27 Movements

[Alan Armstrong]

Do you regularly practice your 27 karate movements?

[MatsuShinshii]

Not in those terms and not that number but yes I/we practice the foundational techniques.

[sensei8]

Not in those terms and not that number but yes I/we practice the foundational techniques.

I wholeheartedly concur, MatsuShinshii!!

[Alan Armstrong]

27 karate movements could seem similar to using the alphabet?

Would new students to karate benefit from learning these 27 movements?

[MatsuShinshii]

All beginning students learn the fundamentals of the art - how to punch, kick, strike correctly. They are taught the proper body mechanics and how to transition from one stance to the next.

Having said that, and again, not like it is shown on the video for our art.

I'm not sure how 27 movements translate into a benefit. If the student doesn't understand the body mechanics of the basics, how does putting them together accomplish anything?

My answer would be no.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Any serious karateka will spend a long time training the fundamentals and practising basics to refine them continuously.

Why 27 movments and how was this number determined? What exactly is counted as 1 movement? One could reasonably argue that this will slightly differ depending on the karateka and the karate concerned.

[MatsuShinshii]

Depending on the art this means nothing or means everything.

Personally I this means nothing as 27 moves don't come close to accurately describing my art.

This is very subjective.

[Spartacus Maximus]

There does not seem to be much of a purpose to attempting to number the fundamentals or basics. Maybe it is something that some instructors do to break down their curriculum to make it easier to teach.

It is probably better to just remember that the simplest things are usually the most important and that in order to improve one’s skills it is important to have a good grasp of these before starting something else.