The definition of technique is a “method of accomplishing a desired aim”. In the Martial Arts our aim is mastery of our bodies, minds and self. Like everything in life the road to mastery begins with the basics. The basics of the martial arts lie in technique. The techniques we learn are precise having been developed and perfected over hundred’s of years.
There is a famous saying “1,000 days of training a beginner, 10,000 days of training, a glimpse of the mysteries”. This saying is a quote by Mas Oyama, the founder of Kyokushinkai Karate. Before we discuss the meaning of the saying we should put it into perspective. 1,000 days is equal to 2 years and 9 months. 10,000 days is equal to 27 years and 5 months. Could this be correct? That is a LOT of time! The times may vary but the message is most certainly true. We are all beginners in life no matter what our age. While this is not the reason I am writing this article it is important to maintain our perspective.
The above quote is meant to drive home the point that no matter our age or level of experience, only with constant dedication and commitment do we attain Mastery and thereby gain a form of enlightenment. In ancient times, new Martial Arts students were required to practice the same movement everyday for one year. The purpose was to perfect the technique of that one movement. While mainstream Martial Arts rarely uses this form of instruction, the principle remains to be true. This is why even the master does not neglect the warm-up and routine exercises used to help the beginner learn.
What does daily practice have to do with technique? Technique is everything in the martial arts and life. If a builder does not follow proper techniques when building a structure, it is sure to fail. Do not mistaken; the structure may look perfect but when put to the test it will most certainly fail. The basic techniques we learn in the Martial Arts are our foundation. If we neglect them not only will we never attain Mastery, we will meet with disastrous failure when put to the test.
When teaching a favorite reference is the original “Karate Kid” movie. This isn’t a joke, that movie portrays true karate and the importance of learning the basics well. The Karate Kid also uses the teachings of Mas Oyama! Daniel uses one of Mas Oyamas books in the movie when practicing. Here we have a student (Daniel) eager to become a Martial Arts expert so he can defend himself. His instructor understands that we can gain nothing worthwhile quickly and begins to teach Daniel the basic techniques thereby creating a strong foundation. Watch the movie to see if you can pickup on all the other lessons it contains.
Too often Martial Arts students skip the basics so they can learn some Jackie Chan style moves. Too often Instructors are willing to skip teaching the basics so they can keep their students interest and increase their profits. The problem with either situation is the foundation suffers; these students do not have the foundation to perform correctly use and adapt the basics in a real world situation. In the beginning of the “Karate Kid” Daniel gets into a scuffle on the beach, while he knows the basics of Karate he lacks perfection of these basics. As a result, he loses. Focusing on learning the basic techniques to perfection provides a solid foundation from which to build Mastery of all techniques so they become second nature. When no thought is necessary your reaction time increases significantly and this gives you a distinct advantage. Of course reacting quickly is useless without the correct reaction! This is the importance of technique. Without mastering the basic physical techniques, a Martial Arts student has no hope of attaining the higher rewards of dedication to the Martial Arts. The student will never know inner peace, self-control, personal achievement, and the true nonaggression that is the Martial Arts.
I always teach my students that “Sticks and Stones will Break my Bones but Names will Never Hurt Me”. I don’t put much stock in words unless they are coming from someone who’s opinion I truly care about. But then I saw the above comic and I thought, perhaps there are some words, in certain situations that we need to be careful not to use! …Especially since we cannot control how others will react and many consider words more dangerous then sticks or stones!
I thought I would post a few graphics on the birthday of this blog so I could look back at how the traffic has grown. I’d like to thank everyone for all of your support and encouragement. Here’s to continued success!
We make a fist from the moment we are born, clenching our fists against the unknown. Fully grown we are still prone to instinctively clench our fists in sudden stressful or fearful situations. But as we grow and mature many of us forget the proper way to make a fist. Without this knowledge we stand a better chance of hurting ourselves then those we would defend ourselves from.
The fist, or closed fist is the most well-known of the Martial Arts form. The karate chop may be more popular, but the fist is our main defensive weapon. Simply clenching your fingers into your palm does not necessarily make a correct fist. There are important facts to master before learning to use your fists properly.
The two pictures above demonstrate a correctly formed fist from the side and top. Notice the fingers are all curled in as tightly as possible, and the thumb is folded down over the second row of finger segments. The tighter the fist the more powerful it is and the less it will hurt the owner. If a fist is not tightly clenched then some of the striking force goes to compressing the fist. In a tightly formed fist very little of the striking force is lost to compression meaning most of the force is applied to the surface you are striking (like the face). This however is not true unless you are striking with the correct surface of the fist.
The striking surface is the one inch square beginning at the top of the index and middle finger knuckles, downward. The direction of the strike and the alignment of the supporting wrist are also incredibly important. In the following picture notice that the wrist is aligned with the two wrist bones (metacarpals) so that the any backwards force will distribute and dispress through them. The wrist-fist alignment must not allow for any torque of side force to be applied to the wrist bones, meaning the wrist need to be straight.
The truth of the above rules are simple principle to demonstrate with a heavy bag or willing padded opponent.
One more important option remains, to make a horizontal strike or a twisting strike. I horizontal strike means that the fist begins and ends in the same orientation (palm facing the floor, wall or ceiling without change). This is a straight punch from a ready position. With a twisting or screwed strike (classic karate strike) your fist begins palm up and ends palm down at the moment of impact. This unscrewing motion can create a vortex or twisting effect through the body structure and fluids thus resulting in a more penetrating strike. This of course is more difficult to perfect but once performed correctly the difference is immediately noticeable.
With a straight punch there is less room for error and therefore this is a safer punch for a beginner. However the torque punch or twisting strike can be significantly more powerful. With either type of strike though it is important to remember that your finger tightness, wrist position and orientation are critical to correctly using this defensive weapon. Incorrect positioning, orientation of the wrist or tightness of the fingers can result in broken bones for you not your opponent! When training practice slowly to perfect the form and technique then gradually increase the impact to a padded target to avoid injury. Of course please alos seek the instruction of a qualified instructor.
This is an interesting experiment/prank that was carried out in Grand Central Station in New York City. 207 people froze for 5 minutes and held their position without moving or outward reaction to their surroundings. At least one of the frozen people was poked by someone trying to figure this out. So why is this of interest to a Martial Artist? For one it is a great display of self-control! Self-control is one of the cornerstones of Martial Arts training, without it we stand little chance of success. Yet many practitioners give it little attention. One drill I have done with my students is to have them freeze on command when practicing. This can be done with almost any form including sparring and can be a great instructional tool. This helps the student learn to control their motor functions for instant response. Once frozen it is trivial for you to point out any mistakes in form but more importantly it is easy for the student to “see” their own mistakes. To often their is a mental gap between what we are told and what we preceive to be the truth, freeze training can help bridge that gap. Combine with the lesson of fine motor skill control and perfection of form, freeze training is a win-win combination! For fun though watch the video, perhaps you will think of some other uses for freeze training, regardless it is amusing!
There is another lesson here that deals with how people react to behavior they do not expect. In the video I don’t see anyone calling the police or actively attempting to figure out why the people aren’t moving. Personally I can think of a few things I would have tried, like going through one of their purses or pulling out someone’s wallet!! If they didn’t move then I’d have to seriously consider calling the authorities as then I’d have something concrete to give them! It would have been interesting to see the reaction of one of the frozen people to this type of reaction, since that is something they wouldn’t expect! In any situation doing what isn’t expected is usually a good thing because it can often give you enough of an advantage to either win or escape. Just a thought…
Being a huge fan of the Karate Kid Movie this caught my eye. The Music group No More Kings has a song out called Sweep the Leg which focuses entirely on the order from Johnnie’s Sensei to do just that. The song is great on its own merit, catchy tune and lirics, but the music video is a masterpiece! See for yourself and post a comment with your reactions…
Did you watch closely? Yes those were ALL the original actors for The Karate Kid!!
This is not their only good song, actually most of their work is top notch, so, if you enjoy it as much as I did you can purchase their whole album here:
The other day I went to the local video store and rented Pride. I will write another post about that because it is an awesome movie. But as I checked out the clerk began to engage me in a conversation about the economy, the bad times ahead and the evils of the American empire and the current President. He began this conversation like so many people never considering that I may not share his world view, that in itself always amuses me. Not considering someone may have a counterpoint means your intellect can’t comprehend someone not agreeing with you. If you follow that thinking this leads to one of two conclusions. One the person feels they have the inside scoop on all legitimate knowledge and therefore are smarter then you, ego. Or, they their view of the world is so narrow they cannot comprehend that any perspective other then their own can exist, ignorance and ego. In either case pretty much they are the Village Idiot. I do not say that because I disagree with them, I label a lot of people who agree with me as Village Idiots too. These are people who grab a hold of the first point of view they hear and cling to it like the Gospel without question or rational thought. What I love about the Village Idiot is that they fall prey to the very thing they profess you have fallen prey to. Case and point he began explaining that America was evil and that the ONLY thing America was good at was convincing the rest of the world to do that which was bad. Then followed the classic explanation of the propaganda and misinformation the “right” put forth to keep us down. The conversation quickly degraded when I pointed out some historical facts that countered many of his beliefs. He changed course and endorsed Obama stating that there was still hope for all of us! I asked him why he felt Obama was worthy of his loyalty. He started talking about change without saying anything. I reminded him that Obama was as much a part of the establishment he loathes as the other candidates, being an multi-millionaire and current Senator with zero record of fighting the system. He immediately suggested I read a book written by someone he held in high regard feeling this would remove the blindfold from my eyes so that I could see the world as clearly as he. I didn’t have the heart or the time to tell him that I had already read the book he suggested! You see I like to understand my enemies better then my friends.
This conversation got me to thinking about the current plight of the world and my responsibility to it. Sadly I do feel responsible. I say sadly because I would like to be like so many other Americans and bury my head in the sand and focus on my family. But then I would be like so many Colonists who were willing to give England their due until their backs were against the wall. Unfortunately I am not nearly as wise or learned as our Founding Fathers. What I do do is attempt to get people to think, even the Village Idiots. Most people do not like to confront their beliefs or face confrontation. It is easier to just go along thinking that you can just get along. Unfortunately history teaches us that that just isn’t the case. The Martial Arts also teaches us that this is not the case. How many Instructors will counsel a student confronted with a Bully that they should just give them what they want and perhaps they’ll want to be their friend? If you answer yes to that then you need to either get a new instructor or send me a check for $1,000.00 a month…or else! Seriously you instruct the student to stand up for themselves. Depending on the situation that may include going to the authorities or punching them in the nose!
Why is it that the above example is so clear to almost everyone? Because it is almost common sense. For those that have never faced a conflict like that though the answer is not clear. Mostly people assume if they just give them what they want they will be left alone…wrong…they will want more. I need to say this though, many people will say fighting doesn’t solve anything. I agree but often you have no option to fight and if you wait to long you may not even have the option to fight having given so much ground that your opponent has complete power over you. Why should the bully be the only one with a voice? What does this have to do with the Village Idiot? Most of us just quietly give them voice. Perhaps I will use my voice by no longer patronizing that business, I’m not sure. But one thing that I do know and I told the Village Idiot this. Change doesn’t come from a movement for a movement is nothing more then a new establishment and you never know if an establishment will be good or bad until it is in power. Change comes from the people, not as a mob but as thoughtful individuals. The only country where that type of power still exists is in America, socialism is quickly sweeping the world into a new era of modern communism and if we aren’t careful it could be hundreds or thousands of years before our children have a voice again.
Sen means “before”, Sei means “life, birth, living or lived”. Thus a Sensei is someone who has experienced something before you. He has walked the path you are planning to follow before you, he can tell you what to do. In more general terms, it’s a teacher, normally the head instructor of the Dojo you are attending.
A Sensei should be a person you can take inspiration from, whom you respect but feel comfortable enough turning to in a time of need. A Sensei should not use their students as tools for their egos to prove how superior they are. To the contrary the Sensei should lead their students to discover their strengths and weaknesses so they may grow and florist in the Martial Arts and life.
Find the answers to this and many more questions in the New KarateTraining.org Frequently Asked Questions section!
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The definition of technique is a “method of accomplishing a desired aim”. In the Martial Arts our aim is mastery of our bodies, minds and self. Like everything in life the road to mastery begins with the basics. The basics of the martial arts lie in technique. The techniques we learn are precise having been developed and perfected over hundred’s of years.
which focuses entirely on the order from Johnnie’s Sensei to do just that. The song is great on its own merit, catchy tune and lirics, but the music video is a masterpiece! See for yourself and post a comment with your reactions…
The other day I went to the local video store and rented Pride. I will write another post about that because it is an awesome movie. But as I checked out the clerk began to engage me in a conversation about the economy, the bad times ahead and the evils of the American empire and the current President. He began this conversation like so many people never considering that I may not share his world view, that in itself always amuses me. Not considering someone may have a counterpoint means your intellect can’t comprehend someone not agreeing with you. If you follow that thinking this leads to one of two conclusions. One the person feels they have the inside scoop on all legitimate knowledge and therefore are smarter then you, ego. Or, they their view of the world is so narrow they cannot comprehend that any perspective other then their own can exist, ignorance and ego. In either case pretty much they are the Village Idiot. I do not say that because I disagree with them, I label a lot of people who agree with me as Village Idiots too. These are people who grab a hold of the first point of view they hear and cling to it like the Gospel without question or rational thought. What I love about the Village Idiot is that they fall prey to the very thing they profess you have fallen prey to. Case and point he began explaining that America was evil and that the ONLY thing America was good at was convincing the rest of the world to do that which was bad. Then followed the classic explanation of the propaganda and misinformation the “right” put forth to keep us down. The conversation quickly degraded when I pointed out some historical facts that countered many of his beliefs. He changed course and endorsed Obama stating that there was still hope for all of us! I asked him why he felt Obama was worthy of his loyalty. He started talking about change without saying anything. I reminded him that Obama was as much a part of the establishment he loathes as the other candidates, being an multi-millionaire and current Senator with zero record of fighting the system. He immediately suggested I read a book written by someone he held in high regard feeling this would remove the blindfold from my eyes so that I could see the world as clearly as he. I didn’t have the heart or the time to tell him that I had already read the book he suggested! You see I like to understand my enemies better then my friends.
