama were inviting you to to his home for lunch. You must try to learn how to act and speak with respect.
16. Concentrate on training as hard and correctly as possible in class.
17. Keep yourself and your GI clean and good repair, at all times. The only exception is the belt which should never be washed. The turning of a white belt to a black belt is only done through much hard work wearing it. Consider how long it would take you to soil it from your hands.
18. Do what you can to keep the Dojo, your home, your school, place of worship or place of work clean and in good repair. It is the duty of a student to treat these places as honorable.
Each style of Karate has many great masters, and each has its own curriculum, each school believing that theirs is the best. Bruce Lee said that there were no "inferior martial arts only inferior martial artists."
Each style has its own ranking requirements.
Advancement is not automatic, it is at the discretion of the Sense-i. You may be advanced by observation, testing or both, and basic requirements. It is an honor not a right.
In the Shaolin Temple a student would have to perform hard labor for 3 years before being considered for training. This tested the resolve and patience of the student. Can you imagine what it would be if students had to cut grass for all the houses in their neighborhood, Shovel the sidewalks in the winter. Do laundry for all the students, sweep the parking lot, wash all the cars in the lot every week for three years before being allowed to begin training?
Karate training is kind of like this today, you need 3 years of hard physical training to build the body up to begin learning. Only in Karate, you are taught the basics in the beginning, It takes years before they become reaction not thought.
Unfortunately, most students to not progress very far. They are not committed, and drop out. This is one of the main reasons that techniques are hidden from the beginner student. In the United States we want it instantly, and are not willing to wait. Ranking that is purchased is not worth anything.
Further more you must do the following:
If you do not know something, look up the answer. You will learn it if you do your own research.
When you make a mistake, try to figure out what you did wrong so you can avoid doing it again, and correct the weakness through training.
Never use Profanity.
Never use sarcasm or ridicule.
Never lose patience help someone else that is having trouble learning a technique, you will teach yourself if you teach someone else.
Never forget what it was like to be a beginner. Remember how lost you were when you started.
The following is an answer Mas Oyama gave concerning a question about punching.
As to tsuki, it is correct to execute with the power coming out of Tanden, routing underneath the triangle of the wings, concentrating into the tip of the fist. This relation is called "Sangohou". And when you twist your fist, make sure to tighten your pinky and ... finger. That is the ultimate Gokui in tsuki of Karate. However, during a tournament most people tense their shoulders instead of Tanden. That's no good.
It is also not a simple task to tighten the pinky and ... during the twist of the fist. In order to be able to do this, especially during a tournament, would require a great amount of training.
It is incredible if one can perfectly execute his tsuki in Sangohou.
Punches the fighters execute during a tournament do not seem to have a twist, but to a some degree they are twisting. Although there is a difference in each fighters level and experience, they are all twisting in their own way. However what seems the most difficult is the tensioning of the pinky and ... While they can do it during the training, to be able to carry out in a real fight is difficult.
If you thrust it out of your Tanden and to your wings while tightening your pinky and .., then that's when you can knock him down with one punch. But during a tournament his shoulders get tighten up. He tense their shoulders and punch with his arms, and that is why the opponent doesn't go down no matter how much he punches.
Knowing this problem, I frequently mention it to my disciples over and over until my mouth gets dry, but they still cannot carry it out. Although I can teach this, whether they can carry out or not all comes down to how much they can improve themselves. May be there is none currently among the Japanese fighters who can carry out as such during a tournament. What it all comes down to is that Gokui is such that cannot be made into your own that easily.
Indeed it was with the tsuki that are executed in Sangohou, that I knocked down the pro wrestlers at real matches. Without it, I would not have abled to break the ribs of the opponents. Especially all pro wrestlers usually have the thick layers of muscle. It was possible because it was a punch that could've brought a bull down with one thrust. The things that I've just told you right now is the ultimate Gokui in tsuki. However, no matter how much I say this it doesn't seem to pass on.
Blocking
Hands are most often used for blocking because they are faster, but legs are stronger.
Blocks must be fast and hard, they should be considered attacks, not defense.
The idea is that if you hit someone hard enough he may be unwilling to attack you again.
Therefore blocks must be done with all the power you have. These are practical in combat. well performed techniques often allow you to escape personal harm.
Soft blocks, performed open handed must be done like a wet towel whipping around, must be very circular. Straight line movements are actually slow and lack power. These must be practiced so they become unconscious actions.
When attacked, if you have trained properly, you will see the attack coming and react unconsciously.
Please return often as I will be adding new information.�
The art of mobility is the essence of fighting. If you're slow on your feet, you'll be late when you are sparring and trying to hit your opponent.
A stance too narrow provides you with speed, But leaves you unbalanced which you don't need, as this will cause you to lose, maybe your life.
A stance too wide gives you power, it is that you'll soon learn you're a lot slower, when you look up from the floor with flashes of light in your eyes and unable to gain control of your body.
Power depends not only on your strength, but it is the way you throw your blows. It is not whether you are close or out of range. If you're too near, use your elbows and knees.
But, it is the hands that you'll employ the most when sparring, they are 30% faster than your feet, and much more accurate.
Karate is only learned by hours of practice and being completely fit. Speed in sparring however, is no good without the power that goes with it. This power is gained by exercise, weights, and techniques.
If they can't stand they can't fight.
Watch your distance.
This kick looks good but it is easy to counter for the aggressive fighter and the kicker could be now in big trouble however the blocker is more concerned about defense rather than attack, so he is in big trouble.
The front kick is good, this kicker is leaning back for power and losing his speed and ability to recover for follow up technique.
Two High Kicks to the Opponent in Full-contact Karate
Kyokushin
Tae Kwon Do
When kicking to the head in Raise your knee. Imagine kicking over a chair. With the twist of the hip and the snap of the knee, hit your shin against the opponent's leg or body, your instep against the head.
The key is to feel your body weight dropping onto the target with your foot at the point of impact. In Tae Kwon Do, The body leans backward for extra distance. Moving the trunk and head out of range. Using the snap of the knee, hitting with the instep. The key to the Tae Kwon Do speed comes from flexibility, relaxation and the hopping footwork on the ground.
Hopping makes it difficult to sense what is coming next and easy to faint. Hopping, however, reduces power leaving you open for counterattack. I used to find this kind of technique extremely easy to defeat. However you must be fast. They have little balance once committed, and can not quickly change techniques easily. Bruce Lee used to teach that if you wanted to land a technique, you should through two faints first.
When you leave the ground. You lose power. Jumping kicks must have a reason, to cover distance, or to take down a mounted opponent.
Key Benefits of learning the fundamentals
- Benefit 1 Once you get them down you can do what you want with them. You will use them in every situation, it is your cornerstone.
- Benefit 2 By training in basic fundamentals you develop understanding. Once you must understand the basics before developing the more complicated techniques.
- Benefit 3 Without the basics, you are nothing but show. Even Bruce Lee said that he knew that kicks over the waist were dangerous to use but looked better on film. His understanding of the basics lead him to be what he was, to merely copy the moves without understanding is a cloud with no rain. no substance, in a dangerous situation for your life could be in danger.
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Copyright � 2003 Steve's Karate
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Fundamental Elements of karate by Steve Denoo
