QUOTE
September 7th, 2007
In This Issue
> Be Like Water
> Never Let Age Be A Barrier
> myGKR Training Tip Sample
We have all heard the words, ‘Be like water’ spoken in some form or another. But, what does it mean?
To be like water is to be adaptable to any situation, whether it be Kihon (basics), combinations, kata, kumite or our daily life.
‘Be like water’, also means to relax during the technique and to explode at the end. Think of a wave crashing down, it folds up in a smooth, relaxed motion before crashing down.
When training, do you ever feel yourself getting too tired because your training with intensity and you are giving your all? Perhaps you blame your fitness. It is more likely however that you are too tense, hence burning more energy. When you stay relaxed during the execution of a technique you will burn far less energy yet not lose any power.
If we are too tense during the execution of a technique, we also move much slower. For example, during kumite we may allow a strike to get through our guard. This comes from being too tense, hence we move slower. Relax, and you will make the block happen as it is supposed to.
A further hindrance, beyond energy, with remaining too tense, is that we will be unable to demonstrate proper snap at the correct point (being at the end of the technique.)
The trick with this is to not go from one extreme to another. From being too tense to too relaxed. The symptom of being too relaxed is that you no longer demonstrate good form.
So how do we become ‘like water?’
For kumite it is slightly different to kihon. During sparring, if we stop moving we find ourselves becoming a target. It’s much harder to hit a moving target, than it is to hit a still one. So we must keep moving like the sea. Sea-water NEVER stops still. It is in a constant state of movement. Even after a tidal wave has hit, it will retreat and then come back even more ferocious, but it never stops moving. So move like water and then strike like water. Even though it’s soft, it hits hard.
To become relaxed during kata or basic (kihon), we must breath. When we hold our breath our body stiffens. This will be detriment to our technique except for at the end, and we won’t move as swiftly as we might like to. We must breath with the technique and not in contradiction to it. Slow strike = slow breathing, strong strike = strong breathing, but not loud. We should aim to finish the breath as the technique finishes.
When breathing, we should also aim to allow our stomach to do this for us and not our throat, the grunt sound you may hear. Breathing should be controlled.
So to sum up, to ‘be like water’ we must relax, be in a constant state of movement during kumite and most importantly breathe correctly all of the time.
^ top
When I started with GKR Karate back in 1998, I never believed I would reach black belt. At my age, now 53, what I have come to know is this: whatever age or stage of your life that you are at, karate is something that everyone can do, if they allow themselves to open their mind to what it can offer. And, the things it offers go well beyond the confines of the dojo. For myself, in my journey to black belt and beyond, the things I gained from karate the most are both mental and physical strength.
The great thing about GKR is that the possibility of grade success, even tournament success is not restricted to physical limitations caused by age. It is a major plus that an over 50 year old, can train hard and learn great skills. Then, test themselves in a tournament, not against 20 year old’s, but against their peers.
For those students who always say, “One day I will enter a tournament”, I believe they are focusing too much on the nerves of competition, rather than the enjoyment of testing ones skill. And, more importantly, the benefits you gain from it. I found that by competing, it improved both my kata and kumite skills, as it made me focus more during training. I also used tournaments to judge my own quality of karate. Where I see a peer who is sharper, faster or cleaner in any area, I would strive to match or better them next time. It was not so much about winning as it was about seeing the ability of someone else my age. Also, aspiring to reach that ability and ultimately my potential.
Noble the qualities I mention may be, I will not hide from the fact that tournaments bring out competitive spirit. But that is a healthy thing. There is nothing wrong with wanting to win and there is no age that a person should reach where they should forgo human instincts such as competition.
You are never too old for being hungry for competition
I have seen 60 something year old students suddenly raise their training intensity due to being motivated by performing well at a tournament. Suddenly their ability skyrockets and regardless of their tournament result, they end up grading soon after.
So, for the older students, some advice on tournaments: you will need to go beyond the normal class training if you want to succeed. But, being older doesn’t mean you can’t walk a few kilometres each day, nor does it mean you can’t jog, skip, swim etc.
You are never too old to buy a punching bag and start hitting it
Remember: In karate you only get out what you are prepared to put in. So as far as your training goes, make sure you focus on those areas of your own karate that need improving. Don’t worry about what someone younger is doing.
Remember: age should never be used as a barrier for poor performance. While we may not all end up in the splits, we all have the potential for great karate.
^ top
The practice of karate is often described as an ongoing journey towards perfecting technique. This self-mastery mindset exists due to the fact that often, the slightest adjustments and modification in technique towards correct form can lead to an enormous improvement in overall ability.
Over the coming months we will be highlighting a number of training topics,
and discussing how making tiny adjustments in technique can lead to measurable progress in your karate.
Kata: Show the movement, not the effort behind it
Last week’s training tip covered that putting in 100% effort does not always equate to putting out 100% power. If you missed this article, it is advised you go back a quickly read it before this week’s article.
One of the things it covered was that using extra muscles other than those specific to the technique actually reduces your power output.
Today, we are going to take this one further. That is, showing too many facial expressions during kata will actually detract from your kata. This may come as a surprise to many of you who might purposely try to show (in their face) they are putting in 100%. So if you have been taken aback, I suggest you read on.
When people put on over-expression in their face during kata, they will likely adopt the same habit if they are ever in a real life fight. In both kata, and real life fighting, our face should be one of pure calm. This is why the Japanese continuously promote that kata should look effortless. They say we should show the movement, not the effort behind the movement. That it should look powerful, but also beautiful. Lets examine why:
Why the ‘look’ is so important
The face has a tremendous power of the body. Our facial expressions control the production of feelings (through the release of hormones) more than any part of our body.
Try this exercise: Pretend for 10 seconds you are very angry. Did your facial expression change? Try acting angry yet all the while maintain a face of pure calm. It is almost impossible. Ok, chemistry lesson aside, what does this have to do with karate? Everything!
When our face looks like it is in fight mode, our body soon follows, and an intense face will produce adrenalin and anger.
Adrenalin gives us extra power and allows us to take a hit. But it also dampens the senses putting us into ‘tunnel vision mode’. We do not remember sounds or detailed pictures. It also wears us out quickly – ever been completely worn out after one kata.
Anger takes away our ability to think clearly and strategise. So much so, we also forget to breathe properly – I ask again, ever been completely worn out after one kata?
Fight mode is great for the untrained as they need its benefits and are not losing much by the negatives that go with it.
For the martial artist however, a person who has been trained to breathe, strategise and use technique, losing their brain’s logic in these cases will take away all their advantages.
Where a martial artist is engaged in a fight (due to self-defence reasons only), their face should be a stark contrast to the attacker. It would be a face of calm, which would allow them to access their resources: their skills and strategies, their ability to use peripheral vision etc. A calm face will result in a clam body, and a calm body will likely strike fast, without telegraphing, using clean technique to a vulnerable area. In contrast, an angry face will lead to over telegraphed movements that will not likely hit a specific target area.
In This Issue
> Be Like Water
> Never Let Age Be A Barrier
> myGKR Training Tip Sample
We have all heard the words, ‘Be like water’ spoken in some form or another. But, what does it mean?
To be like water is to be adaptable to any situation, whether it be Kihon (basics), combinations, kata, kumite or our daily life.
‘Be like water’, also means to relax during the technique and to explode at the end. Think of a wave crashing down, it folds up in a smooth, relaxed motion before crashing down.
When training, do you ever feel yourself getting too tired because your training with intensity and you are giving your all? Perhaps you blame your fitness. It is more likely however that you are too tense, hence burning more energy. When you stay relaxed during the execution of a technique you will burn far less energy yet not lose any power.
If we are too tense during the execution of a technique, we also move much slower. For example, during kumite we may allow a strike to get through our guard. This comes from being too tense, hence we move slower. Relax, and you will make the block happen as it is supposed to.
A further hindrance, beyond energy, with remaining too tense, is that we will be unable to demonstrate proper snap at the correct point (being at the end of the technique.)
The trick with this is to not go from one extreme to another. From being too tense to too relaxed. The symptom of being too relaxed is that you no longer demonstrate good form.
So how do we become ‘like water?’
For kumite it is slightly different to kihon. During sparring, if we stop moving we find ourselves becoming a target. It’s much harder to hit a moving target, than it is to hit a still one. So we must keep moving like the sea. Sea-water NEVER stops still. It is in a constant state of movement. Even after a tidal wave has hit, it will retreat and then come back even more ferocious, but it never stops moving. So move like water and then strike like water. Even though it’s soft, it hits hard.
To become relaxed during kata or basic (kihon), we must breath. When we hold our breath our body stiffens. This will be detriment to our technique except for at the end, and we won’t move as swiftly as we might like to. We must breath with the technique and not in contradiction to it. Slow strike = slow breathing, strong strike = strong breathing, but not loud. We should aim to finish the breath as the technique finishes.
When breathing, we should also aim to allow our stomach to do this for us and not our throat, the grunt sound you may hear. Breathing should be controlled.
So to sum up, to ‘be like water’ we must relax, be in a constant state of movement during kumite and most importantly breathe correctly all of the time.
^ top
When I started with GKR Karate back in 1998, I never believed I would reach black belt. At my age, now 53, what I have come to know is this: whatever age or stage of your life that you are at, karate is something that everyone can do, if they allow themselves to open their mind to what it can offer. And, the things it offers go well beyond the confines of the dojo. For myself, in my journey to black belt and beyond, the things I gained from karate the most are both mental and physical strength.
The great thing about GKR is that the possibility of grade success, even tournament success is not restricted to physical limitations caused by age. It is a major plus that an over 50 year old, can train hard and learn great skills. Then, test themselves in a tournament, not against 20 year old’s, but against their peers.
For those students who always say, “One day I will enter a tournament”, I believe they are focusing too much on the nerves of competition, rather than the enjoyment of testing ones skill. And, more importantly, the benefits you gain from it. I found that by competing, it improved both my kata and kumite skills, as it made me focus more during training. I also used tournaments to judge my own quality of karate. Where I see a peer who is sharper, faster or cleaner in any area, I would strive to match or better them next time. It was not so much about winning as it was about seeing the ability of someone else my age. Also, aspiring to reach that ability and ultimately my potential.
Noble the qualities I mention may be, I will not hide from the fact that tournaments bring out competitive spirit. But that is a healthy thing. There is nothing wrong with wanting to win and there is no age that a person should reach where they should forgo human instincts such as competition.
You are never too old for being hungry for competition
I have seen 60 something year old students suddenly raise their training intensity due to being motivated by performing well at a tournament. Suddenly their ability skyrockets and regardless of their tournament result, they end up grading soon after.
So, for the older students, some advice on tournaments: you will need to go beyond the normal class training if you want to succeed. But, being older doesn’t mean you can’t walk a few kilometres each day, nor does it mean you can’t jog, skip, swim etc.
You are never too old to buy a punching bag and start hitting it
Remember: In karate you only get out what you are prepared to put in. So as far as your training goes, make sure you focus on those areas of your own karate that need improving. Don’t worry about what someone younger is doing.
Remember: age should never be used as a barrier for poor performance. While we may not all end up in the splits, we all have the potential for great karate.
^ top
The practice of karate is often described as an ongoing journey towards perfecting technique. This self-mastery mindset exists due to the fact that often, the slightest adjustments and modification in technique towards correct form can lead to an enormous improvement in overall ability.
Over the coming months we will be highlighting a number of training topics,
and discussing how making tiny adjustments in technique can lead to measurable progress in your karate.
Kata: Show the movement, not the effort behind it
Last week’s training tip covered that putting in 100% effort does not always equate to putting out 100% power. If you missed this article, it is advised you go back a quickly read it before this week’s article.
One of the things it covered was that using extra muscles other than those specific to the technique actually reduces your power output.
Today, we are going to take this one further. That is, showing too many facial expressions during kata will actually detract from your kata. This may come as a surprise to many of you who might purposely try to show (in their face) they are putting in 100%. So if you have been taken aback, I suggest you read on.
When people put on over-expression in their face during kata, they will likely adopt the same habit if they are ever in a real life fight. In both kata, and real life fighting, our face should be one of pure calm. This is why the Japanese continuously promote that kata should look effortless. They say we should show the movement, not the effort behind the movement. That it should look powerful, but also beautiful. Lets examine why:
Why the ‘look’ is so important
The face has a tremendous power of the body. Our facial expressions control the production of feelings (through the release of hormones) more than any part of our body.
Try this exercise: Pretend for 10 seconds you are very angry. Did your facial expression change? Try acting angry yet all the while maintain a face of pure calm. It is almost impossible. Ok, chemistry lesson aside, what does this have to do with karate? Everything!
When our face looks like it is in fight mode, our body soon follows, and an intense face will produce adrenalin and anger.
Adrenalin gives us extra power and allows us to take a hit. But it also dampens the senses putting us into ‘tunnel vision mode’. We do not remember sounds or detailed pictures. It also wears us out quickly – ever been completely worn out after one kata.
Anger takes away our ability to think clearly and strategise. So much so, we also forget to breathe properly – I ask again, ever been completely worn out after one kata?
Fight mode is great for the untrained as they need its benefits and are not losing much by the negatives that go with it.
For the martial artist however, a person who has been trained to breathe, strategise and use technique, losing their brain’s logic in these cases will take away all their advantages.
Where a martial artist is engaged in a fight (due to self-defence reasons only), their face should be a stark contrast to the attacker. It would be a face of calm, which would allow them to access their resources: their skills and strategies, their ability to use peripheral vision etc. A calm face will result in a clam body, and a calm body will likely strike fast, without telegraphing, using clean technique to a vulnerable area. In contrast, an angry face will lead to over telegraphed movements that will not likely hit a specific target area.
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