Kihon-geiko (basic/foundational training) is meant to isolate karate movements so they can be individually focused on during practice. Karateka from nearly any style will be familiar with a variety of methods for this purpose–punches while standing in shiko-dachi (sumo/horse stance), kicks with the hands on the hips, walking across the mat in a stance, etc. Whatever the technique may be, […]
As of the writing of this article, I have only been training for a little over 8.5 years, and I only just earned my shodan (1st degree black belt) last Summer. Even so, I’ve seen and heard of so many instances of the “shodan slump” to know that it’s real, and I feel grateful that I have managed to avoid […]
Centered Punch by Hironishi Motonobu (L), Off-Centered Punch by Funakoshi Gichin (R) When practicing kihon (basics)–which carries over into kata practice–there tend to be two schools of thought on where to aim punches. One says that you should aim to the center, as if your opponent were standing directly in front of you, so that you can work on your […]
Myself with Evergrey at Wah Dojo Some of my readers may be familiar with Evergrey, the author of the old Crazy Kyokushin Chick blog. I connected with her through that blog, but we have kept up on Facebook over the years. Last week, I had to travel to her neck of the woods for work, so she […]
Last week I had to go to Santa Monica, CA for work. It was a three day trip, which interfered with my normal training schedule although it was really cool because I had all my gear from Survival Cooking when I went camping outdoors, and I knew I was going to be eating less-than-ideal food so it was important for […]
A valuable training tool that many traditional karateka choose to abstain from is the punching mitts, or focus mitts. These come in many different styles, from very basic to high-tech, but all of them facilitate the same thing–a way to turn a training partner into a mobile, modular platform for practicing full-speed striking combinations to various targets without injuring that […]
Karate has three staple components–kihon, kata and kumite (basics, forms and sparring, respectively)–that make up the curriculum for most schools. The basics are the individual techniques in the style, consisting of stances, punches, blocks, open handed strikes, kicks, etc. The forms are patterns of basics strung together to, on a basic level, build muscle memory, condition your body and practice […]
Last night I went to Aikido of Scottsdale where I worked out with a local Kyokushin karate club that shares that dojo. The Sensei is, I believe, a Nidan (2nd degree blackbelt) but I’m afraid I can’t remember his name, so I am sorry about that–I am very bad with names! When we first met at the dojo I was […]
