A NEW “BEST TRAINING POINT”

Shimizu sensei at the JKA Honbu dojo was the instructor in May of 2023. We went through many drills but two points have stuck with me from the training that day.

1. Do not lean back or forward when pushing off with a punch or kick, or when stepping back with a block. Also do not raise up. Very important because it slows you down and also can make you off balance and/or easy prey for a sweeping technique.
2. When attacking or defending (kicking, punching, blocking), do not make adjustments for hikite. Just go! It is difficult to do sometimes because we are taught to always use hikite. But, as Sensei stated: just go!

Learned this probably my first year of practicing karate (1978) like everyone else. But through the years I’ve become sloppy, therefore effectiveness of this powerful kick has suffered. I’m talking about the ushiro geri (back kick). Sensei Brewer at the Pekin dojo was kind enough to re-enlighten me and lately I have been having fun catching my training partners with it.

When practicing the kick, be sure to spin (either clockwise or counterclockwise-depending on which leg is kicking) quickly and without coming up in your stance, pivoting on the non-kicking foot. At the end of the spin around, your feet should be together, making your knees touch as you thrust out with the kicking leg. If your knees touch before the kick, the kick will be on target and will not miss off to one side or the other. Conversely, if the knees do not touch, the kick can easily be off to the side of the target, at best allowing for a glancing blow to the target. At worst missing the target completely.

It is important also to try to look at your target before executing the spin. It is not necessary to see clearly but to just know where the target is. If you catch a view of the target and brush your knees during the delivery, the kick will find its mark quite easily.

Remember, the heel is the part of the foot that should make contact with the target, NOT THE BALL OF THE FOOT OR THE TOES! And try not to bend forward (away from the target) too much. Think entering the target.

Please practice the above on your heavy bag (you do have one, right?).

First of all-for beginners-here is how to make a fist.

1) Start with open hand.
2) Curl the fingers inward, starting with the little finger. The intent is to have the tip of each finger end up just about where the callous usually forms. You may have to push the finger tips to make this happen at first.
3) Roll the rest of the hand a bit and then “lock” the fingers with the thumb at a point close to the first knuckles of the index and middle fingers.
4) You should now have a 90 degree angle formed by the top of the hand and the first knuckle to second knuckle expanse. It is with this “square” surface that you make contact with a target (and only the index & middle finger surface, not the ring & little finger surface). Notice the position of the wrist. It is also straight, not bent upwards or downwards.
5) When opening the hand, you should clearly see marks near the callous points where the finger tips have been “locked down”. This indicates correct fist formation.

Keep it tight… .

Learned a long time ago (maybe my first lesson?) to make a tight fist. What I relearned recently is to always keep it tight (a heavy fist), even when relaxing the rest of the body. This makes it much easier & faster to attack when necessary than if the hands were relaxed or open. It also helps form muscle memory in the hands, creating a more automatic fist when needed if the hands are open or relaxed (which should only be advanced students, right?).

If you practice keeping the fist tight, you will soon notice a difference in your state of readiness. Keeping your fist tight requires many of the arm and wrist muscles to become stronger and more toned, making your entire fist, arm extension a better weapon. I noticed it after just a few hours of training.

Training in the martial arts is important. You must know how to block a punch or kick and you must know how to throw a punch or kick. These things you practice every time you go to the dojo and when you practice at home (you do practice at home, don’t you?).

You must know that when you reach a point where you think you cannot continue, you are just out of breath or out of spirit-you must know that you can continue and that you can protect your family and yourself from the bad guys of the world. Hard training both in and out of the dojo will help you understand this point.

But if you train real hard and become a high level karateka, you must also understand other things. You must understand how to avoid violent situations before they occur. You must understand how to suppress your ego. You must understand that different people have different levels of tolerance, frustration and anger. You cannot control the attitudes and behavior of others. You can, however, learn to adjust your own behavior accordingly. To be flexible enough within your own mental and spiritual being to change the direction of confrontation. To avoid it altogether or to stop it before it escalates.

To do these things, however, requires more study than what you receive at most dojos. You must read. You must read the stories and experiences of others. That way you can have a deeper grasp of the direction that violence can take. You can also learn how to react in situations that may require the utmost tact on your part.

I hope you have read some of these books. If not, please consider buying them or borrowing them. You will be amazed at how different you will feel afterwards.

Zen… .
And for deeper study it might be appropriate to look into some of the following books that talk about Zen. There is a connection between martial arts and Zen. And some of these books will deal with that connection. But many of the following books address different aspects of Zen that might not reveal any relationship. You have to read them and decide for yourself!

Can you hear the sound of one hand clapping?

Central Illinois Shotokan Karate Association
Sensei Rick Brewer & Sensei James Hartman
An excellent dojo with superb instructors
and a great group of karateka

Affiliated with American Shotokan Karate Alliance
Sensei Randall Hassell

Deleware, Ohio, Mid-America Region-ISKF

Judges
Okazaki Teruyuki Shihan
Martin Vaughan Sensei

Kata Choice – Sochin