Power

[Protagonist]

My sensei constantly tells me that I need to put more power and force into what I'm doing, either it be in sparring, kata, or whatever. Even though I accept his critique and would love to improve myself, I can't really find his advice very helpful if he doesn't tell me how to put more power into what I do. I have no idea if I'm just not rotating my hips enough, if it's due to low self-esteem and lack of assertiveness, or if I just need to somehow dig deep into my soul and force out the aggressiveness somehow. So, karateforums, what should I do?

[tallgeese]

Could be alot of things really. Without seeing exactly what you're doing it's really hard to diagnose.

Lack of good hip rotation certainly leads the list, espically when we talk about mechanics. Possibly, you could be looking at a compromised stance as well or a lack of presicion in the stirke itself.

From the other angle, it could definatly be a mindset problem. Setting your mind through your target is important. Like, real important. Are you strkining thru your targets? Really, without specifics it's hard to tell.

Have you talked to your instructor about needing a bit more clairification. He should be able to give you better advice seeing how he's the one looking at what your doing. Some guys forget that sometimes they need to break things down a bit more than they are.

That's probibly the best place to start.

[Wado-AJ]

I'm with Tallgeese here.

I don't know the preferences of your style and what your sensei means with power. Pushing a car is also power, but not the same as energy transfer power in karate.

one possible "solution"

to be relaxed and more speedy during the punch, think of punching from the elbow, that is. Think of moving the elbow forward. If you think of the elbow unstead of the fist, the underarm tends to be relaxed easier as you are not focussing on it. This makes the arm less tensed/rigid, so you can hit faster. If you have a good contraction this might increase your "power".

however, without any video of yourself it is hard to tell.. and even with a video it is hard to tell. Maybe just ask your sensei for more detailed or focussed comments. If he can't do that then maybe you should question his knowlegde.

[joesteph]

Setting your mind through your target is important. Like, real important. Are you strkining thru your targets? Really, without specifics it's hard to tell.

Have you talked to your instructor about needing a bit more clairification.

There was a teenager in my dojang who had the physical ability to really give a strong punch, and who would fire off a shot full blast . . . to tap the target. She wasn't punching through the target at all, not burying her fist into it, so her "power" was a "tap."

This is fine for non-contact sparring, or practicing self-defense techniques (so that you don't take your partner's head off while s/he's standing there like a sitting duck to let you practice the technique), but it's not what you do if hitting BOB or a WaveMaster in the dojang, or an adversary in a real-life situation.

Fortunately, our instructor was on top of things--and clear.

[Wa-No-Michi]

I agree with all said above.

You should look to your sensei for advice, after all, that's what you are paying him/her for.

Have you tried hitting stuff? Sounds silly but often a good session of Makiwara training, or bag training, can serve to get everything into perspective.

Yes, power is all about the hips, correct weight distribution, good body mechanics and timing etc. etc., and a good way to ensure these are all in the right place is to practice by hitting a static target. Makiwara / Bag work.

@ Wado AJ "Makiwara" or "Makiwari"

[Rateh]

Then there is always the possibility that it could be in your head. That's not an insult. Sometimes people don't realize how much power they actually have. I know I didn't. Took me years till I was able to use power to my potential. In that case it's about a mindset rather than technique.

[bushido_man96]

I agree that focus on bagwork can help to improve your power. If you have good hip motion, then staying relaxed to enhance your speed, while tightening at the end of the technique may help.

[DWx]

As said above, its hard to know what to suggest without seeing what you're currently doing. I would say though that speed, or more specifically acceleration is very important for power. It doesn't matter how much mass you have, if you don't have a decent amount of acceleration the impact at the end of your technique will be severly limited. Also like other have said, working your technique to finish through the target rather than on the target will also affect how much power you transfer.

[unknownstyle]

depemds on rank really, he could be talking about weight transfer, body rotation, or focus and intent. i tell my students when doing a kata or sparring that they have to have intent behind their strikes or they will never be as powerful as they want them to be.

[Tiger1962]

My sensei constantly tells me that I need to put more power and force into what I'm doing, either it be in sparring, kata, or whatever. Even though I accept his critique and would love to improve myself, I can't really find his advice very helpful if he doesn't tell me how to put more power into what I do. I have no idea if I'm just not rotating my hips enough, if it's due to low self-esteem and lack of assertiveness, or if I just need to somehow dig deep into my soul and force out the aggressiveness somehow. So, karateforums, what should I do?

I would take this to mean: put more intent into what you are doing. Whether its a block or a punch. Do it like you mean it; forcefully, not like (for example) as if you were swatting a fly away. If you are going to punch a target, put force into your punch as if you were really striking an enemy who's about to hit you.

Does that help a bit ?