A new approach to my karate

[shortyafter]

Hi all. This isn't exactly brand new for me but it is a realization that has been even more profound as of late. I've been training for 3 years now and I find that the way I'm accustomed to generating power is through tensing and brute force. If I'm not as strong as I want to be - just give it more grit and try harder. This is almost like my natural, inexperienced way of being.

But I've found there's another way. The path of total relaxation that allows me to channel power in an efficient, focused way instead of expending all my energy wastefully.

For example, my Sensei gave me a stretching regimen to improve my kicks. I noticed quick progress, but I was out of town for 3 months and continued the same regimen. Every other day, dreading the stretching, and just forcing myself to do it and exerting more energy into the stretch. As you may guess my flexibility did not improve. One day I decided, I would change up the regimen, and stretch from a place of relaxation. Giving my body the chance to expand and grow naturally rather than fighting against my physiology. I would stretch less but in a way that is more agreeable to my mind, body, and spirit. And in just a couple of weeks I am seeing a big difference in my flexibility and the height of my kicks.

This, I think, will be true for all facets of my karate. I can remember, a couple of specific times when relaxation took me. One, a kata, where everything slowed down and the kata truly became an art. And, two, my first full contact fight where I had been having a rough week, and I said to myself - "I made it through this week, I will make it through this fight. You have nothing to worry about". My opponent was no match. I only found out a year later that in a 30 second fight I had actually broken his rib. He was a good sport about it and because he continued training at the same dojo is now my Senpai. But that immense power came from a place of total relaxation.

So now, I will trust more in that relaxation. But perhaps that's too much effort on my part. I will simply let that relaxation take me. I will allow that to be my karate, I will allow that to generate force for me.

Funkoshi Sensei in his 20 precepts talks about "myo" - subtle secrets. I think this kind of thing is what he was talking about. My karate feels more mature now. It's subtle, yes. The average onlooker may see no difference at all. But I see it. It's like, "ah, yes, I know where I need to go now".

[singularity6]

I'm still waiting for that "relaxation epiphany." My instructors always tell me I need to relax.

[Kyonovice]

I have had numerous instructors over the years and pretty much all of them in my later life have told me I need to relax, strong in shoulders but relax more...must be something in what they are saying, I just wish I could relax more in my training!

[mushybees]

Concentric contraction feels strong when punching, kicking etc but it feels strong because you are holding back energy. The muscles shorten and you tense. Can feel great but it's deceiving.

Eccentric contraction means the muscle lengthens and the energy you've generated is efficiently transferred to your target. Doesn't feel as strong but there's also a satisfaction in feeling all that energy leave through, for example, your hands.

What I do is imagine my hands or feet extending further than they really do and visualising the path the energy is taking through my body. That epiphany is wonderful when it comes, it's like the rabbit hole has gone even deeper and you begin to realise how shallow your understanding of your art was.

[Shizentai]

"relaxation epiphany."

It's so true! That's exactly what it is!

I'm someone who has had the build of a wet noodle most of my life, so you'd think I'd have come to that same realization sooner than others, but not really. It wasn't until I accidentally took too much benadryl before class (a 5-hour prior emergency situation), and found myself suddenly unable to tense normally RIGHT in the middle of a kumite match in front of everyone. Then it hit me as hard as my opponent (whom I had never bested in a match before) hit the floor. The next day, after my movements were normal again, I was thinking about it and decided to film myself doing kata two ways: once the way I thought had been correct, with a good amount of tension just at the end, or so I thought, and once focusing just on relaxation and correct movement timing. The relaxed version every single time looked correct, and the version that felt best looked stiff and slow. Then I thought "Well if it works in kumite and in kata... let's try it in kihon." And the rest is history. Though I will say that makiwara training was where it was the most apparent. My sound was finally as loud and as crisp as the top-ranking men in my dojo. I had just written it off that I would never get quite to that level, but I was wrong.

I'm now going through a similar epiphany with speed versus timing. Slowing things down to reduce superfluous movement and ultimately make things faster. I realize now that this is the way to a full life of martial arts. Speed and reaction time are good when you are young, but a person can fashion more staying solutions to underlie those skills.

[shortyafter]

Shizentai - great post, thanks! I will have to chug some benadryl before my next class

[Alan Armstrong]

Hi shortyafter, picked out this video, hope this applies to you; it starts off sounding alot like high school but eventually it makes sense.

[shortyafter]

Hi shortyafter, picked out this video, hope this applies to you; it starts off sounding alot like high school but eventually it makes sense.

Hi Alan, very interesting video, thanks. Definitely relevant and useful. Do you happen to be the Alan in the video?

[Alan Armstrong]

Hi shortyafter, picked out this video, hope this applies to you; it starts off sounding alot like high school but eventually it makes sense.

Hi Alan, very interesting video, thanks. Definitely relevant and useful. Do you happen to be the Alan in the video?

Happy to hear that the video was relevant to you and no I'm not the Alan assisting in the video; just a coincidence having the same name.