Archive for the ‘Tips & Techniques’ Category
Kokutsu-dachi training
Posted by badaboom in Tips & Techniques on November 29th, 2009
I've recently seen a video of my net friend with yellow belt doing kata Heian Nidan. For yellow belt kokutsu-dachi is a new stuff and as I watch many advanced karatekas, also a very hard to perform even for advanced. I tried to remind myself having a yellow belt but it was so long time ago that my memory reconstructs only my belt 
But to the point.
I had decided to work on my kokutsu dachi, then in the evening I was training Kanku Dai at home: the part with mae geri and manji uke. Kokutsu dachi wasn't the main part of my training but my attention naturally was focused a bit on it because of the earlier decision.
is there a shotokan technique…..
Posted by brinn in Tips & Techniques on November 25th, 2009
i was wondering if anyone could help name this technique or have practiced it
im gonna tie the question to a kick so bare with me...
you know how we have a staight kick, outside round house and inside round house??
we have a staight punch, outside roundhouse punch, is there an inside roundhouse punch?
kinda like a backfist action with fist but with a punch feeling??
any know if this or am i just playing aroun tomuch with my waza
Yori-ashi and gyaku-zuki
Posted by badaboom in Tips & Techniques on October 29th, 2009
Shotokan specializes in long stances and in fight in a long distance. It seems obvious that in the real life, a fight in a long distance is a pipe dream.
Long zugi-ashi and regular zenkutsu-dachi motion are natural for Shotokan. In such movements, gyaku-zuki can be classical and powerful. I think that yori-ashi came to Shotokan later – as the response for a need of a fight in a short distance. And the classical gyaku-zuki doesn't fit in the yori-ashi so perfectly - mainly because of back leg's heel up.
When you watch the cross punch in Jeet Kune Do, you can see its advantage over classical gyaku-zuki. For JKD, yori-ashi and short distance fight are natural. Their keep their heel up but also the path of the punch is different.
Speed, power or technique?
Posted by badaboom in Tips & Techniques on October 29th, 2009
I’ve started my karate 15 years ago. We had 4.5 hours trainings a week. Nowadays, this amount fell to 2 hours a week for beginners and intermediate and to 3 hours for advanced.
I stopped training for some time when I was green belt. I came back after a long break and my technique is still quite good in comparison to people who maybe train longer but they go with the new schedule.
What interests me here is a training concept for students with kyu (to shodan) grades. What should we focus on? Power? Speed? Or maybe just technique alone?
I’ve seen many films on youtube where people pass their exams for brown and black belt doing their kihon slowly and without power. It was something new for me, cause in my club we still try to do it fast, with power and the right technique. Anyway, I often can see that the technique thing gets worse when you have only this amount of time and you still try to do everything. So maybe that’s a good solution – to teach first just technique and leave power and speed for nidan grading? Or maybe we should divide this to some blocks, e.g. 9-5 kyu slow, 5-3 kyu faster and harder and 3kyu-shodan full power and speed? What do you think about it?
rising heels
Posted by djb in Tips & Techniques on October 17th, 2009
oss i am new to the site an recently past my shodan. my turning in my kata is respectable and i can keep my keels planted throughout. my trouble comes when moving forward and backwards, they lift around 3/4 of the way through an oi zuki for example. i would be very grateful if anyone has any tips for a proper movement thank you oss
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation
Posted by brinn in Fitness, Tips & Techniques, Training Plans on September 21st, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GWlJMSAlu4
my favorite way to stretch....adds inches to range of motion......
if you look up on youtube you will find more examples...
any other karate ka do this type?
What Does Black Belt Mean To You?
Posted by Linden in General, Philosophy, Teaching, Tips & Techniques on July 2nd, 2009
For as long as I can remember, I have loved the martial arts.
I can remember being a small child and watching the TV series 'Kung Fu' starring the late David Carradine as Quai Chang Caine.
I remember the philosophy contained in the series having a huge impact on my young mind and I truly believe this incredible series shaped my thoughts and beliefs, not just in karate, but in life. I know it's a bold statement to make, but I really do believe it.
In our materialistic world, people respect power, beauty and money and this to me is very sad. But saying that, I would like a lot more of all three!