Knuckle Push-ups

The knuckle press-up seems to be popular within martial arts circles for strengthening the fist. It also seems to have a degree of machismo nonsense associated with it. I have been made to do these together with the rest of the class including children on a wooden floor when I couldn't even do a traditional push-up. So what's going on here?

Old style martial artists used these because they develops wrist and forearm strength more so than the standard flat handed push-up. It will also condition the hand bones to improve their strength. Overall this makes your punch more effective since the combined strength of the wrist and hand bones contributes to impact. Knuckle push-ups also exercise slightly different upper body muscles since the hand position is closer together. The problem is that it can injury the knuckles by causing overgrowth of bone or injury to the joint resulting in arthritis and limitation of mobility. This is surely undesirable even for combat ready Samurai. Additionally, it can damage developing bones, so knuckle push-ups are a good addition to training only when they are done on a padded surface and in people who have finished growing - 16 years+

Secrets In Karate - What Can We Learn From Kata?

Much is made of the secrecy of traditional Japanese karate teachers and the fact that their most effective techniques were partially or fully held back from all but the most trusted, skilled and Japanese students. To a point this is almost certainly true. I know one person today who trains under a senior Japanese instructor and he is certainly not in possession of complete transmission.

Why is this? Historical accounts suggest that there was great rivalry between schools and even earlier families who would require their best techniques to be firmly held within the chosen group. After all, 70 years ago or more, hand to hand combat was a matter of survival not there for academic interest, hobby or 'sport'.  It was a way of life and a matter of survival and maintaining status. There were also historical reasons why the Okinawans would not trust outsiders like the mainland Japanese, Chinese or Westerners. However, there had been relationships with all these outsiders for hundreds of years through trade and political alliance that would have led to the sharing of skills such as martial arts. In this way karate developed from older Chinese and possibly Indian forms. Also progress and political need led to the development of modern karate down a route different from the older forms - Funakoshi developed simple forms for school children to promote health and popularize karate practice which fitted the agenda of the Japanese government of the time. These forms did not contain the lethal moves or complexity of kata he himself had learnt as a boy. Again, moving forward the three distinct Okanawan styles of Shuri/Naha/Tomari-Te were combined and developed along more academic lines, developing body kinetics to increase power. Also differing styles have evolved and there has been the development of sport karate and multiple gradings/belts to make it more widely acceptable to the West. Along the way, the original forms while not necessarily better, have been partially lost. While I would be keen to see development of any activity for the sake of improvement, it is nice to know what went before. Additionally, the thought that we may be missing the best bits is really tantalizing. Added to that the thought that the knowledge may somehow have survived in part and be out there...

One of the sad things is that it is obvious that any effective fighting system as used by people in the old days would have been much more diverse (and possibly complex) than modern karate. After all, a major part of time would be dedicated to it - hours every day. These people would have started training before puberty and continued lifelong. For example, where are the weapons in modern karate? Where is the use of pressure points (not just the odd one or two)? Where are the adaptations for women who back in the day of Samurai were taught to defend themselves and their children while the men were off fighting? If present at all in modern karate, it is only to a minor degree.

One source of information that is open to us is kata - old kata. Within them may be the traces of some of these techniques, although very much open to interpretation now with no first hand guide. Another is the oldest forms found in China and India.

One Year Into Karate Training - Making The Moves Is Not Enough

It's a little over a year since I first stepped into the Dojo with no idea of what martial arts involved (I hadn't even seen Enter The Dragon), no interest in any sort of sport and a fitness level close to zero. While I acknowledge that I have learned a lot, I feel I've hit a wall when it comes to progress. This may be because as a beginner you have everything to learn so you learn fast at the beginning. Also, since I was so unfit, there was large scope for improvement in general fitness but, I think there's more to it. I don't think this is a natural slow down, I think I don't practice enough or correctly. When I first started, I practiced obsessively - every evening for 30-60 minutes (that's obsessive by my definition). Not now. I do practice most days closer to 30 minutes, but I practice in the same way as I did in the beginning. Quick kata run through so as not to forget the moves, a few basics, sometimes weights or perhaps focus in one kata, but what can you do in 30 minutes? Not a lot really. The point is my emphasis is still on quantity when it is the quality of moves not quantity that counts. So I'm stuck. Granted, I know a lot of things I didn't know a year ago, I'm much fitter, I can do things I never could and I've seen all the Bruce Lee movies but, I have no technique and I won't progress without it. There is only one way forward - hard work outside the Dojo.

Mushin - The State of No Mind In Karate

There is much talk of Zen in the martial arts. Mushin is a Zen concept meaning, as best as I can understand it, acting without conscious thought. Being in a state where there is no delay in action caused by having to think about your response. Zen is a concept I no nothing about, which is not surprising having grown up in 1970's Britain. I wonder if Eastern concepts such as Zen are not as mystical as they first appear to people like me. Mushin seems to refer to being on autopilot, reacting automatically to a situation such as hand to hand combat. This is similar to modern educational theory about how we learn skills: At first we are unconsciously unaware (we don't know we don't know something), then we become consciously unaware (we know we don't know something). As we decide we should learn the technique, we move into conscious awareness (as we are trying to learn the skill) and then at last we master it and move into unconscious awareness (we can do it automatically), like driving a car, it requires no thought. I think this is Mushin.

In the car driving example, it you stopped to think about every gear change, every bend or alteration in velocity, your driving would probably deteriorate. It's the same with karate as it is with mastering any physical skill. Neurologically, in conscious awareness, brain activity is cortical however, when we have really mastered a skill and have unconscious awareness, we process this at a deeper, more primitive, cerebellar level. So perhaps there is a Western scientific explanation for what those wise people in the East have intuitively known all along and we have doubted?

Gyaku Zuki

Gyaku Zuki or reverse punch is one of the first moves you will learn in karate. It is performed as part of kihon or basic technique during every class as well as appearing in kata and being of great use in sparring. It is also one of the most frustrating moves known to karate. This is because it looks easy, but nothing could be further from the truth. After a year of practice I still cannot do this basic technique well. I'm at the stage where it looks ok, but against an obstacle it has no real impact and this is because I'm not doing it correctly. It's more obvious for me since I don't have a huge amount of strength. My technique performed by a large bloke would probably be effective enough, but that really isn't the point, big or small, strong or weak you need to aspire to perfect technique even if you could defeat your opponent by simply falling on them. The underlying philosophy of karate is that a single technique is all that you need to defeat your opponent. This is not the philosophy of other martial arts and hence effective technique is of over riding importance in karate.

Gyaku Zuki like other moves, uses every part of the body, not just the arm. Not only must the back foot push off, driving the back hip forward which is the basis of the power behind the punching arm, but 5 other components beyond this add to the overall power. Firstly, a combination of tension in the lower half of the body with relaxation in the upper part. The former gives a firm stance from which to begin the generation of power while the latter allows speed. The muscles of the shoulder, neck and scapula must be relaxed so that the arm can be whipped forward without resistance. Second, rotational torque. Starting from the back foot and carried through the hip and abdominal muscles and rotational movement begins that precedes the punch landing and throws it out from the body. Simultaneously the leading hand pulls back sharply to just above belt level as an additional rotational force. Third, aim just beyond the target. Forth, speed. The faster you get, the greater the impact. Lastly, focus. For beginners focus is just thinking about all of the above, but for those who can do all that automatically and whose gi cracks in an attempt to keep up with speeding limbs, focus can add power by tapping our ability to enhance our own strength in times of emergency. Some advanced practitioners can do this at will, in the same way that some people with practice can alter their heart rate consciously. Of course, I've forgotten the most important thing - practice!