Spartacus Maximus

Experienced more than a few dojo where the three kata are practised in order without stopping as if they were a single kata. Once thoroughly learned, one of the best ways to truly internalize a kata/form is to play around and experiment by varying things like speed, rythm and flow. This kind of training is a good way to prevent boredom/overtraining and discover subtleties that regular non-private instruction time doesn’t always allow time for.

Also the reason why a kick shield held by a capable senior or instructor is best, is that they will be able to feel your techniques when they hit the target. Then they will be able tell you when your mechanics are correct. With that through trial you will learn to know when it is correct. You will yourself be able to feel when it is right and learn how to adjust it. At first this will be slow and need conscious effort, but after a while(individually unique) it will be like learning to ride a bicycle: not everyone mastered it at the same age or speed, but once learned it is automatic and done without having to remember how to do each action involved every time. This is the long and boring part of karate because each of those concepts mentioned are impossible to learn and master to a usable degree in less than a few years and thousands of hours of repetitive training.

With great caution and proper guidance as well as an adequate level of prior conditioning a makiwara or other similar striking equipment can be a useful tool. It would be best as higher step in training a concept like using chinkuchi. So most beneficial only after mastering the mechanics and being able to apply them consistently. In addition, before testing it on a hard surface target like a makiwara, one should ideally be conditioned enough to do it without injuring whatever part is used to strike. On the other hand, makiwara are tools meant for developing correct alignment. They are also meant for conditioning, which requires repetitive striking of moderate intensity over time. Makiwara were never intended nor designed to be struck full force. That would destroy a useful tool in short order and defeat its purpose. Many skilled people are indeed able to break a makiwara, but any such equipment especially modern versions are too valuable to break them on purpose or have them break after a few full force hits

Gamaku is an Okinawan language term for the abdominal belt area muscles.These are used to generate power and maintain the connection between upper and lower body. Without this internal stability, force cannot be transferred effectively from the ground into a strike. Tanden/Hara is Japanese and simply means the belly or lower abdomen where the body’s centre of balance is located. Using the body’s natural centre is a key concept in many martial arts. Balance and stability are essential for power. Chinkuchi refers to ´short power’ in Okinawan. Again this is just their name for it as the idea did/does exist in other arts developed by other cultures far and wide. Chinkuchi is a sudden burst of focused force exploding outward into a technique. This requires one to be relaxed and tensing at the last moment(somewhat like a sneeze). It refers to optimal alignment of muscles, bones joints and tendons in a stable and strong yet flexible stance. This is how a skilled karateka can strike with the full force of 100% bodyweight instead of only the weight of an arm or a leg. Koshi is Japanese and this concept is more common and emphasized in non-Okinawan karate. The word refers to the hips or hip area(pelvis). In karate it is used in the transfer of power generated by the body’s mechanics and correct alignment. All of these concepts can be practised and applied in training with conscious and focused drills. With the guidance of an instructor, take the time to actually find and feel what correct alignment/mechanics/movments feels like. Always do it very slowly and do not speed up until each concept can be done at will without having to think of how. Once grasped, practise applying it by striking a kick shield or similar equipment. Ideally the target should be held by someone who knows how the strike should feel. When correctly executed, techniques using these concepts feel totally different from when they are done without/incorrectly.

So how and where would the mechanics differ between a ball-of-foot front kick and one striking with the toes such as in tsumasaki or sokusen? How can it best be explained/decribed? At first glance these kicks seem almost identical in movement except for the part of the foot used to strike with. There doesn’t seem to be a significant difference in the way the knee raised, extended and pulled back and set down.

Considering the most basic punching and kicking techniques of Okinawan karate(mah also apply other karate), are body mechanics significantly different? Is the striking point(big toe, ball of foot etc) the only difference between techniques?

This entire trend of ´calling out’ schools or ´confronting ´ individuals is completely foreign and uninteresting. Westerners, and especially Americans seem to have this singularly odd obsession with confrontation and calling out people they disagree with for almost any trivial thing. Why should one be concerned with what another school teachers or how someone else trains? What does anyone gain from doing it? Isn’t that time better spent learning and improving one’s own skills. It is unfortunate how easily people forget that in martial arts the purpose of the practice and objectives are as different as those practising.

Personal physical conflict is a nasty, chaotic affair and it is clear that karate was originally meant for dealing with attackers up close. This is apparent across all styles, but especially obvious in the older Okinawan schools. The majority of techniques have an optimal effectiveness point within arms reach, well inside what is considered one’s personal space. Personally heard many say that basically Okinawan karate has only short and medium range techniques. Hence the concept of sticking to the attacker and being close enough to feel/sense the next move and exploit openings to counter or escape.

It all depends on the context, but there are instances where obtaining or requiring permission can be abused and misinterpreted. One cannot reasonably expect students to follow or accept their teacher’s ways when said ways are foreign. For instance a non-Chinese student will probably not follow all the Chinese martial arts customs/traditions of his Chinese teacher. “Permission” might not be the most accurate description, but it seems like this concept is leftover from a bygone time when learning the martial arts was like a private apprenticeship. The idea is that, a teacher would “give permission” to a student by explicitly acknowledging that the student has reached the skill level required to teach independently(such as running a branch school). It is never something that is requested. It is more like an explicit/formal approval and recognition that the student can represent the system/style and lineage and that the student may pass it on. For a loyal dedicated student like MA guy, it is a great honour to be told this. Respect, gratitude and appreciation tell him to thank his teacher by following tradition. The teacher-student relationship is what makes all the difference.

Some of the older Okinawan sensei who teach in a more traditional way would adapt their teachings to individual students, based on what they(the sensei’s) believed were the student’s strengths/weaknesses. In a way, a personalized curriculum. This way of doing things goes back to a time when things were done in secret or semi-secret and students of one sensei were few and scarcely even cross paths. This extreme is not common nowadays, but private and semi-private teaching is close. Personally had two Okinawan sensei who taught the same thing to everyone, but in different order, especially the older kata. After learning Naihanchi 1-3, one might learn Pinan 4 before Pinan 1 for instance. Some learned Chinto before either of the Passai(Koryu, Itosu, Matsumura versions). it makes logical sense to teach/learn the kata that have specific numbers(shodan, nidan, sandan etc.), but for all the older kata there doesn’t seem to be any ‘correct’ order.

This not pivoting correctly issue could be one of the reasons some karate people end up with hip/knee problems as they get older. Messing up hips or knees because of bad technique is probably the worst thing that can happen to a MAist or anyone who has always been active and hopes to continue well into old age.

Adding some clarifications to the original scenario/hypothetical situation: MA guy trained in country Y, where XYZ art originated while he lived there. MA guy’s teacher is the Chief of the main school which has branches in other countries except MA guy’s. MA guy is the only person who practices XYZ art in his country. MA guy trained daily for over 10 years before returning to his country. He remains a student of his teacher with whom he trains on yearly trips. MA guy’s teacher gave him permission to teach and they have discussed the idea of MA guy eventually running a branch school. MA guy practises almost everyday, usually at a local community centre. Being there so often, sometimes people stop to watch. The curious child and the grandmother are just the only ones so far who’ve done more than watch. MA guy is interested in teaching and allowed by his teacher to do it, under the condition that he doesn’t teach minors(under 18). This is also his teacher’s rule because he considers XYZ art too risky and dangerous for ´children’ to ´play with’.

Common concern about this pivoting issue is that if not done correctly or far enough, it can result in knee/foot/leg or hip injuries because of bad/wrong pivoting.

Thanks to everyone without who my only outlet to discuss martial arts with likeminded people would surely not be possible.

Where a lot of people have difficulty is not actually the ankle, what is referred to is the twist/turn on the ball of the support foot needed to get the heel towards the target.

Thank you

The are a lot of people who have difficulty turning/twisting their support foot for yoko-geri(side kick) and mawashi geri(roundhouse). What are some good exercises to focus on that part of kicking? How much does your style turn? Some will turn only about 45degrees and others almost 90 towards the target.

In a few MA schools/lineages(East Asian MA), teaching anyone outside one’s instructor school or having students requires formal explicit permission from said instructor. Also depending on the person’s skill/knowledge level, there may be limitations in place. Such as a 3dan(for example) being only allowed to teach adults up to brown belt.

The MA guy in our situation has been using the community centre/public gym to train by himself. The old lady noticed because MA guy trains there almost daily and at the same hours. This isn’t the first time other users have watched him train, and this is probably the reason the lady asked. Our MA guy learned and trained in his MA’s place of origin and travels there to train each year. If MA guy taught, he would be the only one teaching that style and lineage because there are no schools or others practising it in MA guy’s country

It would have been shocking if someone like Sensei8 wasn’t familiar with the “Chuck Norris” catalogue. Practically anybody teaching martial arts or running a store had piles of these. They would hand them out to new students when they joined and then whenever a new issue came out. Always looked forward to going through it, even when not specially ordering anything.

Anyone remember the old Century MA supply catalogue that was printed up to the late 90’s? Chuck Norris was in too many adds and too many cover pages to count. For a long time he was just the MA gear add guy. Been a fan since finding out about his authentic training in martial arts; military career, and of course the movies.

Just a question for the sake of argument about teaching martial arts: what do you think you would do differently? hypothetical situation: After recognizing you as “the martial arts guy” from the community centre(your frequent solo training place) a grandmother and two school age children come asking if you teach/how much for lessons? The MA guy has never taught formally or outside his instructor’s school. He knows he has been explicitly allowed to teach. The MA guy is still himself a student. The MA are very commonly considered a children’s activity; and assuming the adult was asking for the children MA guy refuses. Politely MA guy explains that he is allowed to teach but will not teach children. He also explains that although he would be the only one of his art and lineage, MA guy is himself a student and still training with his instructor of the last 10 years.

The same thing is often said about Shorin ryu. It is a saying to emphasize the importance of the kata as a fundamental kata, central to the style and recognized as such in a general sense. Sanchin, Naihanchi or Seisan are not really the property of, or even exclusive to one specific style or lineage. They are, however considered to be characteristic of certain styles. All Uechi-ryu and Goju-ryu (Naha-te) include sanchin and seisan in some variation. As every Shorin ryu (Shuri-te) style and off-shoots have some version of Naihanchi.

One thing that always seemed odd as a non-practicing observer of grappling/throwing systems; is the way almost nobody(including those practicing these) ever brings the question of how and what happens before and leading up to the moment the throw/lock is applied. The only part shown/taught are the actual throws/locks. Unsurprisingly, the more focus there is on competition/sporting grappling, the less there is on set-ups that have a key role in how effective the throws/locks will be. Little things like striking to momentarily stun or unbalance an attacker.

Forgetting the importance of setups from locks or throws is more common than one might expect. So much consideration and attention is given to setting up striking techniques and the very ideas of setting up a technique is often more frequently associated with martial arts focussed on striking. In grappling/throwing/joint locking systems such as classical jujutsu or aikido, the set-up is much less obvious in training. A common criticism is that many of the techniques would do poorly on a genuine attack situation. It may not be explicit or obvious in the way these systems approach training, but the truth is that most if not, all grappling/throwing or locking techniques are only possible and greatly enhanced when preceded by some kind of strike to decrease the attacker’s ability to resist being thrown or having a lock applied. Judo for instance, used to be taught with strikes in its early stages. Nowadays one would be hard pressed to find a judo dojo where these ´lost techniques ´ are still taught. Even in Japan’s official Kodokan dojos it is no longer a norm and quite rare.