Karate jumps

[Shotokan_Master]

hiya every 1, this is me 1st time on here so i hope im doin this rite.

 

i have been practising karate for 7 years now in England. I am currently training under the instruction of Sensi Mick Davies. Throughout my years in karate i have participated in many kata competitions and have achieved over 300 trophies.

 

My favourite katas are Unsu, Kankusho, Empi and Kankudai. i can perform all the jumps really well and with great ease. however i was wandering if there are any simple tips to help improve the hight of your jumps and landing of jumps.

 

Shotokan practitioners would be preferred to reply to this topic, however all tips would be greatly obliged

 

Many thanks

 

[cathal]

First of all, welcome to KF Shotokan_Master

 

I'm sorry but I am a little hesitant. You have been training for seven years under a sensei, and have earned over 300 trophies, and you perform all jumps really well and with great ease...yet you want tips on how to perform them well.

 

So either you aren't doing the jumps well, and have earned the trophies on other aspects of your performances, or you are exaggerating on your successes.

 

As for the jumps themselves, they aren't meant to be very high. Exercise your legs, the stronger they are the better you'll land. Don't lean while jumping, or you could injure yourself in landing, or not land properly.

[AnonymousOne]

AIR ALERT III: THE COMPLETE VERTICAL JUMP PROGRAM

 

http://www.home.no/slominski/Air%20Alert%20III.htm

 

[cathal]

Not a bad site

[Shotokan_Master]

sorry if my request was a little confusing. What i ment was, i can perform the jumps well but i can not get enough hight.

 

Sorry for any confusion and thanks for the replies

 

[informer]

what is the bunkai of those jumps?

[pmeckiff]

Generally speaking, the jumps are there to evade a weapon attack, which would otherwise be unblockable....i think

[username9]

^^ That is how we get them explained to us.

 

But Sensei Iain Abernethy might disagree in his books.

 

Try some plyometric training to start with - that way your muscles will become more "explosive" and you should get to jump higher.

 

Secondly - tuck your knees right up when you jump - that way it gives the effect of a higher jump!

[cathal]

The jumps for Kanku Sho/Dai are to avoid a blow, and as you land you strike. So they are done with a lot of kime and power. The issue I notice with people doing this kata is their chin, most tend to keep it down. Which of course will cause them to lose power, so keep your chin up. (Same deal with the jump in Empi.) But when you've completed the crescent part, make sure your leg goes out behind you with a lot of power, because that's a second kick.

[Shorin Ryuu]

The jumps in Kusanku Sho/Dai are actually the newer way of doing them, so I don't prescribe to that sort of application for them. The older way doesn't take you airborne when you do them (leaving me to believe it's more of a takedown). As for the chin, because of our varying explanations and ways of doing the moves themselves, I keep it down because lifting it does two things: causes your potential energy to shift up dangerously (since I'm not jumping, I don't want to do this) and it makes you vulnerable. Just to make sure, we're talking in the beginning and not the end, right? In the end, it's face forward (much easier to visualize than using the chin).

 

As for jumps in general, I've had a harder time buying into the "leaping high to avoid a blow". I can buy into a shuffle or in more drastic cases, a movement designed to gain great distance, but a full-blown jump up in the air leaves you far too vulnerable and isn't quite practical. If you can jump that high, you can jump backwards or in some other direction. If you're out of range or off-line, you're momentarily safe. If you simply rely on vertical height, you're risking far too much using something with only a small chance of success in the first place.