In the Ring vs. On the Turf
Basic Techniques & Karate-Do
Of all the stresses in life, nothing really compares to the anxiety level experienced in a “fight or flight??? encounter like a street fight.
It is common knowledge that there is a world of difference between tournament competition and street fighting. In tournament kumite, for example, contestants are competing under controlled conditions. This means that matches are one-on-one, there are five officials that enforce the rules of conduct and sportsmanship, the match has a time limit and takes place on a flat surface, usually a 24’x24’ well-lit area. In addition, there are parts of the body that are considered “no target??? areas, and hitting any of these areas results in a penalty. All punching, striking, and kicking techniques must be controlled and an “attack??? is usually stopped in order to prevent injury, only to be restarted in the middle of the ring.
A street fight has no rules and will probably be the most fearful situation you will ever face. There may be several opponents, and all target areas of the body are considered fair game.
The key to survival is a calm mind. If you must attack to defend yourself, any technique is good enough. Poking the eyes, attacking the spine, throat, and groin, or biting and spitting may not look pretty or even resemble karate, but when your life is at stake, you must not freeze or shut down. Staying calm will buy you enough time to size-up your attacker. Is he intoxicated or under the influence? Does he want only your wallet? Is someone else with him? These are important considerations and reacting with calmness will help you formulate a plan.
The best case scenario in street defense is to be able to talk your way out of a fight. Forget about loosing your dignity. It’s better to eat humble pie and walk away without injury than to be stabbed or shot. Avoiding confrontation is paramount because in today’s world, you never know who may be carrying a weapon.
It’s sound advise to plan ahead and not get caught off-guard. Avoid short cuts and unfamiliar routes. Remain alert, even in your daily routine. Pay close attention when entering a bank, convenience store, or using an ATM. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
One of the main benefits of karate training is that it sharpens the mind and keeps you mentally alert. A student who trains regularly may even develop a sixth sense and become increasingly aware of circumstances that the ordinary person would miss. Sharper senses, a faster reaction time, fighting spirit and boundless determination are common attributes for those who take training seriously.
Therefore, whenever you train, practice each kata as if attackers have surrounded you. Perform all basics vigorously as if your life depends on it. This type of attitude keeps you alive and ready to face any of life’s challenges head-on.
Timing it Right
Timing it Right
The art of timing in battle is recognizing when it is the right time to attack and taking advantage of it immediately. The correct time is when there is a suki (gap) in your opponent’s posture. Whenever you see or create it, drive in and strike your opponent before he has a chance to recover or close his suki. This is the skill of Katsujin No Ken, or taking advantage of your opponent’s moves.
While your opponent’s suki may appear at any time, there are four (4) times when it is most likely to become evident:
- The best time to attack your opponent’s suki is when he is not ready (this is the biggest gap): you attack first, zantotsu, Sen No Sen. “Not ready??? means he is too relaxed because he thought you were relaxed. There is strength in relaxation only if it is combined with alertness in the mind and readiness for action in the body.“Not ready??? also means not attacking because of the four mental blocks: afraid to take risks (waiting), thinking too much (confused mind), self doubt (lack of self confidence), and hesitating (a bad habit). Your opponent is also “not ready??? when you control the match by taking the lead and pressing or closing the distance, not giving him room to “breathe??? or move, overpowering mentally and physically, keeping all your senses on him, attacking his mind ( spirit) and eventually breaking his spirit. By constantly attacking his spirit, your opponent is always on the defensive with no chance (no thought) of attacking you. Sometimes he is ready, but only ready to run away.
- The second best time to attack is when you sense his intention to attack as in “Kan Ken???, the two eyesights to read the mind and the body to have the advantage. He is in a stage of mental attack, not in a fixed position as in a mental block. This type of attacking your opponent also includes when he has just started his physical attack and is not yet in full strength as in “Go No Sen???. You must have the confidence of knowing that you will score striking truly versus scoring a hit.
- Another time to attack is when your opponent is in mid-attack. This, however, is not the best time because he is in full strength and the result will be aiuchi. It is a good time for you, if you are faster and stronger. You can move back and shift your body (tai sabaki) and then strike.
- The fourth time to attack is when your opponent overextends his attack as you step back. He is beyond his strongest stage and is off balance, frozen and open. You should then immediately counter attack by turning your defense into an offensive maneuver.
Timing in life is just as important as it is in battle because you can lose fortunes or loved ones due to bad timing. Important business decisions in banking, real estate or the stock market must be made at the right time, according to the business cycle between inflation and recession. A lifetime of building a fortune can be lost overnight due to greed and selfishness (a big gap or“bachi???). You must know when to buy and sell at the right time.
In your personal life, meeting the right person for you at the right time of your life is good timing. Sometimes you can be in control and make certain desired events happen because of good timing. You must use your head, heart and gut feeling to make the right decisions at the right time.
The Shotokan Tiger
The Shotokan Tiger
When Master Gichin Funakoshi created our system of martial arts, he chose the tiger as the animal symbol to represent Shotokan. He chose it because it signified strength, power, and tenacity.
In those days, Japan was full of artisans and craftsmen. He could very easily have the tiger drawn to show it as a fierce, entire animal. However, he had it drawn with a series of lines, reminiscent of the tiger’s stripes, with no body outline.
If these lines were to be stretched out, they would hardly be recognized as representing an animal, but by compressing these lines, we see the outline of the tiger. He did it this way to show that our complete system is comprised of many parts and that all of these parts must come together to complete the entire system. These “parts??? are comprised of stances, strikes, thrusts, kicks, joint locks, pressure points, blocks, and throwing and controlling techniques. By combining parts of all of these techniques, we have the four main components of Shotokan: Kihon (basics), Kata (forms), Bunkai (self-defense), and Kumite (sparring).
But Gichin Funakoshi didn’t stop there. He had the tiger symbol drawn within a circle in order to show that the power of the tiger, much like to power of Shotokan, is contained. It indicates that we should never use this power on a whim. The power is only unleashed, or broken from the circle, in order to defend ourselves or others who cannot defend themselves from a violent attack.
When the average person thinks of the word “tiger,??? a variety of images come to mind. When the student of karate hears the term “Shotokan tiger,??? only one image comes to mind: the image formulated by Master Gichin Funakoshi.
Master Funakoshi was a scholar and a writer and he wrote under the pen name “Shoto,??? which literally means “Pine Waves.??? Today, Gichin Funakoshi is synonymous with the tiger symbol and Shotokan Karate-do. Few people, however, understand the relationship of “Shoto??? to what is commonly known as the Shotokan tiger.
When Gichin Funakoshi was a young man, he enjoyed walking in solitude among the pine trees which surrounded his home town of Shuri. After a hard day of teaching in the local school and several more hours of strenuous karate practice, he would often walk up Mt. Torao and meditate among the pine trees, under the stars and bright moon. Mt. Torao is a very narrow, heavily wooded mountain which, when viewed from a distance, the road going up the mountain resembles a tiger’s tail. In fact, the name “Torao??? means “Tiger’s tail.???
In later life, Funakoshi explained that the cool breeze which blew among the pines on Mt. Torao made the trees whisper like waves breaking on the shore. Because he gained his greatest poetic inspirations while walking among the gently blowing pine trees, he chose the pen name of Shoto, “Pine Waves.???
The tiger outline, used to represent Shotokan karate, is a traditional Chinese design that implies “the tiger never sleeps.??? It symbolizes, therefore, the keen alertness of the wakeful tiger and the serenity of the peaceful mind that Gichin Funakoshi experienced while listening to the pine waves on “Tiger’s Tail Mountain.???
Rhythm
Rhythm
The rhythm that applies to Karate is rhythm in the movements necessary to execute a proper technique. The Karate student must learn from the beginning that the three most important elements in Karate Techniques are: KIME at the right time, the CONTROL of speed and the FLUID movement of the body from one technique to the next. These requirements cannot be fulfilled without rhythm; these three elements COMBINED equal rhythm.
The Karate techniques performed by an advanced martial artist are powerful, rhythmical and consequently beautiful. Movements can be slow and soft yet rhythmical. There are different rhythms for the yori ashi of the legs and the kihon techniques of the upper body. In addition to sensing the rhythm of your brain waves, heartbeat and breathing, it is necessary to study rhythm in order to improve your fighting techniques.
To be effective in freestyle (Jyu) kumite, a competitor must:
- Know different rhythms
- Know which rhythm is appropriate
- Know which rhythm will cause the desired effect
I. DIFFERENT KINDS OF RHYTHM
- LONG STEPS – Rhythms of distancing; by taking long steps to study your opponent, keeping your distance or stalling for time.
- SHORTSTEPS –Rhythms of closingin; by taking small steps in order to prepare for an attack.
- PRESSINGSTEPS– Stepping in slowly and carefully to force your opponent to panic attack or “freeze up???.
- NO STEPS – Waiting for your opponent to make a mental error.
II. CHOOSE THE APPROPRIATE RHYTHM
- FAST STEPS – Against slow, tall and strong opponents, sot that it confuses their sense of distance and timing.
- PRESSING STEPS–To intimidate smaller,faster,or weaker opponents.
- LONG STEPS – To maintain a safe distance and draw your opponent in.
- NO STEPS – Used against an experienced fighter.
III. WHICH RHYTHM WILL CAUSE THE DESIRED EFFECT
- Learn your opponent’s rhythm so you will not be “baited,??? set up, surprised or “drawn into??? his rhythm.
- Attack with a rhythm NOT anticipated by your opponent–remain calm but alert and attack with one breath.
- Break your rhythm–fake/feint in order to distract, confuse, draw-in, throw off balance, or put your opponent on the defensive.
- Understand how to make your rhythm different from that of your opponent. Change your rhythm by short steps back and long steps forward or visa versa, SO THAT YOU CAN ATTACK.
- Learning how to intentionally upset your opponent’s rhythm SO THAT YOU CAN ATTACK is a secret of combat. In the case of tournament kumite, it may well result in winning the match!
The Kiai Part II
The Kiai – Part II
The kiai is much more than a loud yell. The correct kiai begins internally and is the result of proper kime (focus). The kiai is initially created by contracting the abdominal muscles, pushing the internal organs inward, contracting the ribs and chest, there by compressing the lungs, and forcing air upward through the throat, mouth and nose. The energy of the entire body and spirit is unified and forced out in one breath creating a loud yell.
Energy of the entire body means the physical power generated by the intense contraction and proper coordination of the muscles and joints which are developed through rigorous training. Spirit means the mental concentration required to focus the mind into the body movement at that instant in time to execute the technique with the correct rhythm of breath (different from beathing). Kime and kiai are one and must be done together to obtain maximum results. You cannot execute or explain the kiai without knowing how to apply kime correctly.
The kiai can be used during different times of attacking:
Before the Attack (Sho)
- For psychological reasons to psyche yourself up
- To scare or startle your opponent (this does not always work against experienced fighters)
- To expel excess air; too much air is not good
- To tighten the abdominal muscles
During the Attack (Chu)
- To increase striking power (kime)
- To prepare yourself to receive a strike
- To help your rhythm, timing, and breath of the attack
- To distract or stun your opponent
After the Attack (Go)
- To release, relax the remaining air
- As a signal of conquest, sign of victory
- To increase the chances of scoring a point in tournament kumite (acting)
The Kiai – Part I
The Kiai – Part I
Ki = “Psycho-physical energy??? using breath, spirit, body and mind to perform at will to create, heal, or destruct.
Ai = “Union, reunion.??? When one or more individuals are confronting a situation of conflict, opposition or agreement, they find themselves in harmony.
Ki-Ai = “The meeting together or union of energy.??? The art of perfectly concentrating all of one’s energy, physical and mental, upon a given object, with intense determination, to achieve one’s goal. It is the shout made at the moment of attack to give added force to the blow. The kiai exerts mental and physical forces so rapidly and dynamically it affects anything in its path. The vibration and power of the kiai can surprise, paralyze, confuse, scare or delay the opponents’ functioning and render him more susceptible to an attack. It causes your opponent to experience a mental opening or mental block (suki) and a the same time it increases your (psycho) fighting spirit and confidence.
Kiai is also the result of kime: the rapid contraction and coordination of muscles and joints, beginning with the abdominal muscles, organs, chest and ribs compressing the lungs, forcing air upwards through the throat and mouth, thereby creating a focused yell. The energy of the entire body and spirit is unified and forced out by the generation of great muscular tension ending with an explosive impact of a punch, kick, or strike.
The kiai enables a person carrying out an explosive movement (kime) to instantly purify his mind of all thoughts, leaving only the pure energy (ki) which causes him to act in a high degree of intensity. The kiai is a way of projecting your ki externally by kime.
Ki, kime, and kiai are intertwined and must occur together to achieve the maximum results. Without ki, there is no kime; without kime, there is no kiai. The power to produce the desired effect depends on one’s mastery of certain techniques, especially breathing, and the coordination of physical and mental training achieved through many years of practice.
You cannot execute or explain a correct kiai without knowing how to utilize kime correctly.
Remember this formula:
Ki = Energy of the mind
Kime = Energy of the body
Kiai = Union of the energies (mind and body)
Power & Speed
Power & Speed
Every human being has the potential for tremendous speed and power. However, the civilized world we live in can make us rather lazy; it can stiffen our bodies and freeze our minds, so we don’t realize the potential we have. Karate does not attempt to build power and speed, but tries to find the potential you already possess by relaxing your body and freeing your mind. You can find yourself through training in karate.
Power is necessary to excel in Karate but it must be combined with the single most important element which is speed. Speed occurs from the momentum generated by the movements of various parts of the body. Power is the tensing of certain muscle groups and kime at the end of the technique. Power alone without speed is only partly effective. Basic Karate fundamentals (kihon) must first be learned slowly and correctly, then repetition of fast techniques must be practiced.
Power will follow after fast techniques are developed. The slow movements involved when lifting or pushing heavy weights is not as effective as the power developed by speed punching drills. To increase power in your kime punch, the correct muscles must be tensed as quickly and strongly as possible a split second before the end of the punch. This “force kime??? depends greatly upon the speed with which the techniques are executed; to increase the speed of your punch, rotate your hips quickly and retract the opposite arm. This will develop the “snapping technique??? which is so important for fast combinations in tournament kumite. The muscles must also relax as quickly as possible after each technique. Then, after much practice, the developed muscles will tense and relax faster, enabling faster movements which in turn result in greater power.
Speed is an important element in the application of power but speed and power cannot achieve its greatest effect without good control or accuracy. A rule of thumb to remember is that if you double the power, you double the impact, but if you double the speed, you quadruple the impact. Converting energy utilization from speed to power is accomplished by forcefully and rapidly tensing the entire body just as contact is made and by continuing to exert a powerful muscular effort for the split second after contact is made with the target.
Too often, one “lets up??? upon contact or just before it is made. Concentration, repetition, and an understanding of the dynamics of body movements through practice will help you in your Karate-Do training. To shorten reaction time, it is necessary to practice responding to sudden unrehearsed attacks as in jiyu kumite.
“Karate is like boiling water.
If you do not heat it constantly, it will cool.???
If you do not heat it constantly, it will cool.???
-Gichin Funakoshi
Karate & Ibuki Breathing
Karate & Ibuki Breathing
KARATE is the mental concentration and synchronization of the body.
The point of contact with the target must be focused and supported by the entire body, locked at its utmost. The body supporting the blow must also be standing firmly on the ground at the moment of impact. For example, in the punch:
- The fist contact to the target is supported by the
- wrist, supported by the
- arm, supported by the
- shoulder region, supported by the
- abdominal muscles and gluteal region, supported by the
- thigh, supported by the
- leg, supported by the
- heel.
So, on a punch the fist should be supported directly from the heel itself which is rooted firmly to the ground at the moment of impact. If one of the concerned muscles tenses even a bit earlier, the whole speed of the punch will slow down.
If the muscles tense late or weak, the punch becomes weak because connection is lost. The whole chain’s strength is equal to that of its weakest link. Therefore, one has to learn to always use the whole body when punching, kicking, or blocking. If the punch, kick, or block is done with the extremity only (e.g., the hand or foot alone), that is NOT karate.
IBUKI is the exhalation with vigor from the lower abdomen. Ibuki is sometimes called the “mother-of-all-techniques??? because eventually it will improve all of your karate techniques, whether they are kihon, kata, or kumite.
It is almost impossible to lock all concerned muscles at the exact same time and hold them at their firmest without ibuki. Ibuki will synchronize tension in all of your muscles to help them to tense more strongly and make it possible for you to contract your whole body at the same time. Also, because ibuki will concentrate your force into a single action, it will help to exclude all unnecessary muscles from movement in the action, thus making your execution of the technique faster, and stronger.
Remember that all techniques in karate are accomplished primarily by using the lower abdominal and gluteal region. If this region does not shift with the technique, you will not reach your target. Hands and feet are only parts of the technique. Because power and speed depend on the lower abdominal and gluteal region, it is the core of all karate techniques.
In ibuki, a stronger exhalation from the lower abdomen will result in a stronger technique, and a shorter exhalation will result in a faster one. If you concentrate on the sound of your ibuki (exhalation) as you would listen to a mantra, this concentration will reduce conflicting thought and will increase sei (tranquility). Doing so will reduce any telegraphing movement of the technique. As soon as the technique is over, inhale, sniffing quickly from the abdomen (not chest), so that you will be ready for the next ibuki!
Exercises for Ibuki include:
- “Core of contraction???
- Kiba-Dachi (contraction of thighs, legs, feet).
- Kiba-Dachi (contraction of shoulder region)
- Focused Ki (zanshen) through eye vector (mesen) in Kiba-Dachi
- Relaxation and hip movement in Kiba-Dachi
- Punch (tsuki) in Kiba-Dachi
- Zenkutsu-Dachi
- Synchronization in Zenkutsu-Dachi
- Synchronized movement in Zenkutsu-Dachi
Introduction to Karate Do
Introduction to Karate Do
Karate has been increasing in popularity during the past thirty years, but there have been some misinterpretations of what Karate and Karate-do really is. Karate has been confused with kick boxing, point tournaments, board breaking and recently with acting.
If Karate is practiced for the purpose of fighting, then it becomes only a physical art. In contrast, Karate-Do training begins with the patient and repetitious practice of the basic techniques which have been perfected over a long period of study and actual use. To make any effective use of these techniques, the spiritual aspect of this art of self-defense must be recognized and play the dominant role. It is mandatory that the traditionalist follow and understand the path of Karate-Do and train with the proper attitude to set an example for others to follow.
The ideal technique for every traditional karateka is to perform Ikken Hisatsu (one punch death blow), because in the pre-tournament days, one mistake meant death on the battlefield or on the streets. Even the practitioners-of-old placed stronger emphasis on the spiritual aspect than on physical techniques. Karate-Do during practice includes both body and spirit; every technique is performed with sincerity. In actual use, there is no hesitation when attacking head-on; there is no thought about personal injury. In self-defense, it is not enough to fight with all of one’s power; the true objective is to remain calm and do so with control for the sake of justice. Control also means with full impact, if necessary. Four tournament kumite purposes, a savage display of strength and power (sometimes confused with spirit) is undesirable because in Karage-Do one should treat an opponent with courtesy and respect. Never underestimate your opponent’s ability, however. Attack with all your strength and spirit, controlling your mind and stopping your techniques just short of contact.
Gichin Funakoshi emphasized that the primary purpose in practicing Karate-Do is the nurturing of a spirit of humility. With this in mind, one must develop, through rigorous training, the power sufficient to defeat your adversary. To be a true practitioner of Karate-Do, one must attain perfection in these two aspects, the spiritual and physical.
The sport Karate of today places too much emphasis on winning at all costs, which – on behalf of the athlete – demonstrates a lack of good character. On the same note, learning several katas at the same time for examinations or tournaments also displays a lack of spiritual training. This results in the student being incapable of performing an effective technique or kata which is the unique characteristic of Karate-Do. The desire to learn tournament techniques or “tournament katas??? to earn more points is counterproductive; this leads to a lack of patience and seriousness necessary to learn the basics correctly. Therefore, before attempting to learn a higher level kata, the earlier kata must first be mastered in ascending order. This type of training builds character. It shows that the student has patience and wants perfection before attempting something more difficult. Karate tournaments are a good barometer to test one’s ability but they must be held under suitable and controlled conditions with the proper attitude.
The impatient student who begins kumite or advanced katas prematurely will eventually be overtaken by the patient student who was trained correctly in the basic techniques. In Karate-Do, haste makes waste. There is no easy way – no secrets, no shortcuts – only hard training. Work hard for your goals and you will appreciate your accomplishments even more.
There are no elevators in Karate-Do, only stairs.