Useing your hips

[weaponless]

Practice throwing punches etc., using only hip movement. What I mean by that is don't throw the punch...have your hands in postion, but when you throw the punch, keep your elbows in and just feel the rotation (think of a boxer who warms up and his trunk seems to swing left and right yet his arms don't extend into a punch). Then, slowly start adding the arm movement and before you know it, the hip rotation will be there without you having to think about. On top of this, I have often seen in the dojo that when students are working out certain sequences, etc., and are doing them at half speed, that they simply toss their arms out, that because it's half speed, they throw their punches in a lazy fashion.... When you' re doing the techniques at any speed, do it with the full rotation of the hips. If you half-* it when things are done at a moderate speed, the likeliness of the rotation being absent when done at full tilt is much greater.

I like Bruce Lee's idea on this. Think of your centre as the centre of a circle, and when you strike, envision it as tracing the outline of the circle to the target. If you can do this, then your hips are already doing the right thing.

[Killer Miller]

I understand what you are say weaponless, but the circle concept is not the best training method to develop hip rotation. What happens is, they "think" too much instead of doing the right movement with the right part of their body. When you say "think" circle, yes it's true that they will rotate, but they mis-interpret what that really means. Most interpret that as meaning to tense the upper body and shoulders in the process which severly slows down the action. When in reality, the upper body and shoulders have be be totally inactive - dead like. In order for a student to truly "get it," you have to "mentally" cut off their arms/shoulders and get them out of the picture. Then work specifically on the hips, proper breathing and starting speed of the hips. Then bring the arms active into the picture and hip rotation happens naturally with 3-times the speed and power.

This mis-interpretation is why I'm totally against the circle, rotate arms/upper body concepts when developing techniques that require hip rotation/vibration as a natural function. They just never get it in time and students develop bad habits that are hard to break later on... I also see this concept explained in other sports by "experts" that totally mis-lead the student in their development.

- Killer -

[weaponless]

What you are saying was what I was trying to say. Thanks for explaining it further. I guess maybe I didn't explain it well, and I agree with you that the point is missed by many. I, personally have never had any problem with hip rotation ( I was taught to box before I hit puberty) so I try to explain it in a way that seems to make most sense... I don't know, maybe it isn't really an explanable thing. Bruce's analogy seems to make perfect sense to me, but I can see your point on how it can be misconstrued and can lead to improper technique based on a poor understanding of the concept. And I really didn't mean that they should be thinking about it when they are doing it, I guess I chose my words poorly. I agree completely that if you have to think about what your doing, you've already lost.

I completely understand what you mean when you said, "mentally cutting off the arms, etc.".... it was kind of what I was getting at when I said to practice throwing punches without using your arms at all, letting the hip rotation carry your shoulder to the target, and by default your arm which is attached to the shoulder. I think I just confused things again... Oh well.... Miller, I think you have an idea about what I'm trying to say.

[kihonkai]

Hi Killer Miller.

That sounds like a good idea with the ping pong balls thanks!

I do Shotokan Karate. JKA in Scotland

[Hobbes]

Killer, you have some interesting training methods. I aplaud you for your creativity. I use a superball and a thick bit of elastic and tie it to the knot of the student belt. then when they whip their hips around, they can feel the ball's impact. Feed back is good, especially the immediate kind.

[Killer Miller]

Thanks Hobbes. I always tried to be creative with my classes - especially with young kids. You have to make it fun as well as get the point across.

- Killer -

[Hitman]

Killer Miller...I will be using that in my classes from now on. GREAT idea!!

Here's one I like to do...when you practice techniques or kata, you often hear that you want to hear your Gi "pop" with each punch or kick. It's a decent indicator of generating power in your technique. Now, try doing this with your hands grabbing the back of your belt. Just reach behind you, slip your hands down through your belt and grab on. Start with very basic waza or kata and watch yourself in a mirror (if your school has one.) When you are "throwing" a punch without actually moving your arm, you will see very quickly how much motion you are generating with your hips. Still haven't figured out how to do this with kicks though...

[palatoss]

But when you flip your wrist over, and as you impact, snap your waist (not your shoulder) backward.

What is the advantage in snapping your waist back on impact? In Shotokan I've been teached to keep the hip and waist thrusting forward in the time of impact. Of course if you are doing a combo you'll twist hips accordingly but this is only to generate power in the follow-up technique. If I train a single yakuzuki for example, I try to keep my hips forward in the end. Is this pull-back method same as vibration?

[Hitman]

Now, this is an interesting little tidbit that confused the heck out of me for quite some time. Why would you snap your technique BACK, if you are trying to drive the guy's innards across the pavement. It was explained to me that it depends on what you are trying to do. If this is your Coup de Grace or Ikken Hisatsu (one strike kill) technique, by all means deliver as much of the blow into and preferrably THROUGH your opponent as you can. However, with most techniques, your hand (fist) should be returned as quickly as possible to prevent the opponent from grabbing onto it and performing a lock, throw etc, on you. Just as your hips innitiate the forward movement of your punch, your hips should also begin the recovery of that punch.

Kihonkai...any chance you know Malcolm Phipps-Sensei?? If so, tell him Cox Sensei from USA said Hello...

[shogeri]

I was explaining a fa-jing movement, and many karate styles are picking up on it.

Basically you are avoiding taking the rebound energy back into your own hand, arm, and then body.

You still explode into your opponent, and strike through them, but you do so not as a lion who bores through, but like a snake or a dragon {or similiar striking creature}might. Which means to strike in a truly circular manner, rather than linear.

Strike and recoil, then strike again, and again.

For fa-jing to exist there must be a combining of mass, speed, timing, coordination and breath, only then will one be able to utilise all of one's full potential in the attack.

As most understand, strength is a static force. Jing as with fajing is a dynamic representation of such force. The normal karate or kung fu practitioner relies upon the normal parameters of strength and power while performing strikes. However, those that strike using fa-jing, know that when the body is relaxed and sunk, the jing is gathered and concentrated by the mind and can be released at will in various forms to a particular part of the body. Jing can be fast or slow, hard or soft, tight or loose, stiff or springy, delayed or explosive. As in karate, the powerhouse of jing lies in the lower pit of the abdomen, released through the waist. Its energy is permeated throughout the body when the body is in as near perfect form as it can get. Jing is intimately related to breathing, and proper physiological form (posture) and function.

As a dynamic force, jing is governed by the laws of Newtonian physics. Take the equation F = md/t, for example. Jing as a dynamic force can be increased by a corresponding increase in the mass, distance and the speed of delivery. Although the weight of your body is finite, the mass can be concentrated by lowering the centre of gravity at the point of execution. Distance can be increased without pulling back, by executing your movement in a circular and/or screw action. When you pull your waist back, into its regular position, not only do you not absorb the rebound energy, you are finishing the circular, and or resetting up the spring action or capacity of your body.

Also, speed can be increased by proper means of breathing and muscle relaxation and tension at the appropriate time with correct posture.

Watch any authentic Chen style Taijiquan Master and you will see a total body commitment to the attack, every sinew, bone and muscle each adding to the total power upon impact.

Aikido Masters also move wth intent and on the axis or centerline, and with their whole body directing the movement and coordinated with the mind.

Bruce struck with more than just his waist and hips. He threw his whole frame into it, and then he coiled back. His striking methods were very simliar to Taijiquan, but had a flavor all their own.

Fa-jing goes beyond muscular power, it is a sub-conscious reaction sort of like a sneeze but controlled to the point where we are able to execute it at any time unlike the sneeze.

Many of the Shito-ryu and Goju Ryu advanced techniques resemble those from Taijiquan.

Later!